The short trip to the city was silent, and it was only due to the fact that there were so many Hunters nearby that they managed to get past the fighting Cultists. Temporary defenses were set up as the Scholars that had remained had diverted the mana flows from the broken defensive formation to several smaller formations that supported the still standing walls.
This didn’t stop the Winged Cruor from flying down from above, of course, but as the Fang and Bone Cruor reached the city’s walls, the smaller formations were indispensable. Touching down on the top of the wall with Drew, Ezekiel also noticed several additions to the walls that he had never seen before. Several enchanted ballista that were firing into the air were taking down as many Cruor and Umbral Beasts from the sky as possible.
Unfortunately, things were still not going well. The number of Hunters inside the city, and reinforcing the efforts outside the city were still far fewer than the number of Cruor and Umbral Beasts bearing down on the city. While this was expected, the fact that the Broodlord had descended from the north and destroyed the primary arrays was not something they had been able to prepare for.
They had considered the possibility, but dismissed it as there hadn’t been any movements for the last few weeks. Given the silence to the north, it was expected that the Broodlord had decided to consolidate their power and control over the northern area they had taken over.
“Here. don’t go out to fight until your mana regenerates.Other than that, stay out of the Hunter’s way.” Drew said as they landed.
Several Scholars rapidly approached to check on them. Ezekiel turned to look at Drew, moving to call out to him, but a sudden gust of wind pushed him back and forced him to cover his face. By the time he had put his hands down, Drew and Jesse had already ascended once more, and were headed back into the fray.
“I don’t think your friend was happy to see you.” Shine said. “We’ll have to try and find him again later. I think there’s other things we need to focus on.”
As the stonework beneath Ezekiel’s feet suddenly shook, Ezekiel couldn’t help but agree. So, as the Scholars approached, Ezekiel found himself following them to the temporary district headquarters that had been set up after the main headquarters had fallen.
As he entered, he saw a familiar face leading the Scholars. Grand Scholar Naeri was leading the efforts in the base. He had only managed to get a brief glimpse of her before he was rushed towards one of the resting areas. He was quickly checked over before being shuffled out to a lower priority room where those who had been physically healed were left to recover.
This room had several minor mana gathering arrays set up to slowly increase the amount of mana that was gathered in the area. There were several Hunters and Scholars that were in the room meditating. Though the Scholars clearly outnumbered the Hunters. It was likely that they had expended the majority of their mana to set up the new formations.
Knowing that he would be useless before he regenerated his mana, Ezekiel sat down in a small corner of the room. Somewhat confident that he wouldn’t be attacked here. Simply because the forces that knew and targeted him were currently preoccupied.
Closing his eyes, he felt Shine also fall into a trance as they entered a meditative state alongside him. Opening their awareness to the mana around them, they were bombarded by the multicolored motes of mana that surrounded them.
Given that there were several other Hunters and Scholars also gathering mana in the area, it was obvious that this would take some time. So, knowing that he needed to get started as soon as possible, he and Shine began pulling in as much mana as possible. Doing their best to not disturb the magic and healing that was happening nearby.
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Outside the city, Warren and Evelyn had been given time to breathe as several Hunters from the city moved to help them in fending off against the Cultists that were attacking them. As it was, they had retreated to the walls of the city and had cleared out a swath of Umbral Beasts before getting over the wall. Behind them, the enraged screams of the Cultists were pushed to the back of their minds. They had other things to worry about.
“Warren, we need to find him.” Evelyn said as they dashed through the city to one of the recovery areas. “It’s bad enough we left him alone out there. We just got him back! We need to go help him!”
“How? We don’t know where he is, and we don’t even know if he’s alive.” Warren said. His voice was tight and it was clear that he was holding back his frustration and anger at the situation. “The best thing we can do right now is fight. We need to survive as well, or else we won’t ever be able to find him.”
A crack echoed out from nearby, and the two dashed back towards a different section of the wall they were near. Several massive stones had been shifted, and it was clear that something large had impacted against the wall. A dozen Scholars were reinforcing it as best they could. But it was clear from the shattered stones with Runic engravings on them, that the enchanted arrays in this area had been broken.
