FIFTY-SIX: OLD AND NEW ENEMIES

  Red mana flashed in an explosion as the imp was thrown back in a pulse of power. Black chitin glistened in the dawn light as the beast slammed into a tree. Bark scraped away in a shower of splinters that pelted Cassius as he stood tall against the rush of the beasts. Valeria gritted her teeth and roared next to him in defiance as another of the creatures came around a wide tree trunk.

  They moved in silence with their wide heads low to the ground as their crimson eyes glowed with wrath. Saliva dripped from their mouths as they came fast toward them like a hunting pack. Cassius tracked it as it came toward them with its long claws stretched forward.

  [Thrust] empowered his blow and the creature exploded outward as the speartip entered its chest and ripped through its back. The creature stiffened and died as Cassius gained another kill notification. Still nothing above level ten had been found as the stream of monsters had slowly grown thicker and thicker as they drew closer to the dungeon.

  Finally it was the imps that came. First in ones and twos but it became a steady stream of imps flying toward the scout team. Each of the monsters were the size they had faced at the granary but the difference in strength was apparent. Valeria and Cassius dispatched creatures that had taken the entirety of the line to best.

  “We are on the edge of the wood. Just past this are the cairns,” Vira exclaimed behind them as she grunted with exertion. Cassius risked a look to see her fighting one of the beasts. She carried a smaller kite shield and her dungeon forged blade as she hacked it apart with mechanical precision.

  The Equites were not so skilled, lacking the pure strength of superior stats to overwhelm the imps. Instead Batbayar fired arrows constantly while Gerel slew the wounded imps before they could reach the bowman. They burned through their mana at prodigious rates, using their skills as fast as they could to stay alive.

  “How far is the legion?” Valeria asked, not taking her eyes off the wounded imp that had been thrown back. It was slowly pushing its legs underneath it as it shook its head back and forth.

  “No more than an hour. Blow the horns!” Vira cried as she decapitated the imp, using her shield to block the spray of caustic blood.

  Cassius turned back to his own fight as the massive imp got to its feet and started toward them again. There was some semblance of intelligence to it as it did not simply charge them. It prowled in a slow moving circle as if to get behind the shields. Valeria was too fast for it though, her long spear darted forward and ended the beast in a single strike.

  More were coming, the sound of them crashing through the underbrush loud in the early morning. Cassius swallowed hard as he stepped back and hurriedly moved to shrug his pack over his shoulder. After only two days in the Wilds the pack had been thinned as supplies had been hurriedly consumed but the signal horn still rested in its case. Made of carved goat horn it was cheap but the most precious thing that Cassius currently held.

  He breathed deeply before he placed his lips to the horn and blew hard. The sound belted out into the morning air, filling the forest and rising above it. Cassius blew twice more, each time gathering his strength and blew until his vision swam.

  “Back on your feet, more of them come,” Valeria ordered as the rush of the monsters came around the edge of the trees. Cassius swallowed hard as he stared at the creatures and sensed the difference. [Hunter’s Sight] warned him for the first time, a cold chill down his spine.

  Even at level ten the imps had only grown larger. The size of a large horse they had been hunched over bipedal monsters with long arms capped in razor sharp talons. Size and strength had been their advantage as they had raced to consume everything their greedy maws could chew.

  The devil had been a monstrous being of malice and hunger. Chains dripping with ichor and a brutal power that had been beyond anything that Cassius had seen at the time. It had eaten and consumed veteran legionnaires with ease and had taken the sacrifice of Centurion Durum burning her lifeforce to kill the beast.

  What rounded the tree was something different.

  It was pale like milk, as if the sun had never touched its waxy flesh. Long feet slapped loudly as it walked on thin legs like a chicken’s. Each of the feet were like a man’s but stretched out beyond any proportions that were natural with yellow curved talons that scraped at the soil. It had a pot belly, bloated tight, and a caved in chest. Four onyx eyes lined its anvil shaped head in a horizontal row. Each of them blinked slowly as the three creatures advanced to them.

  Their long spindly arms ended in white claws that jutted forward while something sickly grew from them. Beads of dark light twisted and danced around their claws as they started their attack. Dread built in his gut as the creatures came forward in a sudden rush. The lead monster lifted its clawed hand and a burst of power shot forward in a dark lance of power.

  [Reinforce] sucked mana from Cassius as he ducked his head behind his heavy shield just as the bolt of power hit him. Red and purple-black light mixed and exploded in a sunburst of mana. Cassius felt his feet lift off the ground as he was tossed to the side like a ragdoll caught in a storm. Armor jangled as he hit the ground and rolled, losing his spear in the process.

  “Cassius!” Valeria cried, but Cassius struggled to his feet just in time to see the woman pitted against all three of the new monsters. Her spear darted out but the creatures were swifter than they had looked, dodging the spear strike with ease. Mana discharged from Valeria’s spear as it chased after the furthest of the creatures. Fiery mana rushed over the creature’s skin, burning it as it screeched in rage, needle-like teeth exposed as it rushed backward in a mad scramble.

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  Cassius got to his feet as he drew his gladius and charged forward. Bolts of more black light gathered around their talons as they spread their fingers. Valeria stood alone, it would take Cassius a few moments further to get to her. He could see her death writ in fate as clear as day, pierced through by the half-dozen bolts of fire from the monstrosities.

