Nil had the power to throw his projectiles over a long distance. However, without the necessary Finesse, his accuracy significantly suffered with far-away targets. The little cannonballs from training made it into the net only about half the time. He didn’t care. Their opponents likely had the same idea and sent their speediest members after the flag. Nil didn’t expect to hit them. However, slowing the enemy and making them wary felt just as important in Capture The Flag as engaging in direct combat.
Occasional arrows shot over Nil’s head, forcing the attackers behind cover. Bioluminescent plant life added to the flag beacon’s light. But it wasn’t enough to illuminate the enemy duo. He knew nothing about them and had to rely on Energy Instinct to gather information regarding the opponents. A cold aura similar to Winter Hunter radiated from one. The other had no energy radiating from them at all.
A knight and a rogue.
It wasn’t enough to confirm Nil’s suspicions. For all he knew, it could be a brute, mage, or summoner coming for them. However, the month of watching tournament and Apocalypse Arena videos had taught him that sending disciplines that usually lacked speed and mobility for such a task made little sense. If it were him planning the play, Nil would've picked speedy individuals with the ability to disrupt the battlefield along with a bruiser to keep the defenders occupied while the flag bearer fled. So, a knight with an active tactical ability and a rogue with passive abilities dedicated to speed and precision felt like the most likely attacking duo. The pair had come from the direction Mobi had fled, too. So, it was likely the duo snuck past him or took him out in one blow—which felt improbable.
The hypothesis mostly proved correct when the duo burst from the cover and charged toward him. One zigzagged, bouncing off walls like a pinball as he approached. The other rode on some sort of long black feline. The local bioluminescence darkened as it passed. Under Energy Instinct’s effect, it looked like the creature was leaving the world dark and cold in its wake. The rider had a spear and shield strapped to her back and fired crossbows at Nil as they approached.
“Anya!” Nil called, throwing a hunk of stone at the cat. He missed but forced the creature and rider to dodge into cover, sufficiently slowing their approach. “You okay up there?”
Nil got no response. He saw the visage standing where Anya was a moment ago. It looked at him and shrugged.
Brutal Battery’s stores were at twenty percent, so Nil ceased the artillery barrage. It was tempting to charge at the duo, but he didn’t want to risk someone else sneaking the flag away while he was distracted.
The zigzagging rogue reached him first. Nil stayed in neutral and blocked a kick on his forearms. The force behind it made him grunt and slide back a couple of inches. Keeping his center of gravity forward kept Nil from falling backward. He only activated Absorb after he successfully moved from the block into a grab. The man looked like an unarmed martial artist at first but followed the kick by conjuring a length of chains. They wrapped around Nil’s right forearm.
Nil took a deep breath in and exhaled. The anxiety faded, and all sounds muted. He felt calm. He was focused.
A knight and a summoner.
If Nil were an ordinary brute, he would be in trouble. He guessed the opponent intended to create a false sense of security with the weak opening attack, then tangle him in chains and grab the flag.
The tactic would’ve worked if not for Brutal Battery.
First, Nil activated Absorb. The ability left the crossbow bolts useless and stole all the momentum from the melee fighter’s next strike. The man tried pulling him off balance, but Nil added the power behind the move to his energy stores. His opponent appeared dumbfounded as the force behind his movements disappeared as soon as he made them. Nil turned the conjurations against the knight, grabbing them and pulling him closer. The chains dissolved, and the knight tried to retreat, but it was too late.
Nil let a second crossbow bolt bounce off his shoulder as he stomped his opponent’s foot. He grabbed an arm with one hand and wrapped the other around the shoulder. Absorb ceased, and he switched to his neutral state, putting the knight between him and the Summoner. An Expend-powered headbutt did as Nil intended. The man went limp. He didn’t release the man but used him as a shield while running at the Summoner.
Hopes to surprise or shock the woman were dashed. She appeared young—nineteen at most by Nil’s estimates. He had hoped for shock and inexperience, but she had the mental togetherness not to freeze. Azure spheres of light manifested, floating around her, and Energy Instinct told him that they were going to be cold. Her mount out sped him, prancing around, ensuring Nil didn’t get close. He had no choice but to move his captive shield, warding off her attacks, until she got frustrated. The second the giant cat stopped strafing and leaped close, Nil turned the man into an Expend-powered projectile. A flying azure sphere struck him as he flew at the cat and exploded in a cloud of frosty mist.
Expend has progressed to Mortal 8!
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Nil used the last of Brutal Battery’s stores to power his leap after the projectile. It and the mist masked his approach. The feline tried to reposition, but the Summoner reined it in to get to her fallen comrade.
Cold washed over Nil as an azure sphere struck him. Nil would've been in trouble if it had any physical force behind it. The symbiote hardened once the cold got too much for it, and he felt patches on his arm crack and flake off. The exposed areas stung as the chill sunk in. Fortunately, Nil switched to Absorb just before he made contact with the Summoner and her mount. The feline appeared built for speed and not durability. His tackle successfully knocked it down.
