Amazon Apocalypse: Chapter 25 (Patreon)

I spent the next few days putting in a good chunk of the day patrolling the area around Crownhill and helping various teams who'd joined up with the militia gain some levels. Though I couldn't gain any levels from the fighting, Bridget and Sakura picked up plenty—which was all the same to me. I honed my proficiency levels quite a bit, too. My leadership bonus climbed faster than anything else.

The faces in my group changed from day to day, but the two I never failed to find in my group were Kyle and Chuck. Kyle was leveling in such a way that his attacks packed a serious punch. He cloaked his sword in black and red energy, a dark mirror to my own new Arcane Blade spell.

Chuck's regeneration increased as he gained more levels. Others seemed not to notice it, but I suspected that was because my magical senses were far keener than the average person. I didn't pry. The Chuck I'd met among the raiders might have just been another memory, but after losing his memories and finding his way to Crownhill, he'd become one of the best members of my group. His class was still that of a Raider Thug, which got him a few odd looks, but no one could doubt his contributions to the group.

Sakura's group progressed faster, since there were more foes under level ten for them to fight—especially with me around. More and more of her people graduated to join my squad. Meanwhile, she replaced her lost numbers with graduates from Bridget's group.

Bridget's group was the largest of all, though. There were a lot of people who'd sought out the refuge of the shelter and lacked the levels to defend the walls during the Wolfman attack. Now that our new reality was finally settling in, they were starting to realize they'd need those early levels if they wanted to protect themselves in the new reality we'd found ourselves in.

While I'd been busy training new people, Frank, Marcus, and Margaret hadn't been idle. They were strong enough that they could lead their own groups, and that was exactly what they did. Soon, Crownhill had a substantial force strong enough to be more proactive about our defense of the city.

I wasn't about to let what happened with the Wolfmen repeat itself.

New Proficiencies:

Caster: +15 to Level 42

Sword: +5 to Level 44

Regeneration: +3 to Level 31

Dodge: +14 to Level 45

Dual-Wielding: +3 to Level 14

Taunt: +2 to Level 13

Spell Sniper: +3 to Level 4

Shield: +4 to Level 5

Spear: +1 to Level 2

Combat Tactics: +4 to Level 5

Poison Resistance: +7 to Level 13

Focus: +2 to Level 5

Though I hadn't gained so much as a single level, I'd picked up so many new proficiencies that I felt as much of a new man as I had after three days of training with Cyra and Myrina. Between me and the heightened abilities of my trainees, I felt like something had changed.

We were ready for what came next.

Just in time, too, because I had a plan in mind that should cull the ranks of our enemies and leave us in a good position to dominate this shard without having to deal with something like the Wolfman attack. But this would take volunteers and I hoped I'd have some.

After a long day of hunting, I had everyone over level fifteen gather around me. This was not just in my group, but Margaret’s, Frank’s, Marcus’, and Sakura's groups, as well. There were quite a few higher leveled groups, along with a handful of people over level twenty—including Sakura and Bridget.

It was only a matter of time before people started surpassing my own level, though I still had a few advantages. The past few days had seen me add at least as many more proficiency points as others had gained levels. I was pretty sure I was getting closer to what Mabel the Theory Crafter would have considered an elite.

Out of everybody, Frank was closest to catching up to me. He was just about ready to break into the D-Ranks. It would be a great boon to have somebody else who could fight at my level when I announced what I had in mind.

"Everybody, gather up. I have something to tell you all."

Everyone gathered around the old statue of our town’s founder. It was the same place I'd gathered Sheriff Drayton and the others not long ago. And like before, I had a plan.

"What'd you call us here for, Carter?" Frank asked. He wore leather armor that hung loose over his lean frame, though he was filling out more and more, day by day.

"I've told some of you about the threats we face—the Ogres and Trolls. These two factions vie for control of this shard, and the System has pitted us against them. The Wolfmen were only the beginning."

There were a few murmurs of agreement all around.

"What you don't know is that I've been keeping an eye on both factions. The territory each of them has laid claim to is expanding dramatically. I've visited both camps and was attacked on sight before I could speak to either group. It's clear that they mean trouble for us."

I let my words settle over the crowd.

They knew what I meant. Most of them had lived through the Wolfman attack on the shelter. Most had stood on the walls as their comrades bled and died all around them in our desperate attempt to hold on through the night.

"I don't know about you, but I don't want them to attack us. If we hide behind our walls, that is the last line of defense between them and our loved ones. If anyone's going to cower behind their defenses, it should be them, not us!”

A ragged cheer went up.

“Many of you have asked over the last few days what all this training is leading up to. Well? This is it. I'm building strike teams to take out our remaining enemies before they can do the same to us!"

The crowd quieted. Moments passed and, for a second, I wondered if I'd asked too much.

Kyle stepped forward from the crowd, voice low and catching in his throat. "T-this fighting... it'll be like the Wolfmen, won't it? That time we attacked them in their camp and were sent running?" he asked.