CRACK!!!
The sound of the wall breaking open was enough for Warren and Evelyn to dash to the wall. The crack in the wall was still too small for a human body to fit through. But it was big enough for Warren to stab his sword through as he formed a condensed construct through the wall. Releasing the mana, only on the other side, he could hear the cries of the Umbral Beasts as the light from his stab burned through their bodies.
“Remake the Arrays!” Warren yelled. Evelyn was using her shadows to help the Scholars to speed up the process of remaking the arrays that reinforced the wall. It only took a few minutes, but by the time the array was completed, Warren was forced to pull back as his mana was running out.
“Let’s move. We need to keep going.” Warren said as he looked at the Scholars. They nodded in thanks, but didn’t try to hold them back. They knew that, so long as the array held, the presence of a Legendary wasn’t needed right now.
“Let’s check the recovery tents nearby first. That way we can take a brief break before continuing.” Evelyn said as they moved through the city.
“That’ll also allow us to see if Ezekiel has gotten back as well.” WArren said. “Good thinking.”
Evelyn looked away in embarrassment. She knew that she wasn’t exactly hiding her intentions, or her focus as it was clear that her main concern was Ezekiel. But she hadn’t expected her husband to just call out her intentions like that.
Shaking her head to refocus, Evelyn followed Warren through the city toward the nearest recovery area. There would be time to get back at Warren later. For now, she needed to find her son.
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Cutting the wings off another Cruor, Drew and Jesse flew through the skies, avoiding the more powerful Cruor, and sticking with cutting down the Adept Cruor and below. Nearby, there were several Legendaries battling, and it was making it difficult for Drew to maneuver around the area.
While the Adepts and below were dropping like flies, it was clear that the Legendary battles were much tougher. While some of the Legendary Cruor were also dying quickly, the majority were in a deadlock with the Legendary Hunters they were fighting. Some Hunters were even fighting against two or more Cruor, or Umbral Beasts.
The difference in power between a bonded Hunter and Spirit was usually enough to equalize the difference between Mages and Cruor of the same level, but the sheer number of the Cruor were wearing down on them. Only half of their reinforcements had arrived. If the rest didn’t get here soon, the battle might take a turn for the worse.
“Not that things can get too much worse than they already are.” Drew muttered under his breath as he took a moment to glance into the distance to the north. The sheer devastation was creating shockwaves that were felt even here, on the opposite side of the city, nearly a hundred kilometers away.
A shift in the wind made Drew and Jesse drop several feet to avoid the swipe of a large wing from a Cruor that had tried to strike him from behind. Swinging his weapon, a spear that he had gotten quite accustomed to using over the years, he attempted to cut off its wings like he had the previous Cruor.
“Driftmark...” The Cruor whispered with a snarl. Drew faltered slightly as he failed to follow through with his attack. The Cruor managed to back away with just a large gash on their back. Their wings were still fully intact.
“... How do you know who I am?” Drew asked as he increased his focus as best he could. He couldn’t allow himself to fall to another sneak attack. Especially if he was being targeted.
“We all know who you are. We came here for you, after all.” The Cruor said. “Now, will you come with me quietly, or will I need to bring in reinforcements to bring you with us forcefully?”
Drew didn’t say anything, he just tightened his grip on his spear, focusing his mana to continue fighting. He would not allow himself to be taken by the Cruor. Seeing Drews response, the Cruor just smiled before letting out a shriek. Immediately, the closest Cruor that were still Adepts moved to surround Drew. Several Hunters noticed this, and moved to support him. But it was obvious that this fight was going to be unfair for the Hunters.
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Getting back into the fray, Ezekiel had barely rested for more than a hour, but he had replenished the majority of his mana. As had Shine, and the two of them had gone out to do battle once more as they cut through the Cruor and Umbral Beasts at the lower tiers as they flooded through the city.
It wasn’t long before they realized that the weaker Cruor and Umbrals were thinning out. It was apparent that they would be fighting more Adept level Cruor soon. Something that he had been hoping to avoid, since there weren’t any established teams to work with right now.