  An arrow flashed by Cassius’ head and slammed into the concave chest of the lead monster. It staggered back a step as the detonation of mana gouged a line of flesh from it. Valeria ducked under her shield and tanked the blows for a moment before her shield was turned into kindling. The veteran had jumped though, leaping free of the blast of black power that turned where she had stood into a crater.

  Cassius raced past her through the falling debris and slammed into the closest of the monsters with his shield. [Reinforce] kept the shield from splintering as the man-sized beast was launched from its feet and slammed off a tree with a crack of bones.

  Instinct warned him and Cassius ducked down just as a clawed hand swiped at him. Metal grated as its talons ran along his helmet, the power of the blow knocking him sideways and ringing his ears as he hit the dirt again. Curses slid from his lips as he rolled to the side and leapt to his feet, shield angled to take the attack that he knew would be coming.

  Claws sliced through the mana coating the shield, wood, and steel in a single motion. A third of his shield had been cleaved in that one blow, sending pieces of wood flying in the air as Cassius staggered backwards cursing but stabbed with his gladius. Blood poured free as the blade pierced with ease, slicing into the swollen belly.

  A foul wind rushed from the wound, the stench unbearable as Cassius gagged and stepped back, spitting to the side as it coated his tongue. The monster’s face was twisted in a grimace of pain as rotted entrails slid free of the wound and coiled at its feet. Still, mana gathered around its claws as its wide mouth opened further as it showed black ichor stained teeth.

  “Die already!” Cassius spat as he lunged forward, batting aside the weak attack with his battered shield. More wood scraped free but the tempered steel of the gladius found its mark, burrowing into the monster’s neck. Cassius twisted his wrist and tore it free through the side, sending a geyser of black blood out as the creature staggered backward and collapsed to the ground.

  Vira had arrived and battled another of the beasts one on one. Mana flared and discharged with great cackling bolts as the noblewoman drove the creature against a tree. Her sword reflected the light briefly as she cut its head free and turned to help Valeria.

  The legionnaire was struggling as her red blood painted her armor even as she fought the creature with her own dungeon forged sword. She hadn’t trained as much with the single blade and it showed as she worked hard to kill the beast as it snarled and cursed. A bolt of power rippled from the creature’s talon as it snapped its fingers. Valeria stabbed the spell with [Thrust] on her dungeon blade.

  Cassius' breath caught as the spell was torn apart as Valeria’s thrust carried her through the carnage of the spell's detonation. The point of the blade entered the beast’s chest and emerged from its back. Valeria kicked the creature and threw it off her sword and to the ground. She screamed in a raw cry of pain and anger as she leaned over the dying creature and struck it again. Its head rolled free as its body stiffened and jerked a few times.

  “Those are a little tougher,” Cassius admitted as he caught his breath. Batbayar and Gerel were both standing behind them, having slain another pair of medium-sized imps.

  “Look at what they are called,” Valeria said in between heaving breaths as she slowly healed herself.

  STARVING DEVOURER

  LEVEL ELEVEN

  INFORMATION: A PARASITE IN THE PLANE OF GLUTTONY IT SUBSISTS ON SCRAPS FROM GREATER PREDATORS.

  “Greater predators?” Vira asked as she walked back towards the other two nobles. Their positioning had been dragged apart by the fierce skirmish and all five of them were nervous as they slunk back together.

  “Where is Basilides?” Valeria asked, ignoring the implications of a greater predator.

  “He pushed forward right before this newest wave,” Cassius said. The man had a way of avoiding fights that bordered on the supernatural. Still he was a good scout in that he could often see the problem coming before it happened.

  “Maybe he has found this greater predator?” Vira said as Cassius dropped his broken shield. It would be another payment to make to replace it.

  “Riders approaching!” Gerel said, eyes watching their flanks.

  “That was no hour. They must be closer than we thought,” Cassius whispered as he wiped his gladius clean. Valeria just grunted as she looked at the crater where she had been standing.

  “I do not think [Regenerate] would have saved me if I had stayed still,” Valeria said.

  “It is a good thing you moved,” Cassius said. Valeria just grunted as she glanced back behind them to see an armored wedge of horses pushing forward through the trees. Riding at the forefront in gleaming heavy armor was none other than Flavinia Agricola herself, a lance on her hip as she surveyed the death and destruction around the edge of the forest.

  “I heard the horn sound and thought I could get some exercise. It seems I was too late,” Lady Flavina said as she used her free hand to raise her visor. All around her the armored wedge of noblemen spread out in a line as they looked at the carnage. One of them lifted their helm and threw up as the smell of the devourers reached them.

  “There are more, Lady Flavinia,” Basilides’ voice came out in a deep baritone as the [Observer] came out of the tree line with his staff in one hand. Blood coated his face and his newfound armor was dented and had pitted from imp corrosive blood.

  “Philosopher, I see you have started to partake in the world rather than merely watch,” Flavinia said with a coarse chuckle.

  “The cairns that were reported are not far from here at all. They are infested with these creatures,” Basilides said as he pointed toward the dead imps.

  “Good, I need my morning exercise," Lady Flavinia said as she kneed her horse forward, the knot of armored nobles following right behind her.