“It’s good to see you again, Sam.” Marseille smiled.
I never thought we would meet each other for the second time. My friends had told me Marseille did attempt to help me back in the incident with the Jormungands. Although she tried, I was relieved that she was willing to help, even though we only knew each other for one night.
“I hope you’re okay after that pee on the pants incident,” she said.
Much to my embarrassment, I was glowing in red until my bones turned jelly that I slumped on my chair.
“That was a fruit punch spilled on his pants, by the way,” Alex clarified.
“Oh, I forgot Sam did say that. It happened so fast when he smashed through the main doors. You’re lucky the Boston Tea Party got door braves to fix them.” Now that Marseille mentioned it, my memory of that night came back to me. I did crash through the thick double doors to get away.
“So, you two know each other?” Wilt said to Marseille and Raja.
“Inde
Unmoved and unsure of what the Jormungands would do to us. When the tracker took one step forward, Brock grabbed a nearby trashcan and threw it at his face, knocking him out on the ground. “Brock, what have you done?” Katie snapped as everyone’s jaws dropped from what just happened. “I-I, I panicked.” One of the Wolf Reigns snapped after a moment of dumbstruck, “What’ve you done to our lieutenant?” “Hey, isn’t that Commander Raja?” The Wolf Reign’s gazes fell on the former Jormungand commander. They were flabbergasted as to why he was with us. “It’s them, Commander.” Wilt pointed at them. “They’d been following us ever since we joined you.” Our leader took a bold move to confuse the Wolf Reigns further with a tall tale. “That’s impossible! There’s no way you joined the Jormungands!” “Didn’t you fight each other on that last par-tay?” Suddenly, three Wolf Reign members fell on the ground with arrows on their bac
The three of us slowly and achingly rose on our feet. Ten armed braves approached us with nasty smiles. “We got ourselves a fine catch.” The voice came from a guy with a black tooth. “Isn’t that right, Captain?” A towering guy came forward with a rope in his hand. He was the one who lassoed us. What was worse, he was none other than Madhur the Maelstrom himself. “It’s that big blue guy,” Brock exclaimed, referring to Madhur’s Asura form. No wonder we didn’t find him in town. That meant they were all from the Jormungand Guild. I snapped the rope that bound us with ease while glaring at Madhur with my rage-filled gaze, though he was given me a stone face in return. “Never expected we would run-in with the Raid Breaker Party,” Blacktooth said. “We were waiting for a deserter in case he flees to Sweet Haven.” It must be their former Commander Raja that he was talking about. “But you, folks, would do just fine,” he cackled. “This is gonna be a bonu
After three days of running and two silent, wary nights, we arrived at a deep gorge. There was a three-hundred and fifty-meter long wooden bridge hanging over with ropes for suspensions. It was wide enough to be a two-way lane. As the stagecoach began to cross at a slow pace, there was a bit of rocking when we were in the middle. Hoping if it could support everyone’s weight, I held my breath until we got to the other end. The stagecoach stopped about twelve yards. We all went out to gaze at the bridge one last time. Anne stepped forward with her golden bow readied. “Are you sure about this, Chief?” Raja asked. “We’ll be a week away by the time they get around the gorge.” “But, this is King Martel’s bridge,” Marseille protested. “He was your —” “He wouldn’t mind,” Anne insisted. “Trust me on this.” Katie asked Zeki in a hushed tone, “Who’s King Martel?” “He was the first king of Blue Bucephalus,” he answered. “Green Bits used to
We’d been walking for hours through the narrow tunnel, though we stopped four times to take a break. There was enough space for my legs to stretch for a bit whenever we sat on the ground. After our fifth break, my forearms started to get goosebumps. The feeling was indescribable yet familiar. Like I was watching a horror movie. Maybe we were in one. “Something’s not right here.” Marseille felt it as well. “I know, my lady,” Raja agreed. “You hear that?” Abraham picked up a sound. Many were weaving their heads while their fingers hovering near their weapons. “Sounds like running water,” Mary said. The Green Bits relaxed when the sound was getting louder, and the air became a bit damp. “That means we have arrived,” Miranda said. From the lanterns’ lights shone ahead of us, we reached the end of the tunnel. There was an underground river. The rock formations on the walls and ceiling appeared natural, with no signs of being man-made. We we
“Hmm, this is good.” I took another bite of a deathstalker meat. Earlier, several deathstalkers managed to get out before the mine shut, only to be killed by Green Bits’ arrows and rocks I threw. The Green Bits roasted one for today’s lunch while the rest were cut and preserved for our next meal. We were all in a clearing, eating beside the closed exit. This place was large enough for Brock to play his football match if it weren’t for the scattered tree stumps and ponds that got in the way. “Are you sure you don’t want some?” Miranda glanced at Brock, Katie, Marseille, her companions, and the Green Bit recruits. They were munching a different meal that didn’t have more than four legs. “Nah, we’re good.” Katie was grossed out at the giant scorpion roasting over the fire pit. “You sure?” Miranda had been coaxing them to try except for Raja and Li. “They were actually good. Tastes like chicken.” “Almost every meat we caught tasted like chicken,”
