Interlude - Generals

Nayra saw the general to her side and the monsters escorting it, she knew the type, knew what it could do to a battle line. It was fast, and its blades cut through nearly anything save for an awakened objects. It wasn’t the strongest one there was, but supported by an army it could do a lot of damage and open up a front. She lashed out with her techniques and abilities, chaining {Mesmerizing Mirage}, {Mist Burst}, and [Death’s Slash] to clear out the area around her and buy time. Then, she stepped back, the people around her immediately stepped in and filled her place on the battlefield. Lesamitrius leapt and swung his saber, cutting up a monster while the other Cultivators in their team supported him.

She jogged behind, cutting at the few monsters that had gotten by the front line as she reached one of their more protected stations. She found the messenger and gave orders to be relayed down the Twilight Melody Sect and allies line. The General had to fall before it reached their lines.

* * *

Reki Jhan-Ekoa received the message from Sect Leader Nayra, and immediately pulled back from his place on the front. Others filled his position, and he turned to look down the line. He saw the General getting close to the front line. He had to reach it fast. He debated what he wanted to use, battles like these were a card game, you had to make sure to save your best cards for when you needed them, but also make sure that you don’t lose while keeping them close. The General was a threat, the question was how much they could get away with by not using their great cooldowns to take it down. Seeing the monsters around it, protecting it from incoming fire, Reki realized that they would need to spend some of their cards.

He channeled his technique, {Imbue Kinetic Force}, onto himself and then he started running. His armor covered his entire body, but he saw with his skills. With every step he imbued a bit more Kinetic Force from his surrounding, stealing it for himself. He was a charging juggernaut as he reached the thick of the enemy ranks. Monsters tried to get in his way, and he just barreled through them, the Kinetic Force being released on contact sent them flying away from him.

Just before he reached the General’s group, a large pillar of fire crashed on top of them, fired by the Ornn-Dagda line. It disoriented the monsters enough that he had a clear line to the General. He shaped spheres in his hands, then imbued them with more Kinetic Force, then he started throwing them with {Impelling Concussive Throw}. His spheres flew through the air and hit the General in the chest. It stumbled back as the powerful concussive force hit.

Monsters nearby all turned on him, attacking him, but fire flowed around Reki, providing support. Then, he felt another person land near him, their spear flashing out at a few that the fire didn’t get. Reki glanced at the man, Eari Ji Van-Woll and his long spear. He nodded at the man, and together they turned on the General.

The monsters around the General, the defenders with large flat bone protrusions over their heads recovered, those that survived the fire at least. And they turned in their direction, seeing the two of them as a threat now too. Fire came from behind them, the other warriors of the sects unleashing everything that they could at the cluster of enemies, trying to give them an opening. Reki and Eari jumped forward.

Reki unleashed a wave of Kinetic Force in front of them with {Wrathful Propagating Wave}, pushing the monsters in their way back and away. Then, they were in front of the General and it sprang into motion. It was fast, so fast that Reki barely got out of the way by evading to the side. Eari rolled to the other side, then knelt and touched the ground for a moment before rising and evading another of the swipes with the General’s blade-arm. Reki crafted spheres and sent them into the General’s back, making it stumble forward.

Suddenly, it spun, its blades spread wide. Like a whirlwind it twisted around itself, moving at Reki and deflecting his attacks. Reki cursed inwardly and dashed away, and a monster smashed into him. Even with his armor exploding with kinetic force it wasn’t enough to push it away, the monster was too large and too heavy. It landed on him, crushing him on the ground.

Reki felt his armor put pressure on him, hurting him. With {Kinetic Force Shaping} he shaped spikes of Qi around him, stabbing into the tough skin of the monster. Then, as he extended his spikes and grew them slowly he used Transfer Kinetic Force on the ground and his spikes. In an instant the force from the ground, the kinetic energy of thousands of feet hitting it was pulled into him and then sent into the spikes. The monster above him exploded in gore.

Reki climbed out of the remains, and saw Eari cut the General’s foot, his spear glowing with an eerie green light. The General swiped at Eari and the man flashed, then appeared behind the General, at the place where he knelt just moments before. The General’s eye started to glow and he fired a beam of red light that hit Eari and sent him flying into the monster army. Reki charged, then leapt into the air, forging spheres all around him. He fired a {Wrathful Propagating Wave} that made the General stumble, then used {Impelling Concussive Throw} to fire all of his constructs at the General. They hit him in a quick succession, and made it take a few steps back, but didn’t do any real damage. A group of flying monsters with spikes for arms and clawed feet swooped down on Reki while he was still in the air.

