Elusive Prey

by Cheek, Jason

  Chapter Sixteen

  (Second Assault Group: Fylreh heading towards the northeastern pass)

  Fylreh’s beating heart sounded like thunder in her ears as the smaller trees ahead of her along the edge of the forest suddenly exploded in a brilliant glare of blinding light. The thunderous boom tried to suck the breath from the filly’s lungs as she barreled through the burning fragments without a second thought. The larger chunks of wood battered at her bruised and bloodied face as the smaller splinters pierced the heavy leather armor of her torso and arms while the rest pin cushioned the thicker skin of her lower half as her stride reached a four-beat gait. Ignoring the terrible pain, she pulled back her bow preparing to fire.

  If the Chofe-ka wouldn’t chase after her, then she’d make them pay for every step they advanced, Fylreh furiously thought, as the magic of her Barrage of Death skill charged up inside of her chest. Though the enemy raid was looking in her direction, they couldn’t figure out where she would appear next due to the frozen snow muting her hoofbeats and the flaming debris that rained down around her. As soon as the massed formation of the enemy raid came into view, she released her arrow over the raid’s flank.

  The special attack instantly sucked twenty percent of her available mana as the single arrow grew into a storm of death as it reached the apex of its arc. There were enough shafts to create a volley that covered every square foot inside the Barrage of Death’s ten yard radius ten times over. Although it was a brutal ranged attack that she’d picked up at level 40, Fylreh knew that for most of these newfar it wouldn’t be enough to kill them in one go. She’d have to finish them off with her other special ranged attack, Enhanced Multi-Shots.

  Using the Quick Shot technique she’d picked up from a Light Elf that was one of her liege lord’s companions, Fylreh used her Enhanced Multi-Shot skill to rake the newfar ranks at a range of sixty-five yards. By the time the first shouts of warning sounded from the enemy raid, the filly was already sending another fifty arrows into the next cluster of newfar. As she went to draw another five arrows from her quiver, the ground five to ten yards in front of her exploded as the raid responded with a devastating wave of searing lightning bolts.

  The glowing strikes never reached her. Their effective range was only sixty yards as the various spells either fizzled out at sixty yards or impacted the ground five to twenty yards away from her. The impacts of near misses sent plumes of dirt, rocks and burning chunks of detritus pelting Fylreh’s body with enough force to bruise and split skin as she closed her eyes and fired from memory alone. Each shaft instantly multiplying into ten as she hammered the outer edge of the raid with everything she had.

  Shouts of anger from her nonstop hail of arrows immediately turned into screams of fear and pain as the Barrage of Death finally hit. The tightly packed newfar further back tried to escape their impending doom, but they were boxed in as arrow after arrow rained down upon them. The Mages and Priests caught within the tempest died instantly along with a handful of Rogues and Rangers as the iron-tipped broadheads stripped the hit points away of everyone caught within the area of effect. The heavier armored Warriors and Rangers that the filly had targeted earlier with her Enhanced Multi-Shot strikes were also overwhelmed as nearly every newfar within the kill zone died within seconds.

  With her mission accomplished, Fylreh turned her frenzied gallop back towards the larger trees as she headed deeper into the forest and the safety it offered. The trails of blood and sweat streaming down her back and heaving sides in the cold crisp air was barely a thought as her ears perked up to listen for any signs of pursuit. This was her most successful attack run yet, and it was always possible that the enemy could change their tactics and choose to hunt her down which was her goal. If she could pull a significant portion of the enemy’s raid away from chasing after Star, it would be well worth her life if it allowed him to escape this trap.

  Once again, that honest thought brought with it a storm of emotions that Fylreh had never felt before. Nonetheless, she carried out her strategy even as she struggled to deal with the turmoil that had taken root in her heart. While the attack that she’d pulled off was an incredible feat of timing and skill that only the best Skirmishers of Clan Ilyrall could pull off, it left in its wake a sad sense of accomplishment as she thought of her sire, Chieftain Ilyrall.