Once our visions became clear to see the dark, we saw the thing that was dragging him. It was a leafless tree, smaller than the common ones here. However, its branches were alive, hundreds of them; vine-like, slithering, coiling on its own like snakes. I didn’t know what that thing was, but Brock was definitely in danger. I was about to leap to save him when dozens of them were coming at us. Plucking a thick branch off from a nearby tree to fashion myself a club, I swatted the vines away before any of them could touch us both. “Katie, stay back.” “What about you?” “Don’t worry about me,” I said. “I can handle this.” Reluctantly, Katie paced backward about eight steps and watched as six large vines were about to flank me. I lunged forward and rolled before they slammed into each other. Back to my feet, I twirled around, and with one downward swing of my club, the vines were smashed like smooshed pasta. The monstrous tree emitted a screeching s
“We’re home, dear,” Mary said, to which Abraham smilingly nodded. After two weeks, we finally reached the northeastern part of the continent, at the border between the flat wasteland and the forest where the bulge-shaped tree line stretched kilometers upon kilometers. In the middle, we gazed at the only landmark around. The Mayflower Guild’s Blue Zone was called Rockflower. With a small blue sky above, Rockflower was a ring wall of jagged rocks about the size of a stadium and had, what appeared to be, a large wrought iron door. “Looks ominous,” Li said about its appearance. “It’s to keep the monsters away, dearie,” Mary explained. “We’ve got all the comfort inside that would make city folks feel right at home.” “Good, I could use a real bath,” Katie groaned. “Me too.” Brock sniffed his collar. “I can’t believe this forest is so huge, and we still haven’t found a single river.” “Didn’t you check our map yesterday?” Miranda asked.
After we left Marseille and her companions at their lodge, we arrived at a two-storied log house. Raja and Zeki were staying with us for the time being. The first floor had a living room, a dining and kitchen area, a chimney, and stairs leading to the second floor. The decors were like any typical hunting lodge found from outdoor movies; furs, trophy heads, and wood carvings. “We’ll send you something to eat in an hour,” Joseph said. “Our guildhall is that big one in the middle.” After he left, we went to the second floor. It had two bedrooms, with each having six beds and a bathroom. Therefore, one room would be for the boys, and the other was for the girls. We were unpacking our bags in our room when Katie burst in. “They got showers and flushable toilets. And hot water too.” “Huh, I thought they have something of an outhouse here,” Wilt commented. “Guess we don’t have to go business behind the bush anymore.” That was also what we did for the past t
By the next day, while reinforcement would arrive at any moment, Katie had finished our flag’s design. The whole gang loved it when she showed it to us before presenting it to the Mayflowers. Katie and all the seamstresses in the hill-fort gathered together to knit our flag inside Wilt Hall. We were astonished that Katie could knit. We waited by the entrance for hours. Mrs. Smith, Hassan, Commander Raja, Miranda, and the two Green Bit chiefs arrived with a wooden pole and silver ball. “How’s it going?” Hassan asked. Before anyone could respond, Katie came out to present our flag. “What do you think?” The flag was divided diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner, with the blue upper triangle and the green lower triangle. At the center along the dividing line was the fiery silhouette of a foxfire. “Looks good,” Miranda said, and many agreed. “It is.” Commander Raja asked curiously. “What are the symbolisms on those colors?” “L
It was afternoon. Marseille and I were strolling around Hammerhorn, with the newly blue sky that covered the entirety of the hill. This place was littered with emptied tents. Much of the supplies and valuables that the Blood Eagles left behind were now spoils of war. It was nice that the bathhouse and bridge remained intact. While everyone was tidying up their new home, Marseille told me what happened during the battle. It turned out that she and Deborah arrived to save Mrs. Smith’s group when a Blood Eagle company finally caught them crossing the river. As veteran elites, they managed to turn the tide of battle in our favor. Once the news of Commodus’s demise had been spread, the few hundred surviving Eagles and raiders began to scatter in retreat. Marseille stated that the big shots and guilds would eventually hunt them down, along with Alvarez, Javier, and the Storm Brothers. They would never pose a threat to this world ever again. For two days, my friends
I failed! I failed! I was so close… I was about to pass out from the blood loss. My eyes were getting heavy. Once they shut, that would be my end. “I got you! I got you!” Commodus bragged. “Didn’t I tell you that you’re nothing but a bug?” His loud, boastful voice was ringing my ears, which kept me from losing consciousness. I took a glance at him. My fist was still hovering near his face. That gave me one last idea as I quickly grabbed his hand that was holding the spear, grasping tightly so that he wouldn’t escape. “I got you,” I said with a weak voice, concentrating all my super-strength toward my fist. “What do you mean…?” Commodus was no longer bemused when my fist near him shook. He then realized my intent once my thumb released the full force from my bent index finger. “No, no, NO…!” Bam! A flick on his forehead and Commodus was sent zooming down the ground, along with his spear. My scream thundered throughout the sky in excruci
