*Thoughts*
~Sound effects~
+”Whispers”+
+++++
Chapter 47: Ambush, another try
Now Neuron was sitting on the roof of a house pointing towards different roofs with his index finger while singing:
(REPLACE a counting rhyme here)
Tinker, tailor,
Soldier, sailor,
Rich man, poor man,
Beggar-man, thief
*So that’s next, huh* Neuron thought while he jumped off and headed towards the house he chose to break into. Once inside he looked around for anything that would catch his interest while heading towards the bedroom of the owners to perform a little prank, meaning scribbling all over their sleeping faces while also leaving a note inside each of the houses he broke into. On each of those pieces of paper Neuron put his identify mark and a farewell message like, “thanks for letting me break in; it was a great time; farewell;…”
His aim tonight was after all not stealing, of course he took some objects which piqued his interest but not before identifying them to be sure that it wasn`t just junk sold by Lucro.
At daybreak Neuron left the city to perform the next step of his plan and then he logged out since he didn´t want to spend an entire day outside the city without doing anything and leveling was out of option too since near starting cities monsters where rather low level and he didn`t know of any places to level and he also couldn’t ask NPC`s about them for various reasons
----------------------------------------
[/hr]
The next day when his victims woke up they first got the shock of their lives when they looked in each other’s faces only to see the horrendous scribbles but then they found the notes, first they didn´t believe what was written there but a glimmer of hope grew that the nightmares the smiling Chinese produced where finally over.
Some believed in them because they reasoned that the new bounty urged the smiling Chinese to leave Saramas and so they run outside their houses screaming out of joy joy. Of course sceptics reasoned that all of that was just a prank pulled on them so an assembly was held within the park of the noble district where a heated discussion took place.
They also asked the guard captain Deltaio for his thoughts on the matter but he refused to come to take part in the discussion, the only thing he said was: ”If I where him I would leave after my face was seen and the bounty was raised.”
And that statement broke the wall and the nobles started a party with every victim of the smiling Chinese, they were in fact so happy that for that day social standing was erased and everyone could join the party, which never happened before since nobles are rather peculiar about their social standing. Of course this only applied for the residents of their district but the message spread like a wildfire and everywhere inside Saramas little gatherings occurred to celebrate the event.
But one person wasn`t happy about the smiling Chinese leaving, this was of course Lucro since he planned to capture the villain to be well with the nobles, the bounty he couldn´t collect also contributed to that fact.
Luckily for them Neuron wasn`t aware of that since he logged out, after all he may have reconsidered to add another night of stealing just to see them despair.
----------------------------------------
[/hr]
Once he logged out Neuron got into his bed to at least catch a wink of sleep, then as soon as the clock rang which he set before going to sleep Neuron crawled out of his bed and into the capsule while an inhuman yawn left his mouth: *I swear after this shit is over I am going to sleep for at least 12 hours* he promised himself before logging in again.
The place where he appeared was the clearing where he saw off Merinda since the barrier was designed to be active for 24 hours. Well Oasho was showing off by making it last so long but Neuron was really gratefully for that, which he sure as hell won`t ever tell him because he wasn’t eager to try to log back in only to see a counter that is counting down indicating that his Character died in-game since after logging out it just stays there vulnerable to every attack for some time to prevent players from escaping battles or death by simply logging out.
~Sigh~
*How often do I have to break into Saramas again?* Neuron asked himself after he sneaked to the wall of the city and began climbing it. Once he was over the wall Neuron headed towards the underground fighting ring but before he stopped at the place where he hid his and Kyle`s stuff.
After he lifted the plane that as covering it he saw that everything was there and then he said: “My precious” like a famous character in a movie while shuffling trough it to finally equip the new bow he got from one of his robberies and then he headed towards the underground fighting ring
So while he continued his way Neuron thought:*Finally I am going to see Kyle again I can`t believe it was just one day, four if I count Royal Road but still it seemed like an eternity*
While he neared the building underneath which the fighting ring was located Neuron saw some people sneaking around the roofs of the adjacent buildings:* Oh that fucker, he set an ambush for Kyle, but why are they waiting outside.., wouldn`t it be better to have them stationed inside to just shower Kyle with arrows after he reappears?* Neuron asked himself while he halted his advancement before entering the square that was in front of the building he needed to enter.
But since he needed to enter the building to inform Kyle of what happened in his absence Neuron inhaled lots of air and then he began sneaking towards the door of the building as fast as he could while also taking the shortest route which was a small alley that entered the square at the left side of the building.
While he neared the door sneaking one of the guys stationed on the roof readied his bow and aimed an arrow at Neuron but before he could shoot it a hand grabbed the upper limb of the bow and pulled it down while the owner of said hand whispered: ”Don`t”
At this moment Neuron opened the door entered and closed it behind himself and so the one who was about to shoot asked: ”Why did you interrupt me?”
“Too risky, if he is one of them and manages to get in he will tell them about the ambush and if he is one of us let them deal with him” he answered cryptically while the other one nodded understandingly
After Neuron entered the building he headed towards the stairs that led down and after he reached the first cross section he continued downwards, finally at the bottom of the second staircase Neuron entered the first room.
