Bacon Macleod
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B3? Chapter 276: Flight, pt. 3
🕑 Added 2025-05-03 21:30:02 +0000 UTCIt had become imminently clear to her that Kaius and Porkchop had an immensity to their strength not seen since the oldest stories of her people.
Despite the concrete proof of it unravelling in front of her eyes, Kenva still struggled to believe what she was seeing.
Safely nestled between the bulk of a floating greatshield and a monstrous greater beast draped in heavy-plate, Kenva looked out over the raging chaos that had descended on the site of her months-long imprisonment.
Hundreds of guards, fighting against dozens of beasts—every moment, another creature would scale the walls, and another boom rocked the gate that gave the defenders a modicum of safety.
It was a whirl of blood and screams, and what should have been an impossible barrier to their safety.
Even if she was stronger than almost all of the forces in play, Kenva knew that alone she would have had no chance of escape. That she would have been whittled down, penned in, and killed before she’d even made it twenty strides across the courtyard.
Even with a balanced team of people as capable as herself and Ianmus, it would have been a desperate thing. A pyrrhic victory at best.
Yet Kaius cut his way through all opposition with ease—moving at a speed that was inhuman. He was just too fast, even with what she knew about his levels and Honours. Hells, he had a split-focus class!
And yet he still scythed through their barriers like so much wheat.
Porkchop, at least, was easier to understand. Greater beasts were feared for a reason, let alone ones that had Honours by the pile, and a potent Vanguard class.
To her left the steel wall rose, a shuddering clank sounding in her ear as the barrier adjusted to ward off a shot that had come from behind.
It dropped a moment later—she was already moving.
Spinning on her lead foot to run backwards, Kenva’s hand slipped up to her quiver and nocked an arrow in a single smooth motion. She drew, pulling her oversized bow taut with the strength of her back.
When Porkchop dropped the shield once more, she was ready—Farseer taking in the entirety of the field in a single glimpse.
An archer, far on the battlements, fumbling at his next arrow.
Kenva loosed.
Feeling the deep thrum of her bow, she watched her shot lance through the air. Flat and true, it punched deep into the open face of her target's helmet, imbued magic within the arrow detonating a moment later. The archer fell to the courtyard below.
*Ding! level 67 Human - Steady Shooter slain - Experience Gained! Reduced Experience for slaying a foe of Insignificant Strength!*
Spinning back, she scanned their surroundings. There were targets galore, like a penned in herd brought to slaughter.
So many that she was forced to prioritise the threats that actively focused on them to the exclusion of all else.
Her back burned as she fired arrow after arrow, so quick that the haft of her bow began to heat from the constant flexion — saving her more potent skills for a threat that required them. Behind her, Ianmus did the same; ending threats with a precision that would have made her own mother proud, when he wasn’t too busy healing their stalwart protector who savaged anything that approached too close to their right.
*Ding! level 70 Shade Wolf - Shadowed Stalker slain - Experience Gained! Reduced Experience for slaying a foe of Insignificant Strength!*
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…
*Ding! level 81 Human - Cudgelman slain - Experience Gained! Reduced Experience for slaying a foe of Insignificant Strength!*
Another mage, just barely a visible slip of forehead and eyes, started to glare at Kaius’s savage assault from a position deeply embedded in a squad. His staff jutted high over his head, a dense cloud of light mana coalescing with the rigid precision of a sorcerous spell.
Snapping her bow up, Kenva judged the distance and angle needed to make the shot—secure in her judgement even before she reached a ready position. The wind rustled through the hair around her ear as the arrow shot home, fletching brushing against her gauntleted hand.
She didn’t watch to see if the arrow landed—that kind of shot would have been easy, even when she was a child. There just wasn’t enough time.
*Ding! level 92 Human - Brightcaster slain - Experience Gained!*
A screaming cry dragged her attention to the sky—a pair of brown mottled raptors diving straight towards the mage at her back in an eerie display of target selection.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a squad bring down a six limbed horse and switch their focus to charge at their position. She grinned.
Twice more, her bow twanged.
