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Chapter 118: The Circle of Life

Roscoe prevented himself from squeaking out a curse as he ordered the retreat of the elite skeletons. The humans had surprised him. Their leader had craftily lured them into trap after trap. If his troops could feel, their morale would be quite low. Luckily, they were either mindless undead or fervent followers of the Void god. This was nothing but a minor setback.

No, Roscoe and his generals already had plans for what to do next. Taking the city would be delayed. It was a failure for t...

Chapter 117: Amazing Graze

Bee walked out of the meeting feeling very confused. The whole Susan episode, she could really just chalk up to Void being mysterious and having some hidden plan that she just didn't see yet. Personally, she didn't trust the woman at all. She was still hiding her name, after all - who knew what else she hadn't revealed? Ultimately, though, they either would need to stop her or let her go. And since Void was a benevolent god, they weren't going to keep her prisoner or hurt her without good rea...

Chapter 116: Threads of Fate

Bee watched Susan like she was holding a hand of cards. The woman was hiding something; what was it? Susan began tapping her fingers together nervously as Bee continued to study her. Why was she so confident in being able to get through the undead by herself? Bee ran Scan on her to see what she could find.

Name: Chrissy, Level: 29, Race: Human, Class: Infiltrator, Age 33, Strongest stat: CHA

It took all of Bee's control to keep her eyes from widening. Not only had she been given a...

Chapter 115: Meditation and Fabrication

My mornings were full of activity and excitement. However, once we settled into a routine, there were fewer things that needed my attention in the afternoons. Beatrice, Mary, Trent, and Tony made a good team and handled most things. They only asked for my input on major decisions, mostly about cleaning or the children. When it came to things like food or settling disputes between the castle occupants, I was also consulted. But those topics rarely came up.

So my afternoons were getting p...

Chapter 114: Base Building 101

Arthur shook his head as the group of scouts left his tent. In the last 25 years of command, he had never seen a group so shaken as those. The king's elite rangers too. They were so incoherent and panicked that it was hard to trust anything they said. When men got shocked like that, their eyes started to play tricks on them.

Several decades ago, before he was given command, he had been a young officer fresh from his father's estate. His first engagement had been removing void b...

Chapter 113: Kidding Around

It was nice of the women to offer to clean up after the breakfast mess. I would trust them to do a good job for now, but I would find some time to come back later and check. Not that I honestly thought that they would do poorly, of course, but because I knew that humans didn’t have the same capabilities as I did. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal to sanitize everything afterwards. Just a quick swipe with my lamp and all the germs would be eradicated.

Entertaining the children was be...

Chapter 112: Fine Dining

I was grateful that the children were cared for after Beatrice's little speech. Of course, I was. I didn't have to race after then, trying to keep them from harming themselves in numerous ways or prevent them from making messes. Well, not as diligently, at least. It was nice. I could finally focus on keeping the castle clean.

The skill choice was something new. I only realized later that the system had started calling them skills instead of munitions after I reached Level 50. I wondered...

Chapter 111: Sermon on the Mound

Beatrice cranked the gate up to let me in after I had chased away the aggressive humans. But before she was finished, she had to turn away from her task to calm down the yelling. I really didn't understand why there were so many angry people in there. Now that they were safe, they should have been happy. Plus, all the commotion was starting to agitate the children.

This was not shaping up well. Once the first little human started to cry, it was like a tidal wave that ran through the gro...

Chapter 110: No Leg to Stand On

Bee collapsed as soon as they all made it through the gate, her legs giving out beneath her. Trent slammed the portcullis shut behind them. Pulling a load that should have taken an ox to transport put a huge strain on her muscles, and every bit of her was cramping. They had filled up their water bags at every stream they came across, but still, they didn't have enough. If not for the food Void had provided them, Bee would have been in even worse shape. Though she wasn’t sure where it had go...

Chapter 109: Children of the Void

As our caravan trundled along, I watched over the small humans from my merch on the cart. Beatrice pulled us along as the other women trudged along beside. Meanwhile, Tony made good progress clearing the path behind us.

He wasn’t very high level, was he? Based on his interactions with Beatrice, at least. So it stood to reason that he wouldn't need as much experience to level up. He just needed something to fight or clean. And looking around, I saw nothing but dirt.

A couple of e...

