Krizzik’s squad and another squad were approaching the battlefield. Alex looked around and saw flashes of light from the Zotari. The Saxans fought largely unarmed. Occasionally, one would grab the weapons of a downed enemy but it was never the shield/blaster. It was the knobby stick.
“Why don’t you guys fight with weapons? It seems kind of counterintuitive. You could have an advantage if you did,” Alex asked Krizzik.
“Why do you not fight with the aid of weapons?”
“Fair question. I don’t because my abilities are better suited for close combat.”
A light bulb flicked on in his head.
I really should’ve figure that out on my own. It actually makes a lot of sense why I was sent here. The Forge probably wanted me to learn from those who fight like me. Or, it was just random coincidence. That’s possible too. Am I putting too much faith into a group of people that literally couldn’t care less about whether I live or die. If I get strong I’m sure they would be happy, but if I died, what did that matter? They could just make more of us, I’m sure.
“So, what’s the game plan?” Alex asked.
“We will march up to them…and slaughter them.”
Alex stared blankly at the Saxan. That had to be the stupidest plan ever. That was a plan that Alex would come up with, not what he expected an alien civilization to design. Didn’t they have strategists?
All he said was, “Ok. I’ll follow your lead, I guess.”
The two squads snuck around an out cropping of rocks. Alex could already hear the sounds of a fight on the other side. Alex was towards the back of the party and, therefore, couldn’t get a good visual of what was going on. He just hoped the last the bloodthirsty Saxans would not lead him into a fight they could not win.
The group halted at the edge of the rocks, waiting for the forward scout to advise them on a course of action. They had a sort of sign language they used to communicate silently. Alex was not taught it, and was instead sitting there silently, extremely confused. He attempted to make sense of the movements and gyrations their various body parts made. It was completely nonsensical to him and he quickly gave up. He opted to follow the tried and true methodology he had grown to love—charge in head first and hope for the best.
The leaders stopped debating which course of action to take, seemingly having reached a consensus. They all made eye contact and Krizzik held up three fingers. This, was apparently a universal sign as he lowered one then another. Alex could discern the meaning of that. When Krizzik lowered his final finger, the entire group charged forward.
When Alex could finally see the battlefield, he was shocked. This was one of the largest skirmishes he had seen since his arrival on Saxar IV. Normally, groups of around twenty to thirty total could be seen fighting each other. This clash had more than one hundred on both sides. At least it would be easy for Alex to recognize who his teammates and enemies were. He hoped that all of the Saxans had been briefed of his presence and appearance, because he resembled the Zotari more than the Saxans with his black armor.
His group had immediately gathered behind a number of Zotari that were already in conflict with a group of Saxans. The Saxan group had been outnumbered, and were losing. That is until the sudden shift in dynamic.
Alex and his merry band of ant warriors dove headlong into the struggle. A Zotari warrior turned toward the sudden sound coming from behind. Alex, having thought about it a little during his restless night, had decided that he would use his Eonsteel to cover his entire body. He only had so much mass to utilize and he wanted to maximize its defensive benefits. He still wanted to use it as offensively as he could, so he had thought about how he could best use it, without using too much of the mass for the offensive capabilities. He had come to the most logical conclusion.
Spiky knuckles impacted the surprised Zotari. A squelching sound filled Alex’s ears and he almost vomited. Sure he had been fighting for a little over a month now, and he had killed some people, but some of the sounds that were made were still disgusting and put him on edge. The Zotari fell to the ground, and Alex followed with another couple of strikes to the head. The warrior now laid in a lifeless, bloody heap. Its body twitched sporadically and Alex had to look away. Luckily, there were more enemies to worry about. He could deal with his uneasy stomach later. Some of that slop would probably do the trick. Alex salivated and licked his lips in anticipation of the wonderful meal waiting for him when he got back. He got a taste of something terrible when he licked his lips, and quickly realized it was probably the dead Zotari’s blood. He spit it out in anger.
“You ruined my day dream!” He screamed at the massacred body on the ground, giving it a kick for its transgression.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Another Zotari looked at him in horror, before blasting a shot directly at him. Alex raised his forearm to defend himself. He found, that through the Eonsteel, the thermal energy had been absorbed fairly easily. He took a slight dip in health, but much less than he normally had. The absorption really had increased, along with his durability. Alex pointed a finger at the Zotari in indignation. He had already been channeling the energy, and fired it right back at the shocked assailant. The blast propelled forward from his finger, directly into his foes left eye. The soft flesh offered little protection, and the projectile exited out the back of the Zotari’s skull, instantly falling dead.
