Path of Dragons

Book 6: Chapter 95: Strengths and Weaknesses

A volley of thrown javelins hit the ceiling, carving a line of destruction in Elijah’s wake. Rocks and tiles erupted into dust upon impact, but he barely managed to outpace them. Finally, he reached his destination and leaped, fangs bared. He never reached his goal, because an enormous ka’alaki hulk swatted him out of the air. His bones creaked under the blow, but nothing broke. Using every point of Dexterity at his disposal, he twisted so that he hit the other wall feet-first. His reptilian body absorbed the impact, and he sprang away only a second before another volley of javelins would have hit him.

At the same time, a half-dozen soldiers planted themselves in front of their leader, barring Elijah’s way. The way he saw it, he had two choices. He could shift into his Shape of Thorn and simply power his way through the line – and probably gain quite a few wounds on the way – or he could use the speed of his blight dragon form to slip between them. The latter plan was complicated by the fact that only a second later, the soldiers slammed their shields into the ground and created another ethereal barrier not unlike the one he’d encountered when they’d first rushed into the chamber.

He'd broken that with Bestial Charge, but he didn’t think he could repeat that feat. For one, they would be ready for it, meaning that there were dozens of other soldiers ready to respond to such a tactic. And for another, he sensed that the new shield was empowered, probably by the Tactician leader in the back lines.

Just as Elijah was considering his options, another presented itself when he felt that Flicker Step had come off cooldown. He skittered forward until the leader was in range, then used it. As he teleported through the air, he was beset by significant turbulence that felt like it was trying to rip his body in two. Normally, the skill was instant, but this time, it took an agonizing couple of seconds before he popped out on the other side of the shield.

He flopped to the ground, bloody and grossly wounded.

Fortunately, the soldiers didn’t respond to the tactic as quickly as they probably should have. Elijah was no expert in ta’alaki facial expressions, but he thought he saw surprise decorating the few faces he could make out. Clearly, they hadn’t expected him to bypass their shield, and because of that, it took them a few seconds to react.

Elijah recovered from his own shock far more quickly, and he immediately initiated a shift to his human form. Just as it completed, the ta’alaki fighters finally reacted and rushed him. The closest rammed a spear into his side, but Elijah ignored it, already focusing on casting Soothe. The heal-over-time spell hit him a moment later, and he jerked free of the spearhead. After slapping another away, he used Healing Rain. As the expected precipitation fell, he lashed out with his staff, clapping one of the soldiers across the neck. With his Strength, the attack carried quite a bit of weight, as evidenced by the sound of cracking bone that came a second later.

He wheeled around, dipping low and sweeping the tail-like lower half out from under another ta’alaki, then conjured a Swarm of tiny gnats that immediately descended upon the enemy. Elijah leaped high into the air, using Storm’s Fury a second before bringing his staff down on yet another fighter.

The spell flashed out, stunning the creature. Finally, Elijah embraced Lightning Domain, and whips of lightning spun around him. He never stopped moving, battering the ta’alaki with his staff as he let his body heal.

Then, it all came to an end when the hulk arrived, ramming into him with a dipped shoulder that sent him flying across the corridor. He hit the wall with enough force that it would have turned a normal human to jelly. For his part, he only experienced a couple of fractures that were healed a second later.

But he knew he couldn’t stand up to that hulk in his human form. In truth, he couldn’t even kill off the normal soldiers. Not unexpected, given that his class was built around his bestial forms, but still a sobering thought. This was not a fight he could easily win.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

It was good thing he had plenty of other tools at his disposal. With that in mind, he rolled away from a stabbing spear, then used Shape of Thorn. Even as he threw himself upright, the transformation completed, and he let loose with one of his oft-ignored abilities:

Debilitating Roar

Let out an enraged bellow that sends all nearby targets fleeing in fear, decreasing their damage by 15%. Increases caster’s footspeed by 10%. Only usable when caster is under the influence of Shape of the Guardian. Duration based on Ethera attribute. Current: 12.9 seconds. Resistance based on target’s Constitution attribute.

