Chương 73: Chapter 65

The Higher Glimmerscale had been too far away to fall under the spell of my Mirror of All effect. That, or its Mental Power was massive enough to withstand the effect. Either way, the shimmering, regal beast had pulled away from our presence. That in itself wasn't horrible. The fact that it had decided to charge toward the people of Last Chance wasn't the worst either. They were tough. One Glimmerscale, Higher or otherwise, wasn't going to rock the boat.

Yet, somehow, it had managed to somehow overpower my talent and pull scores of high-leveled Kadren with it. That… was going to be a problem. They were currently racing out of the gates in a scaled, furry wave, and swerving to the left to take on the attackers. Attackers who, entirely according to the plan, had pulled back after the first, devastating charge and settled into a defensive position to grind down the lower-leveled Kadren for easy experience.

I let my Mirror of All drop, ignoring the myriad experience and other notifications clamouring for my attention. I growled, using the brief pause from fighting to send out a new group invite to Steve, even as my weary mind came to an ugly conclusion. This was never going to end well. I doubted that the people of Last Chance, competent or not, would be able to stand against a concerted rush from that many.

"I'm going first down the stairs. I'll be able to push any enemies out of our way. We need to catch up to that leader!" Haddock looked from me, to the doorway, and then turned around.

"Too slow. Can't afford to fight our way down." He touched one of his freshly constructed outer walls, and it faded into nothingness. Then he swayed softly on his feet before falling to his knees. He closed his eyes and muttered.

"Goddamn heights." He went silent for a moment.

"Love, are you-" Nix began. Mid-sentence, Haddock swung himself out over the edge, body doing a one-eighty. His eyes met mine for a split-second, hanging mid-air. Then he disappeared, with a scream that was part war cry, part rollercoaster, part I'm-peeing-myself. Nix's scream joined his. She rushed to the edge. Then she growled.

"That damn man!" She grabbed onto the edge of some sort of handhold that had emerged at the edge of the tower.

"So lucky I love him." A second later, she was gone as well. It was a fireman's pole. Plain and simple. A long pole, allowing us to slide ten metres straight down in seconds. It was also a goddamn rush, and I wanted to go again. Before I knew it, my foot slammed into the ground, and I was stumbling away. Even though I'd raised my injured leg, to make my uninjured leg take the strain, the impact made me see stars. Steve hit the ground just behind me and slammed onto his back with a huff.

Seconds later, we were all running, limping or stumbling along, planning as we went.

"All grouped up. I've switched on my Agility buff. What's the plan?" Steve said. Haddock pointed at the wall ahead of us. Somewhere directly beyond it, the people of Last Chance were currently watching an unexpected force swarming out of the gates and steering in their direction.

"I've enough mana for us to cross the wall. Then, I'm almost running on empty again. Just enough to unleash what I have left in my Temporary Storage. I'll have to pause to empty some more mana coins."

"No walls, no fancy castles or custom-built things. Got it." I said. Next to me, Nix was panting, red-faced with exertion as she tried to keep up with us. Somehow, that got to me. My ankle was a shredded, bloody mess. I was currently sporting a debuff that absolutely ruined my Agility. Yet, with my Running skill and Improved Run Speed, I actually had to hold back to run at the same pace as her, even while speaking. I shook my head, trying to stay on track.

"Have enough pre-made sky bombs in your storage, Haddock? What about boom boxes for Nix?"

"Plenty." He growled with satisfaction.

"That's the plan, then. The Kadren are going to hit our people from the front? We'll hit them from the side. I make sure you guys stay alive. Meanwhile, you two make them hurt." I didn't activate Mirror of All. Not yet. For this to work, we couldn't have them swarming us and slowing us down before we reached their ranks.

"I'll keep your back free, friend." Steve said, as we slowed down on our approach for the wall, watching Haddock create another two-part bridge. Seconds later, we hit the ground on the other side. I expelled my breath in a whistle.

