NewU Pt. 10a

I frowned but said no more, finally turned my attention to the spectacle in the field just as something started to happen around the city on the right.

Sterling was pacing back and forth atop his walls, his hands making all sorts of wild gestures which may or may not have been important. Despite the distance between where he was and my vantage point, I could see clearly as his city gates opened and an army of ghostly figures started marching out. True to the middle-aged aesthetic of the city they were defending, the chainmail-clad swordsmen and archers spread out into formation across the front of the city. There were thousands of them, roaring and chanting intimidatingly and bashing their swords against the insides of the spectral shields as a few dozen catapults shimmered into existence to their rear.

It was hard to explain, but it was like I could almost feel how powerful each individual soldier was. I had no idea how much each of them was worth in comparison to Sterling's overall power levels, but it was like each figure on the field had a value. Those values added together constituted the total amount of Power he was throwing at Fiona's defenses. Without knowing exactly how powerful Sterling was, I couldn't tell if this was a sizable commitment by him or not. But I could immediately see that these forces on their own were not enough to breach Fiona's defenses.

With a yell from somewhere in their ranks, they started to advance. The ground seemed to shake under the weight of each synchronized footfall as the steady march became faster and faster until the formations of ghost-like warriors were charging Fiona's walls at a full run. A series of loud, creaking thuds echoed over the field as the catapults released their payloads; boulders the size of a small car were hurled into the air and towards the city on the left. They crashed into Fiona's walls with what looked to be devastating force, yet her walls did not crumble.

The army was about halfway across the divide between the two opponents when Fiona made her countermove. The thunderous roar of men on horseback, their war cries reverberating into the air, rumbled from behind her city. Thousands of riders came into view as they rounded the corners of her walls and charged towards either side of the formation in the middle, a textbook pincer move that I had used myself in hundreds upon hundreds of strategy games over my life.

The army charging the walls, however, didn't miss a step. The archers stopped, drawing their bows and aiming toward the cavalry charges on either side of them. Some of the swordsmen, their swords suddenly stretching and changing into long spears, moved into defensive positions between their allies and Fiona's horsemen while the rest of the infantry maintained their charge against the walls. The air erupted into a storm of arrows as the archers let loose their projectiles. It was like watching something out of Lord of the Rings as riders or horses were hit by arrows and crumbled violently to the ground under the weight of their own momentum.

Part of the cavalry formation broke away, making for the undefended catapults just as Fiona made her second move; the tops of her walls became a hive of activity as her battlements spawned a line of revolutionary-era cannons. A command was yelled into the air from someone on the walls, and the cannons all fired as one. The formation of men charging the city disappeared in a hail of explosions as the artillery found its mark. Body parts and pieces of broken men were thrown into the air at almost the exact same moment as the cavalry smashed into the catapults.

Sterling seemed to be a little slower in his reactions but still managed to spawn a line of archers on his walls. In only a few seconds, they had taken aim and loosed their arrows, but it was too late. Despite the catastrophic losses being suffered amongst that wing of Fiona's cavalry from the arrows being rained down on them, almost all of the catapults were destroyed. The melee in the center was swinging back and forth in terms of who held the upper hand. The spearmen were making short work of any horsemen who attacked them head-on, but there weren't enough of them to completely defend the archers, and Sterling's numbers were starting to be whittled down.

Another deafening salvo was unleashed from the summit of Fiona's walls, and the center of the brawl exploded. Fiona, it would seem, was happy to sacrifice her own men if it meant destroying the enemy. Despite not being overly enamored by the violent barbarism of the description I had been given, I was enthralled. Even though I had no idea who seemed to be winning, one thing was clear: Sterling's assault had not only stalled, it had failed.

"The tide is turning," One of the men in our group of spectators commented. There were a few mumbled agreements from the others.

"Sterling can still win this. Fiona is an amateur." Someone else said. Faye rolled her eyes as almost everyone turned their attention to the smug-looking guy sipping a beer in a wingback to our right.

