Their group arrived on the ground shortly after, making their way to the edge of the forest. Aric led the way as Kael and Elijah walked right behind him.
Erik slapped the minion’s shoulder as he tried to have a conversation with it. The minion was nearly sent tumbling and only Elijah’s command restrained it from returning the hit as it perceived the slap as an actual attack.
Chapter begin
Their group reached the edge of the forest and stopped as they all looked at the camp.
Aric explained their strategy. “We will begin our attack from underground. I’ll stay behind and provide cover for you guys from here. The trees provide a good view of the entire camp. Erik, you’ll get you three under the camp and team up with Elijah. Attack from two different locations at the same time. First, Kael will begin his attack. Be striking and try to draw the most attention to you. After a few seconds, you two should strike as well,” he pointed at Elijah and Erik. “Any other ideas?”
“It is a small camp. There is no need for so much caution.” Kael said before Erik shook his head. “Never underestimate an enemy. Why do you guys keep doing that?”
“I agree with the plan,” Elijah added. “I wouldn’t mind starting a separate attack either.”
“That’s fine by me.” Erik nodded as Kael snorted. “Of course it is. You hate having to watch over others.”
Before Erik could reply, Aric agreed to Elijah’s request. They settled on the idea that Elijah would launch a third attack together with his minion thirty seconds after Erik.
With their approach decided Erik began using his abilities to dig a small tunnel towards the camp. “How do you even know when we‘re there?” Elijah asked as he took another step forward.
“I can feel the vibrations people cause while walking,” Erik said without turning around.
“Couldn’t they have someone who can feel your manipulation?” Elijah glanced at the ceiling.
Kael answered him this time. “I doubt they have anyone at the second tier. They would need someone who can feel vibrations in the first place. And he has to be at least at the same tier as Erik. Even then, they would feel us only after it is already too late.”
“There could be people digging another tunnel right next to us and they wouldn’t even know we’re here,” Erik added. “But there probably isn’t.”
They spent the next twenty minutes in silence as Erik continued to dig forward. Each step brought them closer to their position under the camp before Erik stopped and turned to Kael. “This should be around the center of the camp. Elijah and I will continue for a few minutes. I’ll tell you when to start.”
Kael nodded as Erik created a path a few feet upwards before he added a few handles for Kael to climb up. After that, he began digging into a new direction, away from the center of the camp. Two minutes later he stopped again and turned to Elijah. “Wait for two minutes after my signal before you begin.”
Erik created a similar path to the surface as he did before but after he finished he took a step towards Elijah. “And please don’t try anything funny.” He patted Elijah on the shoulder, smiling at him and taking a last look at the minion before he turned around.
“There’s only a thin layer of reinforced earth separating us from the surface. You shouldn’t have any problems breaking through.” Erik called over his shoulder as he went back the way they came.
Elijah considered replying but remained calm instead. He readied himself for the signal which came about fifteen minutes later. “Start, Kael!” He probably restored some of his mana. Elijah thought as he began counting down the seconds in his mind.
The muffled sound of fighting reached him as Kael started his attack. About thirty seconds later, the ground started to shake slightly, indicating the start of what was probably Erik’s assault. Elijah waited for another minute before he used the handles to climb up and broke through the thin layer of earth above him.
He pulled himself out of the hole only to find himself inside a small building. His minion followed him as Elijah moved to a wall. They opened a hole and stepped out into an alley, the sound of fighting now clear. Elijah didn’t hesitate and joined the fight with an attack on two people who were running past the alley.
He managed to grip the head of one of them with an enlarged wooden hand as his arms shot forward but the second man jumped back in time to avoid Elijah’s attack. Elijah flung the man high into the air as the other one stepped onto his elongated arm and began rushing at him.
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Elijah retracted his arms in time to block a kick to his side. The man tried to follow through with a second kick but the minion managed to surprise the enemy as it jumped at him. They began to roll back and forth on the floor, as the man started shouting for reinforcements.
Before the minion could execute Elijah’s command to silence the man, a woman came barreling at Elijah, sending him crashing into a nearby wall. He narrowly avoided another punch as the woman’s fist sunk into the wall behind him. He took the opportunity to counterattack, shooting wooden spikes from the wall behind him. The woman tried to evade but Elijah managed to bind her feet in time before his attack landed.
After his minion also took care of its opponent, they went up to a roof to get an overview of the battlefield. To his left, Elijah saw several buildings burning where Kael was shooting fireballs around him. The man himself was covered in a veil of flames that seemed to burn or at least weaken all attacks that hit him.
