Chương 54: Guild war (2)

Ethan let out a ragged breath as he wrenched his blade free, the steel dragging loose with a wet, sucking sound. Blood fell from the blade and dripped into the sand as he lifted the sword, resting the flat across his shoulder for a moment while his chest rose and fell. The fight had ended as quickly as it had begun. Around him, the aftermath remained. Bodies lay scattered across the dune, most wearing the colors of the Valkyries, though a handful of Broken Dawns were mixed among them.

The sand had been churned into uneven ridges and shallow pits from the struggle, stained dark in places where blood had soaked deep enough to resist the sun's drying heat. Apart from the two scouts who had already been dead when they arrived, they had lost another three in the clash. Ethan's gaze passed over them briefly before he looked away. There wasn't time to linger, as sad as it was, these bodies would be left here. They had already been decapitated in order to keep them dead.

Now they would have to keep pushing forward to where the real battle was still happening. He could hear it, even from here, the sounds carried clearly over the dunes. The distant clash of steel, the crack of spells, the roar of voices raised in fear or fury. It was constant and unrelenting. Ethan turned, scanning his group. Some stood in silence, staring at what they had done. Others bent over, hands on their knees as they tried to catch their breath.

One man—older, maybe in his fifties—leaned forward suddenly and vomited into the sand, his body shaking as someone beside him awkwardly patted his back. Ethan tuned it out. [Keen Sense] brushed against movement behind him, pulling his attention away from the scene. Two figures crested the dune they had come from. Nivia and the injured scout. The young man was walking now, though not well. His steps were uneven, his weight shifting carefully off his injured leg.

Bandages wrapped tightly around his thigh, stained faintly where blood had seeped through. Nivia slowed when she saw Ethan, relief flashing across her face. Then she saw everything else. Her eyes widened, her steps faltered for just a moment as she took in the bodies. Then she forced herself forward, moving faster, pushing through it as she rushed toward the group.

"Does anyone need healing?" she called out, her voice tight. A few hands went up. Ethan glanced at them, quickly assessing the injuries. Cuts, bruises, shallow punctures. They were painful, but not life-threatening.

"Save your mana," Ethan said, his voice cutting through the moment.

"Only use it for serious wounds. The rest we can patch." There was a brief pause of hesitation. Both from Nivia and the other guild members. It was broken by a young man, who used his blade to cut some cloth from a body before asking another to wrap his arm. More joined in, they reached for bandages, tearing cloth, doing what they could themselves. Nivia hesitated for half a second longer before she nodded as well, shifting her focus to the worst of the injuries.

She moved to Ethan a moment later, her eyes searching him.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he replied, letting the last of the adrenaline bleed out of his system. He could feel the faint tremor in his muscles, the lingering tension in his grip, the echo of the fight still humming beneath his skin. But it wasn't anything that mattered. He stood there as the others worked, his patience thinning with every passing second. The sounds of the main battle didn't stop. If anything, they were getting louder.

"Alright. Let's move," he said. The older man straightened slightly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he shook his head.

"Can't we have a moment?"

"You know we can't," he replied.

"While we stand here, people die. We need to move now." Ethan didn't wait for agreement. He had only just met these people. Maybe he had gained some respect from the prior battle but he didn't really have any way to automatically take control of each and every one of them. So instead, he turned and headed for the sounds of fighting. Behind him, there was a brief pause. A moment where it could have gone either way. Then Nivia fell into step beside him first.

"Let's just get this done." The others moved as well. Picking themselves up, casting a glance at the dead, before leaving them behind. They climbed the next dune, the incline steeper than the last. Sand shifted underfoot, slowing the others' ascent, though for Ethan [Steadfast] made it obsolete. Nivia was oddly quiet, as they walked the dune. Even the others hadn't spoken a word. It was good, that way the Valkyries wouldn't know they were coming. But Ethan expected someone to say something.

To complain, or ask a question. Instead they moved in silence until they reached the top. And everything opened up. The battlefield stretched out before them, wide and chaotic. The two forces had collided and broken into something primal and raw. Clusters of fighters clashed in scattered pockets across the sand. Spells lit the battlefield in violent flashes. While others attacked with weapons and skills.