*Guess all the rooms down here look the same* Neuron thought after he entered and without halting he continued walking towards the arena till he heard some voices so Neuron entered stealth mode again and snuck till he could see who was talking.
*So that’s why they haven`t entered the arena* Neuron thought since what he saw where close to fifty people happily chatting with each other while sitting on the sand, playing cards or performing mock fights to keep them from getting bored:*Damn this complicates everything* Neuron thought while he turned around to head towards the spectator seats to hide himself till Kyle would appear since he wasn´t eager to try to convince everyone from Kyles squad that he meant no harm to them without Kyle to back him up.
*But why are there so many, from Kyles stories I thought them only to be close to twenty guys * Neuron asked himself while climbing the stairs: *At least they can help while fighting those guys outside* Neuron reasoned and while climbing the stairs Neuron pulled out his two throwing axes to perform some fighting moves with them since he hasn´t used them for a long time and feared that his skills dulled a bit.
While swinging them around another thought appeared in his mind:*Wait, throwing axes are the weapon of choice of Neuron and I never saw an NPC using them and from the videos I’ve seen no player uses them either. Damn if they are so rare I can`t use them while playing the role of the smiling Chinese* and with a sigh he put them into his backpack.
Once Neuron reached the first long corridor he turned left and then he turned right at the first opportunity that presented itself, namely another short corridor that connected to the arena but since Neuron was afraid to be spotted he crouched down behind the first row of seats and leaned his back against it.
*Great now the only thing to do is waiting till Kyle shows up, wait how will I be able to explain everything to him if those crowd is down there and I kind of don`t want to tell him everything without anyone around…* Neuron thought since he feared that Kyle would snap after he hears the part that Neuron got spotted as the smiling Chinese and Neuron wasn´t eager to find out how a powered up fist from Kyle felt, he already encountered his Warhammer with his head and that wasn`t pleasant at all.
But waiting was of course out of option too since Kyle will sooner or later stumble upon an upgraded wanted poster of the smiling Chinese…
And after pondering about what to do for a while *Yes, I`m just going to write him a message, like this I won´t be near him after he reads it and I can also give him some tips on what to tell Deltaio to convince him that Neuron isn`t the smiling Chinese!* Neuron thought happily and so he opened the system menu and went to writing, first explaining everything as short as possible while of course trying to shift the blame for everything on Michael while also keeping the part that the princess fell in love with him secret.
This task took him quite some time and so he often glimpsed to the clock that was integrated in his system window to check the time, once 11 o`clock neared Neuron finished writing and waited for Kyle. But the time arrived and passed without Kyle appearing.
*Where is that fucker, don´t tell me he went to eat in a fancy restaurant and forgot the time…* ~sigh~ Neuron thought annoyed
But since just waiting wasn`t in Neurons nature he decided to make some more arrows, especially the Mana leeching one.
But after he tried to create it nothing happened so Neuron halted for a moment and then: *I completely forgot to add it to the list!* he thought while facepalming, then he took the arrow out from his inventory and whispered: „Add Mana leeching Arrow to the list”
* You can`t add the arrow to the list!
*What the heck!!* Neuron nearly screamed and then he opened the skill window
* Arrow Creation Beginner Lv8
Possible arrows 4
You are now able to create arrows in a bulk
Current added arrows 3
Arrow Damage MaterialMana cost Bodkin10-20 (Pierce)Iron, Normal arrow50Barbed20Iron, Normal arrow70Heal+250 HpApollo’s water; Normal arrow100Poison15 (-70 Hp per min)Explosive Poison; Normal Arrow90
After seeing the level of the skill Neuron nearly panicked since he thought that he wouldn´t be able to add it to the list so to calm himself he pulled out the paper the head mage gave him with instructions on how to make the arrow, the process wasn´t that hard but the amount of Mana needed surpassed the amount Neuron had at the moment and for a long time to come since it was a whopping 10.000!
*What the heck, 10.000 Mana needed and it only extracts 200 from my opponent!?* Neuron thought astonished nearing a panic once more. *Wait, calm down* Neuron thought:*The level of arrow creation is 8 and I added the bodkin at level 1, the Barbed arrow at 3, the healing arrow when I reached 5 and then I was able to make them in bulk, at level 7 came the poison arrow…. Phew, it seems like I can add an arrow every two levels, damn that frightened me for a bit.*
Now calm again Neuron continued to make more arrows, first he made those who didn´t require much Mana but he soon noticed that the skill expertise only rose a little bit.
*seems like it raises the fastest if I make the arrow I added the last time. Why didn´t I buy some explosive poison from Rodban, damn!* slightly discouraged Neuron continued to make healing arrows till he heard a commotion.
*Finally he`s here!* Neuron thought while packing the arrows he made.
----------------------------------------
[/hr]
~Buuuurp~
*What a great dinner that was* Kyle thought on his way home while rubbing his stomach that was about to burst but he still walked with light steps since he was finally able to log in again.
*I wonder if Neuron really managed to break into the castle, I just hope he hasn`t caused any trouble…, damn he surely has* Kyle thought:* I just hope it won`t be something big like him getting found out or caught, nah Neuron never let himself be caught* Kyle calmed himself: *But him being found out…* he made himself nervous again
After Kyle arrived at home he brushed his teeth and then he happily entered the capsule and logged back in only to be overwhelmed by system messages.