"Keep my back free?" I laughed, fully aware at how disbelieving I sounded.

"You'll have your work cut out for you." The Kadren were everywhere. There was no doubt that our allies had kept to their part of the deal. We raced through the former U-Nerds settlement. It was filled with dead Kadren, all the way up to the edge of the wall. It was clear that they'd managed to surprise and push them all the way back, clearing an entire side of the camp of Kadren entirely. Now, they'd pulled back to the hilltop near the city, and were doing just what we'd agreed. Slaughtering.

I could hear Jaggor all the way from here. He was laughing, even as his huge front limb crushed the skull of a large Soil Scourer. He was surrounded by melee Fighters, while, behind them, ranged Fighters and Mages unleashed hell on the disarrayed forces flinging themselves at the defenders in waves. On the edges of the fight, Scouts roamed, sprinting in to cause damage to unwary Kadren. Judging from the piles of dead Kadren everywhere, the beasts had been at it for a while, with little to show for their losses.

Sure, the defenders had their share of fatalities, and the Glimmerscales did their share in raining damage down on them from range. Yet, whenever a front-line Fighter was hurt, he'd rotate back to Cuilcis or one of the other Crafters behind the ranks and take a break. Then – likely following a purchase of some extremely overpriced healing item, and a spot of rest – they'd be back in the fight. The Kadren had no such recourse. I called it, right at that moment. If our people were left to it, they'd win the fight.

Right now, they were horribly beset, with the numbers against them. Yet, they most undoubtedly outleveled the Kadren, and had talents to fling at them, where most of the lower-leveled Kadren were left only with passives and whatever attributes they'd managed to raise above the average. On top of that, the beasts were acting just like that. Beasts. They were flinging themselves at the hilltop without a hint of strategy or cohesion. Unfortunately, that was about to change.

In the distance, we could see the Higher Glimmerscale, about to enter the fray. It was surrounded by Kadren, and every single one was acting with purpose, doing more than just throwing themselves at the enemy. Also, the effect was spreading. These weren't ripples in the water or something that moved farther out. Rather, it was like a constant effect surrounding the enemy leader. Wherever he rushed, Kadren found themselves, gained some mental control they'd lacked, and started acting with purpose.

Whether mental, growled or hissed, he was communicating with his forces. And it worked.

"We're speeding up!" I shouted, as we ran.

"Keep up as you can. If that lizard hits their ranks first, they'll be blown away. I need to disrupt them. If you've leveled, use whatever you can. Just… stay alive!" I stuffed my face with my final health cake. Then I followed my own advice. I'd leveled a full three times in the chaos, which was, quite frankly, insane. I really could have done with a lot of time to contemplate the situation.

Instead, I dumped every single attribute point, including my five remaining ones, into Fortitude, and spent all three talent points to max out Life Steal. I watched my health balloon into stratospheres I'd never pictured to be approachable. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Health: 980/1150 I coughed around a mouthful tasting of blood and lavender. Then I grunted in grim satisfaction. That was it.

Staying alive for the next few minutes was going to be rough, but I'd done all I could. We hit the hindmost ranks at speed. Within seconds, I was deep within their ranks. I didn't do much. Just let Deflect and my shield and buckler smash enemies away from me. Up against these low levels, that was more than enough. They flew through the air as if they'd been kicked by giants, and any beast that evaded my shields was instantly skewered by Steve who was instantly kicked from our group.

I didn't dare look back to see what happened in our wake, but a solid 'whoomp' declared that Haddock and Nix were doing their thing too. It felt like this should have taken forever. Like there should've been some intro. An evil villain speech or something. Instead, suddenly, I looked up and found that we'd made it at least halfway into the ranks of the low-leveled Kadren swarming the hilltop. Right there, just a hundred meters in front of us, the Higher Glimmerscale was slowly converging on his enemy.

