Lucifer stood on the branch of a gnarled old tree.
Despite the branch being relatively small, it did not bend beneath her weight. The time she'd spent in this world had opened her mind to untold possibilities and this was one of them. Despite not actively using her kinetic energy manipulation or flying in any way, just keeping in mind the concepts behind her footwork seemed to have a visible effect.
Having spent the last 3 weeks constantly using [Flash Step] whenever she could, Lucifer had grown intimately familiar with the technique. She no longer required the moment of consideration to use the technique, instead using it subconsciously, almost as easily as taking a normal step.
The sound of dry leaves rustling in the wind was interrupted by voices. They were carried by the changing winds, alerting Lucifer to the intruders.
Lucifer looked down, seeing two scouts approaching. They were clad in what must usually have been camouflage gear. Both of them wore brown pants inlaid with painted metal greaves. Their upper body was clad in a mixture of metal and leather, topped with a speckled green cape.
Lucifer grinned to herself.
Usually this would have provided adequate camouflage in a green environment, but the orc controlled territories were full of rust grass. The orange weed pulled iron from the soil with its surprisingly deep roots, dying the entire top layer of soil a deep orange. Due to the fact that the orcs encouraged the grass to grow and spread, it had almost eliminated all other forms of vegetation, forcing those that stubbornly clung to life to adapt to the large amount of iron in the topsoil.
The two scouts stood out like sore thumbs against the oranges and browns of the forest.
Lucifer kept her position on the tree, observing the scouts as they passed through the forest. They spoke in one of the many human languages and seemed decidedly less vigilant than forward scouts should be.
Once they passed the tree she was standing in, they stopped for a moment. One of the scouts signaled to the other, before promptly letting his pants fall all the way to his ankles and peeing on one of the many shrubs. His partner seemed to cringe at the sight, but still kept an eye out.
Once the man was done, he pulled his pants back up and continued with their scouting duties.
The forest returned to its natural level of noise as small birds returned to their constant calls and small animals scurried back into the open.
“Did they say anything of interest Kara?” Lucifer asked.
From above her, came the strained reply.
“No mistress, it sounded like one of the southern languages, but spoken with a heavy accent. I couldn't understand a word.”
Lucifer didn't hide the shiver of pleasure that ran down her back after being addressed as mistress once again. Especially when it came in her own language. It had taken a bit of practice, but Lucifer had shared the bare minimum of the celestial tongue with her newest pet. Kara still had trouble articulating some of the words, as her human throat wasnt to make sounds like those of a trumpet or the chirping of birds. But steady repetition of the language would slowly morph her body into one capable of the language. The leftover anima in her body would see to that.
“Well, let's go looking for their group, I want to see your progress.”
—----------------------------------------------------
Battalion leader Brath hated that he’d been assigned to this operation.
With a squad of barely 50 soldiers he was tasked with making the first probes into orc territories. While yes, his men had been outfitted with above average gear, they were still a forward group. They weren't a strike force or a proper army, just a group of fifty schmucks to be a sacrifice for the oncoming war.
They had only four scouts, only two of which had any sufficient training. They had horse drawn carts with tents and enough supplies to build a forward camp, but not enough supplies to last for the duration of the mission. They were basically sent here to die.
Brath knew it wasn't something he had done. His time serving in the military had been free from any mishaps or scandals, like those of his noble peers. He had been an exceptional soldier his entire 5 years of service. While he had barely managed to reach rank two due to the considerable resources his family provided, he wasn't some war hero that led in giant battles and dined with generals.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
He was just an above average soldier with a clean service record. Which was why he was sure that his current predicament was the fault of one of his siblings. Someone was playing a game of politics and lost. Now he was here having to deal with the consequences.
One of his aides waved to get his attention, alerting him to the return of one of the scouts.
Listening to the report Brath grew more and more despondent. Nothing was happening. No sightings of border patrols. No sightings of wild mammoth herds. No sightings of any predators. Nothing.
Which was why he wasn't surprised when a lone figure walked out of the treeline and approached his group of fifty armed men. He wasn't surprised, but dread began to build in his gut.
The men making up the vanguard began shouting at the woman, telling her to stay back, but Brath could see it in the way they clenched around their weapons with trembling hands. They were equally as terrified.
Brath decided that he had to take control of the situation, Marching forward to approach the woman. By the way she held herself, she wasn't intimidated by his men.
Brath’ steps slowed as he got closer and he began to see what terrified his men.
The woman was a good bit larger than two meters, towering over his men. She wasn't armored at all, except a wicked looking black armguard. Strapped to her waist were two curved swords. One stored in a beautiful sheath of orange wood, the other dangling freely from her right side.
The blade alone would have been enough to cause such a reaction in his men. The single edged sword was midnight black with a transparent edge, looking like it was formed from glass. The blade, despite not being actively wielded, radiated an aura of incredible sharpness that Brath had never felt before. Not even the ceremonial weapons some nobles carried around as a sign of status elicited such a feeling.
