***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***
***Magnus***
Etan's halberd glanced off my face-shield.
Together with the scraping of steel on iobeetle shell I also felt the sharp snap of one his filants strike my knee with the force of a steel cable under a few hundred kilos of tension.
My own filants acted as a buffer between the armour and my body and prevented heavy injury, but they couldn't change physics.
I roared as I was taken off my feet yet again. The power of the impact was enough to force into an involuntary sideways sorsault while I swung the spetum in an act of pure defiance.
Etan raised his forearm and blocked with his bracer which shot out and deflected my weapon before it could co close. The elder's filants imdiately pulled the piece of armant back into its proper place.
It was his go-to move to minimize physical contact with as much as possible.
Since we started our daily training routine, I only managed to taser him into submission once right at the beginning of our training lessons. He had quickly wised up and no longer gave any openings in that regard. Sadly, Etan had no problems enduring my electrocutions when it was just a short contact.
In return I had gotten a thorough beating excuse , training.
But it had been worth it to see him lying on the ground, twitching. If offered the chance, I would do it again.
You have to use your armour more actively! Etan preached as his halberd ca back for another swing.
I rolled away and catapulted to my feet by using my filants to push off with my shoulder pauldron instead of using an arm. My hands never left my weapon as I stabbed forward at the sa ti, fully intending to gut my father in law.
Oops! Etan dodged just in ti by comically bending at the waist and parrying my spetum. Never stop listening to your instincts. You can defeat faster and stronger opponents thanks to Precognition. Are you sure you deserve my daughter?
If I wanted to, I could fry you with a few lightning bolts! I would like seeing you try to be faster than light, I complained. But I believe Astra would have sothing to say about getting her Dad back lightly smoked!
Then try it! Etan mocked. The first ti you got by surprise-
I held out a hand and ford a fist before I channelled all the power I could muster, aiming it right at Etan. An electrical discharge would always seek the path of least resistance, but I had found out so ti ago that by combining the purely electric discharge with my evolving electromagnetic field technique, I could sowhat direct the attack.
Wow! Etan threw his halberd forward, hacking it into the ground just in ti to use it as an impromptu lightning rod to ground out the arm-thick lightning bolt I had thrown at him.
Before he could speak up, I launched another, just to show him that provoking had its limits. Two full power attacks were enough to heat the halberd's tal reinforcents to the point of glowing red. The wood first smoked, then ignited.
Etan shook his hands from catching the edges of the first discharge and quickly ran for the rack with the blunt training weapons.
I flash-stepped, appearing between him and his goal, already swinging the spetum.
The elder actually caught the blade between the palms of his hands and tanked a short mont of electrocution before his filants snapped and took off my feet.
Again!
By the ti I managed to get back up he had reached the weapon rack and grabbed himself a spear. The training weapons were all real tal, but dulled.
He was already in position when I readied my training spetum. It left no question. He wasn't fighting seriously.
That's actually a potent trick, Etan lectured. But have you noticed that you are still a little disoriented when you use that flashy movent trick of yours? It leaves openings in your stance which you don't have normally. You are also always moving in a straight line, which makes it predictable.
Then how about this!? I engaged, this ti utilizing my speed to stab four tis in the blink of an eye.
Etan blocked the third strike with his spear, moving just fast enough. The other attacks all got diverted by snapping filants. They shot out from between his armour plates before snaking back in.
The unexpected parry had surprised. I hadn't known he could do that!
Another sharp 'snap', and I was spinning once more, landing awkwardly on my hip because he had aid for my ankles this ti around.
This is starting to hurt, I complained, but rolled back to my feet nonetheless.
Then let's rest and go over your alignnts once more, Etan suggested. There is no point in training if you lose focus.
I sighed and slowly unwove my filants to show Etan that the weaving he had taught was still in place.
Even with my new ntal abilities it had taken so ti to master the weaving technique which turned the Frost's special armour into an exoskeleton with the filants acting as its muscles.
My filants were just long enough at this point to use the technique.
Show the strider stance, Etan instructed.
I rewove my filants and flexed the ones at the base of my spine awkwardly. This caused the armour's extensions at my calves to slide out, giving half a tre of additional height and adding a third joint to my feet.
