Path of the Slayer B3 47. First Blood & Squad Warmup

Many of my powers pushed to the forefront from my profile, passives and actives combined. My Path Energy went down a decent chunk, but nowhere near bottoming out.

The battle to come would be too suitable for me to risk hitting 0% Path Energy. I would have to be a dumbass or truly unlucky.

Based on the droves of Rank 5 defiled guards throwing themselves at my squad, the start of our long awaited Royal Quest was going to be a fortunately fun one.

With a devilish smile across my deeply shaded face, I stepped forward quickly. I pulled out my second Lever-Action Arm Cannon in my left hand, pairing it with the first in my right.

The others allowed me to take the point position and have my fun with the appetisers as I roared, “I’M HERE! COME AT ME!”

Flying in first was a lumpy half-minotaur man with his ribcage extended out of his chest like the gaping maw of a large beast. He and many others behind him tried to stun me with their targeted Suppression.

The half-minotaur used his other powers as well: he covered himself with a defiled flame, a dark and oily blaze that lit up his flesh. He empowered himself with a physical boost that blew up his muscles as he crashed down on me.

Every attempt at Suppressing me failed against my onslaught of powers, especially the ones that strengthened me to ridiculous degrees.

As my body filled up and radiated a storm of magnetic lightning and cursedness, I took one step to the side and two steps forward. The half-minotaur missed wide while I swiveled my left arm behind me where the defiled half-minotaur would be.

One massive blast later, a new notification entered my System Logs.

[You’ve slain a Rank 5 defiled half-minotaur!]

My left hand and electromagnetic magic spiraled the arm cannon around so fast it almost seemed like an instant reload – CLACKCLACK!

The lever returned to its rightful position, another shell slotted into the chamber, while I fired the other arm cannon in my right hand. A snarling half-goblin with crackling black ice growing from its half-rotten body lost its entire upper torso and most of its head with one blast.

[You’ve slain a Rank 5 defiled half-goblin!]

By the time I spiraled the lever-action for the one in my right, I already fired the arm cannon in my left. I kept working the ‘Judgment Day Reload’ so fast, it almost seemed like I was cheating, and I practically was because of my myriad powers.

Combining it all together turned this into a smooth and entertaining dance of death that obliterated the initial wave before my squad even fully exited the tower.

The notifications rained into my System Logs fast.

[You’ve slain (4) Rank 5 defiled humans!]

[You’ve slain a Rank 5 defiled dwarf!]

[You’ve slain a Rank 5 defiled elf!]

[You’ve slain (2) Rank 5 defiled half-giants!]

[You’ve slain a Rank 5 defiled half-elf!]

[You’ve slain (2) Rank 5 half-kobolds!]

The hollow clicks of two empty chambers reached my ears. I knew this would happen, but the disappointment struck me anyway.

Each Lever-Action Arm Cannon only had enough room for six shells in the under-tube and an extra shell manually loaded into the firing chamber. That gave me fourteen shots overall with both weapons, and these were the only Epic Rank 5 small-arm guns I’d made under the time restraint that was my crafting excursion.

Even with all of my powers, it would take too long to reload them in the face of combat. But I’d done my job as the point-man and cleared the space outside of the tower’s exit.

There was a small gap between the initial wave of guards and the others scurrying out from the wicked woods and from behind the darkened hillocks. As the rushers pressed forward, the defiled Rankers with ranged powers attacked from further back.

Defiled magic beams, bolts, and bombs rained down upon me. Oily flames. Defiled lightning. And some other stranger powers – ghoulish skull heads with bony jaws spread wide, floating eyes that shot defiled shards, and balls of putrid muck that smelled of a caustic poison.

All of that plus more rained down upon me as I manually reloaded each Lever-Action Arm Cannon, my feet set.

Why should I dodge?

I had incredible juniors.

“MOOOO!” Marnarka slammed down in front of me as the vanguard of the juniors, the blackened ground trembling from the power of her Path of the Bulwark.

Multiple Path Magic powers activated with far more expertise than when I first met her. She wielded her Barrier Field, Damage Absorption, and Heavy Stance momentarily while raising her dual Epic Rank 5 tower shields.

The massive eight-foot and heavily armored half-minotaur woman lived up to her Path for me and more, blocking the initial barrage of shots at my body.

Now that she was in place, she hunkered down, gathering her strength and energy, and launched forward with a burst of Path Energy that sounded like one big artillery cannon. She was nowhere near the fastest, but she didn’t need to be when I could assist her with a shove of my magnetic lightning.

