My eyes fluttered opened as rising sun beamed over the horizon once more over the desert, my fists still a little swollen from last nights interrogation. The soldier we'd captured was offered an opportunity to attack Korbin freely, as a sort of olive branch of chance for them to earn some brownie points. The prisoner abused said trust and tried biting Korbin's neck after pretending to be benevolent, so his ribs suffered.
The 'intimidator' wasn't exactly the role I'd preferred quite frankly. The prisoners decision to try killing Korbin wasn't exactly one I could honestly say I wouldn't have made in his shoes either. Unfortunately, it was the wrong one nonetheless. Eventually the prisoner grew more agreeable, and opened progressively to our questioning. The first to be answered regarded the infrastructure of our dear King Nathaniel's castle. Said castle that he'd had built at the center of his settlement. Though, based on the soldiers description, it sounded more like a military compound than a community.
According to the prisoner, absolutely no one was permitted into the King's castle besides the Generals who oversaw the operations undergone at the 4 sections of the settlement, and the captains that accompanied them. Of course, we'd just recently killed either a general during that large-scale battle yesterday as confirmed by our captive, leaving just 3 Generals left to deal with.
The actual volume soldiers themselves had reportedly dwindled quickly the last few days. Apparently a few scouts saw Steve and I separate from the group long before their group of 12 arrived, and had hoped their staggered push of overwhelming numbers would neutralize the shifty giant serpent. When they'd sent out over 30 soldiers our way however, our army returned and wiped out their entire force in one swoop. They'd already expected the serpents in the sands to handle us before ever arriving, one soldier going so far as to have a memorial in the sand snakes honor after hearing of its passing.
The prisoner himself got choked up recalling the serpents wake, going so far as to willingly inform us of their Sand Snake nursery set-up. The General stationed in that section was now dead too, leaving the remaining young snakes and their protective father serpent relatively forgotten as of late. This news wasn't in any way something I'd enjoyed hearing, outside of advantageous reasons in combat. 'Home Wrecker' wasn't a title I'd hoped to earn along my path, at least not intentionally.
Still, the news of 25 trained soldiers, 3 Generals, and 1 snake remaining was exciting for us. Korbin had to visibly cull his own excitement, knowing our official siege could finally commence. As a prerequisite, Cassi's armor was given a quick upgrade by Korbin via replacement at the pylon shop, having long grown out of her starter set in levels. She was the first out of everyone not including Korbin and I who'd out-leveled her armor by a margin of three, a feat she of course earned rightfully on her own.
However, I couldn't help but take some credit having ushered us into more than a few circumstances that required a stronger hand to assist myself. Of course that's not mentioning she'd be post-digested spider food right now if Steve and I hadn't stumbled upon her Pylon. Still, she'd saved my ass already too, and her taking on the General role rather than forcing me to do it more than repays whatever debts she may have owed to me. Especially having heard the rather Tom-friendly scheme her and Korbin hatched for our siege.
By 'Tom-friendly' I mean the plan wasn't overly complicated and filled with layers of stupid staging and waiting periods for once. Korbin would hold our soldiers just out of sight over the dunes west of their Pylon, while Steve and I snuck our way along the far north side of the settlement. Nathaniel clearly decided their natural oasis moat was sufficient for their perimeter defenses, not expecting anything keen to the water affinity would come knocking in the fucking desert anytime soon.
Once we're inside, Steve and I will immediately locate and activate whatever mechanism controls the Pylon gate. Korbin and company would then push over the dunes, cutting an angle along the southern bend to avoid head on charging into turret fire. Korbin's equipment along with Lonni's toughness and defensive prowess were vital to ensuring no serious injuries were suffered before storming the settlement.
Unfortunately we'll be fighting with a numbers disadvantage again, though by a smaller margin than yesterday's battle at the ruins. Still, they'll have one fully grown sand serpent and 3 generals with plenty of captains at their disposal.
Regardless of their remaining units, Cassi is to join Steve and I in clearing out as many of their top threats as quickly as possible once inside their walls. Korbin and Lonni will keep the troops in formation to both protect and efficiently manage group fights, at least until Korbin could get to the King himself. Cassi and I would rendezvous with Korbin in the castle as soon as we could to ensure a smooth transition into power for Korbin.
