Chương 34: 201. Marching Song

"I'll be in the middle of the front section," Alex said.

"I'll need you guys to stay close and guard me as much as you can. Doing this the entire way is going to take all of my focus. If I let it go, there's a chance that it unravels and the net mends itself back up."

"Then we're stranded in the middle of the city with the Koru powerless again," Robert pointed out. Alex didn't say anything, just continued to refill Maelis's amulet with mana while siphoning more from the stone in his hand.

"I think it will work, but I just feel the need to point out the worst-case scenario. If that happens, there's probably no salvaging this and no getting out unharmed," Robert continued. The group of escapees surrounded them, listening as final preparations were made. Looking around, he saw many of the faces watching him seriously or nodding along.

"It could go very wrong," he agreed.

"But as long as we stay focused on the goal, it will work. Bringing down the mana net his the main priority. Don't get sidetracked by destroying things or pushing away from the group in search of fights or revenge. I know all of you have been through a lot, and that's an understatement, but this all only works if we bring down the mana net and rally the Koru'qai around us."

"Shael'quer has already sent runners to spread the word of the march. As numbers grow and the Koru hear Droq's song, they will come." His hands flexed by his side, and when he saw Alex looking at them, he crossed his arms.

"It's likely that Kinley's men are on their way here now, or scouring more of the mines for other small pockets. But that actually works in our favor with this plan. They have more men than we do here, but nowhere near as many as there are Koru'qai. If they're spread out, we're more likely to make a straight shot for the center of the city, the arena. The worst-case scenario for us is if Kinley attempts to intervene directly." Aisha spoke up, Luis shaking his head as well.

"Nah, he won't leave the arena. He's delusional, trying to rebuild the Koru'qai's tribe into a model of Roman culture. Obsessed with the arena and gladiators. he thinks he's the sun of the arena or some nonsense. A literal god complex."

"He hasn't left the main compound in a couple of years," Robert affirmed.

"Why would he? It's where the base of his power is, and if there's going to be a fight there, the more people that bleed during the fight… the stronger he'll get." Most of those gathered looked at Alex, his frame recently changed with the reabsorption of his stats. Alex felt the question coming before it was asked, as it was likely on many of their minds.

"Can you do it?" one of the freed gladiators asked. There was hope on his face, but he was standing toward the back of the group and had a smaller frame than most of the other fighters. Knowing they didn't have time to continue the debate, Alex told the group how confident he was in a way he thought they would all understand.

"I haven't met some of you yet, and I haven't known Robert and his team very long. But it's clear you're all familiar with the System and have used it to your advantage to survive this place. My name is Alex Moore, I'm currently one of the highest leveled humans on Earth, and I'm a powerful enough mage to have one of twenty-two Planetary Titles." For emphasis, he touched his hand to his chest.

The golden light that was produced by his title's active ability caused a few of those closest to him to tense up until he began to show the face of the card around the group.

"I don't have any idea how strong Kinley is, so I can only be so confident in how the two of us stack up. That said, I'm confident in my own strength, and I'm done watching people like Kinley write the rules. You hold the line, and I will tear the net to free the Koru'qai." Many nods joined the end of his small speech, though he wasn't sure how to end it. He glanced at Robert, who was watching him with eyebrows raised, anticipation clear on his face.

Alex shrugged and opted to end things quickly while still on a high note and get the group moving.

"Together, we'll take down the arena and free the others. Let's move." There weren't any cheers or hoorahs of agreement, but everyone around them moved to get in position near the entrance, bolstered by his little speech. The Koru were already gathering, many paired together to share the burden of the dead. Robert stepped up beside him.

"Were you in the military?"

"No, why?" Alex asked.

"Huh. Just curious. You probably could have gone a little more toward 'motivational speaker' rather than 'wartime marching speech.'" Alex couldn't suppress the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"You think I have experience in this? I was a desk worker in an advertising job before the integration. I don't know anything about leading or motivating people."

"Could have fooled me," Robert said, laying a hand on his shoulder as Aisha and Luis joined them.

"We've got your back." Alex made eye contact with each of them. Aisha gave him a serious look and a nod. She looked like she was going to say something, but changed her mind. An awkward silence hung in the air until he realized they were waiting on him.

"Right." He moved to the column of Koru'qai and humans, gripping and adjusting the bracer on his left forearm as he did. There was an open space for him toward the front. Taking position, he prepared his magic before giving Robert a nod and a final warning.

"Fighting will be tough. If they're smart, they'll come for this section. My mana and what I'm doing with the net will probably light up like a beacon to anyone with mana sight."

"We won't let anyone touch a hair on your pretty little head, magic man," Aisha said. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Though the words still sounded like they should be a teasing insult, her tone had changed, and there wasn't any actual bite behind them. It reminded him of Mark. Just… a lot more angsty.

"Together," Luis agreed.

"Hmm, the march is ready," Shael'quer said as she approached them.

"Droq'shan's song will start when we move." With final warnings and plans in place, Alex pushed the sights and sounds of his surroundings out of his mind. He focused on his core and the feeling of energy that ran through his veins as he drew on it, setting aside his continual charging of the Runic Apprentice until his job was done. His minds split to their tasks. One on creating the blade to slice the net, another to pull the tear open wider, and the final one to anchor the net in place.

As they started to move, his concentration almost faltered when the song started. The Koru began to hum as one, a tone deep and low that seemed to vibrate his bones and bring his hair to stand on end. The walk through the caverns was over before he realized it, emerging into the dim artificial light of the city. Fighting started there almost immediately, as some of Kinley's men were on guard. He briefly allowed his sense of hearing to assess the first contact.

