Hive Knight: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Trinity of the Hive Book 1) by Grayson Sinclair (poetry books to read TXT) 📗

I wasn’t into ostentatious or flashy gear like most players; my sword was simple and unadorned. Forged out of a single piece of metal, the hilt was plain, and the only thing added was a simple leather wrap for the handle so it wouldn’t slip out of my grip.

Passing several maids shuffling about cleaning, I made my way to the ramparts. Even when we were under attack, the duties of a maid never cease. I nearly ran into Phillip as he was making his way to the ramparts. He was carrying a dozen bows, and he had probably several hundred arrows strapped to his back.

“Pardon me, Lord,” he said, his face flushed in embarrassment.

I was more careful of myself as I hurried along so that I wouldn’t run into any of the other people bustling about with their preparations. I reached the outermost wall that looked over the Rolling Hills and out to the vast plains.

Over half of our men-at-arms were standing by the gate. Our archers had received their bows from Phil and were waiting for me to give them orders, but I ignored the waiting expressions on their faces and concentrated on the field, taking stock of the situation. For all of two minutes, I just stared at the sea of troops currently marching towards our front gate.

Hundreds of troops were approaching, marching in a disorganized formation toward the castle. We’d never repelled a force this large before. I couldn't believe the Alliance would send this many men just for us.

Wilson walked up to me as I was gazing at the troops making their way towards us. He said nothing for a moment, just stared as I was doing before tilting his head toward me. “I stopped counting at four hundred. It’s a little excessive.”

“This is ridiculous. I’d thought they’d have given up after the last two times,” I said.

“Securing our castle will secure them the trade rights for Aldrust and Yllsaria, but I can’t see how it’s worth this level of response.”

“Doesn’t matter, this is declaring war.”

“What do you want to do, Duran?” Wilson asked.

The numbers were concerning, but not unduly so. I smiled; it would be a good fight. We should be able to take the troops long before they breach the massive wooden gate. I hope. Staring down at the ever-closing army made my blood boil, so I made a snap decision and hopped onto the lip of the wall.

“Cover me!" I yelled to our archers as I leapt over the ledge.

I didn’t realize the soldiers had gotten as close as they had, so when I hopped down from the wall, I dropped onto the face of one of the invaders, who had the misfortune to be staring up at us when I jumped. He didn’t even have time to cry out when I used his body to cushion my fall.

As I landed, I unsheathed my sword and plunged it into the man’s broken body, ignoring his pained groans as my sword pierced his heart. I stepped off the corpse and looked over the battlefield while planning my next move.

 Leaping down onto the grass had been a hasty decision but standing on the tower twiddling my thumbs was doing no good.

Of course, Wilson would have wanted to discuss a plan of attack before I ran off. If we had it his way, we’d be up on the walls staring at the massing troops until Armageddon, deliberating on the correct course of action. Sitting still was never in the cards for me, so I ran forward into battle. Arrows rained over the walls to pepper the arriving army, but I ignored them and focused on the ones in front of me.

The downside to this plan was that Wilson was going to bitch me out something fierce for being so reckless. I could already hear his lecture in my mind, his words droning on and on. “You’re the guild leader, we can’t afford to have you run off half-cocked, and getting yourself killed." His you-should-be-more-careful speech hadn’t changed in all these years.

“Duran, you dumbass!” Wilson’s exasperated voice shouted down at me as he poked his head over the ramparts.

I laughed. I am so getting my ass chewed today! Putting Wilson out of my mind, I charged into battle. A pair of soldiers rushed me, trying to claim glory ahead of the others, but their eagerness cost them.

My blade cut them down mid-swing, their cries of war dying in their throats as my sword danced between them.

I ran until I found a small portion of the army. A dozen or so men who’d broken off from the main force marching toward the front gate. They roared when they noticed me, but before they could reach me. I activated my auras.

My battle fatigue jumped as they activated. Two faint shimmers edged along my skin, one red and the other gold, before they sank into my flesh. Aura of Speed was like an injection of caffeine into my veins as my speed and agility increased by an order of magnitude, while Aura of Might toughened my defense and boosted my damage.

Using both in conjunction was a powerful move, and an incredibly risky one. As long as they were active, I was almost unbeatable, but as soon as they timed out, they’d max out my battle fatigue.

I strolled through the mass of bodies, men and women who stood ready to murder me. It wasn't even fair.

With my auras in play, they couldn't hold a candle to me, their movements slow to my eyes. Shields hefted and swords raised to cut me down—all fell short as I slaughtered scores of the invaders. They simply couldn't react fast enough to harm me. My blade slid across throats and pierced the hearts of dozens of men with the ease of a hot knife through butter.

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