The Hardened Instability Rod exploded just as the stone shield struck Ruwen. The weakened stone proved no match for his armored and buffed Gold Fortified body and exploded into hundreds of pieces, doing no damage to him.
The elite squad had used the time to move within ten feet of Ruwen. The three Fallen Heroes had reached the Dust Reverend and Quake Summoner, striking them with their Heavy Walking Sticks. An Energy shield pulsed into view whenever a staff struck, and the Healer and Mage ignored the three attackers. The Fallen Heroes were completely ineffective.
The Cliff Tiger jumped from the right side and Ruwen turned to face it. A twelve-foot bear struck the stone cat mid-leap, smashing it backward. The bear’s fur wasn’t black or brown but shifted in color to match the surrounding yellow-green grass, just like his mother’s armor had.
The Cliff Tiger bit the bear in the neck and Clarysa’s Health dropped by twenty percent, confirming Ruwen’s guess. A heartbeat later, Hamma’s Mana dropped a fraction and Clarysa healed back to full.
Before Ruwen could fully grasp his mother’s shapeshifting, the Dust Reverend used a fist to touch his chest, mouth, and forehead. A second later, a wave of fear engulfed them. Ruwen’s buffed Mental Resistance, thanks in part to Rami’s Codex of Perception, had reached one hundred seventy-five percent, and the fear did nothing more than make his skin crawl. His team, though, didn’t have all his advantages. Even Sift, with his decreased Sifting ability, turned to flee.
Ruwen immediately channeled thirty Energy per second into the level twenty Warlord spell Warcry of Freedom, cleansing the fear and increasing everyone’s Mind Resistance by fifty percent. A five-minute counter started, letting him know how long until he could use the cleanse again. He continued to channel thirty Energy to the spell, so everyone kept the increased Mind Resistance.
I have lost contact with the Temple Guardians, Lir told Ruwen.
Send another one, more cautious this time, Ruwen said as he and Sift moved toward the Crag Defender.
There are no additional Temple Guardians, Lir said.
Chapter 72
With all the distraction of the attack, Ruwen realized his command earlier had lacked specifics. He’d told Lir to “Send the Temple Guardians to investigate the seismic activity.” And Lir had done exactly as asked.
Head sized chunks of semi-cooled lava slammed into the Crag Defender from Bliz’s Void Band, and the Fighter stepped backward to protect the Dust Reverend and Quake Summoner. The Rift Ghost moved to meet Sift, and the Echo Blade faced Ruwen. A glowing orange arrow shot from the Quake Summoner, flying between Sift and Ruwen, right at where Hamma stood.
Ruwen nervously glanced at the group portraits but only Tremine’s Mana dropped. Tremine had shielded Hamma, but it had cost him ten percent of his Mana.
Ruwen’s shadow lengthened as something bright ignited behind him. His shadow shifted as the source rose into the air, and a moment later Xavier floated past them thirty feet in the air, surrounded in a blue-white web of Energy. Fingers of Energy struck the ground and crawled their way erratically toward the elite squad.
The Quake Summoner slammed his hands together over his head and a stone bird appeared, its wingspan fifteen feet. Ruwen’s Perception called it a Summoned Cave Wyvern. It flapped its wings and flew at Xavier.
The Echo Blade stepped forward and attacked with a quick slice to the ribs, probing Ruwen’s reflexes. Ruwen slowed his response so the blade barely missed him. He didn’t want to reveal his true skills in case he needed to surprise his attacker later.
What options do we have to investigate? Ruwen asked Lir.
Ruwen moved to the right, pulling the Echo Blade away from Hamma and the group. Clarysa wrestled with the Cliff Tiger, and Ruwen tried not to worry about her. Sift traded blows with the Rift Ghost, who had definitely trained with a Step Clan. An aggressive one, too, he guessed, similar to the Viper Clan.
I have no additional methods to investigate, Lir said. The disturbance is approaching the Temple but is not yet close enough for my sensors to provide details. The vibrational masking is significantly interfering with my ability to view the area below New Eiru.
The unease in Ruwen’s stomach turned into a knot. The Echo Blade attacked again, doubling the speed from the last attack. She sliced at Ruwen’s neck while stabbing at his groin.
Ruwen ducked under the neck attack and slapped the blade aimed at his crotch to the side. As the blade passed his hip, he placed his hands against it. Melt immediately began breaking down the sword’s durability. The Echo Blade jerked the weapon back and stepped away.
The Quake Summoner closed his eyes and looked up. Flakes of mica filled the air like snow. Both the Echo Blade and Rift Ghost jumped back toward their group. The Dust Reverend’s Mana dropped by seventy-five and the ground under Ruwen turned to liquid, causing him to sink. The Quake Summoner’s Mana dropped a hundred and the flakes of mica spun, rotating in ever-widening circles.
The mica, magically hardened and sharp as a razor, tore into Ruwen’s armor, but didn’t penetrate his skin. The Health of Hamma, Tremine, and Sift all dropped. Ruwen’s did too as Bodyguard transferred sixty percent of Sift’s damage to Ruwen. Tremine’s Mana dropped by half and a wave of cold Energy exploded from the Mage, causing the flakes of mica to stop spinning and fall. Ruwen pulled his feet free of the ground.
Ruwen’s Perception found Lylan behind the three Fallen Heroes, who continued to pound on the Energy shield. Lylan used Blink to bypass the Energy shield and appeared behind the Dust Reverend and Quake Summoner. Ruwen recognized the dagger she held in her hand. The Bone Sculptor had stabbed Ruwen with that Grounding Stake, causing his Energy consumption to increase tenfold and Mana costs to double.
Lylan slammed the Grounding Stake into the