The nearby ta’alaki soldiers dropped their weapons and fled in terror. With the increased speed granted by the ability, he dashed forward in a shoulder charge that sent the hulk stumbling backward. He didn’t let up, either. Instead, he leaped upon the creature and wrapped his arms around its thick neck before activating Domain of Vines. With all his Strength, he squeezed, and his vines responded to his body’s command. They wrapped around the creature, inflicting dozens of instances of toxin upon the creature.

It struggled, ripping at Elijah’s arms and vines with predictably fury. However, it soon weakened until its efforts were barely even noticeable. For his part, Elijah continued to squeeze even after the hulk collapsed to its knees, then pitched forward face-first. It hit the ground with a thud as all tension left its body.

Elijah only squeezed harder.

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His goal wasn’t to knock the thing out. He was there to kill it. Complicating that quest was the recovery of the ta’alaki soldiers. The second Debilitating Roar faded, they rushed in and stabbed him. Even as those spears pierced his scales, Elijah refused to relinquish his grip on the hulk.

Finally, he felt a wave of experience that announced the monster’s demise. His Soothe had long since run its course, but his natural durability was enough to keep him from taking too many major wounds. His Regeneration kept him from succumbing to the worst of those.

He pushed himself to his feet and the surrounding ta’alaki soldiers took a step back, raising their shields at the same time. Everyone there recognized it as a useless gesture. There were dozens of them there, but Elijah had already killed the strongest of them. It was only a matter of time before they all fell.

And they knew it.

Elijah could read that in their eyes. But what else could they do but fight? After all, their survival depended on killing him and everyone else in the Trial. Their backs were against the wall, and as it turned out, rational thought fled before the sheer necessity of survival. They rushed him.

Elijah let out a mundane roar and met their charge with one of his own. He crashed into the shield wall, shattering their line and grabbing the nearest head he could reach. He crushed it in his grip only a second later. After that, he lost himself in the throes of battle. There was no great strategy to his efforts. No plans. He matched them Strength for Strength, and one by one, they fell before him.

That wasn’t to say that he didn’t take plenty of hits along the way. By the time he stood over the final soldier in the vicinity, he was riddled with hundreds of stab wounds. Most barely made it through his scales, but a few had found their way to more delicate flesh. Elijah ignored the wounds and, dripping blood, turned his attention to his true target.

Only a few dozen feet away was the leader.

The creature stood – or whatever the equivalent was when the thing had a thick, snakelike tail rather than legs – proud and unbowed. Its shoulders were back, and its stance was one of extreme confidence.

But Elijah could see beneath the surface.

He could feel the creature’s racing heartbeat. The tiny trembles of fear that weren’t quite visible to the naked eye. It was afraid.

A reasonable state, considering what it had just seen.

Still, Elijah approached cautiously. The last time he’d dealt with a Tactician, the guild leader back in Seattle had used some sort of ability that had turned him into a monstrously powerful creature. Back then, Elijah had nearly died, and he wasn’t going to repeat the mistakes of that day.

So, when he drew within fifteen feet, he spoke. “Are you going to sacrifice your people in a bid to save yourself?” he asked.

“You think so little of me?” the leader asked. “I have led these people for centuries. I would never do such a thing. We will fight, and we will win. If not, then…we will die with honor. That is all we have left.”

At that moment, the General tossed its scepter to the ground and threw itself forward. Like its underlings, it possessed a spear and shield, and it clearly knew how to use them. But ultimately, it was a Tactician, not a Warrior, and it lacked the attributes or abilities to truly threaten Elijah.

Elijah slapped the creature aside, then thrust his hand through the creature’s segmented breastplate and into its chest. He squeezed, grabbing something that seemed important, and ripped it free. The General collapsed, dead before it even hit the ground.

