Back on Earth, Jim used to tell an old army saying.
‘No plan survives contact with the enemy’ and this was definitely the case.
All of our training and drills weren’t worth shit now. Not with us being marooned in a sea of Star Borne demons ten miles from the aetherite haul. My mind raced. We needed to act fast.
But to do what?
The second drop of platoons would soon be on their way, and they had no idea how far off their positioning was from the true target. Maybe the location had indeed shifted from the information we had like Kwan Li had said. Either way we couldn’t stay here. If we did, then we’d have four more platoons stuck in this ss. Better if we got to the aetherite and then tried to flag down the incoming platoon to ho in on our new position. But that ant getting through these monsters while lugging four skiffs. Was it even possible?
The [Odds would be Against Us] for sure.
As my Frenzy surged, I looked to my n who were all staring back at , waiting for an order.
“So the mission just got a bit harder,” I said, elevating my voice for all of them to hear. “Break your platoons into two teams. Six to carry the skiffs and four to defend. The four defenders need to be your best at long range Qi techniques.”
There was dead silence for a mont as they realized what I was telling them to do.
“We’re going to carry these?” soone balked pointing at the skiff.
“You’ve got your orders!” Kwan Li shouted. “Now move!”
Part of feared if I was making the right decision or not. If perhaps waiting for the second drop of platoons and all travelling together might give us a better chance at survival. But no. It was important for the drop team to know we had changed locations. If they dropped us all here and then returned to the sa spot 14 hours from now and found nothing, they could return to the Xing Long and presu us all dead. Plus, we’d already made a hole in the horde and we’d have to act fast to take advantage of it to gain so ground. If we waited for the next platoons we’d be struggling to get through.
Either way I had already made the call and there was no turning back now.
I rose into the air with [Lightning Walk] getting a better view of our target to set our bearings. Kwan Li worked quickly to set the platoons into a tight formation, keeping the skiffs close together with six n lifting each. They were all Mid to High-Tier Foundation Realm cultivators, so lifting the weight wasn’t a problem, but the bulkiness of the bus-sized vessels certainly was. They could barely balance them, but by placing then together tightly, they were balancing against each other—another amazing play by Kwan Li. That left only 16 legionnaires to make up the defense team that would have to protect them on all sides while moving through the horde. That wasn’t much when facing a horde of thousands.
Which ant I had to make up the difference.
“[Mark of the Arch Demon]…”
My features changed, becoming more demon like, longer horns and fingernails that sharpened into claws, but with my Sacred Soul form being pretty much a demon to begin with, I didn’t look too much different. Not that any of my n would care.
I activated my [Sacred Soul Shield] and pumped it with Frenzy. Below, I could see the difference it made to my n when my shield protected them from the influence of the Bloodmoon, their faces losing that grimace of added tension instantly. But the shield would do nothing to protect their minds from the horrors they were about to see up close.
“Those on the skiffs, resist from looking into the horde. Just focus on moving forward. Those on defense, resist what you see as long as you can.” I looked to Kwan Li. “Senior Commander, monitor them closely. If anyone looks close to breaking, swap them with the skiff crew. I’ll keep all of you shielded from the Bloodmoon while punching a hole through the resistance. Keep pace and move quickly in my wake. Defense team, your role is to protect our flanks as we move. Don’t try to push them back, just slip through. Understood?”
“Yes, Supre Grand Marshal!” they all shouted.
“Good! We move now!”
I charged ahead with [Lightning Walk] quickly crossing the half mile or so to where the first inrushing wave of demons was bearing down on us. The closer I got, the more I could see the mind-bending horrors my n would soon face. Mutated Takrids, giant lizards covered in gaping human mouths. Even those scorpion-like creatures I had survived on for weeks the last ti I was here.
I pushed ahead and unleashed a massive blast of [Wrath of a Million Slain Souls] as I barreled into them. Inhuman screeches and howls filled the air as they died, adding to the madness, but in my own mind I could comprehend the din.
~The Cursed One is here~
~Great traitor~
~The First Fla shall punish thee~
I pressed through with a mixture of [Struggler’s Resolve] and [Indifference], switching to the [Lightning] imbued cleaves of my Phalanx Glaive to make good on the new hole I’d carved into the horde. I would need to use an area technique like [Wrath of a Million Slain Souls] or [Lightning Kiln of Fury] to make another hole soon, but I was gauging the Frenzy Levels within my Dantian closely. It was draining at a steady pace just to keep my [Sacred Soul Shield] plus [Mark of the Savage] and [Mark of the Arch Demon] active and that was with [Odds Against ] and [Bloodlust] replenishing it from my Fla.
