(Book 2 Complete!) Tales of the Endless Empire [LitRPG Apocalypse]

Thorwald was truly annoyed. His plan had been to wait here and then attack the human faction after their war against the undead. But now it turned out they had somehow managed to fail and Ankhet had been revived.

Horrible.

How had they even messed that up?

The first three catacombs hadn't been a problem, and now, at the final stretch, they screwed it all up.
With the undead still around, he couldn't attack the humans and far too many humans and elves were still alive.

The humans had united into one massive faction, while the elves had taken to their skyships and horses and retreated to their base.

They hadn't even come close to the jungle where he was waiting.

He had so many plans. So many visions of how he would finally rule over the humans in the tutorial.

Maybe he should have acted from the start.

Now, none of it seemed possible with Ankhet alive.

He was no match for that undead powerhouse.

No, now the best option would probably be to hide for the rest of the tutorial, until they were sent to New Earth, where he could finally join the chosen of his patron.

As far as Thorwald knew, the chosen was in another tutorial and also a human from Earth.

In his shadow, Thorwald would grow, until he became a god himself and formed his own faction.
Similar to what he had once planned with Steven.

The only difference was that Steven wasn't progressing fast enough, and Thorwald had no intention of holding back or giving up his rightful place at the top.

It was only natural that he had tried to overthrow him.

The chosen was likely far stronger than Thorwald, even if he hated to admit it.

The good part was that he could still gain massive advantages by staying close to the chosen. Even more so if he managed to get into the party that would attend the upcoming system events.

"Ugh, this is a waste of time. Let's leave and go hunt in the outer parts of the fifth stage, where the stronger beasts fled," Thorwald said after hours of waiting.

The undead had built a massive base, and he'd somehow convinced himself someone might eventually dare to enter the jungle.

Nothing had happened so far.

"Wait! Something's happening at the undead base," said Joe, his most loyal scout, eyes fixed on the spying crystal.

One of the Raha scouts was positioned on a dune, observing everything. Thanks to the crystal, they could see it all too, from their hiding spot at the edge of the jungle where the desert began.

Thorwald was about to smack Joe over the head for not obeying immediately, but he held back and looked into the spy crystal again.

It took a moment for him to realize what was happening.

The humans, who had previously hidden behind the black fortress walls, were now openly attacking the massive undead base.

Strangely, the undead didn't seem to stand much of a chance.

Ankhet or any elite undead fighters were nowhere to be seen.

"Ankhet must have died. Otherwise, this wouldn't be possible," the leader of the Raha said aloud.
It sounded impossible, but no one could argue with what they saw.

There were no elite enemies present. The vampires were strong, as expected, but stood no chance against the humans' coordinated assault.

From their vantage point, they couldn't see what was happening inside the base, but it looked like the humans had won.

That was great. Thorwald much preferred this outcome over the alternative.

Still, there was one major problem. The human camp wasn't weakened.

In fact, it had grown in size after Kael's camp was assimilated into the larger base.

It was a shame the scout had to retreat. Some elves were approaching his position to watch the battle.

That this Thalion now got another base still didn't fully register with Thorwald.

This world was so unfair.

How could that coward, that weakling, end up in such a powerful position?

Even his armor looked far better than Thorwald's and his was legendary armor from the system shop only the followers of his patron could buy.

"What now? The human base is still too strong and they're too many. We wouldn't win in a direct fight," the Raha leader asked.

Thorwald had to agree.

They had now conquered the undead base, and it was powerful. Thorwald wouldn't dare to attack them outright.

His forces were strong. Some of the Raha had survived multiple battles and were over three hundred years old.

But the humans likely numbered over twenty thousand in that one faction alone and Thorwald had only a few hundred, most of them Raha.

He didn't bother with the weaker humans forced into the fifth stage. They were worthless to him.

A direct assault was out of the question, but that didn't mean he couldn't hurt the human base.
Thorwald had Raha scouts watching the base all those humans had come from. It was a massive stronghold, and they often sent hunting parties into the jungle. Sometimes even with weaker humans among them.

Perfect targets.

If more and more humans started going missing, it might bait the stronger groups into action.
And those could be ambushed, under the assumption they were fighting a powerful beast.

"You're right. But that doesn't mean we give up. Let's move out," Thorwald said with a wide grin.
"I want to kill a few of their hunters to draw out the rich and powerful. Maybe we can even infiltrate their base. It's big enough they shouldn't notice a few more men."

It was time for bloodshed.

He was desperate to smash some heads in. He hadn't killed in so long his fingers were starting to itch.

He couldn't sit still anymore.

The last thing he saw through the spy crystal, just before the scout abandoned his post, was a vampire in black armor, nearly completely cloaked in shadows, sneaking deeper into the desert.

<--

Kael appeared in a clearing together with Sylas. Towering trees rose high into the sky around them. Both were in pain and panting heavily from the fight against Thalion.
Kai was already waiting for them. Their escape tokens had been linked so they would all arrive at the same location. Thankfully, they had worn the tokens on their clothes. A very wise suggestion from Kael's patron.

Kael looked down at his hand, where several fingers were now missing. That bastard had cut off his spatial ring.
He had nothing left. All his powerful items were gone.

Sylas and Kai didn't look much better.
No one seemed to fully grasp what had just happened.

"Is no one going to talk about how Thalion just beat the living shit out of all three of us?" Sylas shouted into the jungle, voice echoing with rage. A rage they all shared.

