WIEDERGEBURT Act VI: Chapter 33

I soon learned the reason Kari had me fight against Nidhogg when, upon waking up the next morning, every person I came across congratulated me on an amazing fight. Some people would slap my back. Others just gave me a respectful nod. It once more made me realize that might made right, especially in the realm where Drakvar roamed.

Because our plans were to attack the Sekbeist under cover of darkness that night, I did not do anything strenuous. Anything too strenuous. I did not consider having sex with my wives to be something that would leave me incapable of doing my job, and I had four years of absence to make up for.

We didn’t just have sex, but I would admit we probably had more of it in that one day than any other day I had been alive. I’d honestly lost count of how many times the three of us had orgasmed. Our room positively reeked of sex.

The late evening arrived eventually. It was hard to tell evening from mid-day because the sky didn’t change color until night, when the redness from the sun faded and the twin moons and stars came out.

Nights in this arid land were cold, but my group, which now included Chloe and Tora, were inside of the fortress and standing beside a fireplace as we made our plans with Commander Vitra. The purpose of this meeting was to introduce the rest of the emergency squadron who had traveled with us. They were the ones who’d be going on this mission to destroy the siege towers.

“From left to right, the four beside me are Bynnus, Othios, Rega, and Naki,” Commander Vitra introduced with a sweeping gesture. “Though they are still learning how to use high level concepts, they are excellent long-range support specialists whose skills complement each other well.”

Bynnus was a small man with a powerful physique. It was a bit odd. He was shorter than me, but his body had more muscles packed on it than I did. Bright red scales glistened like fire in the burning firelight. His tail was thick and sturdy, and the long wings jutting from his back were currently folded, though I didn’t doubt they were long.

Next to him was the one known as Othios, who had midnight blue scales, blue eyes, and deep blue hair that parted around his horns. He was more slender than Bynnus, and his tail was longer.

Then there was Rega and Naki--the two women in this group. Rega had dark brown scales that seemed to change color depending on how the light hit them. Naki, on the other hand, had electric yellow scales. Both had shorter than average horns, but where Rega’s swept behind her, Naki’s came toward the front and curled. Both were very small and petite like other Drakvar women.

They seemed to be an okay group. Very professional. When they were introduced, each one placed a fist over their chest and bowed. I didn’t have any complaints and nodded at them.

“So you four will be providing Chloe and Tora with support,” I said. “I’ll be counting on you to watch their backs.”

“I will also be at the front with them,” Commander Vitra said. “Though we will want to avoid having too many people fighting at once.”

There was no disputing his words. Since the mission called for them to corral the Sekbeist army into a pass that wouldn’t let the Sekbeists use their numbers advantage, having more people on our side would just be a waste. They weren’t here to destroy the army anyway. The entire purpose of their attack was to create a distraction that dew the Sekbeists attention away from myself, Kari, and Siv.

“One of our scouts reported that the Sekbeist numbers look to be around one million or more,” Commander Vitra continued. “However, most of them are simple slaves. A single Drakvar is worth as many as ten thousand slaves. The only ones we need to worry about are the two Sekbeist Lords.”

“You can leave the lords to Tora and me.” Chloe gestured toward herself and Chloe with a smile. “If Durmuz shows up again, we can handle him.”

“I’ll hand that fucker’s ass to him on a silver fucking platter,” Tora added.

“It is not Durmuz I am worried about.” Shaking his head, Commander Vitra looked at a wall to their left, but I had a feeling he was looking through it. “According to what I’ve heard from previous reports, the one in charge of this assault is Shulong. While he hasn’t mastered a third concept like some, he is one of the more cunning Sekbeist Lords. His wily tactics is what makes him such a difficult opponent to face.”

“If he’s as smart as you say, then he probably won’t be fooled by a distraction,” Kari said as she thoughtfully stroked her jaw.

“But he still won’t have any choice except to confront it,” I said. “He might remain behind, however. If he does, then you can leave him to me. I’m fairly confident I can at least keep him occupied if not defeat him outright.”

