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The Warlord
Chapter 43: In the Eye of the Storm

Chapter 43: In the Eye of the Storm

Guinevere raised her sword the crystalline blade giving off a cold light. The forest giant raised the oak club and brought it down. She dodged to the side and landed on the ground. The earth rippled and shook but her abilities and titles let her keep her feet while those around her were sent tumbling to the ground.

The forest giant brought its club down again. Guinevere jumped forward her sword, Chill-Edge, brought up parrying the strike that would have crushed Regald’s spine. The giant growled with frustration bringing up a foot to kick her and Regald away. Guinevere couldn’t dodge as doing so would leave Regald open.

“Stand-your-Ground!” Guinevere shouted activating her ability.

Bringing up her sword she braced the blade with her left hand and blocked the strike. A sound like a ringing bell echoed out and the giant stumbled backward his attack negated. With a fury, it began pounding the ground around her going for every member of Guinevere’s party.

“Mirror Block!” Guinevere shouted as she jumped to intercept the club activating her ability Ice Flash a trail of snow-covered icy ground left behind her as she moved. She parried the strike again. It seemed impossible as the slender woman deflected a weapon five times her length and width but her weapon was always positioned at the precisely correct angle to maximize the force she could exert and deflect. She never brute forced any of her strikes or blocks as she flashed between her downed party members intercepting the attacks meant for them.

“Mirror Block!” Guinevere shouted with each attack she intercepted but she saw her stamina gauge go down with each ability she activated.

Finally, the club in the giant’s had exploded as the reflected damage from Mirror Block reduced its durability to zero. The giant stumbled backward off balance from the loss of its weapon. Guinevere flashed forward kicking off a boulder and taking to the air.

“Agonizing Strike! Royal Blade! Winter’s Touch!” Guinevere shouted activating three abilities in rapid succession.

The tip of her rapier pierced the forest giant’s thick hide. It screamed its voice enough to deafen anyone within three hundred feet of it. Ice spread from the wound freezing through the giant and the blade sliced and dug in deeper a silver light surrounding its edge as Guinevere’s momentum carried her forward pushing the rapier hilt deep.

The giant collapsed twitching in agony its nerves overloaded from the pain of Agonizing Strike. She yanked out her rapier and ran it through the giant’s eye ending its misery.

25 rank points gained split between surviving contributors.

Congratulations! Ability gained, Obliterating Strike (Rank 1): You bring down your weapon in an overhead devastating attack that deals double damage stages for all damage types inflicted.

Stamina Cost: 40

Upgrade this ability to increase the damage dealt. Each upgrade increases your Might Attribute by 1.

Guinevere looked around but her party was all alive and Kira was tending to any wounds they had sustained in the fight. The giant had been veteran rank, they had been seeing more and more higher-ranked monsters as the champions got more powerful. Her party was still the only Veteran ranked group in the army.

“Pull up my attributes,” Guinevere told the system.

Guinevere, the Winter Lady, Gifted- Veteran, humanoid/human*, Rank: 300

Available Rank Points: 124

Might: 70

Mind: 73

Speed: 72

Perception: 53

Toughness: 70

Spirit: 75

Endurance: 71

Power: 44

Maximum Stamina: 353

Maximum Mana: 289

Stamina Regen: 70.8 per second

Mana Regen: 64 per second

Abilities

Oracle’s Ghost (Rank 20), Grace of the Fey (Rank 20), Stand-your-Ground (Rank 20), Rime-frost Armor (Rank 20), Mirror Block (Rank 20), Royal Blade (Rank 20), Winter’s Aura (Rank 20), Winter’s Touch (Rank 20), Petrifying Gaze (Rank 20), Ice Flash (Rank 20), Frigid Blast (Rank 20), Blizzard Breath (Rank 20), Razor Edge (Rank 20), Agonizing Strike (Rank 20), Battle Insight (Rank 30), Obliterating Strike (Rank 1)

Blessings

N/A

Titles

Swordmaster III, Lady of Camelot, the Winter Lady, Immovable, Prodigy, Coldblooded, Aphrodite’s Image, Swift Blade, Fire Resistant III, Survivor II

“You keep doing all the party rolls,” Regald said to Guinevere coming up beside her.

“I don’t have any healing abilities,” Guinevere said.

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Regald sighed. “I mean you keep splitting between doing damage and tanking the monsters.”

