3 years ago - Val Kazar

  "Well, brother? What do you think?" Naz Kazar asked, looking over the edge of the cliff they sat upon.

  "I think those west walls are weak and poorly watched. Look, see how the stones have fallen away on the inside and you can see the supports within? And the defenses behind the west wall are almost nonexistent. If we have Ik Hurak slip over the walls and put his hammer to work against the supports we could be inside the base within a minute."

  "And then the fort will be ours. Haha, you never disappoint, brother! Come, let us tell the chief your plan."

  Val Kazar nodded before they descended the slope.

  "Well?" The chief asked 20 minutes later when they regrouped with the warband.

  Val Kazar told the chief his plan, including the sand ridge they could follow to circle around the base to the west wall while remaining hidden.

  "Hmm. As always, you come to me with extraordinary brilliance, Val Kazar. However, you seem to be forgetting an important factor."

  "Chief?"

  "The time. The fell moon shall soon rise, and with it the spirits of pale light will be upon us."

  It was true. They'd spent almost the entire day trekking across the desert to reach this fort.

  "Chief, I must disagree. The spirits of pale light remain docile for the first one to two hours after the moonrise. That would be more than enough time to eradicate the enemy forces and take shelter within the secured fort."

  "The wisdom of the ancestors states that the pale light corrupts, even when it does not kill. Do you wish to defy the wisdom of those honored ancestors, Val Kazar?"

  Relying on the ancestors again?

  But this was no place to voice his concerns of the chief's reliance on the ancestors to assert his will. "I follow the chief," Val Kazar said plainly.

  "Hmph. We will assault the front gate. It is the closest entrance and the fastest way to end the battle. Come, my kin. We must seize victory before the fell moon rises and seizes our souls."

  As the warband moved out Val Kazar felt a hand on his shoulder, "I thought it was a good plan at least, brother. I know you have reservations, but they will hold beyond this battle. Come, let us show them our way of war."

  "They've seen our way of war. Over and over again. Every time we return they adapt and become better at countering our tactics, if what the chief does can be called that. Brother, I fear if nothing is done we will be following the chief to our dooms."

  The grip on his shoulder tightened, "Hold fast, brother. If your concerns are truly this great then we shall call a council when we return. Until then, I shall watch your back."

  "Mmm. And I shall watch yours, brother."

  Three hours later the battle had ended.

  Val Kazar wandered through the ruined fort as the fell moon rose above him.

  Where are you, brother?

  Despite their pledge, the flow of battle had separated them. Everywhere Val Kazar went he saw only death. Death among the enemy and death among the vishan. They'd lost more than half their numbers in this battle.

  More and more of us die with every battle. We used to dominate these sands, triumph completely over all who tried to gain a foothold in what little territory we have left.

  He walked through the largest building, the command center he presumed. Finding a stairway down, he found it odd that the fighting had come this far into the building.

  Were they defending something?

  Cautiously, Val Kazar descended the steps. Corpses lined the hallway beyond, with one particular figure near the end that Val Kazar couldn't take his eyes away from. An unmoving body at the end of the line of corpses.

  Brother…

  Mind numb, he crouched next to his brother and felt for a pulse, for any sign of life. But there was none. His kin, his other half, was gone.

  The door beside Naz Kazar's body opened. Too numb to properly react to anything, he saw the chief exit the room their warband had spilled blood to claim.

  The chief took one look down and Naz and Val Kazar before turning away and continuing down the hall without so much as a word.

  Val Kazar looked at the words on the wall beside the door and barely comprehended his system's language function displaying the translation.

  'Treasury.'

  Three months ago

  Val Kazar stood in attendance at a gathering the chief had called in the village. The chief spoke to them all, and while Val Kazar listened, his thoughts were not all on the chief's proposition.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  How? How do I kill him?

  Things had only gotten worse and worse since the death of his brother. It was very clear that the only way to steer the village toward healing from their wounds was to remove the source of the infection.

  The chief had to die.

  Summoning a council to appoint a new chief had ceased being an option a long time ago. As the chief's greed grew, so did the power that came from his items. There was nobody left within the village who had the will to stand against him.

  The chief had two items of absolute power that caused the vishan to lose hope of removing him from power. He boasted of them so none of them would ever forget, and Val Kazar had seen the system description of both and knew it to be true.

  The first was the Demon's Pendant, an item that would boost each stat by 50% for a short amount of time but forever reduce that stat by 10% of its true value once the effect was over. The chief, at level 74, already towered over them all, with Val Kazar being the second highest level in the tribe at 63. To imagine him boosting his attributes by 50% was enough to lose hope.

  The second item was far worse. The rejuvenation token, a token of almost divine power. Even if Val Kazar sprung the perfect ambush, or somehow managed to kill the chief by baiting him into a duel, it wouldn't matter.