* You completed the Quest: Find out what is going on inside Saramas!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
*Neuron actually managed to complete it!!* Kyle thought astonished and then he read on since another message appeared
* Quest: Save the King!
You have gotten information that the king of Agakyos is going to be assassinated.
If you bring the perpetrators to justice personally additional rewards will be given to you.
Rank D
Rewards:
Intimacy with Agakyos Kingdom
Unknown
Failure:
The King dies
*Why am I not surprised?* Kyle thought after reading that the thing going on inside Saramas the previous quest talked about was to murder the king.
* You received a message from Neuron
*Damn something must have happened if he wrote me something* ~sigh~ *Alright time to read it…* but Kyle couldn`t do so since he was interrupted by different people shouting his name so Kyle closed the message for the time being and looked around only to see a huge crowd of people that formed itself around him which had some familiar faces but also many unfamiliar ones too which stunned him greatly since he just expected Neuron to greet him or at most the members of his squad
“Back off!” a familiar voice then shouted which Kyle recognized as Ardestis: “can`t you see that he is overwhelmed!?” he continued while struggling through the crowd then after he was finally near Kyle he reached his hand out while saying: „It is good that you are back”
“Yeah, ähm, who are those people?” Kyle asked while looking at the close to fifty people which were standing away from him like told.
“Ah, so where shall I start…. Do you remember your fight against that bunch off bandits Lucro sent that burned down the house in which we were hiding?” Ardesti asked
“Yeah, I remember” Kyle answered a little bit irritated since that initiated some weird rumors about him
“Well since they were hired by Lucro and you openly went against him…” Ardesti tried to explain till he was interrupted by Kyle
*I never went against Lucro, it was just Neuron who somehow caused Lucro to attack me* Kyle thought which ticked him off so he interrupted Ardesti saying while sounding irritated: „Should I have let them kill me!?”
“No, no, it is just, you see Lucro has many enemies or just people who hate him for what he has been doing but none of them dared to go against him since those who tried died horrible deaths and to prevent others from doing so he also killed their relatives.” Ardesti explained: „The only thing that missed was someone to lead them, till now that is” he continued while looking at Kyle with admiration
After hearing that Kyle sighed but Ardesti continued his voice getting louder:” And so many applied that Deltaio had to evaluate them before letting them join the Defenders of Justice….”
“Defenders of Justice, what’s that?” Kyle asked interrupting Ardesti while thinking:*Don`t tell me …*
“It is the name we gave ourselves!” Ardesti answered proudly: “It was a really hard task deciding on a name for us” Ardesti continued sounding proudly without noticing the expression in Kyle’s face: “So since you are a defender and we are here to catch Lucro and the smiling Chinese who are evil or injustice…” Ardesti continued but Kyle wasn´t listening
*Defenders of Justice, sounds like something Marvel would come up with…* Kyle thought while resisting to facepalm then suddenly a loud laughter could be heard coming from the empty seat rows
“You should have seen your expression Kyle” said person shouted between bursts of laughter
*Neuron!* Kyle thought even before he saw him since he recognized the voice and then Neuron stood up and casually walked down a stairway between the seat rows
*Why is he hiding his face, he couldn´t be so dumb as to show himself as the smiling Chinese….* Kyle thought shocked but then one of his subordinates shouted: „SMILING CHINESE!”
*Guess he is* Kyle though with dry humor while dropping his head
“I thought you left Saramas!” Another one shouted since he remembered the party he joined this afternoon but Neuron ignored him and instead whispered to Kyle:+” The mail I sent you explains everything, so when you have time read it, anyway just play along!”+Neuron whispered
+”What do you mean!?”+ Kyle asked back while whispering but he didn`t receive an answer since Neuron answered the question which was asked before since the person who voiced it shouted: ”hey I am talking to you!”
“Well I came here to fight Kyle” Neuron answered while another one from the defenders of Justice shouted as response: “Kill him!!” making everyone who was inside the arena draw their weapons.
“hey, hey, slow down, I changed my mind” Neuron answered while waving his empty hands to show that he meant no harm
“Don´t listen to him!” the same person shouted
“Are you still angry about what happened yesterday?” Neuron answered while the guy who shouted grew dark red: “I`m sorry that I made you piss your pants but come on let it be water under a bridge” Neuron continued while smiling and looking towards Kyle
*Sigh, time to play along I guess. But if he doesn`t have a good reason for this farce I`m going to hit him hard once it’s over!* Kyle thought while he wasn´t able to completely cancel the grin from his face that formed itself after hearing Neurons reply.
“Oi Darw, is that true!?” one of his squad members asked
“Shut it!” Darw replied: “Come down here and let me kill you!” he continued to shout towards Neuron while droplets of saliva left his mouth
“Calm down, as I said before I am not here to fight” Neuron answered while again waving his empty hands and looking towards Kyle who sighed: and asked: „So why are you here then?”