Any and all attempts to create an organized defense had been destroyed alongside most of the leadership when the Broodlord had attacked. If it wasn’t for the rapid response of the reinforcements, it was likely that the city would’ve been fully overrun by now.
But given the fact that the battle above the city seemed to be dying down, it was likely that the Hunters that could fly were still being pushed back. The increase in Winged ones seemed to confirm this, as Ezekiel dove behind a building to avoid a spray of razor sharp feathers that were thrown at him from a block away.
“Should we Jump?” Shine asked, not certain whether or not they needed to get out of there or keep fighting. “I think we’re pinned down. There’s another Cruor coming from over there!”
Ezekiel looked to where Shine was mentally pointing at, and he saw that there were several Tier two Cruor charging towards him. They were each riding Tier two Umbral Beasts. Bone types, so they wouldn’t be easy to cut down due to their defenses.
“Jump as soon as that winged one shoots its feathers at us. Get us behind it so we can cut it down. Then get ready to run. The Jumps take too much mana to move properly at this time.” Ezekiel told Shine. “Get ready!”
Ezekiel dove out of his cover, avoiding the Bone Cruor that was charging towards him. But as soon as he did, the Adept Winged Cruor flapped its wings at him, shooting dozens of sharpened steel-like feathers directly towards him. A sudden shift in his perspective brought him to the back of the Cruor.
Stabbing forward with Shine, he pierced through the undefended back of the Winged Cruor with relative ease. Pulling the blade up and out, he nearly bisected it at the shoulder. It fell forward, dead before it his the ground. But Ezekiel didn’t remain to see this happen. He leapt backwards, taking cover under the rooftops of several alleyways and back streets as he fled the area.
Making his way to one of the larger cross streets, he realized that he was in the market area. Better yet, not too far away, he could see that there was a small defensive line that had been set up to act like a chokepoint into another section of the city.
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As he looked around, Ezekiel realized that this was one of the roads that would lead to the main street leading to the Cathedral. Gazing into the distance, he saw the pristine Cathedral had taken a massive hit from the Broodlord. Much of the massive structure had been damaged, and it was apparent that the defenses around the building were barely holding on. It must’ve taken the combined power of several Legendary Hunters to reform the defensive array around the Cathedral.
Ignoring his feelings towards the situation regarding the Cathedral, Ezekiel charged forward, taking out several Fang and Bone Umbral Beasts as he did. But it was apparent that he needed to join up with the defensive line if he wanted to take out any of the Adept Cruor that were attacking.
As the defenders saw Ezekiel making his way towards them, they shifted, ever so slightly, to try and make a hole for him to get to them. As he cut his way through, he decided to risk another Jump once he saw that a Cruor was making its way through as well.
His sudden appearance in front of the Fanged Cruor gave it no time to avoid the sword that was directly aimed at its eye. Using its own momentum, the Cruor pierced itself on Shine’s blade as it ran forward. Ezekiel was pushed back several feet as the body of the Cruor was thrown on his sword. Yanking Shine free from the Cruor’s body, he pulled back to the defensive line. The small opening closed behind him as he looked for the man who was incharge of the area.
A woman with blue hair and eyes, with a blue ferret curled around her neck was directing the defenders as best she could from the back line. Ezekiel momentarily wondered why an Adept like her wasn’t fighting at the front, or healing further back. Then, as he looked down, he noticed her lack of left leg. The fresh and bloodied bandages told him that the injury was recent. She had likely either just returned from, or didn’t go to, the nearby recovery tents.
“You! Get to the east side! They need another sword for close quarters! Long range won’t help you over there, now get going!” The Woman ordered as she saw Ezekiel looking at her. Ezekiel dashed to the area that she directed him to. Seeing the increasing number of Bone and Fang Cruor, he realized why they needed more melee fighters over here.
The relatively enclosed area, created by the alleyways that were funneling the Cruor towards them, meant that ranged attacks weren’t going to be useful. Too much cover to duck behind. At the same time, they needed more ranged fighters in the previous area, since it was much more open, and they could gun down the Cruor from a larger distance.
