The Wither Invasion Read online

  Books by Mark Cheverton

  The Gameknight999 Series

  Invasion of the Overworld

  Battle for the Nether

  Confronting the Dragon

  The Mystery of Herobrine Series: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  Trouble in Zombie-town

  The Jungle Temple Oracle

  Last Stand on the Ocean Shore

  Herobrine Reborn Series: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  Saving Crafter

  Destruction of the Overworld

  Gameknight999 vs. Herobrine

  Herobrine’s Revenge Series: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  The Phantom Virus

  Overworld in Flames

  System Overload

  The Birth of Herobrine: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  The Great Zombie Invasion

  Attack of the Shadow-Crafters

  Herobrine’s War

  The Mystery of Entity303: A Gameknight999 Adventure

  Terrors of the Forest

  Monsters in the Mist

  Mission to the Moon

  The Gameknight999 Box Set

  The Gameknight999 vs. Herobrine Box Set

  The Gameknight999 Adventures Through Time Box Set

  The Rise of the Warlords: A Far Lands Adventure

  Zombies Attack!

  The Bones of Doom

  Into the Spiders’ Lair

  Wither War: A Far Lands Adventure

  The Wither King

  The Withers Awaken

  The Wither Invasion

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark, or copyrights.

  Copyright © 2018 by Mark Cheverton

  Minecraft® is a registered trademark of Notch Development AB

  The Minecraft game is copyright © Mojang AB

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB, or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark, or copyrights.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

  Sky Pony Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or [email protected].

  Sky Pony® is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

  Visit our website at www.skyponypress.com.

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

  Cover design by Brian Peterson

  Cover artwork by Vilandas Sukutis (www.veloscraft.com)

  Technical consultant: Gameknight999

  Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-3490-6

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-3493-7

  Printed in the United States of America

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  As always, I must thank my family for their continued support of my obsessive writing habits. Without them listening to new ideas or reading chapters, these stories would likely never get finished.

  I also want to thank the great people at Skyhorse Publishing. They’ve been incredibly supportive through this adventure, and I appreciate all the effort the different editors and sales people and marketing experts put into my books.

  Lastly, I’d like to thank my agent, Holly Root. Without her, I’d have never made it here. Thanks, Holly!

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Wow … this is my twenty-fourth novel. I can remember writing my first novel late at night and early in the mornings, thinking it wasn’t gonna go anywhere, but I kept at it. Like Crafter is fond of saying, “If you give up, you guarantee the outcome.”

  I didn’t give up, even after writing my first four novels, each of which were spectacular failures in their own way. But I learned a lot from those failures, and they helped me write Invasion of the Overworld, my first Minecraft-inspired novel. Now, after four years of tireless writing, look what I have to show for my efforts:

  I could have never made it through all the agonizing late-night writing sessions over the years without all of you—the readers. When my writing was stinking up my computer, and I couldn’t think of anything interesting to say, I’d turn to the many emails you’ve sent me over the years and read through them. I’d look at the countless stories I’ve received from you, all of which are posted on my website, www.markcheverton.com, and I’d marvel at your creativity. I enjoy reading your stories and am always amazed at the positive comments being posted on my site. I also love receiving email from all of you at [email protected], and I answer every one personally. This has become a great community of readers and writers, and I’m honored to be a part of it, so please keep sending me your emails and stories; they are the highlight of my day!

  Be sure to also check out www.gameknight999.com. There are many new things coming to the Gameknight999 Minecraft server (ip: mc.gameknight999.com); maybe we can play a game of paintball together, or even try to battle the monsters in the Zombies Attack! RPG game.

  I really hope you enjoy The Wither Invasion. I gave this story a lot of thought while I was crafting the Rise of the Warlords series as well as the other books in the Wither War series. I hope all the little hints put in the other books will come together and that you’ll find a few unexpected twists at the end.

  Keep reading, and watch out for creepers.

  Mark Cheverton (Monkeypants_271)

  You must never fear failure. Our failures have a way of shaping who we are and can be great, yet sometimes painful, teachers. If you shy away from challenges in your life, then you’ll never truly know what you can do, and who you can become.

  Accept your strengths, learn from your weaknesses, and refuse to give in just because things get difficult. Be the best you possible and you’ll achieve great things!

  The dark wither’s six eyes glared down at the monsters and villagers with vicious contempt, their willingness to live in peace offending every inch of his black, skeletal body. Krael, the wither king, was still furious about being bested by that pathetic boy-wizard, Watcher, who had stopped Krael’s army from leaving this world so they could invade the Far Lands and exact some revenge on all the NPCs (non-playable characters) there.

  “That idiotic wizard probably thinks he defeated us,” Krael’s left skull said, its voice scratchy and filled with perpetual rage.

  The center and right skulls nodded.

