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Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 38

The bow Dax picked out for Lys felt perfect in her hands, the draw weight just right for her strength. She settled into an easy rhythm with the regular skirmishers, absorbing their tips and advice like a sponge.

“Keep your elbow high,” Dax murmured, adjusting Lys’s stance. “And don’t forget to breathe.”

Lys nodded, focusing on the target downrange. She inhaled deeply, then released the arrow at the end of her exhale. It flew true, thudding into the bullseye.

“N...

Sigma 16 T2 - Chapter 105 - To the Fight

Talia held on tight as Neo maneuvered to keep the APC in formation with the others.

Dapple and Hot Pink clung to the roof. Hot Pink, usually bouncing with energy, remained low and steady. This wasn’t a game or a joyride. They were ready to fight.

The other fast vehicles kept pace, multiple Panthers following along despite the terrain. Neo had insisted she needed better protection if she left the Slim Girl.

She had listened, bringing what she could, even if it wouldn’t ...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 37

Lys drove her shovel into the earth, heaving another load of dirt onto the growing pile beside her.

Sweat poured down her face, stinging her eyes as she worked. Around her, Orin, Garrett, Plainfield, Peder, Davian, Bryn, and Stormwell labored just as hard, their faces grim with determination.

“Keep at it, lads!” Sergeant Swift called out, his voice carrying over the din of shovels and grunts. “We need these trenches deep and wide!”

Lys glanced up, watching as a team ...

Sigma 16 T2 - Chapter 104 - Not a Choice

Talia’s eyes darted between the various elements on the CIC’s main screen. The tactical display showed enemy units in full retreat, scattering like ants from a disturbed nest.

“Neo, speed all our elements up,” she ordered. “We need to crush them while they’re in disarray.”

[Notice: All enemy units were in full retreat before the artillery strike. Current positions confirm this.]

She frowned. “They started to retreat before we took out the first column? Are th...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 36

Lys was up before dawn, slipping out of her tent and making her way to the latrines. She took care of her business.

The encampment was still, the air only broken up by the soft snores of her fellow recruits and the occasional rustle of canvas. She caught the movement of a few sentries near the edges of the camp, walking along the walls.

She moved quickly, careful to avoid anyone who might bump into her. Instead of making her way back to her tent, she made a detour.

As she pa...

Sigma 16 T2 - ​Chapter 103 - Takers!

Dusky scrambled up the elevator shaft, her legs moving in a blur. The urgency of the situation propelled her faster. The tunnel walls seemed to close in around her, the dim light casting hostile shadows. She pushed harder until she flew out of the shaft’s opening and landed on her feet.

The reds were swarming, their movements frantic and chaotic. Dusky hurried to Nest Leader, who was roaring commands. She chirped urgently, drawing his attention.

“There are lots of Takers, many...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 35

Lys winced as the medic cleaned the gash on her arm, the sting of the antiseptic causing her to grit her teeth. The man wrapped a clean bandage around the wound, securing it tightly.

“Any other injuries?” he asked, his eyes scanning her for signs of further harm.

“I’m fine,” Lys replied, shaking her head. She glanced around the tent, taking in the sight of the wounded lying on cots, some moaning in pain while others lay eerily still.

Rising to her feet, Lys made to...

Sigma 16 T2 - Chapter 102 - The Nest

Dusky yawned, stretching her legs as she woke up from her quick nap. The scrap metal perch beneath her was cool and familiar, but her mission weighed on her mind.

She couldn’t afford to sleep long.

Carefully, she rose, ensuring she didn’t disturb the metal or the dozen other sisters sleeping nearby. The nest’s comforting hum surrounded her, yet a pang of sadness lingered. She missed the close-nest with Dapple and Hot Pink.

Their names weren’t truly Dapple and Hot Pi...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 34

Lys watched from her vantage point as the sergeants moved the recruits to close off the entry point to the camp. Logs formed a makeshift hurdle, hammers jamming stakes into the ground between them. They stacked the barrier and fortified it until it was waist high.

One sergeant pulled out a bag of metal and began to toss the contents out into the entry point. She squinted, trying to make out what they were. The metal glinted in the sunlight, revealing pointy edges. She grimaced, realizin...

Sigma 16 T2 - Chapter 101 - Moving Out

Talia opened the crew cabin’s exit hatch, stepping into the desert sun. Heat waves shimmered off the sand, distorting the horizon. Thankfully her suit provided all the air conditioning she’d ever need. She opened a commlink, pinging the zoological module.

