JaceVAmor

Chapter 169: New Lands

Coop leapt from the deck of Windchaser and landed in the clear shallow waters off the shore of Belize. A pair of needlefish fled with the waves to escape his sudden presence, but he paid them no mind. He was focused on the shoreline as he pushed through the water until he was stepping through the edge of a thick treeline. He did his best to be swift, but a few days at sea had left his legs a bit wobbly. Still, other than the fish and a group of unchosen olive-throated parakeets, who ...

Chapter 168: The Kitawa Sisters

Seki Kitawa kept his head down and listened. He was uncomfortable sitting on his knees, directly on the floor, but he wasn’t someone that would draw attention with complaints. No, Seki had adapted to his life by shrinking away from the spotlight. Each of his older sisters took a different path to navigate their complicated family, but keeping his head down was his own. In comparison to his subdued approach, his eldest sister had been forced to embrace the focus of their elders while his mid...

Chapter 167: Call of the Void

“Is he gonna be alright?” Marcus vocalized what the majority of Ghost Reef’s advisors were silently wondering.

“Maybe we started leaning on him too much.” Shane suggested quietly. “Between the Endless Empire and the Sapphire Armada, how many people did he have to kill? We know he was in an uncomfortable spot using his strength like that.” The battle commander fixed his hair as he worried. “If he had ever been fine with killing people, I can guarantee that we would be dea...

Chapter 166: Diverging Paths

When Hali offered the Sapphire Armada’s unconditional surrender, Coop held reservations. He couldn’t help but feel skeptical toward her self-professed authority. Coop may have been the Champion of Ghost Reef, but he didn’t think he would be able to offer his residents’ complete surrender after convincing them to fight for a specific purpose. The human residents fought with their own personal motivations driving them. At most, Coop emphasized the features of the island settlement that ...

Chapter 165: Tribute

Coop only spent a moment on his back, staring up at the starlight as it twinkled in the clear night sky. The shockwave had sent him sliding along the deck of the Sapphire Armada’s flagship, but it hadn’t dealt any damage. The blue flame might have singed his eyebrows a bit, but when it came to magic damage he was truly a juggernaut.

“Magic defense is too good.” He acknowledged with only the stars left to listen.

Admittedly, he had been slowly becoming more exposed to vario...

Chapter 164: Duel of Champions

Coop let himself drop through the transparent protective shield from directly above. The enemy flagship had taken a distant position beyond the end of the Ghost Reef island chain, threatening his settlement with its continued presence. They had every opportunity to retreat, call off their invasion, or otherwise give up in the days that their assault had been resisted, but the Sapphire Armada still lingered. The Armada had been bombarding the settlement for the better part of a week and they h...

Chapter 163: Trench Warfare

Between the guardians of Ghost Reef and The Sapphire Armada’s invasion force, the latter were the first to falter. Coop and the phantoms were barely getting started, fully prepared to launch an extended campaign in the defense of their settlement, but the invaders hesitated before continuing their efforts to assault the mysterious fog. From their perspective, Coop’s Fog of War blanketed the entire main island of Ghost Reef, obfuscating the entire landmass, presenting their opponents with ...

Chapter 162: Hold the Line

The defenders of Ghost Reef had finally revealed themselves to the Sapphire Armada’s troops with a devastating counter assault. The quick maneuver from the edge of the mists had been as much for intimidation as it was reducing the Sapphire Armada’s troops. Between the formidable appearance of the phantoms, fully equipped in dark armor like space age shock troops, and their inexplicable movement enabled by their ethereal nature, they hoped to discourage the assault. The fog was obvious, bu...

Chapter 161: High Ground

Guard Captain Alaric led the 300 phantoms in holding the shallow water against the Sapphire Armada’s ground assault. The channel of water proved to be a valuable obstacle that burdened their enemies far more than the phantoms. Beyond Coop’s contribution with Fog of War, he didn’t actually need to participate in the initial defense. The phantoms had spread themselves along shallows, challenging any of the Armada’s troops who crossed into the deepest parts of the channel. Each phantom i...

Chapter 160: Guardians of Ghost Reef

The Sapphire Armada continued their bombardment of Ghost Reef through the night. The Armada tried to keep the pressure on the fort even as the number of their battleships diminished. The blockade started to fall apart with the smaller ships parading toward the furthest island to discharge the troops they carried. Both forces were conserving their strength in anticipation of a major engagement. Even though Shane and Gideon wished to keep Coop in reserve, along with the hidden group of phantoms...

