The New World
Copyright© 2024 by Dark Apostle
Chapter 50: Dragons ‘R’ US
Fan Fiction Sex Story: Chapter 50: Dragons ‘R’ US - The story follows James Smith, a man who dies and finds himself in a surreal afterlife courtroom, where his life is judged as "zero sum"—neither good nor evil, just utterly average. Dissatisfied with being consigned to eternal mediocrity, he manipulates the cosmic bureaucracy into granting him a second chance in a new world, where he is reincarnated as a child with his memories intact and perks... - edited by my lovely Steven.
Caution: This Fan Fiction Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Ma/ft Mult Coercion NonConsensual Reluctant Slavery Lesbian BiSexual Heterosexual Fan Fiction Farming High Fantasy Rags To Riches Restart Alternate History DoOver Extra Sensory Perception Body Swap Furry Magic Incest Mother Sister Politics Royalty Violence
The blare of the trumpets increased as the eastern army flowed across the bridge.
James scrambled out of bed in the blockhouse and moved fast, the trumpet calls still bouncing off the stone walls. Outside his room he heard an officer calling out instructions to the squad. He grabbed his equipment from the small table beside the bunk and started preparing himself—the Ring of Finding first, then the reservoir bands, then he donned his armor.
The armor went on in the practiced sequence he had drilled until it was muscle memory—chest piece first, buckled tight on the left side, then the bracers, each strap pulled snug with his teeth while his other hand worked the next clasp. The sounds coming through the arrow loops had changed since he woke. The rhythmic percussion of spear butts on bridge stone had become a broader, deeper sound, the massed shuffle and clank of several thousand men moving in formation, the noise of it filling the morning air the way water fills a vessel—completely, from all directions at once.
He belted his sword, checked the draw once, and reached for the bow. It was a good one—a recurve he had acquired in the capital, shorter than a longbow and better suited to the confined geometry of a blockhouse floor. He strung it with quick, practiced pressure, bending the limb against his thigh, and slung the quiver over his left shoulder so the fletching sat accessible behind his ear. Forty arrows, bodkin points, the shafts he had personally inspected the evening before. He couldn’t use magic yet, but he intended to do his part. ‘Now is the hard part, waiting.’
“If there is no dragon, this should be a short and vicious battle,” Aaron communicated to him over the crystals.
“Agreed. They are so bunched up that they will be easy targets as they spill off the bridge. If they attacked while on the bridge, can I shoot back?”
“James, no one is that stupid. The rules of engagement are simple. If they violate the bridge’s neutrality, then they are fair game. The rules have held for generations and never been violated. If I see it, I will notify Baron Cardwell and he will order a response.”
“That is all I can ask. I will wait for your signal. Until then, gods speed.” James replied.
“Thank you. Their numbers look impressive, but the bridge limits their effectiveness.”
When he left his room, the corridor was already full and moving, the squad flowing in one direction with the single-minded urgency of men who had been sleeping thirty seconds ago and were now going to war. James joined in without breaking stride.
He reached the main room and looked around. Every loop window was manned by trained archers. Their bow was strung and leaned against the wall. One of the soldiers was delivering breakfast to each man.
‘Smart, calm them down and prepare them for a longer battle. These men are well led.’
James was frustrated; he did not have any information and was terrible at waiting. He couldn’t leave the blockhouse to check on the observers and did not want to bother Aaron or Conrad. He climbed the ladder to the second floor and commandeered a window from one of the squad. Looking out, he was astounded. The bridge was completely filled from side to side over its entire length. But not a single man had set foot on this side of the bank. ‘This is more like playacting than fighting.’
Then the eastern men raised a huge cheer. James was apprehensive about the reason, but could not see anything.
Conrad’s crystal started talking, “James, the observers have sighted a dragon. It’s huge and flying over their bank.” He said excitedly.
James climbed the ladder to the blockhouse’s attic and peered out, looking for the dragon. Then he saw it—the size of a bus, with a wingspan of at least 50 feet. Iridescent wings, a thick body, sinuous long neck, and smoke puffs from its nostrils. ‘Kael was right.’
The dragon slowly circled around the eastern side of the bridge, never leaving the land or threatening anyone. James did not think that would last; their troops would not be cheering just for a show.
