Book 4, Chapter 31

The Palace

           "Nice idea!" Pa.s.serby applauded.
　　
　　    "Possible. This means everyone must die once right?" Razor looked among all the people. "We should carefully go over the plan, and maybe bring the necessary members only. I don't think we ALL need to lose level. Besides, you should change your setup. Put on something cheap. Level 900 enemies will easily kill anyone whatever we wear, and you don't want to lose your valuable equipment by accident."
　　
　　    "Razor made a good point." Elfy nodded. "Yuri and Rose can stay behind, we don't really need healers this time."
　　
　　    I looked at Elfy. "You should quit too. We need tanks or anyone with enough HP to move the cannon as close to the palace gate as possible. Let's try making the casualty minimum."
　　
　　    Hawk nodded to Elfy. "As he said. Stay outside and help me carry extra equipment."
　　
　　    "I want to go with you!" Elfy gave Hawk a stern look. "We all know you'll die, then let me at least be there with you. That's what a wife does!"
　　
　　    "Elfy!!" Hawk held Elfy's shoulders and called her name in a really dramatic way.
　　
　　    Elfy also threw herself into Hawk's arms. "You big fool!" 　　
　　   

           "Ahem!!" Big Pot turned his head away. "Knock it! There are d.a.m.n singles here! A lot of them! Be kind and don't hurt our feelings further, okay??"
　　
　　    "Leave us alone. This is family problem! "
　　
　　    I patted on Big Pot's shoulder. "Easy. Don't you already know they're couple of the year?"
　　
　　    Big Pot brushed my hand away and grabbed Pa.s.serby. "You don't understand how we feel!"
　　
　　    Pa.s.serby played along. "Yeah! You have enough pretties around you. Give us some s.p.a.ce!"
　　
　　    Rose walked behind them and gave each of them a good knock on the head using her mage staff.

           "Back to topic!"
　　
　 　   I cleaned my throat. "Okay now, still, the less people the better. I'll now decide the team. No objections.

           First, me and Zirai. We can't go without our companions. 

           Hawk is in. He's the best tank we have.

           Wayne stays behind. A caster won't help much in this case.

           Yuri and Rose will stay outside. This will probably only take several minutes, there's no time for you to heal us. Rose should be on reviving duty. It will be of great help if we lose less level."
　　
　　    Rose opened her mouth but didn't anything. She knows my decision will be better.
　　
　 　   I continued: "Elfy's shooting skills aren't really effective here, so don't go. You can observe the situation and give us orders accordingly.

           Coin will come with us. We need your speed and your knowledge of the palace layout.

           Merciless is out. Your a.s.sa.s.sination skills won't work against those level 900 guards.

           Big Pot and Violet will join. You both have good defenses, and Ashura is pretty strong.

           Pa.s.serby...you can decide for yourself. I don't know about your cla.s.s."
　　
　　    He quickly stepped up. "Of course I'll join. You haven't seen my special skill! That's a perfect skill to draw monster attention!"
　　
　　    "You can do that?" Zirai turned to him. "You never told me about it."
　　
　　    Pa.s.serby scratched his head. "It's a skill of my Roachy. It kinda...stinks, I don't usually use it in front of girls. But I a.s.sure you it works wonders!"
　　
　 　    "Alright, come with us then."

            I need enough people and also need to make sure less people die at the same time. Guess I can't satisfy both.

            "Razor is fast but you won't work well against high level enemies, stay with Elfy and help us with situation control."
　　
　　    He nodded without a word. He talks the least among us. Besides Merciless, maybe. 　　
　　   

            "Do we start right now?" Zirai seems anxious about getting the cannon. She came up with the plan first!
　　
　　    I checked the system clock. "Not now. The NPC army should be still up. The cannons will fire at us at this moment."
　　
　　    Yuri raised her hand: "Um, there are THREE major cities, right?" 　　
　　   

            Zirai dragged her over hugged her tight. "I love you!!"
　　
　　    Yuri is blus.h.i.+ng hard. I think that's the same expression when a girl goes on the date for the first time.

            ???

