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With a Chapter Title like this, you know things are about to get intense.
Puzzle: Who makes it, but has no need for it. Who buys it, but has no use for it. Who uses it but can neither see nor feel it. What is it?
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd give torches the property to illuminate dark areas when held in your hand.
Beta: AxeHelix
Chapter 57
Battle of Halstatt
[Lenz]
This is it. The last day of my life.
Those were the first thoughts that crossed my mind as I stood atop Halstatt's wall, staring out onto the empty field below. My only consolation was that I had been able to build the largest trap I had ever attempted in my final moments in Minecraftia.
The pitfall had been finished last night, the quarry completely covered in gravel, looking as flat as the surrounding plain. And while a large patch of gravel on a grassy plain stuck out like a misplaced repeater in a trail of redstone, the others had assured that, come nightfall, the Griefers would not notice a thing.
It was only thanks to the return of the Ringwood Captain and her guards that the trap was completed at all. Their assistance in acquiring signs and gravel was crucial to meeting our time window. Even now, Mobs were spawning within the trap.
The piston and redstone were properly set, leading all the way to the wall, where it would be triggered when the Griefers were in position. Cosmic had even wired up a few mines to a building far behind the walls. A young Testificate was assisting her in setting them off via pressure plates. When enough Griefers were close enough to a mine, she would alert the Testificate who would step on the proper pressure plate and set them off.
How I wished I was the one assisting her. To be as far as possible from the actual fighting.
But, as fate would have it, Captain Wynn assigned me to the wall. Not only to activate the gravel trap, but to utilize my archery skills to pick off advancing Griefers and defend the wall.
And standing alongside me was…
"It's so quiet, huh?" The guard named Solara spoke beside me. She had a bow at her belt, and, like me, was watching across the plain below. "Guess we'll see your archery skills in action."
"Hm." I grunted noncommittally. Needless to say, I was not overjoyed with my placement. I had already helped build the game changing trap, so why did I have to do more? Why could I not hide with the Testificates, being protected by the strong-armed Leslie?
Instead I was serving as defense beside Solara, her archery skills apparently more useful than her sword skills. Solara off all people, the very guard I had explained my weaknesses to. The very guard I had denied my worth to. The awkward silence between us was undoubtedly a result of that.
But at least I was not with the others. Cobb and Captain Wynn, along with the other Halstatt inhabitants and Ringwood guards were the offense, positioned in trenches near the trap and ready to spring as soon as it was activated.
Captain Wynn had really filled into the role of our general. Not only did she come up with our offensive and defensive formations, but she designated a strategic evacuation spot for Halstatt's Testificates, far away from the trap where most of the combat would take place.
And when someone wondered how we would maneuver the Griefer army into our trap, Cobb and Cosmic had thought something up involving fireworks and ores. Whether it worked or not would decide the battle.
As time passed, and the sun began to set, I began to grow anxious. Questions of doubt began to assault my mind.
Am I just waiting for death?
What if the trap malfunctions?
What if Cobb's plan to lure them over to it doesn't work?
What if LeShui brings a redstone contraption of his own that far exceeds my capabilities?
What if—?
"Hey. You're starting to hyperventilate."
Solara's voice snapped me from my thoughts, but did little to alleviate my anxiety.
"Hey, check it out." Solara nodded up to the sky, and I looked to see a torrential downpour begin to form. It rained down, soaking us to the bone and making things generally more miserable. I wiped the water off my glasses before ultimately switching to my goggles.
The Village Leader had been correct in his forecast. Lightning crashed across the sky, making the wall tremble from the resounding thunder. Water came down by the buckets with no sign of letting up. The Griefers would have just as much trouble braving these elements as our own combatants.
I should have been happy. The cloudy sky and the night…they would definitely mask the gravel from the Griefers' sight. And yet my legs were shaking. I had to clutch the walls' ramparts just to support myself. The rain was drenching my tousled grey hair, causing it to stick to my forehead.
"I…I should not be up here…" I finally spoke, addressing the only person that was there.
"Hmm?" Solara, who had been watching me the whole time, walked up to stand beside me.
"I am a weakling. I am not meant to be up here, shooting an invading army. I-I should be cowering in safety along with those Testificates or else fleeing in abject terror!"
"Then do it."
"…Excuse me?"
Solara smiled as she gazed at the stormy night sky. "We have a Captain back home. He's loud and tough, but he has this saying, 'Actions speak louder than words, but I speak louder than actions'." She turned to me, chuckling at my confusion. "In short he's saying that talk is cheap."
"…That is fine and all, but I fail to see—"
"If proving to us that you're a weakling is so important, then just run away right now. Oh, and add some high-pitched whining for good measure." She leaned against the side of the rampart with a knowing look. "I won't stop you. And neither will anyone else. Then we'll know for sure that you were right: You're a weakling."
