Gamer Chapter 22 - Tactics

A minor note for those who like to read entire fictions on their kindle or in a single epub/mobi file, or even if they simply hate the site layout. I use a firefox addon which I've talked about . Just go to the fiction's page, select all the chapters and 'Grab links'. Super easy to do.

Also if anyone wants to PR, feel free to send me a message. Also involves pointing out parts of the plot which are terrible. Sometimes my ideas are not the best of ideas.

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On our side of the battlefield Lily sat on the ground, her body clad in iron armor during the chill morning. Across the field were Ereth and his army of three hundred men. Lily's body language was very nervous as she told me what to expect, 50 archers with the 250 men forming pairs of swords and spears. She also warned me that in their previous battle against another army of similar size, they lost merely 45 men by using superior tactics. The majority of their losses had been composed of men who suffered injuries preventing them from fighting further.

Before this fight started other armies in the tournament had bowed out, admitting defeat and cutting their losses. They were fearful of being matched with us, and fearful of being annihilated by a larger army they couldn't win against. Not every army in this tournament intended to win the crown, a few saw this as a chance to make money from winning a few fights.

Over the past few days Lily had given me roughly 20 thousand coins from 'donations' and while she didn't give me any details about the deals and bargains she had made, she also thankfully didn't a.s.sign me tasks to do. The reason she gave it to me to look after was that she was aware I was more than happy to take care of the money, and that it was safe in my hands.

My banker skill still stubbornly refused to grant me anything useful, leveling up twice with only a reduced fee for changing the currencies of the carried coins. I did try to experiment with it, generate rare coins and the like. But I was unable to exploit it as it required me to know the currency I wanted to switch to, and the conversion fee left a bad taste in my mouth. At what level of the Banker skill will I start gaining interest on my money?

But regardless of my thoughts, I need to focus on the battle.

Bending over Lily, I lightly touched the pieces of armor as I rapidly enchanted them with Gravity Cloak, drastically increasing the ma.s.s even as I decreased the gravity. Kane stood by me as I did so, and while I admire his loyalty to Lily he's actually the weak link in the group.

Sitting inside her enchanted armor, Lily was impenetrable and unmovable due to the immense weight of the armor, the lowered gravity only to prevent her sinking into the ground. Kane however, he doesn't have such protection. Enchanting his armor made him far too slow and he complained of being unable to move.

Finished with my enchants on her armor, I left them both in the corner of the battlefield as I moved towards the middle. I still wore no armor, wearing a simple cotton s.h.i.+rt and thick blue pants with my spear in hand. Not one to completely forgo safety, my chainmail was carried in one of the newly opened slots on the rare chance the situation changes.

So I stood in the center of the battlefield, a large army marching towards me from across the battlefield. Their commander seemed to have heeded the warnings and wanted to pick me off first, which was fine with me. At the front rows of their approaching squarish army (what do they call this again? phalanx?) the men were composed of archers, their bows held loosely by their sides as they marched.

The bows seemed to be taller than the ones I had seen previously in this world and I wondered idly if they were intended for distance. Perhaps he means to pick me off from a distance while avoiding close combat? They've seen how proficient I was in close combat after all, and its not like I can open with a salvo of pebbles I mused.

As I stood and watched them, idling swinging the spear in my hand with boredom they finally settled a fair distance away, far enough that I could see their costumes but not their expressions. Roughly two hundred meters I gauged. Faintly I heard a voice yell a command, and as one the archers raised their bows and notched a arrow. I heard another command, and the arrows were released into the air.

The sky above their army seemed to darken slightly as the wave of arrows soared through the air and with a slight grimace of pain I stood still as 8 arrows found their mark.

HP -24

HP -22

......

Bleeding status, -7 HP a second

A total of 175 HP instantly lost, points of pain through my body. One arrow looked as if it was going to go through my eye, so I was forced to move my head ever so slightly to have the arrow sc.r.a.pe down the side of my face. It stung.