Twin arrows took out the wings of the birds. Unable to control their flight, their dives veered, sending the squawking bundles of fury careening straight into the approaching squad. Unprepared for the sudden aerial assault, two men went down screaming—knifelike talons punching through their chain.
The rest of the squad aborted their charge, falling on their latest enemy.
Already, she was moving, searching the battlefield for the next threat that stood between her and the freedom she had craved for so long.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a group of heavy-set defenders in full splint armour sprint straight for them with a determined look in their eyes —hidden from view until the last moment thanks to a pack of beasts that was more focused on another group of guards that were trying to hem them in.
She winced, realising immediately that the greatshield that was helping to keep the pressure off her and Ianmus was in the way of her shots.
“Ianmus, physical buff please.” she called out clear and loud, slinging her bow over her shoulder. While she preferred archery, she definitely wasn’t limited to it.
Besides, with the fury and disgust that threatened to spill up from her chest, she needed to burn off some steam.
To his credit, the mage reacted quickly—solar mana spilling over her to sink deep into her core, where its heat percolated and infused her with unnatural vitality.
*Ding! You have been Enhanced - Sundrenched Strength!*
Slamming her hand onto the lip of the shield, she kicked off the ground and vaulted over it in a single smooth motion.
“Be careful—I'm too busy holding this side to help quickly.” the voice of their greater beast defender sounded in her head, far more evenly than she would have expected considering the chest-rattling growls he loosed as he tore into their attackers.
“I will,” she replied, ripping her blades free from her waist as she dashed towards the approaching men.
They smiled at her—thought her overconfident and weak. That she had over extended in desperation, confident despite their lack of analysis skills.
One lumbered at her with a heavy claymore, swinging in a great horizontal cleave. Spry and wily, she bent at the waist—far further than any rigid man-thing could match. Polished steel swung harmlessly past her nose.
Before the guard could correct, she retaliated—razor sharp blades punching deep into the man's shoulders. As he squealed, she kicked off his chest—cutting his throat with a flick of her wrist as she got out of range.
He didn’t even get time to scream.
*Ding! level 85 Human - Limbcleaver slain - Experience Gained! Reduced Experience for slaying a foe of Insignificant Strength!*
The next two raced in, infusing attack after attack with Skills that heightened the speed and strength of their blows. She danced.
Not perfectly—she was not motion given form like their fearless leader—but enough that she only suffered surface cuts as she left a dozen deep stabs in their chests. Reparations paid out twice in kind for every injury she suffered.
They fell, just like the others.
*Ding! level 74 Human - Barbarian slain - Experience Gained! Reduced Experience for slaying a foe of Insignificant Strength!*
…
…
*Ding! level 67 Human - Heavy Enforcer slain - Experience Gained! Reduced Experience for slaying a foe of Insignificant Strength!*
Seeing a large lizard focus on her from across the courtyard, Kenva darted back to the safety of the shield—a yellow beam splashing against her chest as she approached. Energy surged through her to fuel her Health and heal her wounds at a rapid pase.
*Ding! You have been Healed - Ray of Tender Recovery!*
“Thanks,” she said to Ianmus, skidding back into position.
He gave her a nod. “Good shooting.” he replied, before he snapped his hand out to blind a large cat who leapt from the walls above to land beside them.
The frenetic tempo of battle took over once more. Slamming her blades home in their scabbards, Kenva drew her bow and took aim. An arrow sprouted from the creature's skull.
It didn’t die, even with the projectile shattering into shards inside of its skull. Clenching her teeth in frustration, she ignored the sting in her palm as she loosed two more shots into its twitching body.
*Ding! level 91 Blackmaw Wildcat - Back Alley Blade slain - Experience Gained! Reduced Experience for slaying a foe of Insignificant Strength!*
Switching back to the charging lizard she had spotted earlier, she channeled stamina as she drew—energy siphoning in a torrent. Gazing deep into its lightless eyes, she held her position, strengthening her shot with Horizon’s Lance. At the base of its skull, Farseer revealed a nexus of flowing energy—a weakness she could exploit, if she could just punch deep enough into its flesh.