While our soldiers prepared for their battle, a few even sparring to warm up their muscles, I noticed Lonni sitting with his back against the gate wall. He wore this look of determination I normally only see in him during or after combat, peaking my curiosity. Walking over, he only nodded in acknowledgment as I sat beside down him.
"Hey big man, you seem awfully quiet. Everything alright?" I asked, lightly jabbing his arm with my elbow. Lonni hardly reacted, his thousand yard stare remaining unbroken. He sighed before responding.
"It will be. Today will be a glorious victory, which we all will have our hands in achieving." He answered passionately. I'd never seen him speak so openly worked up outside of a fight before, especially considering we'd yet to really lose a single battle in the first place making that victory part kind of…weird. Though, considering he's yet to look me in the eye, and put particular emphasis on 'all of us' contributing to the siege…
"…something buggin' you, champ?" I asked outright, already knowing the answer was yes, but not exactly what.
"Yes…may I speak of yesterdays ordeal with you freely, Tom?" Lonni asked, finally returning my gaze with a look of sincerity in place of his previous brooding.
"Lonni, you fought a bear because I told you to walk home. The least I could do is hear you call me an idiot for yesterday, it's quite alright." I said, figuring he was annoyed with my overextension nearly costing my life. Lonni's hands frantically waved over one another as he urgently replied.
"No no, you misunderstand. The reason that could happen in the first place yesterday was because you and Steve were the only ones fit for that job. That's not fair to you, not in my eyes. We ALL need to pick up our slack, especially me." Lonni said, his eyes slowly drifting back into space.
"Lonni, you're our tank, buddy. To my knowledge, you've performed exactly as well as we could've ever asked. But, if you feel you're not doing enough to your own standards, I'm certainly no one to tell you differently. I trust you though, Lonni. Just so we're clear." I reassured, hoping not to have an over-eager comrade fall chasing self-imposed redemption. Perunious knows I've already been there.
For the first time since I'd seen him today, Lonni let a smile form across his thin lips. He extended his hand for a handshake, which I happily obliged.
"Thanks brother." Lonni said, towering over me. If I didn't know better about the age in which an adult stops growing, I'd swear he'd only gotten taller since we'd met.
"No worries. Just don't go too crazy out there, okay? No pulling a 'Tom' until at least the next Pylon." I jokingly ordered, earning a laugh from my massive teddy bear of a friend. We ended up shooting the shit for another few minutes before Cassi asked Lonni to assist in fixing some fucked up straps on one of our soldier's armor. Lonni looked at me pleadingly, and I wasn't about to put a damper on his game. I waved him off, earning a mouthed "thank you" before hurrying over to Cassi.
Fuckin' love that goof.
We left the settlement not long after, hoping to beat the mid-day heatwave by shipping out early and maybe catch their guards between shifts. According to our captive, even a greedy ass King like Nathaniel believed in lunch breaks. Strange, considering how well he'd set himself up to have something so…uncharacteristic to his otherwise cold and calculated decision making. Convincing people of your false heroism enough to be a regional King within such a short span didn't sound easy without a really big sword, or an equally sharp mind.
Another 3 hour hike later, we'd reached the designated distance where Korbin and company would hang back while Steve and I flanked around to the north.
"You ready to go, buddy?" I asked Steve mentally, patting him on the side of his head.
"Hell yeah. Let's go experience-farming."
The ride across the northern edge of the dunes wasn't very long, compared to the trip up here at least. After winding around the Pylon about 20 miles out, we curved back toward their settlement. Soon, we found ourselves creeping slowly along the back end of the massive settlement. There didn't appear to be any active archers soliciting the area, allowing Steve and I to make a break for the oasis that surrounded the settlement.
Steve slipped into the crystal clear oasis with me on his back, the surprisingly potent water mana hugging around my skin like a warm embrace by the fireplace on a snowy afternoon. The original plan was for Steve to surface from the oasis, gliding high enough to get me over their 20 foot wall. Luckily, Steve spotted a far superior alternative toward the bottom of the oasis with his dark vision. A large naturally formed gap in the earth supporting the settlement itself was wide enough for Steve and I to wriggle through.
