by Yuri Ajin
Swinging his left hand, with one sharp movement he hit the dorgan on the head and clouded his vision, after which he stabbed the dagger into his shoulder.
Roaring in pain, the dorgan grabbed his right arm with his non-injured one and pulled him down sharply, driving Shacks into the ground. He was about to break his legs by jumping on them when he sensed danger. Abruptly covering his head, he blocked a hail of arrows. And then a dozen more. Luckily for him, none of the attacks were deep enough to inflict serious damage, but he had to let go of Shacks, who disappeared again.
By expanding his aura, the dorgan was finally able to detect the archers — Shacks’ clones. All of them used bows created by a special technique, but they attacked with ordinary arrows. He rushed toward them, but they scattered at the same time, unleashing the last volley of arrows. This time, he managed to react better, so he dodged most of them.
Meanwhile, Shacks, who had barely come to his senses, moved away. Nobody saw him now. He needed to recover at least a little.
The double, which had taken the two cultivators with it, dispersed on its own when the pursuers almost caught up with it.
This is bad. They’re only two miles away; they’ll be back soon. We need to neutralize as many enemies as possible during this time and then get out of here. Shacks concluded.
Looking around, he assessed his opponents’ states. The one he had just escaped from tore out the arrows and the dagger stuck in his shoulder joint. All these weapons were infused with a very effective sleeping poison. Few elixirs could help against it as the recipe for it was unique and it had no replacements in this world.
Meanwhile, another opponent continued attacking Elea’s barrier, which was already full of cracks. She could barely stay on her feet, and her nose was bleeding. Given her spirit trauma, this was rather difficult.
As for Kai, he looked terrible, but he was holding on.
The dorgan leader was gradually losing strength, but he still continued to suppress Kai, who by that moment had lost both swords and his Ring, which had disappeared with the torn-off hand.
Shacks rushed to help Kai, forming more of the invisible doubles along the way and giving his last arrows to them. The life of a friend meant more to him than the life of a stranger, although he hoped that Elea would be able to hold out and that they’d have time to help her.
Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.
The poisoned dorgan managed to sense him. The beast, who was barely moving a moment ago, jumped to the side with unexpected agility and intercepted him.
Having managed to remove his technique at the last moment, Shacks was knocked down. A huge fist flew at his head. And although his opponent was weakened by the poison, he was still strong.
“What the hell?!” Shacks shouted, covering himself with his already broken arm, wondering how the dorgan was still standing.
The beast showered the archer with attacks. Shacks almost lost consciousness, and all the doubles disappeared.
Is this some kind of bestial rampage?! He’s gonna kill me! Fucking bastard!
Summoning another dagger from his Ring, Shacks stabbed his opponent in the shoulder wound. Leaning all his weight onto the hilt, he pushed the blade with all his might, trying to cut off the dorgan’s arm.
Furious, the beast tried to bite into Shacks’ left wrist, pressing on the dagger’s handle.
That’s right, you bastard! Come on, help me out! he thought, deliberately moving his hand into the dorgan’s mouth.
As soon as his hand was in the right place, Shacks summoned a special pill from the Ring directly into his mouth and began to push his hand further and further into the dorgan’s throat. Once his hand was where he needed it to be, a small bottle appeared in it. Squeezing it tightly, he crushed the fragile glass. The contents spilled down the dorgan’s mouth and throat, and the orange liquid almost instantly burst into a powerful flame.
The beast screamed like mad. He pulled Shacks’ hand out of his mouth and then jumped up.
“One asshole successfully out of the picture.” Shacks spat out a few bloody teeth, looking at the distraught dorgan running back and forth. “I hope you enjoy the Soul Destruction Pill.”
Shacks tried to get up several times but he kept falling back. His limbs didn’t obey him. His left hand had basically passed through a meat grinder. His legs had also suffered when he was knocked to the ground. But he eventually managed to scramble to his feet. Glancing at Kai, he saw his friend missing both his arms and legs. He was working on their recovery, but...