After I regained consciousness, I was in a different location, lying on the ground with an aching back — again. Once I returned to my feet, my senses alarmed me to duck. A halberd almost cleaved my head. A knight in red armor appeared from nowhere and prepared another swing. I slammed the ground with my heel to rock his footings before sending him flying with a punch. Two more knights, four Greek hoplites, six Chinese armored warriors, and dozens of raiders appeared in front of me. I waited for them to make a move. However, my eyes bulged to find Cara and her friends were among the raiders. They were shocked to see me again. Boom! I caught a cannonball before it could strike the back of my head. Several dozen yards away, a cannon team was reloading. The Eagles were about to gang up on me. I jabbed the ground, knocking them off their feet. Then I threw the cannonball back toward the cannon, and it broke into iron scraps. More enemies got close,
The raining weapons almost got me as I leaped into a safe distance. While keeping myself out of Commodus’s reach, I threw whatever I could get my hands on at him; branches, trees, and rocks. However, he evaded them with the same grace and agility as Cutler while manipulating the weapons to fly toward me. I had to dodge them with every inch of my life until I hid behind a tree once again. “Damn it, I need to get close.” My blood began to boil. “Wait, why did I say that?” Why did I feel the urge to attack him? My brain told me not to do anything stupid. “Calm down, Sam.” I breathed in and out when my rage grew. “Calm down.” “You’re quite confident for a newcomer,” Commodus’s booming voice wasn’t far from my hiding place, though not close. “I sensed both your fear and rage were conflicting. Signs of experience. Tell me, are you a warrior back in our world?” “I’m a former social justice warrior,” I replied. “I think that counts.” “You sounded doub
For a long time, we had a staring contest. My plan was that if Aurelius even flinched once, I’d give an earth-shattering punch before making my escape. Fighting a commander was one thing, but there was no way I could go up against aGuildmaster. As minutes passed, none of us even blinked. If I could land just one blow, it’d be over for him. He would never survive against my super-strength. Still, I didn’t have the confidence to fight him head-on. Aurelius observed me with hate-filled eyes as the raging battle thundered around us. What was he waiting for? I must get back to my friends. “That was genius!” he burst out laughing, to which I flinched. “You masked your escape when Anne unleashed her moon. We expected you to hold your siege or run away. Instead, you blow up your town as a diversion so you can bring the heaven stone to Hammerhorn. A better-fortified position. “Such a shame that there’s no one left in that hill-f
The five of us remained on guard. Those who were weaponless picked up the bronze knives that were scattered all over the ground. I, on the other hand, grabbed the uprooted tree. As we got close to finishing him off, Cutler cackled again before he was coughing heavily. Eventually, cracks began to appear all over his body. “Cutman?” Brock called him out. “It’s Cutler,” he corrected before coughing again, yet he was motionless. He had no strength to spare a glance at us. “That boy’s name is Wilt, huh? Let me tell you. He went down with a brave face.” His breathing was slowing down. “Thanks for the hunt, Foxfires.” He drew one last breath with a satisfying smile. “It sure is fun….” He slowly became dust. “He….” Katie took a deep breath five times to cool herself down. Her skin was no longer burning red. “He went down like a warrior,” she said begrudgingly out of respect. It wasn’t long for Zeki and Commander Raja to arrive, looking exhausted. “Is everyone
The bugs were the first to charge while the tengu braves followed behind. In a short moment, we were being surrounded, struggling to watch each other’s backs, especially Alex. “Alex,” Katie called while kicking a monstrous wasp in mid-air. “Now’s the time to do your magic.” “I can’t… focus…” Alex struggled to come up with a magic tune while most of the enemies set their sights on her. “I need to focus.” Cutler was observing our battle, waiting for his chance to strike. “Commander Cutler.” Another tengu brave appeared. “Our forces managed to regroup after the enemies ambushed us. We struck them back in a six-pronged assault. King Aurelius is now clashing with Chief Bess as we speak. And Rockflower’s denizens are almost at the river with the heaven stone.” “Good,” Cutler said. “We’re making progress.” “Why are you doing this?” Katie demanded, and the enemies got her attention. Cutler signaled the bugs to stop attacking. “Why are you dest
Back on the ground, we were heading to our rendezvous location with the Green Bits to help them stop the Blood Eagles from reaching Mrs. Smith’s group. However, ten seconds had passed, Li had everyone halted. “Look, Storm Brothers!” He pointed at them stuck on a redwood tree, about twelve meters above us. They were back in their human forms, but they had white eyes, scorching burns, and smokes rising from their bodies. “They’re unconscious,” Commander Raja sighed with relief after watching them motionless for a while. “They must’ve been caught by the blast.” “Good, we should finish them off,” Alex stated. “You’re right.” The commander summoned his spears. “We have to make sure they will never be a threat ever again.” The rest of us reluctantly conceded. Even though the brothers were now defenseless, they were too dangerous to be left alive. “Enemies from above!” I cried when my skin crawled in alarm. Twelve tengu braves pierced through