I could not believe what I was hearing. Yet it was reaching my ears clearly over the rainfall and thunder. "Is this some kind of joke?"
"No, I'm serious." She smiled. "Because the way I see it, you're all talk with your whole 'weakling' spiel. At the end of the day, no matter what you've said, you're standing up here with your bow drawn," she inclined her head toward the bow I had unconsciously armed myself with, "ready to fight like the rest of us. Saying you're a weakling is like saying I'm a weakling."
"But you are not!" I shouted. I had thought I had made my weaknesses obvious to her. I had even gone out of my way to explain it to her and Liam and that Bitters fellow. Why was it so difficult to hammer into her thick skull!? "I am the weakling! I am the one ill-suited to combat! I am the nerd! The waste of space! I-I-I am so scared right now I am shaking!"
"We're all a little scared." Solara did not even flinch at my outbursts. She was dismissing everything I said, so certain that my weakling talk reflected nothing on me. "And anybody that says otherwise is also all talk."
"You are not supposed to get scared!" I pointed an accusatory finger at Solara. "You are supposed to be strong! To face this without fear! To protect the weak because you know it is what you are supposed to do!"
Solara raised a brow at my latest exclamation. "Supposed to? You think we're ready to fight because it's all we're meant for?"
"Why else would you be risking your life here!?" Was it not common sense? Everybody had a role, and this was theirs.
Solara held a hand to her mouth to stifle something, a soft rumble of giggles, before it became full-blown laughter. Laughter! Was she insane!? Did she not know what we were about to face!?
"Oh, man. You…" She clutched the ramparts for support as she fought for breath. "You really are a sheltered engineer, aren't you?"
"I have lived a solitary life; I am not ashamed to admit it." I frowned indignantly, certain she was making fun of me.
"No…no it's not that…" She wiped some tears from her eyes as she let out her final giggles. "I mean…your whole way of thinking…about roles and what Crafters are supposed to do…it's no wonder the rest of the guards can't talk to you. We have completely different principles."
Her words caught me by surprise. I always thought that guards believed in laying their lives on the line to protect the weak. It was what they were meant for, wasn't it?
"Tell you what," Solara offered with a smile. "If we live to survive this Griefer attack, I'm sure you'll understand why we guards do this for a living."
I frowned. "I would much rather know now, before we all die."
"Your confidence is contagious." Solara turned her attention back to the field. "By the way, that was sarcasm."
"I know." I lied. Though she was one to talk about instilling confidence and boosting morale, considering what she spoke.
If we live to survive…
[Outside Halstatt]
"Bloody perfect." Burke groaned as he shielded his head from the rain. "Would it kill the universe to give us clear weather on the day of an invasion?"
Alec rode up beside the grumbling bomber. "You're telling me. Halstatt won't burn in this weather."
"Oh well." LeShui shrugged after riding up beside the other two. "I guess we'll just have to settle for beautifying the village with our TNT."
"…As pleasant as that sounds," Burke admitted, "we shouldn't use up all our TNT like that. We still have a few more villages to hit."
"Well, we'd have more TNT if SOMEONE didn't spam it all over the place."
"How many times can I say 'my bad'!?"
As Alec was about to respond, a couple of Griefers caught up to them. "Alec, sir. How much farther is Halstatt? The others are getting restless."
Alec frowned, turning to the Griefers. "Well tell them to open their eyes. Since Halstatt is right past these trees." He pointed forward, and sure enough, the walled city of Halstatt lay before them all.
Slowly, Alec, Burke, and LeShui emerged from the tree line onto the wide plain. Then the countless Griefers behind them began to seep from the underbrush. The sight of Halstatt was like a tantalizing hunk of meat dangled before the Griefers. Already they were withdrawing their weapons. Stone axes, iron swords, shovels, blunt objects, chunks of cobblestone. Anything they could get their hands on to use as a weapon, and in many cases, whatever weapon would cause the most agony for their victim.
"There it is." Alec spoke aloud, commanding the attention of all the Griefers. Already, the man was hoping there were still some Crafters left. The last village had been evacuated, making for a very boring invasion. It was clear the Griefers behind him thought the same, their bloodthirstiness and desire to cause grief making them excited. He wasn't sure he'd be able to restrain them any longer.
"Well, guys," he raised his hand in the air, ready to command his thousand Griefer army to tear the village apart…
Only for a high pitched whistle to interrupt him.
A bright light, unrelated to the flashes of lightning across the stormy sky, shot up into the sky before exploding.
A firework? Alec thought to himself, as the Griefers watched the trail of light. A second one soon went off, followed by a third. They were coming from somewhere off to the side, illuminating a chunk of blocks beneath it.