The beasts were far more of an issue than the guards—their levels and abilities varied and unpredictable, their bodies strong and lethal. Their captors were doomed. Everywhere she looked, they seemed to be on the very cusp of an uncontrollable rout—faces strained and white with terror.
It mattered little to her. They might have been strong, but she was deadlier still.
She loosed, standing unflinching as her bow let off a concussive boom next to her head. The lizard’s head ruptured, spilling blood and brain onto the already stained stone of the courtyard.
Looking around, she saw her primary fear come to pass.
The leader of this hive of scum was moving, his pet hunter close on his heels as they charged across the field—straight for Kaius.
Reacting on instinct, she analysed them for the second time—reaffirming what she had already known when she had first seen the brilliance of power that burned within their bodies. Their Masks were down, foolishly relying on their simple levels to resist analysis. It mattered little to her Farsight.
Human - Level 234
Higher Race, Extreme Threat, Skirmisher, Uncommon Class
Human - Level 223
Higher Race, Extreme Threat, Skirmisher, Uncommon Class
Her rescuer watched them closely, a calculating glint in his eye as he cut down yet another beast with contemptuous ease. He knew the strength they represented, and he didn’t seem to care.
Nor did Porkchop seem to care—simply guarding their flank with unyielding endurance and the might of his claws.
Kenva had spent her whole life thinking she was destined to be a lethal threat on the field of battle—her class, skills, and build had been focused to that end for her entire life.
If she was a born killer, then her rescuers were power embodied.
A pair of tier two’s approached, and they oozed confidence? Insanity. Even with her Corporus aspect, her honours, and her talent, she’d only just managed to assist in the killing of one second tier—and they had fallen afoul of walking head first into a free-caster with a spell at the ready.
With a hard trial rapidly approaching, she continued to make her shots; focused on the archers and mages that her team could do little against. All the while, they crept closer to the stairs.
To her left, Porkchop had all the raging power of a tempest—his sheer might and indefatigable persistence shattering any obstacle in their path—claws and teeth piercing defenses with ease as he tore open the chests of men and beasts alike. Whenever the crush got too pressing, he thrust his claws into the earth—breaking them a path with a wall of crystal.
Ahead of them, Kaius danced in and out of the fray as he seamlessly shifted between cutting them to freedom, and dancing back to assist when they were beset from the sides. Every movement seemed to be precisely what was needed for the moment, as he prevented the tight corridor that Porkchop had forged through the press of bodies from collapsing.
It was an inspiring fluidity, one that if she possessed, Kenva would have been able to use to triple her number of kills. He slipped through the guards like a gust of wind, surgical strikes leaving men and beast alike dead or disabled. He was…untouchable—even though he had made the baffling choice to avoid the use of his spells Kaius was untouchable.
It was like he was in the second tier himself.
Eventually, when they were about halfway to the stairs, Kenva’s pride shrivelled up and died. It was impossible to hold a sense of superiority in the face of such skill and artistry.
And somehow, despite everything, Kaius was getting better. It seemed with every passing second he grew tighter, more controlled. Like he commanded the battlefield to move to his whims—guards and beasts alike seemingly offering themselves up as sacrifices for his blade.
It was downright intimidating is what it was. She fully understood why their mage seemed to have attached himself to the pair like a limpet—not that the pretty blonde wasn’t capable in his own right. By the burning heat of summer, even Porkchop’s fluffiness couldn’t hide how blatantly lethal he was.
Kenva hoped she could keep up.
The thought brought a grin to her face—heated her blood and ignited a fire as she levelled her bow at the rapidly approaching second tiers.
She hoped she could keep up? What was wrong with her?
After everything she had pushed for, after every long night feeling separated and distant from those who did not give life their all? She finally met some people with drive and capability, and she felt intimidated?
Teeth bared hungrily, she loosed—arrow scything through the air.
Finally she had some real competition!
Comments
Joey McGowan
I'm liking the 4th party member.
Esther Barra
Tftc!
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
