ALL NOVEL Chapter 59: The Joy of Battle
We stepped through the teleporter and found ourselves in a shanty town. The teleporter wasn't even in a building. Instead, it was on a metal construction platform. The surrounding town wasn't really a town, it was more of a shipyard from the old world where the shipping containers had been turned into houses. The scene was unnerving since we were in a hilly forest and nowhere near an ocean. "Who in the fuck are you?"
A man shouting at us from the ground pulled me out of my thoughts. He aimed a revolver at me and for a moment, my brain stopped. Was he trying to threaten me with a gun? I shook myself out of it. "Amari, I was told that you all needed help. Antonio and his group from the auction here?"
"Antonio!, Antonio, get your ass over here." The man bellowed. Now that I had a chance to see him I wasn't too impressed. He looked stereotypically sailorish. Large arms covered in tattoo dirty blonde hair with a physique that would make Popeye jealous. The problem was that he didn't have the aura. It felt like I was looking at a paper tiger. It took nearly five minutes before a trio came running toward us—five minutes where multiple people threatened to shoot us, which was just annoying. Thankfully, Antonio led the group.
"Ah! Mr. Jackson! Mr.Jackson, we were just discussing your arrival. My apologies for not being here to greet you properly. Ah, this is the town's head of security." He gestured to the large man, who finally lowered his gun.
"Samuel Edwards." He interrupted. "We don't have room for any more refugees, Antonio." The man glared at Antonio, who visibly wilted. Samuel then turned his attention back to us. "Go on back to where you came from. We aren't accepting anyone new unless they are willing to fight and work." He looked me up and down and grunted.
I practically felt the blood vessels in my head throb at the man's attitude. It was only the fear of catching innocent people in my aura that stopped me from fully unleashing it. I decided to ignore the asshole and surveyed their situation. They had constructed a set of walls out of extra shipping containers. Unfortunately for them, the containers weren't strong enough. One of them looked like a rhino had rammed into it. "Your guy here asked me to come through and help you out. I told him I would do it so that's what I am going to do."
Samuel turned a bright shade of red and looked like he was going to explode like an old cartoon. Unfortunately for him, I had no more patience for this conversation. I leaped off of the platform and landed several feet behind him. "If your people need a break, keep them away from the battlefield." I was just about to jog to the wall when a faint pang of danger filled my mind. I took a step back just as a dark grey arrow slammed into the ground where I had been standing. I cocked my head and looked at where it came from and paused. I recognized that bow. Before I could do anything more, another pang of danger and I ducked. In the next moment, a dark-skinned man appeared swinging a pair of claw-like weapons. They slashed through the air above me as I aimed a punch into the man's chest.
My fist slammed into the metal armor, and instead of it crumpling like I expected. It took the hit. It wasn't enough to stop the full force, but instead of breaking some ribs or caving the man's chest in. The man was only sent stumbling back several steps. I unleashed my tao field just as another arrow shot toward my back. The arrow slammed into my field and forced its way through. The arrow made it nearly a foot through my field before it shattered. The shock of it made me stop just long enough to get a clear sight of who was shooting at me. As soon as I did, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Tyrone?! What the hell are you doing here?" I had to duck and spin to the right as Ajani swung for my neck. The nasty-looking claws also sliced through my tao field. Neither attack was close enough to kill me, but neither had been imbued with any kind of skill either.
"Amari?" Tyrone asked, as if unclear of what he was seeing. He lowered his bow and leaped down from the storage container he was firing from. He jogged up to his brother, who had started laughing.
"I knew it was you in the Standings. Still doing crazy shit." Ajani removed the claws from his hand and embraced me.
"I guess you could say that. I hadn't heard from you all in forever. I didn't see your names on the Standings before either."
"Oh, I suggest you check again." His grin was filled with so much life that I couldn't help but laugh and pull up the screen.
The top twenty-five was unchanged, but that wasn't the same for the whole list. Multiple names that had been there before were gone. I scanned the list and, sure enough, found both brothers occupying the 34th and 35th spots. "You sons of bitches. Nice, very nice. I am not sure I get it, though. If you are here, what's the deal with the quest?"
Both brothers grimaced and looked toward the main wall. Before either of them could answer me, the teleportation platform flared a deep crimson. I raised an eyebrow toward it but didn't move. "This quest is more like an endless tide of monsters. No matter how many we kill, there's just too many." Tyrone answered.
