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

smaller villages to the west, on the border of Himnel and Narkolt.” “If it comes back and is docked while we’re here, I want it taken,” I insisted. “That fucker is a slaver, so stopping him dead is a requirement of the Empire.”

“I’ll see to it, sir,” Augustus said.

“Good man. Anything else?” I asked Soween, and she grimaced.

“Look, this plan relies heavily on ‘if’ and ‘maybe’… you need to lock the Legion down, make sure they’ll do what you say, and then we can do this. We’ve already hired some extra mercenaries to help with the raid. They’re good men, so they’ll do what we need them to on the last night.”

“Good men?” I asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

“Well, no. They’re scum, actually,” Mal interjected. “But they like gold, so fuck it.”

“Oh god,” I whispered, running a hand over my face. “Okay, to change the subject back to one of the main reasons we’re here: any word on Tommy?”

“No, unfortunately,” Soween said, shaking her head. “In a city this big, finding a single person is difficult, but even with the descriptions you’ve given us, I haven’t found anyone yet who’ll admit to seeing him. I’ve got someone out looking; for now, that’s all we can do. I’m sorry.”

“Well, is there anything I can do it help?” I asked, “Maybe if I…”

“No!” Most of the room snapped, and I sat back, glowering.

“Is there anything else we need to add to this plan?” Soween asked, staring at me. I scanned the room and realized how many people were doing the same.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s always you who changes shit,” Mal said. “So, consider this the last chance.”

“Slaves,” I said slowly. “Are there slaves at the Stockpile?”

“Dozens.” Mal said coldly, then nodded in understanding. “We’ll grab any we can, take them with us. This battleship better be as big as it’s supposed to be.”

“How many ships are going to be available?” I asked Soween, and she started running the numbers.

“Looks like there should be six on the quick launch routine, with maybe two or three in the air that night. The others will be having work done, out of the city on patrol, or possibly raiding. Ships usually take between an hour and three to get aloft from a shutdown, so the others, we won’t have to worry about for a while. There’ll also be maybe four ships in the private docks. Those will be shut down if they’re landed, as their owners won’t want to run the cost up.”

“So, how many can we take?” I asked the room, and Augustus frowned, rubbing his chin.

“If you and the Prefect confirm orders, we can probably take three, maybe four of them. In addition to the Battleship, depending on your choices,” he speculated. “Working on an average of ten Legionnaires to the Fast Attack Scouts, and twenty to the Heavy Scouts, with forty to the cruiser class, and maybe thirty to the Battleship, as it’s not going to be crewed? I believe we have a hundred and ten Legionnaires in the city. We need to split off some to guard our non-combatants, and to take out guards on the gates and other protected areas of the shipyards…. Hmmm.” He pulled his helmet off and scratched at his short-cropped black hair. “If we take thirty of the Legion to screen our people and secure the gates once we punch through, that will leave eighty ready to capture the ships and secure them. What will be in dock then?” He asked Soween and she flipped through the papers.

“Unsure…” She said. “I don’t have access to the deployment orders. Most likely, depending on the way things go, there’ll be either a cruiser, four fast attack scouts, and a heavy scout, or possibly six heavy scouts… I just don’t know; all I can go off is the current staffing we got from an informant.”

“If it’s the first, then have the thieves take the manastones from all of the Scouts. Take the cruiser and Battleship at all costs, and we’ve got enough of a crack at the Star’s Glory, leaving us with a reserve of ten men. I’d rather have more ships than less, but the Battleship is the priority, since we need the capacity,” I said decisively. “If it’s the second, well, we take all the Scouts and do the best we can; just make sure the ships we’re not taking are grounded.”

“And you’re happy with this? No more changes?” Soween asked again, and I snorted, shaking my head.

“Of course I’m not happy! We’re surrounded by everything we need to make the Tower into a fully functioning city and bastion. There are going to be thousands that die because I abandon them here. Fuck knows what’s going on out there right now, when I could be helping them, but I have to draw the line somewhere, I know. Final condition is that if we do decide the Emporium is a valid target, we add that in.”

“Damn right,” Mal said. “Now, once the Legion is takin' the shipyard, and my people are raidin' the Stockpile, you and I are gonna be here, drawin' the gangs’ attention, as well as the nobles’… We’ll leak the news of the fights; that should get the place packed, and we just have to hope our people can find the Skyking’s lair. If not, we’re gonna have a much harder time takin' off in those ships.”

“Find the lair, and I’ll raid it while you get the powerful representatives of the gangs drunk here. You party hard with them, make your gold, and be ready, because as soon as we hit the Skyking, I bet his people will know about it and go batshit.”

“You’ll need to finish the fight here first; if you don’t show up, they’ll know something’s up.” Mal pointed out.

“I know, but I can’t be in two places at once.”

“We can handle it,” Lydia spoke up, and everyone turned to her. “My squad, I mean. If Jax is taking down their major fighters