MarvinKnight

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 36

I grimaced. The Lich King had caught me in a trap. Time Stutter slowed time to a crawl, and I had a moment to think.

Had he known I would attack him here? Impossible. Not even I had known I was coming here until minutes ago. The second ritual circle must have been a trap for his own naga allies. The Lich King had planned to betray them for some unknown reason, but now that they were as good as dead, the trap had been turned on me instead.

What were my options? My team ultimate was...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 35

I cursed at the realization. What were our enemies doing with the Torchdragon? And how was a mass sacrifice involved?

I had a lot of questions, but only one answer. Whatever they were planning wouldn't be good for me.

I tapped the radio again, sending out a message to all my forces.

“Everybody, drop what you’re doing. We have a new mission. Report to the wall between our shard and the Torchdragon’s shard. You know the one. A lot of remotely controlled excavators, bulld...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 34

Frank and I searched the abandoned tunnels beneath the swamp, finding little more than debris and what we were pretty sure was a naga latrine.

“Damn. I didn’t realize what terrible aim the naga had until now.” Frank pinched his nose as we backed away from the massive room of waste, much of which had missed the hole in the center despite it being roughly the size of a car.

“Waste management for an underwater species is likely difficult,” I replied, also pinching my nose.<...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 33

After learning my new abilities, I still had a day’s worth of stuff to see to before I returned home. Mostly, that was delivering the massive stacks of paper I’d promised Reluna I would send off. Since I was already spending money like water, I hired a courier to handle the task for me at the Obeliks. Hopefully Reluna’s professors would get back to me the next time I came to Mucaria.

The last thing I did before leaving was put out a quest for a private meeting with someone who cou...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 32

I walked out of the bar with a rock solid plan in mind. Or at least what I thought was a rock-solid plan. By the time I’d sobered up, I’d already blown my remaining points renting a storefront in downtown Mucaria and buy supplies to put together something that looked professional.

Originally I’d intended to sell my power armor discretely, but Cyra’s recent actions had lit a fire under me. I wasn’t afraid to get my hands dirty, and now I was going to prove it.

By the time...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 31

I soon came across a wall of greenery that resembled plants I remembered from Themyscira.

“Get in!” said a familiar voice.

The wards parted before me, deactivated from the inside.

I stepped through, and when I was on the other side, I was face to face with Myrina and Cyra’s mother, Kyrina Samhain.

“Matriarch Kyrina?” I blinked with surprise. This was a face I hadn’t expected to see again.

“Mother in law now, young man.” She cast me a wink. “But ...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 30

The trip to Glacia went smoother than last time. I figured clearing interplanetary customs would be harder without Cyra, but as soon as I flashed my jade medallion from the Dragon Lodge, they waved me right through. I was in the same city we were last time. The only question was where to find Cyra.

Was she already in Mucaria? Or was she shopping somewhere?

Now that I was here, I could only think of one shop that might have seen her or know where she went. Galbatorix’s shop. I pr...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 29 [Cyra Interlude]

Weeks ago, on Valkyrie’s Watch, Themyscira.

Cyra thrust her sword one last time, marking ten thousand perfectly executed thrusts, at least by the standards of her former trainer. Now, Cyra held herself to a higher standard, and what might once have been perfect was now merely adequate. The tip placement on that last one was a hair off. It was a small mistake, to be sure, but at C-Grade she needed to be able to reliably strike at the smallest gaps in a set of high-quality armor while...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 28

The next few days saw me building several additional sets of power armor. I ended up slimming the designs and cutting my ambitions down a bit. I planned to sell these in the Dragon Lodge like any ordinary type of armor, and selling the suits as something that could let an E-Grade fight a D-Grade on an even level might be too tough to pitch without an established name and reputation.

So, I used cheaper materials and aimed a little smaller. The main benefit of that was that Gobgob and my ...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 27

With Sakura charging at me, and Myrina close behind her, I figured I probably should have explained the situation to them and revealed who I was.

But instead...

“That’s right! I, Doomblade, am much more handsome than this Carter guy of yours. Soon I’ll defeat him and claim you lovely ladies as my prize!” I laughed beneath my helmet.

“We’ll see about that!” Sakura swung her club at me, and I neatly sidestepped the incoming blow before grabbing her wrists. She bl...

