Chapter 6

Auggie didn’t take the bribe we dangled in front of him. Whether it was out of a sense of integrity or fear of the mercenaries who had likely embedded a few enforcers in his camp didn’t matter. There would be violence.

They had been careful to keep their advance far enough away from the shore to keep out of the ship’s cannon range, but seizing South Bend would prove to be a big mistake for them. The St. Joseph’s River fed directly into Lake Michigan and passed through the city. The river actually passed the campus of Notre Dame University. The former Michigan Wolverines who had flocked to my banner needed no encouragement to participate in a destructive raid on that particular campus.

Perhaps the Outlaw Nation had believed themselves to be safe this far inland? If so they had underestimated the capabilities of my two dungeon ships. The regular vessels would indeed have struggled traversing parts of the river with sharp bends and relatively low depth, but dungeon ships didn’t have those problems.

Well, there were a few dams along the way that could have impeded further progress, correction, there used to be dams along that stretch of the river. The cannon and torpedoes made short work of them when we approached.

“Are we going to be there in time?” Ana mused from her position standing next to my command chair. “We won’t be able to give them a bloody nose if they’ve left already.”

This complaint was merely one sha had rephrased and had already been thrashed out before we left. Anastasia had been in favour of departing earlier and not bothering with an attempt to bribe Augustus. That she’d proven correct about him snubbing the very generous offer we made only put a bit more of a strut in her stride.

“Getting that many people moving takes time. Particularly when you’ve given them a chance to let loose and settle down,” I reminded her.

South Bend had been sacked by the Chicagoans. Augustus lost control of his people, and they went on an orgy of pillage and destruction that lasted long into the night.

Things were bad enough that there might not be much campus left for the Wolverines to vent their frustrations on when we arrived. The good news for us what that it meant their departure had been delayed while the Outlaw Nation reined in the out-of-control elements.

Some of the more disciplined units were already on the march. They’d been sent ahead to set up forward outposts in some of the smaller towns along the way.

Those waypoints went unused the first night because dark had swallowed the city before Auggie’s people had finished quelling the rapacious impulses of a good portion of the host. Travelling across monster-infested territory you were unfamiliar with during the night was pure folly unless you were highly organised.

And organised was not a word you would use to describe those who had bedded down in South Bend for a second night.

“Trisha’s spies have reported back that about half of them are still there. More than enough to slake your thirst.”

“Fine,” she huffed and leapt into my lap with a feigned expression of boredom. “Although seeing as we are shafting them from the rear, it would be more accurate to say that we’re giving them a bloody ass.”

“Ana,” I sighed at the inappropriate imagery

The answering cackle told me the entire conversation had been a setup to land that joke.

“You’re not funny,” I told her.

“Bullshit. I have eyes everywhere. I saw the smiles and snickering.”

“Wait, what? Did you broadcast that conversation to the rest of the ship?”

“Maybe,” she replied with impish glee and jumped out of reach before I could get my hands on the minx.

I could have ordered her to come back but thought better of it. “Any more of that and you are staying on the ship.”

That brought her up sharp and she turned back and batted her eyelashes in my direction. “I didn’t broadcast it to the entire ship…just to a few rooms where the more juvenile-minded crew members are hanging out.”

“And that makes things better, how?”

That one stumped her.

Not that I was truly upset.

It was a mostly harmless prank, and the regular crew of Marena’s Mercy were aware of Ana’s eclectic sense of humour. They’d been on the receiving end of it more than once. A crewman feeling the back of their ear or hair being tickled sexily, only to turn around and find themselves face-to-face with one of her golems, Ripper or Slicer, was one of Ana’s favourite wheezes.

There were two of the gruesome brutes now, our recent level-ups meant Anastasia had enough juice in the tank to maintain two of the monstrosities. Ripper was even bigger than Slicer and better designed to act as a mount.

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Then Ana’s eyebrow rose, and a subtle smile replaced the artful outrage. “We’re coming up on the urban area north of South Bend. Some of the gangers have been spotted and it’s safe to assume they have seen us too,” she paused and got a faraway look in her eye for a moment. “Boy, do they look panicked. I don’t think they were expecting us.”

“Okay, we’ll table your disciplining for later. Lucky for you, you happen to be integral to my plan for today. Otherwise, you’d be benched.”

Now came the hands-to-hip pout.

“Make the announcement. The raid is about to begin.”

***

The urban sprawl north of South Bend extended past the state line into Michigan. I hadn’t moved to incorporate this place into the Shattered Storm as the majority of the occupied metropolitan area remained in Indiana.

Being in a different state, the Notre Dame campus had enjoyed the same benefits granted to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The two areas had similar populations pre-Darkwyrlds. However, due to the relative isolation of South Bend in comparison to Ann Arbor, it hadn’t become the same mecca of safety and strength the other campus had.

Thus far, the Shattered Storm hadn’t done anything to alienate those with power in Indiana and I hadn’t wanted to change that by absorbing the struggling settlement.

None of that mattered any longer.