While doing his homework, Nil had learned that there were three schools of Summoners. The first conjured and commanded objects and could usually summon them in large amounts or resummon them if they were destroyed. The second were similar but called forth large quantities—usually swarms—of expendable living entities. Nil hypothesized that Burning Sands was probably one of the first two if not a combination of them. The Summoner he faced now and Officer Susan Johanssen was the third variety. Their ability involved summoning one to three large entities. Each often had unique arcane powers—Skoll and Hati’s powers to control light and shadow and the giant cat’s frost spheres. The forums claimed they were usually the most powerful of the three summoner types but suffered from one glaring weakness. If their summons perished, returning them to the material plane involved a long, arduous ritual.
So, Nil grabbed the Summoner and threw her clear of the feline. Then, he kneeled on the struggling beast’s neck, using its struggle to restore a fraction of Brutal Battery’s contents. The cold intensified, and his muscles tightened, but Nil didn’t stop.
“Get away from her!” The Summoner screamed, charging at him with her spear in one arm and a shield in the other.
An arrow shot past Nil’s head and struck her knee. The woman yelped and fell flat on her face just short of her companion. Nil channeled Expend through the shin and knee pressed against the summoned cat’s neck. The thick, frosty mist in the air reduced the discomfort that usually accompanied the dual function. He successfully exploded the feline’s neck and head at the cost of nothing but minor burns.
“You okay up there?” Nil called after another arrow struck the Summoner in the head. It was blunted and bounced off the woman’s head instead of piercing it. She also collapsed.
“I’m fine,” Anya replied. He scanned for the woman but failed to spot her. Energy Instinct detected nothing. Nil made a note to study stealth abilities. If one got a sneak attack off while he was Expending, he’d be in big trouble. “Twisted ankle. Maybe a bruised rib. Sorry about that. I should’ve been more help.”
“It’s fine. You helped when it mattered most.”
“You did amazing down there. Viktor should’ve listened to you. How long have you been fighting?”
“About fourteen years now,” Nil answered. “Three times a week casually for the first seven. Seriously, but just twice a week for the rest.”
“Well, I can see the payoff. You would’ve done amazing on the assault or flag team.”
“Vote for that if people lose confidence in Viktor’s plan.”
“It looks like it's working, though. They got the flag and are on their way back.”
Nil could see nothing past the buildings in their way. However, the chaos sounded closer. In fact, it was getting closer with every passing second. Instead of just waiting, Nil grabbed the two unconscious opponents and moved them to a safe location away from the main paths. It was easy for his Iron Realm physique, and neither weighed much. He had already used one as a shield and projectile and tackled the other. He didn’t want them to get trampled for just being on the opposing team.
A glowing red flag appeared along the main street connecting to the pyramid. It grew closer with every passing second. Weapons and spells flashed in the light’s wake. Nil was tempted to meet the flag, but he resisted and protected the one behind him. If someone snuck past Anya’s watchful eye and ran away with it, the capture and assault team's efforts would go to waste. The rules stated that both flags needed to be in a team’s beacon for them to succeed.
Nil’s self-control paid off.
Three things happened at once. A barrier appeared in the flag bearer’s path, stalling their approach. Then, a giant swarm of spiders flooded the square housing their beacon, moving like a wave of black, grey, and luminous green as they carpeted the area. The arachnids ranged from the size of a thumbnail to that of a housecat. Nil channeled Absorb as soon as they approached him. Many climbed his body as he stomped, threw, and kicked. Fortunately, none managed to break the skin. Finally, a woman raced into the square, sprinting straight for the flag. The spiders parted ahead of her, creating a path.
Anya proved more useful than during the last exchange. An arrow hit the thief in the shoulder, another hit her leg, and the third brought her to her knees. Meanwhile, Nil waded through the swarming spiders. Despite Absorb protecting him, it took annoyingly long to reach the woman. Nil picked her up while her fists uselessly pounded his torso, switched to Expend for a moment, and tossed her across the square toward the other unconscious opponents. Much to his surprise, the spiders gathered and cushioned her fall.
Of course. She’s the summoner.
Two summoners on the same team surprised Nil. Individuals of the discipline were supposedly rare but he had already encountered three, if not four, if counting Burning Sands.
The barrier blocking the flag bearer shattered, and the rest of the team barreled through. Projectiles followed them, but Lily did an excellent job of stopping the melee attackers. Lightning occasionally flashed around her, forcing the enemy team back.
A carpet of fire washed through the square, burning the spiders. As it fought the heat, the symbiote rapidly drained Nil’s stores, once again proving more powerful against hot than cold. His extremities burned, but Nil had instructed Mobi to use the move if necessary. He had the necessary Might to survive the spell, especially if the round was almost over. A moment later, the fire faded, and Fatima raced through the opened path. The blue pillar of light flashed as soon as she entered it.
“Round over!” A voice announced. “Blue team wins a point!”