Chương 142: Four Too Many

Sieghart watched the Chimerians tighten around Ronan from several directions, their numbers growing quickly enough that invisible support alone would eventually stop being sufficient. If they completed the encirclement, Ronan would have nowhere left to retreat, and Sieghart would need to reveal himself openly to prevent the agent from being overwhelmed. That defeated the entire purpose.

Sieghart lowered one hand toward the ground and activated Sand Control, drawing loose soil from beneath the flooded street and nearby damaged foundations. A dense wave of sand erupted between the Chimerians, spreading outward at waist height before a sharp burst of Wind Magic lifted everything directly into their faces. Several enemies shouted and covered their eyes.

Others stumbled backward while sand entered nostrils, mouths, gills, exposed membranes, and whatever other sensory organs their modifications provided. Ronan recognized Sieghart's intention immediately and covered his own face with one arm, remaining perfectly still while the sandstorm swallowed the nearest street. The effect lasted only several seconds. That was enough.

Sieghart expanded Phantom Image around Ronan while visibility remained terrible, then created four additional copies positioned several meters apart. Each illusion reproduced Ronan's clothing, knives, posture, and expression, including enough shifting detail that identifying the original would require more than a casual glance. When the sand finally settled, the nearest Chimerians opened irritated eyes and stopped moving completely. There had been one human. Now there were five.

The Chimerian with the crustacean arm blinked repeatedly, looked toward each Ronan in turn, then shouted something that sounded considerably less confident than before.

"What the hell?" All five Ronans smiled. That made things worse. Before the Chimerians could determine whether they were seeing clones, illusions, summoned copies, or some particularly irritating racial ability, Ronan attacked. The real Ronan surged forward between two illusions, keeping his body aligned with one copy long enough that their silhouettes briefly overlapped. The first Chimerian swung toward the wrong one. Its blade passed harmlessly through empty light.

Ronan appeared beside its exposed shoulder and drove one knife through the seam between two different patches of armored flesh. The Chimerian screamed and turned, only for Ronan to wrap a mana thread around its wrist and pull the wounded arm behind its back. Another enemy lunged toward him. Sieghart fired Wind Blade. The invisible edge crossed the attacker's forearm before it reached Ronan, opening the limb deeply enough that its weapon dropped immediately.

The Chimerian looked toward the nearest illusion instead of the forest, assuming one of the impossible copies had launched the attack. Exactly what Sieghart wanted. Ronan kicked the wounded warrior backward and twisted aside as a horned Chimerian charged through two illusions in an attempt to reach him. The false bodies flickered around the horns, making the creature hesitate for half a second when both targets passed through its shoulders.

Ronan used that hesitation to jump onto a nearby cart, then launched himself from the raised surface toward another enemy. His first knife struck beneath the jaw while his second sliced across the exposed tendons behind one knee. The Chimerian collapsed. A scaled warrior approached Ronan from behind. Sieghart formed three Earth Bullets. The first struck its temple, the second broke several teeth, and the third hit the wrist holding a curved sword. The warrior spun toward another illusion.

"You!" The false Ronan waved. That response had not been necessary, but Sieghart found it amusing enough to keep the illusion moving naturally. The Chimerian charged the copy. It passed straight through. Ronan appeared from the side and wrapped mana threads around its throat before planting one foot against the warrior's lower back. He pulled violently. The threads tightened. The Chimerian clawed at its neck while Ronan used the body as temporary cover against several projectiles fired from farther down the road.

Needles, darts, and something resembling hardened bone spikes struck the unfortunate warrior instead of Ronan. Ronan released the corpse and rolled sideways. One of the copies rolled with him. Another ran in the opposite direction. The remaining two attacked enemies that could not actually feel the knives passing through them. Confusion spread rapidly.

Every Chimerian now had to decide whether an approaching Ronan was real before committing an attack, and hesitation became dangerous inside a fight moving this quickly. Sieghart exploited every pause. Wind Blades crossed from invisible angles and opened shoulders, thighs, wrists, wings, and exposed sections around altered joints. Earth Bullets struck anyone trying to attack Ronan from behind, while Telekinesis pulled weapons slightly off course whenever Sieghart needed a subtler intervention.

