War 6: Team of Rivals (Bonus Chapter)

At the 7th bell, Will waited by the flag on his horse. The flag pole was directly behind the exit to the base. It was last in the month, the sun rose later in the day.

It was a dark cool morning, Will wrapped himself in his jacket. He starred out into blackness towards the direction he would travel.

This trip would be Will's second into Death Valley. A year and a half ago, Will fought for his life against beast waves. Back then he rallied his classmates because it was their best chance of survival.

Survival again was his motivator to enter Death Valley. This time it was people, not the beast he'd have to face. Will had never killed a man before. That didn't mean his hands were clean. On Earth, he paid assassins to remove rivals and politicians. His rivals also tried to kill him, Back then, he felt no remorse. Death was just the cost of doing business.

Now, he was faced with the philosophical trolley problem. Could he kill ten Albanians to save thousands of Fermion soldiers' lives? Will did not know. All he could do was move forward.

As he waited, Will heard the rolling wheels of the 40 wagons approaching him. A usual caravan of 20 wagons. Every day, 20 wagons would arrive at the frontlines, unload and return to the base. Where they refilled at the warehouse before returning to the frontlines. This was the clockwork schedule Will invented. For nine months, there was never a missed shipment, until now.

A missed shipment meant that men on the frontlines had to wait seven days for their next resupply. Will knew the limited supplies soldiers had and by his estimation, that food would be gone in two days. That meant the soldiers would go for at least five days without food.

As the caravans pulled into a stop, Miles, Grace, Sarah, Bubba, Vincent, Ryan, Elizabeth, and three veteran-looking soldiers approached Will.

"Captain, these are my friends," Bubba was the first to speak. He introduced his friends by name to Will. Will graciously received them.

"Why did you come?" Will asked Vincent and Ryan

"My men from barony are down there, I can't let them starve to death due to your incompetence!" Vincent said.

"I came for the same reasons as Vincent. Besides you, do you have any other combat mages?" Ryan asked aggressively.

"You two are as likely to stab in the back as help me," Will said angrily.

"Your arrogance is irksome. There is no way, I'll let you take credit for this by yourself," Vincent said.

"Didn't you flee during the beasts' wave, if you couldn't handle that, why would I think you could handle this mission?" Will asked.

"That was different! I thought everyone else would have fled too," Will said.

"Ryan, I don't trust you either," Will said.

"I don't trust you either," Ryan said.

"Honestly boys, we must work together. With three knights, a mage, a healer, and four veteran soldiers we should triumph under your leadership," Elizabeth said encouragingly.

"Elizabeth, I don't think you should come. This mission is dangerous," Will said.

"How could I let my fiancée leave me again just after we're reunited," Elizabeth said bluntly.

"Miles were there any other healers that agreed to come?" Will asked.

"None. Major vont Valdez sent a letter this morning that Elizabeth had to come," Miles said handing Will the letter.

"How did you pull this off?" Will asked Elizabeth.

"My father and the king appointed me an honorary colonel. Naturally, the major followed orders," Elizabeth said to blank stares.

"Honorary colonel?" Will asked.

"Yes, I manage the light mages on base," Elizabeth said with a grin.

"You never told me? Will said.

"Enough of this sickening lovers quarrels. Are we ready to go yet or not!" Vincent yelled.

"That's not how you address your commanding officer, Second Lieutenant vont Wright," Will said with much enjoyment to Vincent.

"Let's do our best to get along," Sarah said nervously.

"Move out!" Will command.

Vincent, Ryan, Will joined forces to resupply the army each cautiously watching the other.

For two days the wagon train moved unhindered. The empty wagons led the caravan. Bubba and his friends sat inside. Will, Grace, Sarah, Elizabeth, Vincent, and Ryan rode their horse alongside.

For two days the caravan ride was quiet as Will, Vincent, and Ryan kept a close eye on each other. The mistrust was so great, Will asked Bubba and the young ladies to keep night watch when it was Vincent of Ryan's turn.

As the caravan moved along on the third day, a flash of light caught Will's attention. In the shadowy distance of the forest, a flickering flourish of lights trailed behind a bird flying between the trees. His attention was affixed to it as it went from branch to branch.

"We're under attack, fireballs!" Will said yelled.

Will cast [Rock Wall]. The fireball slammed into the wall destroying it, lucky the wall also extinguished the fireball. Seeing Will's spell block the fireball meant the Albanian mage was a journeyman.

"Elizabeth hide, Grace, Sarah, Vincent, and Bubba attack! Ryan help me protect them," Will instructed.

Will cast [Mantle Array] to protect the caravans. As Will galloped toward the Albanian hit squads he called Nisha.

"Nisha if you can hear me I need you! I'm in battle I need you to come to my position and force my enemies from the forest!" Will said urgently.

"On my way!" Nisha replied. It was a short reply, but Will could feel the emotions Nisha expressed.

"Don't go into the forest!" Will commanded.

"Incoming!" Ryan yelled

A salvo of spells and heavily armored soldiers tore through the canopy towards the caravans. The enemy mage's fireball cracked trees and shattered branches as leaves fluttered in every direction.

The undergrowth below was ripped to shreds with rocks and fallen branches acting as shrapnel. Sparks from the explosives caught onto the dry, dead leaves along the floor creating fires that threatened to grow larger.

