Silverspear (Rise to Omniscience Book 6)

by Aaron Oster

  “They came from the east on huge ships made of dark wood and gleaming bronze,” the dwarf continued. “They were savage, merciless, and refused all attempts at communication. The first wave resulted in over a thousand deaths, and months of work from beastmen farmers were destroyed and pillaged.

  “The next wave came only a week later, and they began to wash over the land, their numbers growing with each passing day. The beastmen tried to resist at first, but despite their warlike tendencies, the ferocity of the humans was simply too much. The beastmen were also spread too thinly to put up a good defense, and before long, they’d lost half the forest.

  “That was when they knew they couldn’t fight off the scourge alone, so they sent messengers to the other races, begging for help. They were resistant at first. You see, the other races, while not particularly hostile to one another, never really trusted any of the others. Some got on better, like the elves and dwarves, but others, like the trolls, had cut themselves off completely.

  “It was only once the then leader of the beastmen was killed that they began to realize how dangerous the humans really were and mounted a defense. The war was a bloody and grim affair, lasting over four years before any real headway was made. Our leaders kept trying to talk to them, to try and parlay or sue for peace, but the messengers were all killed, and all attempts at negotiation were met with hostility.

  “Two more of the leaders fell before they finally gave up on peace and resigned themselves to a long and bloody campaign. By the time they finally drove the humans off, receiving a promise from this world’s god that this would never happen again, our combined total losses were in the millions.

  “While a war that old may have been forgiven after such a long time and modern leaders who weren’t there might have tried for peace, it was ultimately the humans’ actions that assured that they would take a new threat seriously. None of the leadership will listen to anything a human has to say, especially when an entire pantheon of gods come to give them a warning in person.”

  There was a loud clang, and Ivaldi started, the somber mood broken as some timer went off and he rose to continue his work.

  Grace remained silent, running all that he’d said over in her mind. She’d just learned a lot about their history with Faeland. At least, from their perspective. The part about a new bunch of gods showing up was news to her, but she’d only found out that gods were real when she’d met Morgan. Before his lessons, she’d just thought the world ran on its own and didn’t really think much of any higher power.

  As Ivaldi moved about the forge, she had to wonder at the reasoning behind their ancestors’ hostile actions. There had to be a reason they would come here and start a war, one where they refused to listen to reason and just kept fighting. There was no way that not a single human leader would have refused to even talk. Not unless something really bad had happened.

  Or if they believed something really bad happened, Grace thought.

  Either way, she’d have a lot to tell Morgan upon his return. She knew, without a doubt, that he’d want to know this information. Now all she had to do was see if she could rope Ivaldi into telling her more.

  49

  “Can this thing even be killed?” Lumia exclaimed as she twisted her body to avoid the simultaneous blast of five purple hydra-head attacks.

  “Don’t ask me,” Morgan groaned as he pulled himself from a crater in the wall, blood leaking from half a dozen wounds and smoke trailing off him in waves.

  He coughed a few times, feeling the grinding pain of broken ribs and knowing that the last attack had probably done even more damage than that.

  The hydra, now sporting some forty-odd heads, didn’t seem to be tiring or running out of energy. Quite the contrary, in fact. It seemed to be growing more enraged and powerful, its core blazing brighter and brighter. By now, he was fairly certain that his initial assessment of the creature’s power was way off, and that removing the heads was the cause of new growth.

  As far as he could see, they now had two options. One, kill all the heads without removing them, or two, rip the beast’s core free. Seeing as it had so many sets of eyes and so many ways to attack, the second wasn’t likely to happen, so they were stuck with option one, killing all the heads individually. However, that was proving to be far harder than they’d originally thought.

  Not only had the creature’s heads multiplied, their attacks growing stronger each time, but they seemed to have grown tougher as well. Morgan and Lumia’s attacks now had to be a lot stronger. His last attack, designed to spear one through the eye, had blown the head to bits, resulting in another two growing in its place.

