With one last pull, Zero pulled himself over the wall. He stumbled for a brief moment with shaking legs before he flopped down. A couple of guards rushed over to help Lara.
"That was a workout," he panted, rolling on his back. "I don't think I'll ever climb up like that again."
"Zero…" An almost ghostly whisper called out to him.
Zero felt a spine-tingling chill and looked up. A couple of feet away from him, Agnis's eyes gleamed with danger.
"Ye-e-s?" he stuttered.
"It's not fair. How come she got to ride on your back?" Agnis came over and pounded on his chest.
"Stop. Stop. Stop. Agnis."
Agnis stopped and looked at him with suspicion. Her usual beautiful smile was gone and a pout was plastered in its place. Her cheeks turned puffy and her eyes had an evil glint.
Oh no, he thought. I better say something before I get my ears chewed off.
"Ahem." He cleared his throat. "This was an emergency situation. Lara will tell you. Lara?" He looked at her, his eyes pleading for help. Lara scooted back from Agnis's stare.
"Lara." He coughed to get her attention and motioned his head towards Agnis.
"I, uh…I." She stopped for a moment. The intensity of Agnis's bloodlust grew bigger as Lara shrank back in fright.
"I have something important to say." Lara spoke softly, barely audible. "The manslaughters are coming." Her voice rose with more power. Her back straightened and her face turned stern from the realization that her friends had sacrificed their lives for this important information. "They will be here soon. We need to get ready. My friends have sacrificed their lives to help us!" she shouted, catching everyone's attention.
"Their carapace is too strong to breach," she explained. "You must aim for their joints, eyes, mouth, or any soft tissue areas including their underbelly. Disable them. Roast them. Kill them!" Lara's voice attracted more people to hear what she had to say.
"Our normal communication networks are down. We cannot use it to reach out to our friends anymore. Something is blocking all this. I don't know why. If you don't believe me, try it."
The players around her shuffled through their contacts and were surprised to see that what she said was true. Unease rose in people's hearts.
"Our communication is cut. What are we supposed to do?" panicked a player.
"How are we supposed to receive messages on how to kill the land sharks? And now we have to fight manslaughters too? This is outrageous!"
People shouted and yelled as they squabbled amongst one another.
"Quiet!"
People and NPCs fell silent. They turned their heads towards the commanding voice and parted as Aldran, leader of the Hercules Guild, made his way through the crowds to the top of the wall.
"We don't have time for any of this nonsense. If what this girl says is true, we need to be ready," Aldran said. Gullifer followed quietly behind Aldran like a shadow, while Aldran walked forward with head held up high. He stopped in front of Lara.
"You have done well. You're one of Grand Legion's warriors, aren't you?" Aldran asked.
Lara sniffled and began to bawl. "I-I couldn't save them." Her crying intensified.
"It's alright. You have come in the nick of time to help us." Aldran wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. He patted her shoulders. "Now, now. Don't cry. A cute face like yours will get all messed up."
The female players looked jealously at Lara.
"I-I know. I just failed." She sniffled and wiped away her tears.
"No. You have arrived and given us what we needed to know. Especially how to kill them. You don't know how vital this information is." He smiled. Everyone nodded in agreement. Aldran turned towards everyone. "Now. As we all know, we have a time limit. Let us make ready for war!"
The people cheered with excitement. They rushed towards their posts. Lara and Aldran quietly talked. Zero could still hear soft crying from Lara. He felt relieved as his job was done.
"I'm surprised he was near," said Zero with interest. He too was about to step in and quiet the people but Aldran had already done so.
"Agreed," said Agnis. She stared at the guild leader with awe.
Lara walked up towards Zero nervously. She squirmed, trying to say something.
"Thanks, Zero," she softly whispered. "You know, people here don't usually save people, especially because you don't die in real life." Lara fidgeted even more, making him slightly uncomfortable.
"It's alright. Just glad you're okay." Zero smiled warmly.
Lara quickly walked over and gave him a peck on his cheeks. She blushed red and ran off into the crowd.
Agnis's jaw dropped, then she burst out laughing. "You lucky dog. You're finally taking your first step to becoming a lady killer."
Zero stared towards where Lara had run off to in a daze. He didn't know what else to say. His hands lightly brushed against his cheeks where she'd given him a light kiss. He could still feel where her warm lips left an impression in his fur.
"You." Aldran motioned towards Zero.
"Me?" Zero looked around him to see who Aldran was talking too. His paws fell to his side.
"Yes, you. Who else would I be talking to?"
"Yes?" asked Zero. He was confused at what Aldran wanted. He stood up straighter and waited for Aldran to come towards him.
"What are you? Are you a werewolf?" asked Aldran.
"No."
"A giant fox demon?"
Zero rolled his eyes. "Do I look like a demon to you?"
"Well, that is a matter of who is looking at you from what angle. If you look from the side right over here"—Aldran side-stepped around him and went towards the back—"you look like a giant fluffy fox monster. And if you go over here"—he walked back to the front of Zero—"You have the tendency to scare people. It's all about the angles."
Zero laughed. He couldn't believe this guy. He didn't know if he was strange or just outright truthful. The way that he envisioned and the world portrayed Aldran was as a cold, merciless, and arrogant prick, but that wasn't the case.
"Either way. You look pretty cool. Your name is?" Aldran examined him.
"Zero, and this is Agnis." Zero motioned towards Agnis with his head, who stood right next to him. She smiled and nodded politely.
"I'm Aldran, and behind me following like a shadow is Gullifer. Please don't mind him. He has a tendency to scare people too," he cheerily replied. "Anyways, thanks for rescuing Lara. She told me how, when she was at the brink of death, you gave her a potion. Without it she would have died from falling off the horse."
