EC Vol 3 Chapter 7

“Retreat, retreat!” A blonde middle-aged man in muddied, fineries stands at the ready with his sword as he directs various men and elves alike to a place behind him, acting as the rear guard. A finely dressed swordsman is being dragged up by two men who are fleeing as well. “Sir, the Republicans are fleeing!” An elven archer reports while holding his left shoulder, his left arm dangling. “Ignore them! We are here for the reward, not to start a civil war! Target the one that’s running away, he’s the one that took out our Immortal mercenaries!” A brute that’s a little taller than 2 meters points to a figure that’s running into the jungle with an oversized backpack. A group of elves quickly gathers nearby and launches a volley of arrows at the figure. *pyu* *KAN* *pyu pyu pyu pyu* “Lucky bastard!” The brute curses as the first arrow harmlessly bounces off the young man’s backpack while the rest of the arrows sail over him when he dropped to the floor. The man’s body jerks abruptly while he flings his arms and legs in an exaggerated motion, like a puppet with its strings tangled. “Prepare the second volley! He’s off balance!” *pyu pyu pyu pyu pyu* The large man looks coldly as the second volley flies toward the exposed target. Unexpectedly… “«Star Ignition»!” A bright light flashes briefly from the young man’s position, his entire body rotates as though dragged by his right hand. “«Backslide»!” The brute grinds his teeth as he watches the arrows sails through the air aimlessly as their target slides behind a large tree. An angry *ziii* escapes his mouth, he uses his right arm to pick up one of the humans -just now getting up- by the collar, leaving his legs dangling off the floor. “You useless mercenaries, ‘best hire we’d have’, a pace of asses is a better hire than you Immortal lots, get that thieving bastard or consider the contract void!” “Ri- right… away.” “Good!” The brute tosses the man back onto the floor before turning around and walking toward an archer running about. “You, spread the word, find out who is who on each side. There’s no point wasting our fighting strength by clashing with our allies, even if we are told to get the reward at all cost! The safety of the First Princess shall remain our top priority over some damned reward!” The brute starts barking out orders as he tries to reorganize his troops, a large, deep blue and purple spot is visible around his left shoulder-blade as his left arm dangles limply. Not too far away from the area, a handful of people are lending their shoulders to the more injured. A noble looking swordsman is acting as vanguard -feeling somewhat safe- turns back and asks, “How are our casualties?” “More than a third of our team is injured, our mercs were wiped out by the Royalist’s mercs. No deaths otherwise.” An older soldier replies from the middle of the group. “Send half of our men back to the Estate and report what happened to my father, keep the strongest and most battle-ready half of our men here. We need to meet up with other Republicans and form an alliance, we were lucky that the groups we were fighting didn’t realize they were on the same side. Also… Did we ever hire a black-haired young man to fight for us?” Everyone else shakes their head. “Strange… is there a third party as well?” The man narrows his eyes as he ponders the possibilities. … … … *za za za za za za za* 11 men are chasing after the lone figure running inside the forest. Originally there were 15 of them, but due to the terrain and racial mismatch of jungle and dwarves, 4 of them couldn’t keep up and thus lagged way behind. “Shit, how far can this guy run with that bulky pack of his?!” “With the gear he’s wearing, it doesn’t look like he’s all that high level. He should have a build that has high strength and endurance as focus.” “No, that can’t be right, otherwise he wouldn’t be so fast.” They had tried sending a few fleetfooted elves to try and stall the young man, only to see him suddenly speed up. Thinking that it is just a sprint, spurred from adrenaline or fear, the elves took turns trying to overtake him to tire him out. Unexpectedly, the young man’s distance remained relatively constant. Afraid that the group would end up even further separated, the leader of the group recalled the elves back. “Ah!” The young man falls down suddenly, causing the group to sigh in relief and rush forward at a sprint, lest their target starts running again. “Watch out!” “For