Chapter 96: Wiped Out

The Hunter and his team have managed to pull their Stalker up and around several rows of houses. The encampment is a veritable maze of piss and shit. Where they step they find rotting bodies, half skinned meat bags and blood-stained walls. The hunter says, " Hurry we're almost home free." He had spotted a clearing in this smelly bloody hell of a village. 

The hunter had coordinated his team valiantly, he had tried his best to get his Warden to heal. The stubborn fella would not yield leaving his team without any heals. In a battle of attrition like they are facing it is like fighting with one hand tied behind the back.

The Panzar in his team is another stumbling block. The player is selfish and will only fire his weapon when he is safe. The long reload time means that they fight for minutes without their hardest hitter. The constant adjusting of position for his safety concern infuriates the hunter to no end. He wishes he could leave this team behind but he has an item that will drop on death.

They fight as individuals rather than a team. The Hunter had used their shared desperation as members of Crippling Desert who were forced to join this terrible venture. The Stalker ripples with a skin tearing laugh. The half-dead beast is relentless. The howling woot noise it makes causing the team to wince. 

The Stalker rips into the monk. The bone-crushing jaw cracks and displaces one half of his body to the other. The team has already abandoned one player bringing their number down to five. 

The Panzar takes this chance to go the other way. He slipped in between two houses. He destroyed the overhang water tank blocking others from following him. He rushes as quick as he can trying to find a way out. The street and houses bleed into each other. Each looking and smelling the same. 

To his heart collapsing as he stumbles upon a den of hunger Kisshin. These are thin man-like beasts. They all use forged weapons as opposed to natural weapons  like the Stalker. 

The Hunter says, " Fuck you!" As half a building falls in his direction. The Panzar had cut off any way forward. They now had to face the Stalker with just a Warden and Bandit. They all unleash their skills fighting like beasts themselves. Life points are lost faster than magic power expended. The three finally work together. 

After a brief intense skirmish, the Stalker collapses...

The Stalker that Diamondback had caught in her [Shell Shock] is stunned for a few seconds. Rattle moves towards the other team. Diamondback takes out his final bug. The Doom Beatle throws it forward as a plaguer. This is the only bug she has that is directly linked to her speciality which is paralyzing agents. Unable to escape the second more powerful explosion from the Doom Beatle. 

The mad and visibly damaged Stalker is stood stiff. The paralyzing agent in the Doom Beatles body going to work on the beast. Diamondback had somehow survived she is on her last leg, clothes tattered body bruised magic power drained. She smiles trying to move towards Rattle who is holding out her hand. 

Diamondback is almost shocked when upon closer inspection. Rattle is pointing at something her ears are still ringing from the doom Beatles explosion. Unable to hear her doom approaching she is impaled by a massive arrow. She is carried into and through the wall of the house. 

The Kisshin leader, sends a scout into the fast appearing fog. Dense it blocks all the senses from detecting anything happening in the fog. The leader smirks wooting as they wait for the fog to clear. 

Inside the damp fog, Rattle assumes control of the team. It is little to no convincing for them to agree to work together. 

Rattle the Stromcaller is flanked by a male Shaman. He is frantically scribbling tomes onto his club-like staff. A glow enters the wood he finishes up tone scripting. He starts spinning it around the air condenses with magic an ambient layer nearly thick as butter. 

The Eldritch Witch Annaconda with the increased ambient magic power is able to enter an empowered state. Eldritch Witches are natural powered meaning that they learn instinctively. They often experience moments of enlightenment that allow them to adapt to complex situations and learn new spells. 

Even Rattle feels more powerful, her hands sparkle with power. Annaconda aims at the Stalker. It has about one thousand health felt. Wrapped in fog and thorny shackles, her hands glow a vile green and teal. Orbs of power spin around her hands' pulses of the magic shooting of the orb. 

Even Rattle spin her thin needle of a wand as a storm caller her hand and wand are her main magical instruments. She casts a stronger spell the area around sparkles with lighting magic power. The shaman is maintaining the magic zone he created. 

The Stalker threads its body forward, a multitude of cuts are draining up to fifty life points a second. The two casters are pulling in as much power as possible. The magic power normally needed to do this would take at least ten minutes. The lightning energy threatens the Stalker as lines of lightning shoot out randomly at the energy being controlled.

Annaconda casts [Astral Shackles] thick spiritual chains made of sharp barbwire. The Stalker is wrapped up in powerful bone-cracking chains. The Stalker wails as it struggles to stay on its feet. The cuts appearing on its body is ravaging its health points. Values from thirty to sixty reaping three hundred health in twelve seconds. 

During that time Rattle goes off the standard [Bolt] becoming a continuous spell. Searing the newly opened only for more to appear. The Stalker is unable to make any progress. it struggles and claws falling finally to the team with only five seconds of fog remaining. 

Rattle the storm caller, Annaconda the eldritch witch, Krait the shaman and Jararaca the abomination are the remaining player. Even the hidden thief had been dispatched but none of the players had noticed how he vanished. As the thief had been snatched when the Hunter and his team made a mad dash! 

One player did see though from his high vantage point reading the tactics of the Kisshin. SKY Ocean Hunter can't say exactly what the female Kisshin is however he is sure that she assassin like abilities. Initially, he thought she might be a ninja or shadow lord but on closer inspection. It is more likely she is some sort of variant. She hadn't left the side of the Kisshin leader but the manner in which she focused on the thief before he did must somehow be connected to her. 

The battle between the remaining members doesn't interest him as much he needs to investigate whether every leader has what he is calling a 'shadow'. The mission to secure the resources given by the old man only just begins. if their talk yesterday s anything to go then the Red Iron Raid will soon reach a climax as they quickly subsume all the territories it will invite even more challenge. This early in the game the new players still believe they have a chance at success themselves otherwise they would have waited and joined with the second wave when things are less messy. 

SKY Ocean Hunter watches Rattle sends him another stink eye as her fog dissipates. Rattle is furious she should be the one lording over others. The way that Naga just sits there watching them is really pissing her off. This is her first solo excursion that her brother has let her gone. Usulaaly she is not allowed to leave his side in any game they play.

Rattle doesn't want to rely on her big brother he always overreacts but this stupid Naga is bullying her by refusing to die. What right does he have it's not like they have any backing they just got lucky. Plus they played tricks on her and pulled her into this stinky bloody and Kisshin riddled hellscape. It is his fault for provoking her, SKY Ocean Hunter shouldn't have made that ridiculous declaration he is basically asking to be killed. 

This time the leader makes his move mid-leap. The flesh is replaced with fur arms as long as man striding forward forwarding his claws razor sharp. He leaps over the Abonimation the heavily armoured Jararaca too slow to make a difference. 

Krait can only yell out before the Kisshin leader decapitates him. His movement is fast that even Rattle can barely make it out. The Kisshin leader has focused his attributes on speed a lightning bolt misses him as he twirls around. The Kisshin leader head for Annaconda next slashing at her neck waist and head. His claw cleanly enters the skull killing her. 

He then grabs Rattle by the neck turning towards SKY Ocean Hunter as he lifts her into the air by the neck. The stormcaller [BOlts] and [Lightining strike] thrashing madly as her health slowly fades she goes mad as the lack of air drives her to desperation. She undeviatingly channels lightning into her hands punch as hard as she can roaring thunder and dazzling lightning. 

Alas a futile exertion as The Abomination sinks to her knees lifeless the Kisshin leaders' 'shadow' reverting to his body