A spear thrust toward the real Ronan's back. Sieghart shifted the tip ten centimeters. The weapon missed. Ronan ducked beneath another strike without even seeing the first one and sliced open the attacker's abdomen while moving past. The spear wielder stared at its weapon. Then at one illusion. Then another. Its confusion lasted exactly long enough for Ronan's mana thread to wrap around one ankle. Ronan pulled. The Chimerian crashed backward. A Stone Bullet struck its forehead before it could stand again.

Nearby enemies started shouting contradictory instructions, some demanding attacks against every clone while others ordered everyone to identify the real human first. Neither strategy worked particularly well. Attacking everything wasted time. Waiting for certainty gave Ronan openings. One winged Chimerian attempted solving the problem by flying upward, apparently hoping the higher angle would reveal which figure actually disturbed water and debris. Sieghart noticed immediately.

A Wind Blade struck the membrane of one wing. The creature dropped sideways into a roof and disappeared through the wooden structure with an impressive amount of noise. Several Chimerians looked toward the false Ronan positioned closest to the roof. The illusion pointed innocently toward another copy. Sieghart almost laughed. Ronan probably would not appreciate learning that his magical doubles were developing personalities during an active rescue mission.

The Chimerians finally adapted by attacking areas instead of individual targets. One massive warrior slammed both fists into the street and released a shockwave through the flooded ground. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Water jumped around every figure. Only one Ronan displaced it properly. Several enemies noticed.

"There!" Ronan sighed.

"So much for that." Five Chimerians converged toward him immediately. Sieghart launched four Wind Blades. Two struck exposed legs. One sliced across a long reptilian tail. The final blade bounced from armored scales without penetrating. Ronan ducked beneath a claw, parried a knife, and used mana threads to pull himself between two attackers before either could change direction. Their weapons collided. One cursed. Ronan stabbed both.

Another warrior swung an enormous hammer toward him, forcing Ronan to jump backward instead of finishing the exchange. Sieghart created Earth Bullets and hammered the attacker's elbow until the joint finally bent enough to ruin the next swing. The hammer struck the street. Ronan stepped onto the weapon. He ran along the handle, jumped, and drove both knees into the Chimerian's face. The creature barely moved. Ronan did. The impact sent him bouncing backward.

"That was disappointing." Sieghart strengthened Protection around him before the same warrior could retaliate, allowing Ronan to absorb a backhand that still launched him several meters. The Chimerian charged after him. A false Ronan appeared directly in its path. The warrior ignored it. It had finally learned. Sieghart frowned. That was inconvenient. More enemies were arriving from deeper inside the settlement as well, and the illusion trick would lose value once everyone understood how to identify the original.

He needed another complication. Preferably something unpleasant. Sieghart noticed several Chimerians relying heavily upon unusual noses, whiskers, exposed sensory pits, or animal-like snouts while trying to track Ronan through the chaos. That gave him an idea. A terrible idea. Which usually meant useful. Sieghart created three Poison Spheres above his palm, keeping them small enough that their purple glow remained hidden behind the rocks.

He launched them into separate sections of the Chimerian group before anyone noticed their approach. The first burst against the ground. The second struck a wall. The third hit the chest of a heavily stitched warrior and exploded across mismatched patches of skin. Purple vapor spread immediately. Several Chimerians coughed. Others grimaced. One shook its head. The effect remained disappointingly mild because many possessed altered bodies capable of resisting ordinary poison considerably better than humans.

Sieghart had expected that. The poison itself was only half the attack. He extended his mana toward the nearest affected Chimerian and reproduced the same sensory enhancement he normally used upon himself. The spell settled around its nose. Sieghart increased the effect. The Chimerian froze. Its eyes widened. Then its entire body began shaking violently. The weak poison had not become stronger. Its smell had. Sieghart had simply increased how intensely the target experienced every trace entering its nose.

The Chimerian gagged, covered its face, and stumbled backward as the foul odor became several times more overwhelming than intended. Sieghart stared for one second.