“I`m here to help you” Neuron said while grabbing the bow that he strapped over his shoulder which made the defenders of Justice garb their weapons they were still holding tighter. But Neuron only placed the bow on a seat and then his quiver next to it while saying since he noticed: ”hey calm down I can`t sit down comfortably with those things on my back” Then to proof what he said Neuron sat down and grossed his legs
“Don`t listen to him, everything he says is a lie!” Darw shouted his voice full of hatred
~sigh~ “What do you mean by helping us?” Kyle asked while playing along which gave him a look of gratitude from Neuron which in turn made Kyle shiver since he never received such a look from him: *What the hell happened while I was away!?*
“Oh, nothing much, it is just that Lucro prepared an ambush” Neuron answered casually while leaning back into the seat and grossing his legs
“You think we`ll believe that crap?” another one shouted
“Well, actually yes, since it’s the truth and all” Neuron answered while tilting his head and looking towards Kyle again
*Yeah, Neuron I get it, you just want me to ask questions* Kyle thought and then he asked: „So why are you helping me and not him, I thought we were enemies?”
“Don´t get it wrong, we are still enemies” Neuron said while theatrically pointing towards Kyle
*I see, Neuron had to choose a character for the smiling Chinese but damn I can`t believe how much it suits him* Kyle couldn`t help but think while being afraid that he would behave like that when they were among themselves which he feared so he shouted angrily: „get to the point already!”
“Hey, no reason to get mad…. Ok, ok calm down” Neuron said since the look in Kyle’s eyes scared Neuron
“I`m just going by the saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend and since Lucro did something he really shouldn´t have…” Neuron said while his voice grew darker and his Hawkeyes surfaced making everyone inside the arena shudder, Kyle being the exception.
“What did he do?” Kyle asked this time without playing the question game since he also came to hate Lucro
“Ah, you weren`t there when it happened so let me brief you.” Neuron answered while showing his normal eyes again: „I broke into the castle and had the king built an Orphanage…” then Kyle interrupted him
“You did what!?” Kyle shouted astonished since he actually never believed that Neuron would be able to do what he wrote him
But Neuron ignored that outburst and continued: „But Lucro just had to burn it to the ground the next night”
“WHAT!!” Kyle shouted then he asked in a dark voice:”Neu, hrrm, Smiling Chinese, is that true?”
“Yes” Neuron simply answered while his Hawkeyes flared up for a short moment
“LLLUUUUUUCRRRRROOOOO” Kyle shouted using his roar off vengeance while clutching his fists as hard as he could, then he whispered: ”You’re dead” while turning around to go outside to do what he just promised himself
“Kyle, hey Kyle!” Neuron shouted
“What!?” Kyle shouted back
“Calm down, calm down, Lucro is going to pay, trust me” Neuron said while Kyle turned around since something in Neurons voice didn´t sound right
“Trust you, why should….” Someone from Kyle’s squad shouted but the expression in Neurons face shut him up. His eyes were of the darkest black that seemed to swallow light while his lips where distorted into a grin that would even scare the devil.
*Wow, I almost feel sorry for Lucro, but damn that smile is just like Jeffs, creeeeepy, wait that is a skill!?* Kyle thought since a system message appeared before his eyes
* Fear clouds your mind:
-0.5% Critical Chance
-1% Fighting Spirit
Immediately after Neuron stopped smiling the status effect vanished since he couldn´t use the skill for now but it still left a big impression on those who saw it. Everywhere Kyle looked he saw the Defenders of justice clutching their weapons while trembling and showing their fear on their faces, So Kyle asked to get to the point: ”So what do you suggest we do?”
At that moment someone rushed into the arena and while huffing he shouted: „it is true, there are a bunch of guys on the roofs adjacent to this building!” After that shout everyone looked at Neuron in disbelieve
“Hey those looks hurt do you know that?” Neuron said since he noticed all those stares that spelled: „He told the truth!”.
+”Neuron, stop beating about the bush and come to the point, I want to get out of here!”+ Kyle whispered
+”Can’t I just have some fun?”+ Neuron whispered back
+”You already had your fun”+ Kyle answered annoyed since he grew tired of their act
“Alright, back to topic. Since they are outside and stationed on the roofs I suggest that…” Neuron began to tell them his plan
“Shut up, we will never follow your orders!!” Darw shouted out of rage while everyone nodded to that statement
*Why do you always make it so hard for me* Kyle thought depressed aiming it at Neuron then he shouted:“goddamnit!!” making everyone inside the underground fighting ring jerk since he used his roaring skill then he continued in his normal voice: ”Listen to his plan then we can always decide to abide by it”.
“hrrm, thanks Kyle” Neuron said after it grew silent again: „Good, those guys Lucro sent surely are mostly archers since they are best in using the high ground as their advantage so I suggest that you make yourself some shields out of those seats here” Neuron said while patting the seat adjacent to his: ”And then you just run towards the nearest alley and from there to the nearest bridge without stopping.”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Sounds good” Kyle answered: ”So what are you going to do?”
“I am going to drop them from the roofs” Neuron answered while smiling which made everyone jerk since they expected to see that smile again, but it was just a normal one.
“Good, now proceed like he said!” Kyle said while raising his voice
“but” came from many who refused to do what the Smiling Chinese suggested
“You heard Kyle, now get your asses moving!” Ardesti shouted then he turned to Kyle and whispered: „You sure about that?”