Chapter 159: The Animated Protector

Shane transformed into his battle commander mode while Coop’s small group had gone to Empress City on the mainland. The Endless Empire had done well to identify Shane as a candidate for leadership as proven by the way he had already stepped up for Ghost Reef multiple times. Coop was glad that they hadn’t flagged Shane for Champion of their first settlement, though he wouldn’t be surprised if the faction intended to hand the reins of their future claims to him and others who had been con...

Chapter 158: Safe Harbor

Sea Burial continued to accelerate through the deep, dark ocean, skipping across the choppy waves as they raced for the reef. The massive siege ships loomed ahead of them, blocking their perspective of the fort, though they all knew exactly where it was. They aimed for the space between the bulky ships of the Sapphire Armada. They didn’t have time to slow down and reassess their strategy knowing that the pyramid ships were chasing their flank, even if the pursuers were much slower ...

Chapter 157: Steam Devils

Coop positioned himself among the cannons on the port side of Sea Burial, nearest to the pursuing ships of the Sapphire Armada. The pyramid ships doggedly hunted the faster corvette, maintaining a formation that thrust a single ship in front with the intention of rotating it among the others if its shields started to diminish. The Sapphire Armada anticipated a tech advantage over any opponents, given their strategy of rushing settlement and naval advancements rather than early expans...

Chapter 156: Domestic Dispute

As they sailed toward Ghost Reef, leaving the mainland behind, the passengers fell into an uneasy silence. It was the second time many of them were effectively riding off into the sunset as they left Empress City, but the outlooks of where they were going and where they were coming from had flipped between trips. Coop reassured himself that it was easily within his own power to influence their futures before they deteriorated into the realm of unacceptability.

Coop slid his hand against...

Chapter 155: The Largest Fleet

Empress City’s northernmost inner gate consisted of sections of a chain link fence that were wrapped around panes of tarnished industrial flooring and the hoods of a few discarded cars. The artless construction was rather apocalyptic, really giving off the feel of a scraped together defense, but it got the job done. The outer wall effectively separated the large and previously empty inner portion of the airport from what had been the crowded outer ring. It rolled open on a pair of pallet ja...

Chapter 154: Relatives

Coop was standing out in the open, exposed without his ethereal equipment, wearing nothing but his under armor. Behind him, serving as his backdrop, there was a wingless plane fuselage still connected to a partially collapsed jet bridge, sitting on large flattened tires. The derelict was providing the nearest but limited shade. Coop had moved out of the way, toward the side of the airport terminals with the least activity, so that he could be hosed down, like he was some kind of muddy dog tha...

Chapter 153: City Building

The alligator reached the entrance of the airport without incident. They certainly drew attention on the way, but every single person kept a respectful distance, not willing to test the newly minted Dragonrider or the Nomad. The residents of Empress City had already received the preliminary guidelines that had served Ghost Reef and knew the expectations when it came to tolerance of wildlife, but the alligator was the first example for exactly how much the ballgame had changed. It only took on...

Chapter 152: Dragonrider

“Are you really sure this is okay?” Charlie’s voice was carefully controlled, clearly a bit disconcerted with the situation she found herself in after she regained consciousness. She didn’t want to escalate any problems by raising her voice in a way that might cause surprise, though her urgent tone got the message across.

She had partially recovered after draining most of her mana with her ultimate attack, but she was still weakened, sounding groggy in addition to her obvious co...

Chapter 151: Keystone Species

Coop was taking time to decompress while the girls cleared the golf course one fairway at a time. Finding a way to distract Charlie from her lingering thoughts of the previous battle had actually been the distraction he needed for himself. While the girls fought monsters, Coop explored his abilities. The pair made quick work of hundreds of Primal Trackers with each of their engagements once they established their strategy.

While Coop was impressed by the efficacy of their massive pulls,...

Chapter 150: South Pole

The golf course had gone through some changes since the previous time Coop had visited. The fairways were only a little thick, probably displaying even less growth than would have been expected in the pre-mana times, but the grasses that made up the rough were completely out of control. They had grown so tall, they struggled to bear their own weight, leaning their tips out across the sky, above the fairway, more akin to stalks of bamboo than blades of grass. Both edges formed half-tunnels wit...

