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

“He’s with me, then. What’s his specialty, anyway?” I asked, filled with curiosity.

“Scout sniper; he’s the one we send out to find the enemy and take out their leadership in times of war. Usually, that means hunting bandits or monsters. He needs to stop piling in and remember he’s a damn ranged fighter once in a while, instead of tackling things head on, but if only one of my team can be with you, I’d pick him,” Augustus said grudgingly.

“So, up to level eighty in overall strength. I’m level fourteen, so with him at what…?”

“Nineteen.”

“Great, that’s thirty-three. Lydia?” I asked.

“Eleven,” she replied from her position near the door.

“Forty-four! Okay, then. Bane? Arrin? Guys? Come on, people, speak up!” I said, and the rest of my ‘usual suspects’ team chimed in. I ended up with Arrin at level ten, Bane at thirteen, and it became a fight between Jian, Miren, and Stephanos as to who would come. In the end, I overruled them, as the argument was getting out of hand and they had all resorted to name calling.

As much as I wanted them all with me, hearing Miren commenting on Jian’s sexual prowess caused the entire room to freeze in embarrassment.

“Ooookay….” I said into the silence. “I need some ranged support with Grizz, so that counts you out, Jian, sorry. Miren, it’s between you and Stephanos. I know he’s the higher level, not to mention he’s a foot taller than you, so he can usually see what’s going on. I’ll take him this time, you next… maybe.”

“Maybe?” she said, aghast.

“Yeah, I think you and Jian need a little ‘time-out’ to chat some things over…” I shook my head at the glares they were giving each other.

“So, I’m taking Grizz, Bane, Lydia, Arrin, and Stephanos with me tonight. We’re going to be the center attraction, and while we’re keeping the gangs busy, you’re going to be starting the party out there?” I confirmed with Mal, who nodded.

“Yeah, I need to stay here to run the arena, but Soween, Josh, Jay, and my people will be out there gettin' into place and leadin' their teams. They’ve all got their targets to take. You get the fun fights here in the arena and raidin' the Skyking’s lair, which we think we’ve found…”

“Where is it?” I asked. He scoffed, getting up and gesturing for me to follow him onto the balcony. Leaning on the bannister, he pointed casually out to the left, where several tall buildings lifted up into the darkening sky. All but one had lights flickering in them, which stayed notably cold and dark.

“That one…” he said under his breath, turning smoothly and pointing around at other random landmarks, in case we were being watched. “The dark one. I had a couple of your Djinn followin' some fliers that I suspected worked for the Skyking. Nothin' definite, but that Tower’s the only one that doesn’t have an accessible record of who owns it, and when I sent someone knockin', they vanished. Turned up this mornin', floatin' in the river, missin' their eyes.”

“So, it’s either the Skyking, or someone that doesn’t like to be disturbed…” I said, and he shrugged.

“Probably both. Either way, though, it’s got a lot of fliers in and around it, always Imps and Prometheans, and the ‘lesser’ members of the gang get their orders a short fly from there. It’s our best shot.”

“Okay, so I kill everyone in the arena…”

“Then I’ll have Gaion waitin' to lead you to that tower. The rest of my team will be out hittin' our targets. Where’s the Golems, by the way? Could do with them…”

“They’re in the river, waiting. They’ll start out of the river at midnight, head straight to the shipyards and join the Legion. Augustus has been added to their command list as well, so he can tell them what to do, if you need them. Ideally, though, I’d rather not use them, as they’re going to be pretty memorable.”

“Any chance of me bein' added to that list?” Mal asked offhandedly.

“Not from here. I’d need the Golems close by to do it,” I lied. In truth, I didn’t want anyone having control over such a powerful group of constructs without being sworn to me, and despite my asking, Mal was determined to remain a paid ally rather than an Oathbound member of the group.

“Fair enough. So, you’ve got two hours ‘til the first fight; guess I’d better let you get on with whatever you need to do…” He met my eyes, an odd look on his face, then he reached out, gripping my wrist and squeezing once before letting go. “Good luck, kid. Don’t die.”

“Thanks, Mal. You too, mate,” I smiled. As he turned away, I caught his arm. “And when it comes to my winnings, just put them on the Battleship with the rest of the stockpile. Augustus will make sure it’s safe.”

“Ah… of course, almost forgot about that…”

“Me too. Good job I thought of it then; otherwise, when you got your ship, we’d have had to keep you close by to transfer them off, wouldn’t we?” My smile never slipped.

“Yeah. Well remembered,” Mal said, a hint of sourness in his voice.

I looked around the room and caught Soween watching me. When she was sure Mal couldn’t see, she gave me a slow wink, and I couldn’t help but deepen my smile at her acknowledgement as we left the balcony.

“Okay then, people, let’s get to our places. I’ll need Mistress Nerin with me, as it’s time for Arrin and I to make use of a couple of Spellbooks; need to make sure we don’t fry our brains though…” I reassured them, noting the uncomfortable looks from Lydia’s crew.

I bid the team goodbye and wished them all good luck as I left the room. Wasting no time, I strode purposefully down to the lower floors, stopping when I reached the antechamber we’d used the night before. My team and I made the