With my help, she flew forth harder and faster like a massive cannonball. The impact against the second wave of rushers sounded like snapping twigs and meat patties hitting a flying wall.

With her in the enemy’s face, the Rank 5 Suppressions lashed out, but the effects of Slayer Feast were making Marnarka too spiritually strong to be stun-locked. She broke through the fields and blasts of overlapping Suppression and swung around her dual shields, busting heads and cracking sternums with the edges.

The defiled Rankers screamed at that like the horrid and twisted things they’d become, redirecting their attention to the heavily armored half-minotaur Bulwark. They lost sight of the other dangers I launched at them like an electromagnetic catapult.

If Marnarka was the vanguard, our Bulwark, then Brug was the battleaxe, our Raider. The half-orc roared as he slammed down next to the large woman he wished to charm. My electromagnetic magic released itself from his body with an explosive burst that stunned the nearest enemies.

Even with the half-orc being seven feet and decently smaller than Marnarka, Brug took up even more space with every swing of his double-bladed battleaxe and the activation of his Path Magic. The moment he spilled blood, his Blood Fervor combined with his Path Fire, the double-heads of his Epic weapon coated in bright ruby flames.

Each strike delivered gorier and more painful damage that had the defiled Rankers screaming and losing ground, retreating from the onslaught. Brug used his Boarish Rush to throw himself even further forward, letting himself get lost in the madness with each chop, chop, chop, chop, chop!

That came at a sacrifice to him as Rankers landed strikes against his form from either some distance away or with melee weapons. Seeing that, Marnarka rumbled forth to help fill in the space, taking the burden off Brug, even if not entirely.

The half-orc only became stronger as he soaked damage, his swings like flaming hurricane winds. The two of them helped create even more space for another upfront warrior who I was holding back by the cuff of her sleek armor.

Once I saw the proper opening, I launched Redfang like a bolt out of a ballistae.

Our happy-go-lucky half-gnoll Savage let loose a screech of maddened glee as she extended her metal claws. Around her jaws were metal fangs that came with her helmet, the lower part moving on a hinge to match the movement of her mouth.

With so much blood already on the field, Redfang leaned into her Path Magic: Mega Red, Blood Howl, Path Blood, and others. She became a streak of crimson, and the wounded enemies could feel their own blood turn against them, slowing their bodies as Redfang nearly became a twister of violence and gore.

She slashed, slashed, and slashed some more so fast, it was like throwing fresh meat into an auto-blender. While her Ripper Claws was a Rare Path Magic, it was the center of her offensive, hence why I’d designed her gauntlets to have claw extensions to fit her natural style. With her on the field twirling and slashing around Brug and Marnarka, the front of the defiled Ranker wave broke.

The enemy couldn’t land damage on Marnarka without her blocking, absorbing, and crushing them with heavy strikes of her dual tower shields or massive kicks of her strong legs. Even if they didn’t die on the first blow, that was sometimes worse, because Marnarka was very well-trained at finishing an enemy under stomps of her boots.

When the enemy landed strikes on Brug, that only strengthened him, especially when he used his Grudge Cleave to return the favor. Enough damage led to him activating his best Path Magic, Berserk Rampage, pushing him even further at the risk of losing himself a little. 

With Brug and Marnarka absorbing so much attention already, Redfang could go on a frenzy without suffering too much damage. Even if she took a hit, the sleek Rank 5 armor I’d made for her was strong enough to absorb most damage for her. She didn’t have to waste too much Path Energy to defend herself.

That and there was me.

Every time a large enough salvo of ranged attacks landed upon my junior warriors, I abused my most powerful Great Skill: Pain Eater Juggernaut.

My energy wrapped around them, toughening them, making them even more durable than they were already. The ranged attacks became laughably weak against our enhanced durability, and the upfront rushers died even faster while my junior warriors were less concerned about the defenses.

Thus, we created even more space, granting room for an even scarier response.

“Kroker, Syleth, go at it. You shouldn’t need me just yet,” Merlin said from behind me and my warriors.

I was already excited – especially with my arm cannons fully loaded up now (6+1 in each) – but hearing the caster juniors coming out raised my thrill further. I hadn’t gotten many opportunities to see them in live action yet, so I split more of my attention away from my junior warriors and watched as Kroker and Syleth moved up next to me but no further.

