17.

Erak stared at the next cannon and the crew. There was no golem being crafted from the dead flesh of humans here. Five Infernal Soldiers and a single Blood Mage were all who manned the weapons emplacement. Erak arrived as the last drops of blood dripped onto the collection tray, rolling down a trough as runes flared to life along the cannon's barrel.

The two soldiers tossed the dead man to the side as Erak burst from his cover, racing forward with his spear lowered like a lance. The soldiers saw him, but the cannon was already ready to fire. The runes flared once, crimson light blazing out from the spiky symbols. Then flames, putrid black and purple, a burst of fire that flashed across the distance and struck the stone of the Armory walls.

Erak speared the first soldier through the chest as it tried to gather its weapon from the ground. As the soldier wheeled away, Erak slammed his shield in the second one’s chest, breaking bone and sending it sprawling to the rubble strewn ground.

The three remaining soldiers were spinning, two lifting their own spears while another raised to its shoulder a bulky cannon. Erak lifted his shield as the thrill of fear formed ice in his veins. A wall of fury rolled over him, his armor heated up, glowing as sweat broke out across his face and body.

Even as the enamel flaked away and metal began to glow, Erak didn’t sear. He was uncomfortable, but not cooking in his own gear. Erak rushed the shooter, his shield parting the flames as a spear stabbed at him. As fast as the flame had burst out and surrounded him, it disappeared.

The demon looked stunned and panicked as it backed up, not fast enough. Erak stabbed it through the head, piercing it between the eyes and then kicking the corpse, sending it flying to hit the fleeing Blood Mage. They fell in a tangle of flailing limbs as Erak was forced to divert his attention back towards the two soldiers that had pincered him.

A spear slammed into his spear shoulder, twisting him around. A second hit his knee and his body screamed in pain as he fell to his knee. Erak ducked his head to avoid the follow up strike, the air hissing by his face. Erak lifted his shield, blocking another spear strike as he rose up, using his own spear to smack away the original attacker’s weapon.

The two soldiers backed up, and circled slowly, trying to both stay in his blind spot as Erak twisted with them. Erak’s heart waited no longer, Essence burning and his blooldust filled him as he burst forward in a sudden burst of speed. He trusted his armor, taking a blow to the back as he ran over the first soldier, deflecting the blow to the side as he shoved the soldier to the ground.

Heavy boots trampled flesh and bones broke as Erak spun, feet crushing down as he spun to face the second demon. It looked stunned as Erak continued to shuffle back and forth on its fellows body, feeling bones break under his powerful atoms and twists.

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They exchanged blows, Erak using his shield to batter away the soldier’s spear as he left the mulched demon half ground in the dirt. Erak did not try to tease or dance past the Infernal Soldier’s spear fighting skill or his fancy footwork. He crushed him under an onslaught of thrusts and shield bashes until he had the soldier pinned to the cannon.

The fight finished with a blow to the gut, sliding the spear tip out of the side of the demon’s side. Blood and guts spilled over the cannon, black blood filling the cannon and the runes lit again. Erak glanced over where the Blood Mage was trying to still disentangle itself from its dead guard.

It wasn’t human, but something pale and waxy with diamond patterns tattooed in faded blue ink across its skull and face. Thin limbs struggled to get the dead and heavier demon off of itself. Erak looked back at the fully charged cannon and shrugged.

The bipod screeched as Erak turned the cannon to point at the mage as it finally started to get free. Erak grunted and strained from the back of the weapon, shoulders screaming as he held the strange weapon by the blood stained collection table.

The barrel was pointed in the general direction of the mage and that was going to have to be good enough. Erak searched for a way to fire and found a small rune, not glowing but etched into the metal. As he touched it he could feel the Essence that surrounded him, fueling his aura, drain away in a rush that left his knees weak and his breath short.

The runes burned brightly, shining with an intensity that burned his eyes as black-red fire rolled out, consuming the mage so fast it didn’t have time to scream. The backlash of heat slapped him like a physical blow and he staggered back, regretting using the siege weapon on the singular mage.

Steam rose off his armor as bits of blood and other viscera evaporated as he walked to the small room that the fifteen survivors were nestled in. It had been a small one bedroom house with the roof partially caved in, blocking the backdoor. Erak had to wait for his armor to stop smoking before he could risk getting close to them to cut away their bonds.

Babble rolled over him as they thanked him and gave him praise, their words flattering but pointless. Erak was busy staring at the alert that he had gained yet another level. He needed to get back to cover before he could risk affixing the points and being weakened, even momentarily.

He led them back after looking at the siege weaponry, not knowing how to permanently disable it. The small squad of dead soldiers and the fifteen foot wide, thirty foot long, patch of scoured, blackened earth all that he left behind. The people trembled as they walked and clung to him as he followed a side alley that led back to where Nevia and her team was.

Constance’s squad was waiting for them with casters aimed and they visibly relaxed as Erak led his charges into the secured camp. The civilians hurried to thank the soldiers in their familiar uniforms before being hustled to the civilian group in the middle. Nevia was looking pale and swayed on her feet as she rose to her full height.

“We can’t waste much more time clearing out more of these guns. Unless you wish me to bleed out here. Then we can continue to wait as you hunt.” Much of the deference was gone from her voice now as she teetered on the brink of the abyss.

Erak nodded, disappointed but not surprised. With two of the siege weapons at least temporarily out of order, there was a narrow alley they could approach the Armory without being incinerated. He lifted his spear and pointed towards the Armory and the soldiers started to gather up the civilians to make their run.