"Oh my god." Ethan glanced to the side. Nivia stood frozen, her eyes locked on the scene below. Her usual composure was gone, replaced with something raw. Around them, the rest of the group had stopped as well. They stood just behind the rise of the dune, partially hidden, staring down at the battle. Ethan understood it. No matter how much they had fought before, this was different. This wasn't monsters. This was people killing people.

Ethan dragged his gaze across the battlefield, forcing himself to focus past the chaos. He scanned the shifting mass of fighters, looking for structure within the disorder. It took time. Movement overlapped, bodies blocked his view, spells obscured entire sections of the field. Then someone beside him spoke.

"Over there," a woman said, her voice low but certain.

"That looks like leadership." Ethan followed her gesture. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. At the back of the main clash, a small cluster stood more organized than the rest. Fighters formed a loose perimeter, holding their ground while others moved in and out of the center, clearly relaying information. Ethan narrowed his eyes, trying to peer as far as [Keen Sense] would allow. After a moment, he spotted what he was looking for.

Desmond paced within the group, his movements sharp and restless. Even from this distance, Ethan could see the tension in him, the way his hands moved as he spoke, the constant shifting of his stance.

"Yeah," Nivia said quietly.

"I see him." Ethan nodded. Their target wasn't far, but it wasn't close either. Between them and Desmond was a battlefield filled with fighters who would kill them without hesitation.

"So what's the plan?" one of the Broken Dawns asked, his voice tight.

"We cut straight through," Ethan answered.

"No stopping. No getting dragged into fights. We move as one, hit hard, and don't slow down. Keep the ranged fighters in the middle. Everyone else form around them." He glanced at the group.

"If we hesitate, we will get bogged down and lose our advantage. Stay together and do anything you can to complete the mission. Any questions?"

"What happens if we can't reach them?" a young warrior asked.

"We will. Just follow me," Ethan responded. When no one else said anything, he stepped forward, clearing the rise of the dune, before he began his descent. The others followed close behind, their formation tightening as they committed to the charge. The moment they broke past the crest, the battlefield swallowed them whole. Ethan's group crashed into the Valkyries' flank. The first fighter barely had time to react.

Ethan's greatsword came around in a heavy arc, the weight of it carrying through the man's guard and sending him sprawling into the sand. Their impact rippled through the Valkyries' line. They weren't ready. Their focus had been locked on the main force, and now they were forced to split their attention. Some turned to meet Ethan's group, others hesitated, caught between threats. A spear thrust toward Ethan's chest, fast and desperate. He didn't bother avoiding it cleanly.

He angled his body and let it hit, the tip scraping across the chitin plates with a harsh grind before sliding off. The force pushed into him, but it didn't break his stance. Ethan stepped in and drove his blade forward, knocking the spear aside and following through with a short, controlled swing that sent the man stumbling to the ground. The group followed his momentum, pressing deeper into the flank. Arrows cut past them from behind, striking into distracted targets.

A mage's spell detonated somewhere to Ethan's left, sending sand and bodies scattering. The leadership cluster was getting closer. Ethan could see it clearly now, a tighter formation holding around a small group at the center. Desmond stood among them, they had spotted Ethan's advance, and were reacting accordingly. Ethan pushed harder, driving into the defenders around the cluster. These ones held their ground better. Their movements were tighter, more deliberate.

His attacks began to get deflected, forcing him to engage in short melees. He kicked a Valkyrie in the chest, sending them flying backwards. One of their guild members caught them, and despite Ethan's expectations, threw them to the side, before stepping forward and into Ethan's path. Ethan paused. Shit. It was Alice and she didn't look happy. He could see Desmond behind her.

And despite all the mana in the air, from the different spells and skills, he could still sense it swirling around the man, moving as he commanded a spell to take form.

"Don't worry about him. Focus on me," she stated, blocking his view.

"It is you, isn't it? Hero boy?" She pulled two hatchets from her side, her grip solid, her posture forward and aggressive.

"Where is it?" she questioned, circling slightly. Ethan watched her, but was also keenly aware of movements happening around them. His group were engaged in a battle with the elites of the Valkyries. Both formations breaking down, as spells and fighting erupted.

"Where's what?" he asked, though he knew what she meant. She scoffed and rushed forward. Her first strike came hard, the right-hand hatchet swinging in a brutal arc aimed at his shoulder. Ethan raised his blade and caught it, the impact ringing through his arms. The second followed immediately, coming in low toward his side with just as much force. The edge struck his armor with a dull, jarring thud, the plates holding firm as the blow slid off without biting through. The force was there, though.

