Starting from Zero

Chapter 29

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Book 4, Chapter 29

Escape

            We soon gathered in front of the city gate.Hawk is pretty smart when it comes to these operations. He bought many ropes fromthe system shop and prepared them into thick towlines enough to drag thecannons.
　　
　　    "Howabout this?" Zirai used the towlines to make a giant noose with four ends.So Phiona, Loong"er, Lucky and Skyfire can each take one end and lift thecannons. The cannons look more like some kind of observatories. Who knows howheavy they are.
　　
　　    "Shouldbe good!" Everyone nodded.
　　
　　    "Let"smove then!" Zirai is getting super excited.
　　
　　    "Wait!"Big Pot raised his hand. "Someone needs to stay on the rope right? Thecompanions aren"t going to command themselves."
　　
　　    "Yougo then!" Violet pushed Big Pot onto Lucky"s back. "Be careful not tofall."
　　
　　    "Noooo!I"m afraid of heights!!" He tried to climb down.

I signaled Lucky to takeoff with the three other companions, bringing the rope noose and the screamingBig Pot with them. They didn"t go far. Skyfire stayed lower, without leavingour sight, which caused the other companions to stay behind too.
　　
　　 "Um,Zirai? Is your dragon afraid of heights too?"

"Very funny. That"sMY companion, what do you expect when I"m standing on the ground? You at leastknow there"s a limit for how far you can command your pets right?"
　　
　　 Ithink Hawk and Elfy mentioned this before. Ordinary companions can only operatewithin their master"s sight. This is not the case for my team though.

"Youshould go with them then." I told them to get down.

            Zirai summoned hert.i.tans to lift her up, then un-summoned them again. Well that"s handy.
　　
　　    "Youguys wait in the city! I"ll get to right above the cannon. Give me a signalwhen ready, and I"ll come down!"
　　
　　    "Gotit. Let"s move!"
　　
　　

           Theteam marched towards one corner of the G.o.ddess City where one of the energycrystal cannons is located. Four cannons are separately placed at each cornerof the city, and a bigger one is stationed on top of a tower in the city center.This layout is used to make sure that at least three cannons can hit somethingno matter which direction they come from.
　　
　　    Ourtargets are the four smaller corner cannons. Of course we want the middle oneas well but we"re not sure we can lift it, with that kind of size. If wemanage to pirate the other four this time, we can try to get the big one later.
　　

           Wesneaked under the cannon in the southeast corner of the city. The stoneplatform support made of flagstones is as tall as the city wall, whereas thehalf-sphere shaped cannon stays aloft in the center of the platform. Thirteen guardians are standing under the cannon in a circle, with their backs againstthe cannon. There"s an unconspicuous room nearby which must be the sp.a.w.n point.When the city goes into war, the five rooms at mentioned locations will produce100,000 level 800-850 regular NPC soldiers. That will definitely be quite aview.
　　
　　    "Isit possible to seal that door?" I pointed to the sp.a.w.n room and asked Hawk.
　　
　　    "Wecan"t seal it but...It"s still possible to stall them."
　　
　　    "How do we do that?"
　　
　　    "Look atthe cannon." 　　
　　

"And?" 　　
　　

"Whatwill happen if we knock it over and make it crash into the door?" 　　
　　

   "Ilike your way of thinking." I gave him a thumb-up.
　　
　　    "Bequiet you two! We"re going!" Elfy lost patience.
　　
　　    Isent Zirai a /tell, asking her to start. 　　
　　

Ablack spot in the sky quickly grew bigger. The temporary transport team arrivedalmost in an instant.

Zirai jumped onto the cannon and began to tie the ropes. TheNPC guards looked back towards her the moment she touched the cannon.
　　
　　 Butwe already moved before they can react. The ten Phantom Knights charged ahead, followedby everyone else. We knocked down the guards within a matter of seconds.

I gaveZirai an "ok" gesture. She then ordered Skyfire and the others togain alt.i.tude. They (those with wings at least) flapped their wings as hard as they can.
　　
　　 Adull b.u.mping noise, followed by a smoke cloud. The cannon left it"s base andwent afloat.

