Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]

Victor

Lakeshore

"They failed, boss," Dez reported, even though it was information Victor had assumed from the outset.

"Did they get any?" Victor responded dispassionately. He wasn't holding out hope. The Assassins were good, but they weren't great. There wasn't exactly a lot of opportunity or need to employ their services.

The few times Victor had used them, they were one-off deals that rarely resulted in a return trip. It was hard to gain levels like that.

"Wounds, I hear, but nothing serious. Magical stealth worked best, but even they were caught. Those that landed attacks died quickly, and the poison didn't do much, like we feared." Dez described.

The poison was rather expensive comparatively. Not to the level of costing a gold, but up there for something consumable like that, and it hadn't worked.

"Do you think he has a Body of Copper?" Dez couldn't help but ask. The Rogue was experienced with the poison used, and for it to be so casually disregarded...

"No," Victor answered, "It's impossible. Even if he's insane and plays loose with the 3,000 point recommendation, there's no way he's that close."

Victor had already done the math. Even with both Class and Profession having the same primary stat, it was impossible to reach the 3,000 point threshold. The closest one could get was around 2,400, and that was with both a Legendary Class and Legendary Profession.

While that was highly improbable to the point of nearly impossible, he didn't rule it out completely. Still, he assumed the Baron wasn't on that level. If he were, Victor doubted the man would bother with bringing an army.

"It was most likely a combination of factors. We know he has a ridiculous Fortitude along with a Stone Body. Add a decent Healer or Healers to that and it makes sense." Victor mused.

Dez nodded and fell silent, letting Victor think in peace. A rare occurrence lately.

It was broken all too soon by Wren entering his office swiftly, obviously holding back news.

"They're here." He relayed, "I can just now see them from the battlements with [Eagle Eye]."

They had been on the lookout ever since first light, and now they could finally be seen.

So they have arrived, Victor sighed. He hadn't put much weight on his preemptive strikes working, but he had at least expected them to do something. Now, the army was arriving unharried, with no loss in morale, and no recent losses to exploit.

It was an all-around failure. One that didn't bode well for future confrontation.

"Then let's go see our guests," Victor announced.

Both men followed after him as he moved toward the Wall. Soldiers parted as he passed, and citizens fled to their homes. A tenseness had settled over the city, and everyone knew something was about to happen, even if they hadn't known an army was approaching.

Word had leaked weeks ago. Victor had gone to great lengths to keep Lakeshore isolated, but he couldn't control the flow of information completely.

Drumming up the threat and fear of the surrounding beasts was enough to stop the average peasant from seeking to leave. Some still did, but they never made it back. People were surprisingly pliable, after going through a harrowing tutorial and returning to ruins. After years of stoking such fears, even the threat of an army approaching didn't provoke many to flee the city.

Most of the... outspoken and independent of them had already left early on, after Victor had cut off access to the Dungeon to those not under contract. They weren't willing to remain powerless, and Victor was happy to see them leave.

He was even happier to kill them in the woods for their essence.

What was left was the most susceptible, gullible, and most importantly, weak, so that they hung on his every word and announcement. If Victor had the ink and resources, he would have put every citizen under unbreakable contracts, but that wasn't feasible nor efficient. Not for nearly 10,000 people.

His army of just over 2,000 had already strained what he could afford, both in resources and body supply. Any more, and he'd be inducting F-rank Carpenters into his army.

The walk wasn't far, and it wasn't long until Victor was standing atop the battlements with Wren and Desmond at his side. He surveyed the area and couldn't help but notice the numerous changes that had occurred lately.

The trees were trimmed back over half a mile, ready for the impending assault. Pits, spikes, and traps riddled the snow-filled grasslands, ready to blunt any charge. Some obvious, sticking out of the snow or in areas cleared of it, while others were hidden, concealed by the thick white carpet covering the land. Catapults sat primed and ready to do the same, not to mention the hundreds of archers and mages.

If they wanted to assault his city, Victor was going to make them pay for it.

While he didn't have the Perception of Wren, Victor could still pick out the moving mass nearing the city. He couldn't pick out specifics, but he could see them, and that was something. He could also see a herd of something, that he assumed to be the bison he had heard so much about. It was hard not to, with how utterly outlandish it was.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"What are they doing? Can we hit them?" Dez asked, eager to begin and land the first real blow, but Victor knew better.

"They are still out of range." Wren answered, "And it looks like they are halting their advance."

"Halting? Why?"

"They are setting up what looks to be a camp."

Victor was content to let the two hash it out, but there was something more pressing.

"Are there siege weapons?" He questioned.

Wren didn't reply immediately, and only after a thorough look did he speak, "Yes. It appears they are setting up trebuchets in the back while others set up a low wall in the front. Along with other fortifications."

Having them and using them were two different things, but Victory didn't take the Baron for someone frivolous. If he brought them, he planned to use them.

"Do you think..." Dez mentioned, but switched track, "I thought they said he was honorable."

Victor snorted, "They said twistedly honorable. No one said he was a white knight or wannabe hero."

Some of their plans were built around the assumption they wouldn't resort to such attacks, but some were there if they did.

