CHAPTER 122: Finally Ready

Chad was panting. Another extended attack had taken place as they traveled. It was becoming common now. They had found so many people. The caravan had traveled along a weaving path around southern Kentucky on their way to a midpoint between Rt 641 and 51.

Unfortunately, the size of their caravan had increased even more than the general expected. Tens of thousands of people had been incorporated. More unfortunately, a moving caravan was not set up to manage this many people.

The army did as much as they could, sending out hunting parties, trying to defend the stream of people that went back as far as the eye could see. It had become too unwieldy now. They were losing people as they fought. Instead of just resting at night, they had to stop for days to collect all the information and make adequate preparations. Water was especially lacking, which is why they now needed to choose their routes based on resupplying it.

A few more large trucks had been found, and they were filled with barrels of water. Several fire and water focused mages were spending all their time in those trucks trying to purify the stale water. Those mages were miserable.

Turning back towards his side of the road, Chad ran forward and shot out a blast of compressed air from the tube weapon they had been using since the army base. He had no doubt his use of the weapon was in part thanks to Gregor, since he had one full time now. The leaders also must think highly of him since they kept shuffling him to weak points. While he wasn’t an offensive force, he was good at influencing fights so fewer people got injured or killed. If it wasn’t because they valued him, then they were trying to get rid of him, Chad thought with a shiver.

The road was getting almost as bad as the base had originally been. So many unprepared and unleveled people fighting against increasingly difficult monsters, invaders, and beasts. The attacks were becoming more frequent too, though it wasn’t difficult to notice the patterns of the attack directions. The incoming attack locations were often predictable, and their forces loaded that side in advance.

Only occasionally did they guess wrong, so every side still needed strong protection. The predictability did give them enough time to set up a combination of those needing levels and experience, with those who could protect them.

Things had gotten too mentally exhausting again, like in the original base. Constant marching, daily battles, and a ton of complaints from those new to how it worked. It was wearing all of them down.

A beast that looked like it might have been either a large ant or a skink lizard in the before, was hit with the spell he had shot out right before it arrived at a shield bearing defender. It only came up to a normal sized person’s waist. As if “only” being that big wasn’t still terrifying.

A shield bash followed his hit on the insectzard that lead the attack on them in a triangular formation. Directions were called by their section leader and the offensive casters released attacks while the defensive casters shielded their warriors, who rushed forward to kill the first row of creatures.

After striking with powerful skills, the attackers retreated again and those up front held the creatures back while once more ranged attackers released their shots. There was a clear disparity between attacks, with some resulting in significantly more damage than others. It was easy to see who was at a higher level.

Chad had reached level 28 of his second tier. It felt low to him considering how near constantly they fought. Yet, he couldn’t really complain. Even without an offensive skill set, he was still able to influence fights and never ran out of mana.

After firing that shot with his weapon, he had used his air control skills to erect a wall on one side of the beasts’ formation, which pushed them toward the defenders, almost into a kill zone. A few minutes of holding that wall of wind and the beasts were all killed. Chad barely took notice of lizard men that had been watching from the edge of some trees. They had hastily left once the sides had clashed. Chad assumed those lizard men must be cowards since they were often seen during the attacks but no corpses for their race had been found.

Chad took in a deep breath, then almost gagged at the various smells. He swirled the wind around himself, trying to pull air from higher in the atmosphere down to just his own location to clear the smell out. More mana was used trying to do that than making the wind wall during combat. He really couldn’t stand the smells of all this.

With his mind rebelling, trying to focus on the doom and gloom of the constant fights, Chad rushed to his pack. Everyone knew not to get close to it, not to touch Chad’s things. A few people had made to rummage around it, wondering what Chad’s special treasure was, and only Gregor’s arrival had saved those men from the usually calm Chad’s wrath. From then on people treated Chad more respectfully, and not just because he was friends with the second strongest man in the caravan.

Men frequently broke mentally from the life they were living now, and even Chad was near his limit. He unzipped the side of his pack, and with the air moving to protect immediately around him, he opened a ziplock bag and breathed deeply of the smell before resealing everything. The air moved so that the odor released from the soap he carried arrived in front of his nose and stayed there. He took slow breaths, trying to center himself.

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Once he was calm, Chad sat, letting others do the cleanup. A large man, barely clothed and stained with blood, both old and new, came stomping over to their kills. He frowned at the insectzards and then ripped off two sizeable haunches.

By the time Gregor reached Chad he had already taken several large bites from whatever was inside the shell-like skin, spilling a green sludge out. Several people retched as they watched, but many bellies were perpetually running on empty.

“C’mon, Gregor. I was just trying to find my zen away from those putrid smells,” complained Chad.

Gregor frowned at him and took a step back.

“Sorry, buddy. I just fought a bunch of monsters in another section. They didn’t have their stuff together like yours and needed me to bail them out. It made me hungry. Besides, I don’t think you’ve ever spoken to me that harshly.”