"So why don't you buy an array? Or build better walls?"
"Our Hub isn't good enough for any purchases. I don't even know if we get the class selection features," Tyrone added. "Are you here to fight?"
Before I could offer an answer, roars and snarls filled the air, followed by thunderous hoof beats. It sounded like a mountain was rushing at it from the north. My heartbeat picked up in response like someone had just started the drums of war. I grinned at the pair. "Stay here. Keep your people away from the fields. I haven't had the chance to let loose in ages." Without waiting for anything else, I activated Apportation. Shocked exclamations followed as I stepped into the portal. "Stay behind with them until I come back. Do what you can." I called out as the portal closed. In the next moment, I was five miles away. I grinned as the sounds grew louder. I closed my eyes and took it in for a moment. I could practically feel them through the ground. I took a deep breath and unleashed my aura in its full glory.
The forest transformed into a blood-soaked arena with me at its center. My killing intent and tao flooded the world around me to the point that it looked like I stood in the middle of a heat mirage. I laughed, as it felt like I had taken a breath of fresh air for who knew how long. I didn't bother to activate my Tao field as the first monsters appeared. They were a group of lions with silver manes and metallic claws. Part of me wanted to take more time to experiment with them, to see if they were more metal or beast, but there was no time. Four blades of psychic energy appeared and shot into their heads before they cleared the trees. They were dead before the momentum of their charge was expended. I cocked my head at it not sure why the attack was so much stronger.
Another set of roars as creatures that looked like giant geckos rushed toward me. I smiled and unleashed my tao field, using it to form a solid immovable wall. In the next moment, five of them crashed into it. The field buckled but held, which gave me more than enough time to unleash another round of blades. Ten creatures were dead, and I hadn't even activated a spell. Another set of roars filled the air. This time I was done waiting. I let loose a roar of my own, conjured four more blades, and tore off into the forest.
The mists of Realm of Consciousness filled the forests as I engaged in a one-man war with nature. Beasts of all shapes and sizes launched themselves at me. I unleashed attack after attack as the unrelenting battle continued. My tao field was shattered after the first five hours. The array on my robes lasted another two. Psychic Aegis lasted seven more after that. I lost track of time as claws, talons, and bones reached for me from all directions. I swore and unleashed **Psionic Rain** at its strongest before I was forced to retreat. Apportation opened and I stumbled through. The moment the portal reopened, I leaped onto the cold metal of the walls. My dantian had been wrung dry as it was filled and drained rapidly. Still, the fighting was worth it.
"Amari!" a pair of voices called out from somewhere out of sight. The panic in their voice only made my headache worse. I seriously considered opening another portal to rest somewhere else.
"I am fine. Get ready to repel the rest of the attack." I groaned and got to my feet as a pair of my guards rushed up to me. They were the highest level of this group. It took me a second to call their names from the back of my exhausted mind. "James, go and warn the others that the rest of the wave will be coming soon. I need a break, so they will have to deal with the rest for now."
I waited for James to run off and Michael to take his position behind me before I started cultivating. The energy here was lacking, but that was more than made up for by all the death. I fought until I was exhausted and there were still so many. I wasn't sure why the fuck the System would design a quest like this. Well, that wasn't true. It was clear the quest was meant for an entire settlement. Despite all of that, I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. The primary goal of my slaughter was to reach level 35, which I was rapidly approaching. The secondary goal was the mother fucking merit points. Apparently, the System registered me for the quest as soon as the portal closed, which was fortunate.
My slaughter shot me straight to the fifth spot in the quest. Still wasn't enough to catch up to Ajani and Tyrone but that was to be expected. The waves had come consistently for two weeks before this. With the pair acting as the main vanguard, they would naturally have gained an incredible amount. My numbers were starting to rival my credits pre-auction. All of that was to say it was good to be king. I felt a barrage of spells, arrows, and bullets slam into the approaching wave of enemies. The cries of pain came after and I had to resist the urge to rejoin the battle. My people, as well as everyone else here, needed the chance to get stronger.
