Chương 351: Chapter 337

They busted through the walls of the small fort with all the force they could muster, ready to steamroll everyone they would find inside. And oh boy, did they find things inside. The interior of the fort was entirely utilitarian – no tents or creature comforts – just tools of war.

Barricades, temporary walls, and emplacements littered the ground, all of them decorated with shamanistic objects – everything from cleaned skulls of animals, dried plants, and shiny metal trinkets – all of them drenched in crystallized blood due to the cold weather. And among them were the enemy. Northern warriors, dressed in fur coats and leather armor, wielding axes in both hands, or reinforced gloves with spikes at the knuckles, or giant axes and warhammers.

Mixed among them were more northern people, but instead of armor and weapons, they were holding staffs adorned with even more dead animal and plant parts, mana churning around them. And in the back, visible through the gap between the warriors standing there, staring at Sam and his comrades, was the giant totem, surrounded by half-naked shamans ritualistically dancing around it – going in circles, chanting, and jumping from one foot to another. The sounds emerging from them were rhythmic, yet deeply disturbing.

It was as if something was scraping the inside of his ears every time they chanted on the beat, causing his heart to skip a beat. Not to mention the cold. Outside, it was total pandemonium, with the storm sweeping through the entire battlefield, consuming those who were too weak to resist or had a lapse of judgment. Here inside the fort, the cold jumped down several degrees. Even the debuff count of Seeping Cold began to grow at an increasing speed, causing their bodies to feel a bit sluggish.

Thankfully, for now, Clarissa's buffs kept the cold at bay. But Sam suspected it was infinitely easier to keep a five-person and one goose group from turning into popsicles than an entire raid party. He couldn't wait to read the rage on the forums… For a beat, the two groups, one savage and raging, the other controlled and focused, stared at each other before one of the northern warriors raised an ax and bellowed.

"DEATH TO THE INVADERS!"

'Shit, are we the bad guys?' Sam wondered, then his eyes fell on the mutilated corpses carelessly thrown aside, and he calmed down. There was no talking. Just violence. Fire surged forward, consuming barricades, turning their protection – and those careless – into ash, allowing Katie and Isabella to rush forward. Their deadly dance dazzled all who saw, thick eldritch energy emanating from Katie surrounded the two of them, protecting them and aiding them in the extermination of the enemy.

Melody, the goose, raised his sword and took up a protective stance before his mistress, parrying strikes from enraged berserkers while occasionally slapping away arrows and other projectiles from striking the healer. In the middle was Sam, who ignored all the fighting going around him, trusting his team to have his back, and raised both hands in front of him, aiming toward the totem pole and still dancing ritualists. He took a deep breath, then summoned a small ball of void in front of his hands.

For a moment, the void hung there as if that was what it had been doing since time immemorial, then it began to grow as Sam started feeding more and more mana into it. It grew from the size of a small grape to the size of a volleyball in a span of a minute. Then it stopped, yet Sam hadn't stopped the stream of mana. The ball of void struggled against his grasp, but his will was iron, and he would not let it escape.

His friends fought against the tide of enraged defenders as he gathered the necessary mana, and once he was done, his eyes focused on the totem pole. Sam just stood there, observing. Then he raised his hands a little higher, making sure he would hit his target and let the void escape the containment. VNNNNNNNNNNNN – KSHOOOOOM A giant laser made out of pure void energy streaked through the icy battlefield, heading directly toward the totem pole.

The few enemies who had the misfortune of being in the path of the giant beam of death were vaporized instantly, and not even ash remained of them. BVVVVVVVVVNNNNNG! The laser struck a shield made out of snowflakes, sending a shockwave through the air. It struggled against it, cracks appearing everywhere, yet the shamans inside kept dancing, their eyes glazed over with fervor.

He maintained the spell, letting the laser smash against the protection as the northern warriors decided that he was their priority target, abandoning their fight with the rest of his team. Instantly, several dozen big, burly warriors of all types rushed toward him, accompanied by hundreds of different spells from those shamans who were among them. Sam didn't move an inch, focusing on his own laser. He trusted his team. And his team did deliver. You might be reading a pirated copy.

Look for the official release to support the author. The moment one of the monsters was within striking distance, a shield of his own appeared around him. It was cheerful yellow in color and was made up of plate-sized hexagons. The great ax of the berserker struck it and bounced back, sending him staggering.

"Hexagons are the bestagons!" yelled Clarissa from behind him, uncharacteristically cheerfully. Sam chuckled a little, then refocused on the task at hand. Reaching deep inside, he shoved more and more mana into his laser, feeling the shield protecting the totem close to breaking.

'Just… a little bit more,' he thought as he redoubled his effort with a grunt. For a moment, it seemed as if the shield would hold then– CRACK The magical shielding broke, the wind instantly sweeping away the broken fragments, as his laser continued on its path, crashing directly in the middle of the totem pole. And it didn't stop. For a short second, the top part of the totem pole, separated by a gap of missing material from the bottom, hung there in the air, as if confused about what had happened.

Then it began to fall. Even with all that happening, the shamans didn't stop their dance. The end result was rather predictable. Sam and his team swept through the surviving warriors, finishing the fort by unleashing all their powers and erasing it from the face of the world. As soon as they stood there, panting but triumphant, a horn sounded. The sound washed over the battlefield, which sent up cheers everywhere, even with the raging snowstorm.