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"I don't understand how he became so powerful," Kai said calmly. "Did you see his eagle form? It looked almost transmuted and there was a crystal embedded in its chest."

That was so typical of Kai, Kael thought, as he stood up and drank the healing potion Kai handed him.
Always calm. Always rational.

His fingers itched as they regrew, highly annoying, but better than constant pain and blood loss.

"Of course I saw it! Gods, I hate that guy," Sylas snapped, hurling a fireball at a nearby plant, scorching it instantly. "I just want that damn amulet, but he's making everything so complicated!"

"We need to make plans for the future," Kai said, deep in thought. "We've lost everything we built during the tutorial. Hopefully, our patrons will show mercy and still grant us a decent position in the new order they're building on New Earth, with their chosen at the top."

He was clearly worried and he wasn't the only one.
Thinking about his patron felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice-cold water over Kael's head.

The item his patron had sent to help him transmute the Sanguine Thorn was gone too.
Rage boiled inside Kael like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
That bastard now had the advantage that had been meant for him.

What would his patron think of his failure?

There was no other way to describe what had happened.
He needed to think of a solution and quickly.

It hadn't been his fault. Thalion had betrayed them and attacked their base, forcing them out of the catacomb.
With superior military strength, he had won and cut off Kael's hand.
Kael had barely managed to flee in time.

And now Ankhet was about to be resurrected.
Another failure. One that could cost him dearly.

"We should head back to our base in the mountains," Kael said. "There are still many people left there, so at least we won't arrive on New Earth empty-handed. We need a plan for the next time we face Thalion."

"In the tutorial, Thalion has the upper hand, but that will change on New Earth," Kai explained with unwavering calm. "Buildings can't be bought through the system there. But the gods can send builders through the newly integrated space. That's a massive advantage."

"They'll be able to construct far better bases than whatever Thalion has now. He'll probably still live like it's the Middle Ages. We'll also have access to elite hunting parties. And if we're lucky, we might still get a place in the Chosen's team."

"The Chosen's mission is to expand their empire in the name of their god. At some point, Thalion will be in their way and he stands no chance against a Chosen or their armies of seasoned warriors."

Kai concluded, still calm but with a fire burning just beneath the surface.

"Yes, you're right as always, Kai. Let's head back and level up until the tutorial ends. The others might get hunted by Ankhet anyway. I doubt they'll be able to destroy the pillar in time. We were barely making any progress," Kael commented, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Sounds only fair that they get slaughtered by Ankhet. Maybe our position won't be so bad after all, if we survive," Sylas said with a wicked grin.

Their base in the mountains, filled with many weaklings, was over a day's travel away, and they didn't want to risk using scouting vessels to fly there. Better to stay out of sight in case a random vampire scout appeared out of nowhere.

After nearly a day of traveling, Kael suddenly felt a telepathic connection forming between him and his patron, Aeta.
In an instant, Kael appeared in a green forest, standing before the Archer God himself. Time in the real world stopped.

Kael's heart skipped a beat. This is bad, he thought, but he couldn't show it. He had to stay calm.

"Good job, Kael. Ankhet is dead, and several forces within the undead faction have been weakened. Be sure to prepare yourself once you reach the new world. Also, make sure to hit fifteen million credits. You'll need them to buy an item that will lead you to my Chosen," Aeta said, clearly in a good mood, his eyes glowing with intensity.
"You have a legendary blessing. I don't won't you to slack off. You'll attend at least one system event with my Chosen to ensure your evolution to D-grade pushes the rarity of your class."

Kael, however, was stunned. What the hell is going on? Ankhet was dead? How was he supposed to get fifteen million credits in just two weeks?

"You don't look thrilled. Has something happened I should know about?" Aeta asked, his glowing eyes narrowing with suspicion.

The god's mood was still good, for now. How much should Kael reveal? In the end, he decided lying was too risky. Aeta was a god. He probably had countless ways to tell if Kael was being dishonest, facial expressions and body language were likely enough.

"Yes... things didn't go well for me," Kael admitted, and began explaining how Thalion had refused to work with them. How he had ambushed them at a crucial moment in the mission. He also mentioned that Thalion had multiple skyships at the ready, forcing their retreat.

"What?! The item I spent over a thousand years crafting is now in the hands of Thalion?" Aeta roared in fury. The jungle trembled beneath the weight of the god's aura. The towering trees, likely divine beings themselves were nothing in comparison.

After a moment, Aeta composed himself.

"Try to uncover every mystery about this Thalion. Place a spy in his base. That should allow us to track him in the new world and retrieve the item," he ordered coldly.

"Yes, as you command," Kael replied with a bow.

In the blink of an eye, the vision ended, and Kael was back in the jungle of the tutorial.

Over the following hours, Kai and Sylas had similar conversations with their own patrons. It became clear: they needed to find someone to infiltrate Thalion's base.
If they offered enough money, or promised future rewards, they might find someone desperate enough to do the job.

When they finally got close enough to see their base in the mountains, a massive vessel loomed over it. Multiple figures were descending into the camp. Over thirty scouting vessels buzzed through the sky around the flagship like a swarm of bees.

"Please tell me this is a bad joke," Sylas muttered, watching as Thalion's skyships swallowed up the last of their citizens.

Kael was too shocked and too furious, to reply.

Now, they would have to hunt beasts and hope to find a few low-level survivors still hiding and turn at least one of them into a spy for their cause.

It was going to be exhausting, frustrating work and none of them were looking forward to it.