Pax’s Haste and Sphere gave him the precious moments he needed to run through various combinations of his crew’s talents to best combat the powerful threat ahead of them.
The straightforward approach would be to let Titus and his warriors push forward to draw the focus of the swarm while Pax and his crew did their best to snipe individual targets. It was a viable approach, especially considering the higher levels of Titus and his friends.
They also had the advantage of the hallway limiting the flying beasts. Even though the hall was pretty tall and wide, the battle would have been much worse facing the creatures out in the open space of the Wilds.
It was the unknowns that complicated matters. Were dangers hidden in the thicker comb section? What exactly was inside the main hive structure? With the fighters already emitting some kind of scent attack, what else could they do?
They had dangerous-looking stingers, some with a wicked hook at the end. Sure, they were lower level than Titus’ crew, but they out-leveled all of Pax’s. Not to mention how quantity was a force multiplier itself, regardless of levels and abilities. Even worse, the large structures ahead of them could hide many more unseen enemies.
Pax leaned into his Strategist skill. The possibilities spread out in front of him, the various talents of his crew and their companions shifting into various combinations with a frantic speed. He grouped Titus and his crew into a single powerful weapon that should be able to survive handily, especially with Pax’s crew’s versatile magic able to help counter any surprises.
And then he had it. Four main strategies snapped into place: buffs, stealth, distractions and power. Titus, hold for a moment, and I’ll buff your crew. Dahni, buff during the battle whenever you can. Whisk, Talpa and Rin, you’re our scouts and snipers. Get information and hurt the strongest targets when you safely can. The rest of my crew will shock and distract. As soon as we stagger them, Titus, drive toward the hive. We’ll follow. Leave nothing alive to encircle or attack us later. We have to come back this way. Best to clean it all out now.
As Pax gave his mages instructions for the distraction, he saw Titus’s hands moving to communicate the plan to his crew.
The brief lull in the movement of the fighters disappeared a moment later as the mages prepared by gathering their mana. Something about Pax’s Sphere had drawn their notice and the increase in mana usage drew their attack. An ominous buzz filled the hallway, making his ears hurt. A moment later, every fighter darted in their direction while the guardians stayed back to protect the hive entrance.
Hoping it would add a bit of distraction, Pax instructed Ember to flare her magma mana and zip around and distract the incoming fighters as much as possible before she fell.
Around him, everyone acted with experienced speed. Defensive shields and abilities popped into place. With a hard pull on his mana, Pax grabbed his erratic purple lightning mana and shoved it into a cast of Overcharge that encompassed both of their groups.
A large chunk of his mana disappeared so fast it made him wince. Thankfully, Dahni’s boost to regeneration hit at the same time. With the cost of Overcharge, Pax threw out his plan to boost the front rank warriors with Earth Skin. He’d save that for later, if he had mana to spare.
Whisk pulled himself free in a moment, launching himself through the air to wrap around Rin, both of their outlines flickering as their stealth abilities activated. Talpa disappeared into the ground, slower than when he moved through dirt, but still with enough speed to help.
Initial shock and awe. Now. Pax gave the order and shoved his light mana to his hands, preparing to time his part perfectly.
Next to him, Dahni grunted with effort, hands aiming up at an angle over the head of Titus’ crew. The roar of his Tidal Pulse shot forward in a horizontal wave spread out thin enough to arch over Titus’ crew and reach both sides of the hallway. As soon as it cleared them, it burst in a cascade down over the oncoming attackers.
The attack disrupted their flight for a single beat. The damage over time from Dahni’s spell definitely got their attention. But not for long. They powered through, wings churning with their beady eyes locked on the mages with vindictive animosity.
Amil’s spell came right on the heels of Dahni’s. His Molten Storm left a wave of heat in its wake as it raced after the Tidal Pulse. Then it caught up.
Whoomph!