It beca my sole focus as I battled through the gauntlet of teeth, cursed eyes and claws. In my new Lesser Deity Form, my defenses were lightyears ahead of where they had been before. Still, the sheer number of attackers swarming ensured I didn’t go unscathed. As the minutes passed, wounds manifested across my body, staining my crimson skin with even more red. I cultivated the pain, adding to my reserves and pushed through. I let loose with another blast of [Wrath of a Million Slain Souls] to give so breathing room and then risked a glance over my shoulder.
The team was half a football field length behind , struggling with the skiffs as the walls narrowed in on them. The defense team was doing their thing—Qi techniques of Ice, Fire and what looked like water crashing into the horde. One of the defenders was crying out as he fought, screaming wildly with panic, his mind breaking. I was just about to shout an order when Kwan Li swooped in to push him back towards the skiff, taking his place. I wondered why she didn’t just replace him with one of the skiff team mbers, until I noticed that there were far more people carrying the skiffs than should be.
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Damn… they were dropping like flies already and we were barely a third of the way there.
I prepared to dash back to give them a quick hand, when a killing intent quickly drew my attention to my side. I braced reflexively, expecting a stray demon that had gotten ahead of the pack or sothing, but instead I was struck by a mountain.
Blinding pain erupted through my body as the world spun. I was knocked off my feet and sent barreling into the depths of the horde again. Fresh blood spilled as hundreds of mouths, tentacles and claws latched onto with a fervor. I cried out with a combination of hot pain and rage, releasing a quick blast of [Wrath of a Thousand Slain Souls].
The creatures exploded with the [Frenzied Lightning], freeing briefly and I imdiately propelled myself upright with [Lightning Walk]. I scanned for what had hit and spotted a towering mass of tentacles, a hundred feet high, ending in a head that looked like a giant flower. It was radiating Cursed Frenzy and shambling towards my n.
Freaking behemoth, I thought. My team would be finished if it got to them.
I was about to shift into [Mark of the Colossus] to take it on, but stopped myself. I was already burning [Mark of the Arch Demon] and [Mark of the Savage]. I’d have to drop one of them to take on a third, but I needed [Demon] to strengthen my techniques and [Savage] to keep up my speed.
Which ant I needed to take down this behemoth the old-fashioned way.
With my glaive.
I blasted towards the giant monster with [Lightning Walk] and then used the sa to spin in midair.
“[Lightning One Chop Cleave of Fury]!”
The added Frenzy powered my technique with spiritual destruction as well as physical, separating the base of the flower cleanly from the mass of tentacles below it. The creature released a sharp, piercing sound, like a high-pitched whistle as it died and then created a minor earthquake as it collapsed to the ground in a heap.
“Maneuver to the right!” Kwan Li shouted. “Don’t look at it.”
But a few of them did, one screaming in abject horror while others produced lemonade.
“You see that shit? Slain with one strike!”
“Keep moving!” Kwan Li drove them again. “Praise the marshal later!”
It was a welco sight to see that so of the n still had their wits together, but for those who didn’t, they needed to get to so healing Aetherite quickly. I turned about, regaining my bearings and then redoubled my efforts to push through the horde.
[Lightning], blood and demon guts flew as I let off technique after technique all while keeping my eyes out for any behemoths towering over the undulating masses. I wasn’t keeping track of the ti, but the river of gold aetherite running down the side of the mountain began to grow closer and closer. I cleared out another large area with [Lightning Kiln of Fury] before taking on another behemoth, this one a towering goat-like creature that stood on two legs, wielding a crude club that was glowing with Cursed Frenzy. It bleated at , spewing the sa ‘traitor’ rhetoric at but then stopped abruptly as I cleaved its skull in two with a [Three Log Chop].
I sensed another burst of Frenzy from my Fla as I cultivated my [Bloodlust] and used it for a last push to finally reach the foothills of the mountain. I instantly felt the relief of the aetherite barrier, like walking into the chill of air conditioning on a scalding sumr day. As my n stumbled in behind I dropped my [Sacred Soul Shield] to conserve my Frenzy, which was now sitting at just over half a tank within my Dantian.
Shit… I thought.