Siv grabbed my hand as if the thought of me facing off against a monster like this Shulong frightened her, but I just gripped her hand back and gave her a reassuring smile.

“We will leave him to you then,” Commander Vitra said.

We continued strategizing until it was time for the mission to begin, then traveled outside and took to the skies. A guide came with us. This person apparently knew the mountainous region we were traveling through better than most. He helped us find the mountain pass we would be traveling through.

Like most mountain passes, the trail was not smooth but rough and covered in shifting rocks, jagged spires, and steep cliffs. The trail eventually split. According to our guide, one direction would lead to the front of the enemy encampment, and the other would lead to the back.

It was decided that we would take the back, while the distraction group took the front. Like that, we parted ways. I could only hope all of us would be around when the mission was over.

***

Tora was in a foul fucking mood as Eryk split off from them, traveling onto another path with his two wives. She watched them go and didn’t even bother hiding her jealousy from the others.

“You are upset,” Chloe observed.

“Of course I’m fucking upset,” Tora snapped. “Ever since we came to this realm, all Eryk has thought about are his fucking wives.”

“Well, they are his wives,” Chloe said as though it should have been obvious. “If he was not worried about them, I would be very surprised… and very disappointed. I would not wish to serve a man who feels nothing when his wives are in danger.”

“Yeah… but ever since they reunited, all he’s been fucking doing is fucking them,” Tora grumbled. “He hasn’t spent any time with me at all. I mean, what the fuck am I?”

“You are his friend, and not much more right now. Master Eryk has not seen his wives in four years. If you truly love him, you would let him have this time with his wives,” Chloe admonished, and Tora fell silent.

She knew, logically, that she was acting childish, that Eryk had always been thinking of his wives, and that it was only right for him to spend time with him now that they were reunited. Even so, it still stung that she was not a part of that circle. Worse still was that she didn’t know how to become part of that circle.

Kari said she had to get the approval of all his wives. How the fuck was she supposed to do that when two of them weren’t even in this realm?

“We’re coming up on the enemy encampment,” Commander Vitra suddenly said. “I suggest you all remain silent now.”

Tora shut her mouth and followed the commander as Chloe walked by her side. The four other Drakvar were behind them, taking up the rear.

Like most mountainous regions, this mountain path did not have much vegetation. The twin moons shone upon them and graced them with enough illumination to see where they were going. All she could see was sheer cliffs and a winding path blocked with numerous large boulders.

They were soon expelled from the mountain pass and came upon what could only be the enemy camp. It was a massive encampment that spread across the entire pass. There must have been thousands or maybe even hundreds of thousands of tents. That largest tent was in the very center, which would be the commander’s tent, and the siege towers that gave them so much trouble were located at the front. There were only twelve left.

Commander Vitri hid himself behind a large rock that was large enough for several people and gestured them over. Tora pressed in close and peered over the edge.

Several ugly creatures walked passed the rock they were hiding behind, about a dozen meters away. They had rancid green skin like someone had puked on them, red eyes surrounded by black, and gangly limbs that made them look like twigs. None of them were very tall. Tora guessed they only came up to about her solar plexus. These particular creatures were dressed in basic leather armor. Sheathed short swords were attached to their hips.

“What is the plan, Commander?” asked Chloe.

“Bynnus, Othios, Naki, and Rega will launch an attack on the enemy encampment to get their attention,” Commander Vitra said. “Once they charge out, we will race back into the mountain pass and make our stand. Fortunately, we do not need to worry about flyers since Giant Lightning Horned Eagles do not have good night vision.”

On the commander’s orders, Bynnus Othios, Rega, and Naki got into position and released their Spiritual Power. It didn’t explode from them like normal. Tora could feel they were restraining their Spiritual Power to keep the enemy from sensing it as they wove their attacks.

As she wondered what kind of attack they were created, Naki raised her hands above her head and a massive crack formed in the sky, almost invisible against the starry backdrop. Tora sensed the spatial energy coming from the crack. Barely a second after it was formed, several meters emerged from the crack and descended toward the enemy camp.

