Chương 42: Chapter 41 - A Lesson on Power

As the leaders of the warband roared out their challenge, Astra whipped her blade from her shoulder in a flash of silver holding her blade to the sky, crying out in a booming voice." Craft, Mason, to Me!" Before launching herself at the center of the battle line like a wrecking ball, blasting a hole through the frontline with the sheer ferocity of her strike. Whirling her greatsword in a series of flowing strikes she cleared a third of the battleline in the span of a couple heartbeats.

Without missing a step she pressed into the mass of goblins laying waste to the monsters as she tore a path through their midst encased in her shining armor weaving between them like a specter leaving only blood and smoldering corpses in her wake. Where the other flame mage on the wagon would fling gouts of liquid fire or orbs that splash and roll over the ranks of goblins, Astra's flames were concentrated into beams of bright red-white plasma.

A single flick of a hand or finger would shoot a precise beam dropping the target, leaving only a smoldering hold clear through a head or chest. Eli's heart raced at the spectacle, a vicarious thrill at the savagery of the battle, at the brutal elegance of her fighting style.

Wading through masses it was obvious she was skilled far beyond the other soldiers, the workmanlike performance so different from hers as she flowed from each strike to the next, as if she was dancing to a symphony of death that only she could hear. One of the frontliners detached from the battleline to follow in her wake, quickly joined by the lightning mage, as the rest of the battleline closed rank behind them.

The shock and awe of Astra plowing through the mass, combined with the reduced pressure, allowed the frontline to quickly thin the crush of bodies against the shield line, freeing the soldiers to go on the offensive, striking down all the goblins within reach. The soldiers took advantage of this chance to rotate out any wounded and reinforce the front line, but did not otherwise break formation.

The two she called for followed in Astra's wake as she headed for the leaders, quickly cutting down any monsters that approached their flanks, while any that made it past the silver ribbon of her greatsword as she swung in precise motions through the frontal arc of their assault collapsed to the ground with smoking wounds at the flick of a finger.

Clearing the last of the horde, the two smaller warleaders stepped forward to confront the trio as Astra's held her bloodied sword in a one handed low guard while a glow steadily grew in her off hand.

The pair warily approached, but before they reached striking distance a brilliant white orb apparated into Astra's palm and with a crackling hum audible all the way at Eli's perch blasted out a wide beam in a flash that connected to one of the approaching creatures skull, instantly punching through and blasting into the sky, the brilliance of the beam leaving an afterimage in Eli's vision that slowly faded.

Damn, that was one hell of a blast, must have really taken it out of her though, Eli could see Astra heaving for breath to recover while directing the two men she called to the last of the warleader's guards. The mage sent a shot skittering off the brow of the creature, and as it charged the mage the frontliner stepped into place to catch the charge, and the two men worked together to draw it away leaving a clear area for Astra to challenge the warleader.

After how quickly she dispatched the guard the giant monster was in no rush to approach her, showing an uncharacteristic intelligence that had been missing from its brethren so far. The two circled each for a moment, before sending out testing blows. Astra swayed back just enough to the massive club missing her with inches of clearance for launching a plasma beam at a shoulder left a small blackened circle on the creature's hide, but the strike failed to penetrate like similar ones did with the smaller goblins.

Dodging another blow Astra stepped in to strike at a bicep with her, fighting greater success as her strike did break through the hide, severed something causing the arm to flop loosely, but the creature took a step back on guard with the other limb as the other wound sealed closed. After trading a few glancing blows, it regained the use of the limb and resumed swinging two handed strikes her way.

Astra circled the creature a few more times with a series of probing strikes until she had gained its measure before launching her assault. Eli witnessed Astra moving at full speed for the first time since the strike against the bandits, and he was once again rendered speechless at her skill. As the massive hobgoblin swung, Astra would dart in, wielding her massive greatsword as the speed and precision of a scalpel she would strike at the monster's joints before ducking to dodge the backswing and moving in again.

Astra struck a bicep and a shoulder joint, throwing off the next swing, and as the club arced back in her direction she dove underneath the blow in a somersault, popping back up behind the creature as it spun. Striking a double blow at the back of one leg, she used the momentum of dodging a kick from the other leg to duck back around the front of the creature, renewing her previous strikes before they could heal.

Using her greater mobility she dodged in and out of range slowly whittling away at the creature with a series of similar wounding strikes, that were healing slower and slower by the minute. The fight was not completely one sided as she was tossed clear by a heavy blow from the club to her side, and she took a couple grazing elbow strikes when she failed to dodge quickly enough. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Slowly the creature's wounds stopped healing, and Astra went on a full force offensive. Now that the creature's health pool had been depleted she would follow up each strike with a beam that, without the prodigious healing factor, would finally penetrate the dense tissue. After finally immobilizing one of its arms, causing it to finally drop its club, even Eli could see that the fight was essentially over.

Astra systematically immobilized the monster, and once it was downed, hacked at its neck and with three strikes separated the head from its shoulder and held it aloft with a roar of victory. Eli could feel a sympathetic reverberation echo in his chest as he and Tia cheered Astra's roar of victory from their perch along with the rest of the troops, and Eli couldn't help but smile at the sheer joy and exultation on Astra's face in her victory. Yeah that might have been even hotter than last time.