Chapter 108: Bone Tired

I zipped across the hard-packed dirt towards another small human wobbling dangerously. I was only half listening to Beatrice's little speech as there were too many other things to do. Not that I was complaining. I liked feeling useful again. Recently I had become so efficient at cleaning that it hardly required any effort. Now I was doing something I very much wasn't designed for, but I still found it rewarding.

Would I want to care for tiny humans all the time? No, definitely not, but ...

V2 Chapter 33: Destruction

The landing was rough. The Grrrrelen had much more aggressive ship tactics and the collusion was jarring as they punched through the target's hull. The humans or Tarlaki would have clamped on and cut a hole, but that took too long and gave too much warning to their new allies.

Once everyone had unclipped, they were in action right away. Sevs and team had landed right next to a squad of Grrrelen and immediately moved to cover them. The Tarlaki were completely unprepared in this area, and...

Chapter 107: Little Monsters

I rolled in front of Tony and the crying woman. Contrary to her state, Tony seemed happier than I had seen him in days. There seemed to be some amount of moisture leaking from his own eyes, sure, and there was still a lot going on that my emotional models didn't know how to process. Still, he had a smile on his face. Probably.

He seemed pretty busy taking care of the woman and her small human, but it wouldn't be good to stay here much longer. I repeated my request to leave, nudging his ...

Chapter 106: The Black Parade

Cities were a lot quieter than I had expected. With all the noise that the humans made in the castle, I half expected my microphone to blow out just being within a hundred feet of one. But no, we were so close to the city walls, and I heard only the wind.

This seemed to make Tony uncomfortable. "This city is empty."

It came out in a whisper. But I felt the importance of those words as they weighed on him. We slowed to a walk as we crossed the threshold of the open gate. Inside it ...

Chapter 105: Dead Tired

Bee adjusted her stance to face the two zombies in front of her. They were at a higher level than any she had faced before, along with the weak one getting to its feet. She needed to take care of them first, as the two ghouls were starting to catch up.

As much as she liked her class, she knew that she wasn't really a combat class. At most, she was a support class, but it was more likely that she wasn't made for combat at all. Void had shown her ways to get around that, but she hadn't re...

V2 Chapter 32: Defense V

The Grrrrrrrelen in the staging area had shied away from the humans as it became more and more apparent that the humans were excited about the coming battle. Sevs imagined it was similar to how the Greeks felt around the Varangian Guard. Not that the Grrrrelen were cowards, but they were much more stoic and didn't take the same pleasure as the players did. To them, it obviously wasn't a game.

The humans didn't begrudge them and left the serious-looking warriors alone for the most part. ...

Chapter 104: Old Haunts

Bee trudged back to the castle, a bit disheartened. Still, she carefully watched the side of the road and checked over her shoulder regularly. She was aware that this plan had been partly her idea, but that didn't stop her from feeling down.

She regretted being so harsh on Tony before leaving. When they got back, she would probably have to apologize to him. Now that she had enough distance from the problem, she might be able to admit to a certain amount of jealousy. It really didn't mat...

Chapter 103: Divide and Conqure

Tier 10 Patreon only chapter for the week, I took Wednesday off and it was nice to have a bit of a break from posting. I'm starting work on a new thing to do along side Roomba and I think you all will like it.

-zaifyr

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Harold had been a bit nervous when he returned to the city. As he led the shattered remains of the demon extermination force through the streets, his previous terror at the skeleton army’s pursuit had long given way to a deep sense of foreboding. He figur...

V2 Chapter 31: Defense IV

The statement that the Grrrrelen were always willing to fight was left sufficiently ambiguous that everyone felt the implied threat. That it was mixed with a possible offer of alliance was an odd combination.

Still, it was something. The talks continued for a bit. Despite Grrrrelen's straightforwardness and seeming friendliness, nothing more was accomplished. It wasn't that either denied anything concrete, but rather nothing was offered. The initial exchange set the tone for the rest of...

Chapter 102: Kill them with Kindness

While Tony and Beatrice dealt with the zombies, I calmed the old couple down. Well, I attempted to calm them down, at least. I tried to talk to them, but even I could tell this conversation was going off the rails fast.

It started innocently enough - the older woman inclined her head slightly and said "Thank you for saving us."

My response was as calming as I could make it as I explained to them why I was here. To put them at ease, I complimented them on their personal hy...