  “He will soon learn his mistake.” Center glanced at the left, then right skulls, his eyes glowing with rage. All that skinny little wizard had done was delay his plans … but not stopped them. “But first we’ll practice some tactics.”

  Krael glanced at one of his nearby generals and nodded his three skulls. Moving silently, the three squads of withers floated toward the cluster of wooden buildings, descending behind the boxy oak and birch trees that covered this section of Minecraft, hiding their approach. His ground forces beneath him held their position; this was a test of his air force. The army’s test would come soon enough.

  “Come here, by my side, Kora.” Krael glanced at his wife. “Let us watch our troops execute a three-pronged attack.”

  “Yes, husband.” The wither floated to her husband and hovered next to him. “Wi
ll the villagers be able to see us?”

  Krael shook his skulls. “The moon has not risen yet. Our black bodies will blend in with the night sky and—” He stopped speaking as the attack commenced.

  One group of withers moved into the village from the east, launching flaming skulls at the pathetic NPCs and monsters, their detonations punctuating the silent night like rapid-fire thunder. The NPCs quickly pulled out bows and opened fire, shooting at the dark creatures. As instructed, the withers fell back as if startled by their resistance, allowing their enemies to move forward, confident of their victory.

  But then another group of withers advanced from the west, these monsters hovering high in the air, using their presence to terrify those below. When the NPCs and monsters on the ground saw the new group of withers, they clustered together in a small group, standing back to back, ready to fight in both directions. The two groups of floating terrors slowly moved around their enemy, coming together south of the village, all eyes focused on them. The monsters and NPCs never saw the third squad of withers sneaking up behind them from the north. When the withers from the north attacked, so did the rest of the flying monsters; they bombarded the group of pathetic NPCs and traitorous monsters, each wither sending their flaming skulls down at the creatures. A massive explosion occurred in the middle of the village, carving a deep crater where the NPCs and monsters had stood, sending up a huge cloud of smoke and ash and debris. When the air finally cleared, none were left standing, only glowing balls of XP (experience points) and items from their inventory littering the ground, marking their graves.

  “Well done!” Krael shouted. “Destroy the rest of the village in case any are hiding in the buildings. Leave nothing standing.”

  The floating monsters bombarded the village, crushing homes and buildings until only smoking ruins remained.

  “They did well?” Kora asked.

  “They followed the battle plan exactly as I instructed.” Krael smiled. “That will be the tactic we use on that annoying boy-wizard and his friends. We’ll lure them out, distract them with a second group, then smash them from both sides, as if they were in a vise; it’ll be glorious.” Krael laughed with vicious glee. “The wizards during the Great War, centuries ago, tried to exterminate us, but they failed. This time, we won’t give the NPCs the same opportunity; the villagers, led by that runt, Watcher, will never get the opportunity to raise an army and try to destroy us again. We’ll squash them all, then destroy the Far Lands, just for good measure. Destroying all villagers is the only way to guarantee our safety.”

  “But husband, how will we leave this world and get back to the Far Lands?” Kora sounded confused. “That scrawny wizard, Watcher, destroyed the portal that would have allowed us to leave. We’re stuck here.”

  Krael gave his wife a knowing smile. “While all of you were imprisoned in the Cave of Slumber, I read many books and learned the secrets the arrogant wizards tried to hide. Their egotism caused them to write much of what they did in books, explaining their tricks and traps for future generations, hoping for fame.” Krael smiled with pride. “But I found their books and read their secrets.”

  He laughed. “The great wizard, Tharus, the most powerful of wizards, didn’t trust his companions. He wanted a way to escape from this world in case the monster armies came looking for him, so he built his own portal leading to the Far Lands and hid it somewhere in Wizard City. We’ll find that portal and use it to sneak into the Far Lands, and once we’re there, we’ll hunt the boy-wizard and destroy him. After Watcher’s destruction, the Far Lands will be ours, and all the villagers will be our prey.”

  Many of the withers shouted with excitement, some launching flaming skulls into the air.

  “Follow me, brothers and sisters. We head to Wizard City, to fulfill our destiny!”

  Krael smiled at his wife, then floated off to the west, a huge army of withers in the sky behind him and an even larger army of distorted and disfigured monsters on the ground. The creatures glanced up at the wither king and growled excitedly, then followed, moving quickly across the landscape.

  Scanning the skies and glancing down at the ground, Krael smiled with pride at the size of his army. “Those pathetic idiots in the Far Lands will cower in fear when they see my army, then beg for mercy … but they’ll receive none.”

  “Good!” Left added, his voice scratchy and filled with anger, as always.

  “We must be cautious,” Right warned, her lyrical voice soothing Left’s rage a bit. “There is more than one wizard for us to face. Watcher is one, but there are the girl and the old woman as well.”

  “I agree, my husband,” Kora added.