“If you’d been able to do so then you should have,” Guinevere snapped back. “I’m open to criticism but I had to carry you all through that last fight. How do you not have any movement-resistant abilities?”

Regald flinched. “You know abilities are random.”

“But you volunteered and were assigned as a tank,” Guinevere said her voice icy devoid of any sympathy or warmth. “It is your duty to stand before the party and take hits. If you can get tossed around or knocked off your feet like anyone else then what good are you?”

“My apologies my lady,” Regald said. “I will endeavor to fix the gaps in my skills as soon as I can.”

“See that you do,” Guinevere said cooly. “In the meantime, do not criticize me after I save all of your lives and have to fill in for any shortcomings I find.”

---

I looked around but there was nothing in sight except the phoenix’s nest. The storm still swirled around me with no sign of letting up. That made me stop and think. Why was the storm still here? I’d thought it was a manifestation of the pheonix, but the Lighting was natural as evident from my Storm Soul ability. If the Storm Pheonix hadn’t made the Lighting what else was causing it?

My nose itched as I approached the nest. I could feel something there I could sense magic thanks to Bestial Senses. I activated the ability and the smell intensified. I took off my left gauntlet and put a hand on the ice the pheonix had shaped into a nest. There was a thrumming and underneath the constant cacophony of thunder, I could hear a humming, like standing next to a powerline.

“Hell’s Talons,” I said.

Carving my way through the ice I ripped out chunks and tossed them aside. A cut and smashed a hole big enough for me to stand in. As I got closer to the center of the nest blue-silver light became visible shining through the ice. My vision with Bestial Senses burned and my nose itched like I just inhaled a cloud of spices.

I smashed through the last layer of ice and my fist was electrocuted by an immense charge of Lighting.

65 maximum mana gained.

I looked at what had been hidden by the nest of ice. It was a ball of Lighting the size of my body. As I focused on it I got a notification.

Heart of the Storm: natural treasure, Rarity; Unique/Mythic

The ball of blue Lighting bolts twisted and writhed but seemed to grow more and more solid the closer to its center. I didn’t know much. I didn’t know anything about natural treasures, but I knew that I wanted them.

I downed a healing potion and started chewing on some raw red fennel. I stepped forward and pushed my hand into the ball of Lighting.

65 maximum mana gained.

The skin along my arm was blackening and starting to flake off. I pushed deeper turning off all pain receptors with Wrathful Meditation. I was up to my shoulder before I got my hands on something semi-solid.

65 maximum mana gained.

When I took hold of it the bands of Lighting around it subsided and retracted until I was holding something between a crystal and a ball of plasma.

Congratulations! You claimed a unique natural treasure and completed a hidden objective. Objective; destroy the endless storm by removing the Heart of the Storm.

Reward; title, Storm Knight.

*Storm Knight: While this title is equipped you deal one stage more with Lighting damage and are immune to all Lighting damage.

Heart of the Storm: Type: Energy/Crystal, Rarity: Mythic, Hardness: Not applicable. The heart of an endless storm whose power, for now, is restrained and contained. Its uses in crafting are unknown.

Quantity:

1

Weight:

Not applicable

Now, this was a proper title, I thoughts with a grin.

“System, equip the title Storm Knight,” I said.

You can now change your status to read as Mordred the Storm Knight, Champion of Kelesa; Gifted- humanoid/human, Veteran, Rank: 270

The wall of wind and Lighting surrounding the top of the mountain faded away in minutes leaving clear skies for miles and the rising sun appearing over the horizon. I placed the Heart of the Storm in my storage pouch. I wiped off the grit and blood with my cleansing cloth and instantly felt better as my pores were scoured of all grit and grime. The top of the mountain was still freezing but it was only a distant discomfort thanks to Magma Heart(s). I sat down and pulled some rations out of my storage pouch. The body of the Pheonix lay on the mountainside a few yards away from me. It seemed to have deflated like a balloon.

Scarfing down the rest of my jerky I walked over to the pheonix. I couldn’t find any bones just a pile of electric feathers that still crackled with Lighting, but I didn’t feel anything as I touched them.

“That immunity to Lighting will be nice the next time I go into a storm,” I said to myself.

