Chapter 64
Exploit
A weighted feeling pressed down on Sally for what felt like hours. Whirling vertigo compressed her as she shot her way through the System under the strange power of the pale goblin.
Then, it ended. Her hands felt cold grass underneath where she lay. Slowly, she raised her head and saw that the sky was an odd off-white… no, this was a tent. A reasonably large one if the peaked roof was any measure. The sound of snoring hit her ears, and she gingerly turned as she got to her feet.
A single bed sat on one side. There was one male figure sleeping rather soundly. Sally narrowed her eyes and quietly adjusted the heavy backpack. Her belt of potion bottles had extra padding to ensure they didn’t clink together. To be in a tent on his own, this must be one of the Elites.
Sure enough, the dimly lit marquee was furnished with various things that one might expect for a generic soldier’s living quarters to have. A stand for his armour, there was a table with maps and paperwork strewn across it, even a worn rug which didn’t cover much of the floor. What luck to be teleported right in the middle of the camp, she thought sourly.
Still, zombies can’t be choosers. Softly her feet approached the sleeping guard. Her knife withdrew from its sheathe as she licked her lips. She could only assume she was amongst a large group of tents just off the road, dozens upon dozens of sleeping soldiers ready to attack her once the alarm was raised.
She hovered over the man. He was portly, aged, and had a whiskered moustache that waved as he breathed in and out deeply. Both hands gripping her [Dagger of Luck] she rammed it down into his neck. As his eyes shot open, she switched to his heart and chest. Two, Three, Four times, and then eyes wide she crunched down with [Eat Brains].
Crimson soaked through his sheets and dripped onto the grass below as the zombie wiped her mouth. It wasn’t good eating. Energising perhaps, but more like one of those protein shakes that just taste like powder. She briefly paused to loot his [Skull] with a smile on her face before she started taking the potions off her belt. Each one in turn, the cork was popped and the liquid imbibed. They had a lot of their gold riding on this.
Colours flashed and waved through her vision as pulses of warmth and cold alternated through her body. The effects wouldn’t last the whole fight, but there might not be another opportunity to down them. Two health potions stayed on her left hip as an emergency. You never knew.
“Okay, here we go then,” she whispered as she withdrew the first lit torch from her Inventory.
Stepping out into the cool night air was both refreshing and frightening. A forest of white tents dimly lit by lanterns and candles surrounded her. Slowly, she put her dagger back away and scoured the darkness for any patrolling sentries. None that she could spot. With that being the case, she opened up the Inventory again to withdraw a second torch.
Arms reaching back, she lobbed the first onto the largest tent within reach - it was hard not to hit one even if her aim had been terrible. One after another, in a loose circle, she turned and threw a total of eight. As the flames began to grow, the first soldiers started to wake and raise the alarm.
The smell of burning fabric carried with the breeze. Shouts and the donning of armour followed suit, and Sally withdrew both sword and dagger. Silhouettes of the tent to the right had guards getting ready to fight but were not on fire. She ran and slashed out at the fabric, rolling through the gap into the tent.
She had taken a [Potion of Strength], [Potion of Attack Speed], and [Potion of Battle]. Her sword was coated in [Burning Oil], which added extra fire damage - despite not showing the effect.
Her sword caught the first guard in the back, severing a bright crimson gash through his skin. She blocked the swing of a sword with her bracers and stabbed into a hand trying to grasp her. Five guards in here. She pushed into the grabby one and kicked at his shin, stabbing the other thigh, his flank, and then the side of his neck in quick succession. No time to eat brains.
She barely deflected a swing of an axe as the swordsman then took a cut into her shoulder. Sally hissed and dropped low, hitting one of them with [Hex: Slow] as the axe arced wildly over her head.
[Necroblast] blew a decaying chunk from the leg of the other guard, and then she spun to the side to avoid the sword again. With a flick of the sword, she cut another slit through the tent and dove into a roll back into the open.
“Ow,” the backpack said.