Grabbing Kai from behind, the dorgan leader squeezed him with all his might. Bones cracked and blood gushed from his mouth and nose.
“Let’s see how much you can regenerate,” he growled, grinning. “No need to be afraid. I won’t kill you. I’ll just wait for you to pass out.”
Struggling for air, Kai let out an agonized croak. And although his bloodline compensated for the lack of oxygen, he still felt like he was suffocating.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
Being powerless was tearing him apart from the inside. He felt completely helpless, which, to him, was worse than any pain. He couldn’t even enter his spirit world to get rid of bodily sensations, because that’d stop absorbing energy, and his body would stop regenerating.
“Pitiful... You’re nothing without your regeneration, are you?” the dorgan sneered and sank his teeth into his victim’s shoulder.
Little did he know that his taunts wouldn’t bring Kai down. On the contrary, they helped him snap back to reality.
“Old man, help me withdraw my soul energy. Twenty years.”
Rune’Tan didn’t argue.
In the next moment, Kai’s Source was filled with extremely powerful energy, which immediately poured into his body. But even the bloodline of the Nine-Headed Heavenly Hydra wasn’t all-powerful. It had its limits, and even with the constant saturation of the body with energy, it couldn’t work forever. Kai’s regeneration rate began to slow down. He needed something stronger. And he knew exactly what that something was.
Yang Concentration.
He knew very well that this concept had two properties — transformation and...
Strengthening.
“I don’t know how this’ll affect me, but I’m ready to take the risk. I’m ready to make an alchemy lab right inside my body!”
The Yang particles scattered throughout Kai’s body, and the soul energy followed. Kai allowed his bloodline to absorb both of them fully. At first, nothing happened, but then...
Continuing to squeeze his victim, the dorgan realized that Kai’s rib cage was rapidly hardening, easily resisting his strength.
In the blink of an eye, his opponent had a new right arm. The speed with which the flesh grew from the cut left him dumbfounded. And before he had time to understand anything, the restored arm attacked.
Having received a blow to the head, the dorgan was thrown aside. In the meantime, Kai had finally regrown all the other limbs, each full of violent but single-use power.
Coming to his senses, the dorgan staggered, clutching at his head. The world around him was spinning and growing dimmer.
But Kai had no intention of letting him recover. Activating the Offset Step, he found himself behind his opponent’s back. Unleashing the strange power that appeared in his limbs after using Yang particles and soul energy, he aimed to incapacitate the dorgan.
Unfortunately for him, his victim managed to shift ever so slightly at the last moment. Kai’s fist slammed into his ribs, and he flew back a few steps.
Kai repeated the attack, but this time the dorgan dodged. The place where he had been standing a second ago was covered with cracks and it sagged a few inches.
The dorgan was on his feet again. He swallowed another elixir as Kai approached. This time, he couldn’t allow himself to miss.
Kai had almost reached his opponent, preparing to kick with his left foot, when the dorgan let out a loud roar, immobilizing him for a full second. Strong as he
was, even Kai couldn’t resist an Exorcist’s soul manifestation.
The dorgan was about to rush at him but was intercepted by a volley of dozen arrows.
Kai stood up. He summoned his Ring and then his swords. Activating Speed Step, he rushed to the dorgan to finish him off but was blocked by the two dorgans whom Shacks’ clone had gotten away earlier, and who had returned just in time to help their friend.
“Surrender,” the dorgan leader growled, slowly rising to his feet. “Look to your right.”
Kai didn’t have to turn his head to see what was happening. His aura helped him sense another dorgan, who was now holding the unconscious Elea by the neck.
“You’re our target. Surrender, and we’ll let the girl go.”
“Why do you need me?”
“For the last time. Surrender, or we’ll take her, too,” he said, ignoring Kai’s question.
“Fine. But you and your friends must swear an oath that you won’t touch her again.”