The small team turned around and watched with awe as a veritable flood of soldiers – some running, some riding on different animals – in the tens of thousands flooded toward them and toward the entrance of the valley. There was a brief flash as they watched the soldiers take the valley, the woman from the beginning stepping forward, walking toward a roughly hewn stone throne in the middle of the valley as the soldiers kneeled before her.

She accepted a crown from a wizened shaman, made out of wood, metal, and blue gems, placed it on her head delicately, and sat down. Another flash. They saw a city in all its splendor. Giant stone spires, sprawling estates with enormous greenhouses housing a myriad of flora, while people walked along the streets, happy and prosperous.

The scene changed again, seeing the woman, now older, wearing decadent robes instead of the accoutrements of the battlefield, sitting on a gilded silver throne and handing out orders with a serious look on her face. Sam and his team reappeared on the walls of a different city, still as sprawling as the capital city they had seen, but somehow less. The spires were still there, but there was a sense of imbalance about them.

The streets were filled with people rushing to and fro, nobody having the leisure time to stroll through. The walls were filled with stone-faced soldiers as they gripped their weapons so hard their fists turned almost white. Outside, an army of northern warriors in the middle of preparation for an attack. Sound of preparations filled their ears as an oppressive aura settled around them. Two soldiers, clearly patrolling, walked by them, their quiet conversation heard by Sam and his team.

"…do you think the rebels are right?"

"Shh! Do you want to get executed?"

"I know! I know… I just worry… There have been those rumors, and you know…"

"Stop with those thoughts!" the second one exclaimed, clapping the other one on the shoulder.

"The Empress is with us, and her blessing will see those disgusting rebels dead before our feet." The other soldier opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head.

"If you say so, brother…" They continued to walk away, their conversation fading into the background as the team looked at each other.

"Well… that escalated rather fast…" Dan commented idly, looking around, trying to spot the next part of the raid. Clarissa shrugged.

"Power corrupts." Sam nodded and hissed.

"Look fresh, they're coming!" They all straightened themselves, hands ready on their weapons, as an official with a group of aides approached them. She was an older woman, clearly deep into her twilight years, but she still carried herself with a presence that demanded attention and respect.

"Ah, the new specialist," she stated as she looked over Sam's group.

"We've been waiting for you." Sam waited patiently, already knowing what to expect, and the rest of the team watched confusedly. It was one of those game design decisions that some people loved, others hated with the passion of a thousand burning suns. The officer, heedless of Sam's thoughts, continued.

"You, the healer. The healing tents need your help." The moment the order was said, one of the aides stepped forward and dragged Clarissa – and Melody, who walked after his mistress – next to them. This was the moment the rest of the group figured out what was happening. Isabella was slated for the southern wall to keep the warriors there supplied with her buffs. She stepped willingly next to the aide, exchanging a sad look with Katie, who looked like someone had kicked her puppy.

Katie was sent to the southern wall, where she would join the strike force designated as siege breakers. They would rush out from the city and deal surgical strikes against enemy encampments. While sad that she couldn't do this with Isabella, the berserker girl looked positively giddy at the chance of wanton destruction.

Dan was also sent to the southern wall, where he would be placed with the rest of the mages, where he would have to participate in the rituals powering the defenses – or powering enormous offensive magics. The muscled mage looked rather excited at the chance of participating in such an endeavor. This made sense, as Sam mostly utilized his talents in team play. He had other guild mages, who had less impressive personal skills, conducting group rituals.

Finally, the officer, left alone without her aides, turned to Sam.

"You're with me, newbie," she stated plainly.

"Prepare yourself!" With that, she spun around on her heel and began power-walking away from Sam. He smiled a little, then followed.

"Yes, ma'am!" No matter what party composition players entered this fracture, they would be separated by the leaders of the army protecting the old capital. The position they got depended on their skills, but it was always something they rarely did or struggled with. Most people hated it, but after a while, it was used as a kind of test for people to see what the game thought they needed to improve on themselves. Sam couldn't wait to see what the game had in store for him.

The first part of the fracture – telling the last steps of the empress's ascension to the throne – was rather straightforward. A battle for a position with an insidious debuff that, if not handled, would wipe the party in short order. However, there was no guaranteed way to prepare for this part. Just take your skills and hope you succeed. Naturally, some people tried to disregard the 'rules' and link up with their comrades, arguing that with more people together, they could solve the fracture much more easily.

The game system didn't like it. The most common outcome? They would be declared traitors to the Empress and hunted down by the loyal soldiers. Granted, when they found out that was possible, some people made it a challenge.

'How long can you survive being a traitor in Heart's Torment?' The other Sam watched dozens of hours of footage of people attempting the challenge. There was even a guy who lasted so long that the empress herself decided to come out of the palace and level half the city, killing them. Sam had no plan to turn traitor. Currently.

'It would be a nice challenge once I have time…' he mused as he followed the serious officer. They walked through empty streets, occasionally meeting patrolling soldiers, but no civilians, before they reached the western wall. There were a few tents set up, exactly where she was leading him. They stepped inside the biggest one. It was clearly an officer's tent, filled with giant desks, maps of the surroundings, and reports everywhere.

The officer stepped behind the desk, sat down, steepled her fingers together, and looked at Sam deadly seriously.

"Newbie. Do you know why you are here?"

"No, ma'am," he replied simply. She nodded.

"Good. Then your task is very simple: there is a traitor in the city. Find them and kill them. The Empress demands it."

'Fuck.' Inwardly cursing, he forced a small smile on his face.

"Yes, ma'am."