Sick! I was aiming for his heart, but that was way cooler. Stuff is way less gross from far away. Maybe I should just focus on ranged combat. Nah, that’s not as fun. It’s definitely useful though.
He chose his next target, a Zotari that had gotten the upper hand against one of his comrades. The Saxan was pinned to the ground and the Zotari was bashing his head in with his knob.
How rude!
Alex made his way over. His singular focus on the enemy warrior. Singular focus that was to his detriment. Two more Zotari flanked him from his side. He barely saw them in time to raise his defenses. They fired at him in unison, and he was able to block one with a raised arm, but the other landed true. A scorching pain raced across his face. It was a glancing shot, but it still felt like his face was melting.
Alex dashed forward and tackled the one that had landed a hit on him. The Zotari threw him off and Alex rolled a few times before landing in a crouch. Another blast hit him and channeled energy to fire back. A strike to the head caused Alex to lose focus. The energy having lost its direction, coursed back through his body, scalding his insides all the way. This was the first time this had happened, and Alex was not a fan.
He looked through his reserves. Not only had he taken an unexpected amount of damage, but he had also lost the thermal energy he had infused into his hand. This was concerning to say the least. The energy he condensed was extremely volatile until it was released. He had to be more careful in the future, this could really do some damage if he wasn’t careful.
With Alex out of commission from his sudden bout of agony, both of the Zotari pounced. They began beating him with their staves. Each time he raised himself, he was beat down by yet another strike. The onslaught continued with no end in sight. The Zotari were a drum-line and Alex was the drummer during a solo. The fury they had of watching two of their own dispatched in seconds was unleashed on Alex.
Their failure occurred when one of them stepped too close and into Alex’s limited field of view. He grasped the ankle of one of the Zotari and yanked him to the ground. He swung it around with fervor. He had his personal brand of nunchucks in the flailing body of the Zotari. Alex made sure his displeasure at the ambush from behind was evident. He bashed one into the other. The Zotari Alex wasn’t holding fell to the ground, and Alex pummeled him into the dirt with his Zotari nunchuck. Eventually, the one on the ground stopped moving and he released the one in his hand, which also did not move. He looked at the aftermath, startled at what he had just done.
Do I have anger issues? Why did I go so hard? Do I like this? I feel like I’m always brutalizing my enemies.
He didn’t have time to stop and consider. All around him, the battle raged on. Both Zotari and Saxans were being slain by the second. It was hard to believe that these two sides were once staunch supporters of one another. One would not be able to discern that from the ferocity displayed on this battlefield. This was only one of many battlefields as well.
Alex jumped from cluster to cluster of conflict. He unleashed his energy that built by the second. With each downed enemy, he more than replenished his stores. With a fight like this, Alex was stronger than everyone on the battlefield. Their efforts only strengthened him. Most of his foes were the same, or higher level than him, but it did not matter. He was unstoppable. If one needed to gain momentum to win a battle, then he was a thief. Any hit that landed on him was the fuel of his enemies defeat. He was the reaper and he made his way through the battlefield. He had never felt so much power.
They are weak. I stand at the pinnacle. Just as it should be. My destiny was robbed of me. I will take it back.
Alex faltered as the thought echoed in his mind. A thought he had not had. A voice that did not belong to him. A voice he recognized. It was the voice of King Nagaar.
Alex’s vision started to blacken, as he lost control of his own body.
----------------------------------------
When Alex awoke the battle was over. Bodies and blood littered the valley. He tried to determine the victor, but could not. Both sides had suffered severe casualties. He saw equal numbers of Saxans and Zotari corpses. It had apparently been a stalemate. Currently, only Saxans were around him, digging through their fallen. Once they realized that Alex was awake, they all glared at him.
He could see the ones that had become aware nudging the others. Soon, every Saxan was looking his way, the disdain was palpable. He wasn’t sure what it was all for. He had done a lot for them already. He had saved multiple camps from being ambushed during the night. He had saved countless Saxans during this battle alone. How many Zotari had he slain in such a short time? Alex felt like they should be grateful for what he had done. He knew this was a punishment tour, but he did not understand the blatant hatred they were displaying towards him, especially since they had never treated him like this before.
“What’s with the staring? Didn’t your parents teach you that staring is rude?” Alex asked without hiding his annoyance in the slightest.
They just glared deeper and harder. They looked like they hoped that Alex would spontaneously combust. Alex just turned away, ignoring them. He inspected his body for injuries, and noticed something strange.
His Eonsteel was nowhere to be found.
He had integrated it into his armor, so it should be with him. He could move it around and morph it according to his desire, having it take whatever form he deemed necessary. He went to scratch his head in confusion when he found it, the shape of a crown on the top of his head.