Azalea whipped around at once, trying to find the attacking players. It didn’t take her long. There were seven of them, all spread out in a line at the edge of the forest. Right behind the hill, she thought. Sure enough, one of them was even climbing up the side of the mine. Did they know that’s what it was? Was that why they were attacking, or did they just think they were going to get an easy victory over a lonely duo more than an hour’s walk from the village?
Either way, she didn’t have long to think about it. Caius snatched the back of her collar with one hand, pulling both of them behind the shelter of one of their simple homes, and not a second too soon. She heard the whistling of the arrow as it flashed past them. Caius let her go, and she scrambled back to her feet, drawing the wand from her belt.
Caius had a new weapon, she saw. Had he purchased it last night? He pulled it free now, a long blade, slender enough to be light as a feather in his hand but sturdy enough to look real deadly. He flicked the weapon free with such a casual motion that she felt a momentary calm in her heart. She was glad to have Caius on her side.
“What should we do?” She asked, remembering what the text had said. To win the raid, they had to defeat 50% of the attacking players. On the other hand, if the two of them died, then the raid was lost. She’d read the handbook’s subject matter on this type of situation. If they failed to defend against the raid, their opponents would seize control of the land she owned. The four members of their party would have to find a new place to go. That thought made her heart seize suddenly.
“Riley!” She gasped, doing her best to keep her voice down. “If he’s not here to control his avatar, they could kill him really easily!”
Caius cursed, realizing she was right. But at the same time, he couldn’t just rush blindly out of this cover. That was just asking to get shot full of arrows, and he didn’t think he could handle odds of six to one, even if they were all incompetent. “He’ll have to wait. With luck, those idiots won’t look inside, and will just come straight for us.”
Just then, they heard leaves crunching and saw the shadow of a player looming past the corner of the house’s wall. A single player was approaching. Caius waited until the avatar’s sword became visible, then lunged out of their cover. He caught the other player by surprise, and they swung a clumsy blow at him, but he parried it away with ease, his longer and heavier weapon winning that exchange. Then he swung himself, opening a cut on the fighter’s arm. Not enough to make him drop the long dagger, and the attacker jumped back. Caius couldn’t pursue without exposing himself.
Azalea was just lifting her wand to shoot a bolt of mana at the enemy but hesitated as she heard someone else behind her. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see the knife swinging and dropped down with a squeak of fear. Caius heard her, then dashed back to swing at the knife wielder, forcing him back. Azalea released the mana bolt she’d been charging, pointing it right at the guy who had tried to attack her. Already off-balance by Caius' attack and his sudden dodge, he didn’t see the spell coming until it was too late, and hit the ground without another word.
One down, she thought. Through sheer luck. Could they really defeat up to three more of their attackers? The one that had tried to lure Caius out of their hiding spot was back now, along with another opponent, this one with a sword and shield. His blade was a little longer and heavier than Caius’, and he clearly didn’t know how to use it, because his attack was clumsy. Caius parried his blade aside easily enough.
“Nice shield,” he said to the man, hammering two quick blows onto it, staggering the enemy. “But it’ll look better on my arm.”
He jumped back as the dagger user tried to hit him, momentarily exposing Azalea. She took a hurried step back, charging another bolt. But when she released it, it splashed harmlessly against the shield, causing no damage whatsoever. Caius moved so she was safely behind him again, and started pushing her back. “Get to the other house!”
She obeyed, turning and rushing away. She heard the shout of alarm that the attackers gave, and what sounded like them trying to chase. There was a thud of sword on shield again, then a shout and the sound of sword hitting flesh. When she appeared in the gap between the houses, she saw the archer already aiming at her. She dove for the next house as he released an arrow, and it flew feet behind her. All of a sudden, she had the suspicion that he couldn’t actually aim that well. What if none of them knew how to fight? Maybe there was a chance they could survive this raid after all.
She scrambled back to her feet, still holding her wand, and aimed a mana bolt at the man with the knife. Her spell flashed just over Caius’ shoulder and right into the man’s shoulder. He staggered back with a grunt, and took the point of Caius’ sword in his shoulder a second later. He fell at once. The third man, the one with the shield, tried to take advantage of Caius turning his back, but he wasn’t quick enough. Caius grabbed the bottom of his shield with one hand and jerked it up into the path of the sword. Then he slipped his own blade up through the gap, and ran it through the man’s neck.