Loud explosions rocked the earth. Tora gritted her teeth as they rattled inside of her mouth. Each meteor that struck the ground detonated with the force of a hurricane, destroying much of the ground and leaving behind several large craters.

At that moment, Bynnus and Rega released their own techniques. Six tornadoes appeared inside of the enemy camp, and then exploded with fire. The flames turned the tornadoes a bright white. Hundreds of Sekbeists were sucked into them, spinning around and around as the flames burned them to a crisp, until not even ash remained.

Finally, Othios slammed his hands into the ground, and the Spiritual Power that erupted from him traveled through the earth and toward the enemy camp. The ground split apart straight down the center. Hundreds of tents pitched over and fell into the massive chasm that formed. The Sekbeists resting in those tents didn’t even have time to scream as they fell into the black depths.

At that moment, Commander Vitra stepped out from behind the rock, inhaled deeply, and let out a dragon’s roar that created sonic vibrations in the air. Tora had to hold her hand to her ears. It felt like the roar was bursting her eardrums.

He stopped roaring a moment later and cocked his head to the side. Tora didn’t know what he was doing, but then she heard several enraged squawks and angry shouting coming from the enemy camp. Looking back, she noticed that a large group of Sekbeists were heading their way.

“It looks like that did the trick,” Commander Vitra said. “Come. Let us find a good place to make our stand.”

No one questioned the man as they followed him back into the mountain pass. They ran along until they were close to the three-way split, then turned around. Tora could already see the tiny creatures chasing after them, but they were not the only ones. There were taller Sekbeist with chalk-white skin that looked more human, save for the slits they had in place of noses and thick brow ridges instead of eyebrows. Even further behind them were the so-called Warlords of the slave caste.

“That was fast,” Bynnus muttered. “Guess we went a little overboard.”

“There is not such thing as going overboard when it comes to killing these monsters,” Naki chided.

“Long-range support, move further back and provide cover fire. Ladies Chloe and Tora, you will be fighting by my side,” Commander Vitra shouted orders.

“Very well.” Chloe stepped forward and a delicate smile lit her face. “Since it is just the three of us battling up front, how about I make it more difficult for these creatures to reach us?”

Before anyone could ask what she meant, Chloe tapped her foot against the floor, and the earth began rumbling before several massive walls at least a hundred meters tall formed out of the earth. It blocked the path of the Sekbeists and forced them to move around each obstacle. This, of course, slowed them down and created an even more focused funnel.

As the first group of Sekbeists came into range, Tora removed her sword from its sheathe and began channeling spatial energy into her weapon. She was still extremely pissed at not being able to spend any time with Eryk these past few days. And now she had the perfect targets to take out her rage on.

***

I felt the earth shake before we reached our destination and realized the battle had already started. Beside me, Kari and Siv also perked up.

“It looks like they have begun their distraction,” Kari said.

“We should hurry,” I added.

The mountain path we followed had become a lot more narrow, but it opened up toward the end, and we were disgorged right next to the enemy base. I could already see the damage done on the other side. Craters had formed, fires were burning, and a massive chasm split the earth. The tents nearest us remained unharmed, but it didn’t look like there was anyone in them.

“They really did make good at their distraction,” Kari said with an admiring sigh. “I didn’t expect them to wreak so much havoc just to get the Sekbeist’s attention.”

“Neither did I,” I muttered.

“There are still a few Sekbeists guarding the camp,” Siv said, cocking her head to the side as she glanced at him. “Eryk?”

“Do not worry about them.” I smiled and touched Siv’s cheek. “You and Kari do what you need to remove the threat of those siege towers. I will provide you with another distraction should that become necessary.”

“Let’s get going,” Kari added.

We snuck into the enemy camp, wandering past large tents made from Demon Beast hide. All the tents were shaped the same. They were just large circles maybe a dozen meters in diameter and ten meters tall. A few were bigger, and I suspected the Sekbeist Warlords were housed in those ones. Of course, the biggest was the tent in the very center.