"Rhodri, everyone is an amateur to you," She almost growled. "This is, what, her third go ever? Of course, she is an amateur, you fucking cretin. You were an amateur on your third duel too. I should know. I kicked your ass in it!"

"He's right, though," The man sitting next to Rhodri said quietly. "Not about being an amateur, but she has over-committed her power on those cannons and the cavalry charge. She is playing too defensively."

Faye rolled her eyes and then turned her attention back to me. "Rhodri and Neil, here, fancy themselves the next champions. They are a little too smug for my liking."

"Ranked second and third, respectively," Rhodri smiled with a gesture to Neil, indicating that his friend held the third position.

"Who is ranked first?" I asked.

"I am." A heavily accented voice came from behind us. The whole group turned around to see Uri leaning against a tree behind us. "And I am yet to receive a challenge from the man who has to beat me to become champion. Fiona, on the other hand, has challenged me. What she lacks in skill, she makes up for with balls." Uri's eyes left the carnage on the field and fell on Rhodri. "Balls which you seem to lack. But you are right, she has over-extended her defenses. However, your protege has made no move to capitalize on it. Maybe he needs a better teacher."

Rhodri bristled but made no reply as the rest of the group chuckled. I was starting to wonder if this was the Evo equivalent of trash talk.

Uri turned his attention back to the duel as Marco, who had been standing next to him with an amused-looking smile on his face, stepped forward and clapped his hand back on my shoulder, casting a knowing look between Faye and me. "How are you enjoying it?" He asked.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it," I answered with a shrug. Faye shuffled herself a little closer to me.

"Think you would want to give it a go?" He asked with a smile. I suddenly became aware that every eye in our group, even Uri's, were firmly on me.

"I could give it a try," I shrugged. I was aware that I wasn't exactly getting a masterclass from the spectacle in front of me, but the concept seemed fairly simple. My own background as an avid strategy gamer seemed like it would be more than a little relevant too. Faye sucked in a deep breath at my answer, although I couldn't tell if she was impressed by my reply or fearful. She groaned softly and rolled her eyes as Rhodri immediately spoke up.

"I'll duel you," he said with that stupid smug grin on his face. That smugness seemed to be a look he was physically incapable of losing. "You and me. I will make sure I show you how the game is supposed to be played."

"Well, that was nothing if not predictable," Faye rolled her eyes again.

"And I didn't mean right now," Marco added.

"Doesn't matter. The challenge has been made. Do you accept?" Rhodri was almost daring me to turn him down.

I held his eyes for a moment. In the ranks of power of the various Evos I knew, Uri was easily at the top, a very distant second to me. Charlotte and Marco were about the same and shared third place, but both of them paled in comparison to Uri. Rhodri was not too far behind in fourth, and the others, Faye included, were some ways behind them. Rhodri's eyes, however, held a confidence that should have been at least partially negated by the fact that, in terms of power, I could crush him like a bug. Yet, by looking at him, you would think that he had absolutely no doubt he would win.

"If I didn't understand that cheating wasn't really a thing in games with no rules," Jeeves whispered into my mind, "I would say that... gentlemen... has some extra cards up his sleeve."

"Then I guess we know what your job is going to be when we fight him then, don't we?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, not bothering an attempt to knock his confidence. "Why not? I accept. It should be fun."

Rhodri grinned a little wider, leaning over to whisper something to Neil. I didn't hear it, but whatever it was pulled a chuckle from both of them. Faye almost growled before finally bridging the tiny gap between us and leaning against me. "Please, I beg you, kick his ass and wipe that stupid fucking smirk off his stupid fucking face."

I didn't get time to answer as one of the girls in the group leapt to her feet. "She's making her move!!"

The scene in the field was vastly different from the one I had turned away from only a few minutes earlier. All that remained of the melee in the center was a pile of dead bodies and a few wandering, riderless horses. Sterling had spawned another formation of men, almost entirely made of swordsmen, and they were, once again, charging across the field. Fiona's wall-top cannons were making short work of them, just as they had the first time. But it was the movement on her walls that had everyone excited.

