We had stopped to rest after a few hours of traveling to ensure that we were fine for anything the next day would throw at us. The morning had been idyllic enough with a blue, cloudless sky. We had gone far enough that we didn’t have to deal with the humidity of the marshlands, much to the relief of Ferrisdae, who still refused to cut her hair.

  The map hadn’t left my side all morning, and I had it zoomed in as far as it could while we approached the border between CC’s domain and what I started to call liberated territory. That was the area didn’t belong to either of us. There were a few more neutral places near the expedition’s landing site, not that they had made a lot more progress, and there had been others that popped up randomly.

  I knew there were four groups of special teams just like First Cell, and they were doing some good work. The patches of land they had liberated were wide and seemed randomly placed, but I had enough pattern recognition to understand that the majority of the focus was between the places where the Dungeon Nexuses were situated.

  Using that same logic, I could tell where the team that had been attacked, or rather betrayed, at the beginning were located. They had the northeast portion of the map. It was coming along slower than the others, but they were still doing good work.

  When asked about it, Himia confirmed that they were working near the Dungeon Nexuses, though she could only speak on three of the four. They were opening a path for us. Even the most northern team of First Cell was heading straight for where we knew Mount Rust was. That was probably the House of Fate and Flames, given the speed at which they traveled. Her ability to burn down dungeons made her faster than every other team except ours.

  All in all, a fairly optimistic picture was being painted for us. It almost looked as if it were going to be a fairly easy-going journey.

  Almost was a keyword that I did not often like, for reasons that did not take long to appear.

  “Inspector, we are fast approaching enemy territory, and it appears as though our path was anticipated,” Himia announced, deciding once again not to make an appearance inside the moving carriage.

  “Stop here, Ferrisdae,” I said as I put down the map and opened the window to get a better view.

  Since we were entering enemy territory, Ferrisdae had chosen a more defensive configuration for the Skymirror Carriage. This was a slower one overall, but it gave the starry horses more armor since, as summoned creatures, they could be harmed and their protection was more important than outright speed. If anything happened to make them stop, we would be stuck fighting our way through whatever caused them harm in the first place.

  Ahead of us, at the edge of a forest on the other side of the plains, was a blockade put together by a huge collection of creatures. Retrieving a spyglass from my Dimensional Pocket, I looked down the line. The Trolls and Ogres were the easiest to spot, but I could also see Gremlins, Imps, and various monsters that came in small groups, if not lone individuals. None fought each other, but our presence had certainly sent them into a frenzy.

  Moose and Cojisto approached the window. “So what’s the plan, Badger?” he asked, his gaze not leaving the blockade.

  “Is there any way around?” I asked, trying to see where the line of enemies ended.

  I frowned when I realized I couldn’t.

  “It appears as though this blockade goes on for five miles to the north, and four to the south,” Himia answered. “However, there is some good news. This is not the highest concentration of enemies. That honor goes to an area two miles north, and a similar one that is half a mile south.”

  “That’s a lot of enemies,” Dals said, slightly understating the whole issue.

  “Yup, and they’re in the way,” Cojisto replied, raising his fist with a grin. His excitement was expected. “So we’re punching through, right?”

  I knew the decision had to be made fast. The enemies two miles away would only be able to arrive fast enough to make a difference if magic was involved, but the ones from the south would be able to respond much faster.

  Then again, there wasn’t much to think about. While I had hoped to cross the border unimpeded, there was a reason why we went with the armored carriage. Punching through, as Cojisto so succinctly put it, would get the danger over with and start putting the enemies behind us. The amount of denizens CC had to move to put up a nine or ten mile blockade meant that most dungeons were probably manned by just their bosses, and that was to our advantage.

  “Yes, Cojisto, we punch through,” I confirmed unenthusiastically. He pumped his fist in the air in excitement.

  “The windows can also open outwards from the top, which will protect us from attacks coming from the ground while still giving us space to cast spells,” Ferrisdae helpfully reminded.

  “I remember,” I replied with a nod. She had assured us that the glass was much sturdier than normal, and I had no reason to doubt her. “Okay, here’s the plan. Moose and Cojisto, you ride ahead of us and take out any big threats that we can’t simply run over. Cojisto, you have your armor, but is there anything for Moose? Or is he simply healing through the pain?”

  “Don’t worry, we have a few tricks up our sleeves,” he said proudly, and his friend stamped his hoof confidently. “I’ve got Moose covered.”

  “So long as you’re sure,” I returned, trusting him on that, and I turned to the Elves. “You two are going to be inside the carriage casting spells.” Dalsarel looked a little sour at being stuck inside like that, but it wasn’t like she could swing her sword from the door. “Keep enemies away from the wheels. We may be able to lose one and keep going, maybe, but any more than that and we’re going to get surrounded. Ferrisdae, you’re going to be pulling double duty watching our path, too. I know the horses are smart, but this is a combat situation so you’ll need to make sure they’re going in the right direction. For that reason, I want you on the north side where we aren’t expecting as many reinforcements.”

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  “Got it,” the Forest Elf said, looking determined. “We can handle that, right, Dals?”

  “Right,” my other junior agreed.

  I nodded. That was good enough for me. “Tabitha, you’re with me on the roof,” I continued, looking at my wife. “I want a constant stream of fire in front of the horses. Just because we can run things over doesn’t mean it won’t slow us down, so I want our path clear. I’ll take care of any big projectiles coming our way.”

  “I can do that, just make sure none of those giants smash me with a boulder,” my wife replied.