Level Tens were hard work. As the figures clamoured behind her, she hissed at the throng of guards pouring from the tents. One of the previous combatants tried to stick his head through the gash she had made, and she slashed out at his neck. Blood sprayed across the white of the tent as he collapsed, gurgling.
The sharp pain of a crossbow bolt struck as she turned back to see a group emerging around a tent with levelled ranged weapons. Her cover was definitely blown now. As she stepped towards some cover, she was struck. A bolt through her arm, one cutting into her hip, and a third narrowly missing her neck. Sally stumbled to her knees behind one of the tents and gasped as she pulled one of the bolts free.
Then a warm glow flowed through her, and she got back to her feet. Immediately, she had to block the assault of another group of guards. [Hex: Slow] and then [Necroblast] on the first, finishing him off with a stab with the sword. A duck and a block with her bracer sent her rolling away, carving another entrance into a different tent. This one was partially on fire.
She ran and stabbed a burning guard to put him out of his misery, switching her slow to one trying to assist a wounded one and plunging her sword into the back of his neck before he could respond. Her eyes blazed bright crimson as she turned to face more guards bursting into the doorway. As the first one swung a heavy mace, she jumped backwards and kicked a bit of burning debris towards the group. The distraction allowed her to level a [Necroblast] at one and blow their neck out. Sally turned to make a new exit but found the debris blocked her route.
Gloved hands grabbed her and pulled her onto a sword, piercing her through her back below the pack. She swung her head backwards and was rewarded with a crack of a broken nose as she pulled away from the blade. Warmth flowed through her again, and she turned to flurry repeated swings of her sword at the blooded guard. He blocked most of them, but not enough.
She was struck in the side, knocking her to the floor with a crack of bones - then warmth again as she rolled away from a crushing blow that dug up clods of earth. [Necroblast] struck out into the group again, doing damage but not felling any opponent. The smell of smoke and heat had become thick in the air, and the flicker of light from dancing flames painted the backdrop of the tent like some hellscape.
Sally threw her dagger - it was last ditch and without proper aim, yet the Luck must have come to fruition as it embedded into the eye socket of an unprepared guard. Using the distraction as intended, the Crossbow was already in her hand - the bolt quickly finding the throat of a second assailant. The single remaining guard blocking the tent doorway stared at her with open mouth, unsure whether to attack or flee.
Sally was taking no chances. [Hex: Slow] and a sprint, dropping the Crossbow to hold back the sword with both hands, diving into a wild two-handed stab that broke through the armoured plated of the guard and pierced their chest. She allowed herself a quick [Eat Brains] as she retrieved the dagger.
As she tried to run from the tent, she immediately slammed into the armoured body of another guard, knocking the woman to the floor. The zombie turned it into a spinning slash with the dagger, catching the neck of another guard. There were so many guards. Stuck between four tents with no doorways, she was assailed by more guards alerted to the fray.
She threw out [Hex: Slow] and [Necroblast] with reckless abandon, her sword and dagger silver arcs in the night air. The yelling, sounds of pain, crackling of wood aflame, and her own complaining body blurred into one as she whirled in melee. She would take cuts and gashes - and even lost her whole arm at one point to a critically damaging axe swing, but every time her health went low a pulse of warmth healed her.
The mass of guards trying to fight her didn’t have the room to assault her at once, so she barely clung to fighting five or six at once. It was both mentally and physically exhausting, and healing only helped one of those. Bodies had piled up around her, and the grass was slick with spilt blood. She was caked from head to toe in gore, matting her hair and causing her clothes to stick to her skin.
And then another Elite joined the fray. She could tell because he immediately struck her with a large warhammer, knocking her into the air. Sally landed atop one of the tents, the wooden beams collapsed and she was covered by the fabric. The melee piled on her, sprays of red marring the white of the fallen tent before the zombie emerged - rolling to her feet away from the fight and straight into a peppering of crossbow bolts.
As a warmth passed through her again, a voice peeped up from behind. “My feet are getting itchy, Sally.”
With one last burst of energy, she burst forward to the Elite, throwing every spell and weapon she could at him, with a final leap into the air with both blades raised high - as the warhammer swung around in a wide arc.
“Cabbages!”
