PenguinKills
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Chapter 127 - When Words Fail
🕑 Added 2024-09-04 19:20:19 +0000 UTCTracy
She felt it before she saw it.
Since the last wave finished, every bird that Kathy had sent North was killed indiscriminately. Arrows of Ice, spears of light, or balls of fire killed anything that got close to what their camp was doing.
Her eye in the sky was blind and she wasn't warned of his approach.
She knew what was coming. The way the northern faction exited her camp left little doubt. The only reason to depart as quickly and as orderly as they had was because of only a few reasons, and all of them were bad.
She could honestly say she saw this coming. Tracy thought it would be Kurt first rather than Christopher, but she was wrong on that account.
The slight chill in the air gave away who it was that approached her camp.
Her control over the camp was slipping and she was barely holding on by this point. She didn't hold the same power she once did. There weren't enough people that would stand with her this time.
Even if she still had that kind of power, she wasn't certain it would have worked. After the last wave ended, no one wanted to give up their points anymore. They didn't want to live by her rules and they refused to listen to her.
The threat to their lives was over and they expressed their discontent with the way they had been treated. Some left. Others stayed but they wouldn't hand over their points anymore.
Staying only to use the facilities that Tracy had built during the tutorial before they were whisked away and back to earth.
Without the influx of points, she had to go out and earn them herself. Kathy stayed with her and she cut a deal with Damien to keep some muscle on her side, but she didn't trust the rest of her camp enough to keep them close.
She had to offer outrageous rewards for people to go out and conquer pylons under her faction. Most scoffed when she began to ask for their support but some were willing to listen. Unable to ignore what she was offering so quickly.
She only managed to get 5 other pylons in the last few days which was less than she wanted. None of her camp had the motivation to charge into battle after they had just been freed from the torment which left her with fewer pylons than she predicted.
Added to her original pylon that still stood, she had 6 total. Without birds to keep track of everything in the north, she didn't know how many the freak of nature was able to take over.
His family was nearly as strong as he was and they all were starting to become freaks of nature. She saw the looks of distaste at her before they left. The unconcealed faces of disapproval.
It had started ever since she refused to help them with the Mindbreaker. Tracy had felt the shift inside her camp after that. They came back a few members short and barely spoke with her anymore.
Their representative, Abigail, would only engage in the bare necessities before ending contact.
All of the signs pointed to this happening but there was nothing Tracy could do to stop it. She had spent all of the points she had acquired on trying to survive the final wave and didn't have the major income that usually came after a wave.
All she had left was the points she earned from fighting nearby pylons and they weren't enough to stop what was coming.
She had watched as the man who closed in on her camp demolished waves on his own and was under no delusion that she could contend with that. She could only hope that he wasn't out for blood.
She had seen the outcome of that movie before and it ended with an exploded head.
While Tracy could say that she had seen this coming, she could also say a part of her was surprised. During her conversations with the man, as brief as their contact was, he didn't seem the type to go down this road.
He seemed more like the stoic type that would abstain from doing something like this.
The light show with the spear, on the other hand, had something like this written on his face. If it was him coming down here she would understand. She wouldn't be able to defend against him either but at least it wasn't out of character.
Still, she wasn't going to roll over and give up all her hard work. She had traps planted the second the wave was over specifically designed for humans instead of monsters.
She bought a few materials with what little points she had left that targeted Ice powers specifically. If she was going down, she was going down fighting.
The rising sense of dread signaled the distance closing. The temperature began dropping faster and everyone inside the camp noticed the change.
Not all of them had seen the man fight and hadn't put the two together yet. They didn't know the force of nature that was coming.
She didn't have enough points to repair the gates after the wave and had to settle for some of the builders doing less-than-stellar repairs. She lamented her lack of points once more at that thought.
Those repairs weren't going to be enough. They weren't going to hold out long against the kind of force she had seen him deploy.
While she had traps armed and a few consumables for such an occasion stashed away, she didn't think she was going to win. The best she could do was delay until the timer was up.
Tutorial End: 00:00:47:56
Christopher was cutting it close. Only 47 minutes until the tutorial ended and the man was only just now arriving. He was either too busy to come sooner or confident he could finish it in the time they had left.
One of the other mages that she had paid to stay started casting a two-way scrying pool, the same as the first time they had spoken.