“Yes” Kyle simply answered so Ardesti who completely trusted Kyle began shouting orders while Kyle just sat down in the sand ~phew~ *That was tiring*
“Ah, Kyle, sorry but I completely forgot to give that to you due to someone showing up” Ardesti said while glancing towards Neuron with hatred while he held up a full body that had the emblem of the army of Agakyos but it still was a plain armor that was slightly better than the one Warnton made for him.
“Ähm, it is too wide” Kyle said since the armor jingled with every movement that Kyle made after he equipped it.
“Sorry about that, once we are back at the barracks I’ll let the blacksmith fix it” Ardesti apologized
“nah, don`t worry, at least I it protects me from the arrows” YKle answered
“ähm, sorry to ask again but are you sure to trust the Smiling Chinese?” Ardesti asked
*Wow Neuron surely made a reputation for himself* Kyle thought and then he answered: ”Don`t worry if he turns against us I’ll deal with him” which calmed Ardesti who turned around and headed towards the spectator seats to help making those shields.
+”Hey Neuron what about my equipment”+ Kyle whispered after Ardesti headed away
+”Don´t worry I collected everything and hid it in a save place”+ Neuron answered
+”I see, thank you”+
+”But why the heck where you carrying all that junk around with you, due to that I was the laughing stock of the whole arena!”+ Neuron complained
+”Oh sorry that it was too heavy for you”+ Kyle answered sarcastically
+”You! ~sigh~ just read the mail I send you”+ Neuron answered before turning of the whisper function
*What, no replay to what I said… damn what is written inside that mail…?* Kyle asked himself while opening it.
While reading it Kyle grew pale since his fear that Neuron was found out came true, well it was just a matter of time but it was bad news nevertheless. While Kyle read the explanation on how Neuron gort found out something smelled fishy to him and so he decided to read it again and after reading it a second time he finally knew what it was so he continued to the part where Neuron explained his plan to resolve the situation while silently cursing Neuron since he hasn`t told him the truth
While Kyle was reading the message Neuron carefully looked at him to see his facial expressions to predict what is going to happen to him.
While he did so two members of Kyle squad approached him from left and right while the others were busy breaking the seats out of their fixation and joining them together with wires
“hey, smiling Chinese!” one of them shouted
“Hey we are talking to you!” the other one said since Neuron wasn`t replying
“What!?” Neuron hissed without averting his gaze from Kyle
“It’s payback time for yesterday!” the other one shouted since he was the one Neuron caused to piss his pants
“nah, I’ll pass” Neuron simply answered while still focusing on Kyle and thinking: *So he got to the part about me being found out judging by his expression, damn I hope he won`t overreact*
“You afraid?” Darws friend who held the torch the night before taunted but Neuron still didn`t answer
“hoh, the Oh so great smiling Chinese is afraid to fight us fair and square!” he continued to try to cause Neuron to fight
“Shut up, I`m busy” Neuron replied
“Not so smug now eh, after all there are no iron bars between us!” he continued while Darw trembled with rage
“I don´t care if you don`t want to fight, I`m still going to kill you!” Darw shouted
“I said leave me alone!” Neuron hissed while looking at both of them his Hawkeyes activated which caused them to make a step backwards. After Neuron said that he again focused on Kyle while all the others who were working looked at the trio.
After he stepped a step back he drew a dagger and readied himself to charge at Neuron since he again embarrassed him in front of everyone
“Hey what’s going on here!” Ardesti shouted interrupting him while running towards them
“Well, we, hrrm, I can`t stomach that we have to work together with this asshole!” his friend shouted
“Deal with it, Kyle said to do what he said!” Ardesti ordered while Neuron still watched Kyle without saying a word which in turn angered Ardesti who said towards Neuron: “Hey you, Alex, we are arguing about you so would you care to at least look at us!?”
*he should be through with it by now, so what’s keeping him?* Neuron asked himself while growing more worried with each second and due to that the question from Ardesti caught him on the wrong foot
“Shut up and leave me alone!” he shouted his fuse broken while jumping up
“Alex, if you fight us here and now our deal is void.” Ardesti answered with fear in his voice since he didn´t want a fight to take place after all he knew that such a fight would cause casualties and the fighting capability of the smiling Chinese was still a mystery, but fighting someone crazy is never a good idea who knows what he´ll do…
“Hrrm, all right” Neuron answered while sitting down again and focusing on Kyle which caused Ardesti to sigh out of relieve then something else caught his interest
“Hey I know that bow! Its the one that you stole some nights before!” Ardesti shouted
~sigh~ *can`t they just leave me alone?* Neuron asked himself deciding that worrying about Kyle wasn´t a good idea while he was surrounded by nearly fifty enemies
“Yeah, I stole it” Neuron answered
“Give it back! This bow is highly valuable” Ardesti said while stretching out his hand
“Valuable; this bow?! “ Neuron asked while pointing towards the bow and laughing out loud:” Let me tell you something, the stats it gives aren`t good and its durability is low, so how is that bow valuable? Well it’s still better than my last bow but…” Neuron whispered
“It belonged to a great warrior!” Ardesti answered
“Nah, sorry to disappoint you but no oh so great warrior would use this bow” Neuron answered sarcastically
“And you are using it…?” Darw said while showing a smug face since he finally managed to insult Neuron
“I am not a warrior” Neuron stated calmly which took the wind out of Darws sails: “hey can I try it out without you impaling me to see if that bow is really great?” Neuron asked
“If you aim at one of us your dead” Ardesti answered while drawing his sword
“Hey, I am not that stupid” Neuron said while bowing down to grab the bow and the quiver, at that moment Kyle shouted: “Smiling Chinese come here, now!”