A ball of scorching steam billowed out with a staggering force, knocking waves of the fighters off course. Screeches of pain and rage emerged from the obscuring mass of scalding steam. Even though he couldn’t see the exact damage, Pax knew it had to have hurt or injured all the nearby fighters.
It was his turn. Pax engaged his Sphere again to detect the enemies in the cloud. A fierce smile lit his face as he found many of the fighters slowed and moving in erratic patterns as they fought to recover.
Protect your ears. Pax gave his allies a beat to respond before he released the reins on the light mana pushing for freedom in his hands. It burst out in a rush before spreading into multiple Flashbangs everywhere his Sphere showed a collection of fighters near each other.
The hallway lit up like the middle of a lightning storm. The cacophony of detonations filled the air with vibrations of energy. His Sphere showed him bodies lurching off course, flight paths wobbling as some crashed to the floor.
With a quick wrench of mental effort, Pax found Ember still alive and sent her to attack as many of the downed fighters as possible. The glow of her magma was a blurry beacon in the miasma of steam ahead of them.
With another pulse of mana, Pax threw his Ghostlight Illumination markings into the cloud, tagging every fighter he could find. He also lit up the path between them and the hive, hoping the glow would give them enough light to keep their two groups together without anyone accidentally hurting an ally.
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It’s time! Follow Ember on the lit path, kill the marked beasts and then turtle in the center of the steam cloud. Go. Go. Go.
Titus’ crew exploded into action, charging straight after Ember into the steam before it had completely dissipated. Spears and swords flew, cutting through the hot mist and leaving swirling patterns behind them. There were angry buzzes and arcs of pale yellow blood splashed back out of the cloud.
Bryn and Tasar followed Titus’ crew, leading Pax’s and sticking close enough to Titus’ trailing warriors so they could fight together. And then Pax was in the steam, too. It transformed their surroundings into an eerie world of fog and swirling patterns as their weapons stabbed out at the flitting Ghostlights tagging the fighters.
When they made it to the center and formed up together, the fighting picked up even more. Titus’ crew fought at a level Pax had never imagined being a part of. The whirlwind of damage they caused made it very clear what kind of power Pax could expect with another few levels.
His friends did their best to keep up, mostly finishing the injured and slowed fighters that made it past Titus’ crew. Tyrodon threw explosive hand bombs at the largest concentrations of fighters, gaining stunning effects similar to Pax’s Flashbangs. Ember kept up her distractions until Pax felt the tug on his mana that indicated she’d received too much damage.
And Pax himself? He strained his mind and mana to its limits, fighting to mark every incoming enemy in time for his allies to pick them out in the confusing steam. His Sphere showed him all the nearby fighters, only to pick up more, uninjured fighters darting in. They tried to latch on with wicked fangs or flipped around to stab stingers at vulnerable gaps in armor. Thankfully, the poor visibility interfered, making many attacks skid harmlessly off shields and armor.
Pax focused harder on his job, fighting to use as little mana as possible to get the job done. He drew his light mana into the thinnest streams possible, tagging the new attackers with the smallest brush of his Ghostlight spell. He did his best to force his Sphere to find the incoming fighters only, hoping the smaller amount of information would cost less mana.
Around them, the furious battle made the steam dissipate even faster. Thankfully, it was still enough to affect the incoming fighters and give Pax and his friends an advantage. However, it wouldn’t last much longer.
Checking his mana and wincing at how fast it had dropped, Pax decided the next stage of the battle couldn’t come soon enough. He needed a break from spell casting to recover some mana. He had mana potions and his reserves in his Spectral Mirror, but without knowing what they’d face in the hive and up on the next level, he didn’t want to blow through them too soon.
Besides, he could recover quickly if he could just get a brief break. With Dahni’s boosting and his own recovery, he’d be able to recover a decent amount of mana pretty quickly.