“Only if your friend surrenders as well and puts on a collar. We won’t take an oath, but we’ll sign a spirit contract.”
“Fine by me,” Shacks replied after a couple of seconds.
“Give them collars.”
Shacks knew they didn’t work on Kai, which was why he, before deactivating the invisibility technique, whispered that he gives him permission to use energy and Forces on him to disable his collar at any time.
The two planned to wait for the Partial Transformation to end, and then, taking advantage of the surprise factor, either flee or defeat the dorgans.
However, the dorgans had a different plan. They weren’t going to use a regular spirit contract, but a temporary one, that lasted for just a couple of hours. Such things were really hard to make and could only be found in the Cloud Abode starting from the second floor. Because of that, very few students here knew about their existence. Kai and Shacks included.
Also, they planned to incapacitate their victims after they’ve put their collars on by cutting off their limbs and pumping them with a powerful alchemical drug.
As for Elea, they didn’t plan to release her.
However, as it turned out, nobody’s plans were destined to come to fruition.
The dorgan holding Elea landed between the “captives” and the rest of his squad. Everyone immediately looked to the right.
Near the unconscious girl stood a tall, dark-haired half-elf, half-dorgan with a huge sword.
Sitting down, he lifted Elea’s head. Having gently wiped off the blood from her nose with a handkerchief, he removed the locks of hair that had fallen on her face.
Needless to say, the other dorgans were furious.
The leader of the group was the first to approach the newcomer and swing his gauntleted fist at him.
Neither Kai nor Shacks could withstand such a blow. Even at their peak, they’d both choose to dodge instead of blocking. But the newcomer had his own thoughts on this matter.
Still sitting next to Elea, he raised his head at the last moment and grabbed the fist as if it was a feather.
In the next instant, two more dorgans approached the stranger and attacked, not noticing the shock in their leader’s eyes.
The stranger casually unsheathed his sword with his other hand. Everyone saw one single swing, but in reality, there were two.
The sword was quickly back in its scabbard.
Two dorgans were now missing limbs.
“You will pay for this!” the dorgan’s leader growled.
In the next instant, the entire space was covered with powerful pressure. Incredibly strong willpower made Kai shiver and Shacks fall to his knees.
Kai had faced similar power before. Greenrow nearly broke his spirit that day.
However, this willpower was only directed at the dorgans, sucking energy out of their bodies. The sight of powerful cultivators losing their strength reminded Kai of how the Gates of Ecumene dried up the representatives of the Celestial Plateau’s clans.
Kai realized that it wasn’t just the Master’s Will he felt now. It was something different, even more unique, and much more powerful. Something similar to his Field of Superiority.
His guess turned out to be correct. The stranger used an unusual ability called Desolate the Weak. This ability allowed him to drain all the energy from any cultivator if their will wasn’t strong enough.
The dorgans had no idea who they were dealing with, considering that the stranger’s mark was hidden. But with energy vision, Kai could see the number on it.
It was Ranmaru. Number ten on the List of Ten Thousand.
He dealt with four peak-level Exorcists in just a few seconds. What he did to them was far worse than death. By crushing their astral bodies, he ended their cultivation forever.
When the dorgans fell to the ground, Ranmaru sat back down next to Elea and took her in his arms.
“Brother, you came,” Elea whispered, smiling weakly.
As Kai turned his gaze from the dorgans who almost killed him to the cultivator who got rid of them so easily, he once again realized how weak he actually was.
There was still a long road ahead of him.
Chapter 14
THE GREAT PACK
“It’s over. You’re safe,” Ranmaru said in a voice full of love, looking at his sister. “You should rest now.”
Taking a step toward Elea’s house, he suddenly stopped. Turning slowly, he looked at Kai and Shacks.
“I remember you. You’re Kai Arnhard. The human who refused to join the factions,” he said. “You’re also the one interfering with the Fifth Faction’s plans with your alchemy. I was sent here to deal with you, but...” He looked at his sister. “You have two weeks.”