The guards were confident, making jeering remarks and taking the first action against the column of Koru'qai. Trusting those around him, Alex didn't flinch, focusing on his task as the surrounding sounds slowly changed. Things quickly shifted from confident to surprised to alarmed as Koru'qai joined the fight. Droq'shan's death was the final straw, pushing them to break tradition and no longer sit by to respect those stronger than them.

This left Kinley's four men fighting against three dozen opponents, rather than the six humans they'd seen in the group. Sounds of fighting died down quickly after that, and he lost himself in the rhythm of the actions. Cut. Pull. Hold. Cut. Pull. Hold. It became a mantra that consumed him as he allowed his Willpower to take over and hyperfocus on tearing the mana net. Cut. Alex slid the blade forward. Pull. Alex dragged the held tear of mana down with his magical strength at the same time. Hold.

Alex cast the spell circle— The spell fizzled out, breaking his concentration. Refocusing on his surroundings, he saw the arena before him. It took a moment to regain his bearings, first noticing the power of the song around him. It no longer felt as if his bones were vibrating; he was certain now that the ground beneath his feet was trembling. He looked down and braced his feet, feeling a headache crashed into him with how low his mana reserves were.

Looking down in a daze, he realized his left hand was clenched around a drained mana stone so tight that it left indentations in his palm. Next, he looked over his shoulder, astounded to find the column drastically changed. They were no longer two dozen Koru'qai moving in an organized group toward the arena. Hundreds of them stood spread through the street and on roofs. All of them looked past him, at the decorated arena walls, singing and humming the same tune they had been in the mines.

The bulky and stoic creatures seemed more human to him than at any point before. The emotions, anger and pain alike, were clear on their rocky features. The small group of humans had clustered toward the front, around him. He took them in, noting the blood, tears, and dents in newly acquired armor. Finding Robert's face, Alex saw tears building in his eyes as he looked at the area. Taking everything in in a single turn, Alex's eyes were finally drawn up to the reason his spell circle had failed.

The constantly dark sky was lit up in his left eye. Thousands of small specks of blue mana floated down from overhead, creating the illusion of stars in his mana sight. They'd reached the center of the city, the central hole in the net built around the arena. Connecting the tear from the outer edge of the hollow vein to the inner gap had severed the net so drastically that it was collapsing completely. Despite the powerful cornerstones, it was no longer able to repair the damage.

As if to prove the point, the surrounding song built to a crescendo. The walls of the arena began to crack, and the sound of collapsing stone was deafening, almost completely drowning out the Koru song. Alex hunched his shoulders instinctively as rubble started to fall in both directions, though none actually close enough to reach their group. Both song and debris settled at the same time, leaving the environment so quiet that Alex questioned if his hearing had been damaged.

He stood stunned, unsure of whether he even needed to fight. The question was answered a heartbeat later by a single yell of anger from beyond the broken wall. As if to punctuate Kinley's fury, a large section of rubble flew from the settling dust clouds, heading toward the middle of the crowd. Alex's eyes widened at the sheer size of the rock, instinctively throwing up a barrier spell followed by a second for backup.

The rubble slammed into the first wall, shattering the barrier and breaking apart into smaller pieces. The second layer blocked most of those from falling on the assembled Koru'qai, but when a second section of the wall was thrown right after, he threw up one more barrier before dashing forward. Several others behind him were still crying out in startled surprise, but he knew the crowd was too large to disperse before the rain of rubble would stop.

[Feather Step] carried him over some of the collapsed wall and rocks, though when he touched down and found no easy way to enter, he looked up. The walls were high, even after being cracked and broken in some areas, but not nearly as high as the Philly skyline. He activated his movement skill while using a wind spell pointed at the ground to propel himself further.

At the apex of his jump, he created a small barrier underfoot and pushed off once more with [Feather Step], angling over the wall and taking in the space below. Congratulations, [Feather Step] has leveled up! You have reached the Tier threshold of an active skill. Would you like to advance or evolve this skill? Advance: This skill stays the same and advances to an improved version in the same tree. Evolve: This skill changes based on the different ways you may have used it or pushed the bounds of its purpose.

You will lose levels in this skill if you choose this option. Advance / Evolve? He dismissed the window and, while assessing the surroundings, he pushed the last bit of mana required into the amulet to activate it. Maelis's consciousness woke to the same chaos Alex was trying to take in.

"What in the twelve hells is going on here, kid?" Small-scale rebellion. Hey, on the upside, our plan to take the net down worked. He spotted several small pockets of Kinley's men around the arena. Several of them were scattered and injured near the crumbled walls, likely having been in position to ambush anyone entering. The streams of flowing mana caught his attention, drawing his eyes to the center of the arena where the smallest cluster of people waited around the pillar that absorbed it all.

There, in the middle of it all, standing beside the square pillar at the arena's heart, was Kinley. There was no mistaking the man. Even from the walls, he could see the broad, hunched shoulders. The way the man paced back and forth, and those around him gave way, made his position clear. They seemed to notice each other at the same time. Kinley stopped in his tracks and straightened to get a better look at Alex. The speed with which he moved to the far edge of the arena sands was startling.

He gripped a piece of rubble in both hands and lifted it overhead before launching it through the air toward Alex. Another barrier spell, angled toward the ground, deflected the projectile without issue. Did you see that?

"Yeah, kid. Be careful." He didn't use any mana there! The movement and strength are just from his stats? No skills?

"Fuck me…" Alex said, realizing just how monstrous Kinley might be.