As it turned out, I had only worn half the armour when Sullivan gave it to the first ti.
With the full set I now looked like a mixture between a futuristic bioch and dieval warrior. The impression was magnified by the strider stance, which was supposed to allow for faster running by making energy conservation more efficient. It was like having those spring-legs which were normally only provided to invalids with para-Olympic ambitions.
Sadly, I had yet to master my sense of balance when using this technique.
Etan waited until I stopped wobbling and pointed at the other end of the training hall. Run as fast as you can and co back. Don't hit your head on the ceiling again.
I grumbled, but did as I was told, starting slowly this ti. It wasn't easy to find just the right balance between tautness and relaxation to give my filants the necessary tension to act as springs, which was necessary for this type of movent.
Once I reached the end of the hall, I didn't stop. Instead, I jumped and landed with both feet on the wall. Thanks to strider stance, I bounced off without losing much of my montum.
I rolled off and got right back to running until I reached Etan and slowed down.
It was the first ti I hadn't made a total fool of myself by face-planting into the ground or jumping high enough to nick the ten tre ceiling with my head.
Better, the elder acknowledged. Normal stance!
I slid the extensions back in and returned to feeling like a normal human and not so alien warrior.
It works better if you use just the balls of your feet, like a dancer, Etan instructed. Also, don't try to force contact with the floor. Let the weave do the work for you when you are running. It's just about redirecting the force into forward montum when you take a step, instead of adding your own force to it. Also, pay attention to the filants supporting your hips. If you do it right, you can practically sit inside your armour while the filants do all the work.
I nodded and tasked several sub-identities with paying special attention to Etan's suggestions. It was the first ti for to struggle with a new skill since I had gotten Parallel Minds.
How am I doing? I asked. On a scale of terrible to passable.
Not bad actually. Etan's reply was surprisingly positive. Most filant users need years of training before they can be trusted not to injure themselves with the art of armour weaving. You are already almost there, and with another month, you might actually be good at this. I assu your new ntal ability gives you a huge boost with learning?
It does, I confird.
Sirs! a shout interrupted us and I turned to find one of the female guards jogging towards us. We have an assistance request from the tenth! Farming cavern twenty-two was breached by a swarm of ratkin. The farrs evacuated everyone they could and sealed the access for the ti being. The tenth doesnt believe they have the people to deal with the problem without suffering unacceptable losses.
Etan rolled his eyes but froze when they landed on . This might be an opportunity.
He turned to the woman. Assemble a strike force of one hundred of our best. We will join up with them right away and take care of this.
Sir? The guard looked slightly confused. I am sure the hunters can manage if you just sign the dispatch order.
I am sure, Etan replied jovially. I believe it doesn't hurt if the people get to see my daughter's partner in action. He also has to see how we are doing things given he is intended to take a future leadership role. Nobody would say no to having an elder as backup if things get dire.
Of course not, the guard confird.
Then what are you waiting for? Etan made a shooing gesture. I am sure the troops don't gather on their own.
I frowned beneath my faceplate while I regarded Etan in his armor which was a much fancier version of the one I wore. Compared to my rather dull black, his was a cobalt blue which was almost black, and there were intricate silver inlays which marked him as soone in charge.
I still don't have my own armour, or a weapon.
You can keep this one until Gilbert finishes yours. He waved a hand dismissively. As for a weapon, I am sure Sullivan has an appropriate spear in his armoury. Unless you want to fight with a training weapon?
Of course, I didn't want to fight with a dull weapon!
I returned the rod of tal to the rack and we went to get additional gear from Sullivan.
Not knowing what to expect, I went with the standard equipnt. A pouch with tal balls and my throwing spears. Only, this ti I didn't need the quiver to hold the spears, and instead used my filants to hold them to my back. I also grabbed my knife and a short sword as secondary weapons. As the main weapon, I chose a halberd with similar weight distribution to my old spetum.
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When I t back up with Etan, I was surprised to find he had chosen a spear and a tower shield.
A shield? Seriously? I asked. People warned against any fighting style which requires standing up to a monster.
Etan only grinned in reply. A hunter has to choose his tools according to his prey.
