Chương 76: Mid-Winter Mission

Sparring didn't stop because of the snow. I leaned to the side, letting a Dupe's axe pass in front of my nose. It parted the whirling white flecks and created a gust of wind. With our Vitality having grown beyond the limits of regular humans, the cold didn't affect us as much. Besides, learning to fight while wearing a heavy coat was good training. It was heavy and slightly restrictive, which improved the Strength gain, but I also had to be more precise, so I didn't catch my spear on it.

My sparring partner, a Dupe named Yesman (that being 'yes' and 'man' jammed together into one), wielded a small axe and a shield, and he was one of the best of the sapper trainees when it came to single combat. Although this wasn't an official duel, losing the fight would surely impact my rating. I'd have to make up for it in this week's labyrinth run. Yesman's rating always improved throughout the week, but dropped during labyrinth runs again.

I deflected a swing with a twirl of my spear, then took cover behind my shield and settled into a defensive position. Yesman would have to get aggressive. Though I'd had months to train my spearmanship, these guys still had a few years of experience on me, with the time they spent at Homecamp. Yesman navigated around my spear, knocking it aside with his own shield, then slammed his axe into my shield.

We weren't allowed to use Arts or resonance Skills, which was lucky for me, otherwise Yesman's axe would've probably broken my shield. As it was, he hit me hard enough to make me stagger off to the side. His Strength was higher than mine. Over the last two months since the battle of Oschester, I had been practicing using my relatively unique attributes to my advantage. With high Focus, I could handle the rapid changes of the battle quickly enough, and readjust my plans faster than others could.

Plus, with my original [Eye For Framing] skill baked into my gravity Art, I still had lots of the knowledge intact. Although it mainly helped me picture what I was going to do with the gravity, how the Art was going to affect the world around it, whispers of the original effect remained. I couldn't resonate it, but I could still picture the fight a few steps ahead, even in the chaos of dodging axe swipes and shield thrusts. That didn't mean I knew exactly how to defeat Yesman, though.

I couldn't see anything that would let me beat him. He had his well-trained attack patterns, sure, but he always adjusted when I tried to counter-attack. His heavy swipes drove me back to the edge of the sparring pit, where Lieutenant Owl stood, along with a few others from our training group who were waiting for their turns. Owl shielded his clipboard and the parchment on it with his hand, trying to stop the snow from landing on it.

There was already an inch or two of snow on the ground, and as I backed toward the edge, I kicked up a wave of snow. Since my Focus was higher, I needed to do something chaotic. Something to throw off Yesman, and myself as well—but something that I could react to faster. I feinted to the left, which Yesman didn't fall for, so I continued in the same direction, turning the feint into my proper play. As I darted to the side, I pulled my shield off my arm and threw it at him.

It didn't fly very well at all, and it wasn't the greatest of plans, but it was an excellent distraction. Then I charged forward and dove for Yesman's legs. It caught him by surprise, and we both tumbled to the ground. I readjusted faster, pulling myself up, then rushing over and looming over the Dupe. He guarded his neck, so I pressed my spear to his chest, using the haft to pin him. At the same time, I pressed down one of his arms with my knee, then kicked the shield off his arm.

But I'd shifted just enough weight off him. Yesman shouted with exertion, deciding to brute force it, and used his higher strength to push me off. I stumbled backward and jumped up to my feet, then kicked his shield out of reach. At least I'd taken some of his defences from him, and I could use the reach of my spear to my advantage. Still, though, I'd been hoping to at least get his axe out of his hand before he threw me off.

I held my spear out in front of me, moving it, drawing a figure-eight in the air in front of Yesman's face. A moving target was harder to deal with. We circled for a few paces. Owl shouted, "You don't have all day, you two! Get on with it!" I narrowed my eyes. My stats may have been improving, but they weren't anywhere as high as his—and he had made it to Steel-tier ahead of me. It wasn't like I hadn't defeated Steels before, but they had all been orcs or monsters. Not a Sapper.

If I was going to make it to Steel, I'd need more stats. At least fifty total points before I could be considered a Steel myself. Before I could lunge in and attack, a voice called from the opposite side of the sparring pit, "Halt!" Lord Ceonwin's voice.

"Saved by the horn," Yesman whispered. That was their way of saying 'saved by the bell,' I had learned. This had happened a few times before—though not with Lord Ceonwin. I had gotten a habit of drawing out fights much longer than they needed to be, maneuvering around my opponent and trying to make the perfect plan. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I peered through the sheets of falling snow.

It was afternoon, but with the thick clouds overhead, everything was gray and dim. Lord Ceonwin and one of his thegns—Sir Sidal—approached the sparring pit.

"Apologies for the interruption," Ceonwin said, "but we need Levi and his squad. And it is urgent. With your leave, lieutenant."

"Granted," Owl said.

"You'll find their healer with the druid training teams, though."

"We can brief her later," Ceonwin replied.

"Levi, Brawl, Anchor. With me." ~ ~ ~ Lord Ceonwin still kept an office in Castle Urcia's keep. It was a little more cramped than I'd last seen it. Over the past few months, more and more supplies had been brought into the castle for long-term storage, and we needed all the room we could get. Now, barrels and crates encroached on the edges of his desk, and the single window was three-quarters blocked. Candles flickered at all hours, making the room stink like burnt lard.