Leaping straight into the fray, Ezekiel stabbed an Adept Fanged Cruor through the back of its neck as it was held in a deadlock with a Cavern Hunter that had caught its arms. Ezekiel and the other Hunter broke off, nodding to each other before they moved to provide aid with a few of the other fights nearby.
Suddenly, the building at the end of the alley collapsed, and a much larger Adept Bone Umbral Beast came barreling towards them. The Cavern Hunters all broke off from their battles, as did the Glacial Hunters, and they attempted to create barriers to stop the charging Bone Cruor from advancing. But nothing seemed to work to stop it as it merely slowed down as it continued forward.
Ezekiel also saw that there were several more Cruor that were riding it, and knew that they couldn’t let it through or the defensive line would certainly break. But as a Hunter that tried to stop the charging Umbral beast was cut down, Ezekiel wasn’t sure how he could help. As he jumped backwards, away from the swing of the Cruor he had suddenly found himself fighting, he knew that he was in trouble.
He couldn’t risk Jumping at the moment, as there wasn’t enough space to make use of a sudden Jump behind the Cruor. The fact that it seemed like the Cruor were bunching together also made it difficult to try that again, as it would put him in a dangerous spot to be stabbed from multiple directions at once.
Taking a cut to his arm when he couldn’t block in time, Ezekiel grimaced in pain. The Umbral Beast was getting closer to the line. As he ran through the spells he had in his mind, an idea came to him that he hoped would work. Stabbing towards the Umbral Beast, Ezekiel then stabbed at several of the Cruor that were nearby. Not making contact with any of them, but still hitting them with his spell nonetheless.
Shine, knowing what he was trying to do, focused on directing the spell and empowering it for now. As Ezekiel continued to stab at more and more Cruor from a distance. Then, as all the Cruor and Umbral Beasts behind the massive Bone Beast were marked, as well as the largest pieces of rubble that he could see, Ezekiel activated his spell.
Push-and-pull was a spell that, surprisingly, didn’t have as high a mana cost as his other spells. Though it also had a much more stringent requirement for use, as well as not too many uses in combat. So, it wasn’t a spell he used all that often.
However, in the case where you wanted to make something stop moving, or rather, to anchor something in place, it was actually fairly good. So, as the attractive force he infused in those who were marked came into effect, the massive Bone beast tripped, and ground to a halt, as all the Cruor in the area were thrown off their feet as the mass of the Bone Beast, and it momentum, yanked them to the side, backwards, or even forwards onto the weapons of the Hunters they were fighting.
The sudden even caused the Hunters to freak out for a moment as well, but Ezekiel’s cry of, “KiLL THEM!!!” snapped them out of it before the Cruor could recover. All the Cruor that were on the ground were cut down almost instantly.
The Bone Cruor took several more hits before they fell, but the Umbral Beasts were almost all annihilated. Even the large Bone Umbral Beast had had its mouth forced open as it was dazed, and spells were fired into its body, where the bone plating that defended it could do nothing.
Shifting the bodies to the side, Ezekiel and the Hunters in this area made several makeshift barricades with the Cruor and Umbral Beast Bodies. Ichor ran like rivers through the streets, and several Hunters had to be hosed down by the nearby Glacial Hunters, else the drain on their mana would take them out of the fight that much sooner. But they all received a brief reprieve as the majority of their enemies were cleared. At least for the moment.
As a bellowing roar echoed down the alley once again, Ezekiel stood from where he had been trying to regather as much mana as he could in the little time he had. He was extremely careful so as to not touch any ichor as he did this. Making sure not to gather any of it within himself by mistake. Seeing that his mana had barely recovered, he sighed before getting ready to fight once more.
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The sound of a collapsing building could be heard over the din of battle. As Warren and Evelyn continued to destroy whatever Cruor forces that were nearby, they had found themselves caught up in a much more prolonged battle as a trio of more powerful Cruor had managed to ambush them.