After wiggling through and swimming toward the surface on the other side, Steve and I's heads nearly broke the top of the water before a patrolling guard spooked us back under. Locking eyes with my 30 foot feathered serpent, I knew in terms of stealth he'd effectively done all he could.
"Head back out and meet with the others. They'll know I'm in." I said to him mentally. Steve nodded and swam back out through the natural passageway between the rocks. My incredibly high endurance and extended time under water as of late allowed for me to hold my breath a long time. This meant I felt little rush to emerge until the perfect opportunity.
I'm not exactly comfortable doing a stealth mission, which is ironic given I'm a rogue class base. To me, allocating time to hide away was a trait that costed me far more than it afforded in the past, and I wasn't going to start investing into that shit again now. Another guard strolled by, pacing toward a long table full of feasting soldiers. Not seeing any other patrolmen in my area, I finally breached the surface.
My eyes darted across the settlement for a dark and dry corner to regroup, settling on a group of large crates beside a ladder. The rungs led up to several floors of scaffolding that lined the northern wall, ending beside the front gate. Seeing the guard above walking with his back turn, my body quietly rose up from the water before scurrying low behind the crates.
A quick glance to the soldiers practically inhaling a village's worth of food for the day at their outdoor dining table confirmed I'd been undetected. The aroma wafted on the wind, though the severe lack of an appetite seems to have numbed my innate yearning for a hot meal. With a long exhale, I glanced up the scaffolding toward the soldier patrolling above. A second one paced opposite to him, his path leading him directly overhead,
Just beyond both soldiers toward the end of the scaffolding sat a lever, its color and sharp pattern design appearing strikingly similar to the banner draped across their settlement's front gate. The crates I'd nestled myself between to dry off stood 10 feet high, just a few under the walkway along scaffolding above. The stacks behind and beside me made for a tight fit, which ended up doubling as great leverage to shimmy up with my hands and feet pinned against both.
My grip clasped firmly on top of the large crate after a couple quiet slides up, hanging completely still from the walkway and letting the guards above pass by. As the two patrolling the scaffolding intersected and continued along, I pulled myself up to the railings and quickly climbed between the thin metal bars behind them.
The soldier walking toward the assumed gate control lever was my chosen target, knowing my secrecy was meant to be short lived in the first place, and he was all that inhibited me from the lever ahead. Shuffling quietly along the walkway, I'd made it within 4 feet when the patrolling soldier turned around, their eyes and mouth quickly widening as they saw me.
The guard was only able to let out a muffle whimper before gagging on his own blood,
my blade pierced through their throat with a tempered Lightning Strike to avoid them alerting the other guards. The problem was, the mana dispersed violently with a metallic crackle, sending the low-leveled and lightly armored soldiers' entire neck fragmenting into burnt flesh and shattered bone over the rails.
Immediately, the voices of angry soldiers echoed across the settlement as I sprinted toward the lever. It was only a few feet out, however my hand barely wrapped around its rough, engraved handle when the pounding steps of the second patrolling guard crescendo'd behind me.
The soldiers lurching body shot forward, lunging a a stab toward my stomach. My feet quickly shuffled, twisting my body to avoid the soldiers narrow short sword. Recognizing I didn't have enough room to sufficiently dodge the strike, my blade slapped away the end of his sword while letting my chains loop around it in one swift motion. My eyes fluttered trying to block out the sand rising from below before realizing a mage below sent a small sand cyclone spiraling at us both.
Rather than simply bailing on this chain catch at the hands of another pestilent mage, I twisted my blades across my body forcing the soldier to do the same if he wished to keep a grip on his sword. My knee exploded up toward my chest before snapping out and blasting into the guards, launching him straight over the railings. The sand cyclone ripped into his back, causing both to sputter violently to the ground 10 feet below. The moment of silence watching the guard twisting and flailing the whole way down made the death notification much more audible than usual.
