I Killed the Hero and Took His Achievements-Chapter 15: Death Has Infinite Range

[Location: High Altitude - The Northern Border]

[Temperature: -20°C]

The HMS Profit Margin drifted through the clouds.

Below us lay the Great Ice Wall. A massive fortification of magically reinforced ice, 300 feet high, stretching across the horizon. It separated the civilized world and the Empire of Frost.

Towers bristled with ballistae. Wyvern Riders patrolled the sky. It was impenetrable.

"We can’t breach it at all," Sylvia said, shivering in her new fur coat. "That Wall has stood for about 500 years."

I stood on the bow while holding one of the X-99 Mana Rifles. It was sleek, black, and hummed with dangerous capability.

"Sylvia," I said, adjusting the scope. "Do you know why the Knights use swords?"

"Because of honor and chivalry?"

"No, it’s because they are fools and idiots," I corrected.

I mounted the rifle on the railing. "The effective range of a Fireball is 50 meters. The effective range of a Longbow is 200 meters. The effective range of this Rifle?"

I grinned. "Three miles."

I looked at the deck behind me. I had 500 rifles. I had 3 party members.

"I need an army," I muttered. I drew the Soul-Eater’s Fang.

"System. How many Souls are stored in the blade?"

[Soul Count: 512.]

(Mostly Liches from the Airship battle).

"That’s perfect." I stabbed the deck.

[Active Skill: Mass Raise Dead (Shadow Variant).]

"Arise."

One by one, dark figures rose from the floor. They weren’t rotting zombies. They were silhouettes made of void-smoke, wearing the tattered outlines of business suits. They had no will. They had no fear. They had Aim.

"Pick up the guns," I ordered. Five hundred Shadow Liches moved in unison. They grabbed the rifles. They lined up along the railing of the airship. A firing squad of ghosts.

"This..." Ahri whispered, her tails twitching nervously.

I looked through my scope.

[Target: Northern Outpost Commander.]

[Distance: 4,500 meters.]

[Wind: 5 knots West.]

[Chance to Hit: 99%.]

The Commander was standing on the wall while drinking hot chocolate was laughing his ass off with his subordinates. He felt safe.

"Sylvia," I said. "That guy. Do you know him?"

Sylvia looked through the digital binoculars I handed her.

"That’s Commander Draven. He... he used to beat me during training when I was a kid."

"Good."

I adjusted my aim. "Primary Target acquired."

"All units," I commanded the Shadows. "Focus fire on the Rune Towers. Blind them." The Shadows leveled their rifles. The airship went silent. "Fire!" I commanded.

P-P-P-P-EW.

It wasn’t a loud bang. It was a high-pitched whistle of compressed mana. Five hundred beams of blue light tore through the atmosphere.

————————————————————

[Location: The Great Ice Wall]

Commander Draven took a sip of his hot chocolate. "Quiet day," he squeaked. "Not even a snow rabbit."

"Sir!" a sentry yelled. "Cloud formation detected at 20,000 feet! It looks like... a storm?"

Draven looked up. He didn’t see a storm.

ZAAAAAP.

The Rune Tower to his left exploded. The crystal matrix shattered instantly. The Tower to his right and the Ballistae.

"Attack!" Draven howled. "Shields up! Where is the attack coming from?!" He looked for an army and a dragon. He saw nothing. Then, a single blue beam hit him. It didn’t hit his chest. It hit his mug.

SHATTER.

Scalding hot chocolate splashed over his face.

"ARGH!"

A second beam hit his left knee. A third hit his right shoulder. He fell agonizingly in the snow. "Sniper!" he hissed. "They are... they are invisible!"

————————————————————

[Back on the Ship]

"Missed the head," I exclaimed. "Wind adjustment."

"You... you missed on purpose, didn’t you?" Ahri added. "You shot his cup."

"Psychological warfare," I contested. "If you kill the commander instantly, they’d rally. If you make him scream, they’d panic." I racked the bolt of the rifle.

[Mana Cartridge Reloaded.]

"Sylvia. Your turn."

I pointed to the wall. "They are activating the Frost Dome. It’s a defensive barrier. I need you to shatter it completely."

"Me?" Sylvia stepped back. "I can’t break a City-Grade barrier from here! My magic range is too short!"

I grabbed her shoulder. I held up the Void Ring. "I’m going to act as a Backer. I will channel the ship’s Engine energy through the Ring into You. Aim."

Sylvia gulped hard. She raised her both hands and was aiming at her own people. "Mother... forgive me."

I grabbed her waist (to stabilize).

"Overclock."

I dumped 10,000 units of mana from the engine into Sylvia. She screamed. Her eyes turned pure white.

[Skill: Glacial Railgun.]

A beam of ice at the size of a train shot from her both hands. It crossed the three mile gap in a heartbeat.

CRASH.

It hit the Frost Dome. The Dome didn’t stand a chance. It shattered like glass. The shockwave knocked every soldier on the wall off their feet. The Great Wall was cracked open.

"Cease the fire," I commanded. The Shadows stopped the fire and lowered their rifles.

Below us, the Northern Outpost was in wreckage. Not a single defender was dead, but their defenses were completely erased.

I walked to the command center. "Take us in," I ordered. "Land in the courtyard."

"Are we invading?" Seraphina asked.

"No," I said while checking my hair in the reflection of the window. "We’re skipping the line at the border customs."

————————————————————

[The Outpost Courtyard]

The HMS Profit Margin landed with a heavy thud, crushing the Commander’s favorite sculpture.

I walked down from the ramp.

Commander Draven was crawling through the snow, bleeding from three non-fatal injuries. He looked up. He saw me. Then he saw Sylvia. "Princess?" Draven gasped. "You... you led this attack? Are you kidding me?! You are complete traitor!"

Sylvia stepped forward. She looked cold. "I am not a traitor, Commander," she said, her voice echoing in surrounding.

"I am The Solution." I stepped past her. "Draven, am I right?"

I crouched down to face him. "You have two options. Option A: You die. I turn you into a Shadow Slave. You serve me anyway. Option B: You surrender the Outpost. You give me the Codes to the Empire’s Teleportation Network."

Draven spat blood at my boots. "Long live the Empress! I will never—"

BANG.

I shot his other leg. "Option A is looking really attractive nowadays," I sighed.

"Wait!" Draven wailed. "The codes! I have the codes!" He fumbled for a crystal key on his necklace.

"Good choice, Draven." I snatched the key.

[Item: Northern Network Key]

[Access Level: Military.]

With this, I didn’t need to march through the snow. I could teleport my team from city to city, bypassing the armies.

I stood up. "Lock them up," I told the Shadows. "Stripped and tie."

I turned to my girls. "We have a foothold. Now... we need to go shopping again." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Shopping?" Ahri asked.

"Not for weapons," I said.

I looked at the snowy peaks surrounding us. "We’re in a dragon country, and I need a Mount."