Beside and behind him, orderly ranks moved, making me curse at the sight. Five Soil Scourers towered in front, followed by a veritable swarm of Skreelings. On the sides of their masses, the Riverkin zipped back and forth, barely restrained, eager to attack, while the Higher Glimmerscale stayed, surrounded by a large pack of his own kin.

"This is going to hurt so much." I said to myself, even as my shield deflected a fiery shot at point-blank range right into the snout of a surprised Level 14 Glimmerscale. Then I shouted.

"Taking on all comers. Come at me, you cunts! Fuck you Ms. Cadvil for saying I'd never amount to anything!" I activated Mirror of All, dialed all the way up. Within two seconds, every single bestial head nearby turned my way.

"I am so fucked." I couldn't see anything. Didn't notice anybody or anything but attacks. Attacks and pain. There was no time for thinking, for finesse or anything. Any nearby movement was an attack on me and something to be avoided. I activated Wave of Reflection every so often, dealing enough damage to aid Life Steal in keeping me healed. Apart from that, I counted on the reflective capabilities from my Shield evolution and Deflect to repel enemies and keep doing a bit of damage. I wasn't a real player here.

I was the distraction. I just needed to stay alive, persevere, until the hundreds of others had cleared out the trash and we'd be able to take on the Higher Glimmerscale together. My surroundings faded, reduced to the area around me. Claws. Elemental attacks. Sometimes, the bulk of a Soil Scourer, trying to crush me. The air smelled like fire, blood and smoke. I was covered in a layer of unnameable things. I'd lost all sense of direction and the big picture ages ago. I knew that things were happening nearby.

Heavy thumps and the muffled sounds of explosions followed me wherever I went. From time to time, I traced hints of movement at the edge of my vision, indicating Steve's presence keeping my ass free. I couldn't be sure. I was kind of busy. There was nothing but movement, of defending, of gauging when I should chance a Wave of Reflection, when I should block and, often as not, when I should just take the blow and keep going. Once, Nix's shrill shout alerted me of an incoming firebomb.

I barely managed to activate my Higher Fire Resistance ability in time. Beasts crumbled to ash around me while my health burgeoned, healed by the fire. Seconds later, I was beset again. My health was like a yo-yo, plummeting down, only to whirl right back up when a Wave of Reflection, Wheel of Magic, or particularly lucky Reflect caused some damage. Out of the blue, there was a break in the attacks. I stumbled and nearly fell. A Level 14 Glimmerscale charged at me from my right a few seconds later.

I awkwardly took the blow with my buckler, and sent a wave of damaging energy straight back at it, even as claws scrabbled against my arm. It crumpled and died. And then there was nothing. I blinked, then had to pause, to wipe blood from my eyes – a task made more difficult by the fact that every single goddamn piece of garment on me was sodden with ichor. There was nobody nearby. Ranks upon ranks of corpses, charred, pierced, smashed or seemingly untouched.

I glanced back, saw a wide-eyed Steve leaning on his spear, looking like he was about to keel over from exhaustion. Haddock and Nix were farther back, both kneeling, swaying while they clutched a mana coin each like it was the only thing keeping them up. Had we done it? Did we manage to distract them? I stumbled past a pile of dead Skreelings, three high, then decided to climb up the corpse of a deceased Soil Scourer, cursing my mangled ankle all the while.

From up there, I managed to get an idea of what had happened. That simple glance nearly broke me. The people from Last Chance were fleeing. The chickenshit wankers had turned their tails and were running full tilt back in the direction we'd come from. Behind them, the Higher Glimmerscale was marshaling his forces. Too many of them. While our 'allies' kept running, they slowly veered back toward us.

"What happened?" I barely recognized my own voice, and had to cough before repeating myself. Gaze fixed on the mana coin in his hand, like it held the universe's deepest secrets, Haddock sighed in relief as the coin dulled.

"That Higher Glimmerscale. He… kept them together, focused away from us. All the higher-level ones. The rest focused on us. On you. And now, most of the low-level ones are dead, and it's just us."

