Titan: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 4) by Jez Cajiao (beach books .txt) 📗

new clothes on. “You said the new gear would be the work of a lot of the crafters of the Legion; I take it you don’t just mean the armorers, then?” I asked.

“Well, no, Jax. In order to make what I’d like, but pair it with cheap underclothes, or a crappy set of leathers to attach to it, would be sacrilege, I’ve reached out to the others, and…” Thornapple started, gesturing happily as she began to describe her plans.

“Honestly, that’s fine,” I chuckled, cutting her off with a wave. “I just wanted to make sure you had involved them; that’s all. I felt the same way about it!” As I finished settling my new clothing in place, Romanus arrived, followed by the rest of my group, who were quickly guided to their respective armorers to begin their own fittings, much as I was with Thorn.

“Lord Jax,” Romanus greeted me, smiling as he walked over, and Restun, who’d taken up station out of the way to watch the proceedings, seemed to flow up to join us.

“Romanus!” I returned, smiling at him. “Good timing, my friend. I need to make some decisions, and I need your advice.”

“Then I’m honored to help; where do we begin?” he asked simply, sitting on a crate of parts when I gestured to him to relax. “Honestly, I know you young bucks can stand all day, but when you get to be my age, a good seat now and then is appreciated…” he admitted, patting the crate.

“The enemy camps,” I said, watching closely as I let Thorn help me to cinch tight the straps on my new tunic. It wasn’t as soft or as damn sexy looking as the Drow silk shirt had been, nowhere near, but it was comfortable, after a fashion, and it gave me a reassuring feeling of solidity. Romanus blinked, looked at Restun and frowned slightly as Restun nodded to him.

“I see. I know Restun reported to you first; I take it they’re not making ready to hand over any slaves and play nice, then?”

No,” I said shortly. “And I trust Restun and our scouts enough that I don’t need to hear any more than I already have. The Himnel camp is loading their Airship with everything they view as valuable, including their slaves, and seem intent on fleeing while leaving their soldiers behind, who appear to be gearing up for a fight. Restun assumes their plan to be a fast, hard hit to loot as much as they can, but it could also be to fight us. As to the Narkolt contingent, they appear to be doing much the same, but they’ve asked me to wait a few days for a visit… while they desperately prepare their ship and dive into the ruins ahead of us. It’s basically becoming a race, and it’s not one we can afford to lose. What’s your feeling on this?”

“I suspect you’re right. The Sunken City was long ago looted for anything that could be easily taken; with entire sections blocked off or flooded, it became a game for the nobility to come out here and look it over, it seems. They probably brag about ‘roughing it’ when they get back, but with the nigh-on unlimited specters‒which you’ve helpfully freed the city of now,” Romanus added with a grin, “it was a case of nobody getting too far in. They clearly guess that there’s something of value down there that you need, and they’re desperate to get it. I recommend we hammer the Himnel camp flat; we are at war with them, after all. As to Narkolt, they’re probably planning the same. We’re not at war with them, though, so I suggest more of a ‘velvet glove’ approach. We send a large detachment to ‘visit’ and order them to stand down as the site has been claimed in your name. If they refuse, we take them. If they try to run, the ships above earn their keep, and if they actually want to talk to you, we smile and bring them back for dinner.”

“All sounds good, except we can’t wait while they search the city,” I said firmly. “We keep half the Legion for the ‘peacekeeping’ force up here. The other half is going down the tunnels after these assholes. I’ll go in with my team as well, and we’ll basically search and map this place as best we can for the next twenty-four hours. After that time, everyone is to return to the surface and gather together, re-evaluate, and either keep going or prepare to move on.” I grunted as Thorn tugged the breastplate over my head and attached it onto the hooks on the underclothes, as well as onto the leg armor. “What’s down there?” I asked. “I know you said monsters and undead?”

“I don’t know, exactly. A Legion team was sent in when it was first discovered… several, in fact. Only one Legionnaire made it back. He warned of roaming undead, spirits that attacked everything and were the main threat, and several huge monsters. I’m guessing since you freed those spirits, you’ve probably opened up entire areas that had been inaccessible earlier…” Romanus said, rubbing his chin. “You said you want me to send in half the Legion…” He started to say, and I nodded, cutting him off.

“I want half the Legion up here to flatten both camps and protect the ships; I think that’ll be more than enough, right?” I asked and he nodded, so I continued. “Good. Okay, then the other half is to be split up into smaller groups and sent into the various entrances. Someone mentioned earlier that there were dozens of ways in?”

“There are, but is it not better to send down a strong force, one that can hold against whatever is sent at it? Rather than splitting our forces?” he asked dubiously.

“Normally, yes, but some asshole…me, I mean… has removed the main defenses of the city, so now it’s a race, and we can’t afford to do this