  The problem was putting the right amount of force into the attack. And with the heads constantly growing and splitting, it wasn’t easy. He rolled in the air as a blast of ice tore towards him, fired by six heads at once. The crackle of impacting ice was massive, the walls and ground freezing in a fifteen-yard radius at the point of impact.

  Morgan punched, expelling a powerful blast of wind and dissipating another attack, just before a third tore into him. He teleported away, coming up next to the beast, but the hydra was already wise to this trick and had a head waiting. When he teleported next, it was with a smoking hole in his right shoulder and violet acid scorching his chest and abdomen.

  The pain was horrific. Never before had he faced something with such potent acidic attacks. Acid burns were far different than those inflicted with fire, as it lingered and ate away at his flesh for far longer. He slapped his shoulder hard, injecting a small needle using his Stormforge, and allowed his own lightning to jolt him for a moment.

  It was unpleasant, to say the least, but it stopped the bleeding and burned away any remaining acid. His healing trait would take care of the rest. Right now, he was desperately trying to find some way to take the beast down.

  Lumia roared, as waves of lightning and acid poured over her, her own Gigantic Fireburst skill keeping them at bay. She was losing ground, and as the hydra turned more attacks on her, Morgan could see that she’d soon be overwhelmed. Lumia’s injuries were just as bad, if not worse, than his own.

  Her body was peppered with holes from acid burns. Great chunks of her scales were missing, and blood coated her body, dying her red from head to toe. Both her wings were useless now, one tucked tightly to her back and the other hanging limply at her side. In all honesty, Morgan was extremely impressed by her stamina and willpower. No matter how gruesome the injury, she just kept going, fighting on against the odds.

  Morgan blew out a long breath and punched forward, activating his Maximum Increase at the same time. The blast of air that fired from his fist was four times as potent, colliding with the hydra’s chest before it could even react. Still, it wasn’t enough to do more than crack a few of its scales.

  He quickly threw a follow-up, but a head was already in the way. Though it didn’t do much in the way of stopping the attack, it resulted in its head being blown to pieces. Morgan cursed as two yellow heads grew in place and attacked at once, forcing him to back off. He had a temporary boost from his skill, so he was able to dodge. As soon as he did, though, he realized he’d made a mistake.

  Lumia, who’d been struggling to keep the hydra’s onslaught at bay, found her body wracked with a jolt of lighting as the missed attack struck the wall and conducted through the floor. She let out a roar, then the hydra’s attack washed over her. Purple venom burned away at her scales and hide, as more lightning coursed through her body.

  It had been somewhat weakened, but the effect was still immense. The drake staggered, her entire body smoking and legs trembling. Blood pooled beneath her feet as she panted, trying to remain conscious and continue to fight. The hydra, sensing weakness, turned all its heads on Lumia, completely ignoring the smaller threat and gathering itself to finish its weakened prey.

  Morgan was at his wit’s end and knew that even he couldn’t block an attack like the one the hydra was preparing. And Lumia, in her weakened state, most def
initely couldn’t survive. He wracked his mind for something, anything, he could do.

  You can run, he thought, eyeing the drake. You can teleport over and be out in under a second.

  He hesitated, eyes going back to the hydra as he tried to make his decision. If a fight couldn’t be won, it was best to retreat and come back when you could. But they were on a tight schedule, and the longer they remained in Faeland, the greater the chance they’d be found. The enemy already knew they were here, and they’d already been attacked.

  It was only a matter of time before they were found again, especially if they remained stationary. This was likely going to be their only chance at getting Ivaldi to craft the spear, so retreat wasn’t an option. However, as the hydra’s attack built to its peak, the creature rearing up its heads, Morgan didn’t think he had much choice. Lumia wouldn’t survive another attack, and he couldn’t let her die.