  “Have no fear, Right.” The center skull’s voice boomed with confidence. “By the time we reach the Far Lands, we’ll have even more monsters in our army. I also have a little surprise to add to our air force; something I read about many years ago.” He glanced at the magical crowns glowing on Left and Right’s skulls. Center wore one as well. “Once we are in the Far Lands, the Crowns of Skulls on our three heads will give us more power than anyone has ever seen. With that and my little surprise, those three wizards won’t stand a chance.”

  Left and Right both laughed with Center as Kora smiled at her husband, pride filling her eyes.

  “Let’s get moving!” Krael shouted at the monsters around him. “The last one to Wizard City will be destroyed!”

  Hearing this, the monsters on the ground and in the air all moved as fast as they could, each knowing Krael, the king of the withers, would make good on that promise.

  “I’m looking forward to seeing Watcher again … we have a debt to settle.” Krael glared at the distant horizon as he sped toward their goal: Wizard City.

  Watcher moved through the eerily quiet forest, expecting zombies with skeleton heads or spider-slimes or any possible mishmash of horrific monster body parts to come charging out from behind the trees. They’d all just narrowly escaped a Minecraft world filled with distorted creatures of every kind, trapping the wither king and his army of withers there. Krael had been leading an army of the terrifyingly misshapen monsters, each as unnatural and twisted as the world itself, with the goal of destroying the Far Lands, but Watcher and his friends had stopped them.

  The iridescent purple glow from the magical power coursing through his veins wrapped around his body and lit the shadows with a lavender hue. Watcher glanced over his glowing shoulder toward his former girlfriend, Planter, and the ancient wizard Mirthrandos. Both gave off a similar glow, for both had magic just like Watcher, but Mirthrandos was the strongest. The old woman had more power and experience with magic than either Watcher or Planter.

  “Woof!”

  Watcher glanced down. Next to him loped a wolf made of iron, a tiny mechanical creature no bigger than an NPC (non-playable character) child, known as a mechite, riding on the animal’s silver-furred back.

  “Fixit … you okay?” Watcher reached down and stroked the mechite’s soft silver hair.

  Fixit glanced up and smiled, then made a series of whistles and squeaks; it was how the mechanical creature communicated.

  “Fixit says it is nice to be in a normal forest without any scars from the Great War marring the landscape.”

  Watcher turned and found the zombie, Er-Lan, walking on his left.

  “You can understand him?” Watcher asked.

  Er-Lan nodded. “Apparently.” The zombie glanced around to see if anyone else was listening. “Er-Lan is sometimes able to communicate with animals. The mechite’s sounds are like words to this zombie.”

  “Words?” a sarcastic voice said from behind. “It just sounded like a bunch of squeaks and chirps.”

  Watcher turned to the voice and found Blaster a step behind the zombie, Fencer following close behind him, as usual. Blaster glanced at the girl, causing a joyous smile to spread across her square face. Since Blaster had saved her from a zombie attack, Fencer’s infatuation toward him had only grown. Previously, Watcher had been the target of Fe
ncer’s amorous attention, with Blaster enjoying his discomfort. Now, the tables had turned. Blaster hated it … and Watcher found it amusing.

  “Animals speak in many different ways,” the zombie explained. “The tone of the wolves’ howls tells what is being said, the whistles and tones from the mechites are their words, even the iron and obsidian golems have something to say.”

  “How can you know what the golems are saying?” Blaster pulled his forest-green leather helmet off his head and ran his fingers through his dark curls. “They don’t ever speak or even make any noise.”

  “The golems use facial expressions to communicate.” Er-Lan turned and pointed to one of the metal giants. “The scowl on that golem with the unibrow raised on one side says he’s tired of getting hit in the face by tree branches.”

  Blaster laughed. “That happens when you’re so much taller than any villager. But if it’s a problem for the golems, I have a solution in mind.”

  “Does it involve blowing things up?” Watcher asked with a smile, knowing how Blaster’s “solutions” tended to go.

  Blaster shook his head, grinning. “No, not this time.” He glanced back to the zombie. “If the golems would be willing to hold an NPC in their hands, we could knock down some of the branches, making it easier for them to move through the biome. You think you could tell the golems that?”

  Instantly, the scowl on the iron golem’s face changed to a smile.

  “Wow, that was fast.” Blaster reached into his inventory and pulled out an iron axe. “How did you tell them so quickly?”

  “The golems can hear, of course.” Er-Lan sounded as if it was an obvious fact.

  One of the metal giants reached down toward Blaster, extending his massive iron hand. Carefully, Blaster grabbed the creature’s wrist and was lifted into the air.

  “Fencer, pull your axe out and help,” Blaster shouted.

  The girl smiled and held an axe high over her head. An obsidian golem moved to her side and let her climb into its dark, stony hand, then raised her up so she could chop down the low-hanging branches. Other NPCs held axes above their heads, too, offering their service to the massive creatures.