wha-” *DOTE* *DOTE* *DOTE* *zudaada* “AHHHH!” “Uuuuggggghhhhhh…!” “Ow!” “Some-someone let me down!” An elf in front kicks a caltrop away and spins in the air after taking a step forward, revealing a taunt length of rope that nearly tripped him. Unfortunately for him, the rest of his group fell into the traps as they couldn’t react to his warning in time. Several fall onto the jungle floor, landing on the numerous caltrops hidden in the leaf litter after tripping, three others are dangling with a rope around their ankles, suspended in the air. *za za* The young man gets up casually, slipping off the oversized backpack in the process, giving the group a quick scan with a smirk on his face while reaching into the bag. “You bastard!” “Stop!” *zashi* The lone human that didn’t fall into a trap stops the rushing elf with his left arm while slashing down toward the leaf-littered ground with his sword on his right, revealing the rope underneath. “Hmph! Let’s see if you have any more tricks up your sleeve!” The chestnut haired man with a stubble readies his sword as the six elves spread out, trying to surround their target. The smirking man narrows his eyes as the elves unfasten their bows from their backs, after a few seconds, he opens his eyes wide in shock and smiles. Unknown to the others, he activates the mana laced within the rope that’s suspending one of the men and sets it on fire. “Waaaah!” *DOTA* “GET HIM!” The young man draws one of his hands out with a rod while pointing at the human. The sudden scream and the sound of something falling causes the group to assume the worst, the man’s sudden change in expression made them all flinch as they all turn their heads to look back, expecting an ambush. *shara shara* *shara shara* *zashi* *shhhhhaaaaaaa* Two sets of bolas fly out of the backpack one after another, immediately tying up two elves. By the time the group realized that there is no ambush, the young man had already cut a rope in front of him, causing the leaves above to rustle and dropping a net of rope onto three elves, trapping them. In the blink of an eye, five of the remaining seven pursuers are incapacitated. Seeing that it’s just mere rope, the remaining elf rushes over to the net and slashes down with his short sword. “«Metal»” *KAN* The elf’s short sword rings as sparks fly from the collision as the net of ropes become coated with a layer of metal. Likewise, the two elves tied up with the bolas stop struggling when they notice the ropes turned into a solid piece of dull, gray metal. “Oh, I still have many more tricks up my sleeves.” The young man starts walking steadily forward, a sword in his left hand, a rod in the other, his face showing a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Just what the hell are you?! I’ve never seen a class such as yours! I’m a captain of the guild [Sword of Valor], I challenge you to a duel!” The human furrows his brows as he makes his declaration. The elf with the short sword is still in shock, as he stares blankly at his chipped weapon, the net, and the man responsible. “Sorry, I am kind of busy. And don’t think about buying time, that bunch behind you won’t be able to help you. Let’s get this over with.” “Erik, stall him for a moment!” The chestnut haired man falls back unexpectedly and commands the remaining elf. He continues by putting his right hand to his ears, “Reggy, the four of you, get over here ASAP!” *KAN* *KAN* *Pichin* The young man rushes toward the elf as soon as the man started backing away. As though wakened from a dream, the elf’s eyes regain their focus and he blocks the sword that’s coming at him from above with the flat of his blade with his right hand. The young man twists his sword slightly, causing the path to alter, sliding his sword over the short sword, down to its guard. With a sweeping motion, the young man swings his rod toward the exposed blade, snapping it off where the chip was. “Ger, RUN!” The elf abandons his broken sword, leans down and dives in for a tackle, trying to topple his opponent while his arms are out of position. Expecting this, the young man swings his right foot forward for a swift kick into the elf’s gut, keeping his distance. Following the natural motion, the rod flies across the elf’s jaw with a backhand motion, sending him to the ground. “Damn it, Erik!” The one named Gerome curses, as he knows he can’t outrun this young man in front of him in the first place. They already had trouble keeping up