I could feel the urge to use the bloodl.u.s.t aura coming on, drown out the pain and indulge myself in the pleasure. Stilling my mind, I concentrated on the task at hand.

I slowly began to walk forwards, my spear held limply in my hands as I stalked towards them expressionlessly. Their archers strung another arrow to their bows, and I heard the command yet again as the skies were covered in arrows.

HP -22

HP -25

......

Bleeding status, -6 HP a second

Another five arrows found their mark, my body smoothly stepping into the path of the least arrows. It worked in my favor for them to see that I avoid their arrows, they would know that I'm not unbeatable, that attacking Lily is not the only path open to them. And on another unrelated note, a huge crowd of spectators today.

As I approached the army my health began to sink lower and lower, the regeneration struggling to keep up. The bleeding would stop after a few seconds, but the sheer number of arrows. .h.i.tting me began to increase as the distance grew closer. It wasn't until I hit a third of my health that I finally began to act properly, only 30 meters from their front lines.

I hadn't been wearing a Gravity Cloak, and it was the work of an instant to apply one which vastly increased my ma.s.s with the gravity decreased to prevent the ground swallowing me. Almost as if on cue, the archers released another wave of arrows at me and I found myself unable to move on time to dodge the majority of them.

The ma.s.s was far too much.

HP -4

HP -2

......

HP -3

Roughly 23 arrows pattered over my body, my eyes shut to avoid being blinded. Tiny p.r.i.c.ks of pain covered my body and I could feel my clothes tearing to shreds as the arrows bounced off. Gingerly opening my eyes, I felt happy as I realized that I had lost roughly 100 HP with none of the arrows visually seeming to have damaged me in the slightest. The damage removed a third of my remaining health yes, but I wasn't exactly worried. My health regen is 23 HP per second and the damage the arrows do isn't significant enough for a bleeding debuff.

112 DMG

The screaming man seemed to break the tension in the air and as a group they moved forwards, their spears outstretched and stabbing at the air as I casually moved backwards for every step they took. Another second later, I stabbed another man and he fell backwards yelling in pain as his comrades roared maddened.

I stopped playing with them then, applying a Gravity Cloak to my spear and knocking out their feet and when I saw an exposed area I stabbed the men, even those who'd fallen to the ground. I tried not to kill, but sometimes I didn't realize that I had stabbed this man before, and sometimes I just hit the wrong spot on their bodies.

At this point, I had not yet activated my aura.

Thirty men lay on the ground, no longer a part of the battle as the army surrounding me began to grow agitated, looking to each other for rea.s.surance. No longer did they come after me, instead I was forced to initiate the attacks. They began to back away, and it wasn't until a sudden burst of movement that I realized.. Those yells in the air, they were retreating. The men pus.h.i.+ng at the people behind them as they sought to get away from me.

It was weird, I didn't think they had tried to fight me seriously, they didn't seem sufficiently terrified either. They were scared yes, also unwilling to fight me. But terrified to the point they had to escape? It didn't strike me as an organised retreat either, instead every man was running for himself. Was this what Lily had told me about earlier? Does he intend to place distance between us then wear me down with archers, even knowing they were ineffective?

I stood there in the middle of the battlefield as the soldiers scattered, keeping a eye to make sure none of them tried to get close to Lily and Kane. Slowly they began to form three groups, with the center group being the largest and two small groups on the sides of the field.

The center group had officers yelling amongst them and began to reform into the guise of a proper army, but the other two groups seemed to be clumped together in confusion. Not one soldier from those armies attacked me, instead choosing to watch me warily and with traces of fear.

The first group was directly to my left, the second and largest group was directly in front of me and the third group was slightly ahead of me to the right. Really, the group I was worried about the most was the first group as they were closest to Kane and Lily while the third group were the furthest.

Each of the smaller armies were composed of approximately 15 archers, 15 spearsmen and 30 swordsmen. The center army however in comparison had only a few archers, but plenty of spearsmen. While the two side armies were composed of roughly 60 men, the single army directly in front of me would probably be around 160 men.