  Morgan’s heart skipped a beat when he spotted it — the smallest of chinks in the hydra’s armor. A gap, just a few inches wide, sat right beneath its shoulder. In an instant, Morgan understood why the hydra had refused to move from its spot. It hadn’t been because it couldn’t fight in close, but rather, was covering up an obvious weakness.

  Not having much time, Morgan crafted a spear, charging it with lightning and spinning it, fashioning a narrow end for maximum penetrating power. He only had one shot. If it didn’t work, he’d have to grab Lumia and run. The hydra hissed and spat, the light around its many mouths growing to near-blinding proportions.

  Morgan released his spear, sending the projectile rocketing towards the beast. There was a loud scream as it went, the howling wind that the construct was made of, shrieking as its length was covered in crackling electricity. The hydra didn’t have so much as a split-second of warning, when the spear impacted, slamming right into the chink in its armor.

  For just a moment, it seemed that the spear would be repelled. Then, the spinning monstrosity pushed through, tearing into the beast’s hide and discharging its payload. The hydra screamed, the attacks in its throat dying down as the lightning coursed through its body, cooking it from within. Morgan kept the charge going, channeling the lightning for all he was worth. The hydra collapsed, its legs going out from under it and its body writing and twitching, but Morgan could already tell it wasn’t going to be enough.

  “Lumia!” he yelled, unable to do much more as his RP plummeted.

  He was pouring over two hundred RP per second through the single spear and was just about out. As soon as the attack ended, the hydra would be back on its feet and attacking once again. Lumia heard him and surged forward, her body shrinking down to her hybrid form. Now that she was smaller, the wounds didn’t look nearly as bad. It was simply the drake’s massive size that had made them look so gruesome, though Morgan knew they hadn’t gotten any less severe.

  She pounced on the hydra’s back, even as the yellow heads, showing their resistance to lightning, moved to intercept. She roared, slashing out with her claws and tearing them to pieces. Morgan knew this would only produce more heads, but she had a couple of seconds before they came back.

  Roaring, the drake sank her claws into the hydra’s back, tearing away skin and muscle until she reached the bone. The hydra hissed, its body thrashing and trying to buck her free. It didn’t work, as Morgan’s continual attack was keeping it effectively locked in place. Yellow heads began to grow once more, but a loud cracking sound told Morgan that Lumia had finally reached bone.

  The hydra screamed one last time as Lumia plunged her arm deep into its body. There was a horrific ripping and tearing sound. She pulled her arm free, dripping and hissing with green blood. In her hand was a shining red and blue core.

  Morgan sagged, releasing his hold on the skill as his RP dropped to near zero. A massive shudder ran through the hydra’s body. Then, slowly, it crashed to the ground. Dozens of heads slapped the metallic floor in a series of muffled thumps as the light went out of their eyes. Lumia dropped to the ground, the core still clutched in her hand, and limped over to him.

  “Good work,” Morgan said, giving her a pained smile. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “What are friends for?” the drake replied, dropping to the ground and shrinking to her smaller form. “Now, do something about all this acid. I can feel it burning at my core.”

  Morgan nodded, placing a hand on the small drake and extending a needle into her body, just as he’d done for himself. He was then forced to wait a couple of seconds for his RP to regenerate, before jolting the small drake with enough electricity to nullify the toxic substance.

  “Sorry,” he muttered at Lumia’s hiss of pain.

  “Just get that paste of yours out and do something,” she groaned. “I haven’t been this badly beaten since our first big fight.”

  Morgan couldn’t help but smile at that, remembering well the first time Gold had pitted them against one another and told them to go all out. It had lasted for well over thirty minutes, and in the end, they were both so injured that neither could even move. They’d been lucky that Gold had been there to patch Lumia up. Now, though, she was just going to have to depend on the paste Morgan was smearing on the shrunken wounds.

  “There. That should do it,” he said, dabbing one last drop onto her back and looking her over. “How do you feel?”

  “The pain’s going away,” Lumia replied, turning her head from side to side. “My whole body is starting to feel warm and numb.”

