In a perfect world, the mont the scavenger wasted its attack, I would have capitalized with my own counter ending the fight before it ever began. It was off balance, exposed.
Scavengers weren't known for their defensive abilities. One slash could even this fight.
But this world was far from perfect and I never got the chance.
Right as I stepped forward to make my move my instincts scread at .
For a heartbeat I considered ignoring the feeling. After all, even if the bruiser sohow managed to slip his attack past Tranquility's summon it still had to deal with my barrier. That should be more than enough.
But the feeling was too strong. So I broke off my attack to catch the bruiser's claymore deflecting it into the dirt.
It was like hitting a wall with a baseball bat, jarring my hands, nearly breaking my grip.
The claymore barely bit the dirt when a sharp "pwing" sounded just behind my right ear. The scavenger's second blade clattered to the ground, steaming black smoke.
The timing was uncanny.
There wasn't even a second to consider what might've happened had I ignored my gut. The scavenger was already on its feet with both its blades. Just like before it whipped the second blade directly at my face.
Which wouldn't necessarily have been an issue if not for the bruiser occupying my phantom blade. I knew what would co next.
If I tried deflecting the blade with my sword it would leave exposed to a follow-up attack from the scavenger's second blade.
So I dodged. Or at least—I dodged enough not to have my entire face split in two.
Just half of it.
My own blood and sinew misted in front of .
Shockingly, the pain wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. It was still bad enough though and I felt the sword open up my cheek, split my tongue and slide through the back of my throat.
Before the shock even wore off, my regeneration spell was patching the damage. My intuition had been right on the money.
The scavenger lunged, but I was one step ahead. Piercing lunge extended a spectral blade forcing the creature to shift left and I managed to deflect its attack. But only barely.
I used dash, kicking backwards, opening more space. My goal was to avoid being surrounded, while keeping the scavenger firmly in my crosshairs. Of the two, it was the one that posed the greatest threat so far.
From the corner of my eye I caught Mischief fighting the champion. Just to be safe, I cast heal and regenerate while also refreshing his barrier. It was all the attention I could spare.
The bruiser lunged for , covering the twenty feet I'd opened in a single step. I dashed again to the left and a spectral blade chased forcing to parry it, the real blade followed and was deflected with my phantom blade.
I could feel the raw power from the bruiser's attacks vibrate through my arms each ti I deflected an attack. Would my barrier hold against that? Probably. Did I want to test that theory?
Not at all.
The chaos spawn were relentless. They worked in harmony threading attack after attack. Sweat beaded at my brow.
Another bone jarring deflection and a thought crept into the back of my mind unbidden.
I could not win this fight.
The scavenger alone was enough of a threat, but together? I narrowly avoided another spinning blade, it clipped my hip in an area with no plate and bit through the chainmail. It was a superficial wound but blood sprayed.
The scavenger grinned in a self satisfied sort of way. And one thing was glaringly obvious.
It also knew that I could not win.
The worst part was I'd only seen a handful of their skills so far. The bruiser was slightly more predictable, relying on its physical traits to make up for lack of offensive skills. But the scavenger was a mystery.
Its spinning blade was annoying enough. It was like Tranquility's phantom but offensive.
Dash, dodge, parry, move. No matter what I tried, all I was able to manage was staying alive.
And I was barely even managing that.
How long had I been fighting? Minutes? It would still be a long ti before anyone in my faction broke through the chaos spawn hordes and Norso was the only thing keeping more of the chaos spawn from helping.
I hopped backwards and the bruiser's sword split the earth where I'd been standing.
Its shadow shifted.
My heart skipped a beat. Mischief had finally arrived. Out of the shadows my best friend lood nacingly, arms open white claws gleaming.
The bruiser had no chance.
Relief washed over . Then it all ca crashing down.
A spectral polearm exploded from Mischief's hip jerking his body off course spraying the back of the bruiser's armor in dark crimson. As Mischief fell the bruiser's barrier buzzed softly rejecting the feeble attack.
Mischief vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving alone again.
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I was forced to face my grim reality.
No one was coming.
If there was any hope of surviving this, I would have to do it myself.
And at the current pace, that wasn't going to happen. I would need to take a risk. There really weren't many windows though. They were just too coordinated.
It took all my energy just to keep from getting hit and I couldn't even do that every ti. I could tell what they were trying. They wanted to check mate . Overwhelm with attacks.
So far, I was able to stay just out of reach.
But maybe that was it? Their coordination was ticulous, intentional. It was all in a grand effort to overwhelm my defenses in one fatal blow. Was that it?
The answer to finding my opening.
I grimaced.
This was going to suck.
Everyone moved. A spectral sweeping attack ca first from the bruiser aid at my throat. I ducked it, leaving my phantom blade to handle the follow up.
For the entire fight my face had been the target. It was the obvious choice. The scavenger learned early on, my robes were more than t the eye. My face and neck were the only area it knew for certain wouldn't be covered in spirit steel.
That was, until its spinning blade clipped my hip. As expected, the scavenger lunged directly at my throat.
