Three short ones and an extended note, all deep. An ominous whistle sounded within the air barrier as the giant green mamba slithered away into the smoke. Maia had sent out the signal for all-out battle. With practiced steps, all the Emerald warriors notched three arrows into their bows except for three of the warriors that remained steadfast to maintain the air barrier.
Dozens of arrows rained down on Celia- all in the combination of two winged arrows and one crystalline arrow. Each following a different path along the wind, they struck the Pirate Empress from every conceivable angle, but she remained unscathed. The arrows passed through her as if she was made of fog.
Maybe… maybe we can’t aim properly anymore. Maia wasn’t sure how much whatever toxin they had ingested was affecting them. The dark fumes of the blazing fire only served to muddy her already murky vision. Changing the tune of her whistle, Maia added slight high notes to the still low sound. Find the enemy.
The wind split as the Emerald warriors unloaded another wave of arrows. The crystalline ones flew true into the apparition of the Pirate Empress, but the winged arrows curved out of the air barrier, seeking to cover as much land to strike down Celia.
Cackling, the voice of the Pirate Empress rung through the group’s ears. “Blind little mice. You shoot your arrows aimlessly without knowing you stand in the midst of a predator, staring at the eyes of a snake ready to bare its fangs.” Arrows continued to pierce her body with no effects. “Your heads will be a lovely present for my sister.”
Maia disregarded Celia’s words. Rather than entertaining the enemy, she wanted to identify what was illusion and what was reality. As the winged arrows pierced the ground, the Emerald warriors returned two quick whistles. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. There’s no one around here, but our hearing is unaffected. The situation is still okay. The sound of her whistle changed as she switched her message. Resume the retreat.
Speeding towards Lady Venus, Maia upped the pace of the group. She gripped Venus’ arm and almost dragged her as she used the wind to reach breakneck speeds. The rest of the Emerald warriors shrunk the air barrier to maximize their velocity and reduce the mana expenditures. The group resembled a bullet as they aimed for the mountain path.
The apparition of Celia was quickly left behind, but the pressure bearing down on the group remained. Hissss. Struggling to keep up with the group, Lady Venus drowned in the sounds of the aggressive snake. She heard the crunching of the ground, the snap of fangs, breaking glass, and Maia’s anguished scream. Squeezing hard on Maia’s wrist, she spoke calmly. “Remove the air barrier. The snake is coming.”
Immediately, Maia sent out the signal to bring down their defenses. Each of the warriors moved seamlessly, exhibiting their high degree of trust and teamwork. Soon after the barrier had been dismissed, the giant snake burst out of the smoke and bit down on the group. Expecting to face some resistance, the snake missed and bore into the ground beside them.
Thin tendrils of pink gas emanated from Lady Venus and connected her to Maia and the Emerald warriors as they stood below the scaly body of the snake, like the strings of a puppet master. One singular message poured through psychic strings: Blow the snake away. Once again, everyone reacted without hesitation, sending a powerful gust of wind towards the raised dust cloud from the snake’s crash.
This proved to be a timely move as a green mist of venom crept out of the ground, only to be blown away from the group. Its surprise attack ineffective, the mamba shook itself free of the ground and hissed loudly. It reared its head back in preparation to strike back, but a rain of winged arrows descended on its body.
Maia commanded her warriors to form two lines of defense. They shot their arrows intermittently, each line relieving the other as soon as they had shot to create a continuous barrage of attacks on the green mamba. The warriors soon whistled to Maia, letting her know their mana reserves were low, but she did not allow them to let up. She had sent out a current of wind to the snake’s body and could feel it was real. I initially thought the snake was the product of illusion and toxins, but it appears I was wrong. For Lady Venus’ safety, I must neutralize the green mamba now.
RETREAT! The unexpected urgency in Lady Venus’ telepathy caused all the warriors to channel extra mana into their escape, flying dozens of feet away. This distance, however, proved insufficient as two Emerald warriors suffered tremendous burns.
Crackling resounded from the green mamba’s head as lightning encapsulated the air around it. Two lightning bolts from here had chased and struck down the warriors, and several more seemed to be ready to lash out. Before more attacks were unleashed, the lightning coalesced into the Pirate Empress’ figure. A ravenous look full of desire was clear in her eyes as she stared past the Emerald warriors and right at lady Venus. “My, oh my! With all these fancy moves, you just sunk into the background.” Leaping from the mamba’s head, Celia landed near one of the two fallen warriors. “A fate hearer is a real treasure.”
On guard, the Emerald warriors notched more arrows unto their bows, but Maia openly told them to stand down. She could feel this was another apparition and wanted the pirate Empress to be aware her gig was up.
