Battle for the Nether Read online

  They quickly reached the mouth of the ravine.

  “Half of you go back to the entrance of the ravine and make sure that we aren’t trapped in here,” he commanded, his mind working in automatic mode to solve the puzzle that lay before him. “The rest of you, I need a platform and walkway on both sides of the ravine—high up so that the monsters can’t reach it.”

  The warriors leaped into action, one group digging up blocks of netherrack, while another built stairs into the walls, climbing up about twelve high. Then they started forming a long, straight walkway, only one block wide. As they built the causeway, other NPCs brought the blocks up to the builders.

  “Quickly,” Gameknight encouraged. “Diggers, we need as many blocks as you can dig up. Don’t stop until the horde gets here. Crafter, we need a little surprise for the opening to the ravine. You think you can make something your Great-Uncle Weaver would be proud of?”

  Crafter smiled, his spirits lifting. Here was something he knew he could do, and do well. Pulling out his own pickaxe, he started to dig holes around the ravine opening, then dug holes in the walls as well; they were strategically placed under the soul sand that was nestled within the netherrack blocks.

  “They’re coming!” Hunter yelled. She ran out to meet them, firing flaming arrows high up into the air.

  “Hunter, get back here!” Gameknight commanded. “You over there—” He gestured to the handful of NPCs that were doing nothing but worrying. “Start digging holes in the ground and place blocks of TNT in them. If you don’t have any, get some from Crafter. I know he always brings lots of TNT with him.”

  Crafter smiled as he placed explosives around the ravine opening.

  “But we don’t have any redstone to trigger them,” one of them complained.

  “Don’t worry, Hunter and I will take care of that. Now go.”

  The group of NPCs flew up the ravine, digging holes as they went and placing blocks of explosives into the ground. The striped red and black cubes of TNT stood out bright against the dull brown of the netherrack. Good, they’ll be easy to see, Gameknight999 thought to himself.

  “You,” he said to one of the diggers, “place a block of netherrack in front of every block of TNT so that the mobs can’t see them, but they can still be seen from behind. Then put a few random blocks down where there is no TNT. We can’t let the monsters know where our little presents are until they’re ready to pop.”

  The warrior nodded his understanding, put away his pickaxe, and then ran off, placing a dull, brownish cube of netherrack before each hole in the ground.

  “They’re almost here,” Hunter shouted as she ran back to the mouth of the ravine.

  Gameknight could now smell the approaching mob, the rotten smell of decaying flesh from the zombies and the acrid smoke from the blazes being the first volley in the battle that had just begun.

  “Quickly, up the steps to the walkway,” he said, gesturing to the far wall. “If any of you have bows, go up the walkway as well. But those who still have netherrack blocks must go up first. Those with swords, you’re the bait. You have to make sure that the mobs come into the ravine. Now move!”

  A handful of NPCs quickly put away their picks and ran up the steps that had been placed on the sheer walls. Three warriors then followed, worried looks on their faces and bows in their hands. They stared down at the twelve warriors that stood at the ravine opening, their swords drawn and their expressions grim. Crafter stood at their head, his childlike frame dwarfed by the ironclad adults around him.

  “Crafter, come on, up here!” Gameknight yelled.

  “NO. My place is here, with my troops,” he replied. “We’ll slow them down and make sure they take the bait. I hope this plan of yours will work—whatever it is.”

  “Me too, my friend,” Gameknight yelled down to him. “But there is one more thing we might need.”

  Crafter looked up at him, clearly confused, and the other NPCs also stole glances at the User-that-is-not-a-user.

  Gameknight reached into his inventory, pulled out a stack of something, and quickly tossed it down to Crafter, who caught it deftly. The young boy then put it quickly into his inventory before any of the others could see, a smile growing on his face.

  “Your father always said ‘be prepared when going to the Nether,’ right?” Gameknight said, remembering one of Crafter’s many stories. “You never know what you’ll need.”

  Crafter only smiled, then drew his sword again and turned to face the approaching horde.