Others nodded their heads slowly, though they came to a stop whenever my gaze came around to them.

Kyle was right, of course. This very well could turn out just like our strike against the Wolfmen. In essence, it was the same plan. We saw a threat, and I planned to lead a team to deal with them before they became a problem too big to deal with.

This wouldn't be easy, or safe. After spending days on end training these people, I couldn't lie to them or lead them into a slaughter unwittingly. So once again I told the truth.

"You're right, Kyle. There's always a chance that things could go bad. Which is why this plan is going to be a little more conservative than what we tried before. I won't spoil the details except to those who need to know, but suffice it to say that we won't be taking on either the trolls or the ogres directly. Hell, I don't plan to deal with them here and now at all. But I do plan on saving us a lot of bloodshed by taking action now."

I met the nervous gazes all around me.

"I can't promise this won't be dangerous. I can't promise that all of us will come back alive. But I can promise that everyone depending on us will be better off for having tried. There's only one thing I'm certain of—the System has pitted us against these foes. We can either fight them on their terms or on ours. I choose ours! Who's with me?!"

Silence echoed in the square.

Eventually, Frank clapped and cheered. "Yeah, let's do it!"

I grinned, glad he had my back. At his prompting, others stepped forward.

Marcus stepped forward, raising his hand. "I'm in!"

Sakura and Bridget were quick to leap to my side as well.

Next were Michael and Margaret. They were followed by Kyle and Chuck and countless others, including everyone I'd trained up over the last few days. All told, we had a squad of fighters twice as large as the one that had confronted the Wolfmen. And our average level was much higher than before.

If this had been the strike force I’d led to clear out the Wolfmen, we would have won handily. This time, though, I had no intention of winning through brute force alone. I let the few who didn't care to join us trickle off.

When they were gone, I launched into my plan. "I've had some experiences lately off-world. I've told most of you about them already during our hunting trips, but the fact of the matter is that battling monsters has gotten us thinking of the other races all wrong. Monsters and beasts we can run down and exterminate, but our fights against these Trolls and Ogres isn't an extermination mission. It's a war.

"And wars require strategy. Here's what I have in mind..."

I explained the idea I'd been mulling over these past few days. When I did, I saw appreciative nods all around. I'd already talked it over back at home with Sakura and Bridget, and over lunch with Marcus, Margaret, and Frank. We'd worked out most of the kinks in the plan already. All that was left was to get the manpower we needed, divide up into teams, and make it happen.

"We play this right," I told everyone, "and the Ogres and Trolls will take care of each other before the fighting gets serious. That'll leave us with plenty of time to keep leveling up until we can overwhelm both of them. Now, you all know your parts. Form up and get moving!"

***

With our new levels, many of us could travel faster through dense forest than we could taking the winding roads. Still, not all of us had movement skills. And of those who did, not many were as energy efficient as my Warp Step.

We ended up gathering several cars, vans, and trucks to ride in and taking the back roads. We headed out the same way we had last time Sakura and I had encountered the edge of the shard, swerving wide to avoid dealing with that massive elemental again.

The day would come where I'd bring that thing down—just not quite yet.

"Form up in your teams and split up!" I shouted to everyone. "You know what to do!" After that, I whispered to myself, "And so do I..."

I glanced down at my screen. A new message had appeared sometime during my second speech.

As the esteemed City Owner of Crownhill and a recognized lord of this shard, your mission has been elevated to a System Quest!

Embarking on a System Quest can bring both potential peril and promise.

Success: Attain honor and renown, propelling you closer to your next prestigious title. All participants will be duly rewarded by the System, and your standing will further be amplified if you enhance this quest with personal rewards.

Failure: Suffer a decline in honor, renown, and witness a dip in your subjects' loyalty. Consistent quest failures could jeopardize your revered title of Baron.

This must have been the same screen Kyrina Samhain had gotten when she'd started a city-wide manhunt for the traitor in Valkyrie's Watch. And now, it was my turn here on the outskirts of Crownhill. I took a deep breath to steady myself. The battle to come would determine the fate of our fledgling city.

I turned to my personal team. Bridget and Sakura were with me, of course, along with a pair of militiamen. They were both level eighteen—which was high, though not quite elite status. We formed a party, and across from me Chuck and Kyle did the same in another group.

Margaret, Marcus, Frank, and all the other elites were breaking off to confront the trolls with parties of their own. I only had two teams to work with for our part of the plan, but planned to make up for any shortage of manpower with my own personal abilities.

I nodded to the other team. Chuck was in command, having earned the respect of his peers that first day of training. The amnesiac hardly looked ready, considering that even baby-faced Kyle had more experience than he did. But his comrades trusted him. Often, that was enough.

"Alright, let's bag us a few ogres!" I shouted.


<Note>

Sorry for the delay! I'm making some changes to this section and upcoming chapters, but didn't quite have time to finish. The story might go slightly differently than the version you're about to read on Patreon.