Brandishing a scimitar, a long sword that curved and thickened towards its point, once used by Muslim paladins during the Crusades, Fiona vaulted over her battlements, dropped the twenty-odd feet to the floor, landed with a roll, and took off running towards Sterling's city.

For his part, Sterling didn't just look worried, he looked thoroughly exhausted. Fiona was running as fast as her legs would carry her, but apparently, that was not fast enough as an armored horse shimmered into existence behind her and galloped after her. Fiona, in a move that looked straight out of the circus, weaved left, reached out a hand to grab the mount's reigns, and then swung herself up onto its back, kicking the horse to go faster while holding out the sword ahead of her. At the same time, the cannons on her walls disappeared and reformed in a line on either side of her, immediately opening fire against Sterling's walls.

In only a few salvos, the walls started to crumble. There was a yelp from Sterling as, first, his archers were decimated in the explosions, and then the wall collapsed beneath him. His body fell with the rubble.

The look of exaltation on Fiona's face was hard to miss, even from where we were watching. She charged harder, her entire focus locked solely onto the breach in her opponent's defenses, pushing the horse harder and faster... galloping straight for the hole in the wall...

And straight into Sterling's trap.

Faye groaned loudly and slumped back into our sofa, apparently seeing what I did not.

As soon as Fiona crossed the wall, the debris reformed around her. Solid stone walls grew out of the rubble pile on every side and trapped her within. A soft chuckle echoed across the field as Sterling, the real Sterling, faded into sight as he strolled casually across the field, far behind Fiona's static cannons in the center. The frustrated shrieks and curses from Fiona echoed out of her prison as Sterling walked up to her gates, kicked them open, and stepped inside.

I flashed a confused glance at the dejected-looking Faye. "I thought you said it took a little while for someone to respawn when they are killed," I said.

"It does," Jerry answered before Faye had a chance to. "But that wasn't Sterling falling off the wall, it was a decoy. He allowed her to breach the walls so he could trap her inside."

"Wait, so he turned himself invisible and just walked past everything?" I asked in surprise.

"Necessity is the mother of all deception," Marco said from beside me. "It's something to keep in mind when you face Rhodri." He added before heading back to stand next to Uri.

********

I rolled my neck again.

This was a bad idea.

Fiona and Sterling had shaken hands, the former congratulating the latter on a victory well won before they had made their way back to the group. They had barely arrived before Rhodri jumped to his feet and declared that we were going to do this now and started to make his way to the right-hand side of the field.

I had given Faye a look, shrugged, and made my way to the left.

Rhodri's city looked like it had been pulled straight out of a Dickens Novel. Smokestacks stretched towards the sky over the tops of his walls as a thriving, albeit small, industrial-aged metropolis faded into view. Rhodri was quite proud of his city by the look on his face. I had to admit, it was by far the most modern looking of any others I had seen.

If you didn't count my own, that is.

The look on his face changed to one of complete and utter astonishment as I let my city materialize behind me. I could even hear the gasps from the hill where Faye, Marco, Uri, and the others were all watching. Even Uri seemed to stand up straight, marveling at the truly mind-boggling size of my city. Marco beamed proudly, finally having gotten to show off the real measure of my power to an equally impressed-looking Uri. Faye's mouth was hanging open. More and more people were blinking into existence and joining the crowd on the hill as word of the duel spread through the bar. People wanted to see what the fuss was about, and looking up at the sheer enormity of my white marble-esque walls, they really did see it. The fuss, it would seem, was warranted.

As I have said many times before, scale is a hard concept to quantify. But the comparison here was like someone standing on a milk crate and looking up at the Great Wall of China. To say one was larger and stronger than the other didn't quite do it justice.

Standing here though, I suddenly realized that I was grossly underprepared. I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing.

"Jeeves, any ideas?"

"Not really, Sir"

"That is very helpful, thanks"

"I suspect," He started as I looked down at Rhodri's city, "that a large aspect of this game is experience. You have experienced or seen something happen, so you spend this time making preparations to defend against it."