Won’t go anywhere near that part of the battle. Elijah thought before he glanced in Erik's direction. While he couldn’t see the man himself, his actions spoke for himself. The mage managed to destroy several buildings during the time he spent in the camp, spreading huge clouds of dust into the surroundings with each attack. Elijah felt another tremor in the earth which confirmed his decision to stay away from that part of the battle too.
Is this the difference between Tier 1 and 2? What about Aric? Elijah thought as he and his minion began moving through the battlefield to look for enemies. It was obvious that their surprise attack was a success. Most people were running around without weapons or armor. While Kael and Erik probably took care of the majority of the enemies, there were enough left for Elijah to be constantly fighting.
He always met one or a maximum of two opponents at the same time but his luck eventually ran out when five people joined the fight between Elijah and another woman. Knowing when to give up, Elijah turned around to flee the moment he realized he was outnumbered six to one.
He had already accumulated several wounds and winning against that many people was impossible. But no matter where he turned, he was met with an attack by one of them. Him being hard was the only thing that kept him going as they landed one attack after another.
His minion managed to take one of them with it as it fell, which seemed to enrage them even more. In a desperate last attempt, Elijah pushed a considerable amount of his essence into the wood beneath him as the roof came alive and wooden ropes tied the enemies for a short moment.
One of them immediately managed to free himself and jumped forward. Elijah prepared for the attack but was surprised when an arrow landed on the man's head and he fell to the ground dead. The same happened to three more enemies before the last one turned his back and started to look for cover. Elijah leaped at the man and wrapped his arms around the neck of his opponent from behind. The enemy struggled but wasn’t strong enough to push Elijah’s heavy body off him. He lost consciousness after a few seconds but Elijah continued to apply pressure to his grip until a stream of essence entered him, indicating the man’s death.
After getting up, he waved in Aric’s direction, thanking him for his assistance before he began making his way toward Erik’s part of the battlefield. Approaching Kael would be too dangerous as the man had put half of the camp under fire. We’ve underestimated the number of enemies. Maybe they already sent reinforcements from the other settlement?
“Elijah!” Erik waved at him from the ground. “There are no enemies left around here. Let’s meet up with Kael.” The man didn’t seem to be disturbed by the thick layer of dust covering him from head to toe. Elijah even heard him sneeze a few times as they moved to the other side of the camp. A few more enemies were trying to run away from Kael’s fires but Erik made short work of them before the pyromancer himself became visible.
He was in the middle of absorbing his flames when he saw Elijah and Erik approaching him. “Good job guys. We misjudged their number, though.”
“Have dealt with them anyway.” Erik let out a deep, warm chuckle and clapped Elijah’s shoulder. “This one’s a hell of a fighter.”
“Thank you.” Elijah smiled as he answered. “You too are amazing as well. And Aric. Did he shoot those arrows from that far away?”
Kael nodded as the last flames entered his hands. “He is a better archer than some higher-tier people I know. Good trait and perks I guess. The man has the eyesight of a griffin. Where is your friend?”
“Needed some rest. What do we do now?” Elijah said as he looked at the remains of the camp. While he couldn’t help but feel excited about reaching the higher tiers, the battle also made clear to him that Aric’s group could kill him without much difficulty. Aric alone could have left him to die or shot him without warning.
“That was refreshing.” Elijah turned around as Aric landed a few feet away. “Let’s look for a map of the island and get moving. We need to rest.”
Elijah raised his hand. “Thanks for the save, Aric. Actually, I have a map already.” He fished the folded map out of his pocket and handed it to the archer.
“Anytime again. This saves us an awful lot of time. Where did you get it?” Aric said as he unfolded the map and began studying it.
“I invaded their main camp yesterday night,” Elijah said. “There are two identical markers which are their two settlements. I don’t know what the other two are, though.”
Kael leaned forward to look at the map while Erik raised his eyebrows. “Could it be?”
“Maybe,” Aric said before he folded the map. “Do you mind if I took this map?” He asked Elijah who only patted the pouch at his side filled with the credits Aric gave him earlier.
“Thanks. Let’s head back into the woods and rest for an hour before we set off to explore the other markers.” Aric suggested.
Everyone nodded.
“You guys go ahead. I’ll see if I can find anything useful here.” Elijah said. The trio laughed as Elijah was obviously going to collect all the valuables he could before they headed toward the forest.
After they left Elijah used some of his restored mana to summon a new wooden minion and they began going through the camp together.