A small voice chimed in with a cackle, Muhahaha! Yes brother-eli! Sister-astra's flames were amazing! Do you think she would teach me to breathe fire like that? Eli chuckled, Not quite what I meant, but they definitely were. I bet she will teach you if you ask nicely, Mira might even help.

Chucking the head into the bushes Astra and her companions quickly finished the last guard and swept back in to finish off the remnants of the horde from behind, moving slower than on the assault but still cutting a swath through them with ease. As his pulse slowly eased and the drumbeat in his chest slowed he reflected on the feelings the spectacle had left him with. While very few of the efforts of the other soldiers had resonated with him, that was not the case with Astra's display.

The power, speed, and sheer dominance of her skill left him breathless and wanting more. I don't know what that was, or what kind of path she was walking, but whatever it is, it's the one for me or very close to it. Eli stood up doing his best to humor the tiny voice in the back of his mind crowing about death rays and scorching all the feathery fiends from the surface of the world, reflecting for a final moment with a wide grin on his face.

He looked over to Mira as she looked back at him with a knowing smile, " What?" Mira's smile spread into a grin scoffing at his confusion, " Hmph, it's as I expected, my Lady did make a fine showing did she not? Eli laughed and shook his head, " All right, you got me there. That was more than fine, she was amazing out there, her skill and power were astounding on their own, but the grace with which she executed those moves?"

Eli looked back down at the subject of their conversation as she directed the soldiers to break formation, release the refugees from the shelter of the armored wagons, and begin combing through the battlefield." She made it look easy, although I am damn sure it wasn't. She must have worked very hard to get to this point." Mira's grin softened into a gentle smile, " Aye, she did. Long hard days, starting from when she was very young.

So many of her peers seem to miss that fact, just assuming that she was born with this power." Mira scoffed, " Most likely, because there is no reality in which they would put forth such effort to attain it, and therefore can not possibly imagine that she would do so." She shook her head, " I am glad you see the truth of the matter. So, Mr Mercer, I do not need an answer now, but I would like you to consider your path you would like to walk as we commence your training tomorrow.

Be prepared with an answer if you please." She indicated for them to descend, and as Eli dropped down beside her he considered her words, Damn I wonder how far ahead Astra is afterall? I don't have a problem with putting in the hard work, but it was years in the making, how much lost time do I need to make up for to get to that point? As the trio walked over to rejoin the patrol Eli realized he didn't have an answer for that, " Say Mira?"" Exactly how high level is Astra compared to the rest of the men?

With that kind of power she must have one of the highest levels except for you right?" Mira snorted in amusement, a mischievous grin spreading across her face." I can see why you would think that Mr Mercer, but you would be wrong." Eli could practically feel the pride radiating off of the woman as her answer stopped him in his tracks." Why Mr. Mercer, Lady Emberholdt's level is yet just a beginner on the path to power, her level is far lower than every other member in this expedition.""

In truth, most likely the only one my Lady out levels here is you." Eli's mind stuttered to a halt as he watched Mira saunter off cackling laughter trailing in her wake.

Elias took a few moments for Mira's bombshell to sink in. Ok, I really don't get this new system at all, what the fuck that makes no sense? Eli thought back through Mira's statements, wait, she said this would show 'the tyranny of rank'. Does this mean Astra isn't at a higher level or tier, but a higher qualitative rank of some kind? Eli's eyes widened as he realized what this would mean as he looked between Astra as she talked to Mira and the rest of the soldiers stacking up the corpses of the monsters.

She cut through those things like a hot knife through butter, does this mean she has some kind of legendary class compared to the soldiers? That would explain a lot. Eli shook his head as he remembered the whirling dervish he had witnessed earlier compared to the basic infantry tactics of the other men and women. Was this Mira meant when she said that Astra had trouble finding people to keep up with her?

I mean I get it, when your battle buddy is a walking meat grinder and you're just some dude with a sword are you really equals? And if this is what the power differential is like now with her being at a lower level than them, what happens when she gets to their level, or worse exceeds them. Eli looked at Astra with a frown that turned into a grimace, Hell, screw finding a battle buddy or even a squad to watch your back. How would you even find a decent sparring partner?

Eli's grimace faded into a determined expression, God damn. I get it, that has to be beyond lonely. Frustrating too, it's not like you can make someone else care about getting stronger, and if she's only allowed to hang out with nobles it's gotta be even worse. Mira thinks I can do something about it though, she seems to know her stuff, and I know how it feels to have no one who wants to keep up with you, shit, that was most of my life back on Earth except for Viv.

Eli's expression firmed with resolve, I'll be damned if I'm ever too weak ever again. I refuse to leave my fate in the hands of others, and like Astra said, if I can lighten someone else's load too that's nothing but a good thing. A warm breeze drifted from across the riverbank, washing away the stink of battle, swirling around Eli carrying the scent of wildflowers and the rush of wind through the leaves, sounding just ever so faintly like a gentle round of applause.

Astra turned his way, her beaming smile only slightly marred by the faint streaks of blood crossing her face, and Eli returned it with a warm smile of his own as he headed over. I don't know what Mira thinks I can do, but if I have a shot at becoming a beautiful monster like her, I would be a fool to let this chance pass me by.