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

from the main doors inside, and she lifted her shield, feeling the jerk as one hit and went spiraling off into the night, falling to the earth far below. Not a good night ter be lookin' up in curiosity…

“Formation!” Augustus bellowed, and the group bunched up. Lydia stumbled a few steps past where she’d been supposed to stop, as she was unfamiliar with the Legion fighting style. She quickly fell back, taking the position a Legionnaire left for her with a muttered curse, before peering around the edge of her shield. She saw water splashing around the entrance to the forecastle and frowned, before her eyes went wide with realization.

“Prepare to charge…” Augustus called, the Legionnaires around her hunching down behind their shields as they got ready to sprint. Lydia shouted out before she could think.

“Hold!” The Legion started to move, expecting the order to charge, and staggered. In the confusion, their expected shieldmates were not there to cover them, and Rinko spat out a curse as an arrow glanced off his helm.

“Fall back!” Lydia shouted, and the Legionnaires paused, unsure if they should obey her, until she roared out in her command voice. “In Jax’s name, fall back NOW!” The Legion obeyed, contracting around her as Augustus took up a position beside her.

“I know you’re not part of my usual command…” Augustus started through gritted teeth as a second and third arrow slammed into the shield wall, before a trio of Magic Missiles hit Rinko’s shield a second later.

“Mage’s back to play…” Rinko muttered loud enough to be heard, as Lydia spoke over Augustus, glaring back at him, despite the fear in her heart that she’d overstepped herself.

“No, it’s one of Jax’s favorite spell combinations. Don’t get in the water…” she said, before a bright flash and the roar of a lightning bolt crackled through the air above them. The thick streak of electricity slammed into the deck inside the forecastle, taking a section of the doorway with it. Screams rose from inside, and Lydia looked up at a wide-eyed Augustus.

“Now we can go…Centurion Primus,” she confirmed through gritted teeth, and he shot her a glare, before shaking himself.

“Thank you, Optio. Well caught.” Lydia sagged with relief and surprise at the impromptu title, and the glares from the surrounding Legionnaires changed to nods of approval. “Legion! Aaaaadvance!” he bellowed, and they were off again, sprinting through the doorway to find three soldiers and a short, fat Mage trying to get back up. The Mage managed to get a single syllable of a spell off before Tang’s gladius relieved him of his head, and two of the other soldiers threw down their weapons, the third having an unfortunate meeting with a mace to the face.

Lydia paused as she entered the room at the back of the Legion. Arrin tailed her, Jian taking up a post on the other side of the door, and Augustus waved her over.

“Well done on that, Lydia,” he said gruffly. “I understand how hard that was to do. From now on, don’t hesitate to speak up.” Lydia nodded, stunned, and he smiled. “Right; I need the Alkyon backed up and the helmsman taken under control; can you handle both of those jobs while we clear the lower decks?”

“Yes, sir!” she said with a grin, and he nodded back, a tight smile on his face.

“Then get to it, Optio!” With that, he turned and commanded the Legionnaires, passing Yen, who was busy knocking out the second of the soldiers who’d surrendered.

“Effective…” muttered Jian, peering over Yen’s shoulder as she looped a rope around the wrists, tying it off and doing the same with his ankles, before rolling the unconscious man over, tying them together in one smooth flow.

“Practice!” Yen called, grinning and moving onto the second, as Lydia jerked her head back toward the doorway.

“Arrin, stay behind Jian and me. Hit 'em with yer missiles an' keep out o' sight as much as possible. Jian, stab the fuckers.” She huffed out a deep breath and started advancing back across the deck towards the fighting. Miren and Stephanos had switched their targets to the soldiers as well, and while their enemies were armored, their armor wasn’t good enough to protect them from Drow-crafted bows and arrows. One of the four had already fallen, an arrow in his thigh, and a second, far luckier shot had taken him in the neck where his helmet and shoulders left an opening.

“Move!” Lydia shouted to Jian as they sprinted out of the doorway into the cold rain. Arrin pounded along behind them, chanting, as two of the remaining three soldiers turned to face them.

The small group moved to fight back to back, with the Alkyon shifting to encircle them on the far side, blades flashing.

Lydia saw the looks of exhaustion on the group as she closed in and grinned, thinking of the fight with Altai the Wing Lord in the tower earlier.

“Get ready to fuck 'em up!” she called to Jian, hunching down behind her shield and shouting ‘Shield-bash!” The ability activated, taking a hell of a chunk out of her stamina, but she practically flew across the intervening distance and slammed into the middle of the pair facing her and Jian. Her momentum caused her to smash into the back of the third, who’d been facing away from her, sending him sprawling onto the deck.

Lydia swung, staggering at the sudden loss of stamina, and lashed out with her mace, taking the man to her left in the head, while Jian jumped into the air, stabbing down with both scythes and killing the man on the right with a blade to the throat. The second stabbing into his gut was superfluous to need.

The Alkyon quickly finished up their opponent and nodded to the newcomers in thanks, turning to head for the bridge. Lydia and Jian went with them, while Arrin concentrated on an injured Alkyon, swearing under his breath at his own ineptitude with healing spells as his target twitched and moaned.

Lydia