My hand grasped back onto the lever after a brief pause and pulled up. A few gears rattled in the gate's mechanism, only for nothing more to occur.
What the fuck?!
Quickly peering around, I'd noticed a catwalk lining the other side of the large gate. A few soldiers were actively climbing down to pursue me, sprinting away from a similar lever. Hoping not to be up here alone longer than needed, my foot smashed into the lever's handle, snapping it from its mechanism to avoid anyone switching it closed again.
Hearing no audible response from the gate this time, I slid between the scaffolding rails, hanging from the walkway before dropping to the ground below. Three armored soldiers converged at the bottom just as my feet hit the ground, as if some had hidden under the catwalk themselves.
I dashed toward the nearest soldiers shoulder, avoiding getting surrounded while parrying only one attackers strikes rather than three at once. My lead handed sword smacked away the soldier's incoming blade before his diagonal slash could pass their shoulder. My second lunged lower, piercing through the soldier's thigh. They stumbled, allowing my lead blade to slice across his throat as I passed with a single spinning slash. Riding the momentum, my foot planted off the ground launching me into a full-sprint toward the catwalk. I didn't enjoy the feeling of fleeing from a fight, especially one I felt I could truly win. Unfortunately, I had to finish the first step in my mission before indulging in the fun parts of a siege.
The second catwalks ladder was well occupied from top to bottom as I jogged over, one of the generals having clearly deduced my intentions and ordered his soldiers to position themselves accordingly. Willing to test my vertical today, I ran under the catwalk, much further along the path than the ladder and directly under the second lever.
Leaping off one leg, I fired my grappling-hook at the catwalk rails, only for it to slip straight back through the gaps it passed between. My eyelids squinted in both resentment at my hook and to brace for impact as I tumbled back down to the ground. My legs nearly gave out under the weight of falling so unnaturally as multiple soldiers quickly surrounded me seemingly all at once. The Flow Strike to the first incoming attackers chest broke his armor plating while piercing his chest to the handle of my blade, returning a glimpse of my dignity after that goofy-ass jump.
My embarrassment subsided entirely seeing two more soldiers charge forward, leaving their positions from the catwalk ladder. Not willing to wait for the rest of their troops to coalesce and jump me, I took off at an angle to draw them away from the catwalk. Their forces clustered behind me in pursuit. Looking ahead, a few emerging soldiers blocked my path. At least they would've, had I intended to continue deeper into the settlement away from the ladder.
My foot dug into the dirt as I landed before dashing back toward the ladder. Only one soldier reacted quick enough to get in range for an attack at my side. My arm shot across my body in response, activating Flow Inverse. The focused parry launched the soldiers blade from his hand, leaving himself defenseless for the finishing blow through his eye socket. My body continued carrying me forward, removing my blade from his skull and sprinting for the ladder. Not willing to eat shit on another grappling attempt, I leapt up the ladder skipping a few rungs.
I climbed a couple rungs normally before leaping up and skipping the rest. The heavily armored General that had been directing the impromptu defensive formation awaited at the edge, attempting to kick me off the catwalk with a front kick. My hand slammed into his ankle with a Flow Strike, clamping my grasp and redirecting his length through a gap between the catwalk rails. He immediately slipped through, smacking the back of his head on the catwalk with his leg wedged between the rails.
The General's wide faced shield on his chest took up enough space on the catwalk to prevent me from simply sliding by as I scrambled up. My resolve was to stab hard into his other leg while he struggled to free the trapped one from the railings with no hands, still gripping his mace with white knuckles. My twinblade slashed across his upper thigh. The General growled in pain, leaving him sprawled awkwardly across the catwalk reaching for both his legs. His trapped appendage was now bent and contorted unnaturally vertical between the railings as he lay writhing in pain, spittle spiraling up from his rapid tight-lipped mouth breathing.
That pesky shield of the Generals still covered most of his vital organs, and the rest of the soldiers were actively closing in around the catwalk. My leg stomped hard onto the shield, using it as a platform to leap over the prone Generals swinging mace from below as he apparently had enough resolve for some rat-shit. After doing my best frog impression mid-battle, I landed in a dead sprint headed toward the second lever. Once I finally pulled the lever back, my body immediately jerked hard to the side and snapping the lever the base.