Chad let out a breath, keeping the odors coming from Gregor away from him. “My apologies. I think I’m just nearing my breaking point.”

“No worries, Chad. It happens to everyone. It’s nice to know you aren’t scared of me like everyone else.”

“Only your body odor, Gregor,” teased Chad, half honestly.

“I know, I know. Everyone is dying for a shower. It’s amazing what we can get used to…and what we can’t.”

“Seriously though, Gregor, I’m close to losing it. I keep thinking about just wandering off to see how I’d die out there.” Chad dropped his eyes to the ground in shame. Death wasn’t scary anymore, but living with this constant stress was overwhelming.

“Then I come with good news. We’re finally ready. The big boss has decided we can’t go on like this. We’re turning towards Jackson,” Gregor said as he gave Chad a playful shove on his shoulder. Both men frowned at the green goo left where Gregor touched. “Sorry, bud.”

Chad began taking off his shirt and retrieving another from his pack. The new one wasn’t clean, but it didn’t smell quite as badly.

“What about the invaders herding us?” asked Chad.

Once more Gregor frowned. Chad thought it a measure of the man reaching his own breaking point that he looked so uncertain.

“Yeah, we’re concerned about that. Scouts are ranging ahead. It seems like they want us to take 45E. Not sure what is waiting for us, but I don’t think we have much choice. We’ll do what we need to do.”

Chad nodded in response.

“Once we reach Martin,” said Gregor after taking another bite of the insectzard meat, “we should be in radio range of Jackson with the equipment we have. We’ll just need to hope nothing happens before then and that they can send reinforcements if we get in trouble.”

***

Cruxannith’cz’Jurzax reclined in the most comfortable chair she had ever felt. Her room was more lavishly decorated than most of the elders’ offices she had seen. While she knew she could easily be replaced, the fact she was here showed they believed in her potential and trusted her to achieve it. Why shouldn’t she enjoy the comforts afforded by the Dimensional Convergence Rift while she could?

Once more she looked at the display in front of her. For not the first time, she started it from the beginning and watched it all the way through. Then again. She couldn’t get enough of this. What she had found on this planet was more valuable than all the items in this room would be.

Her eyes didn’t leave the display as it hovered in the air in front of her. He was beaten. A knife in his side. A sword pushing against his neck. An opponent who had more than triple his stats with the buffing skills he had used. No, there was no way to overcome this moment.

The display paused and Cruxannith reached up and touched it. Or she would have if it had been a solid object. Her hand gently, sensually grazed where his cheek was. Death should have been the only outcome.

As the picture began moving once more, the native closed his eyes and did…something. She had no idea what. It hadn’t been instant, and it hadn’t been a skill, but after a few moments when he never stopped resisting, he suddenly found himself on top.

Once more he did the unthinkable. The native killed the Tier 3 epic classed Base Overseer. This one hadn’t been a fluke either. That Scyrric had been well trained and experienced. Luck couldn’t have overcome him.

Yet again she watched the whole recording. At this point she knew there was nothing more that she could glean from it, but there was a victory just in it happening. Her little native, her impossible berserker would soon willingly reveal his secrets to her.

This was an opportunity that just did not happen. A completely unknown experience. Once brought to the elders, Cruxannith would rise. They would give her any resources and focus to allow her to grow. The secrets they found in him would also come from her, ensuring her fame and position.

Her hand slid to a table and picked up a cup containing blood red fluid. Of course it was blood red, though she knew very well that blood could be other colors as well. As the fluid entered her mouth she shivered, imagining it was his blood. She would have to sample some before turning him over to the elders, but there would be plenty of time to spend together before her job on this world was finished.

She had set so many little traps for him. They were never expected to work. They were just to keep her fresh in his mind. To show him how the universe worked and his place in it. If he hadn’t been able to escape them then she would have been disappointed.

No, those traps weren’t serious. Just playful flirting with him. The real trap was set, and she would be seeing her beloved Adam soon. Then he would give her everything she wanted.

The smile she showed after that thought would have caused anyone to swoon for her. She had even been practicing those native race’s expressions so that she could better interact with him. To her, he was the most important being on this planet.

“Mistress,” said a voice out of thin air. “The Scyrric says you should start taking control of events at this time. We’re all anxious to see what comes of this.”

He was a researcher from the Red Clan sent to do the preliminary investigation. Though at a low level, his intelligence and knowledge were quite exceptional. The Scyrric had committed a fortune to build this base after the aberration had been found. So much money had gone into the base itself that the [System] had only allowed two people to come through with it. The low level Red Clan researcher, and a Scyrric warrior to counter the skills of her beloved native.

Yes. Soon they would meet face to face. Once more she shivered in anticipation. That moment would define her life for centuries to come.

Standing up, she straightened her dress, looked into the mirror to ensure she was as gorgeous as she felt, and headed for the door.

She was finally ready, and this was a moment to live for.