Evelyn was holding onto her arm, with long, criss-crossing, strands of shadows wrapping around it. Bone could be seen peeking out from a massive gash that ran down the length of her upper arm. The bleeding had only been stopped thanks to the pressure the shadows were providing.
Behind her, Warren was bleeding from his head, where a blow had broken his helmet and had yet to recover. In the back of his mind, Theo was growling in pain at the sensation of part of their body being broken. A dull glow was emitting from Warren’s eyes as he passively focused enough mana to keep himself healthy enough to not fall unconscious.
Surrounding them were two Winged Cruor and one Bone Cruor. The Winged Cruor were facing down Evelyn, and the larger, male Cruor, was the one that had torn up her arm. While the Bone Cruor across from Warren had spiked fists that were covered in plates, as was the rest of his body.
Each of the Cruor were covered in cuts and burns. The Winged Cruor also had their wings torn up. Even with the strange effects of their Ichor, without their wings they were currently grounded. But they were still able to put up a fight for the tired Hunter duo. While at the same time, many of the plates covering the Bone Cruor were burnt and cracked in several areas, and Ichor had stained its entire body in greasy, oily, streaks.
“Are you good?”Warren asked. His words were slightly slurred, and he was doing his best to keep his eyes on the enemy in front of him.
“Yeah... I think so...” Evelyn gasped as she replied. The blood loss was getting to her, and she wasn’t too confident in her words. But she knew that running wasn’t an option right now. The Cruor were in just as bad shape as them, but the likelihood of them running into more Cruor that would support the ones they were facing right now were higher if they left the area.
Suddenly, the Bone Cruor tensed up, crouching low as Warren readied himself. The Bone Cruor shot forward like a cannonball. Reinforced stonework cracked beneath its feet as it launched itself. Over a dozen octagonal light-screen constructs appeared in front of him. Curved like oversized buckler shields, the defensive constructs initially shattered as the Bone Cruor crashed into them.
It managed to break through over half of the shields in front of Warren. Usually he would’ve simply moved out of the way, but even though it was her arm that was injured, Evelyn’s mobility had been greatly reduced thanks to other lingering injuries and blood loss. She wouldn’t have been able to dodge in time if Warren had moved out of the way.
Fortunately, the Cruor didn’t break through the final shields that he had thrown up, and Warren was able to jab forward with another construct as he re-absorbed some of the mana from the broken light-shields. Jabbing forward, the Bone Cruor felt a brief spike of pain lance through its head as the lance that Warren had formed pierced into its eye and through its brain.
It was obvious that the Bone Cruor had been running on fumes, as that attack had been very much a last ditch effort. There had been a very clear opening as it ground to a halt in front of Warren’s shield. But just as Warren was turning to support his wife, he realized that the Bone Cruor’s attack had been taken advantage of by the Winged ones.
While Warren had been defending himself against the Bone Cruor, Evelyn had been forced to defend against a joint attack by the two Winged Cruor. As they charged towards her, Evelyn raised a line of spikes that were poised to run them both through. Her hope was to split the Cruor up in order to divide their attacks into something more manageable.
She didn’t expect that, instead of separating and avoiding her attack, the male Cruor would’ve thrown itself in front of the female one. As his body fell onto the Spikes, his body acted like a shield that the female Cruor used as a stepping stone. It was obvious that the Cruor were more interested in killing Legendaries than they were getting out alive.
As Evelyn tried to defend against the now arial Winged Cruor, a sharp pain ran through her side as several feathers, thrown from the skewered Cruor wing pierced her side. Its broken wing crumpled as the force of its swing shattered the rest of its bones.The rictus grin on the now dead Cruor sent chills through her spine, but she did her best to throw up more shadow constructs to deflect or defend against the incoming attack.
Unfortunately, she was too slow, and the attack from the Cruor was quick enough to make its way through the hastily constructed defenses. Throwing herself to the side, her limp arm trailed behind her, and with a cry of pain the talons of the Cruor cut through the opening in her Spirit armor. Slicing through the remaining bone and flesh, severing her arm entirely.