  A part of her wondered what her dead sire would’ve thought of her agreement with the House of Kayden to save their people. It was something that hadn’t been done since the times before the dark ages that had changed the world, if their old songs were to be believed. It was probably those old songs of her people that her sire had raised her on that had encouraged her current course of action. Although, there was little doubt to what her sire would’ve said in regards to the affection she felt for the unusual Half-Elf lord that she’d sworn her oath to.

  Old songs or not, in her heart, Fylreh knew that her sire would’ve never accepted the forbidden relationship that had formed between the two of them. The taboo coupling went against her clan’s every convention. Even so, there was a part of her that couldn’t stop from thinking about their time together. It wasn’t the intimacy that they’d shared which had caused the turmoil in her heart. If anything, the physical differences between the two of them had made things awkward to say the least. No, it was the freedom of being that she’d felt while they were together.

  Star hadn’t treated her like an ignorant female, nor had he looked at her like a piece of his property once he’d taken her oath. What had touched Fylreh more than anything else, during their time together, was that he treated her as an equal. An attitude that was unheard of in any Centaur clan or tribe. Except as Shamans, Centaurides were not treated as equals, period. Centaur males did not seek advice or share in the decision making process with their mares. Unbred females had a little bit more freedom depending upon the clan or tribe, but, even then, they were never invited to take part in important decisions.

  While Star had sometimes forced his will on her on certain topics, he’d never not treated her as an equal. That one important difference was what had changed Fylreh’s life within the short time that she’d been with Star. It was something so powerful that, now after she’d experienced the unheard of phenomenon, she could never go back to anything else. The freedom of choice and equality that Star represented had grabbed her by the soul and wouldn’t let go in a way that she could barely comprehend. It was unconscionable that all of that could be taken away by a cruel roll of fate by Star’s taking of a Half-Orc for a soulmate.

  Fylreh slowed to a stop and leaned against a large tree for support as the tears streamed down her face. The exhaustion weighing down her limbs and the pain from the numerous lacerations that covered her aching body, it was nothing in comparison to the sickness she felt in her soul as she numbly swapped out the quivers at her side for fresh ones. An honorable death would be preferable than going back to the fate of her old life.

  That was why Fylreh had ignored Star’s plan. It had come to her when she’d been seeking to slow the enemy’s advance once they’d left the woods on the western side of the valley. It was the only way that she could accept the ignominy of it all. The dishonor she’d brought to her clan, the loss of a future unlike anything she’d ever hoped for, the humiliation of losing to a Half-Orc female, and the pain in her heart, it would all be erased with one last end run. Leaning her bow against a tree, she’d just started cinching down the straps on her lower half and making sure her scimitars were loose in their sheaths, when an unknown voice called out from behind her.

  “I knew I’d find you here.”

  Rearing into the air on her hind legs, Fylreh whipped around as her scimitars left their sheaths in the blink of an eye. The Dark Elf that had spoken out from behind her fearfully stepped back and his hands came up in surrender as the edge of her blades stopped, pressed against the man’s vulnerable neck. Even though she didn’t know who this Dark Elf was, she innately knew that he was an enemy of the House of Kayden.
The exhaustion and pain she’d been suffering through immediately disappeared as her voice took on a deadly edge.

  “Who are you,” Fylreh snarled the question out, “and why should I not kill a Chaos Storm Alliance newfar on sight?” Her experienced eyes took in the man’s level and noticed the disproportionate difference between his hit points and mana. Between his low health and vulnerable position, Fylreh could easily use Execute to end his life before he could harm her.

  “Because I have a gift for you to deliver to Starfairy … I mean Startum,” the Dark Elf quickly corrected himself at the look of hate that flashed across the Centauride’s face. “Wait … wait … hear me out,” the man hurriedly exclaimed. “It will help all of you escape Evil Sandra’s reach if you can get it to him in time.”

  “Why would you help your enemy in the middle of a battle?” Fylreh snarled with her heart in her throat. The discord in her soul raging as she backed the two-legged against a tree and pressed her blades hard enough against the man’s throat to draw blood.

