Level up - It's an RPG world Book 8 : Conflict: An Earth Apocalypse System Integration LitRPG Adventure novel by Craig Zerf

Author:Craig Zerf [Zerf, Craig]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-08-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

The gates of Leo’s capital opened slowly, the heavy iron creaking as sunlight spilled onto the stone-paved road beyond. Four riders waited at the entrance: Bradley, Jane, Charlie, and Commander Garbo. Their mounts stamped the ground impatiently, the horses sensing the tension in the air. Each envoy sat tall in their saddle, their armor polished to a bright sheen that caught the morning light. They looked every bit the part of Leo's elite—strong, disciplined, and unyielding.

Earlier, Bradley had complained that they had fast attack craft but were going medieval instead. “We could be there in under an hour,” he had argued.

But Leo was adamant they travel on horseback. He wanted them to see the land and the people. To experience the mood out there. Also, he did not want them to arrive in a weapon of war,

Behind them, the city stood in quiet order. Soldiers lined the streets, standing at attention as the envoys passed. They saluted, hands over hearts, their expressions grim but respectful. The people of the city—merchants, artisans, and common folk—watched from the safety of their homes and shops. Some waved, others simply looked on, but there was no panic in their eyes. Leo’s rule had brought them stability, and even with war on the horizon, they trusted in his protection.

The gates behind them finally closed with a resounding clang, and the city faded into the distance. The orderly streets gave way to open plains, dotted with small villages and farmlands. Here, the pace of life slowed. Farmers waved from the fields, their faces sun-weathered but content. The land was rich, well-tended under Leo’s rule, and the people seemed at peace. Yet, there was a stark difference in their eyes—a wariness that hadn’t been present within the city walls. These people had seen conflict up close. They had watched the horizon for shadows that didn’t belong, heard the distant cries of neighbors under attack.

As the envoys pressed on, the landscape shifted again. The villages grew sparser, the fields less tended. They passed through a small town where the remnants of an alien attack were still visible—burned-out homes, scorched earth, and the skeletal remains of a defense tower that had collapsed during the assault. A handful of survivors picked through the rubble, their faces hollowed by grief and exhaustion. One old man looked up as they passed, his eyes meeting Jane’s for a brief moment. There was no accusation in his gaze, only a deep, resigned understanding of the world they now lived in.

Commander Garbo urged his horse forward, quickening the pace. The silence between the envoys was heavy, the weight of their task growing with every mile they covered. They rode on, leaving behind the last vestiges of Leo’s safe lands, heading toward the uncertainty of enemy territory, where paranoia and distrust awaited them.

***

The trees loomed taller as the envoys crossed the invisible line between Leo’s lands and the territory of the Free Cities. The road here was rougher, the path narrowing as dense underbrush crept closer to the edges of the dirt track.

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