He felt it through the armor, enough to know she wasn't holding back. He kicked out, her hatchet moved just in time to block the blow from hitting her stomach, but it sent her skidding back.

"I don't want to do this," Ethan stated.

"Just let me past and I can end this." She swirled her two hatchets.

"You can't end shit. You're the one that caused this." Alice attacked again, in heavy strikes, each one meant to break through by sheer force, each one growing more powerful. The hatchets came down again, alternating angles, high and low, left and right, forcing Ethan to keep his blade moving to intercept them. He focused on defending, blocking each of her attacks as she picked up the pace.

Her hatchet came down in a horizontal swing, Ethan deflected it, twisting his blade so it slid up and hooked under the lip of the hatchet blade. He yanked, pulling it from her grip. She abandoned it, instead attacking with her other hand. Ethan raised his arm, the blow hit his pauldron, the wooden handle glancing off his forearm. Ethan pushed it aside and slammed his head into hers. She stumbled back, before catching herself with her hands and standing back up.

Ethan shook his head as the ring from the helmet disappeared.

"What do you mean. He's right here. I can end it. You read the book. You should know he's not even your leader. Just a puppet."

"So you did take it!" she stated.

"If only Armon had seen it, none of this would have happened!" She rushed forward, throwing her hatchet at him, while sliding and picking up the one he had disarmed. Ethan shifted, blocking the attack with his sword. He looked up, and could feel something shifting. Alice, crouched, her hatchet in her hand. He felt her activate a skill. Her muscles began to bulge, her form growing, as veins sprouted up her arms and neck. He could see them pumping—thick and dark—as she stood up.

"Now you've done it," he muttered. Ethan raised his blade, as he watched any semblance of Alice disappear. She launched forward, sand bursting from the movement. Ethan's eyes widened slightly as he blocked her attack. The force pushed him back slightly, until he redirected and let her move past him. Ethan turned with her, resetting his footing as she skidded to a stop beside her hatchet. She picked it up and came straight back in.

Both hatchets crashed down again, heavier than before, forcing him to meet them with both hands on his blade. The impact bit deeper into his stance. He absorbed it, redirected, but the follow-up came instantly. A low strike slammed into his thigh armor, the force pushing through enough to make his leg tense as he adjusted to keep balance. Before he could counter, she was already swinging again, the rhythm building as she chained one attack into the next.

Ethan stepped back once, then again, letting her pressure build while he watched. Each hit felt worse than the last. He knew she had activated a berserking skill. But more was at play. She had something else boosting each attack as well. He stopped trying to match her strength, though he could have if he used [Mana Infusion]. Her next overhead strike came down hard, and instead of catching it cleanly, Ethan angled his blade and let it slide off to the side.

The moment it passed, he shifted with it, stepping off-line and forcing her to turn. She twisted, coming at him again, with a wild swing he was forced to dodge. Ethan moved again, letting her commit forward while he kept just out of the center of her strikes. Her hatchets tore through the air where he had been, her momentum carrying her a half step too far. Each block rattled his arms, forcing him to absorb the attack through [Steadfast].

Her next rush was stronger still, her body straining under the skill as she forced more into each movement. The sand burst beneath her feet as she closed the distance, both hatchets coming in with full commitment. Ethan stepped into it. The first strike glanced off his shoulder, the second scraped along his side. He ignored both and drove forward, his armored shoulder slamming into her chest and halting her momentum. She staggered and Ethan had seen enough.

He shifted his grip and brought the pommel of his greatsword up sharply, driving it into her jaw. The impact snapped her head back, her body going loose as the strength she had built lost direction. She stumbled, tried to catch herself, then collapsed into the sand. Her hatchets still clutched in her hands. He was annoyed. He wanted answers from her. He needed to learn how everyone was involved. What piece of the board he was missing.

But she had gone and used a berserk skill, making it impossible for him to talk to her any longer. Ethan stood over her for a brief moment, watching to make sure she stayed down. When she didn't move, he turned away, lifting his gaze back to where Desmond stood. The man had been watching them. Ethan knew he had been. So he hadn't shown him anything, and instead ended the fight in a rather mundane way. Ethan stepped over Alice, moving towards Desmond.

"I don't suppose you want to surrender? I've got some questions I need you to answer."