"That looks like…ores?" Burke questioned as he narrowed his eyes towards the chunk of blocks.
One of the Griefers suddenly gasped, seeing the chunks of ore illuminated clearly beneath a flash of lightning. "It has a blue glow to it! It's diamond ore!"
That caused an uproar amongst the Griefers. They strained to get to the frontlines, narrowing their eyes to make out the ore just piled in the middle of the plain.
"Diamond ore!?" One of the Griefers gave an excited squeal.
"And tons of it!"
"And it's just waiting for us to mine it!"
Burke rubbed his chin in thought. "You think it's some kind of offering? Those villagers want their home spared so badly, they left us chunks of diamond ore?"
LeShui frowned in thought. "Mining up ore like that would require a Silk Touch Enchantment though. And why do that when they could just as easily leave blocks of diamonds for us? It doesn't make sense."
Alec, however, smirked. "How generous of them. Well, if they want to give us diamonds, who are we to refuse!?" The Griefers whooped appreciatively at that, but Alec took it one step further. "However, if they think that'll be enough to pacify our wrath, they have another thing coming! Am I right, boys!?"
The Griefers all shouted their support before they made a beeline to the diamond ore, Alec riding his horse beside them.
I don't want to do this. Alec reasoned to himself, all while wearing a malicious smirk. But someone has to pay for Daymonte's withholding of my Command Block! And if a few villages are reduced to rubble in the process…
Oh well.
All the Griefers, in their haste to get to the diamond ore before anyone mined it, were attracted slightly to the left and away from Halstatt. It was practically a stampede as Griefers with iron pickaxes counted themselves lucky.
As soon as the first Griefers reached the pile of ores, they began excavating for precious materials. Diamonds were the strongest material for armor and weapons. Not to mention, they had a snazzy shade of blue that gleamed in the sunlight.
And with all the diamonds available in the center of the plain, the Griefers were—
"Hey!" One of the Griefers shouted angrily, catching Alec's attention. "This isn't diamond at all!"
...What?
"Goddamnit!" Another Griefer complained, gripping the mined resource in his hand. "This is just stupid LAPIS!" He chucked the mineral onto the ground before stamping on it.
Grinding it into the gravel.
"We've been tricked!" Another Griefer shouted in rage. "Halstatt did this! That village will pay for their insolence! Getting our hopes up like that…"
"Weren't we already going to make them pay?" Another Griefer questioned aloud. "I mean, it's not like anything's changed."
"Shut up, Ted."
"Um…Alec, sir?" One of the Griefers called out from the pile of ores. "There's something you should see!"
"What is it?" Alec walked up to the Griefer, following his line of sight to spot a lone sign. The black-haired man narrowed his eyes to read.
'Hope you like Mobs! ; P'
"…The fuck is that supposed to—?"
"Alec!" LeShui shouted from afar. "Get off the gravel! It's a trap!"
"Wha—?"
And then Alec saw it.
It started out on one side; the side closest to Halstatt. The gravel that he only just noticed began to fall.
And as each piece of gravel fell, adjacent gravel fell not a second later. Gravel after gravel, falling one after another in a wave-like motion. The very ground was being swallowed up, heading straight for them.
"Run!" One of the Griefers bothered to mention, even though it was fruitless. The ores were positioned at the center of the large patch of gravel. Alec cursed himself for not seeing it sooner. Even though he had no idea how this gravel avalanche was happening, he should have noticed the patch of gravel in the middle of a plain.
Alec rode his horse as fast as he could, desperately trying to reach the outskirts of the gravel trap. LeShui and Burke were already out of it, as were a couple hundred Griefers, but most of them were too caught up in the possibility of diamond ore to have good positions amongst the trap.
Behind him, Alec heard Griefer after Griefer let out pleading wails; ones that echoed as they were consumed by the collapsing gravel. To where, he had no idea.
All he was thinking was making it to safety. To the plain. To where there was no more falling gravel to swallow him up.
However, all too suddenly, that feeling of weightlessness overcame him, and he was sent plummeting down. A few signs and gravel passed his eyes as well as hundreds of falling Griefers, before he landed with a loud crunch.
All at once, a thick cacophony of confusion and screams assaulted his ears. Something was attacking the Griefers, and it only took him a moment to distinguish the enemies' sounds. The groans of Zombies. The rattle of Skeletons. The hisses of Spiders and Creepers. The cackle of Witches. It sounded like every Mob in existence was present in the pit they had all landed in.
Dazed, Alec tried to make sense of the situation and get to his feet…
Only to lock eyes with an enraged Enderman.
"…Oh."
[Cobb]
"Holy shit…" One of the guards spoke in a hushed, awestruck tone. The other guards looked the same, no doubt shocked after witnessing what Lenz's redstone was capable of.