Chapter 64
Exploit
A weighted feeling pressed down on Sally for what felt like hours. Whirling vertigo compressed her as she shot her way through the System under the strange power of the pale goblin.
Then, it ended. Her hands felt cold grass underneath where she lay. Slowly, she raised her head and saw that the sky was an odd off-white… no, this was a tent. A reasonably large one if the peaked roof was any measure. The sound of snoring hit her ears, and she gingerly turned as she got to her feet.
A single bed sat on one side. There was one male figure sleeping rather soundly. Sally narrowed her eyes and quietly adjusted the heavy backpack. Her belt of potion bottles had extra padding to ensure they didn’t clink together. To be in a tent on his own, this must be one of the Elites.
Sure enough, the dimly lit marquee was furnished with various things that one might expect for a generic soldier’s living quarters to have. A stand for his armour, there was a table with maps and paperwork strewn across it, even a worn rug which didn’t cover much of the floor. What luck to be teleported right in the middle of the camp, she thought sourly.
Still, zombies can’t be choosers. Softly her feet approached the sleeping guard. Her knife withdrew from its sheathe as she licked her lips. She could only assume she was amongst a large group of tents just off the road, dozens upon dozens of sleeping soldiers ready to attack her once the alarm was raised.
She hovered over the man. He was portly, aged, and had a whiskered moustache that waved as he breathed in and out deeply. Both hands gripping her [Dagger of Luck] she rammed it down into his neck. As his eyes shot open, she switched to his heart and chest. Two, Three, Four times, and then eyes wide she crunched down with [Eat Brains].
Crimson soaked through his sheets and dripped onto the grass below as the zombie wiped her mouth. It wasn’t good eating. Energising perhaps, but more like one of those protein shakes that just taste like powder. She briefly paused to loot his [Skull] with a smile on her face before she started taking the potions off her belt. Each one in turn, the cork was popped and the liquid imbibed. They had a lot of their gold riding on this.
Colours flashed and waved through her vision as pulses of warmth and cold alternated through her body. The effects wouldn’t last the whole fight, but there might not be another opportunity to down them. Two health potions stayed on her left hip as an emergency. You never knew.
“Okay, here we go then,” she whispered as she withdrew the first lit torch from her Inventory.
Stepping out into the cool night air was both refreshing and frightening. A forest of white tents dimly lit by lanterns and candles surrounded her. Slowly, she put her dagger back away and scoured the darkness for any patrolling sentries. None that she could spot. With that being the case, she opened up the Inventory again to withdraw a second torch.
Arms reaching back, she lobbed the first onto the largest tent within reach - it was hard not to hit one even if her aim had been terrible. One after another, in a loose circle, she turned and threw a total of eight. As the flames began to grow, the first soldiers started to wake and raise the alarm.
The smell of burning fabric carried with the breeze. Shouts and the donning of armour followed suit, and Sally withdrew both sword and dagger. Silhouettes of the tent to the right had guards getting ready to fight but were not on fire. She ran and slashed out at the fabric, rolling through the gap into the tent.
She had taken a [Potion of Strength], [Potion of Attack Speed], and [Potion of Battle]. Her sword was coated in [Burning Oil], which added extra fire damage - despite not showing the effect.
Her sword caught the first guard in the back, severing a bright crimson gash through his skin. She blocked the swing of a sword with her bracers and stabbed into a hand trying to grasp her. Five guards in here. She pushed into the grabby one and kicked at his shin, stabbing the other thigh, his flank, and then the side of his neck in quick succession. No time to eat brains.
She barely deflected a swing of an axe as the swordsman then took a cut into her shoulder. Sally hissed and dropped low, hitting one of them with [Hex: Slow] as the axe arced wildly over her head.
[Necroblast] blew a decaying chunk from the leg of the other guard, and then she spun to the side to avoid the sword again. With a flick of the sword, she cut another slit through the tent and dove into a roll back into the open.
“Ow,” the backpack said.