*good timing…*
“Kyle, Sir, is that really a good idea?” Ardesti asked sounding worried
“Nah, don´t worry if he raises as much as one finger at me kill him!” Kyle answered while looking at Neuron with eyes full of anger
*Shit, he`s mad, I just hope he won´t beat me up * Neuron thought since he wouldn´t even be able to raise his hands to block the punch judging by the looks he received. Then he slowly stood up and jumped over the fence down to the sand of the arena while all members of the Defenders of justice where looking at him.
After he was down Neuron walked towards Kyle and the Defenders of justice continued their work of making shields since Ardesti motioned them to.
“Hey you two go help them” Ardesti ordered
“But what about them?” Darws friend asked while pointing towards Kyle and Neuron
“I`ll keep watch so go!” Ardesti ordered again and those two followed although grumbling while Darw: ”Smiling Chinese this isn`t over; one day I´ll have your head!”
“Then stand in line!” Neuron couldn`t help but shout back since nervousness made him voice the first thought that came to mind
+”Neuron shut up and sit down!”+ Kyle whispered and after Neuron sat down Kyle hissed angrily: +”Why should I do all the work for something you caused?”+
+”I caused it, didn`t you read my message!”+ Neuron tried to defend himself
+”Yeah I did but something was fishy so I read it again”+ Kyle answered
+”but I really broke into the castle like that!”+ Neuron said in a worried tone while trying to avoid the matter but it had the opposite effect
*Damn my hunch was right* Kyle thought
+”Nah, that I believe, sounds just like something you would do after all”+ Kyle answered: +”What I mean is that you immediately searched yourself a place to hide after you landed even though no guards where around and then you waited till the next day to explore the castle”+
+”Why is that so unbelievable”+ Neuron still tried to make Kyle believe his story
+”Come on you can`t sit still for an hour, and you`ll never let a chance pass to sneak around”+ Kyle stated. +”Then comes the second night in which you snuck into the prison to ask that bandit leader who ambushed us…”+
+”Come on, what’s wrong with that!?”+ Neuron said aloud
+”I was about to say that I believe that, what is bothering me is the next night where the party was held. You wrote that you snuck around within the pleasure garden to try yourself at pickpocketing when you overheard two guys talking from whom you also got the update of our quest, and then you just let them walk away like that without investigating them.”+ Kyle accused Neuron
+”hey, I knew one of them is the brother of the king and after he gets caught he is going to betray the other guy to lighten his punishment so no worry about that”+ Neuron defended himself
+”true but..”+ Kyle said and then he paused for a moment since he expected Neuron to say something
+”Yeah and?”+ Neuron answered while trying to sound annoyed but inwardly he trembled
+”Nothing, nothing”+ Kyle answered while smiling and thinking *heh, he is afraid*[/i] then he continued: +”Just that Michael spotted you afterwards and then he reported a suspicious person who by the way was the Oh so great Smiling Chinese.”+ Kyle said sarcastically
+”hey, don´t get personal here! Anyway why don´t you believe that?”+ Neuron asked
+”I don`t believe that you would arouse suspicion at a party since you walk everywhere as if the place belongs to you.”+ Kyle stated
+”Guess that’s true”+ Neuron answered while rubbing his nose
+”That wasn`t a compliment.” Kyle stated then he continued
+”So uhmm, are you angry”+ Neuron asked a little bit worried
+”I am but not about you being found out, I knew that it would come to that sooner or later, so tell me already how it really happened!”+ kyle shouted
…
Since Neuron didn´t reply Kyle sighed and then he said in a harsh tone:+”Then let me guess, you disguised yourself as a noble and went to that party there you were bored so you picked a fight with Michael which in the end led to you being discovered”+
…
*I knew it* Kyle thought with gallows humor while Neuron thought: *Damn he got it right, but how?*
+”Now you are surely asking yourself how I knew that. Well it is just like you and that’s it”+ Kyle stated: +”But why do I have to convince Deltaio that Neuron and the Smiling Chinese are two different persons?”+
+”Well I sure as hell can`t!”+ Neuron shouted
+”I know, but why do I have to do all the work!?”+ Kyle shouted
+”All the work! I planned everything, I also gave you pointers on what to say and I also made the groundwork for it!”+ Neuron shouted back
+”Well you caused it so you take responsibility!”+ Kyle shouted
+”Well I sure as hell can`t with all those rednecks on my tail”+ Neuron shouted while jumping up and pointing towards all the members of Kyle’s squad
“Kyle, You alright!?” Ardesti shouted since he saw Neuron jump up
“Yeah, everything’s fine!” Kyle answered while motioning Neuron to sit down and then there was only silence since everything was already said
*I wonder how long it take for him to say please, but I´ll have my revenge, just wait* Kyle thought to himself while grinning inwardly since he already decided to execute Neurons plan, it was the only thing he could do after all since he wanted to play with Neuron. Kyle would never tell it to Neuron but he thought it fun being around him, after all it never got boring with him around.