I wasn’t sure what to do with the Heart of the Storm based on its description it seemed like some sort of crafting material. Despite it being sort of a crystal I could tell it wasn’t compatible with my Compress Earth so I couldn’t shape it with that. Even if I could, I wasn’t sure if I would have. This was a unique natural treasure and the last thing I wanted to do was ruin it by experimenting on it.

I examined one of the feathers closely.

Storm Pheonix Feather: Type: Organic Material, Rarity: Epic. Hardness: 10. All that is left of the Storm Pheonix, and its uses in crafting are varied. Can be consumed when gaining abilities to shape future mutations.

Quality:

47

Weight:

3

I had about twenty-four of the feathers. Putting them all in my storage pouch I looked about with my bestial senses but I couldn’t see anything else of interest on the mountaintop. I began the hike down the mountain. I came to the top of a cliff and looked down to see the top of a massive pine fifty feet down.

I shrugged. “Screw it.”

Jumping off the top of the cliff I smashed through four pine boughs before I got ahold of the trunk. I began dropping down before finally teleporting the last few hundred feet to the ground below. I stopped. I wasn’t actually sure where to go now. I could go back to the Wolf Clan but they had problems to deal with, I could try and deal with the Dragon Clan but I had no idea where they were. There was also the Bear Clan I had to meet at some point but again I had no idea where they were.

At some point, I’d also have to deal with the other Beast Lords. I wasn’t ready to face the Hell Dragon and I wasn’t sure what the other Beast Lords were. Maybe I should check in on my vassals? It was a plan at least and I started heading off in that direction.

I had been moving for about three hours when I senses someone following me. I stopped and turned around readying myself for a fight.

A fur-clad figure emerged from the trees. They carried a short spear and had a wolf-pelt cloak, his ears were covered in fur, and they had the yellow iris I’d learned to associate with the Wolf Clan.

“Greetings Warlord,” the man said. “I was sent by my chief to guide you if needed.”

I paused at that, relaxing somewhat. “I could use some directions. Where is the Bear and Dragon Clan?”

“The Dragon Clan resides in the great swamp south of here next to the Wasted Lands,” the scout said. “The Bear Clan is on the other side of the river near the western mountains, they live in the cave systems there. When you get close, look for the mountain that resembles a roaring bear.”

“Which one is closer?” I asked.

The scout paused and thought. “The Dragon Clan is closer but if I could give you some advice?”

“I’m always open to listening,” I said with a shrug.

“I would visit the Bear Clan first, we have tried to ally with them against the Dragon Clan but they are reticent to join us. You might be able to persuade them. I also heard of your quest, one of the Beast Lords is near the Bear Clan and they will be able to give you better directions to it.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I think I can find my own way now, thank your chief for me.”

He nodded to me and faded back into the trees.

I thought on the messenger’s words. I didn’t have any preferences and the Bear Clan did seem to have two objectives instead of just one. Deciding to go with the scout’s advice I started running west. I sprinted through trees leaping ravines. I made it to the river by sundown and plopped down on its shores. I was low on stamina and mana and tired from fighting and draining my resources over and over.

I took off my gauntlets. I had to do something about them if I wanted to use Chain Lighting. My gauntlets didn’t interfere with Hell’s Talons for some reason which was weird. But they did block my Chain Lighting. I’d either have to go without them losing the bonus to my weapon damage or modify them to be able to use all my abilities.

I looked at the rune pattern on the gauntlets. I could remove most of the fingers on the gauntlets turning them into fingerless gloves; I’d lose the armor there of course but I’d still have to bonus to my weapon damage.

“Compress Earth,” I said and began to mould the metal of my gauntlets.

Peeling back and compressing the stone/metal mixture I left the leather of the gloves exposed. Taking a razor-sharp knife, I cut through them. I was left with some fingerless gauntlets. I slipped them on bucking their straps and securing them to my wrists.

Raising my hand, I splayed my fingers out as I aimed out over the river.

“Chain Lighting!” I said.

Blue bolts of electricity shot out of my fingers merging into a single thick bolt of Lighting. It didn’t go very far only making it fifteen feet before dissipating harmlessly into the air. The hair on my arms stood up from the static charge. Despite its lackluster results at rank one, I couldn’t help the shit-eating grin on my face.

I didn’t have the energy to upgrade it right now. I lay back on the sand of the beach, I rolled up my cape putting it under my head like a pillow. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.