Amazon Apocalyspe 4: Chapter 26

“It could be a monster,” one of Kyle’s subordinates whispered to him. “I don’t see a name.”

“Maybe it’s a scout from that golem shard...” another suggested.

Kyle braced himself for battle, and I realized that if I didn’t come up with a good explanation, I’d be in a fight with my own people. So I held up a hand.

“I’m no enemy to you. Don’t worry.” My voice was unrecognizable through my helmet.

Kyle lowered his spear a little but didn’t pu...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 25

The Lich King put up no last stand in some hidden fortress. If such a base existed, it wasn’t anywhere we could find. Sharky might have eaten him and all his remaining men before we found them, but I doubted we’d be that lucky. Still, our favorite Void Leviathan had vanished with a few hundred of those creepy Voidlings he made trailing behind him, and nobody had seen him since. Presumably, he was off having a bit of fun scavenging for food. I’d resummon him when I had to and let him roa...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 24

While peace had always been part of the plan, I’d known from the start that getting it by meeting the Lich King was going to be a long shot at best. He was already at least associated with a Chaos God, and by the looks of things, he was in deeper than I could hope to pull him out.

By attacking me, he’d triggered my backup plan. And that was to wipe out the bulk of his forces in one swoop, claiming the shard in my own name. If we were lucky, we’d find the Lich King’s phylactery b...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 23

The Lich King’s forces arrived first, which was within my expectations. We were deep in his territory, and it was easy for him to assemble an army to ambush me.

It would take Margaret, Marcus, Kyle, Frank, and all my other elite a few minutes to get from where they were waiting over on our side of the corridor to here. Perhaps it would have been faster if we’d been able to get Dan’s teleportation array set up, but we just didn’t have people with teleporter technician jobs yet to...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 22

I shut down my experiments and disconnected the solar panels from the mana converter. Another bundle of pearls was sitting in the bronze cauldron, and I scooped them up. Then I prepared myself for a formal meeting with the Lich Ling.

What was a suitable garb for meeting royalty, anyway? Sure, the Lich King was self-proclaimed royalty, but given my recent adventures and who Myrina and Cyra’s father was, I might meet real royalty soon enough. I should have to own an outfit that won’t ...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 21

I had Margaret release the prisoners with an invitation for a meeting. I didn’t think things could be resolved peacefully, but just being able to meet this Lich King before things went too far south would be a massive boon. I’d likely never turn him into a subordinate, but depending on how our fight went down, I could turn some of his people into mine, given time.

The three I’d captured back at the farmhouse were eager for freedom, though Wendy was content to stay where she was. N...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 20

We piled all my boxes right back in front of the basement door. If the enchantment on the door failed, they wouldn’t do much to prevent that ancient golem from breaking free, but the fact that it hadn’t followed us up here was proof enough that it was bound to the ruined city.

Once we were safe, we moved into the largest room of the new keep. We dumped out our bags of holding. My companions had grabbed a surprising amount of stuff for such a brief trip.

Each of the girls had a...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 19

“Okay, in my defense, I had a lot of important stuff piled in front of the door until now,” I said as I peered out into the massive underground cavern. The door I stood by was a long and narrow path without handrails. It led into an open space wider than the football stadiums put together. It was a large enough space that if not for the lack of sunlight, I wouldn’t have even known we were underground.

“This is why it’s important to stay organized.” Bridget nudged me with an ...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 18

“You guys got arrested? Without me!?” Myrina jabbed an accusing finger at the two of us as we told her, Sakura, and Myrina of our adventures on Glacia and the Mucaria pocket realm.

“We were attacked. It was completely self-defense, even if it didn’t exactly look that way when the guards kicked down the door.” I shrugged.

“I had no idea you were such a naughty girl, Cyra,” Bridget covered her mouth with a hand as she smirked.

“We were released in short order w...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 17

“I’m busy,” Cyra said to the woman who’d just kicked down the restaurant door. She turned back to me to continue our conversation. “Now, what were you saying about artificing?”