I took the bait, raising Tranquility with one hand to deflect the attack. But the scavenger never intended to cut my throat, at the last mont it dropped low.
I grit my teeth right as the blade entered from just above my hip. My body shifted, just slightly, just enough to keep the serrated tip from reaching my heart.
My vision swam.
This was the mont. A dagger appeared in my left hand. It was nothing special. Just an uncommon steel dagger I'd looted months ago. That didn't matter though.
It passed through the scavenger's throat like butter.
Congratulations! You have killed Sorren, level 63 Elite Scavenger.
Level up!
I choked, tasting iron, spitting hot blood from my lips.
The world went dark.
***
Ashesh stared into complete darkness.
What just happened?
Had he just been blinded?
His eyes didn't hurt. They would hurt if the shadowed one had done sothing.
He waved his webbed fingers in front of his face, sensing where his hand should be. There was nothing but thick suffocating blackness.
"You should never have co here."
The words ca from no direction. They burrowed into his mind like thoughts, but not his own.
He gripped his polearm in both hands, shifting uneasily. The clicking of his armor sounded muffled in his ears. Was this so sort of spell the shadowed one had cast over him? Sothing that blinded him and dampened his senses?
Of course, what else could it be? He reached into his storage and withdrew a purple vial, flicking open the cork and sucking down its contents.
He waited for the vial to take effect.
Why wasn't the shadowed one attacking? Why use a spell if not to press the advantage?
"Potion no good?"
Ashesh twisted and whipped his Polearm blindly in a wide arc. The potion hadn't worked. If his blindness was caused by so sort of spell it should have.
He spun this ti full circle, polearm reaching for anything.
It t nothing but air.
He didn't panic. So what if the potion hadn't worked? Whatever this spell was there was no way it could last forever. All Ashesh had to do was protect himself until Sorren and Rainer killed the boy, or his sight returned.
Mind made up he closed his eyes, straining his ears for the slightest shift in gravel, or exhaled breath. He focused, shutting out every other distraction. The sound of his kin being slaughtered in the distance, the rustling of the wind, his own heartbeat. It all faded into nothing as he probed his surroundings.
With his senses stat he should be able to hear the flutter of moths wings in a thunder storm.
Silence.
That suited Ashesh just fine. If the shadowed one was too foolish to attack a disadvantaged opponent it deserved to die. Still, he didn't lower his guard.
He waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Then a thought struck him. The shadowed one wasn't here. It had all been a ruse! Of course it was. Why would it stay when it could aid his ally to defeat his companions?
For the first ti, a sliver of panic began to wedge itself into his thoughts. His focus shifted and he searched for the battle he knew must be raging.
His head shifted ever slightly in the direction he assud they must be.
"Searching for your friends?"
Ashesh's head snapped forward.
"They aren't coming."
Had it seen him look? It must be close then. So he'd left his friend to face Sorren and Rainer alone? That didn't make sense.
There was a tug at his left back haunches, armor squealed. Then deep searing pain.
He swiped his polearm wildly in the direction of the pain. It t no resistance, yet again. Ashesh turned and swiped again anticipating a swift follow up attack.
He hissed, wound protesting against the movent, but his counter ca up empty.
The wedge of panic opened a little wider. He should drink a potion, heal his wound. The mont the vial appeared in his hand a great force slapped against the right of his torso jarring the vial free of his hands spilling its contents into the void.
Before he could even react his arm lurched, polearm slipping from his grasp.
He pulled another from his storage and lunged forward. His armor squealed again, this ti from the midsection between his four legs. Razor-like claws raked against his ribs, opening his flesh.
Ashesh spun wildly, feeling the darkness like a physical force. He knew deep within his soul if he didn't stop it, it would swallow him whole.
Using the pain as his anchor Ashesh shoved the panic from his heart and freed his mind. His opponent wasn't still any longer, this was no ti for sloppy attacks.
He needed precision. His focus returned. This ti he wouldn't be distracted, he would be patient.
There.
The shift of a pebble. He moved like lightning.
tal entered flesh.
Ashesh drove the polearm deeper, skewering his opponent, driving it down into the hard packed earth.
He threw his head back and roared in triumph.
Still. He saw no kill notification. There was work left to be done.
Ashesh planted his webbed clawed foot on the body before him. He cocked his head. Strange. The shadowed one had seed so much larger.
No matter. He used his foot to hold it down, yanked his polearm free and drove it down again. Then again, then again.
He had to give the beast credit, it was a resilient thing.
Feeling slightly annoyed Ashesh reached down to find the head of the creature to finish the job once and for all.
The mont his hand touched the rigid body his blood ran cold.
"I guess I was wrong. One of your friends did co."
He ran his hands along the slender body. Sight wasn't needed to know it wasn't the shadowed one he touched.
Sorren—that's…thats impossible.
Panic consud him.
A pressure engulfed his skull.
"At least you didn't die alone."
Ashesh scread, then the pressure gave and his skull collapsed.
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