*Damn, if it’s like this I can`t play this game anymore, fuck, fuck, fuck…. Do I really have to start anew, damn it to hell!* Neuron thought desperate but he didn´t want to do so at all so he shouted out loud without the whisper function to show that he meant it: “Oh come on please help me!”
While Neuron started to shout all the members of the defenders of justice turned around while grabbing their weapons but then they heard the second part which led them open their mouths in surprise.
“hahaha” Kyle laughed out aloud while standing up and patting Neurons shoulder then he said:+”Was that so hard?”+
+”Wh, wh, what the hell!”+ Neuron could only stammer while thinking. *Again, first Oasho and then Kyle…*
+”Well you never ask for anything; try to do so more often”+ Kyle answered while smiling: “but I am going to return the favor, just wait”
*What does he mean by that?* Neuron asked himself but he knew Kyle wouldn`t answer if he voiced that question out aloud so he kept silent: *guess it’s his right to do so, I just hope it isn`t anything serious…*
”hey are you finished?” KYle shouted towards his squad members
“N, no, we need more time” Ardesti answered while turning around to help since the matter whatever it was seemed to be cleared while thinking proudly: *Wow first he went against Lucro and now the Smiling Chinese asks him for a favor, we have a heck of a leader*
Finally after another fifteen minutes Ardesti shouted towards Kyle: ”We are finished!” while pointing towards ten crudely made shields made out of the backrests and seats of the chairs bound together with wire while being big enough to hide five people behind it and being light enough that two persons could hold it up, for that purpose it also had some handles made out of the armrests of the chairs. All in all it didn´t look like it could hold off a lot of arrows but they only needed it to cover them for about 20m, but still enough distance to be made into a hedgehog by experienced archers.
“So Alex what do you think” Kyle asked Neuron with his real name since it was the one he chose to be called as the smiling Chinese although nearly no one calls him like that.
* Makeshift shield
This shield was made out of the seats of the underground fighting ground. It is poorly made but it is still able to fulfill its purpose
Durability: 50/50
Defense: 10
“Should work, I guess” he answered after identifying it
“Alright now let’s go” Kyle ordered and everyone went towards the entrance.
The ambushers outside where already asking themselves what kept them down there for so long while some grew so annoyed that they even left but then one who was stationed at a window to look inside made the previously arranged signal which alerted everyone so they stood up from their hiding place and readied their arrows while the leader said to those near enough to hear him: ”Once they know it’s a trap they will spread out, be sure to kill everyone but not Kyle, Lucro wants him alive!”
After that being said he also grabbed his bow and nocked an arrow on the string while the door flew outside at the same time nearly all arrows where released and flew toward the door while those who shot quickly grabbed another arrow from their quiver to shoot again. Then a purple glowing thing appeared out of the door and covered it completely.
Before the last staircase ended Kyle briefed his squad of the tactic they would use.
“Alright guys… and girls, we don´t know how many there will be so be prepared for everything!” he shouted
“uhm, let me also say something” Neuron interrupted him and since Kyle nodded he continued:” Those shields can only go through the door sideways so I suggest that Kyle here goes first since he has the most health points then once you are outside” he continued facing Kyle: ”Cover the door with your shield so that the others can go through it without being hit by those arrows.”
While Neuron said so many mouths opened to voice complains but Kyle answered: „Sounds good. So once you are outside run to the right into the alley and regroup there, once we are all gathered we will make our way towards the bridge once we crossed it they won’t attack us anymore! Ah yeah, those of you who have shields should carry the ones you made since you know how to use them”
“And Kyle, take that shield with you since they will surely try to hit you with arrows while you are going over the bridge” Neuron said to him and Kyle nodded
*What the heck, why does it sound like they worked together before?* Ardesti asked himself but he brushed that thought aside and asked Neuron: „So Alex, what are you then going to do once you are outside?”
After he asked that everyone looked art Neuron with fear and also determination in their eyes to kill him here and now if he would dare to say to help the ambushers
“Well I`ll clear the roofs, what else” Neuron said without noticing those stares. After he said this he opened the door to the foyer and went inside while the Defenders of justice followed him.
Once at the door Kyle grabbed the shield tightly and slammed the door open with his foot while activating Mana coating and holding the makeshift shield in front of himself. Once the door was fully open Kyle could feel the impact of the arrows that where shot. After a second he held the shield vertically and dashed outside, after he was through the doorframe Kyle placed the shield so that it would cover the door while leaving enough space for his squad members to group themselves behind their shields and shouted: ”Move, move!”
* New Stat: Leadership!
Influences how well an NPC army responds to your commands
*Finally*
And like that nine shields appeared behind him carried by those who carried their own s
One after the other and after the ninth appeared Kyle cancelled the Mana coating since his Mana was close to zero and followed the members of his squad as fast as he could but without outrunning those had to cover with the shield.
After Kyle rushed through the door the Defenders of Justice readied themselves to charge through the door with their shields after Kyle gave his signal then one asked: ”Hey, where is the smiling Chinese!?”