"Cool, okay, let's do that."

"I'm not sure there is a need, Sir."

"Jeeves, now is not the time for being cryptic. If you have something to say, spit it out."

Jeeves sighed dramatically. "Very well, Sir. You have a distinct advantage."

I looked over the parapet and down the ground, a few hundred feet below me. "No shit."

"Not the size of your walls, sir... Well, not ONLY the size of your walls. From what I understand about most Evos, their well is the reservoir from which they draw their powers, the deeper the well and the faster it can be refilled, the more powerful they are."

"Yes, we already knew that."

"Yes, Sir, but in a duel, they are expending power with each move they make, meaning they have to measure the power expended with each move against the total power they have available."

"Right, they can't drain the well faster than it can be filled. Otherwise, they'd run out of power and would be defenseless."

"Precisely." He replied, "But you don't have that problem. You don't have a well, you have power plants. They can produce all the power you could ever need almost immediately. You couldn't empty that power reserve if you tried."

"Ahhh, okay. I'm following. So you are basically saying that I not only have huge walls, I have an almost unlimited pool of energy from which to make my moves."

"Yes sir. That is exactly what I mean."

"So what do you suggest we do."

My subconscious, represented as an aged butler with the sarcasm of a British plumber, shrugged. "I would recommend we do nothing. Use this as a learning experience and counter any moves he makes as he makes them. If we find ourselves able to attack as well, then we do that too. Just see what happens."

"I really would like to wipe that smug look off his face, though."

"I know, sir. But if it helps, he is not looking smug anymore. In fact, he is looking like he knows he is about to have a very bad day."

Jeeves was right. Even across the distance between our cities, I could clearly make out the look of worry on Rhodri's face. It was the expression of a man who was starting to wonder if he had bitten off more than he could chew.

"Well, we best not disappoint him then."

It was another 15 minutes or so before Rhodri made his first move. His gates opened, and an enormous mass of creatures poured out of it. Axe brandishing Minators, sprinting Lions and Tigers, World War II-era jeeps with men on .50 cal machine guns, Sherman tanks, Velociraptor packs, Halo franchise Spartans, Roman Legionaries, and more Civil War-era infantry than I could count. It was like a scene out of Ready Player One.

I rolled my neck again and did nothing.

They were halfway across the field when I decided to respond. With a single thought, A few hundred MLRS artillery platforms materialized in my city, hidden from sight behind my walls. A few seconds later, the sun was blocked out as thousands of rockets streamed overhead and smashed into the crowd charging my city. If Fiona's cannons were effective, these rockets were downright apocalyptic. The ground shook as the advancing... "army"... was blown to pieces. Even though I could tell that each individual soldier within it was significantly more powerful than anything that Fiona or Sterling had put onto the field, I could also tell that their combined strength could have hacked into my wall for a few decades and would barely scratch the smooth white surface. In reality, there was no real reason for me to respond at all... I just decided I could, so I did.

Rhodri frowned but didn't miss a beat. The air suddenly filled with P-51 Mustang Fighter planes, B-17 bombers, Vietnam-style Huey gunships, oversized birds of prey and Dragons. At the same time, a few dozen self-propelled drills, the sort that the Underminer used in The Incredibles movies, appeared in front of his walls and immediately burrowed into the ground. Thousands of First World War-looking infantrymen quickly followed them into the maw.

I had no idea if the relative technological abilities of each individual unit made them more or less powerful, or even more or less effective. It stood to reason that with the physical appearances of cities meaning absolutely nothing, surely the same would apply to these units. There certainly wasn't any power difference between them. But at the same time, I seemed to instinctively understand that despite not knowing if a Vietnam helicopter gunship posed a greater or lesser danger than, say, a very large Eagle, they were certainly more versatile. The gunships could attack from range, and although the eagle could do more damage in a single physical blow, it had to be able to get close to me. Combined together though, one could distract me while the other closed the gap. All the while, the miners would be tunneling their way toward my city.