I shot one last glance at our rude interlopers before continuing where I’d left off. She claimed to be Lauria of the Phantomfist Clan and looked more like a brawler than a spellcaster to me. But as Cyra had proved, a skilled enough warrior could still get into the Dragon Lodge. Since Cyra was ignori...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 16

I walked back the way I’d came with time to spare, so I stopped by the artificer shops. Looking through the windows and studying what was on display was educational for me. For some of my projects, like working on my staff, I’d been completely on the wrong track as far as the Dragon Lodge was concerned.

The thing that made me stop in my tracks was a store that sold golems. I had rubble from the ones we’d fought back outside of Crownhill, but the magic running through those things ...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 15

The teleportation array took us away from Cyra’s adoring and annoying fans. A few had been interested in me as well, but a bit of cold shoulder had gotten them off my back early.

The teleportation array took me somewhere I recognized immediately. We were at an old-fashioned train station. People streamed around us in all directions, most of them in wizard’s robes. Glancing to the side, I saw a teller window and motioned Cyra toward it.

“I think we get our ride over there.”...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 14

Cyra and I explored the town. We asked around a bit and chatted with a few shopkeepers, where we discovered everybody coming in through Glacia came this way. In a way, this was a teleporter hub to get elsewhere in the Mucaria mystic realm. One of the most frequent destinations was the academy.

There were a few big cities in the pocket realm, and we could have returned to Glacia as well, though doing so would lose us the time dilation. In the end, Cyra and I decided to simply explore the...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 13

“The academy students have run out of mana! Congratulations, both of you. It’s been a while since I’ve given out such high scores on this test, and never to two at once,” Official Rykard said as the younger students streamed out of the stands.

“You flatter us,” Cyra replied.

Official Rykard leaned close to me. “Did my eyes deceive me, or did I see you using the Dragonscaled Mage spell back there?”

I hesitated momentarily, then realized there was no point hidi...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 12

We wandered out to join a small group of well-dressed students a few minutes later. There were about thirty of them in total, compared to several hundred taking the general test. Among them was Borelius, who glanced at the two of us curiously. But before he could wander over to us, Official Rykard began speaking.

"Alright, you should all know the rules, but if you don't, you must pass at least three of the five tests to be accepted, with some allowance for exceptional performance in one...

Amazon Apocalpse 4: Chapter 11

I woke still on top of Cyra. I showered in the small stall off to the side of the tent and was midway through brewing coffee when Cyra got up herself.

“I left you some hot water there!” I waved to the shower stall. It was a simple thing, really. An enchantment gathered water into a bag suspended from the ceiling, and water drained from the bag in a shower-like fountain. Still, by Themyscira’s medieval standards, it was downright luxurious. I had to show Cyra how to work the device...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 10

I turned toward the voice. Cyra did as well, but not before rolling her eyes.

“Are you talking to us?” I asked.

The young man was clad in gold-trimmed robes that looked like some of the gaudiest, least practical things I’d ever seen. The amount of precious metals on him might shield him from radiation-based attacks, but otherwise I could think of no practical uses for wearing something that heavily embroidered.

I glanced down at my plain jeans and a t-shirt, covered by...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 9

Eventually, we got moving again. The selection of skill books in the Obelisk wasn’t that great. Still, just glancing at the list, I already saw better options than I had on Themyscira. Misa did her best for us, but most of the skills she acquired were common or rare skills for average fighters. Here, everything was based on magic.

Instead of being able to hit harder or move quicker, the skills here granted the users bright flashes of light or lightning. Abilities that could coat the w...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 8

Cyra and I departed for Glacia with little fanfare. We wouldn’t be gone for long, but Cyra didn’t want to spread the word that she was missing. Unlike Crownhill, the lands of the Samhain Clan didn’t run themselves, and a lot of things required her physical presence. She wanted to be back before too many people realized she’d left Myrina in charge.

“Don’t worry. Sakura and Bridget are with her. They’ll keep her from doing anything too crazy.”

“I can only hope...�...

Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 7

Cyra and I spoke as we walked, and she took me on a tour of the castle’s battlements. Here, the staffing shortages were more apparent, though thankfully, most of the structural damage was relegated to the outer parts of the walls.

“There aren’t as many guards here as before. I take it they’re out in the streets?” I asked.

“Helping with the repair efforts,” Cyra confirmed. “These were mostly vanity guard posts anyway. A few dark silhouettes on the ramparts make an i...