“Damn he bailed, I knew we couldn´t trust him!” another one shouted. But Neuron never abandoned them; he just climbed towards one of the windows and from there outside to the roof of the building. Once there he looked towards his enemies while grabbing the new bow. Then he moved sideways to ambush the ambushers while shooting arrow after arrow at them *Wow that bow is quite good*
“What the hell is happening!” the leader shouted after he saw a purple glowing wall appear out of the door while covering it, then other crudely made walls appeared behind the glowing thing but their purpose was clear at first glance: ”Those assholes knew!”
Then a shout of pain near him caught his attention so he turned to look where it came from only to see one of his companions with an arrow stuck inside his left eye which he grabbed while crying in agony.
* Accuracy +1
*yes* Neuron thought while moving and relentlessly shooting arrows till he arrived on top of the alley they agreed upon as gathering point. Once there he disequipped his bow and took out two daggers *Damn I want to use my axes* he thought while he struck the guy who was hiding there from behind and then he kicked him down into the alley where 10 Defenders of justice where already waiting.
Without listening to their surprised shouts Neuron moved to the next enemy and pushed him down too, like that he continued hiding behind chimneys and kicking down whoever got in his way while also shooting some arrows at those that where further away to distract them.
As soon as the first enemy landed between them the Defenders of justice shouted in surprise but after the second one fell down they ganged up on them and killed both in a flash. And afterwards it kept raining enemies from all the buildings around the square, some were screaming while clutching an arrow that struck them and other where just falling without a hint of injury while a shadow could be seen moving around like swiftly.
Then finally Kyle arrived so the defenders of justice charged towards the end of the alley in one solid group. At the end of the alley ten enemies where waiting for them who were quickly taken care of since they didn´t expect a bulk off enemies charging towards them without stopping, to tell the truth they didn´t even resist, they simply jumped out of the way. After all the original plan was to separate the Defenders of justice once they came through the door while killing as much as possible with a rain of arrows.
After they saw that the enemies evaded them the Defenders of justice slowed down into a trot, the trap layers in the middle and the close ranged fighters in front and back without as much as an order from Kyle or Ardesti while those in front had there shield held forward to slam them into any enemy that would be dumb enough to try stopping them
While moving some of the trappers stopped and crouched down but before they did so they shouted to alert their comrades who were behind them so that they could either jump over or avoid them. Once they were outside the group one fighter covered them till they jumped up and rushed back into the group while leaving a trap behind which Kyle was able to see due to his Trap triggering skill.
*Wow, they must have trained quite a bit while I was gone* Kyle thought surprised since he remembered how they behaved at their first encounter with an enemy.
And all the while enemies kept falling down from the rooftops since their leader already guessed what the defenders where planning and so he ordered those stationed at the roofs to cut them off which was intercepted by Neuron who jumped from roof to roof to kick them down to the ground while being careful not to drop them on the group beneath him.
Normally enemies falling down from the roofs above oneself would startle you for a moment but knowing that an ally, well temporary ally would be better, was the cause of it they completely ignored them. The group didn´t even stop to fight them after Ardesti ordered: ”Don´t stop just run them over!” since he reasoned that someone who fell down from above and landed on hard ground didn´t pose a threat. And the Defenders of justice followed leaving nothing in their wake but some loot and crippled enemies.
Then the first real encounter took place since the ambushers that where on the ground tried to intercept them once more but since they had to run to do so they were out of breath once they regrouped and the defenders of justice weren´t slowed down at all, the fighters in front simply slammed their shield into them while the ones behind pushed them forward once they made contact with the enemy.
Doing so the few enemies that where already huffing for air where pushed back while many fell down backwards only to be impaled by swords and daggers.
Afterwards no enemies tried to intercept them while those on the roofs also gave up pursuit.
Then they arrived at the river that separated the slum from the rest of the town and crossed the bridge while those who carried shields covered the rest. Once on the other side of the river they looked back only to see a single person standing on a rooftop while waving towards them and then he vanished which broke the dam and shouts full of joy filled the air.
“Alright count!” Ardesti interrupted the celebration and after he made sure that nobody was seriously wounded or dead he ordered them to continue their way towards the barracks. On their way they happily chatted among themselves while laughing, mostly about the falling enemies but that also made them admire the fighting capability of the smiling Chinese which they voiced by saying: „I hope we never have to fight him”
“hey Kyle are you pleased by what you saw?” Ardesti asked after he neared Kyle who was at the back end of the group
“Wow, just, wow” Kyle simply sated his astonishment: „How long did it take them to get this far?”
“well actually not that long” Ardesti answered proudly since he was in charge while Kyle was gone: „But all thanks to you” he continued his voice full of admiration
“Häh, why that?” Kyle asked perplexed
“Well we were ambushed inside the slum once before and we had to make a plan for that. Luckily everyone survived it and due to that we knew what we had to do.” Ardesti stated
“And what is that?”
“Stick together and never stop moving while hindering their movements” Ardesti answered while showing a smile. „The new additions greatly helped too”
“I see” Kyle answered while being proud of his squad
~Sigh~ *if only the talk with Deltaio would go as smooth as that…*
While Kyle was thinking that Neuron went towards the place where he hid his stuff to get a wink of sleep to be ready for tomorrow while thinking: *heh Lucro, how do you like that* but he also promised himself to bail out should he ever encounter the defenders of Justice in a fight.
End Chapter 47
Wow, editing made this chapter 4 pages longer ^^