“Hey, we are moving out. The Takers are attacking again,” she said, her voice steady.

The monitor feed showed Hot Pink and Dapple waking up, their movements becoming lively as they chirped a response.

Talia made her...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 33

The crack of dawn arrived as they finished the fieldwork, the first rays of sunlight peeking over the horizon. Swift’s voice boomed across the camp, “Listen up, recruits! It’s a rare opportunity for you lot to sleep until noon! Don’t waste it!”

Exhausted, they laid out their tools by the wagon, while a few men who had been picked to sleep early moved to guard the entrances. Inside the new walls, their tents were spaced away from the earthwork that formed a ramp to the top of t...

Sigma 16 T2 - ​Chapter 100 - Wings

Talia stood in the shower, her skin and entire body vibrating from the sonic waves. The sensation was supposed to be an improvement over a regular shower, with a massage function designed to enhance comfort and blood flow. She wasn’t convinced.

“I don’t like it.” Her voice echoed slightly in the enclosed space.

[Report: The sonic shower is working at full efficiency and should improve User comfort and blood flow.]

“It’s just making me vibrate. I could think of so...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 32

Lys’ head swam with all the information Egan dropped on her. It was far too much at once, but she did her best to absorb it.

At midnight, they were relieved by another private and another member of her recruit group, Bryn Woodrow. She recognized him from the archery tournament the recruits had done before leaving Silverpines. She handed over her sword, spear, and shield to him.

Sleep came quickly, but morning arrived far too soon.

She stumbled out of her tent, blinking aga...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 31

Chapter 31

The anticipated battle never arrived.

Instead, they camped earlier than the previous days, well before evening set in. Instead of marching quickly, the regulars and entire cohort went to work building a fortified camp. That went much faster than Lys thought possible.

But there were a lot of them, and digging a ditch and setting up a primitive stake wall wasn’t hard with so many working together.

It seemed like they were getting a rest day.

Later in t...

Sigma 16 T2 - Chapter 99 - Anthropomorphizing

Talia sipped from her glass of water, the cool liquid soothing her parched throat. She sat on the couch in the crew compartment, her eyes flicking between the large panel displaying strategic data and the tablet in her hands.

The readout detailed the alien artifact, annotated with notes from Rosetta before she left. It felt strange having an AI that had once been in her head now inhabiting a robot, off visiting the Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr.

Just a little unsettling. It felt a litt...

Sigma 16 T2 - Chapter 98 - Interlude A & H

Chapter 98 - Interlude A

Admiral Adelina Hirsch stood at the center of the Horizon Ascendant’s bridge, her eyes scanning the data streaming across the main screen. The officers at their posts murmured quietly, their voices blending into a low hum.

A lieutenant approached and handed her a tablet. “Admiral, sensors confirm a matching FTL exit signature still dissipating. It’s in the expected place and is less than three months old.”

Adelina nodded and dismissed him, r...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 30

The morning sun had barely crested the horizon when Finn’s voice boomed through the camp, rousing Lys from her fitful sleep. The morning wake-up calls from the sergeants had become second nature, and it was hard to be surprised by them anymore.

She scrambled out of her tent, hastily packing her belongings and joining the other recruits in formation. Thankfully, putting the tent back together into a bundle had been easier than putting it together.

Hours passed, and the sun climbe...

Reponse to the Ai-Generation Allegations for Demoness

TLDR; Demoness Book 3 is not 'AI-Generated' it was 'AI-Assisted' by using the AI as an editor and proofreader. It was not generated by some quick button press, but worked on me for many hours everyday until it was completed.

There was a huge blow up on reddit targeting me and the series. A conversation I had on discord was screenshotted and posted to the r/ProgFant, showing part of a chat I had with another author on how to use AI to help write. Some of the snippet...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 29

Finn’s booming voice jolted Lys awake. She scrambled out of her cot, heart pounding as she rushed to join her fellow recruits. The air buzzed with a frantic energy as they hurried to pack up their belongings.

“Move it, you slugs!” Finn barked. “You’ve got five minutes to get your shit together! Everything you got into your pack! Your bunks are going in the wagons!”

Lys stuffed her meager possessions into her rucksack, her hands shaking with a mixture of nerves and exci...

Newly Summoned Demoness Launch Day!

Today is the big day for Demoness!

Newly Summoned Demoness is now available on Amazon!

**

Formats include Audible, Paperback, Hardcover, Ebook, and Kindle Unlimited!

In a world where darkness lurks, one girl's fate will shatter centuries of stagnation.