I couldn't be everywhere, and they needed the chance to get their points. I also wasn't sure how much longer I could go. Despite knowing the truth in my heart, every cry of pain was like nails against my heart. After five hours, I wasn't cultivating anymore, just seething. I got to my feet and unleashed a rain of psychic blades into the closest monsters as I considered what I should do. I wasn't one hundred percent, but I could alleviate the pressure. Ajani and Tyrone were still in the fields, but they were flagging. I reached down and grabbed a few loose pieces of metal and started launching them like frisbees. It wasn't enough to make a difference, but it did make me feel better. I gave everyone another hour before I leaped back down and resumed my slaughter.
The pattern continued for another two days. I fought nearly the entire time and for the first time; the battle lost its luster. I wasn't tired of fighting per se, but it was like attacking an ocean. No matter how many I killed, there was more for me to fight. Despite all of that, I accomplished my major goals. Not only that, I even earned myself a new title.
Horde Breaker: Fight against more than 100,000 enemies in solo battles and win. Reward: Agility, Wisdom, and Constitution +3
I took a seat on top of the wall and mentally reviewed the battle. 100,000 lives didn't even seem real. It was the kind of thing you read about in a book or on a TV show, but here it was. I had killed 100,000 enemies. Sure, it wasn't much when compared to the worst wars in history, but in a solo battle? If you didn't count things like bombs or WMDs, I was probably the most prolific killer of things in history. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. It wasn't guilt. Everything that I fought wanted to kill me, but it was still stifling. The fact that there was no blood from most of the kills made it worse somehow. It was like the spirit of death had passed through the battlefield and just claimed lives. Despite my best efforts, our side lost plenty. Of the 25 people, Christopher trusted me with five wouldn't come back. Five defenders, five parents, sisters, brothers, five loved ones. I knew I couldn't save everyone, but the death count being so low bothered me. It made me feel like if I had been a bit faster, and had just a bit more energy, I would have saved them. It was the difference between losing a basketball game by one point or one hundred points.
Next, I pulled up my status screen. I placed all eight of my free points into Intelligence. The sudden increase caused a fresh migraine to start, but that wasn't too big a problem. In truth, I was at the point where my attributes felt a bit pointless. I wasn't sure if I even needed more. It was a bit like an embarrassment of riches, but that thought was strangled before it could sprout any further. There were stronger enemies than me. People who have been doing this for hundreds of years. I needed to catch up. I shook those thoughts away and took in the night sky above. For now, we have won. Tomorrow there would be another round and we would have to deal with a wave boss-type creature. Which should be as strong as the ooze creature and the big ape. I got to my feet and opened a portal. Our living arrangements weren't anything special, but I didn't need to sleep much anymore, so I wasn't complaining. I devoted a few hours to cultivation before getting some sleep.
The next day, everyone was up just before sunrise. The town went into emergency repair mode, with everyone who either couldn't or wouldn't do any fighting focused on repairing the walls. There wasn't much they could do about the serious damage, but every little bit helped. Unfortunately, nothing in my tool kit helped with this problem, so I focused on cultivation. Specifically on absorbing energy from the pearl. The pearl still hadn't revealed any new secrets. Despite the overwhelming out of energy inside it, I couldn't use any of it to fight. Whoever created it decided it would only work for whatever task it had. It also didn't help me with the tao, it neither made it stronger nor did it make either of them easier to use. It did have the added benefit of making me feel calmer. However, I couldn't tell if that was the pearl or a side effect of slowly taking the energy in.
When we were less than ten minutes away from the start of the next wave, I moved into action. I leaped over the wall and started walking. Once I heard the howls, I unleashed my aura. The slaughter was further refining it but it was also making it more savage. It felt like I was a walking den of slaughter and death, and I wasn't the biggest fan. Once again, I made a mental note to figure out a way to change its flavor. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind when the first monsters appeared. These were four-legged furry things that reminded me of foxes only three times as big and with massive teeth. I activated Realm of Consciousness and waited for the mist to obscure me before I started my attack.
The foxes weren't much of a threat, but they were fast. I put them down as fast as I could, but it wasn't fast enough. Before I killed them, a group of gopher-like monsters leaped up from the ground. The horde was growing just as fast as I could take them out. I was forced to activate my tao field as the last of the foxes died. The mental energy from the gophers is more than making up for what I lost. The ground trembled as more and more monsters rushed to join the fight. I took a deep breath and surrendered to the joy of battle. It was time to begin the slaughter in earnest. Today was going to be another good day.