            Oh dear. I hope she's not looking at Zirai in place of me.
　　
　　    "Great idea!" Hawk interrupted my random thought. "We can go to the Celestial City or Cloudtop! Which one's the target?"
　　
　　    "Cloudtop then." Pa.s.serby suggested. "It's my home city so I know it well. It's also the smallest city among the three, which means the palace must be smaller. This will make the quest a lot easier."
　　
　　    "Let's take Pa.s.serby's advice. Now, gather up in front of the palace gate in Cloudtop. Share your teleport scrolls if anyone doesn't have any, go to any city and use the teleport station to our destination."

           Then I held Rose's hand and directly teleported to the station in Cloudtop city.
　　
　　    Everyone walked out of the station soon. Pa.s.serby has several scrolls to this city on him. As he said, you should prepare enough major city teleport scrolls because you will need to get to them often. 　　
　　   

           We soon reached the palace gate in the city center. The gate arch structure is as tall as the main city gate itself! 　　
　　  

           "How do we get in?" Hawk looked up at the impressively fortified rampart.
　　
　　    Pa.s.serby gave him a mysterious grin. "Time for my Roachy to show his wonders again!"

            He summoned the giant bug.
　　
　　    "What are you gonna do?"
　　
　　    "If anyone doesn't know how to climb the wall, come here and hold onto one of his legs. I'll take you in." 　　
　　   

            "For real? You want me to hug a c.o.c.kroach leg? I'd rather die!" Violet moved back a bit.

            I totally understand why Violet would say that.
　　
　　    Coin nodded, supporting Violet. "No, no, not c.o.c.kroach, never. Zirai has a dragon right? She can bring a dozen people without problem. And Ziri has another!"
　　
　　    "Yeah!" Big Pot nodded quickly. I can also understand why he doesn't want to hug a c.o.c.kroach. As a man. "Two dragons, a phoenix, that's enough to transport several teams of people!"
　　
　　    I shook my head. "We're going stealth. This is not a sightseeing tour. What do you think will happen if a giant dragon went into the city palace by air?"
　　
　　    "Oh...I see." Big Pot tilted his head.
　　
　　    With the dragon transport plan busted, Pa.s.serby began to sell his bug bus again. "Come on come on! Try Roachy, fast, and safe! No noise! No hazard! Almost."
　　
　　    "Rosa!" I ignored Pa.s.serby's advertis.e.m.e.nt. I already have an idea. And personally I don't want to choose the c.o.c.kroach either if I have a second choice.

            "Make a ladder for us."
　　
　 　    Rosa crossed his vines onto the wall and created a plant ladder within seconds. I took off my armors and handed them to Rose. The ladder is narrow but shouldn't be a problem to climb as long as we're careful enough. As for coming back out...We can just jump. That little fall damage won't cause any issue for us Warrior types.
　　
　　    The palace must have that virtual s.p.a.ce technology as well. It's too large compared to what we saw from outside! 　　
　 　  

            Just as we landed on the ground, a group of imperial patrols appeared around the corner ahead.

            I rolled on the ground and hid myself behind a garden rockwork, followed closely by Hawk. Violet jumped into a flower bed, followed by Big Pot (clumsily). Coin ran around behind another big rock. Zirai panicked a little before she squeezed herself inside an open gap in the rock.

            Pa.s.serby is the only one exposed now. He insisted on riding on Roachy so he landed a bit slower than us. When the NPCs appeared he hasn't balanced himself yet!
　　
　　    I prepared for a fierce fight, which never happened. The patrol team walked in front of Pa.s.serby without doing anything.

           We all left our hiding places when they pa.s.sed around.
　　
　　    "What the fuc?? You almost ruined everything from the start!" Coin said angrily while trying to keep her voice low.
　　
　　    "Did you use skill or something?" Hawk asked. "The guards can't miss you out without a reason."
　　
　　    "Yeah, one of Roachy's skills. It's called [Mimic]. We can blend into the background as long as we stand still. That's why I didn't move an inch back there."
　　
　　    "Ooh. Nice trick buddy." Big Pot commented.
　　
　　    "Heh, thanks."
　　
　　    Another team showed up. Everyone dashed away into their original covers. Expect for Pa.s.serby, who still stood there like last time.

