Book 2. Chapter 45

Book 2. Chapter 45

The four of them ran towards town. When Myra was too slow, Davi hefted her over his shoulder, despite her protests. They dashed at a full sprint, at least for a couple yards until Zilly went down. She immediately got to her feet again, but couldnt hide the limp.

Now that he thought of it, the giant had slapped her straight out of the air a couple times. Are you hurt?

I can still run, said Zilly, which was a yes. She demonstrated the run, but it was more of a quick hobble. Shed sheathed her sword, and clutched her side with one hand while the other arm hung limp.

Broken ribs? Brin asked.

And an arm, I think. The ankle is just sprained.

He holstered his spear, picked her up under the legs and swept her into a princess carry. He wasnt sure how long hed be able to manage like this, but if he swung her over his shoulder like a potato sack it would drive those broken ribs into her lungs.

No. Brin, not like that, said Zilly. Here, let me She shuffled around to his back, nearly pushing him down in the process, and then hung on piggyback. Right, this made more sense. He shouldve thought of it.

Marksi moved from his shoulders to Zillys. Brin wanted to shout at the little guy to get down, but theyd only just made up and he didnt have the heart. Besides, his slight weight wouldnt make that much of a difference.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

His legs started burning immediately, but he was determined. What was the point of all those early morning workouts if not for this? He kept his legs pumping. He might not have Davis endless well of stamina, but he had enough. It would have to be enough.

Davi saw the way Brin was holding Zilly and then looked like he was having second thoughts about throwing Myra over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He pulled her around to his back as well.

No, Davi, come on! Put me down! I can run!

Not fast enough, Davi said firmly.

Theyre close, Zilly said through gritted teeth from the pain. No, theyre here.

A line of undead stood between them and the town. They were closing in from the sides as well. Brin didnt think the [Witch] whod set up the ambush had expected them to beat her giant, but shed clearly still had a backup plan.

Up! Let me on your shoulders! Myra said. She hiked up her skirts and then clambered up onto Davis shoulders. Its easier if I have my hands free.

Despite everything that was going on, Davi still couldnt hide his blush at having his head between Myras thighs.

Its easier if I have my hands free. Dont stop! Just run straight through!

Brin was panting so hard that he couldnt yell back an agreement, so he nodded his head and kept running. It felt like it was a suicide charge; the undead got into defensive positions while Brin and Davi ran straight towards them, weapons holstered.

At the last second, Myra thrust her hands forwards and used [Manipulate Thread] to pull the closest undead away by their clothes. It was a far cry from Tawnas explosive power, but it was enough. She disabled the undead long enough from Brin and Davi to run straight past them. The undead chased after them from behind, giving further motivation for Brin to keep his burning legs moving.

They werent quite faster than the undead, but every time one of them was about to catch up, Myra tripped it and granted them a few more seconds.

Brin ran on, arms burning from holding Zillys legs, his own legs on fire. His vision started going gray, and he started to phase out everything except what he needed to do. Keep running. Dont drop Zilly. Since he was in no state to pay attention to anything else, he used [Directed Meditation] to wring every bit of strength he could out of his body.

Marksi mustve noticed he was lagging, because he hopped down and started scampering alongside him. The slight lessening of his burden gave him the little bit of help he needed to keep going, just a little longer.

He almost didnt notice when they came out of the treeline, into the fields around the town. There was blood in the air, and shouting, and Skill-enhanced torches illuminating the night. The undead were mostly to his left, fighting near a break in the walls, but that was all he had time to notice.

Dozens of undead lay in wait between them and the town gate.

Almost immediately after they left the trees, explosions rocked the scattered undead in their way. The gates opened and a group of a dozen men shot out. Most of them carried greatshields, all except the one in the lead. Zillys dad.

He blew a line of holy fire straight towards his daughter, and coincidentally, her wayward friends. He threw so many fireballs that by the time his group reached Brins he collapsed from Mana exhaustion and had to be carried. Firm hands took Zilly from his grasp, and Davi finally let Myra down.

Looking around, Brin saw that Davis dad, Alvir, was among the rescuers. Hed been the one whod taken Zilly from his arms. Zilly and Davis dads mustve been watching the tree line this whole time, waiting for some sign of their children. It was lucky they had.

They ran back towards the gates, but the undead hardly bothered them; the army was distracted by something else.

There was a loud, roaring growl as something fought near the break in the walls. In a brief part through the crowd of undead, Brin saw Ferir. The black wolfhound was riddled with wounds, fighting for his life.

Even as Brin watched, a cadre of undead spearmen surrounded him and thrust together, pinning him to the ground. He let out a pitiful whine, and then an ax-wielder chopped into his head, silencing him.

Brin looked away. The last thing he wanted to see today was another dog dying. Why was Ferir fighting alone?

Then he saw something else. A monster. It was vaguely humanoid, but it had the snout of a dog with wicked teeth, dripping with the blood of the undead. Long arms, strange hands that ended in clawed fingers as long as sword blades. Its legs were dogs legs, except with dangerous-looking talons jutting unnaturally from the paws.

The creature fought the undead in a berserker rage, striking down one enemy down after another, shrugging off wounds that should have killed anything alive.

It wasnt until it spoke that he realized what he was looking at. killed her! You killed her! My only! Precious! Daughter! Taken from me

Kevim rubbed his face again. Then then I suppose weve no time to waste. Spread the word. Were opening the gates.

The group split apart, each of them marching in different directions, except for Elvira.

