Contest (The Stork Tower Book 6)

by Tony Corden

  Seishin had been watching and must have known what would happen because just before the smoke touched her, she fired three arrows in quick succession from her bow. Before the arrows reached Merideath, she’d turned to face Seishin. Merideath deflected the arrows with a shield made from the elemental blue fire. Behind the arrows, Seishin had sent several spelled bombs which exploded in the smoke causing it to crumble like dust and in its place was a billowing opaque cloud of deepest blue.

  Behind the bombs were shuriken. Most were the spinning flat star-shaped variety, though some were darts. None got past the Merideath's blue shield, although two exploded against it covering Merideath with some sort of gas. Whatever it was it had minimal effect though, for the first time Merideath moved. She brought her staff around in a sweeping motion from right to left. A stream of yellow fire flowed from the staff, burning away Seishin's blue smoke and bursting against Seishin's outlined form to cancel her invisibility and drive her back a step.

  As Seishin regained her balance, Merideath rushed toward her with long strides and her sword out. Seishin only had time to equip herself with a knife in each hand before Merideath was on her attacking with the sword. Here, Merideath’s additional hundred and one levels came to the fore. Within seconds Seishin’s headless body dropped to the ground accompanied by the sound of Merideath’s cheering fans. Altogether the fight had taken less than sixty-seconds. Leah was confident Merideath could have ended it earlier if she’d wished.

  With only three more ten minute slots to concentrate on her shrouds, Leah put Merideath and the contest from her mind and formed a sword of shadow in one hand and a sword of light in the other before practising her sword forms while creating a variety of shields around her body. She needed to protect the vulnerable areas formed by her limited range of movement. Yuè Fēi was a master of the sword, and Leah knew she needed all the protection she could assemble. Leah practised the extended kata for dual swords twice before slowing and coming to a complete stop. The shrouds formed the set of wings almost without direction and Leah rested while she waited for the third bout. She was pleased with the way the shrouds were developing, but she was concerned by her limited movement. Over half her strokes had needed adaptation during the practice katas and her body continued to ache.

  Leah was brought out of her introspection by the trumpet blast and looked up to see Ivan and Gottes_Kreiger_10 preparing for the duel. Instead of waiting silently like the other contestants had, Ivan lifted his battle-axe and called out, “Hey Подонок, Namus isn’t going to be pleased with you after I rip his armour from your dying body.”

  The paladin’s reply was drowned out by millions of cheering Russians. Before the knight could repeat himself, the second trumpet rang out, and Ivan began walking toward the Mithryl covered elf. Both combatants had constructed their characters for sustained close quarter’s fighting; therefore, the Paladin stood waiting with his sword and shield held ready for the barbarian to come in range. Ivan didn’t bother to hide his first stroke as he brought his axe around in a cross body swipe which would have cut the knight in half from his left shoulder to left hip. Instead, it was met by the paladin’s shield which he’d planted in the ground and angled outward to guide the axe into the ground, forcing Ivan into a position where he could be impaled on the knight’s sword which he brought forward in a thrusting attack. Ivan let go of the axe and deflecting the sword with his adamantine gauntlets, brought his armoured fist around and pounded Gottes_Kreiger_10 on the faceplate of his helmet.

  The knight took a step back to get his balance before retaliating by driving his shield into Ivan’s body, which was reaching for the axe. Ivan met the shield with his left shoulder and brought the gathered axe around in a swipe to lay the blade’s flat profile onto the side of the paladin’s head. Neither of the players gave an inch as they continued to pummel each other with a ferocity which Leah knew had been years in the building. She was aware Ivan wanted to avenge the comments made against her, but there had always been an intense animosity between the two. Whatever the cause, they stood toe-to-toe and fought with a physicality that made Leah and the crowd wince time and time again. Slowly the extra forty levels and sheer ferocity of Ivan’s attack began to pay dividends. Even though Ivan was covered with cuts and blood, he hadn’t slowed at all while Gottes_Kreiger_10 eventually slowed enough to let Ivan land the occasional double blow. The knight’s armour began to show dents, and some of the silver Mithryl edges came loose. Slowly Ivan’s axe, knives and nails started to succeed in breaking through the metal to tear into the knight’s flesh.