           When the guards pa.s.sed we quickly looked around the area and tried to change location.
　　
　　    "This way!" Coin rushed into a door across the path. But a patrol came up before anyone can go after her, so we hid again. Thank G.o.d no one went too fast or they'll be caught in the middle of the road.
　　
　　    When it's clear, Coin poked her head out of the door and contacted us via team chat.

           "One at a time. Run!"
　　
　　    I went first. The patrols appeared mid-way, I immediately expanded my cape and stood still. It was a good choice to keep my cape and other accessories instead of leaving them all behind.
　　
　 　    The cape perfectly covered my body. The guards marched past me about only a meter away from my face. I had to hold my breath!

            I reached Coin's room when they disappeared. I told the others to wait and observe the patrols.

            We noticed there were more than one team patrolling this area. Two teams are walking on two different patterns, that's why there will be a certain point when they both show up together.
　　
　　    Finding their patterns means finding a solution. I've played the Commandos before, that game was way harder than this. The rest of the group went into the room successfully, following my command.
　　
　　    Coin guided us outside the other door of the room, into a courtyard. We proceeded past some distance while hiding, running, hiding, running again. We finally reached right below the crystal cannon. 

            Ha! There's no guard here!
　　
　 　    When everyone's ready, I gave the signal and we all moved. With the experience from last time, Zirai first summoned her t.i.tans to lift the giant half-sphere cover off the cannon. Loong'er hooked the cannon up using her tail, while Skyfire helped her carry the cannon towards the gate. We should be safe as long as we can get the cannon to the exit!
　　
　　    All NPC guards in the city moved the moment we touched the cannon. Countless city defenders sp.a.w.ned. They surrounded the palace but couldn't do anything else. 

           Several imperial patrol teams also noticed us. Rosa trapped the approaching soldiers but his tentacles were all cut down within 5 seconds. These enemies are way more terrible than the city defense out there!
　　
　　    Skyfire can only fly a little above the palace wall height with the cannon, which means the intercepting guards ahead can attack him. A team of archers and crossbowmen appeared in our path. They aimed their weapons high, obviously planning to shoot Skyfire down!
　　
　 　    Hundreds of arrows and bolts went into the air before we can react. Lucky is the only who managed to do something -- he simply placed himself in front of Skyfire as a meat s.h.i.+eld.  The projectiles decorated Lucky into a porcupine. Thankfully, his thick scales absorbed most of the damage. He looks badly hurt but those arrows didn't go deep. However from the status bar I can see he's not going to survive another attack like that.
　　
　　    Lucky's move gave Skyfire enough time to fly past the archers. When they turned around and loaded their next attack, Phiona and Loong'er launched their skills at the same time, covering the shooters in both flame and ice. 　　
　 　    

           The first long-range team is thrown off their feet but a second team appeared soon. Lucky blocked their attack again, which of course, resulted in his death. 

           Phiona tried to replace his position and she was killed soon by the fierce attack. Even if she can instantly resurrect where she died, she got instantly killed for a second time.
　　
　　    This means I'll need to wait for a while to summon Lucky or Phiona again. The 4th round of arrows didn't give us any time to arrange our defense. Dart jumped in front of Skyfire in time and intercepted a good number of arrows. But the rest of the attack can be still deadly.
　　
　　    A shadow appeared and protected Skyfire. It's one of Zirai's t.i.tans.  As we watch the giant body fell, we all came up with the same conclusion.
　　
　　    We proceeded with the rest of our escape plan while keeping Skyfire in the air by sacrificing members. We each ordered our companions to take the attacks, and when there's no companion left, we go in ourselves. 

            Now only me, Pa.s.serby and Zirai are still alive.
　　
　 　    When the main force of our pursuers got close, Pa.s.serby's Roachy suddenly moved. We were expecting the c.o.c.kroach to hold off the last round of attacks, but it decided to stay behind for some reason.

           I saw its belly swelling up. 