with him while he had the massive pack on him, now that’s he’s just wielding a sword and rod, he would be able to catch up within seconds. “RROOOAAARRRRRR!” The man rushes forward with a massive two-handed swing of his sword. *KAN* The sword and rod collides, as the sword has the advantage of both momentum and stability of two hands, it overpowers the blocking rod, pushing it down to the ground. *Huuui shi* Before the sword comes to a complete stop, the man swings it upward at the young man’s face with his right hand, causing the young man’s head to snap back to avoid the strike. In the same motion, his left hand, which discreetly left the hilt before the upswing, draws a dagger from the right side of his belt and swings at the young man’s exposed chest while taking a step forward with his right leg. *kan* A few strains of black hair drifts toward the floor as the dagger collides with the young man’s sword. “Tch!” The man clicks his tongue in displeasure as he jumps backward to avoid any potential counter attacks. *bou* The young man drives his rod into the ground suddenly, with his sword held diagonally across his chest. Keeping his eyes locked with his opponent, he brings his right hand to the guard of the sword, before running the back of the blade between his thumb and index finger while lifting his sword arm up. The sword rests over his head, parallel to the ground, with its tip firmly grasped between his right thumb and index finger. “What kind of stupid stance is that? It’s full of openings!” The man taunts before a corner of his lips curls into a sneer. Although he taunts his opponent, he doesn’t have the nerve to charge in. “Oh, done already?! Just the usual!” The young man’s eye shifts to something behind the man, speaking to it. “Ha! As I will fall for tha— AAAAHHHH!” From behind, a gray blur runs up and bites deeply into the man’s left ACL, causing him to scream in pain. Reacting belatedly, his sword slices thin air with a *huuuui* as the gray fox leaps to the side. “Get away, Gui. I want to test something.” The gray fox moves behind a tree a little further away, peeking at the now limping man and his brother. «Star Ignition»!” The young man slashes down with his sword with an arching overhead motion, quickly followed by an intense burst of white light. *KIII* … *BUUUURRRUUUU* The sword swings faster than the eye can see with a shriek, cleanly cleaving several inches off the side of the man’s upper arm like it was tofu, cutting into the jungle floor, ripping itself out of the young man’s hand, sliding through the ground for a few meters before finally stopping. Stillness fills the air for a moment… The piece of flesh with a sliver of white attached to it, falls from the man’s arm onto the ground with a *pa*, shattering the deathly silence. “UUuggggahhhhhh, AAAHHHH!” *kan* The man drops the sword unceremoniously as the pain hit him all at once, causing him to roll into a fetal position. “I’m going to suggest you log out right now, because this is going to get worse.” The young man yanks the rod out of the ground with his left hand, running the length of it through his right thumb and index finger. “AAARGGGGuuuuuggghhhhh!” The man controls his pain for a brief moment to spew out some last words. “You dirty hacker, I’m going to report you and make you pay! Just you wa-” The man logs out just as the young man finishes his stance, abandoning his speech. “You had any trouble, Gui?” The young man asks as he walks back to the backpack to retrieve his skinning knife. “There were 4 slow things that looked like Hank, so I took care of them.” “Good job. Stand guard while I loot their bodies and hang them up.” “Yes, Brother.” The young man puts his right hand on his ear. “Area cleared, could use some help cleaning up.” * * * * * “Holy shit, Kun, what the hell did you to do that guy’s arm?” Bell is sitting crosslegged on top of Sammy, with her head propped up by her left arm, which in turn is propped up by her left leg. “And how the hell did your sword get buried like that…” Her eyes have a sharp, dangerous glint to them as she interrogates Kun. “I eh…” Kun sets himself a little further away, partially shielding himself with Till on his right, before answering. “Accidentally made a new spell.” *byon* Bell leaps silently into the air from her sitting position and lands herself right beside Kun on his left. “And?” “And… I will show it to you when we get back.” Kun is starting to feel an oppressive aura, as