Somnium Online

Raid

Several hours later, Eric and the rest of Unit E gathered around the dining table. Several kids had drawn a hopscotch grid on the floor in half and the older ones were playing with Brian's deck of cards.

Eric spread a map of the city that he borrowed from Anne out on the table along with a set of blueprints for the mansion.

"Our unit will join with unit F and approach from the south." Eric outlined their plan of approach. "Now, what's important here is the timing..."

And so it went for around 2 hours, they ironed out every last detail, working out who would go first when, what to do in different situations, how and where to retreat. By the end of the evening, they were ready.

Brian got spent the last hour before the mission snacking on some crackers he had purchased during the morning.

Alice practiced making little ice sculptures to entertain some of the children.

"Ms. Alice, are you going somewhere?" A young boy asked.

"I am, but I'll be back as soon as I can," Alice assured him.

The boy smiled brightly "Okay, Make sure to come back fast!"

She clenched her fists but kept her face neutral. "Of course." She smiled. "We'll be back before you know it."

Alex flipped through his journal, practicing his comedy routines. "Why did the chicken cross the playground?" He asked, pausing to give the audience some time to think. "To get to the other slide." He bowed to imaginary applause.

Lin sat on the edge of the roof, meticulously sharpening his sword and gazing out at the horizon.

Eric sat in his room eyes closed. "N, how's the ban program for Lysander doing?"

"Everything's set up boss, all you have to do is force him to logout long enough to let me run it."

"Next time I see that bastard will be the last, one way or another," Eric growled. I won't lose twice."

"Technically he ran away." N pointed out.

"He wasn't going all out, not even close, and even when he did run, I didn't kill him, so I lost."

"Whatever you say, boss." N gave up on the argument.

Finally, at exactly 7:00 PM, the five members of unit E left their warehouse and began a brisk march towards the upper-class district.

7:30, unit A begins their assault, flanked by units B, C, and D.

7:35, Unit D provides ranged support while the primary strike team infiltrates the main compound.

7:45,

"We're here," Eric announced, although it was pretty obvious from the smoke and chaos on the North side of the compound that the battle was well underway.

The compound was massive, surrounded by seven-foot whitewashed brick walls topped with golden spikes. Behind the wall were an array of villas and smaller buildings scattered across a bright green lawn. It was already dark out, and the fountains were illuminated, the water casting rippling shadows across the lawn.

On the far side of the lawn was a massive manor, Eric thought it looked remarkably like what would happen if the White-House and the Taj-Mahal had a child and then fed it steroids until it bulked up beyond what was considered humanly possible.

"Hey Eric, we didn't miss anything did we?" Abby and her unit jogged around the corner and joined up with Eric.

"We were just about to get started." Eric grinned. "Isn't this nostalgic?"

"Yeah, I guess, but players are a bit different from goblins." Reagan pointed out.

"Whatever." Abby rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this over with. We'll provide a diversion while you enter the compound from beneath using the sewage system. Then we'll go in as re8nforcements."

"Ah, lovely. I wonder why we always get sewer jobs." Eric joked.

"Probably because you can do your own dry cleaning." Alex supplied. That brought a round of nervous laughter. Everyone was nervous, based on the noise coming from the main force, this would be a pitched battle.

"Ready?" Eric asked. "Fire at will."

Abby smiled. "Gladly." Her unit was composed entirely of mages, each of which was decent with explosions, and a barrage of fire and noise rained down on the southern wall of the compound, setting small fires all over the lawn.

Then, Abby let loose a massive orb of fire that slammed the rear end of the Manor, leaving a colossal dent and annihilating the western wing on the fourth story.

Eric clapped politely. "Well, I guess I'll be off then." And with a wave, he dropped down a manhole.

Eric stopped his descent with a puff of air and stepped to the side allowing Lin to drop in after him.

Alex and Brian followed with Alice bringing up the rear. They started at a dead sprint for the several hundred yards until they were under the fence, then they hit a brick wall.

Eric motioned for the others to brace themselves, then, gathered his power, and with one blow tore the wall apart, it imploded in a shower of dust and brick, startling the three players guarding it.

Alice flicked her wrist and a barrage of razor-sharp icicles mowed them down.

More players popped out of little slots carved into the wall, firing little crossbows, but Eric deflected their shots and Alice's infinite supply of sewer water let her fire icicles like a Gatling gun.

They made swift progress, the tunnels beneath the compound were extensive, but were laid out in a logical manner, and after an hour Brian calculated that they had made it roughly halfway to the Manor.

Anne cut down yet another player, so far they were all easy kills, none of them seemed to have very much if any combat experience.

The main stricken force had cleared the first and second floors, and now, the third one too. Squad F had already damaged the 4th floor beyond repair, this next level would be quick.

Eric led his unit deeper into the tunnel system, pausing now and then to let Alice build some more icicles.

"There you are. I've been waiting for round two."

Eric spun around. Lysander twirled his broadsword, then tossed it aside and drew an ornate rapier, it's blade glistened in the flickering light of the torches that illuminated the tunnel.

Alice let loose with her icicles, Lysander's arm twitched and they shattered into small flecks of snow that breezed past him harmlessly.

"I was wondering when I'd get to finish you off." Eric drew his sword, it's blade gleaming black as obsidian in the firelight.

Anne led the charge up the stairs, soldiers from Units A and B covering her blind spots.

She reached the fourth-floor landing and blasted the door down with a beam of light.

Her soldiers rushed inside, swords drawn, already firing spells.

"How nice of you to join me." An unfamiliar woman called. "How about a duel? I've always wanted to battle the strongest warrior in the kingdom."

The new woman wore dark flowing robes, and carried a staff topped with a purple gem, dark tendrils of smoke seemed to swirl inside the crystal.

Suddenly, tendrils of shadow shot from the gemstone, disarming the soldiers around Anne in a flash.

Anne sheathed her blade and cracked her knuckles. "Fine then, as you wish, you'll get your duel."

[Author's note]

Hello,

Well, you made it to chapter 50. Congratulations on your dedication. I really do appreciate you taking the time to read this far.

How do you like Eric's new team? Personally, I enjoyed writing Alex and Lin the most.

Anyway, the raid is well underway at this point, so I'd better get back to writing. See you in a few chapters!

Sincerely,
-A