  Gameknight could feel the tension building, the trepidation of the warriors below and the archers above starting to boil over. The thirst for destruction from the approaching monsters was palpable, the moans of the zombies and the mechanical wheezing of the blazes filling the air. Forces were about to crash down upon each other, and lives would be lost. He had taken whatever steps he could, and had unleashed the dogs of war. Nobody could stop what had begun, and for many their fates were signed, sealed, and would soon be delivered to oblivion. He shuddered as the now came smashing down upon him.

  The magma cubes came first, the gigantic bouncing monsters looking like they were made of jello with burning embers of fire at their gelatinous cores. They leaped upward, their bodies extending like accordions as they sprang up, then reassembling when they landed back on the ground. The glowing creatures made squishing, bouncing sounds when they landed, the boing-boings adding to the symphony of monstrous moans and wails. Gameknight knew that the death of one of these creatures would only create two smaller magma cubes; they always divided themselves when killed, then divided again and again as their smaller selves were slain. If his troops attacked these creatures, they would quickly be overrun and surrounded. He hoped that Crafter would realize this, and was gratified when he saw the warriors withdraw deeper into the ravine rather than slice up the glowing beasts.

  But flaming arrows streaked down from the other side of the ravine. Hunter was shooting at the magma cubes from her walkway.

  “Hold!” he shouted, holding up a hand to keep his archers from firing.

  Crafter and the remaining warriors pulled back farther into the ravine, drawing the monsters toward their little surprise, but still remaining visible to the rest of the horde.

  “Hold!” he yelled again as Crafter withdrew a little more.

  And then Crafter stopped backing up and got ready to hold his ground.

  “Come and get me, you cowardly insects!” the young NPC yelled at the top of his lungs. He then scratched a line in the ground. “This is where you will be stopped. YOU CAN GO NO FURTHER!” He then casually placed his sword over his shoulder and stood nonchalantly, waiting.

  This made the approaching army wail with anger. They charge forward with uncontrolled rage, the dam that had been holding back all their violence and malice finally shattered. As the mass of monsters reached the ravine opening, Crafter looked up at User-that-is-not-a-user, an expectant look on his blocky face.

  “Hunter, the TNT . . . NOW!” Gameknight yelled.

  Flaming arrows streaked down from both walkways, landing amongst the blocks of TNT that Crafter had strategically placed around the entrance to the ravine. Gameknight fired at the explosive targets from his side as Hunter did the same, her shots always landing true. Black and red cubes started to blink as the monsters surged forward. The magma cubes, realizing what was happening, all turned around and tried to escape the trap. Their massive bodies smashed into the oncoming wave of Nether creatures, causing a major traffic jam at the ravine entrance. The magma cubes tried to push past the monster bodies, but it was too late.

  BOOM!

  The ground suddenly shook violently, then raised up into the air as the TNT detonated. Huge balls of fire blossomed as the explosives came alive, enveloping massive numbers of blazes and skeletons in the flaming grip of the blast. The walls of the ravine fell in on them, the soul sand flowing down to the ground, burying many of the attackers. But more importantly, the ground was now covered with the slow
ing sand. The monsters that survived the blast struggled to move through the thick sand, their ability to walk or run severely hampered as the soul sand slowed their every movement.

  Crafter’s forces charged through the cloud of smoke and attacked the survivors near the front. Once those had been killed, the NPCs sprinted to those creatures struggling on the soul sand, staying on the netherrack so that they could still move quickly; mobility meant life in battle. Arrows streaked down from the overhead walkways, the sharp, pointed projectiles raining down onto the monsters with a vengeance. A few fireballs streaked up toward the attackers, but Hunter and Gameknight’s flaming arrows quickly silenced the blazes with a vengeance.

