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 get me kicked out of court.

I had an old suit I wouldn’t mind getting destroyed. I’d outgrown the bonuses on the robes Myrina and I had won while dungeon diving, so not wearing them would be a minimal loss. Mostly, I just stuck to just the Spellsniper's Bangle these days. The important thing was this suit had plenty of inside pockets, which I stuffed full of goodies. More than a few of them were defensive talismans Morgathor had reserved for himself in his satchel, so I knew they were the best I could reasonably get my hands on.

“Oh my, what’s the occasion?” Bridget asked as she rounded the corner with a broom and a dustpan in one hand. The entire keep was brand new, so I wasn’t sure what there was to clean, but I certainly appreciated the skimpy maid outfit she was wearing.

“Just meeting with a self-proclaimed king, nothing important.”

Bridget stepped up and took over finishing my tie. She wound the knot over and around, then planted a kiss on my cheek.

“I think I’m underdressed to accompany you,” Bridget said.

I grimaced. “About that. I’m only bringing Reluna. I want you, Sakura, and Myrina to keep Sharky company. I don’t want to scare the guy away, and two C-Grades will put him on edge. Add in the three of you, and he may run before meeting with me.”

Bridget pouted. “Sakura and Myrina aren’t going to like this.”

I poked her in the nose. “Nor do you. But you know I’m right. Besides, you’re all part of my plan in case something goes wrong.”

Bridget’s pout lifted. “Let me get the others.”

I told them what I needed from them, and we set aside our current tasks to depart.

“Wait, before you go!” Sakura wrapped a thick, leathery cloak around my shoulders. It seemed particularly durable.

Lizardman Hide Cloak (Rare)

This cloak is durable and exceptionally resistant to fire-based attacks.

“Those necromancers are fond of fireballs. It stands to reason the Lich King is fond of them as well.” Sakura straightened the cloak over my shoulders.

“I can take a D-Grade fireball just fine, Sakura,” I chuckled.

“Yeah, but that suit can’t. It looks good on you. I can’t believe you never wore it around the office.” Sakura looked me up and down meaningfully.

Truthfully, I had worn this very suit around the office. More than once, in fact. Back then it hadn’t quite fit me, though. But several racial evolutions had refined my body to peak physical condition, so I filled out the suit so much better these days that it looked unrecognizable.

With Sharky resummoned and Bridget, Myrina, and Sakura brought up to speed, Reluna and I departed for Crownhill. There was a bit of excitement when people saw a half dozen experience pearls appear on the open market again, but I paid it little mind as I continued on to find Margaret.

Reluna got some stares, but she’d been around enough that people had seen her and knew she was on our side. Pointy-eared blue women were an unusual sight in these parts of the multiverse though.

“Now it’s clearer these ruins aren’t so ancient. I see you’re already repairing them,” Reluna pointed out a coffee shop that currently had a dozen of my mannequins wandering around it. Mostly they were cleaning up and salvaging bricks, but when the heavy equipment was done at the farmhouse, it would come here to rebuild at scale.

“I wish you could have seen our world before the integration. But since you can’t, you’ll just have to stick around until after I’m done fixing it.”

We found Margaret already waiting for me in the street with two hundred fighting men and women, including many elites like Kerrie, Marcus, Kyle, Frank, Artemis, Rick, and dozens of others I knew by face.

“This is too many,” I said, waving the gathered group off. “I want four D-Grades. No more.”

“This could be an ambush,” Margaret warned me.

“I know. But I don’t want to scare him off. Let me think. Artemis, Kerrie, you two with me. And... you two guys over there. Yes, you. With me.”

I’d picked Artemis and Kerrie because they were both human women. Though racial evolution had put a lot of muscle on them thanks to my racial evolution selections, they still weren’t as physically intimidating as their male peers, especially not the Amazonian warriors in our forces.

