Chapter 86: A Trap Has Been Sprung (Patreon)

The recording of Anders’s voice loudly warning people reverberated around the camp one more time before falling silent.

Was it some kind of magical construct? Did they purchase it or make it? I didn’t have time to ponder further as a dark figure exploded out of the tent, swinging a mace. Before I could react, Carina rushed past me. I hesitated, unsure of who the real enemy was until she pulled out her hatchets and chopped the man to pieces.

“Thanks,” I whispered when she returned to my side.

Carina nodded. “They’re…”

She trailed off as more than fifty figures started to emerge from the tents. The two of us took several steps back into the dark and away from the dim lights around the tents.

[Lucas Hudson: Hemi, you still there?]

[Hemi Smith: Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?]

[Lucas Hudson: I need you on the battlement. Damian, how far out is your group?]

[Damian Sutter: Almost there. About a minute out.]

[Hugo: Is it time? Should I do it?]

[Damian Sutter: Not yet.]

Hemi floated up onto the battlement and frowned.

[Hemi Smith: Hey, where are the others?]

[Lucas Hudson: Not now.]

Yanis and Miller were still members of the party and could read every message we sent to one another. We’d have to talk out loud to avoid being overheard. It was odd, though. Hemi being on the outside on the right and the ranged team coming in from the left means that somebody would have seen Miller and Yanis. Which means they’ve either got a cloaking ability or they’re still here somewhere.

I wanted to curse at myself. I’d gotten an off vibe from Yanis from the beginning, but I had no way of justifying it. No evidence to support the feeling. At the time, I’d just written it off as contempt for his cowardly attitude, but maybe I’d sensed something deeper? Then again, the first time I met Martin, my instincts told me that he was just a scared guy looking for help.

The camp figures finally noticed Carina and I. They moved carefully towards us with weapons raised. Carina stretched out a kink in her neck and twirled her hatchets.

“There’s too many of them,” she said.

Did she want us to run away?

“You should retreat until the others arrive,” she continued.

At first I was confused. It looked like she was going to attack them on her own to buy me time to get away. But then I realized something, and it clicked. She’d never seen me fight before. She’s just trying to protect me.

I drew my sword and stood beside her.

“There’s something you should know,” she said.

A man lurched forward with a longsword before she could finish. He lunged at me and in one smooth motion, I parried him with my katana and cut clean through his left arm. The man looked down at the stump that began just past the elbow. He showed no signs of being in pain and looked more perplexed than anything.

Odd. Usually there’s more screaming when somebody loses a limb. What kind of Class allows you to shrug off dismemberment? No identity notification appeared in my mind’s eye either when he started to attack which was doubly strange. There also wasn’t a lot of blood coming out of the stump. Perhaps a side effect of whatever power he’s using to dull the pain.

A moment later, the man resumed attacking, entirely unaffected by his missing arm. He seemed to have no issue wielding the long blade in one hand. Not that that would save him.

I waited until he overextended on a thrust and cut off his head.

Should I be worried about how comfortable I’m getting with doing that?

A notification message appeared.

*DING!* You have slain [Player Revenant, Class: Swordsman (Rare)] Level: 33

The amulet made my eyes flash red from the kill and I hungered to seek out more of them, but I held myself back.

“Revenant?” I asked.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you. I recognize some of them. They used to be members of Martin’s group.”

This was a trap we’d been caught in. Martin and Anders must have turned them into revenants. They’d be easier to control and wouldn’t be capable of feeling pain or fear, making them ideal foot soldiers. Putting them in the tents to contain them until required or as a trap in the case of intruders. It was just as selfishly evil as it was smart, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the how of it.

“Martin doesn’t have the power to pull something like off and neither does Anders. Who in your group does?” I asked.

Carina shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“Were there any necromancers in the group or something similar?”

“No, and everyone in the group was weaker than myself, Martin, or Anders. There’s no way someone does this without being a high level player.”

More revenants moved cautiously towards us, which broke up the conversation. They were undead, but nothing like the dumb, aggressive zombies we’d fought before. They looked completely human except for the blank expressions on their faces. Plus, that undead resident I’d just fought had moved with purpose and was still using the sword skills that he’d had in life. If all the revenants retained similar abilities, then they were far more deadly.

“You ready?” Carina asked. She appeared undaunted by the task ahead of us.

“Yeah.”

With the numbers being stacked against us, we needed to whittle them down as efficiently as possible.

We attacked first, weaving past blades and fists to deliver killing blows. I used Heart Strike on a former rogue with twin daggers and was relieved to see that destroying the heart was just as effective at killing them. While Carina’s spinning hatchets of death were a whirlwind that put down anyone in her path.

After each killing a couple more of them, the remaining revenants became more cautious. A small detachment of spearman moved to the front of the group while another detachment at the back broke off to circle around.

“Don’t let them surround us,” I said.

Carina scoffed at my warning. She was about to say something when I tackled her to the ground. A moment later and a purple beam of destructive magic shot over our heads.

I looked up and saw that it had come from the second group. A group which I now noticed all wore the telltale robes of a spellcaster.

Carina grimaced. “I hate spellcasters.”

“Me too,” I said as I helped her to her feet.

A purple light bloomed at the point of a wand that one of revenants was holding. It was charging up for another attack.

I grabbed Carina’s hand and we ran behind the tents for cover.

Another blast shot a giant burning hole through one of the tents behind us. I stopped and stared. The inside of the tent was painted with the same black symbols that I’d seen within the tavern. The symbols that had de-activated the protection barrier and allowed people to kill one another. It had subverted the System's rules somehow.

What if it was doing the same thing here? Notification messages when they attacked weren’t showing up. What else isn’t functioning as it should be here, and how did Martin get his hands on it?

This time Carina was the one to save me.

She yanked me forward before the third blast could disintegrate me.

“Focus!” she chastised.

“We’ve got to kill the lights,” I said, pointing to one of the lanterns that were hanging around the camp.

“What if they can see in the dark?”

Okay, fair point. “What do you suggest?”

“We split up and fight using the other revenants for cover. Maybe they won’t hit one of their own.”

It sounded better than my idea, so I agreed. She went left, and I went right.

Another revenant spellcaster held a long staff aloft. It glowed green and vines shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around my foot. The one with the purple wand switched from targeting Carina to targeting me while my foot was stuck.

I hacked away at the vines with my sword, but they were thick and tough. My sword was struggling to make a dent and abilities like Savage Rupture didn’t apply to basic plant life.

As the purple beam charged, I picked up the pace, furiously cutting and slashing. It was having little effect, but I had no other options since they were too far away for a knife throw.

Meanwhile, Carina was being pushed back by an organized group of spearmen who wouldn’t let her get close enough to any of them to use her hatchets.

The purple glow around the wand grew brighter and brighter.

This is it. I tried not to think about it and hoped that my toughness was high enough.

As I tried futilely to cut the vines, they suddenly withered and died. I looked up and saw that the green staff revenant was dead.

Another arrow flew past and punctured the skull of the purple spellcaster.

I let out a sigh of relief.

Damian and the others had arrived.