Gate mechanisms immediately shuttered in concert, ending in a chest rattling *click click* that echoed throughout the settlement walls. Their large gate doors started noisily swinging out toward the desert biome. Nathaniel's General finally freed his leg, his heavy boots thumping across the catwalk beelining toward me. I grinned ear to ear before returning his aggressive charge in kind. Stepping around his reckless shield bash as we finally met, I made a point in exclusively using basic slashes and stabs rather than mana-powered skills. I'd just slipped an overhead slash while landing a twisting stab to his shoulder, when the sound of a mans panicked screeching rang out from somewhere behind me.
I jolted in response to the sensation of the catwalk foundation crumbling under me and the General, as the scream zoomed closer in a Doppler effect interrupted our fight. Large metal poles and shattered wooden crates exploded in fragments around me, a few barely missing my head as we fell 10 feet to the ground below. The General looked pretty banged up, struggling to clamor back to his feet amidst the rubble. It was uncertain which of his wounds were from the fall, or had been inflicted already. Either way, he was in rough shape.
Steve's scaly figure shot by snagging a soldier flanking me in his maw, the serpents laughter cackling in my head as he slithered past. The General weakly scrambled to his feet after seeing Steve zoom by, swinging his mace up toward me in one motion. A simple step back sent his arm flying freely up in the air, my blade easily sliding through his ribs with a tempered Lightning Strike. The pop of mana shooting through his body sent a surging vibration down my weapon that reverberated through my chest. The minuscule mana used didn't speed up the strike much, but the damage was still sufficient to finish off this level 5 General.
The sound of clashing steel took my attention back toward the gate, finding the totality of my allied troops dicing their way into the settlement. Cassi separated from the group upon making eye contact from across the settlement, head kicking one soldier and hook punching another the moment her foot hit the floor sprinting over.
"Good work! Let's find the other General's." Cassi said with a pat on my shoulder, seeing my handwork as she caught up to me.
"No clue where to look, but the gates not closing anyt-" almost on queue, the loud grinding sound of the gate mechanism closing behind our soldiers cut off my totally fair conclusion that the gate was sufficiently stuck open. Given I'd made a point to break both levers controlling the gate, one catwalk being utterly destroyed, it had to be the King closing it via connection to his Pylon.
My head darted around in search of the infamous King Nathaniel himself. Unfortunately there were no Kingly presences lurking in view. Fortunately, my search uncovered yet another General hanging back from their forces frontlines. With him stood a mage and warrior directing traffic at the front gate standing closer to the castle than the settlement entrance.
"Got one, this way!" I yelled to Cassi, sprinting across the battlefield. Our soldiers and Steve were steadily pushing them back toward their castle from the entrance, our warriors' prowess clearly overmatching the enemy's numbers advantage. Meaning there was little reason for Cassi or I to delay in sprinting straight for the next General. The mage protecting him fired out a series of small sharp stones toward us, forcing me and Cassi to separate in order to evade.
The mage foolishly chose to continue tracking me, leaving Cassi to his shielded warrior comrade and the general. The issue is, Cassi doesn't care about shields as much as I do. While my strategy might have been to find cracks in defenses through speed and deception, Cassi's was to create them through a mixture of strength and fluidity. Both being crucial in defeating a shielded combatant.
I was still dodging the rapid fire stone shards and swirling sand gusts while closing distance with the Mage when Cassi ripped the shield's edge into the warrior's sword hand, slamming into his forearm. Her elbow rolled over the shield in her hand, denting the soldiers nose guard into his skull. The mages head whipped at the sound, changing targets taking aim for Cassi. The distraction afforded time to Water Step the remaining distance, stabbing through his magical spine through his mystical ribcage with both blades. No skills were needed turning my new least favorite class into a human kabob.
The General must've liked his mage more than his warrior, quickly charging me with a ferocious battle roar. My blades slipped quickly from the mages back to deflect the Generals wide slashing sword, only for Cassi's foot bashing into his face interrupted his swing. She was still fighting the shielded warrior, however she must've seen an opportunity and seized it. Very water indeed.