though he’s a mouse facing a hungry tiger. He gives his head a quick shake before recomposing himself and redirects the conversation back to the goal at hand. “And how did your side go?” The felinoid unceremoniously stretches her arm outward before falling backward into a 大 shape before answering. “Killed about 58 I think…? Injured a bunch of them. It was fun in the beginning, but the players were too weak, so it got boring.” “If it was easy, why were you back before I was…?” “Oh~ Oh~ It was cause she d-” *kon* The felinoid springs back up and bops Till in the head before flopping back onto her back. “I messed up and got almost everyone in the area to chase after me.” “We were supposed to make them fight each other… did you forget what we were supposed to do?” “Umm… For a moment… yes?” Bell answers sheepishly, scratching her cheek. “So they were so weak, that you got bored… is that how those 58 kills happened?” “Kun-ni~ Kun-ni~ They were so weak that we had to drop down with the guards to save her~!” “So… they were weak, but she couldn’t handle them herself?” “Yes, she was crying for he-” Bell springs up from her position, leaping at Till’s back. Till flicks her index finger up, sending the felinoid flying upwards. “-lp for a good minute over the PM before I could reach her~ She was panicking so hard that the the guards jumped directly down from Sammy’s mouth~” The girl in the sundress looks up at Bell, who is helplessly flailing her limbs in midair, and sticks out her tongue at her. “But come on! 58?! Isn’t that a little too much, how big an area did you ambush in?” “There were easily over a hundred people after her when I bombarded them~ So I guess she must’ve been really bored~” Suddenly, Till’s head returns to a forward facing position as she lowers Bell back onto Sammy. She lifts her right hand to her ear, “Got it~”. In a smooth motion, she pats the spot in front of where she’s sitting. “Okay Sammy, let’s go pick up Rick-ni.” *kero kero* *sha sha sha* The furry white blob speeds over the treetop and rushes forward at full speed. * * * * * *KAN* *KAN* *zubashi* Sounds of battle are everywhere, encroaching ever closer to the underground entrance. “Um, Till? I think I might need a quick evac. Woah!” Rick drops to all fours as an elf flies toward his head. The body emits a *BADA* when it slams into the tree right next to the youth, who crawls away to avoid the falling body. “Things are getting a little out of hand here!” “Okay~ get to anywhere that you can see the sky and then send a «Fireball» straight up, I will get you out right away~” “Got it!” Dropping his right arm, Rick forms thin, translucent discs made of ice in his palms while he tries to stay low and away. Without delay, the discs are thrown as they travel in a wide arc before striking two men in their backs. *OOOOORRRRRAAAAAAA* A group of spearmen charges into the area from the north, a flag with a golden scale entwined with a green serpent over a white background can be seen being held up nearer to the back. “Fellow Republicans! We can fight for the reward afterwards, let’s work together for now! Rally behind us and then send these bourgeois Royalists back to their doghouses!” A young, scrawny man with chain armour shouts with a booming voice from behind the spearmen, his sword raised above his head. *KAN* *KAN* *KAN* *KAN* *KAN* *KAN* The group of spearmen stampedes over the individual fights that are in their path, lightly wounding and disarming anyone that didn’t move away fast enough. Group tactics are usually unsuitable for terrain like the jungle, but these spearmen are experienced as they are composed of commoners that have served the various garrisons throughout the years. As such, they developed a formation which focuses on flexibility and coordination, allowing the troops to weave past trees and bushes like flowing water passing stones in a river. Seizing the opportunity, Rick half crawls, half sprints to a part of the jungle where a circle of sunlight can be seen. He quickly fires a «Fireball» after finding the hole in the canopy, lest everyone’s attention falls off of the spearmen and onto him. *sha sha sha* The rustling of leaves intensifies soon after, the single tilted pillar of sunshine darkens. “«Rising Tempest!»” *pachi* “Wahhh?! Oh shit!” *sha sha sha sha kuru sha sha kuru* The blonde youth’s body flies upward with a splash of water, breaking twigs as he is catapulted into the air, well above the canopy.

Chapter end