As Warren turned around, he heard this cry of pain, and his vision burned red as he saw his wife’s arm be severed. Blood flew through the air as the arm fell to the ground with a dull thump. Not even thinking about his remaining mana, he launched a series of javelins towards the Cruor. She barely managed to choke on her own blood as she fell to the ground with several holes running through her.
Of course, Warren fell to the ground right after, his mana fully spent, and Theo forcefully separated from him, as he was unable to maintain his Spirit Armor form. Taking several deep breaths as his vision began to spin from dizziness and blood loss, he barely managed to limp over to Evelyn, who was turning pale as she spent the rest of her mana to maintain a seal over her bleeding stump.
Taking a moment to steady herself, Evelyn looked to her husband, realizing that he was tapped out, while she still had some mana left. Forcing herself to stand, she grabbed her severed arm and handed it to Theo, who had shrunken down to a more manageable size.
“C’mon... We need to get out of here before more show up.” Evelyn grit out as she steadied her husband over her remaining arm. Her body was screaming at her to just stay down. But she knew she couldn’t. Not when she was the only one that still had enough magic to fight.
As Theo jumped onto his partner’s back, Evelyn began dragging Warren to the closest recovery area. She knew that there was one nearby. They had been heading to it to check and see if Ezekiel was there when they had been ambushed. But now it seemed like they were the ones that needed the assistance.
“I’m sorry... I shouldn’t be holding you back like this.” Warren quietly whispered as he held onto his wife. It had been a long time since he’d been in such rough shape, and his wife was even worse off than him. Physically, at least.
Just as she was making it around the corner of a building a few blocks away, an ear shattering shriek rolled over the city. In response, the Cruor in the city let out shrieks of their own. Following which, Evelyn and Warren stared in shock as the Winged Cruor still in the city rose into the sky, headed north to where their Lord had called from. The Fang and Bone Cruor seemed to be moving out as well, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to win the remaining fight if they remained while the Winged Cruor retreated.
Sharing a look, Evelyn and Warren silently agreed, while the reprieve from battle was nice, whatever caused the Cruor to retreat couldn’t be good for them. Not so long as their Broodlord was still alive.
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Far to the north, a group of Winged Cruor were carrying two bodies, a man and a Spirit, that were covered in cuts and bruises. They were so bloodied that the only proof that they were alive were the weak breaths taken by the man, and the fact that the Spirit hadn’t faded away just yet.
As the Winged Cruor, led by a Legendary Cruor, flew to the north, the Adept Cruor diverted their route to the side while the Legendary continued onward. Reaching the edge of the battlefield, where flashes of lighting as wide as houses, and feathers harder than the strongest metals known in the world, cut through the air as the two Mythic Beings did battle.
The sheer devastation tore the ground asunder. No trees, no water, and no life could be found within the area. It had been turned into a charred and glassy wasteland. Two figures, both bloodied and bruised, charred and scarred, were locked in battle. The Mythic Hunter waving a massive spear that crackled with electricity. While the Mythic Cruor wielded two massive saber shaped feathers.
The Legendary Cruor let out a cry, as loud as it could, but was still barely heard over the crashing conflict. He was heard all the same, as he became the center of attention for the two Mythic Beings. The Broodlord gave a bloody smile as it broke off from the battle. At the same time, the Hunter raised his guard, ready to fight yet another enemy if that's what he needed to do.
“Enough. Let’s end this here for today.” The Broodlord said. “I have achieved my goal for today. So, I’ll let you off, this time.”
“You wretched--” The Hunter’s words were cut off as the Broodlord released a rain of feathers in his direction. As he was forced to deflect the attack, he lost sight of the Broodlord as he had fled from the battle with the Legendary Cruor that had arrived.
Letting out a roar of frustration, the Mythic Hunter flew back to Harkem, swinging his spear and letting out streaks of lighting that annihilated every Cruor and Umbral beast that dared to stand even vaguely in his path.
In the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but feel worried about what the Cruor were planning. But he knew he couldn’t chase after them. Going after the Cruor in their own territory without the proper preparations was just suicide. Better to clean things up and regroup later.
Regardless of the reprimanding he would receive from the Emperor later on.