To my left, the little half-kobold had his eyes closed, his hands pressed together, his body locked in a rigid stance while encased in thick metals and cloths that made up his Epic Rank 5 armor. To my right, Syleth’s metal-encased body undulated, the half-naga performing a sort of ritualistic dance before activating her best Path Magic: Hypnotizing Theater.

Blaring sing-song voices sounded out from all around us. Spiraling lights flashed above the heads of the frontline combatants. Myriad chants, all teasing, light, and suggestive, flowed around the defiled Rankers.

With them caught up under the wowing power of her first Epic Path Magic, Syleth used her second Epic Path Magic: Masterful Command.

“Fight for your goddess, fight for me,” Syleth demanded, forcing half of the defiled Rankers to turn against their compatriots.

Even with me knowing her powers, I was surprised to see that still. The defilement ran deep in the Rankers, and even the ones that were caught under Syleth’s magic were hesitating to fight their own comrades, but Syleth’s magic was too Epic to deny.

I also reasoned my Slayer Feast was making her charm even more powerful, even deadlier, overcoming the corruption, even if only temporarily. That made what happened next stellar to see.

Kroker came out of his prayer and unleashed his own series of Path Magic: Holy Wards and Path Light, making the battlefield shine around the warrior juniors and the mind-controlled Rankers with enormous walls of divine light. The wards, of course, made all the defiled Rankers combust with magic that was an antithesis to them, but I noticed that Syleth’s magic was more potent, especially her Hypnotizing Theater.

Kroker’s wards enhanced Syleth’s powers, and more of the defiled Rankers fell under her command and turned against their own, even if they were burning up under hot white flames throughout.

“My casters are a bit more narrow in their approach compared to me,” Merlin admitted, a gold smoking pipe hanging from the corner of his mouth. After he let out a multi-colored stream, he spoke onward. “But their specialties are strong in the right scenarios, especially when we could come up with tactics that can align Path of the Charmer with the Path of the Cleric together.”

I chuckled at that. “You would think those two Paths wouldn’t work well together.”

“I dare say any Path can work another as long as they have some common foundational understanding,” Merlin replied, blowing another multi-colored stream of smoke. “I’d worked on that with Kroker and Syleth the most instead of teaching them spells. I figured enhancing their strengths would provide better results than just spreading them out too thin.”

There was no fault I could find with that. I watched as the frontline of the defiled Rankers collapsed completely. The consistent damage from Kroker’s Cleric Magic wasn’t that heavy, but his enhancement of Syleth’s Charmer Magic swayed everything.

My Bulwark, Raider, and Savage didn’t take any further damage and were emboldened by Kroker’s wards as well. In a way, everyone fighting against the Defiled Covenant was on a holy mission.

Though I had to admit that the holy powers made my cursedness uncomfortable. Still, we were aligned, so neither my powers nor Kroker’s powers got in each other’s way.

“You did good with them, Merlin,” I said before nodding down at Kroker and up at Syleth. “Good job, you two. Now let’s go check on the rogue team.”

With the frontline cleared, I stepped ahead, leading the warriors and the casters. Behind us, the Veterans, Thumper, and Grimmy followed in our wake.

I’d told my knight to hold back for now with the Veterans. With powers like hers, we were better off waiting until she was absolutely needed. Grimmy took that seriously, especially since she was positioned to watch my back.

With our backsides covered, it hadn’t missed my notice that the ranged attacks from the defiled Rankers had fallen off significantly before the frontline collapsed.

In the middle of the massacre, Thumper’s Shadow Clones, the Epic Wolf Shade, and the rogue team stood victorious. Weaver waited on top of a skeletal tree covered in webs from his Path of the Spider. Underneath him, Velira spun around her spear, flicking off blood, the power of her Path of the Ranger emanating off her coolly.

Then there was Noodles, the neko standing on a pile of twisted corpses, each one with expressions that foretold the horrific pain that they’d suffered against the Path of the Tormentor until their last moments. Even without the real Thumper leading them, the rogue team proved to be the most self-sufficient of the squad.

Taking out the ranged Rank 5 defilers on their own without oversight from their elders was an objective that could’ve gone horribly wrong. But from what I could tell, they’d competently circled around from the flanks and assassinated the defiled Rankers from behind swiftly and without error.

Though I imagined Noodles would’ve cut loose the moment they’d whittled down enough of the Rank 5 back line.

Looking around, I noticed no more attackers. A certain notification in my System Logs confirmed our first victory.

[Slayer: You’ve slain all foes in a significant encounter. Reward: 50% Path Energy!]