Groups of NPC soldiers are already appearing inside the house nearby!

Zirai summoned her t.i.tans. They pushed at the remaining cannon base, which fell and broke the stone platform to pieces and caused all the rocks to bury thesp.a.w.n point under a giant rubble.
　　
　　 Something"s not right. That base lying on the rubble...It looks likea tripod stand, with a long, thick iron pipe attached to it.

           Wait, it"s thecannon! I looked up to the transport team. What they"re carrying is the half-spherecasing of the cannon. So the actual cannon isn"t so big, the heavy casing is used tohide the cannon"s long barrel!
　　
　　    Iquickly contacted Zirai. "Come back! You took the wrong stuff!"
　　
　　    "What??"Zirai watched from Skyfire"s back as we stood on the rubble, waving at her andpointing to the object behind us. She soon realized the real target is still onthe ground.
　　
　　    Wecan"t hesitate now. I simply asked Phantom to send a telepathy and call Lucky andthe others back. Phiona used her fire to burn the rope away.The giant half-sphere cannon casing fell and created a big gap on the city wall,while causing block pieces to fly about. We all covered our heads and dived for cover.
　　
　　    Luckyis already flying down. The cannon in the city center turned to our directionand fired with a strange "poof" noise. A cannon bullet carrying aviolet colored trail, like a comet, approached us. It aimed high, apparentlygoing for Lucky.
　　
　　    Luckydid a beautiful tactic roll in mid air, dodging the bullet. It flew towardsoutside the city and landed on a small mountain tip. The landing point ispretty far away but we still heard the explosion. We observed the scene fromthe opening gaps on the wall. The mountain tip is flattened into plain ground!

s.h.i.t, thatwas scary. I hope no one"s over there.
　　
　　 Luckycontinued to dive down when the northeast cannon fired at us too. Lucky didn"thave time to avoid this one, and was killed fast and clean!

           The explosion brought a shockwave towards us. The ground full ofrubble is now covered in smoke and dust. There"s no way we can reach the gatenow so we just decided to get away through those openings on the wall.
　　
　　    Thedust was blown away by a strong gust. Loong"er came down like a swimming snake. She is no smaller than Lucky but her long, slim body is much muchharder to hit.
　　
　　    Sheonly had to dodge one shot before touching down, then she coiled around thecannon and began to float. Lucky was revived using Phiona"s skill. He quicklyescaped from those cannons" lines of sight because he doesn"t want toexperience that again. This is the first time something one-shot him. Not eventhe dragon deity Ao Guang can manage that.
　　
　　    Wequickly jumped off the city wall. There"s a deep city moat below, obviously we"ll have to relyon ourselves to get past it.

I summoned Night Shade who did a wonderful jobagain. He leaped over the moat with me, Rose and Yuri on his back, although alittle breathtaking.

            Hawk, however, caused some embarra.s.sment. With Hawk andElfy on the back, Sunshine fell into the river half way.
　　
　　    GoldCoin simply ran across on top of the water surface, leaving a trail ofseparated water current behind. She runs too fast! 　　
　　

Razorused his ninjutsu "Suiton" and teleported across the river. 　　
　　

Violetsummoned Ashura. The kid has a mount with him, a silver pegasus!
　　
　　 Zirai"sfriend, Pa.s.serby, summoned his companion too.

Oh my G.o.d what a giant roach!!

Someoneactually caught a c.o.c.kroach as a companion! Of course it can fly. It had notrouble bringing Pa.s.serby over the water. Man he got guts. I got goosefleshjust looking at the size of the bug. Most women are terrified of thesethings, while I tend to avoid them because they carry too much filth. I hatefilth!

Pa.s.serby is holding onto one of the hairy legs like it"s nothing. Ewwww.
　　
　　 Sothere"s only Big Pot and Wayne left. They looked at each other, nodded hard, heldhands, jumped into the water and began to swim.