“Smart, are we? I suppose it’s hard to keep something from a bona fide Kukulkan Elementalist.” Unsheathing her knife, she bent down to the groaning warrior. “They say to catch one of Kukulkan’s members is to catch the wind itself. The very air is your eyes and ears, and it carries you away in times of danger.” Stabbing down violently into the Emerald warrior’s burnt thigh, a spurt of blood appeared amongst his cry of pain. “Too bad lightning is faster than wind.”
The twang of bowstrings was the only response to Celia’s gruesome act, but green mamba behind her shot out lightning bolts to intercept them. The few that reached the pirate Empress sailed through her body unimpeded. Nonchalantly, she continued stabbing down on her victim.
Anger clouding her thoughts, Maia was slow to command her troop. The toxin’s effects were becoming more apparent as she struggled to remember the appropriate whistling note. Unwilling to waste more time, she shouted. “Aim for the knife!”
The direction of the wind’s flow changed appropriately to better guide the arrows to their target, but it still took almost a minute before someone was able to strike the metal of the blade. The knife was knocked away, but the soldier was already dead, a lone raft in the puddle of his blood. Patting his scaled waist armor, Celia giggled. “Look at the detail on this. I guess that means I just felled on of the famed Emerald warriors. I must say, you guys are overhyped. I mean… how many shots did you miss before you were able to knock away my knife? Doesn’t your fame come from the accuracy of your arrows? Hahaha.”
Lady Venus heard a crunching sound from beside her as Maia grit her teeth. The rest of the Emerald warriors maintained their positions, but their bodies were tensed and eager to unleash their fury on Celia. She’s goading us. That is not her. Everyone, please keep calm. Lady Venus flooded the tendrils connecting her to the group with emotions of peace and calm as she sought to keep the troop clearheaded. We have lost a brother, but he passed away from the blade of an enemy: a glorious death.
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Her flood of calm gifted the group a brief respite from the toxins effect on their mind as Maia finally found the correct whistle in the depths of her murky brain. Thinking to herself, Maia formulated a plan. The giant green mamba appears threatening with the storm of lightning surrounding its body, but it has not lounged at the group just yet. The pirate is also keenly aware of our deteriorating ability with the bow. That must mean the poison was a planned attack. I’m not sure what medium she used, but it should be something to do with the location seeing as how she is trying to taunt us into fighting her. If we can escape the mountain, our odds of victory increase sharply. Her plan set in stone, Maia whistled intermittent, high notes. Continue the retreat.
Celia stared at the retreating figures of the Emerald warriors and scoffed. “How cowardly. I am outnumbered seventeen to one, and still you seek to run away. Oh, I suppose you’re sixteen now. Well, no matter, the point here is people like you repulse me.” Venting her disgust, Celia craned her leg back and kicked the head of the fallen Emerald warrior’s corpse. “Since you don’t even have the guts to face me, allow me to reap your souls.” Her figure fizzled away, and the green mamba finally lounged at the group.
The Emerald warriors evaded the snake’s first strike and conducted their arrows to intercept the incoming lightning. Maia’s whistles arrived on the battlefield again, guiding her troop through the combat. The remaining warriors split into groups of seven, with the first group maintaining their bows and the second group transforming the crystal bow and quiver set into a machete.
The snake’s body slithered through the group, crumbling their formation and attempting to sow chaos, but even with the speed at which the mamba moved, its large body painted a huge target. The winged arrows’ rain was finally culminating in some damage, patches of blood clear to see among the snake’s facial scales. In the close combat department, the soldiers had been unable to slash open the mamba’s body scales, but they still appeared to be causing it damage. The mamba thrashed in pain as the warriors hacked at its body.
For a time, the troop was able to recover complete control of the battlefield. Bruises and burns had still accumulated on the warriors, but it was the mamba’s face that was a bloody mess. They were operating with a surgeon’s precision as the Emerald warriors hunted down the beast, and the only injuries incurred had happened as a result of their exhaustion. Exhaustion I can’t ignore. Thought Maia. Our mana reserves will soon be at critically low levels. Do we push for victory or try to escape?
Suddenly, Maia felt a wave of grogginess slam into her. Her mind which had been functioning like a well-oiled machine slowed to a crawl. Turning her head to look at Lady Venus, she saw her crumpled on the ground. The tendrils of pink gas had retreated back into her body. The group had kept the poison’s effects at bay thanks to Lady Venus’ mana infusions, but now that she had collapsed, the venom was able to rear its ugly face.
Taking advantage of the situation, the snake barreled through the Emerald warriors, aiming for Lady Venus. The effects of the poison took over once more as Maia struggled to think. Giving up on the whistling signals, she shouted her orders. “Defend our fate hearer!” As she shouted, an orange glow surrounded her hands as crystalline gauntlets formed around them. Punching the air quickly, two wind blasts were able to barely push the snake away.