He patted Zero on his shoulder, which gave him pause. "Wow. You have some soft fur."
"I know. You're not the only one that has said that." He sighed. He wondered when people would stop saying that.
"Graaaaaawwwwgrgh!" The unholy scream signaled the oncoming wave.
"They are here," whispered Agnis. Her words caught Zero and Aldran's attention. They whipped around to look down the city walls.
Thousands of manslaughters rushed towards the city, swarming together like ants. Most of them were the size of a car, and out of every thousand there were a couple of even larger ones that outmaneuvered and outclassed the rest.
"They're here!" yelled a guard. The guards moved fluidly into formation, weapons drawn. Aldran rushed to the edge of the wall. He pulled out his majestic looking wooden bow.
"Ready, men! We are going to push these vile creatures back!" Aldran cried out. He nocked his arrow to the bow. "Fire!" commanded Aldran as he fired his own.
Thousands of arrows with burning fire showered like rain onto the oncoming screaming waves. It reminded Zero of thousands of fireflies lighting up the night sky. Almost half of the arrows bounced off the shells, but the rest struck luckily into the soft spots of the manslaughters.
"Keep firing!" Aldran shouted again. Wave after wave of brightly lit arrows pummeled the enemy monsters. A few caught on fire, others fell dead to the ground, and a handful ate their fallen comrades. The ones that ate grew bigger and stronger, towering up to the size of a semi-truck. The rest continued to charge forward in a mindless horde. Their minds settled on one objective: complete and total annihilation of the city.
"Kill these ugly bastards!" Gullifer yelled in glee. "Aldran, I bet you cannot kill as many as me!" He continued to fire one arrow after another. Each hit its target almost perfectly in their weak spots.
"You're on. The one who loses will buy the whole guild beer." Aldran laughed. "Zero and Agnis, come join us. Don't just sit there." He motioned them forward. Agnis was already shooting her black-tipped arrows at the enemy, and Zero was patiently waiting for his chance to join.
"You sure about that?" Zero smirked. He was itching for battle. "What do we get if any of us win?"
"A magical amulet." Aldran pulled out an ancient blue sapphire the size of his hand. "And the loser coughs up 50 gold or an item of an equivalent value."
"You serious?" Zero looked at it with greed. His mind spun with the things he could buy from selling that sapphire.
"You guys really think you can win against me?" Agnis chimed in. "Already five dead." she boasted.
A message appeared before each one of their screens.
Ding!
A temporary side quest has gone into effect. Because it corresponds with the main quest, this quest will not be disqualified. Instead it will not be posted in the main quest sections. The time limit is set to the end of the battle with the manslaughters.
Friendly WagerA small wager has gone into effect with Gullifer, Aldran, Agnis, and Zero. Kill the most manslaughters to win the bet.
Bet between Gullifer and Aldran: Loser buys the whole guild beer.
Bet between everyone: The winner gets an ancient sapphire amulet. The losers must pay up 50 gold
or equivalent values to the winner.
Would you like to accept?
"You're on."
Side Quest has been accepted. Kill count has been activated. Please enjoy the hunting. Good luck and good fortune to you.
A counter appeared on the right corner of Zero's screen.
"Come on, Zero. Let's get closer." She pulled on his fur. "Plus you owe me." Her eyes glinted. A bead of sweat dripped from his face.
"Fine. Get on." He dejectedly walked over next to Agnis and stood still. She squealed in excitement as she pulled out her saddle. She placed it firmly on his back for it not to slip and wrapped the leather straps tightly against his chest. He already felt like his freedom was slowly slipping out his grasp with each pull of the strap. With a clicking sound it grasped tightly onto his chest. It was not uncomfortable, but it did slightly irritate his skin.
Agnis pulled herself up by grabbing onto his fur and throwing her leg over. She settled down comfortably onto his back.
"Wow, Zero. It looks completely different from up here. I can see so many things," she said with excitement in her voice.
"Well you better hold on tight." Zero snickered. He was going to give her a ride that she would never forget.
In one powerful burst of speed, he leapt off the city wall. Aldran stared at them in complete surprise.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaah! Are yoouuuuuuuu trying to commmmmmmmmiiiiiiittttt suuuuuuuuuiiiiicccccciiiiiddddeeee?!" Agnis screamed at the top of her lungs. Her hair flew wildly behind her back and her face froze in complete terror. She hugged onto him tightly, still screaming. Zero could not help but snicker wickedly.
Twisting and turning like a cat in mid-air, he dug his claws into the wall so he could skid down. The manslaughters were ten feet away from the wall, rushing towards them with gaping jaws. Zero pushed himself off the wall and sprang towards the snapping jaws. His feet slammed down upon the head of the manslaughter that was trying to eat them. His downward force squashed it like a bug.
Ewww, he thought. He could feel a bit of squishiness and liquid in between his toes.
His claws dug deeply into its head, puncturing it. He bounded forward, snapping at the other manslaughters that scrambled over the dead. Agnis seemed frozen on his back with her hands still grasping painfully at his fur.
"Agnis, snap out of it! Time to fight!" he shouted, startling her out of her terror. In seconds her dazed self-returned to her cold warrior princess like look. She reached behind her, pulling out one of her three swords. In his opinion it was a fascinating sword. Zero really wished he had one as well. Its silverish blue blade glistened exactly like her real life hair, and glowing magical sigils formed on the blade, creating a soft blue glow. She called it Starbreaker.
With a swing of her sword, a hot sizzling sound could be heard slicing through the thick armor of manslaughter's legs. Agnis hacked off many more, making it collapse onto the ground. Zero bounded forward and tore a chunk of its head clean off the body. Black blood splashed on the ground, making it sizzle and bubble, destroying the soil. It screamed an unholy cry and fell dead to the ground.