  Finally, his nose broken, dripping with blood, and missing both teeth and nails, Ivan knew he had defeated the knight. He cast whatever spell brought forth the huge bear and together they finished tearing the knight apart. True to his promise, he shredded the armour before ripping apart the knight’s chest. As the bear disappeared, Ivan spat on the knight’s fading body before raising his hands in victory. Leah couldn’t tell which was louder, the screams of anger from the Knight’s supporters or the shouts of delight from Ivan’s. Lowering his arms, Ivan turned his back on the place where he’d killed the paladin and faded from view.

  Slightly sickened by the sheer brutality of the fight, Leah knew she would never be able to last against either man without her magic skills to bolster both her attack and defence. She turned from the arena to prepare for her bout. She checked that each set of armour was fully charged and ready to go. When she was satisfied, she checked her staff and then, after donning the dragon armour, she had the shrouds form her wings. With care to keep the mana usage small, she cast a range of spells, seeing which made use of the shroud mana. She found, for example, that the light spell she’d used on the Kraken was wholly formed by the light shroud while it only supplemented the lightning and ordinary fire spells. The shadow shroud supplemented her summoning of Orumeck’s creatures and Lord Kötü’s minions without help. It also increased the level of minion that she could call. The dark spells she knew were all aided by the shadow shroud, and it also added strength to her dragon fire. She still had several spells to review when the trumpet rang for the fourth bout.

  Princesa_Amazônica_23 and Delta_Knight_01 appeared together. The elven ranger was holding her bow, and her jaguar was standing at her side. The fire on the knight’s great broadsword flickered, and his dark armour gleamed. When the second trumpet rang, the knight began to move forward at a brisk walk while watching the ranger and jaguar carefully. Princesa_Amazônica_23 had apparently come to the same conclusion as Leah and started to move around to her left to keep the armoured knight at a distance. Equipping her bow, the elf began shooting arrow after arrow at the knight. She must have used an enchanted quiver, or had returning arrows, for Leah counted three in the air at all times, each one arriving with a spell of some kind. Some exploded with fire and lightning, some released what Leah assumed was poisonous gas, some dropped spells of tangling vines or caused spikes to shoot from the ground, and still others burst apart and sprayed the knight with small exploding bomblets or something similar to napalm.

  Through it all, the Knight kept moving inexorably closer to the ranger with each step, his only response to bring his shield to the front and use it to deflect the arrows that bored in with relentless regularity and accuracy. The knight was just over ten metres from the ranger when one of the arrows changed mid-air into a Level 400 Barbed wolf. Delta_Knight_01 was caught off guard but managed to bring his shield up in time and the wolf landed on it instead of his chest. Even so, its weight drove the Knight into the ground. As he fell, he brought his head forward to drive the horns on his helmet deep into the wolf's skull. Leah was impressed with his skill, but she also admired the ranger’s planning. Just as the knight landed the jaguar, who had circled around to behind the knight, moved in to clamp his jaws firmly around the knight’s armoured neck.

  With the weight of the wolf on him, and with the jaguar holding the neck, the ranger moved closer with an arrow knocked, hoping to finish the f
ight. Leah wasn’t sure what happened, but there was a loud zap and the jaguar’s head exploded catching the ranger unprepared and startling her just enough for Delta_Knight_01 to roll from under the wolf and get to his feet. The ranger was only five metres away, and before she could retreat, the dark knight had taken two steps and attacked with his sword. Leah was as surprised as the ranger for he was still too far away. As the sword moved across her body, red fire shot out the point and burned a deep furrow from the ranger’s left shoulder to her right breast. Taking another stride, the knight’s return stroke removed Princesa_Amazônica_23’s head.

  Once again a player had resorted to something as yet unseen. Leah wondered what Yuè Fēi might have up his sleeve. She had ten minutes before the bout but suspected someone would come to get her before then. She decided not to keep checking and rechecking the time and lowered herself into the quarter lotus, the wings spreading automatically and coming together in an arch over her head. Leah closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Slowing her breathing, she lost track of time until Gèng said, “They will transfer you to the arena in thirty seconds.”

  Leah nodded calmly and continued to focus on her breathing.