They had no idea how the trap was supposed to work (and I only vaguely understood it), but I knew more about what was intended to happen. Which made the shock factor slightly less for me.
It was still pretty damn cool though.
"That nerd…did that?" Liam questioned aloud, marveling at how hundred of Griefers were indisposed at once.
"No time to admire his work." Wynn spoke up, reminding us of what we had to do. "We need to attack while they're confused. Now!"
At those words, we sprung from the trench and charged the dispersed Griefers with swords ready.
A crackle of lighting illuminated the sky, showing our fierce determination.
The Griefers, spotting us in their disarray, charged without any sort of plan. Wynn, her iron rapier whistling through the charged air struck down four of them before they knew what hit them.
The other guards, working in pairs of two, covered each other's backs as they took on their own enemies. That was the advantage we had. The Griefers had quantity, but we had quality. Each guard could probably best two or three Griefers at a time. And with their forces cut by more than half by that trap…
A female Griefer ran up to me, brandishing an iron axe. She swung it crashing down, trying to decapitate me. I quickly rolled to the left before sweeping her legs with my golden blade. She cried out in pain before collapsing onto the ground. I poised my blade above her throat, hoping she'd yield.
What I wasn't hoping for, were two more Griefers to show up. In hindsight, hoping I'd only have to fight one on one battles on a field full of enemies was pretty stupid. Even for me.
I quickly brought my sword up to block one of the new arrivals' attacks. Then, when the other one attacked from the left, I used the same sword switch tactic as in my spar with Wynn, releasing my golden blade in favor of the stone one on my other side.
The movement was so fluid that it surprised the Griefers. Long enough for me to get the jump on them. I elbowed the first in the face before swinging the stone sword against the second. The two Griefers, after recovering from their hits, quickly backpedaled to keep out of reach. However, all they gave me was room for a Knockback Strike.
Like Captain Iron_Lung showed me, I sprinted towards the Griefer, whose eyes widened in fear, before striking with all my might. The enemy was blasted backward where he hit an uninvolved Griefer, both of them collapsing in a tangle of limbs.
I was about to face the second Griefer when my leg was pulled out from under me. The female Griefer I had downed had grabbed my leg…and had taken the gold sword I dropped!
"Thanks for forgetting about me, idiot!" She laughed as she raised my sword. "Now I can return the favor!"
I gnashed my teeth. These Griefers…they don't even care that I gave them the chance to leave. She doesn't even care that I spared her!
I kicked out at her, nailing her in the jaw and causing her to release me. While she gripped her mouth in pain, I rolled to my feet and leapt into the air. "CRIT STRIKE!"
The white stars erupted from my blade, tearing into the female Griefer's shoulder and causing her to explode in a bundle of mismatched gear.
I screwed my eyes shut to try and tune it out. The fallen enemy. The dead eyes of her Head. It was all too much—
Brain: Cobb! Your left!
I quickly ducked before another Griefer could eviscerate me. I picked up the sword the female Griefer had taken from me, preparing to fight back.
But then someone else beat me to it.
"Hey, Griefer!" Billy_Emerald5 shouted, catching the enemy's attention. "This is for my friends!" The Crafter's diamond sword struck the Griefer, momentarily lighting him on fire before the rain put him out.
Though with another strike, the Griefer was nothing put a pile on the floor.
"Cobb!" Billy shouted, causing me to flinch. "You can't let your guard down around these guys! You want to live, right?"
My eyes strayed to the fallen Griefers on the ground. I didn't feel good about killing them. They were Crafters like me, right?
No…no they're not like me. I shook my head to clear it, my eyes catching sight of Wynn and her guards. They're trying to kill them…my comrades…my friends!
I gripped my blade with renewed determination. If fighting these Griefers means keeping my friends from dying, then I'll fight! I have to!
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a Griefer trying to sneak up on Billy. I quickly pushed the ally aside before driving my sword into the Griefer's gut, then slicing across, killing him.
"…I'll fight! No more holding back!" I shouted confidently, receiving an appreciative nod from Billy before he left to assist Lucas.
I can't keep sparing these guys. I realized as I clashed blades with another Griefer. All they want to do is hurt people. If I worry about killing my enemies, I won't be able to worry about my own safety…or the safety of Wynn and Lenz and Cosmic and Billy and all the others!
"No more Mr. Nice Cobb!" I shouted, startling my opponent. As we disengaged, I returned my sword to my belt before withdrawing my fishing rod. I snagged my opponent by his pant leg before giving a sharp tug, throwing the Griefer on his ass. "You Griefers want to attack innocent villages? Well I won't let you!"
And with a grunt of effort, I swung the Griefer around before chucking him at another enemy. "Human Flail!" The two knocked heads together before seemingly passing out.