"That actually worked." He repeated the enhancement on another target. Then another. Several Chimerians suddenly recoiled from the poison clouds they had previously ignored, shaking their heads and clawing at their noses. One vomited immediately. Another dropped its weapon and pressed both hands against its face while tears streamed from several differently sized eyes. A wolf-snouted warrior reacted worst.

Its already powerful natural sense of smell amplified beyond anything comfortable, and the poison odor apparently became catastrophic. The creature screamed. Ronan looked around in confusion.

"What did you do?" Sieghart remained hidden.

"Improved them."

"That word does not mean what you think it means!" The poison clouds continued drifting across the street while Sieghart selectively enhanced the senses of enemies closest to Ronan. Their modified biology became a disadvantage. The stronger their original noses were, the worse the magical enhancement made the foul poison. Several Chimerians staggered blindly. Others shook so violently that coordinated attacks became impossible. One smashed its own face against a wall trying to escape the smell.

Ronan stared for half a second. Then he understood the opportunity. He moved. The first affected Chimerian never saw him approach. Ronan stepped behind it and drew one knife across the exposed throat before the creature could remove both hands from its nose. The second attempted turning. Ronan ducked beneath the desperate swing and opened the side of its neck. The third possessed armored skin around the throat, so Ronan wrapped mana threads around its ankle and pulled until it fell.

He drove a knife through the softer underside of its jaw. Another staggered past him. Ronan turned smoothly and cut both carotid arteries before continuing toward the next target. The fight changed immediately. Sieghart maintained enhanced smell on every poisoned enemy while Ronan moved between them with brutal efficiency. Wind Blades prevented unaffected warriors from interfering. Earth Bullets broke knees, wrists, and exposed joints whenever someone tried protecting the staggering fighters.

The false Ronans continued moving as well. Several Chimerians still attacked them reflexively, especially whenever poison and sensory overload made distinguishing illusions even harder. One swung through a clone. Wind Blade struck its neck from the opposite direction. The creature collapsed while apparently convinced the illusion had somehow cut it. Another Chimerian tried retreating from the poison cloud. Sieghart enhanced its smell. The creature immediately doubled over. Ronan appeared behind it.

His knife flashed. Blood joined the water spreading across the street. For several seconds, the entire southern road became controlled chaos. Five Ronans moved through purple mist while invisible attacks struck from directions that did not match any visible caster. Chimerians slipped across flooded ground, swung at illusions, gagged from poison, and screamed when their own enhanced noses turned a weak spell into sensory torture. Ronan moved through everything like the only person who understood the rules.

A knife opened one throat. Mana threads redirected another weapon. A kick forced one enemy into the path of a Wind Blade. Another Chimerian attempted attacking from above. Stone Bullet struck one wing joint. The creature dropped. Ronan caught its spear before it hit the ground and threw it through another warrior's chest. Sieghart raised an eyebrow. Ronan really was resourceful. Annoying. But resourceful.

The agent pulled the spear free using mana threads, spun it once, then abandoned the weapon when three more enemies approached simultaneously. Sieghart sent Poison Spheres between them. Purple vapor erupted. Enhanced Smell followed. All three recoiled. Ronan smiled.

"Oh, that is disgusting." Sieghart strengthened the effect. One Chimerian screamed louder. Ronan rushed forward before the sensory overload faded. His blades crossed once. Then twice. Three bodies fell almost together. The remaining enemies hesitated. Until now, they had possessed numbers, territory, unusual bodies, and confidence that one human infiltrator would eventually become surrounded.

Now the street contained corpses, illusions, invisible spells, poisonous mist, and an enemy who apparently killed anyone suffering unexplained sensory attacks. Some began looking toward the southern hills instead of Ronan. They finally understood. He was not alone. Sieghart noticed immediately.

"So much for that part." Ronan heard him through the concealed position and sighed while wiping blood from one knife against a fallen warrior's clothing.

"We only needed them confused long enough." Sieghart looked north. The central district had changed. Several guards were running south. Others were shouting conflicting orders. One laboratory entrance had been left with only two visible defenders. And somewhere beyond everything, Mira had hopefully already started moving. Sieghart created another Poison Sphere and allowed himself a small smirk. If their job was to become bait, then the least they could do was make swallowing the bait extremely unpleasant.