My feet shuffled into the staggering Generals personal space, piercing my blade under his ribs. My wrist twisted my blade separating his ribcage further before ripping it back out. The General growled aggressively grasping at his bleeding side. Though, based on his dramatic wiping of his own blood across his helmet, he seemed willing to continue fighting until his dying breath. His hand remained pressed on the wound as he swung his long sword weakly. I lazily dodged to the side.
Instead of killing him immediately, I hovered around just enough to sneak a stab into the soldier fighting Cassi in the back and neck. The warrior froze in place before Cassi front kicked him in the chest, the water orb hovering around her gauntlets twisting down her body and round her foot launching him back off his feet.
Seeing Cassi's kick coming, I dodged out of the soldier's trajectory. His lifeless corpse crashed into the General, knocking heads and collapsing to the ground. Seeing no better opportunity, my twinblade quickly stabbed down into the Generals gullet a twice to finish the job.
"Last General! 3 o'cl-"
Cassi was calling out the last General, when a giant Windsor-tan snake slithered by. Its head shot forward, nearly clamping around one of our soldiers if it weren't for Steve gliding onto the tan snakes back, the beasts now coiling around each other.
"Snake first!" I yelled back to Cassi, charging at the unknown serpent trying to chomp on my boy, Steve. Cassi didn't question it, running beside me toward the fight. Steve was easily distinguishable even amidst their tangled bodies, the feathers and blue scales contrasting heavily with the other tan serpent. No doubt this had to be the depressed snake left partner and masterless at their nursery. Cassi jumped and landed a kick to the midsection of the tan snake, its open maw rearing to the sky in pain.
The snake's tail barely touched the sand before its whole body burrowed backwards into the ground, burrowing just as fast as the sand snake I'd fought in the dunes yesterday. According to our captive, this was the father snake that usually stayed at the nursery protecting the settlement. Apparently male sand snakes had a slightly different tint, its skin a much darker brown high than the tan sands outside.
My blade barely pierced into the enemy serpent's scalp an inch before it fully submerged back into the sand below. Not willing to take another snake ride underground, I pulled my blade free and placed my focus back on the last remaining General. The previous sand snake didn't return until hours after escaping, and I saw no reason why this one would be any different. A damn-near fatal mistake if I hadn't felt the lumping ground from under my feet, Water Stepping away from its emerging maw.
Its jaw spread wide, launching a jet of rock and earthly debris, aiming for me directly. I dodged to the side, a rock clipping my face sending me stumbling laterally. Cassi ran up for another flying kick, only to get tail slapped by the sand snake, sending her bouncing off the sands.
The snake's eyes narrowed onto mine, an overwhelming sense of resentment bleeding through its glare as its tongue flicked in and out of its mouth. Cassi kicked up, culling my concern for her before I charged toward the Sand snake. It stuck its head into the ground like a cold blooded ostrich before quickly ripping its head back out.
Once more, a beam of rocks unleashed from his open jaw, only I was far too close to dodge the entire stream of debris again. One stone grazed my head when Steve's bite pierced the tunnel visioned sand snake's neck. Its face froze in contorted shock, its beam of stones halted all at once. I unleashed a flurry of stabs on the paralyzed serpent. Combined with Cassi and Steve's assistance, the level 6 snake quickly succumbed to its wounds, but not before it got off a reactionary bite at Steve.
Luckily, the snake must not have been terribly venomous, as Steve only suffered a sore wound without showing signs of weakness over time. He'd mentioned something about a school of 'box jellyfish' he had to swim that made all other poisons feel like indigestion but, I didn't really care to question that now. All I knew was they sounded hilariously named, and that we needed to finish our siege so I can check out these infamous jellyfish.
The final General was 50 feet away, battling Korbin and Lonni now with both factions' soldiers clashing all around them. Our forces had slowed their push through the settlement once we'd tasted some early success, the enemy unwilling to fall back into their own castle. Korbin snatched the Generals passing wrist after dodging a slash, flinging the General to the ground and stomping his face by the time Cassi, Steve and I'd arrived. Unfortunately for this poor General, all four of us quickly ripped through his armor with our attacks ending him where he lay.