The pockets of snow along the path melted under the heavy heat of the firepower, and the water added to the muddy terrain of the descending hill.

Ryan retaliated, he cast [Inferno] and [Dragon's Breath] meeting fire with fire. Ryan's spells blew a crater along the tree-line. Immediately, the Albanian soldiers locked to go Ryan.

In front of Ryan stood Grace, Sarah, and Vincent. Of the three knights, Vincent was the best.

Will acted as range support casting [Arrowhead]. With [Radar] Will knew could tell the location of enemies. Will cast [Tectonic] and easily moved around the battlefield. After identifying the enemies' locations, Will cast [Entangle], [Quicksand], [Rock Spike], and [Poison Cloud] to create more obstacles for the enemy forces.

The fight was kept at a distance, with the Albanians refusing to leave the cover of the forest and Will's squad unwilling to leave the caravan unprotected.

After 30 minutes of spells volleyed back and forth an era piercing, death-shattering roar caught the attention of both groups.

"Will, I'm here!" Nisha replied urgently.

"Great, I need you to push the enemies in the forest to the clearing. If you're able, kill the healer!" Will instructed.

"Okay," said Nisha.

With that another ferocious roar, Nisha attacked the Albanians from behind.

"Rocky lead the charge!" Will command as Rocky materialized with his golem-sized iron lance.

Rocky attacked from the front and Nisha from behind, and Ryan's familiar attacked from the side. The Albanian fire mage has to quickly decide with familiar to attack. Ryan's Flame Salamander and the enemies Firefox battled.

After almost a year of training Nisha's stats were higher than Will's. Nisha easily killed the healer and cut off the enemy's escape. Although Archimedes didn't attack, the sight of a resting Grandmaster Shadow Jaguar was enough to scare the hell out almost anyone. Even grandmaster magicians would need to be cautious around Archimedes.

With their healer dead and their escape route blocked, the Albanian troops had no choice but to rush out in the open.

The Albanian knights enhanced their bodies and weapons, and Will's squad did the same. Will sent Rocky to deal with the enemy's familiar.

Grace, Sarah, Vincent, and Will meet the guerrilla forces head-on. Will and Vincent each fought a knight one on one. Grace and Sarah joined to fight an enemy knight. Bubba and his buddies fought the enemy soldiers. Ryan continued to duel the mage.

As Will faced off against his opponent he cast [Iron Amor] and unsheathed his sword from his scabbard.

With Gaia's blessings, Will's blade met his enemy's. Will felt his strength was equal. After their swords parried, the Albanian knight looked at Will with surprise. When their blades met again Will cast [Rock Spike]. The enemy quickly maneuvered out of the way, but the spike still caught the enemy's foot. Will pressed his advantage and slashed at his enemy's chest. Between the sword strike and spike, the enemy realized the disadvantage.

Will was unrelenting, he continued his sword and magic onslaught never letting his opponent rest. Will cast [Entangle] and trapped his enemy in place. The vine's thorns wrapped the enemy's legs piercing his femoral artery. The man hollered in pain, but he gripped his sword tightly on dropping it when Will separated his head from his body.

After Will's enemy fell in battle, he turned his attention to Grace and Sarah's enemy. Casting [Arrowhead] Will shot his opponent through the back of the head, through the brain stem.

"Go help, Bubba!" Will asked them.

"Don't you dare help me!" Vincent said to Will.

Vincent lit up with a golden sheen as Elizabeth healed him.

Will turned his attention to Ryan, Rocky, and Nisha's battles.

Rocky and Nisha worked in tandem to bully the enemy's familiar.

Will could tell Ryan has almost expended his mana. To help Will cast [Earthen Dome], and [Quicksand]. The enemy before Ryan disappeared within the dome. With [Radar] Will saw the mage drown to death in the sand. With the mage's death, his familiar also disappeared.

"I was fine!" Ryan said huffing and sweating.

Everyone excepted Vincent was done fighting. Will cast [Erode], which made Vincent's enemy stumble. That stumbled created an opening, which Vincent was able to exploit. With five minutes Vincent was able to kill his target.

"Did we win?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah, we won but Will stole our credit again!" shouted Vincent.

"Isn't a commander supposed to protect his troops?" Will asked annoyed. Then he saw a flash in his eyes.

Will checked his stats while Ryan and Vincent complained.

Race: Human

Rank: 1 (Baronet)/ Lord of Games/ Gaia's Champion

Class: Merchant

Sub Class: Spellsword

Attributes:

Constitution—50+5

Strength—52+2

Dexterity—47+1

Intellect—66

Charisma—15

Ranks Skills: Management (53), Diplomacy (35), Accounting (52)

Class Skills: Appraisal (15, 100), [Radar]

Abilities: Journeyman Swordsmanship (4+2, 50), Journeyman Terramancer (5+2, 50), Gaia's Blessing (multiplies your spell strength x2), Apprentice Blacksmith (20, 25).

"I did not need your help!" Ryan said angrily.

"Honestly you men can act like such babies," Elizabeth said.

Vincent and Ryan were about to respond until they realized Elizabeth commented. Neither were angry enough to disparage the king's niece.

"Okay, let's move out. It's a race against time, we have to get these supplies to the frontlines," said Will canceling his array.