  Gameknight999 wasn’t thinking about what was happening or which monster he should shoot at next, he was just reacting, living in the now. He was an automated machine of death, his arrows seeking out the flesh of his enemies as fast as he could draw his bow. Glancing across the ravine, he saw Hunter doing the same, her enchanted bow moving in a blur, her face set in grim determination. Moving with surgical precision, she tracked each target, snapping her body about quickly and decisively, her brilliant red hair glowing like a majestic battle flag. Then a fireball burst over his head. Ducking, he spotted the attacker and quickly drove three arrows into the flaming body of the blaze.

  More of the monsters had now reached the ravine opening, the advance party thinned significantly by their trap and blades. Gameknight could see the massive horde, and knew that they could not stay there and hope to survive.

  “PULL BACK!” Gameknight yelled as he motioned those on the walkway to head deeper into the ravine. “Crafter, plant more little gifts.”

  “I don’t have anything to ignite them with,” the old voice said from the young face.

  “We’ll take care of that,” he replied. “Just plant the TNT and get back.”

  Crafter nodded then withdrew, leaving the monsters to struggle through the soul sand. As he ran, he placed blocks of TNT in the holes that another NPC had dug, a cube of netherrack positioned on the ground to hide its explosive presence. The troops sprinted across the ravine floor, running up the gently curving pathway as they headed back to their salvation: the portal. Just then, fireballs streaked through the air as a group of blazes emerged from the soul sand and rounded the bend. Flaming balls of death struck at the soldiers and two of them were enveloped, their screams echoing in Gameknight’s brain.

  That could have been Crafter . . . it could have been me, he thought to himself. What will happen when we get to the other end of the ravine? Will it be blocked? Will it . . . Fear ran wild through him as he thought about what might happen rather than what was happening.

  “‘Anticipation of a thing can be worse than the thing itself.’” His father’s words echoed in his mind. They brought him back from the what if and to the now. He had to focus on what was happening right now, and not worry about what would happen when they got to the other end of the ravine or the portal. If they didn’t survive the now, then nothing else mattered.

  Moving back farther on the walkway, he fired at one of the TNT cubes just as the oncoming blazes came near. The block exploded, tearing up the floor of the ravine and, fortunately for them, taking with it many of the blazes, though a few still remained. Hunter fired her deadly projectiles into the beasts, and the archers behind her added their own arrows, bringing down the survivors within seconds.

  Clouds of smoke started to choke the ravine, making their targets hard to see, but also protecting the villagers from the blazes. Gameknight999 and Hunter’s flaming arrows looked like glowing specters as they streaked through the hazy air, striking the smoldering blazes. The flaming monsters’ internal fire made them easy targets in the smoke and confusion, and every archer took advantage of that.

  “Move back farther!” he shouted. “Crafter . . . move!”

  They moved back again and repeated the process: retreat, draw the enemy near, fire at the TNT, and tear up the terrain and kill a few monsters in the blast. They continued this strategy while they slowly retreated back through the ravine toward the upper opening which lead to their portal. Their strategy worked a few more times before the monsters finally caught on and started to hold back, sending smaller and smaller parties of monsters forward to trigger the explosives, mostly the slow-moving zombie-pigmen—the dim-witted creatures were obviously considered expendable. Their plan was losing its effectiveness.

  Suddenly, there was a clatter of noise came from the other end of the ravine. Turning, Gameknight saw the rest of their forces returning, the ironclad troopers sprinting down the pathway to join the others.

  “What about the other end of the ravine?” Gameknight shouted as he continued to inch his way along the walkway. He could see the end of the walkway approaching, the NPC at the end of their column quickly placing more blocks on the raised path, but not faster than they had been retreating.

  “No monsters are near,” one of the warriors replied. “In fact, they all just sorta disappeared—all of the zombie-pigmen left the area. It looks clear all the way back up the hill to the portal.”

  Suddenly, a massive fireball fell from the sky and enveloped the soldier, his HP quickly dropping to zero and his body disappearing in a pop, leaving behind his armor and weapons. Gameknight glanced upward and felt his soul freeze.

  Ghasts . . . at least ten of them.