“Do you see the dragon?” Aaron asked.
James adjusted the crystal and responded, “Gods, it is magnificent. I almost hate to kill it.”
“I am not sure that together we could kill the animal. The power it has is more than I have ever seen before.”
“I doubt we will get lucky and the dragon will stay on their side of the river,” James commented.
“You must stay hidden and observe. I need to go, the first of their men has crossed the line.”
James tore his gaze away from the dragon and saw the initial wave of men cross the neutral line. Below him, he heard the archers loose their arrows at the invaders, and James saw them fall.
The invaders were professionals. They shrugged off the casualties and pushed on, desperate to escape the bridge’s bottleneck. They stepped over the bodies, holding their shields in front to protect against the constant stream of arrows.
James could not believe the discipline the troops were showing. Not a single one shot an arrow from the bridge. They waited until they were over the neutral line before nocking their arrows. Their caution meant they took many casualties before they could fight back.
Aaron started throwing bolts of energy at the invaders. Each time a bolt hit, dozens of men collapsed. James could not tell if they were dead or just stunned. ‘Unless things change, this attack will be blunted quickly.’
The strategy of building the blockhouses is being vindicated by the easy the invaders were mowed down.
Then everything changed. On the bridge, two men walked calmly towards the neutral line. To James’s untrained eye, the only thing notable was their confidence. The second they stepped over the line, the taller one on the right threw a bolt of energy at Aaron while the shorter one threw a bolt at the right side blockhouse. Aaron easily deflected the bolt, but the one striking the blockhouse caused the men inside to scream in pain and panic.
The blockhouse was intact, but the power of the bolt entered through the windows and crippled the archers positioned there. James could see that Aaron could not defend himself and the soldiers. But he was ordered not to reveal himself.
Aaron stood between the two blockhouses and alternated throwing bolts at the two enemy battlemages. Calling out to James through the crystals, he panted, “Wait for the dragon, I can handle these two.”
James returned to scanning the sky for the dragon. ‘I can’t believe that I lost sight of it while looking at the battlemages.’ Then he saw it, heading toward the Kingdom side of the river. He slid down the ladder, his feet on the outside of the rails so his weight could speed his descent. Reaching the second level, he pushed an archer away from the loop so he could see the approaching dragon.
‘Where is it? Where did it go? Should I go outside? When can I use my magic?’ James fumed in frustration. Then he saw the dragon, diving at Aaron. As the dragon came within fifty feet of Aaron, he sent a bolt at the approaching dragon, to no effect.
James decided the time for waiting was over. He grabbed one of the rock spears and directed it at the huge animal. He had practiced with Force enough that his control was perfect. He aimed at the wing, thinking it would be a simpler target. As he unerringly drove the spear towards the dragon, he was shocked when the animal simply tucked its wing and dove to the ground. Only a few feet from the ground, the dragon straightened out and turned toward the stockade. From thirty feet away, it released a blast of flame that splashed against the stockade’s rock wall.
He tried to maneuver the spear to keep up with the twisting dragon, but could not steer the fast-moving spear into a tight enough trajectory to hit the creature. As he gained more control, he was able to parallel the dragon. James was waiting for the dragon to turn in front of the spear. When that happened, he could accelerate the rock and skewer the dragon.
After ten minutes of chase and the magical equivalent of a dogfight, he had his chance. As the rock approached the dragon, the sinuous neck twisted and the dragon let loose a blast of fire, melting the front of the spear. The sudden loss of balance caused James to lose control. He watched helplessly as the spear plummeted into the ground, fortunately not hitting anyone.
‘The only benefit of this effort was that the dragon was not attacking anyone while I chased him.’
The dragon climbed in height and seemed to be studying the Kingdom side of the field. ‘It looks like it has been tamed! That is what I did when I used a raccoon to scout the eastern side of the river. I wonder if I can break the taming?’
Looking around, James saw the eastern troops had gained a foothold on this side of the river and were spreading out. The siege equipment was being set up while Conrad had joined with Aaron in fighting the enemy battlemages. He decided to interfere. ‘They know another battlemage is here from the rock spear, so I can help even the odds.’