Just as Siv said, there were a few Sekbeist who had not chased after Commander Vitra and his group. They were likely tasked with guarding the camp in case the attack was a distraction. Whoever was in charge of this army was smart. However, the Sekbeist were no match for me, Kari, and Siv.

Being careful not to release any Spiritual Power, I used only my physical abilities to kill them. Necks were snapped. Rib cages were crushed. I even removed the heart of one Sekbeist before they had time to even open their mouth. Like this, the three of us made our way inexorably closer to the siege towers.

“There are a lot more Sekbeist guarding the siege towers,” Kari mumbled as we hid behind a tent.

She was right. There were at least a couple dozen guards surrounding each siege tower, and while most of them were simple Grunts, there were also several Shamans, Elites, and even a Warlord. It looked like each siege tower was guarded by a battalion.

“How are we going to get past them?” asked Siv, looking at me.

I thought about what we should do, but I knew we didn’t have long to ponder this. We needed to remove the threat these siege towers posed before our distraction squad was overwhelmed. Even if they were strong enough to fight against thousands of Sekbeists at a time, they would eventually tired out.

“We’ll kill them all at once,” I decided, turning to Kari and Siv. “Combine your powers with mine. We’ll use a combined Spiritual Earth Technique to swallow them whole and crush them beneath the ground.”

Siv and Kari knew exactly what I wanted. The two knelt with me as we placed our hands on the ground and channeled our Spiritual Power through the earth. I imagined the earth forming hundreds of mouths to swallow these creatures whole, pictured it happening within my mind, and then channeled my will to make it happen through the earth.

What came next happened so quick most of the Sekbeist didn’t even have time to scream. Mouths rose from the earth, large enough to swallow a Warlord whole, covered in a row of sharp teeth. They rose up around our enemies, then closed with a powerful chomp. I thought I could hear the crunch of bones echo from afar and winced. I hoped that was just my imagination.

“That should do it,” I muttered as the mouths slowly sank back into the ground, looking a lot like a water-natured Demon Beast slipping beneath the surface of a lake.

“Time to go,” Kari added.

“Mmm,” Siv did not say anything, but she followed Kari and I as we raced across the empty space toward the siege towers.

“I thought I sensed something odd,” a voice said just as we reached the first siege tower.

I looked up to find a figure floating in the sky, their body wreathed in darknessthat drifted lazily across them like flames. This person was visible thanks to the twin moons’ light.

The person confronting us had a thick chest, a bald head, thick brow ridges, and spikes protruding from his elbows and knees. The muscles covering his body were quite impressive, as was the black armor covering his torso, legs, and arms. Glowing red eyes peered down at me like I was a curiosity. His gaze shifted from me to Kari, then to Siv.

“A god child, a human, and a Drakvar. Quite the eclectic group,” he said.

“Are you the one called Shulong?” I asked.

The Sekbeist floated down, arms still crossed, and landed just a few meters away from me. Now that he was closer, I could see how much taller he was than me. I barely came up to his chest.

“That is indeed my name,” he answered with a grim smile. “And if I am not mistaken, you are the one who Durmuz and Zugarod tried to capture back on Gudeverdenen. I must admit that I never expected to see you here.”

I shrugged. “And yet here I am.”

“Indeed.”

I sized this man up with both Spiritual Perception and simple eyesight. The power radiating from this man was impressive without him even doing anything, so I could only imagine how strong he was. Saying that, I did not believe this man was stronger than the Sekbeist Overlord after he had completely taken over the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain.

“Kari. Siv.” I gestured with my head. “Go on. Do what we came here for and leave this man to me.”

“Okay. Be careful, Eryk,” Kari said before taking Siv by the hand and moving toward the siege towers again.

“Do you really think I will let you destroy my remaining siege towers?” Shulong asked as he raised his hand toward Kari and Siv.

The space around Kari and Siv began distorting. Spatial energy caused cracks to form in the sky, but before Shulong could complete whatever he was planning, I stomped on the ground and created a hole beneath his feet. With nothing beneath him, he was forced to divert his attention away from the two women, and I used that moment to Flash Step into his personal space.