The two random guys I chose at the end were mostly picked to bring the average level down. I wanted the Lich King to think he’d gotten a good feel for the size of Crownhill’s forces. If things came down to my backup plan, I wanted him to underestimate us.

With arrangements made and my entourage assembled, we set off for our prearranged meeting location. Margaret had pushed for us to meet midway through the long corridor between our shard and the remains of San Antonio. It was the obvious choice. Having System-generated walls on either side left an ambush party little wiggle room, and we’d both be equally far from home. But the Lich King wasn’t willing to meet me under such conditions.

His reasoning was simple. He considered Dan and the other survivor groups we were in contact with on our side, and as such we already had a substantial beachhead into San Antonio. Neutral ground, in his mind, was fairly deep into the city.

I pointed out a subway entrance to my companions.

“See that? I’m told there’s an entryway to some hidden tunnels under the control of our friend Dan. By now, he should have gotten the teleportation array kit I sent him. I doubt he’s set it up, but if things go wrong you can lend him a hand and get home that way.”

The two recruits nodded nervously. One of them gulped as he glanced up at me.

“Uh... sir... are we walking into an ambush?” he asked.

I shrugged. “That’s up to them.”

We arrived at our destination first, and the Lich King left us waiting for over an hour. It would have been longer, but I’d arrived fifteen minutes late myself.

Artemis was our resident scout and spent that entire time pacing the area looking for traps. We were standing in the middle of a four-way intersection. Cars lined the sidewalks on either side of us, and the buildings in each corner all showed signs of battle.

“There were several people combing the area over as recently as this morning. Maybe they were looking for traps. Maybe they were setting traps,” Artemis whispered in a low voice.

“Oh? And are they trying to encircle us?” I asked.

Artemis wore a pained expression. “I... don’t know. My tracking skills are all tuned for the wilderness, not urban environments. Whoever they’ve got is probably better than I am in this location.”

“I saw a few shadows moving in that direction.” Kerrie pointed into the distance. I peered into the shadows of buildings half a mile away. There might have been something there, but I wasn’t seeing it now. I didn’t doubt her though. She was a skilled archer and wouldn’t be mistaken about this sort of thing.

“Thank you both. Let me know when you see anything more.”

Kerrie was the first to spot the Lich King approaching, but Artemis soon confirmed it.

I could see him as well, and I felt a smile forming on my lips. While I’d worn a suit as a tribute to the old world, the Lich King had truly embraced his new role.

The black convertible he was riding in was being pulled along by a pair of undead horses. Their eyes glowed a sinister green, and I could see bone poking out where their flesh was falling off.

Several undead and one living woman were riding in the makeshift carriage. The undead were in various stages of decay, but it was obvious which was the Lich King.

He sat in the center of the group, with the lone living woman clinging to one of his bony arms. Unlike the others, who stunk of rot, he was nothing but bare white bone as far as I could tell.

Was the lady on his arm just to make him look cool? I couldn’t imagine he has much use for a girlfriend as a living skeleton.

Still, I didn’t want to be outdone.

“Reluna, I need to borrow your arm for a moment.”

She held up her arm in confusion, and I pulled it around my own before sticking that hand in my pocket and trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

The undead horses came to a stop a few paces away from us, turning the car and letting their riders disembark. Five figures emerged, matching our own party members. I felt a tingle running up my spine and knew they were examining every member of our party.

The Lich King was C-Grade, as was the woman hanging onto him. Reluna seemed to straighten as she realized she was competing with her.

“Ah, a local custom. I shall endeavour not to disappoint.” She ran her fingers through her hair, straightening it as she pulled herself tighter to me. Just as discreetly, she snapped her fingers, and the woman on the Lich King’s arm started getting increasingly frizzy hair.

I was pretty sure the Lich King was staring at me, though I couldn’t tell with the empty eye sockets. While he examined me and my group, I did the same to him.

