Tales of the Pearly Kingdom (Pearly Tales Vol. 2)

178. Ragnarok Begins

[Day of Ragnarok]

Charlichan had her orders. The longer she had been in this world, the longer she had felt connected to it in a capacity that was deeper than the game she had once known. The feelings of power were overwhelming as she led the army of fiends through the high level elven territories.

Even though she was a demonkin she had spent a considerable amount of time traveling across the world and knew most of the cities by heart. Even with 250 years of time discrepancies she had been able to predict the growth and shrinkage of the populations. What she hadn't been able to predict was how weak the elves had become. Her strategies had worked almost too well.

She couldn't fathom that the City of Perils defense would be as strong as it had in the past. Especially without its guild to back it up. But according to her boss, 'overkill' was not a reason to be underprepared. Or something like that.

So, she now rode with a one-of-a-kind horde unlike any that has ever been seen before. She had assimilated something like fourteen cities of elves into her ranks, at best she converted 50% of their populations while the rest became food or too mutilated to maintain the required march. Leaving her with nearly a million soldiers.

She thanked her lucky stars that her subordinates were smart enough to do most of the dirty work, so she spent most of her time in her tent planning strategies or leading the armies. However, her armies wouldn't tolerate weakness, so she had gotten used to using force to drive them forward. She specialized in dark magic and was nothing short of the best necromancer to ever walk this plane. Or at least that was what she thought until she faced the City of Peril today.

*

Charlichan rode her undead stead up to the closed gates of the City of Peril. It wasn't her first time challenging this dungeon, but it would definitely be her last since she planned on completely conquering it.

On top of the gate stood Charli's enemy for today. The unkillable raid boss Shayley O'heira Van Dravenkin. Her red hair stood out amongst the white material of the gate and wall. However, someone odd stood by her. Someone Charli had never seen before.

"I give you my greetings demonkin child." Shayley called. "I am the Queen of Blades Shayley O'heira Van Dravenkin, Ruler of the kingdom of Calphian. This is my trusted ally from the kingdom of Dragoonia, High Priestess of Azurus, Selene Thetis. You are trespassing in our beloved kingdom with your dirty undead what is your business here?"

This was new. Charli had never heard of Dragoonia. Also, Shayley's smile was giving her the creeps. It was like she was daring Charli to declare war.

"Conquest, I, Charlichan, represent the great Warlord Dynasty Guild." Charli called. "Surrender your city or we will not take prisoners."

"No quarter is just the way we like to play." Selene leaned over and matched Shayley's blood thirsty smile.

That shocked Charli a little. Who would choose to use the phrase 'no quarter' on land?

"If you've challenged us before then you know that the Pearly Gates are always open." Shayley announced.

"Challenge us at your own Peril." Selene followed up.

"You'll regret this." Charli called. She was confident that her army could conquer anything the small city-state could throw at them.

Shayley placed her finger to her ear in an action that showed she was communicating with someone else. A Feature only players had. "Alright, love. Let's show them our signature hospitality."

At that moment an overwhelming sense of dread seized Charli's heart. Some dark energy erupted from the center of the City of Perils and overwhelmed her. It was as if the day had turned to night in an instant and the ground shook beneath her. The glorious castle at the center of the city rose as the city turned into a maze, just as she had expected.