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

asked, quirking her head to the side. “You thought I’d abandon you? Go sit with Mal and watch when I could be here instead? You’re mine, Jax, and I’m yours. We fight together, and I’ll not be elsewhere watching, if there’s no need.” I smiled at her, reaching up to stroke a cheek, and she kissed my fingers.

“I love you, Oracle,” I said quietly, and she smiled up at me with an expression of sheer bliss.  She flushed pink for a fraction of a second and tenderly kissed my hand again. My tiny companion was dressed for war, this time in an outfit that matched my own, black silk with plates of steel and ivory, complete with a tiny naginata held tight.

“I love you too, Jax.” The timing for us to admit such a thing aloud was odd, but it fit us, fit our life. The heat in her gaze shifted from sensual to combative, and she squared her tiny shoulders. "Now let’s go fuck these guys up, steal their shit, and get some quality time in private, okay?”

“Sounds good to me,” I agreed, smiling at her as the door opened onto the Arena, and I marched forward. My squad followed me through and spread out, ready for the fight to come.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The gong sounded three times, and the magically enhanced voice of the announcer rang out, washing over the buzz of the crowd. The stands overflowed, spectators hanging from the bars and posts of the inverted bowl that surrounded us.

“Ladies… Gentlemen… and all you other folk! Welcome to the Cloudring… ARENA!” he shouted to thunderous screams, yells, and catcalls. “Tonight, we’ve got a spectacle for you that’s never been seen… A trapped Legionnaire and his friends have challenged the honest citizens of the Glorious city of Himnel… and you’ve delivered! The virtuous, dependable groups that make up some of the city’s most… hardworking… people have put forward a mix of four individual creatures and groups to face the Foul Legion… and the first of them is here now, ready to defend your honor… I give you… from ‘The Copper Ghosts’ … a Teradon!” The crowd went wild, screaming and hollering. Even from the arena floor, I could hear bets being placed and insults hurled.

Rather than any of the usual smaller doors dotted around the arena, the larger double doors at the far side slowly started to retract, drawing back into the wall on either side of the entrance, and I got my first look at a Teradon.

It was hunched over in some kind of huge metal shipping container, curled in upon itself and half turned away. As the doors cranked back, it turned and glared out at the screaming, hollering mass of beings clinging to the arena bars, and at us.

It finally managed to rotate fully, having to fight to shift around in the tightly enclosed space, revealing its monstrous face as it came around to face us.

Two long, curled tusks jutted from a mouth filled with broken, pointed teeth. The bony protrusions , curving sideways around the snout and forehead, looked like they’d be more at home on a mammoth than anything that stood upright. Beady eyes glared at us from underneath bony plates, and the flattened shape of its skull suggested that this creature was used to ramming things down headfirst. As the creature bellowed at us in rage, I took an involuntary step back, relieved to see that most of my party had.

The only one who hadn’t, of course, was that mad bastard, Grizz.

“Come on then, pretty!” he shouted, drawing back on the bow he carried. It creaked under the pressure, and the deep ‘twang’ of the release cutting through the air, followed by a scream of rage as the arrow buried itself deep into the mottled grey-brown skin of the Teradon’s shoulder.

That was enough to enrage a creature that clearly had boundless anger issues already. It opened its foul mouth to roar at us, a sound that would have made an adult silverback gorilla piss itself, and it hunched forward, pulling itself out of the constraining transport cage. Its large bony frill, which extended from the top of its head, scraped across the roof as it fought its way free.

“Open fire!” I roared, pointing at the creature with the tip of my naginata, and Grizz, Stephanos, and Arrin obliged. Bane had already disappeared from of sight, leaving Lydia and myself at the front, bracing our feet and ready to take the charge.

“Shield!” Grizz shouted to me, slipping his shield off his back and throwing it to me in a motion so slick, it looked unnatural. I caught it, and by the time I’d shrugged it into place, he’d fired another two arrows at the creature.

It pushed itself the rest of the way out of the container, screaming in fury. Five arrows stuck out of its mottled hide. A singed patch of skin on one shoulder remained the only sign of the barrage our ranged fighters had unleased so far.

It straightened to its full height, standing over twelve feet at the shoulder, and unfurled its arms. Unaccustomed to the freedom, it began crouching low and straightening as it screamed with fury and hatred at all those around it. The sound seemed to come up from its feet to reverberate through the air.

I hastily used ‘Examine’ and read the details as quickly as I could:

Teradon Male

Teradon’s are solitary hunters that live in caves on the lower slopes of mountain ranges. Except in mating season, they will kill and eat any trespassers unlucky enough to stumble into their territory. The one exception to this is when a female in heat is found within the range; then the males will congregate, attacking and killing each other until only one remains. In this way, the strongest bloodlines are promoted, resulting in a species that no sensible hunter would face.

Teradon Males are distinguishable from the females by the larger tusks, bone plates that cover the top of the head,