Lich King (Level 161)

Queen of Death (Level 124)

Elder Lich (Level 99)

Elder Lich (Level 98)

Elder Lich (Level 97)

Our groups were about even, though the self-proclaimed Queen of Death woman hanging on the Lich King’s arm had a few levels on Reluna. That just seemed to ignite Reluna’s competitive spirit thought. I’d seen her fight in the battle against Dramonar’s forces, and knew she could fling spells above her level. Right now, she tossed her hair contemptuously as she stared down the other woman.

Also, the self-proclaimed Queen of Death was increasingly looking like somebody had rubbed the top of her head with a balloon, which ruined the Cleopatra-like look she was going for. In contrast, Reluna's hair took on a shinier luster than it had moments ago, and I even caught a few sparkles drifting behind her.

The Lich King was the most impressive of the bunch though. With thirty levels on me, he had reason to be confident. But I was confident I could bridge that gap.

“So, you are the one who’s united the treacherous backstabbers that killed my father,” the Lich King said. I thought I sensed contempt in my voice. No doubt, the moment he saw my level he thought he’d won.

Inwardly, I winced. I hadn’t expected this to go smoothly, but this was already going worse than I thought. Perhaps I should have taken a few extra levels from my companions to boost myself a little, but it was too late for regrets now.

“I’m rebuilding what we lost. We can have a healthy and stable society just as good as the one that came before the integration, if not better. In Crownhill, we have working electricity, clean running water, the rule of law, a booming job market, and a thriving economy. We can share those same gifts here, with you, if you’re willing to join me.”

The Lich King tried to scoff, but the noise didn’t come out quite right with his skeletal body.

“Bend the knee to you, you mean. I think not.”

I frowned, thinking things over a moment.

“The System requires one of us lead, yes. But it doesn’t have to be a total surrender. There is a faction in my territory known as the Omykir. They come from a medieval world, and I’ve largely left them to their own devices. Our markets welcome their goods, but I don’t tell them to abandon their culture and live as we do. You could be the same. I don’t care if you’re undead as long as you obey our laws.”

A few of my companions looked at me askance, and the Elder Liches turned to their king. It was the woman, the Queen of Death, who raised her chin and spoke.

“Look at you in your clean suit. You don’t understand the things we’ve had to do to survive. The things my love had to do to survive.” She wrapped an arm tight around the Lich King’s bony frame.

Reluna tilted her nose in the air in like manner. “Carter is a leader many worlds would be envious of. The man you’re hanging off calls himself a king, but where’s his kingdom? All I see around him are ruins. Carter asks no one to call him king, and yet he earned his Shardking title nonetheless.”

The two women scowled at one another, exchanging a thousand insults with a single glare. For my part, I was impressed. I’d brought Reluna along to look the Lich King over for Chaos God influence. I hadn’t expected her to butter me up as well. Even when the Lich King began speaking again, they didn’t stop glaring.

“You say me and mine could join you as a subordinate kingdom. Why not the other way around? Your Crownhill could join our Kingdom of Undeath. You’ve slain a few of ours, but with a willingness to right those wrongs and your help destroying the last of the rebels, you would be welcomed into the fold. At least, you would be once your leaders abandoned their mortal flesh.”

My lips drew tight. I was pretty sure Fabulous Phallus wouldn’t work too well if I became a walking skeleton. I was very glad my form of resurrection let me come back as a living, breathing human.

“Thank you, but no. I have no interest in joining the undead. Nor would my people be impressed by the way you live here in the ruins of San Antonio. You may join us, but we will not subordinate ourselves to you.”

Silence reigned. Behind my back, I felt Reluna gathering mana for a spell. Dragoneyed Mage told me the Queen of Death and the Lich King were doing so as well. I cast Dragonscaled Mage and Dragonblooded Mage and waited for what I knew was coming.

“A choice that is no choice at all. Your kind are all alike. I’ve learned my lesson though. There’s only one way to deal with people like you.” The Lich King reached out with a hand, and a phantom image of a heart appeared. He clutched at it, squeezing it down. I felt my chest tighten.