  Fighting one ghast was hard enough, but ten of them . . . they were doomed. Fireballs started to rain down on the NPCs, each one claiming a life. The warriors scattered, trying to avoid the fiery balls, but there was nowhere to run in the cramped ravine. As the balls of fire rained down from above, smaller balls streaked out from the blazes that now approached.

  “PULL BACK, RETREAT!” Gameknight yelled, the taste of defeat on his lips. “Archers, push the blazes back.”

  The archers on both sides opened up, launching as many arrows as they could toward the approaching monsters, covering the retreat of the ground forces while balls of death rained down on them from above. Gameknight noticed that one of the NPCs was placing blocks of TNT as they withdrew, but he was not Crafter. Where was Crafter? He scanned the floor of the ravine, looking for his friend, but was soon distracted by something streaking upward into the air at the edge of his vision.

  Suddenly there was an explosion of light in the sky, a burst of color that made the battle in the ravine pause for a moment: Crafter’s fireworks. Another missile streaked up into the air, sparkles trailing behind its path before it exploded and a shower of green sparks outlining the face of a creeper looking down on those locked in battle. It had detonated right between two of the ghasts, the hot embers driving the floating monstrosities back in an attempt to avoid being burned. A dozen fireworks then shot into the air, all of them exploding directly over the ravine, forcing the ghasts back even farther. This drew a cheer from the warriors on the ground, invigorating them and making them fight even harder.

  Another block of TNT exploded on the ground, Hunter’s flaming arrow having set it off. It drew Gameknight’s attention back to the battle below. Seeing another explosive cube, he sent one of his own burning shafts into it, making it explode just when a cluster of wither skeletons surrounded it. Their dark bones rained down on their companions.

  “YEAH!” someone shouted.

  The warriors surged forward, pushing the massive army of monsters back a few steps.

  “NO, keep pulling back!” Gameknight yelled. “We have to get back to the portal.”

  He knew that they would never win this battle. The only thing that was keeping them alive at the moment were the narrow walls of the ravine, but once they were out in the open it would be a race for survival.

  They continued to withdraw through the ravine, the TNT on the ground tearing at the attacking monsters, while Crafter’s fireworks kept the ghasts slightly at bay. Looking over his shoulder, Gameknight could see the top of the entrance to the ravine, four warriors guarding their exit. Seeing the pitched battle, these last fou
r ran toward their comrades and threw themselves into battle. The ground was covered with skeleton bones, blaze rods, and golden swords, but there were also piles of iron armor that were no longer needed, iron swords and bows scattered on the ground—the belongings of those now dead. This monster horde had done its damage, probably reducing their size by half if not more, but still the villagers fought, unwilling to give up, for surrender meant death.

  He could see Crafter now, the young child planting a huge collection of fireworks at the opening of the ravine, readying their escape.

  The elevated walkway was now only four blocks off the ground as the ravine had slowly sloped upward. Gameknight motioned for the builders on both sides to make some steps so that they could get to the ground without taking any damage.

  “Hunter . . . to the ground!” he yelled over the din of battle. “Lead the way back to the portal.”

  She nodded and leaped to the ground, her red hair flowing wildly as she jumped. Landing like a graceful cat, she streaked to the ravine opening.

  “Everyone, follow Hunter!” he yelled. “RUN!”

  The warriors turned and fled from the battle lines, sprinting to the upper ravine opening that led to the flat plateau and their portal. They knew there would be ghasts out there, but speed was their only weapon now. The NPCs sprinted with desperate haste, the sounds of the murderous rabble growing louder as the monster horde left the ravine and started to spread out across the sloping hill. Gameknight and Crafter brought up the rear, the young NPC still planting blocks of TNT and fireworks behind them, hoping they would cause some confusion amongst their attackers. Crafter didn’t bother to try to hide the little surprises, just placed the TNT on the ground and the rocket on top of that.

  Watching over his shoulder, Gameknight would wait until the monsters approached, then spin and fire, launching a flaming arrow at the TNT, setting it off as well as igniting the firework. The detonation caused some damage to those on the ground while at the same time the firework shot up into the sky. Hopefully it would hit one of the ghasts in the air.