  “They’re not going to harm a hair on your head if I can help it,” I said before closing the window and changing it to a battle-ready configuration. “I’ll give you a signal to get moving once we’re on the roof.”

  Ferrisdae nodded and opened the window next to her the same way. “Understood.”

  I left the carriage first and climbed up the back end. There was a ladder built into the wood, but it wasn’t meant to be used when riding. The handholds were far too shallow for that, but just fine when stationary.

  The roof was spacious for the two of us and had crenelations going all around that would be waist-high to a crouching Elf archer, so they were perfect for people our size to hide behind. I was only really worried about big projectiles, anyway. Once Tabitha joined me, I stomped twice on the roof and the starry horses began moving.

  Moose and Cojisto went ahead of us, and I activated my shield while I watched them. A coating of purple energy appeared on the man from his shoulders, working its way down to tightly hug his skin and armor. That was his Fluid Force in action, and I hadn’t gotten used to seeing so much of it.

  To my surprise, it expanded past his body and onto his friend. The energy moved more slowly, but it was certainly providing armor for Moose as well. I wasn’t sure how strong it would be so far away from Cojisto, though there was no worrying about that now. Our healer could probably handle any attacks that got through it.

  I turned my eyes forward as Tabitha gave Britear a few practice swings. Flames the same green as her axe flowed every time it sliced through the air, getting larger and larger. The fire lingered, flying ahead of us, as she got herself ready.

  “You know, from the first time I picked up Britear, I never imagined something like this,” she said, smiling up at the dangerous cloud she had created. I could see the green flames reflected in her eyes.

  “I don’t think any of us did,” I agreed. “How does it feel?”

  “Natural,” Tabitha answered immediately. “For both me and Britear. Like this was where we were supposed to be all along. It’s tiring, though. Way worse than just swinging her around.”

  “Will you be okay?” I asked.

  “Of course,” she laughed, reaching over to pat me on the shoulder. “You think I’m going to let these youngin’s show me what for? Did you forget who you married?”

  “Never. For what it’s worth, I’m glad it’s worked out for you,” I said, putting my hand on hers before moving to the front of the carriage. “Now, get ready to slam that down in front of the horses and keep it there as soon as we start running into resistance. Deter as many of those monsters as you can.”

  “You’ve got it, sir,” she replied saucily, and I could tell she was trying not to sound too much like Cojisto.

  “Incoming, Inspector,” Himia warned.

  “Yes, I can see that,” I sighed.

  We only made it halfway across the plains when the enemies of the blockade loosed as much as they could. Arrows, rocks, and boulders filled the air. Most of them were going to go wildly off the mark as we were still picking up speed and their trajectories were not carefully calculated, but there was a certain quality to quantity.

  “Moose, fall back!” I ordered, and the healer shook his head. Just when I thought I was going to have to yell again, he complied. “Behind the carriage!”

  He arrived not a moment too soon as I prepared my martial art. My shield glowed as I pumped more and more power into it. This wasn’t going to need to be wider than when I had used it against the Shadow Dragon, but it was going to have to be taller. I took a breath, letting my energy circulate before it reached its apex.

  The first boulder was mere feet away from my face when I activated the martial art. With a roar, I thrust my shield forward, knocking the rock to the side. Doing so would have likely injured my arm if I hadn’t been using a special ability, but I was feeling all right.

  My martial art didn’t stop there. The horse-drawn carriage became encased in tower shields on four sides, leaving only our rear unguarded. Another huge stone slammed into it, but I felt nothing of the blow as it bounced off. I watched as the sky was almost darkened by the number of projectiles they had fired, not all of them on track to hitting us, and released a breath.

  Almost every one of the translucent tower shields I had willed into existence was struck simultaneously. Arrows and rocks plunked off as if testing their durability for the bigger threats to come. I renewed my breathing as the boulders hit en masse.

  Cracks began to appear in my shield wall. Not just because of the power of the giants throwing the boulders, but because of how long I needed to hold it. We were still far from the blockade.

  The edges of my formation started to break first, as it was designed to do. This wasn’t enough to push me back like the Shadow Dragon’s breath weapon had, but there were so many individual attacks that it was still getting laid on pretty thick. Tabitha put a hand on my back, and I straightened up.

  My martial art became smaller and smaller. I stopped paying attention to the enemies ahead of us, working to keep the energy circulating. The flanks were going to become a problem as we got closer, and those were among the first to go. I wouldn’t be able to renew it right away, and even if I could then it wouldn’t be an option because I’d have to drop the whole formation before I could do so.

  I grit my teeth as I pushed more of myself into my shield. The tool groaned as if it were about to warp, but I couldn’t let it go just yet. Boulder after boulder smashed into my protection, most of them falling off the road but those that didn’t were swiftly evaded. I bolstered the remaining translucent barriers for as long as I could.

  “Our turn, Moose!” Cojisto loudly announced from behind us.

  I frowned at the man’s impatience, but I realized that he was right when I looked ahead of us. The enemy’s first volley was coming to a close as we tore across the plains towards their front line. It seemed as though he made the right call. I needed to stop assuming that he was just being a menace for the sake of it.

  “Punch through!” I yelled as I dropped the martial arts. A few errant rocks and arrows struck the carriage, but none of them were of concern when we were facing down a veritable horde of foes.

  launch day for book 7 of 100th Run!

  r/LitRPG. The thread is ! It doesn't all have to be about 100th Run, either. If you have any Dungeon Inspector related questions, or even Courier Quest, feel free to stop by!