Elania's life takes an unexpected turn when demon-worshiping cultists ...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 28

Lys took a deep breath, centered her core, exploded the warmth in her middle and then lifted the log.

The weight strained her muscles, but she hoisted it onto her shoulder. Two weeks of relentless training had transformed her body, adding lean muscle to her frame. While the other recruits had bulked up more substantially, she hadn’t fallen too far behind.

Part of that was her ‘special’ ability to use her newfound breathing. Yasir hadn’t provided the personal lesson he had ...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 27

Finn’s voice boomed across the training grounds. “Several of you put on your enlistment that you were archers. Now’s your chance to prove it. Hawk, Plainfield, Trekhill, to the front!”

Lys swallowed as she fell out of formation and approached.

Swift pointed out the three targets at varying distances. “Thirty meters, fifty meters, and seventy meters. Each target has a center, middle, and outer ring. Center is worth 10 points, middle 5, and outer 1. The fifty-meter target ...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 26

Chapter 26

The class with Sergeant Yasir left Lys thinking about what she wanted to do for a long time. It was the same for the rest of the recruits.

Most of them hadn’t thought about it before. She wondered how her skill with the bow would play out if she ever got a chance to show it off. Was she destined to be a foot archer?

As the days passed, Lys found herself immersed in a grueling routine of physical training. The sergeants pushed them to their limits, demanding more...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 25

Chapter 25

The next few days alternated long runs with relentless lumberjack work. No one had any extra energy to bother anyone else. Lys caught her breath and sat up, the evening sky a pretty orange.

Swift yelled they were dismissed, and she stretched as she stood up. She headed to her group’s tent and got her things ready. She then relaxed on her bed while the rest of the recruits all went out to use the wash tent.

When the others started to trickle back in, she headed t...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 24

“Wake Up!”

The shout jolted Lys out of sleep and onto the side of her bunk. Confusion filled her mind as she realized it was from the Sergeant shouting. What was wrong?

Swift stomped through the barracks, his voice booming. “Wake up, recruits! On your feet, now!”

Lys straightened her outfit and slipped on her belt and boots, fingers fumbling in her haste. Around her, the rest of the group looked equally disoriented, although a few of the recruits managed better.

Sigma 16 T2 - Chapter 97 - Dreams and Nightmares

Talia’s eyes fluttered open, greeted by the sight of a machine hanging ominously above her. Panic surged, and she bolted upright, her head colliding with the contraption. Pain shot through her skull as the device fell with a thump.

“Neo!” she screamed, rolling out of bed, her heart pounding in her chest.

[Notice: User’s nutritional deficiency solution is ready to be implemented.]

“What the hell is this?” Her voice trembled as she stared at the machine, a tangle o...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 23

It turned out Swift could make them haul logs and chop firewood for a long time. The sun climbed higher in the sky on Lys and the other recruits as they labored.

Sweat poured down her face, stinging her eyes and soaking through her shirt. Her muscles burned with each swing, her hands feeling like they would blister from the rough handle.

Eventually, Swift had the recruits swap jobs.

She found herself paired with Garrett, Davian, and Orin for hauling logs. This task was even ...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 22

Hilk led Lys through the camp, weaving between tents and groups of mercenaries.

He pointed to a large tent with smoke billowing from the back. “That’s the mess hall. The Cohort’s divided into groups, and each one takes their meal in turn. You don’t have to worry about it. You’ll eat with the rest of your recruit group.”

Lys nodded, her stomach growling at the thought of a hot meal.

They approached an open area where mercenaries were gathered, some sharpening weap...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 21

Lys followed Finn out of the tent, filled with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Finn’s voice boomed across the camp, “Hilk! Get over here!”

The same young man from before hurried over, his posture straight and attentive. “Yes, Sergeant?”

Finn gestured to her. “This is Trekhill. Your job for the rest of the day is to get him sorted out.”

Hilk nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Finn turned to Lys, his eyes stern. “Listen to Hilk.”

Lys nodded, but Fi...

Mercenary of Lastia - BtLH - Ch 20

Finn leaned back in his chair, eyeing Lys appraisingly. “Can you read and write, lad?”

Lys blinked, caught off guard by the question. “I can read,” she said, her voice hesitant. “But I haven’t really written anything before.”

“That’s fine.” Finn said, pulling out several sheets of parchment from a stack on his desk. He handed them to her. “Take these and have a seat over there.” He pointed to a cluster of wooden crates nearby.

Lys nodded, clutching th...