"Ha! And Wynn said that move was worthless—Nrg!"
I was interrupted when a powerful force bowled into me from behind. A large Griefer wielding an anvil of all things as a weapon. He lifted his fist, ready to bring the anvil down onto my skull.
Before an arrow nailed him in the eye.
The momentary distraction was all I needed to cleave into the Griefer, forcing him to the ground before a final strike ended him.
I shot an appreciative glance to the wall where I knew either Solara or Lenz had just saved my life.
But considering the shot was accurate enough to hit the Griefer's eye…
Thanks, Lenz.
[Lenz]
Alright, deep breaths, Lenzington. Shooting Griefers is just like shooting buttons…
…Save for the fact that hitting a Griefer won't activate any redstone and the buttons would never actively try to kill you.
But besides that, pretty much the same thing.
The sporadic lightning flashes across the sky illuminated the battlefield, enabling me to take my shots. Anything wearing green-dyed leather, signifying a Ringwood guard or Cobbert, and red-dyed leather, signifying Halstatt's villagers, were off limits. Everything else needed to be shot.
"Wow, Captain Wynn wasn't kidding." Solara complimented as she paused from her shots to admire mine. "You really know how to shoot. Who taught you?"
"Is right now really the best time to be asking this?" My trap had worked well enough, sealing about two-thirds of the Griefer army to a fate wrought with Mobs. But that still left about three-hundred-thirty-three-and-one-third Griefers to contend with.
And they looked quite furious.
"Right. Sorry." Solara rubbed her head sheepishly. "Not the best time."
As I loosed more shots upon the battlefield, my eyes zeroed in on a Griefer standing over a Crafter with a green-dyed tunic.
Cobbert!
My arrow was sent out, piercing the Griefer in the eye and giving Cobbert the chance to finish him. He flashed a subtle thumbs-up, most likely intended for me, before rushing back into the throes of battle.
"Griefers coming in!" Solara shouted, focusing her fire on several dozen Griefers making a break towards Halstatt. I followed her lead, picking off the enemies before they could get close to our wall. We had to keep the battle on the plain and away from the village. We were not going to let those brutes get to the Testificates.
"Restocking arrows!" Solara called out, running to the back of the wall for a chest stocked with arrows. The villagers had scoured Halstatt for all the ammo they could find, and it was with that that we were fighting. "Here." She tossed a few stacks of arrows at my feet, which zoomed into my Inventory to replenish my shots.
I was honestly surprised with how many shots I could manage in so little time. I was shooting twenty arrows a minute, without getting tired, while my fellow archer, a Ringwood guard, was managing only fourteen shots per minute.
Plus, while all my shots landed upon the Griefers' weak points, Solara's shots only ever hit her targets so as just to cause damage. Never in the same place twice.
Was I honestly a better archer than her?
Was I actually…stronger?
A few Griefers, realizing they were getting shot at, swapped to bows to try and snipe us. However, with the stone ramparts to hide behind, their shots never hit us.
Then, after a bright flash of lightning, I noticed an acid green mohawk amongst the Griefers.
My eyes widened. "Burke is down there!" I recognized him from Daymonte's wanted posters and knew of his reputation with demolitions. I hated to think what he would do if he got close enough to Halstatt's wall.
"Focus on him!" Solara called out, running along the wall to get a better angle both on Burke and on another group of incoming Griefers.
Even as we focused our fire on the bomber, he had gathered a large group of Griefers to make a charge on our wall. Burke stayed at the back, forcing all the Griefers in front of him to take the brunt of our arrows. We could not get a hit on him.
Not to mention, the more we focused on Burke's group, the easier it would be for individual Griefers to slip by. They were all so spread out.
"We need more archers!" Solara called out, winded from how many arrows she was shooting. I was in the same way, frantically shooting them at any Griefer that got within fifty meters of the wall.
Just as my eyes noticed a sneer forming on Burke's face, an explosion ripped open the ground beneath his group's feet, killing several and scattering the rest.
More explosions were triggered ahead of our walls, decimating or else dazing the approaching Griefers.
Looks like Cosmic's landmines worked. I thought, feeling a tad more relaxed. With their advancing force thwarted, there was no longer any rush to pick them off. In their stunned state, our arrows took them out with ease.
Burke took an arrow to the chest before he kept himself low to the ground, avoiding our arrows as best he could. I could see the TNT in his hand and the furious expression on his face that we stopped him in his tracks.
Now if only Cobbert and the others could finish off their opponents—
*BOOM*
My eyes widened at the sound of an explosion before spotting a primed block of TNT screaming towards me. I quickly dropped to the ground, covering my head with my hands, as the TNT flew overhead before exploding upon the back of the wall.
