City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

I chose ‘Yes’ and swallowed hard as the next notification appeared.

Congratulations, Lord Jax of Dravith!

You now have full control over Himnel Golem Maintenance Facility Three. This facility has the following capabilities:

Golem Production: Disabled. Golem production system has been damaged and must be repaired before production can commence.

Mining Capacity: 1000/1000, Full. 3x Mining Golems have been placed into inactive mode.

Golem Recharging and Maintenance Capacity: 10/10, Maintenance facility is intact and maintained at 100%, contains 2x ‘Complex’ Servitor Class Golems, 6x ‘Simple’ War Golems, 2x ‘Complex’ War Golems.

Mana Storage Facility: 10,000/10,000, Full.

I read the notifications twice, nodding in satisfaction.

“Oracle, how’s it going? Is everyone okay?”I asked, and a second later, I got a response.

“They’re okay. Lots of injuries, but I’ve fixed most of them now.

“Well done! Okay, can we get them all down here for now? I’ve got a plan.”

“Why do I always feel scared when you say that? And I thought we’d agreed with Mal, no more changes!”

“Just get everyone down here, and tell them not to worry about the Golems. They’re under our control now.”

“Oh Gods…”

I felt her break the connection, and I concentrated, sending orders to the Golems through the control crystal embedded in the table before me. I wiped the authority of the commander’s insignia from the Golems, and instead instilled a specified user authority for myself, Oracle, Augustus, Barrett, Lydia, or Bane, attaching a mental image to the orders to identify us all.

“Okay, let’s see how to do this…” I said to myself. I closed my eyes and concentrated, pulling up the details for the facility. Reaching out to the table, I tried to remember how I’d gotten the Creation Table at the Great Tower to show the map. It took a few tries, but eventually, I felt a response from the control center and an image blossomed in my mind.

The building appeared, as it had looked originally, in greyscale, with red outlines of additional structures that had been added recently. It rose four floors above ground, counting the Mana Collectors that surrounded the building like a huge onyx crown. The next floor down was clearly the living quarters for the current owner, then the two floors of the Emporium. Next, below ground level, was the first floor of the real facility, composed of the maintenance and charging cradles for the Golems and the control room at the end of the corridor. The real shock came when I found the next floor down, accessible through the false wall at the far end of the control center. The stairs led down to the Genesis Chamber, storerooms, and mining facilities, followed by tunnels sinking down into the ground that appeared to have long since collapsed.

I read the details over for a minute as the Legionnaires came down, along with Lydia, Arrin, and Stephanos. I immediately left the control center and walked down the corridor to join the group, who were gathered around the two dead bodies. The first one, the nameless Legionnaire who had tackled the second Golem, had his arm and skull crushed, and the second, well… it looked like she’d died from a single punch; her breastplate had been completely caved in.

I stopped before the cluster of soldiers, the Legionnaires making room for me. As I looked down at the mutilated bodies, then around at the group, I swallowed hard against the hot tears that rose unbidden to my eyes and the shame that filled my heart.

These people had died because I had insisted on raiding this place. They’d died helping me to rob a shop, after they’d spent their lives devoted to upholding the law.

“I’m sorry.” I spoke softly, meeting the gazes of those who filled the room. “I’m sorry that these brave Legionnaires lost their lives, and even more sorry that they lost their lives to protect me. I should have been smarter, quicker… I … I…”

“No,” Augustus growled suddenly, clear anger filling his voice. “No, you shouldn’t! You’re our Lord! You came to us, and we answered. We serve the Empire, and for the first time in hundreds of years, these Legionnaires died defending their Lord. They died defending a Scion of the Imperial line. There is no more worthy a death for a Legionnaire than that. We exist to serve you and your line, Lord Jax, The Emperor wasn’t just a figurehead, not to the Legion. He brought order from chaos and safety to millions. He created the Empire, created the Legion, and laid down the law. Those laws might be harsh on occasion, but they were fair. They made it possible for all the citizens of the Empire to live in safety, and to get help when they needed it. The realm was devastated by the Great Cataclysm when we lost our last leader, and we’ll damn well not let it happen again!” he said through gritted teeth.

“You command us, Lord Jax, and we’ll be there. We’ll do whatever is needed, because maybe, just maybe, if we keep you alive long enough, you can do what you’ve promised us. You’ll bring back the Empire, bring back law and order, peace for the people, and safety for the innocent. If you do your job right, it’ll make everything…everything we do worth it! One day, our children will be able to play in the forest and be safe. One day, they’ll be safe from the flesh peddlers in the cities, and maybe, if we’re fucking lucky beyond all belief, we’ll live to see that day. And we’ll get to sit around and fucking complain about how much more exciting things were in our day,” Augustus held my gaze, with blazing defiance burning in his own. “But don’t you dare ever apologize for our deaths. We knew what we were doing, and those of us that die accept it, knowing we’ll be remembered! Centurions Agmar and Optio Levish died as they lived, as damn heroes! They’d curse us forever if