A Fighter in leather stepped in front of Ruwen, a long sword in each hand. From his stance, Ruwen knew the Fighter had at least a little Unarmed Combat training.
Ruwen spoke to Hamma in Chat. Please relay what I’m about to say to the City Council.
You’re too far from the group, Hamma responded. I don’t like it.
I’m fine.
The Fighter didn’t immediately attack, and instead studied Ruwen, further showing advanced training.
Ruwen addressed his Primary Group and the War Council. The Temple has detected a disturbance underground. I’ve sent Temple Guardians to look. Should we retreat?
Hamma responded first. The City Council says to return immediately.
The dual wielding Fighter faked an attack to the right, but Ruwen could tell by the stance and breathing it was a ruse. Fifteen stuns struck him in a coordinated attack and one of them overcame his Resistances. His Bracer of Freedom cut the duration to a second, but that gave the Fighter an opening to attack.
Ruwen didn’t bother clearing the stun and watched the strike descend. Both blades slammed into his neck, one on each side. The magical blades sliced through his Overseer armor, further damaging it, but didn’t penetrate his skin. The churning air felt cool against his neck.
The stun cleared and Ruwen grabbed the Fighter’s wrists, snapping them. He caught the falling swords and jerked them upward, slicing the Fighter’s arms off. Blood sprayed Ruwen as he stepped forward and decapitated the Swordsman. The Overseer armor absorbed the blood, repairing the damage to itself. The cool air on his neck disappeared as the scale mended. In moments, the armor had maximized its durability.
Ruwen hadn’t trained with swords yet and didn’t know how to determine quality, but he could tell these had excellent balance, and they must be magical to slice through scale. Instead of throwing them away, he dropped them in his Void Band.
Elder Vachyl responded in Chat. We will not get a better chance to destroy those revival baths. The disturbance is unknown. Additional troops may be of no value. Two thousand warriors have exited the temple, and more leave every second. The city is secure and the War Council recommend proceeding.
Ruwen’s level five Fighter ability Peripheral Vision triggered, revealing an assassin wrapped in cloth ten feet away. They carried a dagger in each hand and their steps didn’t register with Stone Echo.
Sift’s foot struck the assassin in the neck. Ruwen had felt that kick before and winced. The blow struck the artery in the neck, forcing a surge of blood to the brain, and causing an instant blackout. The assassin’s neck sacs protected his arteries, however, and the assassin flipped away, tossing two daggers at Sift. Sift caught them both and threw them back, and they landed with a single thud in the center of the assassin’s chest.
“Are you deaf?” Sift asked as he snatched an arrow from the air.
“Thanks,” Ruwen said. “I didn’t hear him.”
Ruwen’s group had caught up with him.
Bliz had created a tower shield with his Void Band, catching anything that neared him, and firing some of it back. Ruwen couldn’t find Lylan but knew she was nearby. Clarysa stood behind Colyn, firing her crossbow. Tremine stood with his hands behind his back, completely relaxed. Hamma’s Light Guardian stood behind her, and she held the Staff of Chimes, ready to fight if anyone came too close. Xavier floated next to Hamma, and sunlight shone through all the arrow holes in his robe.
“You heard the news, any opinions?” Ruwen asked.
No one responded.
Rami? Ruwen asked.
Sorry. I’m not allowed to help. Mom just told me again. As if I’m a child who needs reminding.
Rami sounded upset with her mom, but the fact that Blapy had just spoken to her, specifically making sure she didn’t interfere, terrified Ruwen. It meant as in control as he felt, things were really life and death.
Arrows, bolts, daggers, and vials of poison and acid continued to strike Ruwen. Tremine had approached close enough that his shield protected Ruwen from the magical attacks. He studied the distant tents as the army caught up. He needed to decide right now which path to take.
The disturbance under New Eiru might portend something terrible, or it could be a distraction created by the enemy in front of him. Was the enemy trying to split Ruwen’s forces or get him to retreat completely, a last-ditch effort to distract Ruwen from destroying their revival baths. Without more information, Ruwen felt he only had one choice.
Ruwen responded in Chat. Moving to primary objective.
Confirmed, phase five remains active, Elder Vachyl responded.
“On me,” Ruwen said out loud. “Let’s finish this.”
Ruwen moved forward, no longer giving the enemy time to retreat slowly. If this battle served another purpose, their slow retreat probably benefited them.
The enemy line buckled in front of Ruwen and his group, causing the entire enemy line to shift backward faster as they avoided the risk of being split down the middle.
Ruwen had closed to within a thousand feet of the tents when the enemy line opened in front of them, as if inviting them to move forward. He slowed his pace, studying the surroundings for any changes.
From the direction of the tents, a small group rapidly approached, moving across the ground on a sled of rock. Ruwen recognized one member, and once again gave thanks that the Overlord felt no fear. His Perception gave him the awful news on the other four as well.
Name: Dust Reverend of Retribution
Deity: Naktos
Class Type: Priest
Level: 100
Health: 1,783
Mana: 3,429
Energy: 389
Spirit: 0
Armor Class: 399
Name: Quake Summoner of Retribution
Deity: Naktos
Class Type: Mage
Level: 85
Health: 1,062
Mana: 2,537
Energy: 308
Spirit: 0
Armor Class: 341
Name: Crag Defender of Retribution
Deity: Naktos
Class Type: Fighter
Level: 80
Health: 2,455
Mana: 475
Energy: 2,106
Spirit: 0
Armor Class: 1,542
Name: Echo Blade of Retribution
Deity: Naktos
Class Type: Fighter
Level: 86
Health: 2,096
Mana: 522
Energy: 2,471
Spirit: 0
Armor Class: 870
Name: Rift Ghost of Retribution
Deity: Naktos
Class Type: Observer
Level: 91
Health: 1,529
Mana: 607
Energy: 2,753
Spirit: 0
Armor Class: 628
All of their names ended with Retribution, and Ruwen guessed they were a special squad, like the chickens