Chapter 149: Grind Therapy

The airport’s wide corridors had been engulfed by darkness as the evening settled in. The extraordinarily tall windows once provided excellent viewing of what was a bustling taxiway for passenger planes. Instead, they only displayed a thick, cloudy evening with the barest hints of daylight seeping through a lingering haze as Coop passed the transparent panes.

In the distance, along the inner ring’s still intact wall, torches were pinpricks of light surrounded by large orange halos a...

Chapter 148: Subordinate Settlement

“Nomad! Wait!” Fabiana called out from behind the group while picking her way through ruined concrete barriers and stepping over burned tires.

Coop, Marcus, Camila, and Charlie were already standing still after Coop paused to test his new title, so they waited for the insistent Commander. The rest of the rebel army appeared to be moving slowly, lagging behind as they collected the prisoners and cleared some of the debris to give better access between the airport and shipping port. T...

Chapter 147: Mindbender

Coop seriously considered resuming the slaughter. His frustration had settled on Subcommander Jackson Hobbs, and he barely held back from pummeling him. The end result would inevitably be a battle with the rebels as well. Coop would win, there was little doubt, especially after Presence of Mind revealed their most powerful individual was weaker than the phantoms back home and already firmly within his grip.

[Human (Level 70)]

[Wild Mage (Intelligence)]

[Red (Challenger)]

Chapter 146: Chosen Champion

Supreme Champion Jerry the First was positively giddy with excitement. The victory he anticipated was almost within his grasp, and with it, he knew his position within the Sapphire Armada would be secured. This would be his gift to what would become his new faction. A settlement as a tithe. Then he would have the leverage to keep climbing. The Endless Empire was no longer useful to him, so he was perfectly willing to trade up. Accepting the offer to align with the Armada was the logical choic...

Chapter 145: Conflict Resolution

Dawn was breaking as Coop’s party sailed toward the mainland. The sun was casting bright streaks of light across the ocean that glittered at the peak of each consecutive wave. Coop did his best to appreciate the serene scene, though his focus was on what would follow.

Captain Kayla had taken over Charon’s Sea Burial instead of taking her flagship, valuing the speed of the corvette over the power of the galleon for this particular mission. They weren’t seeking a naval batt...

Chapter 144: Welcoming Committee

Back in Ghost Reef, the entire settlement stood at full alert. The phantom soldiers that stayed behind had received some partial information when the fishing boats were retrieved by the pirates, but they were left not knowing whether or not they would end up with a fight on their hands.

The truth was that even though they had been reinforced with significant numbers, the vast majority of the population had no levels. If it came to a fight with a proper army, they were in for a challenge...

Chapter 143: Chaos Theory

The Flame Knight finally had a chance to properly introduce himself as the Captain Javier previously mentioned by the refugees, after Coop goaded him into an explanation for their presence. Evidently, he had been entrusted with leadership over their evacuation from Empress City, employing one of the cruise ships that had provided housing for those who left the City’s outer ring.

Coop had to interrupt him multiple times until they ended up starting from the beginning, since every time ...

Chapter 142: Unpleasant Reunions

Coop’s brisk footsteps crunched as he stepped through shattered glass and dismembered seaweed leaves. The bridge of the cruise ship had clearly seen some fighting, but the center of the conflict had shifted entirely to the bow before Coop arrived. The seaweed had ambushed the ship while it drifted through the deep ocean, surprising the passengers and getting a firm hold on the vessel before they had a chance to prevent it. That left the Empire’s refugees fighting a losing battle where the...

Chapter 141: Legend of the Nomad

The entire galleon lurched as Coop launched his spear from the bow. The spear raced over the sea, invisible against the dark backdrop of the night, but with the sound of it tearing through the air making it obvious that something was moving fast, but only after it had already passed.

Coop timed his mistjump so that the spear didn’t accidentally blow a hole through the cruise ship, aiming to teleport above the open rear deck instead, where, in past times, vacationers would have enjoyed...

Chapter 140: Ships in the Night

The beach bash bonanza wound down late into the night, and most everyone on Ghost Reef had retired after a long day in the sun, drinking, eating, and otherwise partying. Whether they ended up passing out on the beach or returning to their beds, they were all heading for a satisfied night’s sleep.

The bonfires were nothing but embers, crackling with the ocean breeze, and surrounded by snoring revelers. Coop was on his back, laying in a bed of sand. He was watching the twinkling stars t...