Just as suddenly, metallic dragon scales blossomed all along the illusory heart the Lich King was trying to crush. I felt death mana flow into me through the scales, and I spun the mana into Mana Bolts that struck out at the Lich King and his allies. With one hand, I pulled out Doomseeker, and with the other, I began casting Void Cannon, all the while transferring the death mana the Lich King was trying to kill me with into attacks.

Death aspect mana bolts were probably a bad choice for using against the undead, but I didn’t care about the damage. All I wanted was for one of them to cast a shield, which happened a moment later as one of the Elder Liches tried to defend himself. I shifted Void Cannon to point at them and the pulse of eldritch power slammed against the barrier with the usual explosive results.

Dust and gravel flew everywhere, and I slipped into the shadow realm to break the spell, grasping at my heart. The free mana was nice, but there was no sense in risking having that up any longer than necessary. That heart crushing spell was already impressive in the way it could bypass my defensive talismans. He’d probably killed off a lot of powerful people that way. If I’d been the kind of mage who relied on a traditional mana barrier, it might have been enough to kill me.

And that was exactly what the Lich King had been trying to do. There would be no peace between us so long as the Lich King lived. Nothing I could say would make him trust me. The time for talking was over. One of us would rule, and the other would be dead.

I emerged from the shadow realm right behind him and stabbed an Arcane Blade through his back. It emerged through his ribs, accomplishing very little in the process. There was no flesh to cut, and his bones were as tough as steel.

The Lich King’s skull spun around to face me, and a sickly scarlet light blossomed in his mouth. His breath stunk of death and disease, and I knew breathing it in would rot my lungs out from the inside.

But I had fiery breath of my own, so I breathed out as well and cast Firescourge Breath. Flames erupted from my mouth and set fire to the Lich King’s ornate robes. Despite their appearance, there weren’t any protective enchantments at all on them. He’d probably raided them from a costume shop.

I cut my breath off after jumping clear. The Queen of Death scrambled to get clear of the flames, only to find Reluna holding one hand to the heavens right in front of her.

For a moment, the sky overhead flashed with the light of a blue moon. A frigid wind swept past Reluna’s robes and gathered in her hands, where it shot forth and wrapped around the Queen of Death. In an instant, the Queen of Death’s body lost its color and froze over. She scrambled to cast a retaliatory spell, but Reluna had already crippled her with her frost spell and held a decisive advantage.

The Lich King and I both took in the women’s fight at the same time, and I could hear the sound of grinding teeth coming from the Lich King’s jaw. He raised his hand and cast another spell, but this time not at me.

A burst of scarlet light shot high overhead, and I heard a dozen engines rev to life just out of sight.

“You were a fool to come here, Lord of Crownhill! I planned to kill you from the beginning!”

Dark magic swirled around the Lich King, and in moments the bulk of his forces would be as well. I tapped on the radio at my hip, sending out a message of my own. Mine was subtler, but no less important.

He shot a spell at me, and I sidestepped the dart of green energy. I fired off a few Mana Bolts, altered with Lightsculptor’s Brush to look more powerful than they were. The Lich King activated a potent energy barrier to block them.

“So you’ve brought the full might of your army here, have you?” I asked as the vehicles slid to a stop on three of the four sides of the intersection. Black-robed humans and skeletons piled out, and hordes of mindless undead came shuffling from the buildings just behind the ones facing us.

“You’ve been tricked and trapped, Lord of Crownhill. Don’t bother begging for mercy, for you’ll get none here.”

The Lich King sneered at me, likely expecting me to wear an expression of panic. Instead, he found me grinning.

“You weren’t the only one to set a trap. Sharky, I hope you’re hungry!”

<Note>
Don't worry. Sharky has a tough stomach. He won't get sick if he eats a few rotting corpses.