If she was going to delay as long as she could, fighting wasn't going to be her first option. Maybe she could get him to change his mind.
The portal snapped up without resistance and she saw the hulking form of chiseled ice wading through the jungle. He wasn't in a rush and walked almost leisurely toward her northern wall.
The portal moved to keep pace, only bobbing slightly from the motion.
"Christopher," Tracy greeted.
The man's gait didn't falter as he took off his helmet of ice. Well, less taking off and more letting it fade away.
"Tracy," He returned. There was a tightness in his face that was new and she saw the barest hints of hesitation in his motion.
He stopped for only a brief second before continuing his march when he saw the portal keeping pace.
"So it has come to this?" Tracy didn't mince words. Over the short time she had known him, she knew this was the best way to get him to speak.
His audible sigh told her more than he probably intended. The resignation and unwillingness were clear. All of the signs kept pointing at him not wanting to do this.
Even more questions bloomed in Tracy's mind.
"I am sorry," he said softly, "I have given this extensive thought and contemplation and have come up with what I think is reasonable. I am not here to kill you or take your points. That's going too far in my opinion. You've earned those and me taking those away would cross a line I am unwilling to cross."
Him not being here to kill her eased most of Tracy's worries. She didn't think he would do something like that but it took a weight off her shoulders to hear him say it.
"I am also not here to take your pylon away from you. You've defended it successfully through 30 waves and it is not my intention to take it from you like that."
Hearing that made her stiffen. If he wasn't here to kill her and he wasn't here to take her pylon, what was he here for?
Revenge? Tracy hadn't done anything that would call for revenge.
"But." His words jarred her back to attention, "To get the most out of this tutorial and the prizes that will be given out at the end, I need to do the most I possibly can. All I ask is that you subordinate your faction to mine."
He paused to let her mull over his request.
"It is what I feel comfortable asking without going too far in my opinion. You get to keep control of your pylons and points while I get a bit better of a reward having a subordinate faction with pylons under their control.
"In the grand scheme of things, I think what I'm asking for is fair. We helped tremendously during the waves and asking for this doesn't seem like too much." He stated.
Subordinate? That was the reason that he came all the way down here? He brought down a mountain of dread on her head only to ask for her to bend the knee.
It was ridiculous. If she had the power that Christopher wielded, she would be asking for a lot more than just subordination. She had already exploited the southern camp with subordination and he was in a better position than she was when she did it.
The southern camp was going to fall during the last wave and all of them knew it. Their camp wasn't able to hold up to the monsters of the 27th wave and they were bleeding people trying to hold on.
Her repeated attempts at getting them to merge were initially ignored until people started to die. They lost over 15 people before they eventually said yes.
The only holdout was their leader who found her terms were too much. Subordination was too far and he wasn't willing to give in. He eventually agreed because the rest of his camp convinced him. They saw the writing on the wall and managed to sway him into saying yes.
Tracy was certain they would have died to the last wave if they stood alone.
The only reason that she hadn't insisted on the same thing for Christopher's camp was because she needed them more than they needed her. Plus, she was positive they would have said no if she insisted on that point.
Tracy wasn't sure that she would have been able to survive without them holding a wall for her.
She only had to focus on three directions of attack instead of all four and it took a load off of her that was desperately needed. Her traps were more concentrated on the other three gates and her forces were able to deal with the waves easier.
Without them defending a wall, things would have ended a lot differently. It was closer than she would have liked already and that was with the two other factions helping, letting her limp over the finish line mostly unscathed.
Subordination wasn't that bad all things considered, but she didn't want to roll over so easily.
"And if I say no? What will you do then?" She pushed back.
Poking the bear wasn't what she had in mind when this conversation started but she wasn't going to give in so easily.
The few minutes of back and forth had taken enough time for Christopher to reach the edge of the jungle. He was standing in clear view of her camp now and finally came to a halt.
Her question was left unanswered for an uncomfortable amount of time while he stood looking over the camp. He no doubt saw the repairs to the gates she had made and was evaluating the state of the defenses.
"I asked myself the same thing," he said, "How far I was willing to go for this. It wasn't even my idea in the first place."
Tracy jumped on the weakness she saw. Any way to get out of subordinating her faction she would take, "You don't have to go through with it then if you don't want to."
Her hopes were dashed when emitted a short laugh instead of considering her words. She wanted to ask why he laughed but wasn't given the chance.