By the time the Generals death notification pinged, Korbin was already sprinting for the castle, shoulder checking through one of the two soldiers standing guard at the entrance way. The second followed after Korbin as they both disappeared into the castle.
"Cass, on me! Steve, you're with Lonni!!" I yelled out, leaving Steve to help clean up the remaining forces now centralized at the castle entrance near the center of the Pylon. They'd filtered quickly from all around the settlement when I was detected, with only a few civilians in the distance sprinting for the southeast corner, presumably to their living areas to hide.
Speaking of Lonni, he had a concerning amount of blood on his armor, and even more at the end of his flail. Taking this mess as 'good' news, Cassi and I chased after Korbin into the large castle truly fit for a narcissistic 'King'. It dwarved any other building within the settlement walls 4-fold.
Sprinting through the castle halls, the King's ugly mug was either painted or straight up photographed and hung wall-to-wall, each depicting acts of grand heroism as we followed the trail of his dead soldiers. The walls were a clean cut limestone, with torches every few feet illuminating the fine silk rug our tattered boots slammed into with every step. There weren't many soldiers remaining based on the lack of corpses left by Korbin to track, but we managed to follow the bloodied footprints to a spiral staircase.
The stairs winded deep underground, taking us easily 60 feet below. It opened up into a massive training facility, with a large Golden throne in the back of the giant bunker that was assuredly where our infamous King resided. There weren't any visual signs of any inhabitants, however the faint clashing of swords gave Cassi and I enough a direction to head towards.
The metallic clanging of battle crescendoed off the walls sprinting around the training facility until we rounded a sparring arena wall, finding the assumed King a floor above watching as Korbin struggled to fend off 4 very different soldiers, all in dazzling tan and red armor. Three circled him while one was in active melee with Korbin, whose body burned bright fiery orange with his boosting skill fully activated.
The soldier in combat with Korbin's weapons also burned bright, only with old-fashioned fire covering his both swords dancing through the air. The soldiers speed was impressive, giving Korbin a bit of trouble keeping up with his flourishing attacks. Not willing to be a bystander, I exploded forward, landing a Flow Inverse with my foot on the soldiers slashing shoulder. Korbin's free fist smashed into the dual swordsman's jaw, sending him careening off the canvas.
The King looked most displeased seeing me and Cassi entered the frame. His nose scrunched in disgust as the small, frail looking King spoke in a raspy voice.
"You dare attack my land? Me…ME?! The one true Chosen of our God, one that rules over truth itself?! None shall fall for your devilish lies, my God's sent me to deliver truth onto you damned deceivers!" The weasel of a King declared, his arched back trembling in fear.
I was moments from insulting the shit out of this total power-drunk dork when Cassi stepped forward with quite the gem of knowledge.
"You lie, Nathan. Your identity is no secret to my eyes. You are Nathaniel, Chosen of Kinphilim, The Deluder." Cassi announced, though I had no clue how the hell she knew that.
"Kinphilim, that's a Devil." Korbin uttered under his breath, a look of realization overtaking his face. The King however, wore a look of frustration at the accusation.
"Preston, protect your King. Leave these deceivers to your fellow royal guard." The King sneered, the dual wielding soldier leaping halfway up the ladder before climbing up to his king. They both walked off while the other three began their steady approach.
A quick Identify confirmed they'd all undergone a class evolution, each matching me in levels at level 6. A glance at Cassi revealed she'd reached level 5. Being 99% sure she wasn't when we left this morning, Cassi must be delaying her evolution until after the siege was complete. Meaning, she's not as strong as a level 5 ought to be right now either.
"You boys ready? These guys look like they think real deal." Cassi asked, getting in her fighters stance. In reality this shouldn't be too bad, having even numbers with me and Korbin should make this e-
"Nah, you two got this though. See yuh." Korbin said leaping high in the air, catching onto the walkway above where the King had scurried away with his guard. The three Kings Guards watched him run off, only to each look back at us wearing devious grins.
Fucking, Korbin.