I’d have to conserve my Frenzy a lot better than this if I wanted to survive the night. Then again, I just plowed through what had to be half a million Star Borne demons just now. And thankfully my months of practicing on their lesser kin back ho had executing them with the utmost efficiency.
My n dropped the skiffs and more than half of them collapsed with the vessels. So were laughing and crying, others screaming, others just panting in exhaustion. I did a quick count. There were three legionnaires missing. I grimaced at the loss, but we’d probably gotten off lightly for what we had just gone through.
There was no ti to mourn either.
We were against an incoming tide of demons and every second counted.
I flew into the air and summoned another big slug of Frenzy to make a hole in the demons with [Lightning Kiln of Fury].
As the blast of heat went off, it cleared an area a football field wide.
“That’s the new periter!” I shouted. “Those who can still fight, get there and defend it. Those who have Qi poisoning, cycle your Qi within the aetherite field and start loading the skiffs.”
The ones on the skiffs looked at like I was crazy.
“Yes, you can work and recover at the sa ti. Push! Let’s go!”
They jumped into action, the defense team engaging the horde while the mining team went into action loading the skiffs by the barrel load. I’d never seen the aetherite so easily accessible before, it was right on the surface, in huge volus, a treasure trove. In just a few minutes they had one of the skiffs nearly full already. I glanced behind , on the lookout for more behemoths.
Just as the report had said, the lesser demons steered clear of the aetherite laden mountainside, but in the distance, I could see the lumbering forms of behemoths higher up on the slopes.
And they were now moving downward towards us.
I was about to shift gears again to engage them when a crack of thunder bood from the sky. I looked up to see the skiffs descending just as predicted, but now ten miles away. I gauged the distance of the behemoths, they would be here soon, but I had to get to those skiffs first.
“Kwan Li, take command! Keep them loading!”
“Aye marshal!”
I blasted into the sky with [Ride the Lightning], soaring over the demons and upwards towards the skiffs. With [Mark of the Arch Demon], my technique had flying across the ten miles distance in what had to be less than a minute. I aid higher, going for the orbital skiffs that were carrying the drop skiffs below them.
I slit to a halt with a burst of lightning, just in front of the lead skiff and the two pilots inside just about shit their pants when they saw . I raised my voice as I landed on the nose of the craft, staring down into the cockpit.
“The drop zone has changed! Follow ! Ten miles!”
After another second of shock, the pilot nodded his head in understanding and I took off with [Ride the lightning again]. The skiffs were a bit slower but they followed behind towards the new drop zone. Once I reached, I glanced down and saw they had the second skiff nearly full already.
Hot damn, I thought.
This was going better than I imagined. The aetherite gathering part, anyway.
A new thought occurred.
We’d just paid one hell of a price to get here and there would be more to pay yet. But being able to mine this fast, we would run out of space far before the night ended. I gauged the distance of the behemoths. There had to be over twenty of them. Huge but slow.
As the drop skiffs began deploying the second set of platoons, I landed on the nose of the lead orbital skiff again.
“Listen carefully!” I said to the pilot. “Report to Captain Li Jeng that I’m altering the plan. Return in two hours to extract both sets of skiffs. They’ll be loaded with Aetherite only. Off load and bring them back empty, then return two hours after that for another load. Got it?”
The guy looked nervous, but he nodded his head.
“Hey!” I shouted at him. “You can’t screw this up! Understand?”
That seed to get the ssage across a bit clearer and he nodded more emphatically.
I left the skiff and powered down towards the ground. Kwan Li had the new troops taking to the defense line, giving the first platoon mbers a well needed break. But there would be no break for . The behemoths were shambling down the mountain side with increased speed and with their resistance to the aetherite, I would be the only defense against them.
As I touched down on the ground, the crunch of aetherite beneath my feet sent a sudden jolt through my system. It was like a pulse of electricity and suddenly within my mind’s eye an image of a woman appeared.
Naked. Golden skinned. Almost human.
But sothing dark was pulsing over her body.
Like a cancer gnawing at her soul.
The essence of [Everyone’s Pain] triggered as new thoughts invaded my own. mories. Images of slaughter. I knew exactly what this was. The death of their civilization. This was the soul of the planet T’huet.
As I thought the na, the image of the woman animated, as if she had heard my inner voice. And then her own voice entered my mind. Gentle but strained, full of anguish and pain.
~Oh, Frenzied Fla. Wouldst thou not co to aid now?~
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