The force behind it was strong enough to blast me over the edge of the ramparts. My hand clung onto the edge, desperately hanging on as I tried to haul myself back to safety.
I looked over my shoulder to verify what had hit me.
There, a great distance away, was a TNT cannon. It was operated using water and several blocks of TNT but was compact enough to be constructed in a matter of minutes. An ideal design for blasting apart walls.
And standing beside it, looking particularly bored, was the redstone protégé, LeShui.
So it is true. I noted sadly, watching LeShui load more TNT into the cannon. He really is helping them…
*BOOM*
"Lenzington! Take my hand!" I looked up to see Solara reaching a hand down to help me back onto the wall. Right as another block of TNT was coming at us.
I struggled to grip her hand, my own too sweaty to get a proper grasp, before she finally managed to haul me up.
To say we escaped by the skin of our teeth would be an understatement. The TNT destroyed the ramparts I was hanging onto only a moment ago. If Solara had not helped me up…
*BOOM*
LeShui was not letting up. On instinct, Solara and I sprinted away from our current position, certain the next shot would be aimed at wherever we were standing. Another chunk of the ramparts were destroyed, sending cobblestone debris everywhere.
"Lenz, take out that cannon! And for God's sake, keep moving!" Solara ordered, picking herself up to dodge another volley of TNT. I followed suit, loading an arrow into my bow and aiming far back towards the cannon.
Another flash of lightning illuminated my shot, and I quickly took it. The arrow soared through the air, aimed right at LeShui, but the distance gave him more than enough time to take cover behind his cannon. Then he was pressing buttons to return fire.
*BOOM*
"Comparators!" I cursed as I ran to an undestroyed section of the wall, just as the cannon's recent shot tore apart Halstatt's front gate.
This was a waste of time. There was no point in shooting at LeShui when he could just take cover. Meanwhile, if we tried to take cover, he would simply destroy our cover. And with all the other Griefers to worry about…
I needed to stop the cannon itself. Disable it somehow.
…
Making up my mind, I readied my next shot and aimed carefully. My eyes were good enough to make out the redstone wiring of the cannon. It involved two buttons. The first to ignite a line of TNT to propel the shot, and a second to prime the TNT shot so that it would explode on impact.
The time delay was essential. One little slip-up could have the entire cannon blow up in your face.
So LeShui, I internally commented with a smirk, you should not have used wooden buttons to prime your TNT.
And with that thought, I fired my arrow. It sailed across the sky, straight towards the cannon. Only this time, it was not aimed at LeShui.
It was aimed at the button that primed the shot TNT.
With the TNT prematurely primed, LeShui panicked. The water keeping the TNT from destroying the cannon only flowed through the propelling TNT, not the fired TNT.
In other words, his cannon was about to explode.
He ran away before taking cover in one of Cosmic's landmine craters. And when the cannon exploded, it scattered all the unprimed TNT, blasting apart the landscape and any Griefers that were advancing towards the wall.
"Nice one!" Solara congratulated as she stood beside me once more. I could not help but smile at the praise. My engineering skills had come in handy again.
However, my newfound pride quickly diminished when I noticed something.
Two Griefers were moving rather strangely, their legs hanging limply and dragging beneath them as they were pushed forward by something.
And they were within ten blocks of the wall.
Solara noticed it too, quickly taking a shot at the two Griefers. They did not bother to dodge, taking the arrow straight to the chest before continuing as if nothing happened.
I joined in, taking shots at them. But for all we shot into them, they did not once slow down.
That was when I saw that the Griefers' eyes were closed. Their limbs hung numbly at their sides, not even armed with weapons, because they were both unconscious.
Someone was behind them, using their bodies as shields to advance. And the acid-green mohawk that poked over their heads was all I needed to confirm it was Burke.
"No!" I shouted in fear as I concentrated more arrows on them. One of the Griefers had taken enough hits and exploded in a shower of gear. Burke quickly repositioned the remaining body, covering himself from even my precise line of sight.
It was when Burke was within two blocks of the wall when his final shield died. That was when I saw the TNT in his hand.
The next instant, he placed it all around the wall's base before igniting one of the blocks and clearing out.
"Lenz, MOVE!" Solara shouted, grabbing me by my scarf and leaping off the ramparts into Halstatt.
Then there was a loud series of explosions, all of them tearing down the wall from the base to the ramparts. Cobblestone and dirt were ripped asunder, scattering across the plain and spilling into the village.
That, as well as the agonized expression on Solara's face, were the last things I saw before the world blacked out.
[Cobb]
*KA-BOOM*
The loud explosion that echoed across the plain and caused the ground to tremble drew my eyes away from my downed opponent and towards Halstatt's wall. Or at least to where a wall was standing a moment ago.