  “Grace said the same thing when I was using this on her,” Morgan said, closing the jar and noting that it was already more than half empty.

  He’d have to use it more sparingly if he wanted to make it last, but hopefully, they’d be leaving as soon as the spear had been crafted. As he was right now, Morgan knew he wouldn’t be going anywhere. It would take time for him to heal, and he was in a great deal of pain, despite his healing trait already hard at work.

  Reaching into his pack, Morgan collected a couple of empty jars, then moved to gather some of the beast’s purple acidic venom. He also collected some of its blood, unsure of which Ivaldi would want, and not willing to fight this thing again to get it. This only took him a couple of minutes, after which he returned to his spot by the wall along with Lumia.

  The drake was dozing as he slid down to sit beside her, so he reached for the glowing core sitting on the ground next to him, pulling up its stats.

  Name: Gargantuan-Poison Hydra Core

  Rank - 71

  Total available energy - 52,100,000/52,100,000

  This core was taken from a gargantuan-poison hydra. As this core was taken from an Advanced beast on the cusp of evolution, the amount of available energy has been nearly maximized.

  Morgan let out a low whistle as he beheld the core’s properties. With something like this, he could move straight to rank 67. However, Lumia had been a great help, so half the energy belonged to her. Even so, twenty-six million energy was a lot. In fact, it was even more than what had been in Raja the Ore Eater’s core. Seeing as this fight had been even harder than the one fought against the Pinnacle beast, Morgan couldn’t say he was surprised.

  The fact remained that they’d just barely come out as the victors. The beasts in Faeland were no joke. They were far tougher than any he’d faced in the Five Kingdoms — excluding the Pinnacle King, of course. Now that this fight was over, they’d have to go face the most terrifying beast of all down here- the World Beast Breaker. He most definitely was not looking forward to that.

  Morgan straightened as the tunnel grew taller, finally allowing him to walk normally. He felt good and mostly rested, though his ribs were still a bit tender. Despite his wish to stay and recover a bit longer, the hydra’s body had begun to rot away. It meant that the Beast Zone was reclaiming its body in preparation to bring it back. That had been their cue to leave. There was no telling how long it would take the hydra to be reborn, but neither Morgan nor Lumia wanted to be there to find out.

  “How far
from here is this monster?” Lumia asked as Morgan’s feet drifted off the ground.

  She was resting on his shoulder, her wings still too injured to allow for flight, not that either of them minded. In truth, she was too large in her full size to even fit in most of the tunnels, so her ability to stay small was a real blessing.

  “Breaker is surprisingly far away,” Morgan noted, rising a bit higher as the tunnel opened up. “In fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d say it was outside the Beast Zone altogether.”

  “But he’s down here, right?” Lumia asked.

  “Yeah…How do you know it’s a he?”

  “No female would call themselves Breaker,” Lumia replied with a snort.

  “Good point,” Morgan replied, speeding up now that they were out of the long tunnel.

  Beasts began to show up once again, hissing, snarling, or roaring at them as they passed. Morgan simply ignored them, following the path of the massive source of energy coming from the heart of the mountain. It took them over an hour of winding through tunnels, backtracking, and regrouping before they finally found the tunnel leading to the World Beast.

  “Wow. That is a big tunnel,” Lumia said, craning her neck upward.

  It sure is, Morgan thought, moving his eyes from side to side and estimating as best he could. From what he could see, the tunnel was some hundred and fifty feet across, and well over two hundred tall. All in all, it definitely stood out from the smaller tunnels they’d been flying through that day.

  He was sure that the World Beast was on the other side of this room, as the amount of power pouring from the opening was as intense as Morgan had imagined. It flowed over him in waves, giving the air a very heavy feeling, as though it were trying to smother him. But as much as he wanted to turn back, he knew that what was on the other end of that tunnel would be needed in his quest to bring Sarah back.