I stepped inside alone, leaving Anchor and Brawl standing outside the office, then turned to face Lord Ceonwin.

"Sir?" I asked.

"Is something wrong?"

"The 294th sent scouts south, acting on rumours. Apparently, they've found a slow moving convoy of orcs. They're crossing the boglands while it's cold and the ground is mostly solid, and they've brought some heavy siege equipment with them."

"The 294th wants to take it out?" I asked.

"Indeed. They can send a few squads, but they can't spare their best men. They need someone to be the tip of their spear. I would request more experienced sappers, but they're all deployed at the moment. With your connection to the 294th, we figured you'd be best for the job." I grimaced.

"How many orcs are we expecting?"

"Fifty orcs, their scouts guessed. You'll have your squad, and three more from the 294th."

"How far is it?" Lord Ceonwin pulled a map from a drawer and set it down on the table, and Sir Sidal leaned over. The thegn pointed with a leather-gloved finger. It depicted most of southern Gate, down to the coast. The Thelea river cut through the land, of course, flowing south from the mountains to the sea. (The mountains curved around the southeast quarter of Gate, where we were at the moment.) South of us, and south of the hills where the 294th's camp had been, was a marshland.

In the summer, it was muddy and impassable, but in the winter, it froze enough, and the mud hardened enough to cross it. That was where Sir Sidal pointed.

"If you pushed your mounts, you could return to the 294th's camp in five days," Lord Ceonwin said.

"And another three days after that to get to the marshes," Sidal added. I nodded. We'd miss our labyrinth run for two weeks, there and back, but if this went well, we'd get the Presences from the orc convoy. And, even if it wasn't as effective, there was still time to practice my Skills. More importantly, I'd be seeing the battalion that I'd spent the first few months in this world with. I could come back and show them how far I'd come, and keep deepening my ties. Make stronger allies.

"What are the orcs doing?" I asked.

"You said siege weapons. There aren't any fortified cities down there, right?"

"They could be making a push for Steelshore," Sir Sidal said, pointing to the bottom corner of the map, where the mountains met the southern shore.

"It's an important trading city in the south. Not the biggest port of ours, but big enough, and it's through there where the southwest imports many goods and exports food. It keeps the gold flowing. If we lose Steelshore, the south is sure to fall." I nodded.

"We'll stop them."

"It's certainly not a large enough convoy to take the city," Lord Ceonwin said.

"But they may be trying to sneak small units past the 294th, until they can build up enough troops to get behind our lines and surprise us. If you notice any clumping of orc forces, deal with it if you can, or report it immediately."

"Can you spare a messenger?" I asked.

"We can send one with you," Ceonwin said.

"I trust you, Levi. Ensure that any letter you send comes from you, and is written by you alone. Understood?"

"I understand, sir."

"You have an hour to brief your squad and gather your equipment. I'll inform the Drillmaster, and I'll make sure your Presence allocation is doubled when you return."

"Thank you, sir."

"Dismissed." I left the office and regrouped with Anchor and Brawl outside.

"Brother, what is it?" Brawl asked.

"We have a mission. We're going to be the tip of the spear, and we'll lead a few squads of regular Dupes from the 294th," I said. Then, I explained the rest of the situation as we rushed back to the barracks. We still hadn't found Sage, but I sent Anchor to get her while I packed my kit bag. (His bag was always packed, so he didn't need as much time as the rest of us.) Once I'd gathered up all my equipment, I reached for my reading slate. It was probably best to bring it along with us.

Before I put it in my bag, though, I activated it. It read: Name: Levi Gordon (ID#: DD-333) Class: Soldier Rank: Sergeant Tier: Iron Vitality: 5 Agility: 6(+4) Strength: 5 Perception: 3(+1) Focus: 13 Presence: 12 Skills: Spearmanship (Apprentice), Archery (Novice), Art: Directional Gravity Manipulation (Journeyman), Commanding Presence (Novice), Horseback Riding (Novice), General System Knowledge (Novice), Shield Use (Novice) I'd gained [General System Knowledge] from my reading in the library.

I hadn't focused on any specific Skill I wanted to learn, but did my best to improve how well I knew the System's general functions. And [Shield Use] was simple: I'd practiced it in our Labyrinth runs, and I had improved. Before we left, I visited Shatter at the castle blacksmith, and I asked him about the status of my Siphon. The Dupe retrieved it from a drawer and handed the column of stone to me.

"Take it for your mission. It's not done yet—I haven't had too much time to work on it—but it's close, and it's stable." I tucked the siphon into my kit bag.

"Thanks."

"Just bring it back intact. We don't want to start from scratch with a new one."

"Of course," I said.

"Now, I've gotta get going." I found the rest of my squad outside the barracks—Anchor and Sage included. I couldn't waste any time. The orcs were still on the move, and the longer we were away, the more Labyrinth runs we'd miss.

"As long as you guys have what you need, let's get going," I said.

"We don't have any time to waste."