  “Because that haughty bitch treats my people like shit!” The Dark Elf spitefully snarled, as spittle splashed the filly’s battered face. “She’s not the only one that can make sure someone fails.” Urgently reaching out to grab the Centauride’s wrists, the man continued in a rush of words. “There is no time for this. Just accept what I’m offering to you.” Before Fylreh could yank her arms free of the deranged newfar, magic script appeared before her eyes.

  Do you want to learn the ability Warrior Monk Jutsu?

  Accept: Yes / No

  Without a thought, Fylreh selected yes. New abilities were hard to come by and one did not lightly pass on those that were freely given. That was another principle that Star had shown her the truth to. As soon as the words left her vision, another took its place.

  Do you want to learn the spell Arcane Speed?

  Accept: Yes / No

  Once again Fylreh selected “Yes” as the spell’s description shimmered before her eyes and filled her mind.

  Congratulations! You have learned a new spell: Arcane Speed.

  Cast Time: Instant cast

  Mana Expenditure: 20

  Requirements: 20 Stamina and Spirit

  Increases casters movement, attack, and cast speed by 25%. Duration is a half an hour. Range self only.

  She’d barely had a chance to read the words, when one last update appeared before her eyes.

  Congratulations! You are now a full trainer of Warrior Monk Jutsu. New spell updates will automatically be added to your spell book as you reach the appropriate level.

  “I just heard his voice,” a new voice exclaimed from further back in the forest, “he must be close by!”

  “Heik, circle around to the left! Gar and Val, you two go right! I’ll head down the middle with Benji!” The cruel voice ordered, as a panicked look flashed across the Dark Elf’s face.

  “Kill me!” The newfar urgently demanded, as he tried to force Fylreh’s blades closed to take his head. “They can’t find me alive talking to you or I’m totally fucked!”

  “Give me your name,” Fylreh demanded, as she tried to figure out what she should do. It was a situation she’d never thought to find herself in, especially not after planning out her own death. Now, she was being forced to live for Star to deliver him this critical piece of information, she lamented, as the newfar bucked in her grip like a newly hooked ice fish.

  “Goddammit,” the man hissed, “just kill me now!”

  “Your name and guild,” Fylreh growled, holding the Dark Elf off the ground to make it easier to resist the man’s impressive strength. Well, that and to kill him once she’d gotten what she wanted.

  “Jacob Mister-Griefer, guild leader of Fatal Midnight,” Jacob snarled, while gasping for breath. “Now kill me you dumb-“

  The words died on Dark Elf’s lips as Fylreh triggered her Execute. Before the lifeless corpse had even hit the ground, she was rearing up into the air and spinning around for her bow. Unfortunately, she was a few seconds too late. Before Fylreh could reach the trunk where it was leaning, two humans came bursting through the bushes next to the tree she’d had Jacob pegged against.

  “Shit, what’s that horse-bitch doing here?” The first man in brown leathers demanded, as he stepped back in surprise.

  “Fucking get her SBC!” The second man in flowing white robes shrieked, as Fylreh’s front hooves smashed into his face. While the man collapsed into a heap, she thrust her scimitars down into the first man’s neck.

  Twisting the wide blades sideways inside the screaming man’s body, Fylreh used her immense strength to rear up and flung the Human away like a sack of potatoes as she stomped the second man with her front hooves once again for good measure. While both strikes only did a few hundred points of damage, they weren’t meant to take the men down, but to stun them long enough so the filly could reach her bow. Lunging for her bow, Fylreh was just sheathing her scimitars on her back to free her hands, when a human in heavy armor came bursting out of the underbrush.

  “Die, you freaking bitch!” The man screamed, swinging a two-handed sword straight at her head.

  There was no way that Fylreh could draw her blades back out in time to block the shimmering massive sword so she did the first thing that came to mind. Releasing the scimitars’ hilts, she dropped to her fore-knees’ and leaning back as far as she could, taking the hit across her shoulder and chest. While that move distributed the majority of the impact on as wide of an area as possible, the impact still forced a grunt of pain from her lips as the sword bit deep into her heavy leather breastplate.