"If not now, then when?" He said, "I hope to build a city when we get back and the same problems are going to come up then as they are now. There will be times I must be proactive instead of passive, times when I must be the aggressor instead of the defender.
"Being neutral is my goal but that does not mean I will be passive. There will be things that I have to fight for. Resources people will wish to control and dungeons people will wish to claim.
"I have read the things that have appeared on Earth. The resources that people will flock to in hopes of leveling up and stepping on the Paths of Power."
He paused before continuing, "There will not be a place for pacifism. Remaining passive and non-confrontational will get me nothing. What should I do if someone takes control of something I want? When they have something that will make me or my family stronger and they refuse to sell and deny any trade?"
He considered for a moment before changing directions.
"Would you give up your pylon for points?" He asked.
Tracy shook her head.
"Would you trade it to me for something I could give you or a favor I would owe you?" He asked again.
Tracy shook her head once again.
"What should I do then?" He asked, "When you have denied to sell and refused other options? The only thing left is to use force and we both know how that will end."
The intensity of his stare as he said that made something inside of her shiver. Sweat began to build on her lower back and goosebumps appeared on her arms.
Yes, she knew how that would go.
"Saying that doesn't mean force will be my first option, hopefully not my second either, but I cannot dismiss the possibility that force will be necessary in some cases when words fail.
"I have given it a lot of thought and I came up with a process that I feel comfortable with doing. The most honorable way I can think of to go about using force.
"I will challenge you for it." He said.
It took Tracy's brain a second to comprehend what he was saying. When it finally did, she couldn't help but say what instantly came to mind.
"You'll challenge me for it?" Tracy said incredulously, "Like a duel? When people used to throw gloves to initiate a challenge."
Tracy couldn't help it. The thought was absurd. Who challenged people anymore? There were no duels like there were in the past.
Well, except in Texas, but mutual combat was different.
"Yes, like a duel. It is the most honorable way of going about it that I could come up with and the way my Dad would find least disappointing." Christopher said softly.
There was a moment after he said that when he unstrung the hammer from his back and brought it around in front of him. He gave it a twirl, up and around before smashing it into the ground.
"You've heard my terms, I require an answer." He stated.
Tracy looked at the timer and clicked her tongue. There was still too much time on the clock and she wouldn't be able to get out of this.
~~AN~~
I have seen the comments of the last chapter and have heard what you guys are trying to say. I hope that this chapter clears some of the confusion up regarding the path Christopher will tread in the future.
Chris was never going to be the hero, the selfless and caring. He also wasn't going to be the villain who took what he wanted from who he wanted.
I think I laid out his philosophy well in the chapter but if there are any more questions feel free to drop them in the comments and I will try to answer them.
Comments
Alexander C Hyde
Her hopes were dashed when (he) emitted a short laugh instead of considering her words.
Somerito
I'm happy the way this turned out. I wasn't crazy about the decision last chapter, but I think the author did a good job explaining Chris's motivations. I was worried it was going to shift to murderhobo.
Aaron Weingrad
Tracy would have to bet that she can run out the clock and that upon return to earth the benefits of hanging on to her gains will outweigh the costs and risks of having to flee from Chrisβ territory. She doesnβt have the strength to establish sovereignty if he is anywhere nearby to contest it. He is offering a pretty decent deal. She would have to be a lot less clever than she has otherwise shown herself to be to reject it. But smart people sometimes fool themselves. Given his attitude towards the details of governance she should hitch herself to his wagon. She isnβt all that smart because she should have cemented her alliance fighting the mindbreaker. You have to give loyalty to get loyalty. She kept things transactional. He should sideline her when they get back.
Chris Fox
Also, I'd maybe reword the repetition of "so easily"
Chris Fox
This is quite a bit better than I thought it would go. I was assuming he was going to demand more. You've got my thumbs up with this chapter authorman.
sn0_0ker
I like Christopher's character a lot, it's rare to get a MC who is capable of bearing the responsibility of their power for this type of story. The fact he understands that sometimes he needs to do something bad for good reasons and is willing to compromise his freedom for his family are traits I like about him.
Demonlord
Thanks for the nice chapter π I hope they can solve it without a death... Maybe she can ve useful later in his City
Alexander
Great chapter thanks
Robert King
tftc!
James Faulkner
I think this is a good resolution, Tftc!