The three of them watched for over an hour as the enemy prepared, and there was nothing they could do about it. The tension gripping the city only intensified as time wound on.

The bell hadn't been rung and they weren't at full attention, but almost every soldier was already on or near the wall. The rest were close enough that it wouldn't take long to reach their positions.

Victor was running on an assumption. An assumption that was proven right not even two hours later as a sole person stepped out of the camp and approached the city gate.

It walked into range with impunity. Fearless of retaliation, Victor knew there was only one person it could be. The hammer only made it more obvious.

"Should we fire?" Wren asked, confused.

Victor shook his head. They had the upper hand, letting the man speak wouldn't change that. "There's no point. Even if we do hit him, I don't think it will do anything. Not unless he stands there and lets us hit him with everything we have."

All three of them watched as the man got closer, and he continued until Victor could hear the snow crunch under his boots before he finally halted. It wasn't long before a powerful aura descended on the city. It was larger, thicker, and much denser than the one that delivered the message, and instead of just being there, it actively pressed down on everyone.

It turned the nip of winter into a cutting edge; some of the weaker soldiers on the wall openly shivered. Both from the chill and from the mountain pressing down on them. Victor fought it off, but others weren't so lucky.

It was a feat Victor himself doubted he could have accomplished, even from within the bounds of the city, let alone from outside of it.

"Citizens of Lakeshore, your city is now under siege. We ask all those not affiliated, or participating in the fight, to leave the city now. If you cannot leave the city, vacate the area near the walls and find shelter, preferably underground. I give my word that all those who do not take up arms will not be intentionally harmed.

"Those that do, will be ended. There will be no quarter given to those that stand against us."

"You have three hours."

That was it. The man turned and left, much like the messenger had so long ago.

No long preamble, no pleas for surrender or threats, no discussion other than to warn people of what was to come. And give them a deadline.

"I heard he was brash and upfront, but that... that was something. No introduction, no declaring his name or Faction. He didn't even flaunt his title. Just walked up and said we're under siege." Dez said.

"He's more powerful than I thought," Wren observed. "I couldn't get anything past his [Blocker], but that aura..."

He didn't say it, but he didn't have to. Victor knew. It was stronger than his.

"Aura isn't everything." Victor defended. He didn't know much about the weird phenomenon, but it was only loosely connected to base strength. Stats increased it, along with levels and skills, but it was also increased by actions. It wasn't a direct translation of power, but it was a good basis to start that comparison.

It could also be amplified by skills or bloodlines, but Victor doubted it was something the Baron had.

"We have our timeline," Victor said, ignoring the rest, "Ready the defenders."

If it were someone else, anyone else, Victor would have assumed a trick or trap when given a deadline so explicit, but not him. While Lakeshore was isolated and kept in the dark, Victor himself was not.

Maeve was a healthy part of his knowledge, but it was foolish to solely rely on the flippant nuisance of a woman. Everything Victor had learned about his current foe told him that the man disdained lying and kept his word religiously. It was something Victor would have played off as an outlandish lie if it hadn't come from so many sources.

If the man said three hours, it was going to be three hours.

Even so, Victor wasn't going to wait and ordered his soldiers at the ready with an hour remaining. While they streamed into position and coated the battlements, the citizens were doing the opposite.

They were fearful of the wilds already, and the monsters and beasts that lurked in them. Winter was just the cherry on top. None of them were willing to brave the cold weather on the word of someone they didn't know.

Victor vilifying the man as the aggressor was just a bonus.

While none left the safety of the walls, that didn't mean they did nothing. They fled the area around it nearly as fast as his army readied to defend it. Most sought refuge on the complete other side, hugging the Southern Wall nearest the Lake.

Some were fleeing from the aura alone, while most were smart enough to realize the threat if they had stayed. They may have trust in the wall and had witnessed it holding against the many Settlement Waves, but that didn't mean they would trust it blindly.

Victor snorted as he watched the ants tremble and flee. He did nothing and allowed them to do so. There wasn't a point in forcing them not to. It was a waste of effort and manpower, not to mention a pointless blow to morale.

The contract binding his soldiers was firm, and if he said defend the wall to the last, he was confident it would be so; that didn't mean morale was pointless. Effort and willingness still played a role, no matter how ironclad the contract was.

As time wound near, he felt the growing unease of the soldiers. All of them had faced the bi-monthly waves. They were accustomed to fighting off attackers, but everyone knew this time would be different.

It only took a glance at the arrayed army in the field to know that much.

Commanders and lieutenants bolstered the ranks by stating the obvious. They reminded everyone of their numbers advantage. Of their defender advantage.

Victor ignored all of it as he readied himself for what was to come. He stoked the fire inside, priming it for the battle. His mana channels simmered in anticipation, and his core radiated heat that suffused his body. The circle of fire wrapped around it only amplified the flame.

He double checked the potion belt at his side and made sure the vials were ready. Mana and Health potions purchased directly from the shop. The best he could buy. Five blue and red vials that were more expensive than most of his soldiers' armor.

His staff glowed with a warm light, as his mana cycled through the red gem atop it. The beast core from a D-rank Fire Demon, remade and enchanted into a staff focus.

Victor was ready.