What? But I thought you said you werent going to surrender! Brin called after Kevim, who ignored him and kept walking.

Elvira answered. Were not surrendering. Do you think Ive been idle this entire time? No, my dear. Ive been fitting every inch of this little town with examples of my craft. Traps. You see? All this time, weve been fighting for Hammons Bog. Dont you think its about time Hammons Bog fought for us?

They strolled away from the gate, stopping a few hundred feet down the road, where they turned around to watch. A hundred defenders stood with them, most of them Lantern-men. This group was just here to witness in case something went wrong. According to Elvira, if her traps worked as planned, a hundred was too much. If they didnt go off for some reason, then a hundred was much too little.

Several people told Brin to leave, to go to the town square where most of the town was gathered, but he ignored them and no one moved him by force.

He was supremely interested in watching this go down. His first kills in this world had been with traps, and [Trapper] is one of the Common Classes hed be most interested in, if he had to do things all over again. He loved [Glasser] for its flexibility and for all the things he could create during peacetime, but the combat potential for [Trapper] was off the charts.

Whos going to open the gates? Brin asked. Everyone had evacuated the area, and he knew they werent planning on waiting for the undead to tear the gates down this time.

Kevim. The town has a Skill for it, and he can use it as acting Prefit, said Elvira.

Minutes later, it happened. He didnt hear or see Kevim; whatever method they used to activate town Skills was shrouded in secrecy. The result, however, was obvious enough.

The gates flung open and a storm of ravenous undead charged through the gap. They gnashed their teeth and raised their weapons, heads swinging, looking for prey and finding none. Emboldened, they ran faster, pushed by the undead behind them.

The gate was only wide enough to fit eight men across, but the undead didnt move like men. They didnt need to breathe and had no concept of personal space. They squeezed through in a tight mass, like water spraying from a leaky pipe.

In what felt like an instant, hundreds of undead filled the street. Seeing the group of defenders, they didnt look to the left or right and charged straight down the street at the men and women with Brin.

As they charged closer, Brin started to feel a bit nervous. He saw more than one defender draw their weapons and check their grips.

Then, when the first undead were only a hundred feet away, they exploded. Gouts of flame blew up from under the street, destroying the front line and burning away the undead who charged in after them, pushed by the weight of the charging army.

Behind them, the ground gave way, a pitfall traponly, it looked more like the ground had suddenly turned liquid. The undead sunk into the mud and disappeared. The ground firmed up again, but none of the undead behind them dared to walk on it.

The boardwalks exploded, sending stakes into the remaining undead, decimating their number. A few with shields blocked in time, but many died and the majority of the attackers took wounds, slowing them down and sewing panic.

Fewer undead came through the gates, and they moved more slowly now, more cautious. Most of the undead that came through stayed right near the gate, grouping up. A furious chorus of clicks sounded through the army as they coordinated and came up with a plan.

It took a while for them to decide on a course of action and start moving again. This time, the attack was slower and more methodical. Instead of a mad charge, the undead moved in groups of ten. The defenders started pelting them with arrows, and then they had to go even slower to avoid the arrows. They went from house to house with greatshields, triggering every trap, and only moving on when they were certain the area was secure. It was slow going, as the undead were slow to give orders and slower to understand them.

Minutes turned into an hour. An hour turned into two. The undead cleared the entire street, and Brins group slowly moved back.

The undead smashed the houses they cleared, breaking windows and furniture, throwing clothes and bedding on the street, cracking dishes, destroying all they could. It was difficult to watch, but it was just stuff.

In return, the town got time. Time enough to hopefully rebuild the most damaged sections of walls, although Brin had no idea how things were going on that front.

No one talked about what was going to have to happen once the walls were fixed, but Brin could put two and two together. They were going to have to shut the gates again and then kill all the undead who were currently in the town. It would be a big, bloody mess. Hundreds of defenders would die, if they succeeded at all.

Well, this is where I drop off. The rest of you should head towards the town square with the others, Elvira said. She moved to walk off towards a very fine house. Unless youd like to come inside with me?

Why not go with everyone else? asked Brin.

My home, the place where Ive invested much of my attention, the place Ive lived for years, is probably the safest place in Hammons Bog. You understand? She crooked an eyebrow suggestively. Traps

No, yeah, I got that, said Brin.

Even with knowing the traps were there and being ready for them, the undead still took casualties on a quarter of the traps they sprung. They werent all the same things. Here, it would be the floorboards exploding into flame, but in the next house the roof would launch spinning blades.He saw one house where the curtains wrapped themselves around an undead and then melted to acid, burning straight through its armor. Brin had no doubt that the undead would find Elviras house a tough nut to crack. He was almost tempted to take Elvira up on her offer to stay with her and let them try.

You know, its a little strange to me that this is the first time weve met. Ive heard so much about you, said Brin.

Hm? No, this isnt the first time. We met three nights ago in the public house.

Brin froze, feeling like his blood was going cold. He didnt remember that. As far as he remembered, he hadn't been in the pub since before Hela got caught up in the curse. Someone had been screwing with his memories. It was violating, and terrifying. At the same time, he couldnt help the smile that crept up on his lips. Finally, a breakthrough.

He stood right there in the road and searched his stored memories of glass. It didnt take long until he knew exactly who the [Witch] was.

Apparently he wouldnt be bunkering down with Elvira or joining the defenders in the town center. He had some preparations to make, and then it would finally be time.

It was time to kill the [Witch].