A dragon made out of fire hit them killing many, but two survived and continued on their way toward Reki. He used his {Kinetic Force Forging} and filled the air with larger spheres of the crystallized Kinetic Force. One of the hit a sphere which threw it off course, the other smashed into Reki, one of its spikes stabbed straight through his stomach.

Reki felt the air leave his lungs and the pain start to radiate from his gut. He pulled a hand back and hit the monster with a {Wrathful Propagating Wave} as it tried to stab the other spike into him. It was thrown back and torn apart as Reki smashed into the ground and groaned. He pulled a healing potion and broke it over the hole in his stomach, then got to his feet. He saw the General going after Eari cutting down monsters as Eari fought through them sending spectral vipers in all directions that exploded and poisoned the monsters, though it was hard for Reki to see what the man’s state was, as there were just too many monsters everywhere and the rain was getting thicker. The General had a few shallow wounds on its body, and Reki could see green wisps trailing out of them.

He tried to debate whether he should just use his ideal. He didn’t know if it was worth it, his ideal could do a lot of damage in the right circumstances. Spending it now could cost them—

—Last Spear—

That took the decision out of his hands. Reki pushed Qi through his body and started preparing his strongest technique.

Eari felt his Ideal fill him with power, removing all the pain and stiff movements from before. The General’s beam had cracked his ribs, and the monsters that swarmed him had left him littered with wounds all over his body. Without his Ideal, he wouldn’t have lasted for much longer. He whirled and cut down the monsters around him, then as the General charged and swung at him, he jumped beneath its swing with [Burst Step] and unleashed his {Excruciating Venomous Strike} that he had been charging with Technique Charge—Overwhelm. He cut the side of the General’s hip as he danced away from its attacks. It turned around, its blade-arm glowing with dark energy and then it cut.

Eari deflected with Grudge, but the blow still sent him flying into a group of monsters. He whirled his spear and sent out {Summon Exploding Spectral Vipers}, but he still felt the jaws close on his ankle. He didn’t feel the pain, so he quickly cut the monster’s head off, deflected another attack with his two tails, then stabbed his Venomous Stingers into another before he dashed away as the General followed.

“Is it enough?” Eari asked.

“Soon, one more good hit,” Grudge told him. Eari didn’t know if he would be able to get that.

Then, the world around him shook, and noise filled everything. It took him a moment to realize that it was Reki, as he arrived and unleashed a technique. Monsters around the General exploded, the ground split and even the air sent shockwaves in all directions. The General stumbled, one of its blades cracked and then shattered. Eari saw his chance. He pulled back Grudge and channeled his Qi. With {Defiant Heartseeker}, Piercing Star, and |Perfect Spear Throw: My Arm, as Giants| he threw his spear filled with Black Viper Venom at the General. It hit him in the chest, his awakened weapon continued to reduce the General’s resistances, and Eari saw the Venom from his other wounds spreading, dark green lines growing beneath the skin. The General staggered back, and Eari heard Grudge’s words in his head. “Now.”

Eari triggered Malice. The green Venom beneath the monster’s skin exploded in violence, spreading all over the General’s body and started to leak out of its pores. It looked shaky, and then it fell to one knee, its skin crumbling and cracking. A moment later it toppled down and died.

Eari glanced at Reki as fire fell all around them, and two Heavenly Cultivator teams arrived to help give them room to pull back. With no words spoken, they retreated behind their lines, and Eari headed straight for the healers. His Ideal would last for a bit longer, he needed to get patched up and use it for as much as possible.

Yirrel watched as fire came down on the city of Emaros. Two people were sending a massive beam of flames at the shields, draining them rapidly even with the Elder King reinforcing it. He was the King of Edicts; Prime of Fortitude. Defense was in his nature as well, though not in the same way as it was for Yirrel. He wouldn’t be able to hold those shields much beyond what they could handle on their own, but he didn’t need to. Up in the skies, the thunderstorm was being kept at bay, but the monster army around them was pushing the Sects hard. She could already see a few areas that had been forced to retreat closer to the walls, though some were holding. It didn’t matter if they held if most lost, they would just get cut off.

She looked from her tower and waited; the Elder King would make his move soon. He was no fighter, he was a King, and a king ruled and empowered his people. She got herself ready. Soon, it would be time for her to act as well.