We left the armoury while he explained. You may have already noticed that the ratkin defy the normal naming tradition which is predominant with most other native animals. Thats because the ratkin are a self-sustaining group of deviants. Humans who went down a bad mutation path and escaped extermination.
I looked at him.
He shrugged. Coming from Earth, I know what you are probably going to say, but there is no saving them. They retain a basic form of intelligence which allows them to swarm and use basic tools, but they are mostly instinct-driven. There is no way to cooperate with such creatures.
Ive heard that a lot, I comnted. The changelings too. Astra didnt even want to discuss the matter of their grasp of speech.
Etan shrugged, looking unconcerned. You will learn that many creatures on this world are uncannily close to human level sentience. Too close for comfort. But even back on Earth there are birds who can mimic speech, or apes who use tools. Nobody would put them on the sa level as humans. I am sure that if we ever manage to ta this world, there might be people who want to coexist with these creatures. But right now, we simply dont have the luxury for idealism if we want to survive. As I see it, if there is no way to talk them out of killing us, killing them will put them out of their misery.
He walked faster, signalling the discussion of this topic was over.
I nodded, still wondering whether there was so type of social taboo regarding such matters.
We reached the manors exit and found a group of one hundred people already waiting for our arrival. They barely fit into the entrance cavern, but had ford up in ranks nonetheless. There were also ten large wagons which should be able to transport ten people apiece.
The elder clapped his hands together, looking proud. Ah, there we are. Who is in charge of the operation?
A woman who hadnt joined the ranks approached us and bowed to Etan. First hunter, Conla Leece at your service, Sir!
She looked human and was wearing light armour. The extrely long, pointed ears scread elf, though the image was sowhat destroyed when Conla swivelled them around like antennae which looked just bizarre.
Good, good. Etan gestured at the much smaller family carriage. Everyone, mount up. Conla, you might join us. We have to discuss our involvent.
The hunters mounted their transports while Etan, Conla, and I chose the Frosts luxury version of a carriage.
Conla, may I introduce you to my son in law, Tulkas. He is Astras partner. I want to get him used to working with larger fighting groups. It seed like this would be a good opportunity to get him so real combat experience. Etan gestured at with a jovial smile.
I nodded at Conla, who was apparently a decorated hunter. Nice to et you.
Conla smiled but didnt seem pleased over having additional complications added to the operation. I could only guess what was going through her head. It was probably sothing along the line of having a VIP dropped on her head right before entering a hot zone.
Why dont you give Tulkas a short introduction on how we conduct business? Etan suggested.
For a mont, Conlas mask of professionalism slipped and she looked at Ethan as if he had lost his mind. Right now, my status was surely downgraded to VIP who wasnt even familiar with combat protocol!
She sighed when the wagon rocked into motion and gathered herself before she began, We operate in teams of ten, with commanders and combat-roles clearly defined. The ideal composition of a team is two sensors who take the roles of team commanders, support and combat dics. Then we have three close range specialists, referred to as tanks. The remaining five are ranged combat and referred to as scouts. You can probably imagine that its the tanks job to intercept charging beasts while the scouts support from the rear and take care of reconnaissance. If we are lucky and get assistance from the ninth, we like to add two dedicated healers as focused combat dics, bringing group strength up to twelve.
Conla thought for a mont before she continued, Ill take the role of overall group commander for this mission. If I may ask, she looked at Ethan, How am I to treat the two of you? Its a little much to incorporate soone new into team strategy right before going into battle.
At least she was nice enough not to call untrained. It was also admirable that Conla was willing to speak her mind in front of a superior instead of just going along with his whims.
Etan chuckled. Dont worry. I wouldnt drop such an unreasonable task on you. We will join your command group as observers and you may use us as juggernauts if you deem it necessary. Dont hesitate to use Tulkas. The lad needs experience fighting monsters.
Conla looked a little relieved. That makes more sense.
Whats a juggernaut supposed to do? I asked.
A juggernaut excels in any form of combat compared to the average clanner, Etan explained. Juggernauts are paired warriors whose mutations elevate them above the normal hunter. Their task is to go in and fuck shit up. If everything goes right, Conla will never have to call upon us. But if things go awry, she might send you in so her people have the chance to reform the line and change tactics.