I had my doubts the Outlaw Nation had left many alive. Not that there should have been many people there in the first place. If they’d been smart, the population of South Bend would have fled at the first sign of an invasive army of this magnitude. Fort Wayne, Toledo, or even Battle Creek in my territory were viable destinations. Through Trisha’s contacts, we knew that a significant number of the townsfolk had indeed fled.

That meant we didn’t have to hold back, and the Hellfire Cannons launched their payloads ceaselessly as the two ships leisurely sailed down the river. This wouldn’t be a raid of conquest. I didn’t have the troops nor the inclination to claim the city today, maybe later, but not today.

“Target the bridges along the way, bring them all down,” I ordered from the Navigation hub to the pirates manning the cannons. According to the maps South Bend had more than a dozen bridges across the river.

There was no point in making things easier for the Outlaw Nation to move their troops around and no benefit in preserving the infrastructure for us.

I opened a private channel to Storm Raider. “Kristoff, after you drop off your raiders at the campus, keep going downriver and bring down any bridges for the next mile or so and then rejoin us.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Addressing the bridge crew. “Keep your eyes on the monitors. I want to know if anything unexpected happens.”

I exited the hub to a chorus of ayes and hurried down the aisle and onto the deck. It was packed with raiders eager to get on with the attack. The ship swept around one more curve in the river and the Notre Dame stadium came into view about a mile in the distance. It was still standing. A feral cheer went up from Wolverines in our ranks. I was fairly confident that they planned to burn the stadium down. A little bit over the top, but it would help disguise the true purpose of today’s raid.

One side of the stadium already looked a little charred and that had nothing to do with the barrage we had unleashed. In fact, there were plenty of signs of wreckage not associated with our initial attacks. I shook my head and abandoned any plans to claim this place at a later date. There would be little left once we were through here today.

When I reached the poop deck, my team was already waiting for me. Anastasia was sitting atop Ripper at the edge. Slicer was perched on the railing beside her. Somehow the horrifying golem was salivating. That was a new addition to its functionality. Ana did have the strangest hobbies, she was constantly tinkering, trying to make her creations even more fearsome. Fang Mei rode shotgun behind the blonde in Ripper’s spare saddle seat. My newly minted soulbond Crynn had gravitated over to her bonded sisters and her Saurian shadow, Nazz loomed almost as tall as Ripper.

The rest of my regular squad, led by Doc, were arrayed around the golem group.

The second squad up on the deck was Jacksons'. With the current crisis, his campaign in Pandaemonium had been put on pause for a couple of weeks. Jackson’s dryad lover, Piper, was alongside him, creeper vines wreathed around her petite body ready to extend and attack. And Piper was not the only familiar face.

Amber stood stiffly just behind him. She was no longer in the militia uniform. Her clothing and armour were personalised to her preference, and she wore an insignia on her shoulder pads that identified her as a full crew member. Amber had been one of several dozen militia people who had transferred over with Brant when my canon complement expanded recently.

“The new duds suit you,” I said walking past her.

“Don’t rub it in,” she huffed in response.

“I’m not rubbing anything in,” I replied innocently and smiled back letting a hint of smugness tweak the edges.

“You were right all along, okay? I was being stubborn and made things harder than they needed to be. I could have been part of the crew from the beginning if I’d not been so determined to throw a fit and bust your balls.”

Ah, is there anything more satisfying than hearing somebody admit you were right? A couple of things, admittedly, but being right still felt pretty damn good.

“Apologies are good for the soul,” Anastasia needled the situation from her perch on the other side of the deck.

If looks could kill, I’d be in the market for a new dungeon avatar. “I’m not apologising!” Amber raged.

“Confession then, also good for the soul or so I’m told,” Ana clapped back without missing a beat. “Never needed it personally.”

Further discussion was nipped in the bud by Jackson who put a hand on Amber’s shoulder. “Bait only works if you take it.”

Amber struggled not to retort to Ana’s obvious taunts but drew in a deep breath and recentred herself, pointedly not looking up at the mocking blonde on her golem.

“Shame, we were just getting started,” Ana added.

“Ana, learn when to quit when you’re ahead,” I warned her.

She gave me a mock salute.

“Okay, does everybody know the plan? When we reach the campus, find some capable candidates and incapacitate them if you can. Don’t kill, but at the same time, don’t endanger yourself unnecessarily either. If the enemy is proving too troublesome to capture, move on to execute. We’ll likely end up with more candidates than we can use anyway.” Addressing Ana specifically. “Seven is your current limit, right?”

She nodded back in confirmation.

“Everybody got it?”

The two squads replied with their assent, and a few seconds later, Marena’s Mercy crunched into the riverbank and forced its way onto the land, snapping and upending trees like twigs.

“Whoop! Whoop!” Ana cried.

Ripper leapt from the deck and cleared the rail by a dozen feet. Slicer slinked down the side of the ship and slithered in their wake. The rest of us followed the vanguard golems over the top. Yells of battle lust rose from all directions and soon the two-thousand-strong raid party hit the ground and were ready to pound.