           Fffffffffffffft! 

           A terrible stench spread in the air. I almost vomitted on the spot. Then we fell the ground shaking. Endless c.o.c.kroaches crawled out from under our feet!
　　
　　    Pa.s.serby's companion must be a c.o.c.kroach king or something. It can summon allies! 
　　
　 　    The tiny c.o.c.kroaches swarmed up against the NPC army. They don't have much damage but the sight of them is terrifying enough! In the next second, every single NPC soldier is covered in c.o.c.kroaches. They tried to clean them off but more bugs will get onto their bodies even faster!
　　
　　    They soon realized it's impossible to get rid of these nuisance so they decided to keep coming for us, while carrying all the bugs on their faces. However, the brief chaos provided us enough time to reach the palace wall. The outside is just within reach, our mission is finished.
　　
　　    The following NPC army readied their bows and unleashed the last arrow rain, pinning us onto the wall. Our corpses all carried smiles instead of fear, before we vanished.
　　
　　    Our souls were teleported to the resurrection hall after the time limit. The NPC resurrection wizard rushed to us to provide business, which of course, was declined. Rose is already running to us with Elfy and Yuri following behind. Though Rose is the only one who can see us now.
　　
　　    Rose's reviving skill is quite impressive. Violet is the only one who got unlucky enough to lose two levels. If we let the old NPC do the work we probably would have lost way more than that.
　　
　　    I took my armors back from Rose, put them on, and headed to the palace with everyone. According to Coin, the dropped cannon should be absolutely safe there. But I'm not sure until I get it into my own hands. That's why I asked everyone to run as fast as we can.
　　
　 　    It's been half an hour since we died. The palace perimeter is completely clear of any city guards. I summoned Rosa again to take us over the wall. Zirai quickly ordered Skyfire and her remaining t.i.tan to get the cannon out. It only took less than a minute. When the imperials found us we had already escaped.
　　
　　    As Coin said, the imperials didn't come after us outside the wall, and the city guards totally ignored our actions. We were quite nervous when we saw a team of city patrols walking in front of us. Thankfully they didn't even spare a glance at the giant cannon we're holding. 

           That doesn't mean the players will ignore us though. A lot of people decided to come to us and satisfy their curiosity. This is expected. We already know a t.i.tan carrying a big cannon walking in the city would cause a scene.
　　
　　    "What is that, miss?" A blind dude asked me.
　　
　　    "Look for yourself! You can't even tell man from woman??" I hate these kind of people!
　　
　　    A Warrior player spoke: "It looks like a, I don't know, cannon? The game got cannons? Wait a minute..."

           Following his words, everyone turned their heads towards the tall ornamental column in the city center. 　　
　　    

          "They carried the city defense cannon away!!" Someone yelled. 

           And it invoked a serious panic among the people. More players came and stuffed the road without giving us any s.p.a.ce to move! 

           It were the city guards who helped us out of the situation. An NPC team came and started to break up the player crowd because they are "holding up the traffic". There are still too many players around for us to walk easily though. It took some effort to reach the city gate. 

           Then the t.i.tan made a huge mistake!
　　
　　    He b.u.mped into the gate while holding the cannon! I don't know if we're just unfortunate, or the cannon got some problem with it. It miss-fired again! A cannon sh.e.l.l went out and landed among a player crowd in the city! 
　　
　 　    Before we can take in the situation, the t.i.tan turned around too fast which caused the cannon base to b.u.mp into the gate again. A second bullet exploded right under our feet and sent us flying out of the city wall! 

            The damaged t.i.tan let go of the cannon. Dammit we worked so hard to get this one, we can't afford to break it again!
　　
　　    "Phantom Knights!" I summoned my ace card. "Catch that thing!"
　　
　　    The knights followed my finger and saw the falling weaponry. They all charged and placed their bodies under the cannon with professional baseball player style. Now the cannon is safe, I can finally breathe again. Pheeew! 
　　
　　    "CATCH THEM DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!!" 

            A voice behind us startled me for good. But NPC guards never shout like that! 

            Could it be...?!