Ranmaru’s golden collar gleamed, after which purple lightning of monstrous power began to strike his body. Despite it, he continued to speak as if nothing was going on.
“Tassarion is very busy at the moment and he doesn’t want to be distracted. But in two weeks, his assistant will return to the Abode. If you continue to brew your potions, he’ll visit you personally. That’s all I can tell you.”
The purple lightning stopped, and Ranmaru continued to Elea’s house.
“Why are you helping me?” Kai asked.
“I heard your agreement for surrender before I got here. You helped my sister, so this is my way of saying thanks. Also...” Ranmaru stopped, but he didn’t turn around. “That’s what my honor tells me to do.”
Honor? That’s a rarity in this world. Kai thought, looking at Ranmaru’s back.
“Shit! I wish I had your regeneration now,” Shacks cursed, looking at the mess where his arms were supposed to be. “Are you gonna help me or what? That potion isn’t gonna jump into my mouth...” He looked at Kai.
***
After the battle, Shacks and Kai began interrogating the barely alive dorgans. Fortunately, the archer had several methods to get them talking.
As it turned out, the group was hired to eliminate Kai, as well as everyone around him. They couldn’t reveal more details because of a spirit contract, but even this was enough for Kai and Shacks to realize that Bane could be the one who hired them.
Once the interrogation was done, they took the Rings of the four dorgans (the fifth got away) and quickly left.
Several hours later, Kai and Shacks secretly visited the Cloud Anarchists’ office, where they found Kasox.
“We know what happened. I’m glad you’re safe.” He greeted them. “Six of our guards were severely injured. They’ll probably have to leave the Abode for good. Two were able to escape, but they didn’t manage to tell us about the attack in time. My brothers are good fighters, but they turned out to be in a tough spot against these dorgans without using ki and Forces.”
“I’m surprised you don’t look sad,” Shacks said. Over the past few days, he managed to get to know both Kasox and Ephlix a little better.
“This is how things are at the Abode. The weak disappear quickly, the strong rise. We all need to b
e ready for it.” The elf shrugged. “But you’re wrong if you think I don’t feel anything. They were my friends. If I were there, I would’ve done my best to protect them. I’m angry. Very angry. I just hide it well. It’s a shame Ranmaru took my chance to get revenge.”
“Speaking of which, do you think the Seventh Faction will want to take revenge?”
Kasox chuckled.
“They won’t, but that doesn’t mean you’re safe.”
“What does it mean then?” Shacks asked.
“The entire dorgan race is divided into four clans. The Voracious Raptors clan has a rather unusual outlook on things. Animal blood makes them see competition in everyone around them. So they don’t really care when someone dies. More resources for the rest of them. They only worry about those closest to them, but even that’s not always the case. It’s the survival of the fittest.”
“What you’re saying is, they’ll rejoice at the death of their brothers?”
“That’s right.” Kasox nodded. “They’ll take it as cleansing their ranks of weaklings. Of course, no one will simply forgive the murder of servants, but if they got involved in the battle and lost, then such is their fate. The leader of the Seventh Faction doesn’t care.”
“And yet, someone will still try to take revenge?” Shacks inquired.
“Exactly. You see, there’s one exception in the Voracious Raptors clan — the Great Pack. Simply put, half-wolf dorgans. They value each other and they’re ready to avenge the members of the Pack they haven’t even met. This trait makes the Great Pack the second most powerful branch of the clan. They’re second only to the Blood Fangs. In the Abode, there are about four hundred representatives of the Pack, all of which belong to the Seventh Faction since the stronger help the weaker ones pay the entry fee. They’ll be the ones who’ll try to take revenge. They can’t go against Ranmaru, but they’ll start a hunt for you.”
“Can you help us with that?” Kai asked.
“I can suggest you move to our base for now.” Kasox smiled. “The Pack won’t get you there, and the dust will settle down in a few months.”
“Isn’t your base at the Abode?” Shacks asked, arching an eyebrow.