That was when Elijah turned his attention to the rest of the battle. To his surprise, Sadie and the others had made incredible progress, and they’d already reached the Healers. Elijah pushed from the other side, and after a long, drawn-out battle where the ta’alaki soldiers resisted until the bitter end, the Trial-takers finally executed the last one.

Elijah’s shoulders sagged as he looked upon the scene of death and carnage. It had been absolutely necessary, but that didn’t mean it was any easier to stomach. The gains he’d made felt almost mocking, given the emotions rushing through his mind.

He’d pushed all the way to level one-nineteen, and he wasn’t far from the next level. Not only would that push him to within five levels of the peak of the mortal tier, but it would also give him a new spell – or evolution. As happy as that normally would have made him, Elijah couldn’t quite bring himself to enjoy his progress. Not amidst so many dead bodies.

“It seems so useless,” Sadie said, standing next to him.

“We didn’t have a choice.”

“I know. I’ve already noticed the abyssal influence getting stronger. If we waited around for the end of the Trial…”

“Yeah,” Elijah agreed. If they’d done that, everyone would have ended up corrupted. Elijah himself probably would have been fine, but he had no idea how high the levels of abyssal corruption would go. “If it makes you feel any better, this is justice of a sort. The system told Yloa to stop. This is the punishment.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“Oh. Sorry. I thought…I don’t know what I thought,” he admitted. She’d revealed some of her revelations concerning her cultivation and the role the concept of justice had played, but Elijah really didn’t know what it all meant. He’d taken it to mean that she would pursue justice at all costs, like some automaton. But he was constantly reminded that she was still a person, with all the emotions, flaws, and strengths that came with that. That usually meant he ended up putting his foot in his mouth, which probably wasn’t great for their relationship. Or lack thereof. To change the subject, he asked, “What now? Were there any casualties on our side?”

As it turned out, there weren’t any, largely due to Ron’s efforts. Dat was already back on his feet as well, but everyone needed some time to recover. So, they spent the next few hours doing just that. Nobody really relaxed, though. After all, they had no idea when the next attack might come. So, the period of rest was short-lived and wholly ineffective in its intended purpose.

A few hours later, Elijah found himself once again scouting the way. The palace wasn’t entirely empty, but the residents were scattered. In addition, there were no remaining soldiers Elijah could see.

Because of that, he progressed quickly, helping to lead the others through the maze of hallways that eventually ended before a large set of doors. Elijah could feel what was inside, but even though he probably should have felt a large degree of fear, he was beset by two other distinct emotions.

First was anticipation. While he didn’t enjoy slaughtering a bunch of soldiers, he definitely didn’t have any compunctions about killing the one responsible for it all. In fact, he looked forward to holding Yloa K’hnam accountable.

But there was also a significant degree of fear. He had no idea what to expect, but he knew it would be a fight that tested them all.

He glanced toward Sadie, who stood beside him. Then, he looked past her and saw the others. Oscar. Lamar. Dat and Ron. Kurik. Even Benedict, looking like he was doing everything he could to stay as far away from Sadie as possible. His demon – a new one he’d summoned by sacrificing a few ta’alaki soldiers they’d found – looked like an overgrown imp with two heads, and it hovered a few feet behind Lamar’s group.

They were among the most powerful people Earth could muster, but even then, Elijah worried it wouldn’t be enough. He wished Brika and her group hadn’t run off. They’d seen neither hide nor hair of them since being separated. None of them were particularly strong, but there was something to be said for the weight of numbers.

It didn’t matter.

They had the people they had.

“Everyone ready?” Elijah asked. He got a few nods of affirmation. “Here we go.”

He pushed the huge, carved doors open, revealing a massive chamber. Upon a dark blue throne in the distance sat Yloa K’hnam. The Lightning Emperor. The ta’alaki who’d doomed his entire planet.

He rose, his massive, white tail uncoiling as his voice echoed through the throne room. “Good. You have come. I have been waiting.”