Then lets hope it doesnt co to that, I comnted drily. The role of a juggernaut sounded like it was only taken by the clans strongest people. Things would have to be dire to send a juggernaut to the front-line. How likely is my involvent and what do I have to expect from these ratkin?
Its likely for to use you as a relief force, Conla explained with a contemplative expression on her face. If you forgive , I would rather use a resource at my hand than not use it and lose people.
I understand, I acquiesced.
As for what to expect, she continued. The normal ratkin should be nothing more than an average unpaired warrior. You can expect clubs, sticks, teeth and claws. The trouble lies in their numbers and general disregard for the lives of their brethren when they swarm. Occasionally, there are variants who are much larger and stronger than the normal ones. These are close to the level of a paired warrior and I will probably send you in imdiately if one shows itself instead of having normal hunters fight it.
Conla answered a few more of my questions like how likely it was to have access to a juggernaut.
Not likely, as it turned out. Juggernauts were generally people close to an elder in combat power. Such a personage wouldnt have any trouble making a living on their own.
It was only natural for them to accumulate resources quickly and gain a lot of influence. Soone like Etan couldn't be bothered with the clans weekly troubles and would only be called upon or contracted when there was a verified need for it. At most the clan had a few hundred people who could take up the role.
Risking such powerful people in daily combat was also looked down upon. Not even the most powerful were immune to bad luck and losing a juggernaut to sothing like a ratkin invasion would be regarded as a blow to the clans future. Juggernauts would only be called upon when the settlent faced an existential crisis.
The vast majority of issues could be dealt with by hunting parties composed of specialists like Conla, who was a pure sensory type. Conla would have trouble dealing with a single ratkin, but her extraordinary sensory abilities gave her an amount of overview over the battlefield few others had without technology.
Clan Aerie preferred to have people like her in leadership roles when it ca to combat situations. In the heat of a fight, the ti necessary to relay commands could often cost lives.
Our ti spent in the carriage felt much too short before we had to dismount in front of a large blast door, not too dissimilar to the one which had protected the last checkpoint before leaving the clan.
The hunters dismounted and quickly stood to attention in ten rows of ten.
Conla walked in front to address us.
Okay people! This is a ratkin incursion. Should be a fairly standard breach job. From what we know, they invaded farming cavern twenty-two by digging a tunnel right into the agricultural sector. All the farrs who could do so got out, but there are sixteen people unaccounted for. With luck, they may have taken shelter sowhere. We will find out. We will go in there and clean out the cavern, then push on through the breach. A pioneer task force from the seventh is already on the way and it would be nice if everything is ready for them to bring in the machines and plug the hole asap. We can count ourselves lucky. The honoured elder and Tulkas, Astras partner, are joining us today in the role of juggernauts. Are there any questions?
Nobody had any, but I was painfully aware of the gazes so of the hunters directed towards almost as if in worship.
Conla hadnt joked when she spoke about the high social status a juggernaut received.
She gestured towards the blast door while she retrieved a foldable map from her thigh pocket. Team ten and the juggernauts stay with . We have about two hundred tres of connection tunnel ahead of us. I want team one to four take the main tunnel. Advance slowly. Team five, take the parallel service tunnel to the left. I want nothing coming through a hole in our backs. The rest is reserve and takes the rear.
Everyones gear was sowhat unique, which made them look like a ragtag group of rcenaries, but they moved like the experienced veterans they were supposed to be. The tanks took the lead and opened the heavy blast door while the scouts readied ranged weapons like bows and crossbows.
Conla cursed when the tunnel beyond revealed pitch black darkness. They took out the lights! She gestured. Team six, bring the support carriages and drop so glowmoss every few tres.
Slowly and silently, the group advanced and I decided to get myself so additional intel by activating Second Sight. To see over the heads of the leading teams I also went into strider stance.
Twenty tres into the tunnel we encountered our first ratkin. Four of them were fighting over sothing and didnt even bother with the approaching humans.
This quickly changed when a crossbow bolt sprouted from a ratkins eye, followed by several more projectiles. One more creature fell to the initial barrage and the remaining two charged the tanks who cut them down with relatively little effort.
Once the front-line groups had advanced over their foe, I could take a look at what the ratkin had been fighting over.