  So long as the chief had those two items he was all but invincible.

  "As the leader of this group of 'overseers,' I believe Val Kazar would make the best candidate," The chief's voice broke into Val Kazar's thoughts.

  His blood ran cold at the thought of being forced to remain away from the village for an entire month, but there was nothing he could do or say against the chief's will.

  What sort of chaos will this monster create when I'm not around to clean up his messes?

  "Yes, chief," Was all he said.

  Once, he would have had his brother alongside him. Together they may have stood a chance against the chief, even with the treasures that created his impervious defense. But that time had passed, and Val Kazar's failure to act was one he would have to live with.

  As Val Kazar paced around the arena, watching the chief playfully toy with the human, he thought back to when he'd found the human hidden behind that bookshelf deep within the mountain.

  Of course, his first instinct had been to kill him. A human capable of felling a level 60 lord while below level 40 was far too great a threat to leave alive. Forget allowing the chief his vengeance, this human posed a threat to every single vishan within the tutorial.

  But then the idea had appeared like a flash of inspiration within his mind. Like a cancer it took root, until Val Kazar had no choice but to act upon it and take the human as captive.

  He's allowing the chief to fall into the perception that he's a mere level 44. As expected, his capacity for deceit is outstanding. He's perfectly utilizing the opportunity I gave him.

  Val Kazar didn't expect the human to actually win, of course. He didn't have to, so long as he at least broke the chief's defenses then Val Kazar could take the chief by surprise and assassinate him. The rejuvenation token still stood in his way, but if he waited until the perfect moment he could overwhelm the chief enough to shove his sword in the chief's gut, or better yet his neck.

  The chief already used the only healing item I gave him. He won't be able to shrug off a second vital blow. But what's taking so long? When does this human intend to make his move?

  He was just beginning to doubt his judgement when the human summoned the most devastating display of magic Val Kazar had ever seen. It was the same lightning that had been seen on the mountain, but amplified at least threefold.

  It broke the chief's defenses completely.

  Val Kazar readied his sword, but the human wasn't done. A second bolt struck the chief, and Val Kazar watched in shock as half of the chief's internal organs were blown out of his body.

  The human whipped around, clearly anticipating Val Kazar to attack from behind, but that left him open to the chief's counterattack.

  As the chief left the human upon the ground, arm and leg severed, Val Kazar made his move. All it took was one singular thrust and then a swipe of his sword and it was over.

  It was so much easier than Val Kazar had imagined.

  Kill - [Ludra Yuk - Level 74] - 9743 Talons

  [Level up. Level 64 obtained.]

  [Level up. Level 65 obtained.]

  [Level up. Level 66 obtained.]

  [Level up. Level 67 obtained.]

  [Level up. Level 68 obtained.]

  Now…

  Val Kazar didn't waste any time. He bent down and took the remaining equipment off the chief before equipping it to himself. He would properly distribute it among the vishan later, but for now they needed a symbol of strength in a time of great change.

  I need to bring them all back. I can't allow them to pointlessly throw their lives away.

  But as he slipped the Demon's Pendant around his neck he heard something entirely unexpected.

  Laughter.

  The human, with its arm removed at the shoulder and blood dripping from a stump of a leg as it stood propped up against its spear, was laughing.

  He laughed openly and without reservation. As though he was witnessing the greatest comedy of the ages. As though he'd completely lost his mind.

  Is he simply delirious on the edge of death? No matter. I should ignore him and pull everyone back.

  [Notice]

  Jamming in effect. No Messages can be sent or received until user in possession of Jamming skill is defeated, or area of effect is left.

  Val Kazar's eyes widened, and the human spoke as it took a stance, feet shifting through the sand of the arena.

  "No no no, you don't get to do whatever you want. I created this stage, and I will have my dance."

  The human readied his spear, a golden glow surrounding his uninjured body. The arm that had been lopped off, there as though nothing had happened. The leg, reattached as if through divine intervention.

  It can't be. How can a rejuvenation token be obtained in a place like this? How is it that both my enemies possess the ability to cheat death? No, it doesn't matter.

  If his words are to be believed then Zane was correct. This human created this entire situation for the sole purpose of luring out the vishan. He's been laying the groundwork for this plan ever since he learned of our intentions that first night. And I allowed the chief to send our kin directly into a battle designed with the sole purpose of slaughtering them.

  Val Kazar readied his sword and activated the Demon's Pendant. He had to slay this human immediately and undo the jamming. But he would not make the same mistake as the chief. This human, this being of unfathomable strength before him was a true monster, and if he didn't give his all in this moment then he'd die just as easily as the chief had.

  "Come," Val Kazar said as the island beneath their feet rumbled.

  Neither of them paid the earthquake in the sky any notice. They knew any distraction could mean the difference between life and death in an instant. Anything beyond their duel was simply a distraction.