  34

  Chapter 34

  December 17, 2073 - MERKIZE CONTEST - Part 3

  DUNYANIN - CONTEST

  The trumpet sounded, and Leah felt the floor beneath her shudder as she changed positions. She slowly raised her head and opened her eyes. Flicking the wings to the side, Leah stood to look over at Yuè Fēi as the second trumpet blast rang out. Folding her wings, she brought her right hand across in a fist and laid it on her left breast, then with her eyes still looking toward Yuè Fēi she bowed at the waist. Holding the pose only for a moment, she stood straight and brought her hands back down to her sides. This was the way John wanted his students to begin any bout and was her way of showing respect to Yuè Fēi.

  He smiled and made a fist with his right hand. He brought it forward to rest against his left palm, which was waiting at shoulder level with his arms, making a circle. He bowed his head briefly then took a step backwards to take a ready stance. Leah equipped her staff and also took a ready position. Leah knew he would wait for her to attack first so she waited for twenty seconds while she calmed herself and then with a brief nod, which she knew he would recognise, she slammed the staff in her right hand down on the arena floor. She cast Dark Chain Lightning throughout the staff, and with her left hand, she cast Rain of Fire, amplifying it with mana from the light shroud.

  Lightning, dark as night, leapt towards Yuè Fēi who was already moving to his right. The lightning arced toward him, catching him on the shoulder then arching in a short semicircle to flare across his midriff. Rather than arc a second time, his armour flashed with light and the spell fizzled as Leah's Rain of Fire began to fall. Leah followed up the spells with three of Lord Kötü’s minions to flank Yuè Fēi, who had cast or thrown something skywards to form a dome to keep the fire from touching him. Leah needed to keep his attention, so she equipped her bow and had three arrows in the air and heading toward him even as his own arrows sped toward her. Leah directed the light shroud to form shields to deflect or cancel the incoming arrows and simultaneously cast a dozen Dragonfire Fireballs at the elf.

  Meanwhile, his own shields had stopped her arrows, and he had engaged the minions with his sword. Two were already dead and the third dying when the dragon fire washed over his armour. Instead of burning him, it dissolved into his armour, causing it to glow. Leah quickly decided to send no more dragon fire and equipping her bow she sent another six arrows and three minions toward the elf. For several minutes they kept up the long-distance battle with neither of them making much headway. Leah’s attacks were far more potent, but nothing she did did anything more than singe Yuè Fēi’s armour. His ranged attacks couldn’t penetrate the dual shrouds.

  Leah wasn’t sure who stopped first but almost as one, they stopped the long distance sniping. Leah transferred her staff to her left hand and equipped the amber dragon in the right. She began walking toward Yuè Fēi at a slow but steady pace. Seeing what she’d done, he began walking toward her after first slinging his bow across his back, and equipping dual swords. When they were five metres apart, she stopped and grounded her staff. He also stopped and took the ready position. Again she waited for twenty-seconds then with a nod lifted her staff to bring it crashing down. This time she cast Tangle through the staff and Circle of Sloth through the Amber Dragon, followed by a blast of Chain Lightning at the elf’s face. Yuè Fēi was cutting through the tangles when the chain lightning arced into his face. Leah teleported behind him, bringing her sword forward in a lunge only to find his sword deflecting hers, forcing her to roll through the lunge and misting to evade his follow through.

  Rolling to her feet, Leah snapped her wings shut behind her to protect her back from one of his knives which he’d thrown as he pivoted to follow her. Leah summoned two of Orumeck’s Warrior drones to slow Yuè Fēi down and then threw two knives while double casting Lightning. The lightning flashed through the knives, heating them a bright cherry red and then arched toward Yuè Fēi. Once more, the spells slid off his armour, but the two knives left small indentations where they landed.

  Yuè Fēi easily dispatched the Warrior Drones, and although slowed by the spells and knives he was suddenly close enough to step forward and engage Leah with his sword. Leah knew that even at full health, she wasn’t yet his equal with the sword and with the brace in place, she was even more at a disadvantage. Still, she brought the Amber Dragon around in her right hand and formed a sword from shadow in her left and defended herself. For the next few minutes, they duelled with Leah always on the back foot. Yuè Fēi was relentless. Several of his lunges and strokes had made it through her guard, but the two shrouds reacted with lightning speed to her commands. While her health was still almost full, her ki, mana and stamina were slowly being depleted.