A badly mangled human body, looking more like roadkill than a human being was lying on the ground. The ratkin had gnawed on him or her. I couldnt recognize the gender. The poacher Astra and I had rescued from the changeling broodmothers belly had looked only slightly worse.
Poor bastard didnt run fast enough, Conla comnted. Just a few more tres. Must have been a let down when they closed the blast door right before his eyes.
I turned my attention towards the ratkin who looked nothing like the mutated humans I expected them to be. Covered in thick fur, their limbs were strangely elongated.
With a lot of imagination, I could recognize human features in their faces or snouts. It was like soone had taken a 3D model of a human face and stretched it out to achieve the necessary anatomy for a snout with impossibly warped jaws filled with sharp teeth.
The five fingers still looked human-ish, but were tipped by scythe-like claws.
They also had a furry tail which was ard with a spiky tip at the end.
Its the fucking Vermintide! I comnted while walking past one of the bodies.
What? Etan looked confused.
Nothing relevant! I sighed. I really need to find soone to talk to who took his second major in historic pop culture.
I hadnt made my secondary Master to gain acknowledgent or better job prospects. It had simply interested and was supposedly a free mastership if only because nobody thought it to be worth any effort.
We advanced further into the tunnel and more blood on the floor dimd any hope of finding survivors.
I didnt bother to ask where the bodies had gone.
Seventy tres down the connection tunnel, we arrived at an intersection and stopped. Conla sent team seven into the side tunnel which was supposed to lead to a storage depot for unprocessed food-stocks.
There is no need to advance before we know our backs are free, Conla comnted.
Five minutes later, the sensors warned us of incoming hostiles. Then the attack ca, a seemingly endless wave of ratkin flowed out of the main tunnel, only to be blocked by the front-line tanks.
Theres a lot of them. Conla wasnt surprised and ordered her remaining backup to the front. Her ears twitched and she pointed down the side corridor. Tulkas, please go and support team seven. They are in trouble. Co back once they manage to sort themselves out.
I didnt ask questions and instead started running. Conla seed like she knew what she was doing.
The tunnel was long and straight, allowing to bridge the distance quickly with a few flash steps.
Team seven was really in trouble. My second sight allowed to pick up on what I was charging into before I arrived.
They were facing a similar wave of attackers, but three tanks werent enough to reliably block all the ratkin. The tanks were forced to make a fighting retreat while the scouts picked off what made it past them.
I selected a throwing spear from my back. My filants handed it over my shoulder, placing the spear directly in my hand.
When I charged past the two sensors in the rear of the overthrown formation, I hurled it at the group of ratkin who were piled on top of the slowest tank. There was really no way to miss the huge mass of tightly packed fur.
It punched right through the soft targets, causing more screams of anguish down the tunnel.
Another flash step took past the scouts and retreating tanks.
I swung my halberd like an axe at the monsters who were trying to crack open the downed tanks plate armour. I half expected them to dodge, or make so impossible move to block like Etan always did.
It didnt happen.
I roared as the halberd chopped through the mob, severing limbs, torsos and heads with seeming ease.
One of the creatures jumped once the weapon had made its pass, but I reached in with a free hand and got the monster at the throat while one-handedly chopping at another.
The monsters claws scratched ineffectively at the iobeetle armour before I shook it. There was an audible snap and the creature went limp.
I threw the body at the encroaching mass and pointed a fist, channeling a full power lightning strike.
The snap of light and thunder, together with its impact on the front row of ratkin was enough to make the closest ones drop. The rest who got a taste of the electricity shrank back, which stopped the tide for the mont. It probably wasnt often for these creatures to et sothing which made them pause.
A short lull in the fight ensued and I used the chance to help the downed tank who was now beneath the pile of bodies which I had created.
I grabbed him at the scruff of his plate armour and pulled him out before I sent him skittering over the tunnels floor behind .
His comrades could see to him.
Then I turned back to the ratkin. With the enemy in front and allies behind , a smile stole itself onto my face and I started to chuckle, then laugh. It had been so ti since I had this feeling of being the one with the power. I had first felt it after arriving on this world and coming to terms with my new body.
I had lost it sowhere along the line as I was faced with increasingly stronger foes.
But these ratkin werent elders who could beat up on a whim. With them, I was the predator and they the prey.
I charged.
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