The next few moments were a flurry of chaos that drove all other thoughts from Pax’s mind. He lost himself in the data his Sphere gave him, quickly learning the distinctive vibration, sound and darting movement of incoming fighters. His Ghostlight tags got more efficient, using the barest pinch of light mana for each one. He tightened down on the steady drain Overcharge used after the initial boost wore out. It shrunk to the barest trickle, but would hopefully still help.
Around him, he heard his friends grunt in effort and sometimes pain. His Sphere showed him one of Titus’s crew dropping to the ground. But they pulled him into the safety of the center.
Pax ignored the distraction. It was someone else’s job to heal the injured. If they needed him, someone would let him know. His head ached, the amount of information bombarding him from all directions overwhelming. Only by pushing Haste and his mind to its limits was he able to process it all fast enough.
Time passed unnoticed as Pax fell into a trance of effort, his attention leaping from one attacker to the next. When they suddenly quit coming, it took a few long moments for him to notice. His mind kept jumping through the threads of his Sphere’s information, looking for incoming movement where there was none.
Blinking, he shook his head and finally let all his continuous draining spells drop: Haste, Sphere and Overcharge. The sudden return to normal speed with regular senses was more disorienting than it had ever been before. His regular vision burst full of colors, but felt extremely restrictive. He could only see what was directly in front of him, with only minimal peripheral information.
His crew stood in a circle around him, weary but still upright. They faced outward with shields and weapons dripping with gore, waiting for the next attack. A distinctive scent lay over them all, surprisingly sweet, almost like a specialty fruit they’d had as a treat one night for dessert back at the academy.
Had the fighters sprayed them with something? Horrid’s familiar stench ran under it all, reassuring Pax that they weren’t being influenced by something nefarious.
Only wisps of steam drifted around them, which made the gruesome details of the battlefield stark and visible. Fighter bodies and parts, some still twitching, piled up around them and underfoot. They had formed walls of debris, like those washed up by a tide.
Around him, he saw everyone sporting some type of injury. One of Tasar’s arms was limp, and he kept shaking his head like he needed to clear it. Bryn swayed on her feet, blood dripping down from an elbow. Even their two Stonepaws had stab wounds that leaked brownish blood.
Everyone says thanks for the debuff heal, Dahni. It’s making all the difference and saving us on potions. Titus sent a wave back toward Dahni, who returned it with a weary motion. I say we stay here and heal up as long as the flying bugs will leave us alone.
Pax realized he’d missed some crucial parts of the battle while focusing so hard on his task. Now that he paid attention, he could feel Dahni’s Cleansing Sanctuary healing his headache and weariness. Agreed. And what debuffs?
Some of those beast stings hit us with disorientation or paralysis, depending on how much venom got through. Dahni answered over the Echo.
Pax was grateful for his caution of not speaking aloud in case there were more fighters. The last thing they needed was to attract another wave. Pax did his best to get information quickly, just in case.
Rin, report? While he waited, he stood up on his toes to see over Titus’ crew to the hive that was another fifty feet down the hallway.
Me and the guys were busy harassing the Glitterflare Guardians so they wouldn’t join the battle. They’re level 7 and way too strong for us to kill. But then a bunch of those pulses of light came out of the hive, sped down the comb, and they all quit.
All of them? Pax kept looking around at the eerily still hallway. Rin was right. The pulses of light that had been traveling intermittently down the comb had stopped. He peered at some of the still intact comb on the wall next to him and found one with a larva. That still moved, but everything else was still.
Yes. All at once, every glitterflare beast retreated into the hive. We’re waiting at the opening, ready to retreat to you if they all come bursting back out.
His Strategist skill strained to evaluate everything that had happened, what mana they’d used, the injuries sustained and the possibilities awaiting them in the hive. Whatever it was, it would likely be stronger than what they’d faced out here.
Then a rueful smile spread across his face. They all wanted to get stronger, didn’t they? And this was exactly the type of challenge they needed if they were going to catch up to Titus and make the rebel leadership pay attention to them.