Now there was only a gap through which Griefers were pouring into the village. Even more alarming was that they weren't impeded by any archers or arrows. Meaning Lenz and Solara were…were…
I shook my head. No, they're fine! They've gotta be…
"This is bad. I figured those bombers would be trouble." Wynn was at my side in an instant, trying to assess the situation and formulate a plan. "Lucas! Can you and the villagers handle those Griefers?" Lucas, after teaming up with another villager to kill a Griefer, offered the Captain a nod. "Then go! We'll handle the Griefers out here!"
At once, Lucas and the villagers hurried towards Halstatt, the more injured ones lagging behind to regenerate their health. Billy was the only one who chose to stay.
I began to realize how difficult a battle we had left to face. Though the Griefers' numbers were down because of the trap, they still outnumbered us. And now we had to divide what little forces we had to defend Halstatt both inside and outside of its wall.
And the Griefers were relentless. You'd think seeing over half of their army falling into a pit would have broken their morale, but they were still fighting with all they had. Why though? What were they fighting so passionately for?
Especially with Alec_Bishop dead. He was supposedly the cause of all this. I had seen the guy ride his horse into the gravel trap and fall into it. There was no way he could still be alive fighting all those Mob. And without their leader, I had hoped that the Griefers would give up or flee.
But they were so united in their goal to cause chaos that they were attacking Halstatt regardless of their fallen leader.
Admirable, maybe.
Annoying, definitely.
I snagged another Griefer with my fishing rod before throwing them into the ground. Wynn came soon after, driving her rapier into the enemy's skull and killing him instantly.
"Would it kill you not to use a fishing rod?" The ivory-haired Captain questioned with an eye-roll.
"What? And abandon the combat style you admire the most?" I countered with a smile while gasping for breath. "Not on your life."
"Hmph." She smiled before downing a Leaping Potion and flipping over a pair of charging Griefers. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she was off. Darting in between the Griefers' strikes and hitting them where it hurt. Four quick slashes and they were reduced to piles of gear.
…Okay, now she's just showing off.
Lightning danced across the sky as more Griefers came forward to attack. Any time we killed one, two more would take their place. And any that decided not to fight us were hurrying towards Halstatt.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the guards were also losing steam. We were only just barely hanging in there, working in pairs to repel Griefers.
It would have been worse if we were facing all one thousand of them.
But thankfully, the pitfall was doing most of the work.
After defeating a large wave of Griefers, things finally calmed down. I looked around to see that Wynn, all six of her guards, and Billy had all survived. Though Hollie was unconscious and Liam was limping with a pained grimace.
However, a bunch of the Griefers had slipped past us, attacking the village in earnest. The rain would prevent them from burning anything down and they'd have trouble finding the Testificates, but if they killed the villagers…
"Alright… *huff* we need…we need to get back to the village." Wynn ordered, checking the guards. "Liam, can you still fight?"
"Yeah…you know it!" Liam tried to put up a strong front, but it was clear how much he was hurting. Spencer tossed him a Potion of Regeneration which he gratefully accepted.
"Billy," Wynn called out to the Crafter looking into the massive pitfall. "Are all the Griefers down there dead?"
Billy didn't immediately respond or move, causing Wynn to raise an eyebrow.
"Billy?" I questioned, stepping towards the Crafter.
"…No fucking way…"
The sheer disbelief in Billy's words alarmed Wynn and I, and made us hurry to see what was the matter.
I hadn't really gotten a good look into the pit when the trap was triggered. I was sort of busy fighting for my life against an army of Griefers. So I was surprised to see just how many Mobs had spawned. Hundreds of Zombies, Skeletons, and Spiders were crawling around at the bottom, attacking any Crafter in their sights. Only a few Griefers were left out of the six or seven hundred that had fallen in.
The gear of the dead littered the quarry's floor, similar to how the Caerbannog Valley looked. And even then, I watched as Griefers met their ends, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Mobs.
Except for one.
One Crafter was still fighting, still getting hit, still moving through the mass of Mobs, and still surviving.
And it was when I saw his jet-black hair that I realized it was fucking Alec_Bishop.
"HOW!?" I shouted aloud in frustration, gesturing to the spectacle beneath me. "How in the hell is he still alive!? That doesn't make sense! He's literally facing an army of Mobs single-handedly!"
Liver: He's certainly persistent.
Heart: No, wait. Something's not right about this. He shouldn't be able to—
Brain: Okay, that's bullshit. Hacks! I call hacks! Somebody report this guy!
Wait…what are hacks? Tell me, Normal Sense!
"Oh dear God…" Wynn mumbled breathlessly, taking a step back. It sounded so unlike her, so full of horror and fear, that I had to face her just to verify she said it. The expression on her face mirrored her tone.