Curious about something, I looked on the ground about me at the men who lay there wounded or dead, and I noticed that not a single bow lay discarded amongst the swords and spears. Not a single wounded archer to be seen on the ground. It made sense somewhat, but it also meant that the archers immediately ran to the back of the army the second they ceased firing. Seems like he is doing something with the archers.

The center group then began to fire arrows towards me, spa.r.s.e waves of arrows I easily dodged as they flew ineffectively around me. I stayed in position however unsure what to do as the center group repeatably tried to attract my attention. Finally they gave up shooting at me and began to close in again.

The wounded on the ground around me moaned as they tried to crawl away, the lucky ones managing to make decent speed as the arrows flew near them. I considered moving away from the wounded just to prevent more deaths, but I still didn't understand what was going on with the battlefield and thought it would be a better idea to remain in position instead of being forced to move.

A few arrows flew near me from the left and right groups, but when I looked they still seemed to be in confusion. Milling around and watching the scene without moving into formation or a.s.sisting the second group, talking in low voices to each other but at a distance I couldn't hear them. The thing was, the confusion in their groups was far too strange, inside each group I could see three officers, dressed casually and hanging in the middle of the groups. They didn't stand out or command attention, acting as if they were normal swordsmen, but their nametags told me all.

So its not that they are unmanaged or that there's n.o.body in command, they have officers. But still they are talking to each other, their officers not demanding order nor moving towards the center group as a whole. A few men seemed to be breaking off to rejoin the center group, but as a whole the group stood still at a distance from both me and the center group and seemed reluctant to involve themselves.

As a minor sidenote, more than a few of the wounded and dead on the ground around me were dressed fancily, wearing the same clothes as the officers in the central army. Those clothes stood out, but could not be seen in the smaller groups. Fairly obvious trick, he intended for me to a.s.sume the two armies to the sides presented no real threat. But just what am I supposed to do about it.

I was undecided as I stood there, my only moves to dodge the arrows sent at regular intervals. The armies to my sides began to slowly reform into a semblance of an army as they closed in towards me. The two smaller groups fired spa.r.s.ely towards me, using only half of their archers with the others hiding inside the group with bows concealed from view as they moved towards me.

I could guess what the trick was now, but I couldn't quite see how it would help them. They knew archers were ineffective against me, what did they have to gain from hiding them?

I glanced towards Lily and Kane, they seemed to be doing well with not a single soldier moving towards them. I began to wonder if the archers were not meant for me, but for both Kane and Lily. I would find out more later, and Kane wasn't so weak as to die from a few arrows in regards to the armor he wore.

Guessing at what was happening, I began to focus on the center army as they drew near, seemingly ignoring the two armies to my sides as I dodged the arrows fired towards me. The center army began to slow as they drew near, archers firing no longer in waves but the second they had a shot, seeking constant vigilance or suffering a pinp.r.i.c.k of pain.

Finally the two groups to my sides began to act, archers coming from hiding and firing more arrows towards me. A quick glance confirmed that the left group were utilizing all of their archers, but the right group were still holding a few back. I couldn't dodge all of these new arrows and I began to take some hits, even though my health recovered quickly the armies began to cheer up as they saw my invincibility gone. I didn't see the need to discourage them of this illusion.

With my health hovering around full and no obvious dangers in sight, I just didn't have a good excuse to rampage and destroy them. When I quickly checked my status I was pleased to see I only needed 53% more exp until I reached my next levelup, I could gain another two levels before this fight ends.

With the arrows haphazardly and randomly flying through the air around me, it took me half a minute before I noticed that the right group began to slow down, their archers taking longer to shoot their arrows even as they slowly began to slip behind me into a blindspot. Most of the arrows they fired didn't even seem to come my way anymore, missing completely or simply not reaching me. I finally began to see their plan.