  Leah had several powerful spells up her sleeve, but most of them could only be used once a day, and she needed to keep them in case she ended up fighting Merideath. Leah didn’t really mind if she lost to Yuè Fēi, but there was no way she wanted to succumb to Merideath. Even so, Leah knew something had to change if she was thinking of losing. She remembered what Gèng had said about attitude, and she stopped merely reacting. The next time Yuè Fēi’s stroke was deflected, Leah stepped forward instead of backwards and upped the pace of her attack. For the first time in the battle, she began to drive Yuè Fēi backwards as she let her Ki lend additional speed to her moves. Into the duel she added spells, she misted, mid-stroke she changed weapons so instead of a sword the battle axe slammed aside Yuè Fēi’s defence or slammed into his still impenetrable armour.

  For a time it was Yuè Fēi who was on the back foot and Leah who surged forward time after time to land small blows on the elven knight. Yuè Fēi was in no way defeated though. After several minutes of Leah’s punishing attacks, he also stepped up the pace and once again the tide of the fight changed. Yuè Fēi was everywhere, the spells continued to slide off his armour, and his sword moved like lightning between defence and attack. Leah knew that without the shrouds, she would be long dead. Still, she did have the shrouds, and they continued to shield her from those attacks of Yuè Fēi which increasingly managed to break through her defence.

  Early on the elf had noticed Leah’s use of the shrouds. He was aware that she used them also exclusively to protect herself from attacks to the shoulder and above even when it would have been easier to sway backwards or duck under them. He also noticed Leah only cast spells toward his head and that not once had she attacked if it required her to lift her arms away from her body to any great extent or to any great hight. Many of his attacks sought to utilise what he considered a weakness in her form but none had yet gotten through the two shrouds.

  Leah was getting tired, nothing she’d tried had penetrated Yuè Fēi’s defences, and her Mana, Stamina and Ki were all dropping faster than she knew his would be. T
he shrouds were heavily depleted, and even with their faster rate of replenishment, they couldn’t keep up with the constant drain. Altogether they had been dulling back and forth for almost twenty minutes when Leah missed an attack which speared into her right shoulder. She hadn’t used the shields because she was trying to conserve mana and Yuè Fēi had used a form she’d never seen before. His sword didn't penetrate her armour, but the elf’s follow-through knocked the Amber Dragon from her hand. Leah formed a sword from Shadow just in time to block a similar stroke.

  Three minutes later and both her shrouds were practically empty, and Leah had exchanged the shroud swords for her fighting sticks. Twice more Yuè Fēi had used new forms and though none of them caught Leah unaware when used a second time, it meant that twice more Yuè Fēi had landed blows to her right shoulder. He knew it was troubling her and most of his strikes were centred on making her use the shoulder. Leah’s health was still in the high eighties, but her Mana and Ki were both less than ten per cent, and her stamina was just under twenty.

  Leah wasn’t sure how he did it, but Yuè Fēi suddenly increased the speed of his attack and no matter what she did, he began to pummel her mercilessly. None of the blows pierced the armour, but the force caused bruises, and Leah’s health began to drop rapidly. She lost one stick and then the next, and still she fought. Equipping a knife in each hand, she attacked. Yuè Fēi, in a sign of respect, dropped his sword and arming himself in the same way he continued to fight. Leah hadn’t landed a single blow on her opponent in five minutes, but she somehow managed to keep him from dealing the death blow.

  As her Ki dropped to zero Leah waited for the next time Yuè Fēi landed a blow and instead of retreating as she’d been doing she to cast the remaining mana at Yuè Fēi’s face willing it to form a super bright light to distract and blind him. At the same time, she threw herself straight at the elf, hoping to drive her haladie through his armour. Leah was more surprised than anything when she felt it strike his armour and actually punch through into his flesh. At the same time, she felt a sharp and almost blinding pain in her left shoulder and then she began to fall backwards. She had managed to draw blood, and her haladie had gone through the edge of Yuè Fēi’s chest and scraped against ribs, but his knife had driven through the flesh above her shoulder and down into her heart.