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A fourth figure appeared, holding two nasty-looking daggers. Caius was pre-occupied with trying to rip the shield free and spun around a second too late. But then Azalea heard the twang of a bow and, ducking instinctively, heard an arrow flash past her. She thought it missed wide at first, then realized it couldn’t have been aimed at her. It shot just over Caius’ shoulder, and landed with a meaty thwack in the center of the new attacker’s chest. It had enough force to check his rush, and it knocked him down into the dirt, where he stayed without rising again.
[Congratulations!]
[You have won the Raid Defense Contract!]
[Combat Experienced Gained]
Azalea whirled around to see where the arrow had come from. That lucky shot had saved Caius’ life, and undoubtedly saved them from the raid. She was certain that if her friend had fallen, she wouldn’t have lasted a second longer. She had to squint against the bright sunlight to recognize the archer, and a broad grin spread across her face as she did.
“Sorry I’m late,” Oscar said, stepping out from under the trees. “I got the notification and ran over as soon as I could.”
“You’re just in time,” Caius said with a grin. “As you can see, I saved one for you.”
He let out a long sigh of relief, however, and met Azalea’s eyes. She could tell he was thinking the same thing, that he’d most certainly be dead if it weren’t for Oscar’s interruption. He wouldn’t have been able to react to that backstab, and they would have lost the raid. It still wasn’t clear just how badly that would have set them back, but they didn’t have to find out for another week. A new timer was visible on the corner of their displays. Raid Protection Timer. It listed just under 168 hours.
“Thanks for the save,” she told Oscar. “I’m surprised to see you. I just assumed you were still AFK down in the mines with Riley.”
He shook his head. “I was out hunting. I sold the ore I got while I was asleep and used it to buy a new bow and some armor.”
“Well thank god for that,” she said with some feeling. “That bow’s already paying for itself.”
The sound of cursing reached their ears from the other side of the buildings, near the entrance of the mine. Curious, Azalea led the way into the open to see what became of the three surviving raiders. The cursing was coming from the archer who still sat perched on the top of the hill.
“I didn’t think anyone would be guilded this early,” he said, sounding pissed off. “We’ve already done two raids, and they had more stuff than you guys did. How the hell are you so strong?”
Azalea didn’t bother to answer that question. The longer other players took to figure out the secret to the combat of this game the better, she thought. After a long pause the archer seemed to realize they wouldn’t answer, so he asked another question. “I don’t suppose you’ll let my friends grab their loot, will you?”
“I think we all know the answer to that, friend,” Caius said with a triumphant sort of smirk. “You attacked first. You might not have thought we could win, but you knew the consequences. That loot is ours now. They can still keep 90% of their money.”
“I suppose you’re right,” the archer said with a sigh. “So what now? Is your friend with the bow there going to kill me in revenge?”
Oscar raised his bow at once. “I can if you want. Up to you two. You’re the ones that had to deal with the brunt of the fighting, after all.”
“Nah,” Caius said, surprising Azalea. Usually, he didn’t refrain from wiping out enemy teams. “Can’t see your other friends so I don’t know if they saw everything. You can tell everyone you got your ass kicked by two people. As a reward, we’ll let you keep your shit. This time.”
The archer nodded slowly, understanding. “Well thanks for that, I suppose. Enjoy.”
He took a few steps back, his eyes locked on Oscar, who still hadn’t lowered the bow. Then, once more than half of his body was hidden by the incline of the hill, he quickly turned away and dashed back into the trees. The sound of rustling from a point a dozen yards to his right meant that his allies were following. Only once they were gone did she allow herself to relax.
Oscar let out a snort of laughter, then burst out laughing in earnest. “Damn, Caius, you’re hardcore. You know he could have just respawned and told that story, right? You didn’t actually have to let him go, but I think that might just have been more intimidating.”
Caius made a mock bow of gratitude. “Your words honor me, Oscar. I’m just lowering our odds of getting raided by that particular group of idiots again. With how low our numbers are, I’d rather not risk it.”
Oscar nodded his agreement with that idea. “Still, it’s a mild blessing that they raided us so early in the game. Now we’re safe for a week until we can get some proper defenses built up.”
“True,” Caius said. He bent down and finally succeeded in wrenching the large wooden shield free from his fallen enemy’s arm. He considered the sword, then shook his head with an expression of distaste. “We should probably loot these guys before they or their items despawn. Then we can figure out what we want to do for the day.”