The center army was intended to draw my attention, the left army to draw more attention for the number of archers they utilized and the distance from Kane and Lily. As those two groups distracted me, the right group would pretend to involve themselves in the fight even as they begin to move behind me to either ambush me, or attack Kane and Lily.

I'll let them succeed.

We kept this illusion of a fight up for a few minutes, I began to wonder if the archers would ever run out of arrows and finally out of the corner of my eyes I noticed the right army were only just visible in the corners of my eyes and with a small smile, I saw a few men break off into my blindspot. I couldn't see them now, and I could only trust Kane to give me some kind of warning.

He did, far too soon.

"Jon!"

Cursing him in my heart, I turned to look at him then 'notice' the men approaching him. 2 archers, 1 spearsmen and 3 swordsmen. At that very moment, all three groups charged me.

The few scant seconds before we clashed, I quickly hollered "If those men get any closer to my commander. You all die!". And then, the battle truly began. The difference between the previous clash and the current was obvious, these men were not holding back and looked as if they were giving it their all. I wondered what happened to make them so incentivized even as I fought back.

Sweeping my spear about me, tipping over the men and exploiting the gaps I made, it took only a few seconds before I chanced a look towards Kane and saw the two archers both fire arrows towards Kane as he stood desperately in front of Lily clad in mere chain and leather.

That scene, I smiled with joy as I thanked the commander's stupidity even as my blood began to pound fiercely though my veins. At last, I can destroy them.

Wildeyed and my blood roaring, I felt like shackles had been released. "All right!" I yelled eyeing them with glee, "Lets fight!"

Aura: Bloodl.u.s.t is now in effect

With the feeling of letting loose, I didn't hesitate as I began to slaughter those near me with my spear reinforced and the enchantment discarded everytime I needed to s.h.i.+ft momentum towards another direction. My thoughts flickered towards their commander and twisting my body I threw the spear point-first at where I recalled last seeing him before taking out the club in the same movement. I was determined to finish them all.

Around me, the entire battlefield shuddered as the effects of the aura hit them, my club smoothly whistling through the air as I slaughtered those nearby as I began to move towards Kane and Lily. Heads crumpled, chests collapsed. And yet, the effects of the raised ma.s.s and gravity directions on my club ensured that I could barely feel resistance. I could feel the iron crumpling and the bones breaking, the drag as bodies were flung. But it was muted, as if I was trying to move around underwater.

If you asked a spectator what they saw, you would first hear about Kane yelling towards me, my head flickering towards him before I yelled four words at which the entire battlefield suddenly collapsed. Red splatters seen near me, soldiers in a line towards a group of officers suddenly screaming and a split second later, a great explosion of dirt seen at the end of the line. Then your eyes are drawn to my inhuman speed as my club moves at a blur, crus.h.i.+ng through bodies like hot knife in b.u.t.ter.

And then finally, Kane's attackers suddenly fall down with heads exploding and small dirt explosions seen in the distance with a few spectators being unlucky enough to be clipped by one of the pebbles.

This time I wasn't holding anything back, their army destroyed in less than a minute. Pebbles ripping through their ranks, resorting to my club with a permanent ma.s.s enchant when my mana ran dry. The runners killed, screaming spectators attempting to escape when soldiers drew near for a pebble would inevitably follow soon after. With the runners killed, I then methodically moved through the battlefield and killed those who were still alive as they desperately begged with the insanity before their eyes.

As I moved through the battlefield, I relished the way I was both respected and feared. The men who desired to kill me instead falling before me with fear in their eyes. It made me somewhat uncomfortable however, was this normal? When we fought in the outpost, did I not s.h.i.+ver and shake before eventually falling asleep?

I don't know.

But even then, this bloodl.u.s.t, I've never felt anything like it. Its running through me, and its indescribable. It feels so good. With every scream, my body tingles in ecstasy. I don't think I ever want to stop.

When this slaughter ended, I leveled up three times. No one survived.

That was the end of the second battle.