While the blade itself would have been enough, the woman's eyes were even more terrifying. At this distance, Brath could see the barely restrained orange glow in her eyes. She had to be at least tier 5.
Brath barely managed to keep his legs from trembling as he stepped towards her.
“Please Identify yourself! You stand in the presence of-”
L̷̘̅̂ͅȄ̷̡̫̲͙̰̽̎̀A̸̮̭͔̼̅̈́̍̔͜V̶̻̻̓͒͠E̴̟̥̿͐̌̐̽!
A wall of noise slammed into Brath, feeling like a punch to the nose. Clenching his muscles, he barely managed to stay upright. Before he could think better of it, he fell back on his training.
“I am sorry, but I can't do that. I am acting under the authority of the church of the father. You will make way.”
The moment the words left his mouth, he knew that he had made a mistake. The woman stilled completely, seemingly freezing in time.
A moment later she spoke again, this time in orc.
“So be it.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, a screaming bolt of orange flames shot from the treeline, impacting one of his men right in the chest. Instead of exploding like a normal firebolt spell, the attack just burned right through the breastplate, exploding out the man's back and impacting the ground.
Braths thoughts froze for an instant, watching as two forms burst from the treeline with incredible speed. Moments later two women impacted a hastily formed line of shields, one of them feinting low and immediately jumping upwards, crashing her twin axes into the heads of two soldiers.
While the men dropped like sacks of flour, the other woman arrived on the line moments after the first. Instead of any fancy movements, she just charged straight ahead and cleaved through two shields and the men holding them instantly.
Brath had just enough time to see the manic smile on the face of the women. He drew his longsword and prepared to intercept the women, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Like lightning, he whirled around, locking eyes with the massive black haired woman that now stood right behind him. Instantly, he whipped his longsword upwards, only for the woman to leisurely sidestep.
She unsheathed the mundane steel blade from her hip and locked eyes with him.
Despite her silence, Brath knew what her eyes said; ‘you're not leaving’
Deciding that his best bet was a quick offensive, Brath rushed forward, intending to distract the woman with a series of lightning fast cuts, before taking control and helping his men.
Instead every slash was leisurely parried, while the woman moved into his space, forcing him to retreat. While he continued to attack, she moved both of them through expert parries and footwork, until she stood between him and his men.
The moment Brath noticed that he'd been played, a pained grimace crossed his face. With a light chant under his breath, Brath activated his combat arts, intending to give it his all.
[Lightning Strikes the Mountain Top]
A wavering aura of earth mana coated the surface of his kite shield, while the right side of his body began to faintly flicker with blue sparks of electricity.
He had expected at least a change of expression from the woman, but her face looked as impassive as it had the entire time.
A volley of orange firebolts was the signal he used to engage, racing forward with enhanced speed the moment the bolts impacted his men.
His shield arm lashed out with a whoosh of displaced air, the force behind his shield bash amplified by the earth mana. The moment the woman dodged, Brath lashed out with another series of rapid fire attacks, his sword enhanced with lightning mana.
Despite his enhanced speed, the woman continued to deny him. She used barely more speed and power than a mundane human would, instead outperforming him in pure skill. Every strike was parried, every sweep was redirected and every thrust was countered. Slowly but surely the woman inflicted wounds on the lightly armored parts of his body.
The curved shape of her blade made it possible for her to thrust around his shield, causing his arm to be littered with cuts.
Stomping on the ground, Brath cast an [Earth Pillar] beneath his feet, launching him a few meters backwards and out of the woman's range. Taking a moment to breathe, he saw the state of his men and had to grimace.
His men were being decimated by the two women, unable to put up a proper fight against them. Despite their numerical advantage, his men couldn't encircle the women as they always kept moving. No ranged attack were supporting them, as the five man squad of mages was busy defending against the unseen mage in the trees.
Brath had just a moment to watch one of his men get cleaved in two by a massive greatsword, when he had to block a masterfully executed lunge from the giant woman.
Grath looked incredulously as the single edged blade pierced his enhanced shield with a wooden thunk, barely missing his forearm. He could feel nothing from the woman. No mana, no qi, nothing. She was apparently trouncing him with pure sword skills alone, which should be impossible. No mundane attack should be able to pierce his mountain shield.
The woman had apparently had enough, as she finally went on the offensive. Brath was immediately pushed back as he barely managed to defend. Every attack the woman made served to unbalance him, forcing him to spend large amounts of mana and stamina to keep himself alive. Liberal applications of [Earth Pillar] reset his footing. He had tried casting it at her feet once or twice, but the woman didn't seem to notice as her footwork remained incredibly stable.
The finishing stroke came when he stumbled on a backstep. Capitalizing on his mistake, the woman advanced rapidly, before executing a strange set of movements. Brath had only a moment to admire the cross-shaped construct of light, before his shield arm was bisected and then immediately removed from his body. In a futile effort he tried to use his stump to slow the woman down, but her blade found his neck even after slicing through the remainder of his arm.
Then the world went black.