With a roar, Maia charged at the beast, the machete wielders close behind. The rest of the troop encircled Lady Venus as they prepared to support Maia from long-distance. On the ground, Lady Venus trembled slightly. She had been able to manage usurping a bit of her mana away from the fate hearing to alleviate the effects of the poison, but when a much more powerful prophecy submerged her ears, she slumped to the floor.
She could hear lightning crashing against the mountain, but the volume was much higher. This wasn’t just the giant snake; reinforcements were coming. Beyond the thunder, Venus could hear the Pirate Empress laughing. The tone of her laugh was different, however. It had more of a depth to it… laced with triumph. Ahh, they win this battle. The sickly sound of metal stabbing into flesh filled her ears next, accompanied with a muffled laugh. She knew only one person so brave, they would face death with only a laugh. Maia is killed in these lands by the hand of this pirate. Finally, she heard Celia ordering some of her goons to drag her away. They wanted to keep her as a prisoner and a trophy.
Snapping back to the present, Lady Venus decisively ripped the cloth from her face. Two pink eyes with no pupils took in the sights of the battle. Maia wrestled the mamba away, aided by the slashes of the Emerald warriors. A couple arrows attacked the head of the snake, but they were few and far between. The troop was haggard, their mana near expended. The hatchets were blunt and no more winged arrows flew in the sky.
Bruised and battered, Maia led by example and punched the snake away, but Venus could see their defeat in the horizon. For every three of Maia’s punches, one would hit nothing but the wind. The accuracy was even worse for the hatchet men and archers. A green mist emanated from the mouth of the mamba, and no one was even trying to evade. The battle attrition was leaning heavily in the mamba’s favor as Maia and the Emerald warriors sunk deeper and deeper into the effects of the poison.
Not wasting a single second, Lady Venus released the pink gas once more, but this time it was much more solid. Ropes of the gas wrapped around the members of her guard as she once more pushed her mana to force their minds to be clear. Warriors to me! Save what little mana you have left for one final burst of speed. Maia, I need you to buy us five minutes of time. Without waiting for any confirmation, Venus began to wildly gather psychic mana around her.
The figure of the pirate Empress revealed herself atop the mamba’s head, but this time her face showed an expression much different from the measured calmness she had displayed so far. “That’s not just a fate hearer. Blessed, Set, this isn’t some random trophy. This is THE trophy!”
The pace of the battle became much more erratic. Maia struggled to keep up with the risky way in which the green mamba began to fight. It had dropped all pretense of defense and sought only to defeat Maia in the fastest way possible. Turning into a full-out brawl, Maia formed claws at the fingertips of her gauntlets. Her jabs blew through the wind creating blasts of air to knock away the mamba, and whenever it was able to reach her body, she would dance around it, clawing as she did so.
Blood covered the snake’s head almost entirely, but the victory had come at the cost of most of Maia’s mana. She had burned through her reserves unencumbered, her trust in Lady Venus showing through. 281, 282, 283. Throughout the fight, she had been mentally counting down the allotted time. It was imperative her body could hold on for 300 seconds. Any shorter would be failing her friend and her troop.
Sidestepping the snake’s advance, she blasted it away with all her power. Her eyes were mostly closed at this time, her willpower able to award her only centimeter against the exhaustion. Her right arm had been ripped off by the snake, and she was pretty sure she was fighting on a broken foot. 295, 296, 297.
Looking up, Maia saw the incoming body slam and welcomed it with a smile. Ah, after this, time’s up. I did it. Her ribs cracked on impact, but her life had not been lost. A rope of pink gas had been able to wrap around her leg at the last minute and yank her towards the group.
You’ve done well, Maia. I’ve got it from here. Pointing forward, a small hole opened in the air a few inches from Venus’ fingertip. It slowly grew until it had become a ten-foot-tall portal, glowing an ephemeral white. “I think… we’ll meet again soon, Celia.” Lady Venus’ words fell on the pirate Empress’ ears as she saw the remaining Emerald warriors fly away, pumping all their mana in the process.
Before the green mamba could give chase, a stampede of winged horses emerged from the portal. Each was ghastly in appearance, and a trail of white smoke exited their bodies. Nevertheless, when they smashed against the snake, their power was certainly real. Droves of pegasuses continued to exit out of the portal, leaving Celia stranded in the mountain unable to capture the group.
Miles away, all fourteen of the Emerald warriors were collapsed at the base of the mountain within a small cave. Maia was still conscious but by all accounts, and purposes, immobile. Staring regretfully at Lady Venus’ eyes, she asked. “Are you sure it’s safe to rest here?”
Standing at the entrance of the cave with her hands held behind her, Lady Venus stared out of the cave directly to the East. “Yes, but only for a short time. Have everyone rest for one hour, then we must set out.”
“Where to?”
“North. I believe we are needed there.”