Oh well.

            "...What are they doing?" Rose asked while looking at the duo who aremoving slowly to us, dog paddle style.
　　
　　    "Whynot using their companions?" Yuri muttered. 　　
　　

Violetcame over on the pegasus (Ashura is lying in her arms). "I know Big Pot"spet. It can"t swim. As for Wayne... no idea."
　　
　　 Ichuckled. "Wayne got no companion. He only has two servants, and they"recan"t swim either." 　　
　　

   "Ow." I think Yuri is actually feeling sorry for Wayne.
　　
　　    "Okayokay, let"s be quick. Get those guys up here, we need to run!" Elfy andHawk dragged their soaked bodies ash.o.r.e and urged us.
　　
　　    Isummoned Rosa and gave orders, though I can"t hide my amus.e.m.e.nt looking at theswimming compet.i.tion.

"Drag the two guys out of the water."

Rosaextended two tentacles and fished them out.

           "Enough swimming, now run!"I turned to Hawk and the others, telling them to retreat.
　　
　　    Waynegave me a sad face. "I don"t have companion!" 　　
　　

Razorfollowed him. "You know, same here." 　　
　　

"Youhave enough companions for them right?" Yuri suggested. 　　
　　

   Ishook my head. "Loong"er is carrying the cannon, Lucky and Phiona will beagainst the enemies. They can"t bring people. Same for the Phantom Knights. NightShade is already carrying three of us, that"s enough burden for him."
　　
　　    Pa.s.serbycame up and put his hands onto their shoulders. "You can come with Roachy.He"s fast I tell you! It will be like racing a car."
　　
　　    "OkayI guess..." Wayne climbed onto the giant c.o.c.kroach"s body, unwillingly. Oh ho homan he looks so funny!

            Razor didn"t say anything. He jumped onto the bug"s headand stood straight, arms crossed.
　　
　　    BigPot summoned his companion too, a...gray, wild boar, as big as an ox. I gaveout a hearty laugh and almost fell off Night Shade. Big Pot has a giant pigwith a horse saddle on its back! I know about those Wolf Raiders, butwhat is this, Pig Raider?
　　
　　    TheNPC army didn"t give us time to think about that. A battalion appeared atthe front gate and marched towards us fast. And they look strong!

I wish I couldtake the time and observe the army parade but obviously that"s not going tohappen now!
　　
　　 Apartfrom the flyers, the fastest one among us is still Night Shade.

The secondplace is--surprisingly--Big Pot"s boar. Ahh har har hahaha those four tiny legsare almost as fast as Night Shade!! 　　
　　

GoldCoin is sprinting on her feet. She has no problem keeping up with us.

The one in the backis Hawk"s unicorn, Sunshine. I wonder what he"s thinking about now. Thehandsome steed has the same body build as Night Shade but he fell behind a boar.

Again, never judge a book by the covers I guess. And no, don"t judge pigseither.
　　
　　 Thearmy cavalry is getting close. We have to pick up speed. Lucky and Phiona nolonger need to help with the transportation so I called them back to stop the pursuers.

           Luckyswept past the rider formation from start to end while unleashing his breath. Itdidn"t do much to the level 850 city defenders but was enough to cause troubleto their horses. Phiona washed them over again using her purple flame. Aftersome white flash, thousands of riders became footmen.
　　
　　    ThePhantom Knights took the chance and launched their attack during the brief chaos. When the defenders managed to organizetheir retaliation, the knights are already running away.
　　
　　    Wesoon reached a great distance where the G.o.ddess City is only a small dot on thehorizon. It should be safe but I"m feeling really uneasy for some reason. 　　
　　    Hawknoticed my expression. "What"s the matter?"
　　
　　    "I think someone"s watching us."
　　
　　    "Someone? Youmean, someone went this far from the city behind us?"
　　
　　    ThenI heard sharp noises coming from the sky. We all looked up. There are...spots, comingout of the clouds.
　　
　　    "Griffins!!Take cover!" Razor is the first one to recognize the beasts and alerted usto hide.
　　
　　    Frommy point of view, there are at least 5,000 griffins up there. The sunlightabove us is becoming blocked out. And the sounds of these things flying is no differentthan an airplane formation!
　　
　　    "Watchout!"

