After they were dropped off at the rendezvous point they were left to their own devices, they left them south of the mountain. Nervous chatter filled the air, every so often they threw glances at Cornelius, he sighed and made his way in front of his unit “Everyone huddles up,” he said in a nonsense tone. At first, they seemed reluctant but soon went to stand around him “First matter of business we will all introduce ourselves and our specialties,” Cornelius said in a calm tone for he understood for his soldiers to respect him he must prove he is worthy of their respect.
The first soldier to step up was none other than Thompson the burly trainee that had led him to the commanders office on the first day “My name is Thompson I have an augmentation affinity and my main weapon is a battle axe,” he said before returning to his previous position.
The next one to step up was a meek looking woman with light brown hair and hazel eyes, she wore light leather armor two daggers strapped to her sides “My name is Halva I have a support affinity I can heal small wounds and can strengthen tools to some extent I wield two daggers,” She said before returning to her position.
A stout man with a thick beard and bushy eyebrows he was bald with tattoos covering his naked head showing his barbarian heritage “I am Strom Stonefinger I can shape the earth to my will and I wield my twin axes,” he said in a gruff tone he was short in stature.
A lanky man made his way to the front he stared challengingly toward Cornelius, he matched his stare with one of his own the trainees witnessing his stare felt a shiver going down their spine from its sheer intensity. Needles to say it was the lanky man who broke eye contact first “I am Leonidas of House Helios my affinity is that of the raging sun I control light and fire, I am a full castor so I wield no weapons,” he said in an arrogant tone.
The other five were nothing impressive they were mere auromancers who used mana to give them a bit of an edge in the sense of making their blades sharper, nothing special. When the last trainee introduced themselves they all turned to Cornelius expectantly “I am Cornelius of House Amydros and my affinity is that of an abyssal star I can augment myself and others both physically and mentally as well as create constructs of light my presence spreads a passive aura of madness to my enemies, I wield a longsword,” he said nonchalantly his gaze never leaving Leonidas.
After hearing that Cornelius also had a light affinity Leonidas sneered and turned away “The plan of action is simple we move in a wedge formation, I'll be in the lead position Thompson and Strom will be behind me to my left, and right, Leonidas and Halva will be in the middle of the formation as our support. The rest will complete the formation if is that understood,” after receiving nods of understanding from his soldiers they moved out.
Stolen story; please report.
The silence was deafening, the somber mood of his trainees concerned him so he let some of his mana seep out into the world toward his soldiers strengthening their minds and wills. The process of moving his mana felt like small embers traveling through his body exerting his will over the world, while moving his mana he heard the faint whispers of the void, he ignored it and continued moving.
His mana had an almost immediate effect. He saw his soldiers relax somewhat yet still stay diligently alert. Two hours passed without incident until they discovered their first foe. It was a solitary wolflike monster with bones protruding from its emancipated flesh. Its fur was patchy, and it gave off the stench of rot.
He motioned for his soldiers to stop. At first, they seemed confused, but when he signaled toward the wolf monster, they seemed to grimace in disgust. “Thompson, with me, we're going to pincer it. I'll distract it from the front while you go around and attack it from the back,” he said. Thompson just nodded and made his way to his position.
Cornelius moved they were moving in the opposite direction of the wind so the monster had not caught their scent. For the first time in a long time, Cornelius let his wrath overcome him, his blood started boiling, his pupils slit turning snake-like and smoke started rising from his mouth and nostrils. Only then did the monster notice his approach, his soldiers watched the spectacle with wide eyes for they had never seen an awakened bloodline before.
The monster growled at him as he drew near, but Cornelius did not care he was consumed by the cold wrath of the dragon residing within his very soul. A roar escaped his lipase before he pounced on the monster, Sky Breaker clutched tightly in his hands as he brought his sword down with all his awakened might, a loud crack resounded from the impact he had shattered one of the monster's leg bones.
Its eyes grew wide, realizing that resistance was futile so it tried to escape but Thompson was already in position and brought his battle axe down with devastating might, with a single swing of his axe he decapitated the monster. The axe blade went through its neck like a knife through butter, the spectacle was both beautiful and gruesome at the same time. A fountain of blood erupted from its now headless neck, the body twitched for a while before growing still.
Cornelius took a breath to calm the raging emotions within his heart and lewt go of his semi transformation, the steam finally leaving his body his eyes turning back to normal. He took a step forward and staggered a little before he finally regained his composure, he turned back to his soldiers “Someone collect the fangs as proof of our kill, after that we continue,” he said nonchalantly as if this was a minor thing.
His soldiers looked at him for a second reverence, and fear clear in their eyes before they got to work dismantling the corpse, it did not take long before they were back on route to the mountain. They walked for another two hours before the sun started to set so they stopped to make camp, they cooked and ate the flesh of the monster they had killed the meat was tough and tasteless but they needed their strength for the days to come so they did what they had to.
Cornelius had taken the first watch so he sat idly by the fire, carving a piece of wood with his knife he had no talent for it of course so it looked fairly shoddy. Disappointed he threw the piece of wood into the pyre and continued to observe his surroundings. He could hear the distant howl of monsters far away, most would be unnerved to be in a foreign place with monsters all around but Cornelius felt strangely tranquil.