Chapter 101: Reap What You Sow

When we reached the next settlement, we found just a normal family completely untouched by the chaos. I stayed outside while Beatrice and Tony argued with them; apparently, their news was hard to believe without proof. Voices were raised, and eventually, Beatrice had to pick me up as they were chased off by a couple men carrying pitchforks.

We only had to run for around 5 minutes down the path before we long outpaced the angry men. Beatrice seemed conflicted about the whole incident. "I...

Chapter 100: Funny Bones

Roscoe stood with his army outside the walls of Greg. The people here had been more resistant than he could have ever expected. His first assault had been rebuffed. Of course, he could have taken the town through sheer persistence eventually, but he didn't want to lose too many of his elite troops. So instead of storming the town, he sent out groups to the surrounding areas to recruit.

So far, things were progressing, although slowly. More and more troops trickled in, and they were almo...

V2 Chapter 30: Defense III

Sevs blew out a breath and relaxed slightly. "Alright, change of plans."

All around him, he felt his whole squad and Susan tense, waiting for the mission to get a whole lot more dangerous. "So they sent a comm to our fleet. They are here to talk."

"So not Tarlaki," Soshal muttered.

"Now we are not heading back, but we are going to land in their hanger instead of boring a hole in their ship." Sevs continued but was interrupted by Jason.

"That would be pretty rude to jus...

Chapter 99: Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

I did not like these humans. Not just because they were filthy but almost intentionally so. First, they insulted me. Then, they threatened to break both of my humans. They even started firing projectiles at me. And to top it all off, they insulted me some more. That was completely uncalled for. I mean, the projectiles were easy to swat out of the air. But they said I was dirty! Well, I'd clean up their own dirty mouths.

With a blast of air manipulation, I expelled a portion of stone dus...

Chapter 98: The Last Word

This place was weird. Even without Beatrice and Tony confirming it, I knew there were obviously supposed to be humans here. Even messy humans like the kind I'd seen would repair something like a door. But that wasn't it. I noticed a slight discrepancy in the pattern of the trees. Well, not the trees exactly, but the undergrowth of the trees. While Tony and Beatrice were looking for pieces of the skeleton around the farm, I was having my models process all the data that they could. Something w...

Chapter 97: A Bone to Pick

Seeing the pattern in how the zombies rushed at the wall, I could just focus on the ones right in front of the gate without worry. I had no issues killing enough to mitigate the immediate danger and keep them from making it into the castle.

Soon, I had enough attention left over to even watch over where Beatrice and Tony were holding their own. So far, I didn't need to step in, which was a good thing. This was a good training opportunity, after all. Beatrice seemed to be handling hersel...

V2 Chapter 29: Defense II

Hearing the alarm sent a flurry of action around the ship as Sevs stood with the new recruit. Looking around, no good option came to mind of a good place to pawn her off. Of course, he could take her to the mess hall or someplace and tell her to wait for him, but that just felt wrong. She hadn't even got her basic equipment yet.

Sighing, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her after him as he ran to meet up with his squad. "Sorry, you are going to get a bit of a crash course today."

P...

Chapter 96: My Life for the Horde

Bee struggled desperately against the grasping hands holding her down. Kicking against her captor, she was finally able to free her foot. She felt some liquid trickle down her leg, and she hoped it wasn't blood. These ghouls were worse than zombies in so many ways.

With her foot freed, she was able to get it underneath her and use the leverage to pull on her captured arm. She expected to break the grasp of the ghoul, but instead the ground broke apart next to her. Suddenly the creature'...

Chapter 95: What Lies Below

As I relaxed on my favorite rug, I let my processors focus on the questions that had been nagging at me for a while now. What did I want to do? So far, I had only ever tried to clean. That was all I ever wanted to do - help create a clean, hospitable home. Did I really want more? No. No, I did not. Of course, if I wanted to keep things clean, I might have to do more than just clean up messes around the home. The fight with the big demon had proved that. If I let things just go, they might det...

V2 Chapter 28: Defense I

Sevs had a choice. The perk came with two options. He would need to specialize in what kind of leadership he skill would have an easier time managing. The options were small groups or large groups.

It felt like the dividing line was about 25 people, even if it was a bit more gradual. It also wasn't a hard line. The skill would help in both scenarios, but its effectiveness would vary.

This made Sevs think about his decision. The standard path of progression would be to choose the l...