  Even though it felt like her tit had been hacked off, Fylreh dispassionately ignored the brutal hit, as she grabbed onto the warrior’s arm with her right hand while her other punched hard into the man’s crotch. A snarl came to her lips as the man’s eyes widened in agony as she crushed his testicles with her strong grip. Twisting her upper torso around to get her shoulder under the whimpering man, Fylreh tossed him over her lower back. Before the warrior could hit the ground, her powerful hind leg lashed out in a savage kick. The metallic crunch of her hoof crushing the warrior’s breastplate was followed a second later by a secondary crunch as he was power-driven head over heels into the nearest tree. Unfortunately, as Fylreh leaped to her hooves, agony shot through both her lower and upper backs as she staggered, crying out in agony.

  “Don’t worry, guys,” the man clinging to Fylreh’s upper back chortled in glee, as his second serrated blade pierced her upper kidneys. “Gar and I have her!” At the same time, the second human hammered his blades into her barrel ribs.

  While the double Sneak Attack hurt her greatly, the shield strapped to her back and the heavy leather armor had mostly protected Fylreh’s vulnerable points from the worst of the piercing damage as she immediately flipped over onto her back. The move caught both Rogues completely by surprise as the Human clinging to her lower back didn’t have time to spring away. There was a loud crunch of breaking bones and a gurgling scream as she rolled back up onto her hooves.

  The Rogue on Fylreh’s back was still clutching to her waist for dear life, when she rotated her torso around a hundred and eighty degrees. The move ripped the daggers out of the Rogues hands. As he looked up at the Centauride’s enraged face in shock, Fylreh went berserk. Her first blow was a brutal throat-punch while her second crushing blow flattened the man’s nose across his face. Letting out a wordless shriek, she tore the stunned man off her back and rammed him head first into the closest tree with a sickening crunch of breaking ribs. Before Fylreh could look for a new target, there were two brilliant flashes that momentarily lit up the clearing as the Centauride was blasted off of her hooves.

  “Would you look at me!” the robed priest angrily demanded from his companion, as he staggered into the clearing. Leaning against a large trunk for support, he continued ranting. “Nobody makes me bleed my own blood!” There was an annoyed groan as the Ranger stepped up next to him.

  “Benji,�
� the Ranger said, looking at his teammate irritably. “How many times do we have to tell you? Stop with the Dodgeball quotes?”

  “Is she dead?” Val, the Rogue on the ground, asked, pushing himself up on his elbows with a painful moan. “My HUD is saying the bitch broke most of the bones in my body.”

  “She’s either dead or stunned for thirty seconds,” the warrior said, pushing himself up painfully to sit on his knees. “I think my body isn’t healing because my breastplate is dented into my chest.” Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he continued in an ugly tone. “Don’t kill the horse-bitch if she’s still alive. I want to take a screenshot with my dick between those Fun Bags of hers so I can post them on Starfairy’s Twitch channel.”

  Fylreh listened to the newfars’ banter from where she laid on the ground as the fury grew in her chest with every passing second. They acted like she couldn’t understand a word they were saying or that she was just a dumb beast. Although the lightning bolts had seriously hurt and she was stunned, the Centauride wasn’t a regular NPC. She was an Elite Centaur Skirmisher and officially classified as a monster inside The World, besides being three levels higher than the highest level player in the Chaos Storm group. Instead of being taken out for thirty seconds, she was only stunned for fifteen seconds. As her body fought off the lightning magic’s effects, her eyes locked onto her bow that was laying on the ground easily within reach.

  “Go check her out, SBC,” Benji the priest said with a hand pressed to his shattered jaw, “while I get everyone fixed up.”

  “Damn, she looks beat as hell,” SBC said, as he began striding across the small clearing towards the downed female Centaur. It looked like she wallowed in a pit of dirt and blood. “I don’t know why everyone keeps talking about how hot she looks.”

  “I saw some of the videos with her naked,” Val said, noticeably perking up as he continued in an afterthought. “I might have to get a screenshot with those teats too.” A moan from the other side of the clearing brought him up short as he looked over at the other Rogue crumpled at the base of the tree. “You okay Gar?”