James reached out with his magic and released dozens of the rock darts. Lining them up into a single wide line parallel to the river, he threw them at the eastern soldiers. The results were everything he wanted. The line hit the men and tore through them like machine gun bullets. Dozens of men crumpled to the ground dead or dying. And best of all, he did not violate the bridge’s neutrality.
James’s strike caught the attention of the taller battlemage, who knocked the remaining darts from the air and then threw a magical bolt at James. James easily deflected the bolt and retrieved more darts, this time the target was the enemy battlemages. He did not expect to penetrate their shields, but hoped to distract them so Aaron or Conrad could overwhelm them.
The darts flew unerringly toward the battlemages and just five feet from them, dropped to the ground. ‘I did not detect their magic until the last second. Their awareness is far superior to mine.’
Seeing the men were over the buried darts, James Grabbed them and launched them straight up. To his amazement, both men dropped to the ground trying to staunch the wounds caused by the darts. ‘Treachery and guile win against skill,’ James mused.
While the battlemages were on the ground, Aaron and Conrad teamed up to crush one of the battlemages. Their spells encapsulated the man in a force bubble and forced it into the earth. While they were focused on the first man, Lifting himself up, the other enemy battlemage fled to the bridge. Once he reached the safety of the bridge, he commanded some of the men to carry him back to their side of the bridge.
Aaron looked around and saw that the enemy attack had been shattered. They no longer had a battlemage and many of their men were decimated by James’s rock darts. The battle was over in record time, with few injured or killed on their side. Baron Caldswell will be thrilled.
James joined Aaron, and the three battlemages started to discuss the battle. “We have never had a victory like this before,” Conrad exclaimed.
“It seemed cruel to use the rock darts. Now that they have seen them, we must prepare a defense.” Aaron noted. “What made you think of them?”
“We had so little time to prepare that I tried for any advantage, no matter how outlandish,” James replied. “What I do not understand is what the dragon was to accomplish. Its efforts seemed so halfhearted. After all the worry, I was expecting true danger, not a few minutes of flying over our side and then leaving.”
“Count your blessings,” Aaron said.
“What happened to the dragon?” Conrad asked.
“I do not know. When I switched to using the rock darts, I lost track of the beast.” James responded.
“Go check with the observers to see if they can help,” Aaron commanded.
James flew up to the observation tower.
“Do you know where the dragon went?” He asked Curly.
“Yes, when the battlemages fell, the dragon retreated to the eastern side of the river. It went around the bend and out of sight.”
“Thank you.”
“I must say that we were terrified by the action. We are from a peaceful order and this was our first experience with war. I will be glad to return to our cloisters.”
James looked at the man and saw how sweat-soaked he was. It was obvious he wanted to be anywhere other than the front line.
“We appreciate the work you and your fellows have done. It has proven to be a great help.”
James returned to Aaron, “They said the dragon fled when the battlemages were injured. The creature went around the bend and out of sight.”
“We will deal with it if it returns. Help me heal these soldiers.”
James went to the piles of men and, using Observe, searched for anyone still alive. Less than five percent were. ‘Those darts were more effective than I ever expected.’ He called for a squad from the closest blockhouse, and together, they pulled the survivors out of the piles of corpses.
James moved from man to man, casting the Purple healing spell. He had enough who needed attention that he could not devote time to use the Orange spell. He would have to stay in the area, providing magic to facilitate the healing. He did not want to drain his reservoirs in case there was another attack.
After casting the spell, he motioned to a man to make sure the injured were given water and made comfortable. While he worked, he noted that Aaron went off to report to the baron.
After an hour, he looked up and saw the squads were carting off the bodies for burial. Gadwin had been patiently waiting for him to look up for the healing. “Your contribution was magnificent. The surprise attack broke their mages and shortened the battle by days. Our casualties were minimal, with only a few deaths.”
“This has been a surreal battle. I expected the dragon to be decisive, and in the end, it was not a factor.”
“My men are not complaining. Much preparations that were fortunately not needed.”
Ned stepped up with food for James. While he ate, Gadwin provided more information on the one-sided battle. “All that effort by their army for naught. Thousand died for nothing.”