"What is it? What's wrong?" I posed those questions immediately, wanting to know what was causing her such apprehension. Her pupils were dilated in fear and her hands were shaking. I had never seen her so scared.
I turned back to Alec, still fighting in the quarry, to see what Wynn was so afraid of. Sure, it was scary that the guy could fight so many Mobs without dying, but he had to have his limits, right? He couldn't go on forever.
But then I noticed something off about Alec. Something small. At first I thought it was a trick of the light, caused by the lightning flashing across the sky. Or else I thought it was just the smoke from the fallen Mobs Alec was killing.
But then I realized it wasn't nothing. It was smoke. Wisps of dark smoke emanating from Alec like an aura. It surrounded him in a constant, ceaseless flow, and was never disrupted by the Mobs attacking him. If anything, it looked like the smoke was enveloping him.
Protecting him.
And there was something ominous about that. Mainly because I had never seen it before.
"What the…what the heck is he?"
"…Hacker…"
"A what?" I turned back to Wynn, but she was already rushing towards the village.
"Everyone fall back!" She called out to her remaining guards, and it was the sheer terror in her tone that startled everyone. She was truly afraid of Alec. "Get back to the village! We need to evacuate NOW!"
"What!? Why!?" I began to argue, not seeing how much a threat one guy could be. "We're so close to winning—"
"JUST THIS ONCE, LISTEN TO ME, COBB!" Wynn had screamed that at me, her eyes wide with panic, but demanding that I follow her orders. I flinched in surprise before nodding apprehensively. "We need to get everyone out of Halstatt before Alec gets out of that pit! Now come on—!"
*ZWIP*
She stopped abruptly, catching all the guards' attention. She just stood there, staring at the Crafter who had just escaped the pitfall via an ender pearl off a slain Enderman. Even then, that same black smoke was enveloping his body.
"Before I forget to mention this," Alec muttered darkly, his dark-grey eyes—with black where the whites of his eyes should have been—roving across each and every Crafter opposing him.
"You have no idea how fucked you all are."
Inventory (Cobb): 1 Wooden Shovel, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 1 Stone Sword, 1 Golden Sword [Sharpness I, Unbreaking I]{Weak}, 1 Wooden Pickaxe {Weak}, 1 Fishing Rod {Weak}, 1 Flint and Steel, 8 Cobblestone, 12 Flint, 22 Torches, 12 Oak Wood Planks, 8 Oak Wood Stairs, 1 Oak Wood Door, 1 Clock, 45 Dirt, 1 Water Bucket, 10 String, 1 Ender Pearl, 1 Bone, 3 Baked Potatoes, 5 Pumpkin Pies, 17 Cookies, 1 Cake, 1 Pumpkin, 1 Chainmail Helmet, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Green, Unbreaking I], Iron Leggings, Iron Boots, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 7 Rotten Flesh, 4 Item Frames, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Temporary Entry Pass}
[EXP: 24]
Inventory (Ace the Ass): 8 Lapis Lazuli, 34 Iron Ore, 10 Gold Ore, 13 Coal
Inventory (Lenz): 1 Bow, 1 Shears, 3 Levers, 4 Wooden Buttons, 3 Stone Buttons, 5 Redstone Torches, 29 Redstone, 7 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 1 Hopper, 1 Dispenser, 3 Blocks of Redstone, 2 Pistons, 10 Cobblestone, 10 Torches, 5 Sticks, 3 Redstone Lamps, 1 Minecart, 1 Compass, 12 String, 25 Gunpowder, 8 Carrots, 47 Arrows, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Pumpkin, 1 Book {Notebook}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}
[EXP: 0]
Inventory (Reginald the Ass): {Empty}
AN: GASP! What a shocking turn of events!
Or maybe not. Some of you speculated on Alec's smoke powers being something along the lines of a Wither hybrid. But nope! He's a Hacker.
And in case any of you are complaining about the inclusion of a random type of enemy that was never brought up before...
Take a look at Chapter 23. Wynn, while explaining the diferent types of people in Minecraft, purposefully skipped a group in between Griefers and Jibbermen. In other words, Hackers are such an unspeakable evil in Minecraftia that Wynn didn't want to mention them.
Making small mentions in past readings that can be referenced in present readings. I refer to it as J.K. Rowling with it.
And as Chapters go, this was pretty simple to write. There was a Cobb section, a Lenz section, and even a section for the invading army. It was done to show each group's job in defending Halstatt, but also in how resourceful the enemy can be. Alec, Burke, and LeShui aren't dumb villians...okay maybe Alec since he fell for the trap...but they have their own strengths too.
Having bad guys and good guys fight each other, using their strengths to exploit the other's weaknesses, makes for good dramatic fight scenes.
No Omake this week. Oh...and fair warning.
A Hiatus is coming soon.