Level Tens were hard work. As the figures clamoured behind her, she hissed at the throng of guards pouring from the tents. One of the previous combatants tried to stick his head through the gash she had made, and she slashed out at his neck. Blood sprayed across the white of the tent as he collapsed, gurgling.
The sharp pain of a crossbow bolt struck as she turned back to see a group emerging around a tent with levelled ranged weapons. Her cover was definitely blown now. As she stepped towards some cover, she was struck. A bolt through her arm, one cutting into her hip, and a third narrowly missing her neck. Sally stumbled to her knees behind one of the tents and gasped as she pulled one of the bolts free.
Then a warm glow flowed through her, and she got back to her feet. Immediately, she had to block the assault of another group of guards. [Hex: Slow] and then [Necroblast] on the first, finishing him off with a stab with the sword. A duck and a block with her bracer sent her rolling away, carving another entrance into a different tent. This one was partially on fire.
She ran and stabbed a burning guard to put him out of his misery, switching her slow to one trying to assist a wounded one and plunging her sword into the back of his neck before he could respond. Her eyes blazed bright crimson as she turned to face more guards bursting into the doorway. As the first one swung a heavy mace, she jumped backwards and kicked a bit of burning debris towards the group. The distraction allowed her to level a [Necroblast] at one and blow their neck out. Sally turned to make a new exit but found the debris blocked her route.
Gloved hands grabbed her and pulled her onto a sword, piercing her through her back below the pack. She swung her head backwards and was rewarded with a crack of a broken nose as she pulled away from the blade. Warmth flowed through her again, and she turned to flurry repeated swings of her sword at the blooded guard. He blocked most of them, but not enough.
She was struck in the side, knocking her to the floor with a crack of bones - then warmth again as she rolled away from a crushing blow that dug up clods of earth. [Necroblast] struck out into the group again, doing damage but not felling any opponent. The smell of smoke and heat had become thick in the air, and the flicker of light from dancing flames painted the backdrop of the tent like some hellscape.
Sally threw her dagger - it was last ditch and without proper aim, yet the Luck must have come to fruition as it embedded into the eye socket of an unprepared guard. Using the distraction as intended, the Crossbow was already in her hand - the bolt quickly finding the throat of a second assailant. The single remaining guard blocking the tent doorway stared at her with open mouth, unsure whether to attack or flee.
Sally was taking no chances. [Hex: Slow] and a sprint, dropping the Crossbow to hold back the sword with both hands, diving into a wild two-handed stab that broke through the armoured plated of the guard and pierced their chest. She allowed herself a quick [Eat Brains] as she retrieved the dagger.
As she tried to run from the tent, she immediately slammed into the armoured body of another guard, knocking the woman to the floor. The zombie turned it into a spinning slash with the dagger, catching the neck of another guard. There were so many guards. Stuck between four tents with no doorways, she was assailed by more guards alerted to the fray.
She threw out [Hex: Slow] and [Necroblast] with reckless abandon, her sword and dagger silver arcs in the night air. The yelling, sounds of pain, crackling of wood aflame, and her own complaining body blurred into one as she whirled in melee. She would take cuts and gashes - and even lost her whole arm at one point to a critically damaging axe swing, but every time her health went low a pulse of warmth healed her.
The mass of guards trying to fight her didn’t have the room to assault her at once, so she barely clung to fighting five or six at once. It was both mentally and physically exhausting, and healing only helped one of those. Bodies had piled up around her, and the grass was slick with spilt blood. She was caked from head to toe in gore, matting her hair and causing her clothes to stick to her skin.
And then another Elite joined the fray. She could tell because he immediately struck her with a large warhammer, knocking her into the air. Sally landed atop one of the tents, the wooden beams collapsed and she was covered by the fabric. The melee piled on her, sprays of red marring the white of the fallen tent before the zombie emerged - rolling to her feet away from the fight and straight into a peppering of crossbow bolts.
As a warmth passed through her again, a voice peeped up from behind. “My feet are getting itchy, Sally.”
With one last burst of energy, she burst forward to the Elite, throwing every spell and weapon she could at him, with a final leap into the air with both blades raised high - as the warhammer swung around in a wide arc.
“Cabbages!”