I created the Dragon’s Tail Ruler within less than a second. It formed from the earth and appeared in my hands. As I gripped the handle with both my real and fake hand, I swung the weapon from my left hip to my right shoulder--or that was what would have happened if Shulong didn’t grab my weapon before it could carve him open.

The shockwave that erupted when his hand met my weapon forced us both apart and caused cracks to appear on the ground. Shulong stared at the weapon in my hand, then at the ground, and then at his own hand. He curled his fingers before looking at me again.

“So not only have you mastered the Concepts of Life and Death, but you have also mastered the seven elements.” Shulong frowned. “That will make you a lot more troublesome to deal with.”

As he spoke, black energy began gathering on his body, solidifying over his armor, turning the already dark armor into something so black it seemed to absorb the light around it. I could sense the Concept of Negation. It looked like this Sekbeist Lord had mastered the most destructive concept to a very high degree. That would make this fight a lot more difficult.

However, at least his attention was now completely focused on me and not Kari and Siv, who had already disappeared inside of the first siege tower. I had to be thankful for the little things.

***

Bynnus, Othios, Rega, and Naki did an excellent job of providing cover fire for them. Flames and meteors rained down from the sky, tornadoes and bolts of lightning tore through Sekbeists on the ground, and spikes of earth impaled dozens of enemies with ease. Thanks to their efforts, Tora, Chloe, and Commander Vitra had a much easier time fighting these monsters.

Tora was using the Concept of Creation to create all kinds of weapons to kill her opponents. Spears rained from above, beams of energy tore through torsos like they were made of paper, and large rocks appeared randomly out of the sky to crush a dozen Sekbeist flat. She only half paid attention to what her ranged attacks were doing and focused mostly on fighting the ones that came in close.

Tora skipped backward as several Sekbeist tried to attack her at the same time. She felt something enter her shadow and stomped her foot, creating several thousand stakes of darkness within her shadow. A squeal erupted as the Shaman was ejected from her shadow, body covered in holes. At the same time, Tora moved back in and swung her sword, creating a line of energy that easily severed the heads of six Sekbeists.

It was almost too easy.

“Fuck, these creatures are so fucking weak,” she muttered.

“They are but slaves. The slave cast is weak, but they make up for that weakness by having overwhelming numbers,” Chloe said with a shrug as spun the spear in her hand like a blur. Spatial energy ruptured forth and tore through the air. They looked like thin silver blades that cut straight through the bodies of numerous enemies. Blood splattered the ground as bodies were split into pieces. It was fiercely violent and exactly what Tore expected from a woman like this.

“Fuck, you are fucking scary,” Tora muttered.

Chloe just smiled.

While the two of them were battling together, Commander Vitra had carved out his own battlefield. His arms and legs had become draconic, and he used them to tear through his enemies with nothing but raw physical strength. It was impressive.

Tora thought for sure they would be able to keep this up for at least an hour, but just when it looked like the Sekbeists were beginning to lose heart, the Sekbeist Lord they fought back in Lindwurm appeared before them. Bynnus and Othios saw him first and attempted to hit hard with a fire/earth combination attack. Lava boiled up from the ground and swallowed the man whole. Even Tora could feel the heat from several dozen feet away. However, even though it looked like they had gotten him, Durmuz soon proved how futile such an attack was when he walked out of the lava without a drop of lava on his armor.

“It seems we meet again,” he said to Chloe and Tora.

“As you knew we would,” Chloe said, spinning the spear in her hands before pointing it at him. “You should have realized we would attack you before you could recover.”

“Hmph.” With a snort, Durmuz created a long sword that appeared to be composed of the void. It was blacker than anything Tora had ever seen. “The last time we fought, I was forced to retreat because Zugarod stupidly died against opponents he greatly underestimated. I will not make the same mistake as him.”

“You already made a mistake just by fucking coming here,” Tora said as she swung her sword and launched a line of light at the man. The Sekbeist Lord also swung his own weapon and created a line of darkness. Both attacks clashed in the center and were negated by each other.

“We will see if it was really a mistake,” Durmuz said with a smile before he launched himself into the fray.