One of the griffins left the group and dived at us at full speed. Mywarning came too late. Big Pot is caught into the air.

Phiona charged from theside and collided into the griffin, which lost its balance and fell from thesky. Pa.s.serby"s c.o.c.kroach caught the falling Big Pot with an impressive moveand ran away.
　　
　　 Itried to call Lucky for help before I saw him already entangled in a fiercefight against a group of griffins. I summoned everyone available. Any extra hand would be helpful now.

            Dart waited for a chance when Phionaflew low and jumped onto her back, then switched to a griffin"s back whenPhiona got close to the enemies. There are too many of them so the griffins can"treally stay far from each other.
　　
　　    Dartis simply hopping between different griffins. The thing is, when he left agriffin, it will come down spinning in the air, while losing some feathers atthe same time. 　　
　　

            "Woo-ho!Hey Ziri, your pet"s awesome!" Gold Coin talked to me while checking oneof the fallen beasts.
　　
　　    "Is he?"
　　
　　    "Justlook!" She pulled the griffin"s wing, and I instantly saw what she meant. Dartwent to pick their feathers! The back edge of this griffin"s wing is almostbare. Since they don"t have a wide tail like birds, they"ll need to use theirlong feathers at the back of their wings to steer around. If Dart plucked them clean...
　　
　　    Razorsuddenly exclaimed. "Hey I gained a level! But I didn"t do anything. We get EXP by killing NPCs?"
　　
　　    I looked at my own EXP bar, and yes, it"s growing. There"s still a longway to go before I can level up though.

           Tank is leveling up rapidly. These griffinsare level 800, each kill can gain him several levels at his current state. Iwatched as the palm-sized Tank grew bigger. He will turn into that originalsize in no time at this rate.
　　
　　    Phantompulled me out of my thought and alerted me to help Dart. I saw him falling down,so I ordered Night Shade to ran up to him and then caught Dart in my hands. Hewas hurt by someone. He has no trouble annoying the common griffins, but someof them got riders on their backs, one of them managed to strike Dart down.
　　
　　    Despiteour efforts, most griffins got past us and caught up with Loong"er and Skyfire.Zirai ordered Skyfire to fight off the griffins. Some more feathers rained down.

Loong"er failed to hold against the a.s.sault. Shedropped the burden in order to fight better, and the cannon was caught by adozen griffins before reaching the ground. They began to carry the cannon back.We can only watch as they flew past our heads but we can"t do anything!
　　
　　 AsI"m trying to come up with something, I heard a buzzing sound behind. Tank isnow big as an elephant and he"s trying to fly with his hidden insect wings.

Hegot into the air after some attempts. It sounds like being the middle of a beeswarm, amplified by some loud speakers.

The griffin transport panicked whenthey saw the sudden attacker. Maybe he"s confident in his hard sh.e.l.l, or maybehe"s just not good at controlling his flight yet, Tank simply threw himselfinto the griffins like a bomb.
　　
　　 Thegriffins lost their balance, and the cannon fell down again which landed on Pa.s.serby"sc.o.c.kroach.

           Yuri is alreadyfinishing up the second chapter of her Fallen Variation. The skill will comeinto effect any time now.
　　
　　    Butsomething always goes wrong. A griffin dived before we can react and caughtYuri. I"m struggling against a griffin myself so I can"t help her. I shouldhave left her and Rose on Night Shade! We scattered up to keep more enemiesfrom going after Loong"er. Now it seems a bad choice!
　　
　　    Yuriwas killed soon due to her weak build. She disappeared in a white flash, withher song interrupted. Before I can make new decisions, Rose is lifted into theair as well. d.a.m.n it I can"t protect anyone like this!

Novel migration imminent. If things go well.

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