"We can't do this." Steve said.

"Can we?" He looked like a stiff breeze would kill him.

"Do we go invisible and flee?" The thought was extremely lovely. I wanted nothing more. A chance to recuperate, regain health and stamina. Though it was slowly ticking back up, my stamina was at less than a third. I was fucking spent! Succeeding in running away was a dream. A lovely, lovely fever dream.

"No. They've got trackers. Casters. They can see us. There's no way we'd be able to escape." I took a look at the battlefield, where stray Kadren wandered, and wounded beasts lay everywhere.

"Besides, giving them the chance to reform and rest would play into their hands. Paws. Whatever." I shook my head, dislodging something that spattered onto the torn-up soil.

"We end this now." The end came strolling, in the shape of a Higher Glimmerscale. The Komodo dragon-meets chameleon-meets-Glee enthusiast strode at the center of a magical storm. Marching slowly in our direction, it remained with uncanny precision at the absolute center of nearly a hundred beasts, all between levels fifteen and twenty-four. Too many. Too many by far. We were ready. As ready as we could be right now, at least. Haddock had dropped three walls in a tight triangle, with me at the very opening.

He was hunched over another mana coin, like an addict with his fix. His hands shook uncontrollably. To my surprise, instead of launching into a charge, the Glimmerscale stopped. And, like the pressure of ears popping at the end of a too-steep dive, words emerged inside my head.

"Challenger. You have killed many." The words were impassive, yet curious, a veneer of civility layered above a sensation of intrigue and respect. Not a hint of outrage or anger.

"Well." I croaked and cracked my back, whipping a bit of gore from my buckler.

"Yes. To be fair, you killed our kind first." A wash of indifference.

"Too weak. You were too weak to fend us off. We earned the right to make you thralls." I snorted.

"Right now, these thralls would be wiping our feet with your scaly hide, if it weren't because our so-called allies pissed themselves running away."

"Yes. Pitiful. Fearful. Yet you are not. You reek… eager. Like us." Was I? I sure didn't feel eager for anything except a bath, a steak and an eighteen-hour nap. Only… yes. It was there. The knowledge that I wasn't weak anymore. That I wasn't just going to accept whatever life flung at me and persevere. That I would stand the fuck up and take on all comers. I sighed and stood up taller, cracking my neck, snorting in surprise.

"What do you know? I guess I am eager." I braced myself and readied my shield with a devil-may-care grin at the Glimmerscale, at the situation, at everything. We might go down. But we sure as shit were going to make them pay dearly.

"All right, then, you fucking epilepsy-inducing turbo chicken. Why don't you bring it, and show what you've got? You and me. We end this now!" With an intimidating showing of teeth, the Glimmerscale obliged. The end was coming. It was coming as a wave of claws and well-timed barrages of firebolts. I stood ready, hunkered behind my shield. I couldn't even raise my head above the shield, because of the constant shots raining at me. But I wasn't giving in.

I'd face my doom head on, and take as many of the fuckers down with me as I could. I didn't move an inch at the impact of the missiles. The spikes of the shield were settled deep within the ground, and the weight of the shield resting on my arm felt like a familiar presence. It felt right. Even though I was going to die, I'd go along, knowing I'd finally found what I could do. The vibrations and the sounds of their feet were my only guide at their progress. I could feel them coming closer.

They grew, in speed and in power, until the charge felt like the constant bass thrum of a concert. I had nothing more. No more abilities, no more cooldowns to burn, no useful items. This was it. In a moment their front ranks would hit me, and I couldn't even raise my head to prepare properly with how I was being bombarded. From one second to the next, the vibrations changed. Just when I thought they were about to reach me, the staccato rhythm of drumming footsteps wavered.

The fiery shots still fired constantly and I couldn't risk my head to see what was happening. From behind, a disbelieving voice uttered a curse.

"It's them. It's the humans. Our people are coming!"