Chapter 155: A battlefield

Chapter 155: A battlefield

155:

Tom watched as a shimmering blue light enveloped his form, ensconcing his body in the fraction of a second. Then came the pressure, his breath hitching as the color drained away from his face. It felt like his entire body was being crushed by a giant hand, before he was yanked forward without any warning.

The next thing he knew, Tom found that he was experiencing a whole new range of sensory feedback, entirely divorced from the peaceful environment he had been experiencing in the city’s plaza.

The din of battle filled his ears as Tom found himself instinctively drawing upon Warrior’s Shardsong, as both the war cries of climbers and the clacking, inhuman calls and screeches of Nether Beasts filled the air along with more complex sounds, like the crackling of flames, the crinkling of glass and the ear-piercing roar of a mighty beast that had Tom fighting to avoid dropping his sword to shield his ears with both hands.

The air was heavy with the acrid stench of decay and the metallic tang of blood, of stinging sulfur and burnt ash.

Tom focused his gaze towards the source of the turmoil.

‘Holy shit,’ Tom thought as he took in the battlefield in its entirety.

They had been teleported a fair distance away from the battlefield, far enough that they weren’t at risk of being caught in the crossfire, but nothing that couldn’t be covered in a few minutes of sprinting at top speed.

In the center of the battlefield, Tom found the source of the ear-piercing roar he had been subjected to moments ago. The Nether Beast easily cleared ten feet, which on its own wasn’t particularly impressive. However, its lumbering body was chiseled out of a dark violet crystal in a roughly humanoid shape. Its legs were too stocky, like two thick pillars that were necessary to support its bulk and its arms were too long, dropping down to the creature’s knees.

With three eyes that glistened like gemstones, two placed horizontal like a human’s and one vertical above it, a sculpted nose and mouth, the creature seemed more construct than creation.

Tom watched as the Nether Beast lumbered forward, his gaze intent as he watched a spear fashioned out of the earth made contact with its abdomen, only to shatter into countless pieces. Jet streams of flames licked harmlessly against its crystalline body, a layer of shimmering translucent energy shielding it against the scorching heat. A climber slashed at its ankles with a giant axe, only for the recoil to send the axe flying away from his hands.

Finally, the crystalline nether beast, which Tom believed to be the Stygian Titan, retaliated. Its right fist was pulled back before the Stygian Titan sent it blazing forth, angled towards the ground before him.

A climber stepped forward instead of retreating, the glowing red emblem on his chest armor mirroring that of the hundred or so climbers behind him, the ones who had been raining down attacks on the Stygian Titan.

It wasn’t hard to guess that the man who had taken the lead was one of import, his heavy-set silver armor glimmering even in the distance, only overshadowed by the massive tower shield that he held before him, unmoving in the face of the oncoming attack.

Just before the Stygian Titan’s fist made contact, a pure white aura erupted forth with the climber as the epicenter.

Tom’s eyes went wide in astonishment as it wasn’t the tower shield wielding climber that had been crushed to death, but rather the Stygian Titan’s fist that was deflected away with nearly the same amount of force it had committed to the attack with. It was sent stumbling backwards for a few steps, buying the tower shielding man’s forces another few minutes as it tripped onto it’s rear.

One look at the sleek, cuboidal metal building in the distance, behind the red emblem warriors, told Tom why the tower shield wielding warrior was choosing to stand his ground against the Stygian Titan instead of retreating or plain fleeing.

“How risky is it?” Aleph asked. “This battle isn’t worth our lives.”

“It isn’t,” Zirel nodded. “But if there’s a way to knock one of those creatures out of the sky, the rewards are well worth it.”

“I have no idea if it’ll work,” Tom replied with a shake of his head. “Let’s kill fourteen of these Deathless Sentinels first. Then, we can try our little gambit out. If the shamans are controlling that entire army, we won’t fare too well if our assassination attempt fails. It’ll be good to have an emergency teleport available at a few seconds' notice.”

“So? What’s the plan,” Zirel asked.

Tom didn’t hesitate to explain what he was thinking. If there was any miscalculation he was making, it was best for it to be revealed now.

“That...could actually work,” Aleph admitted.

“I can remain in stealth and take out the last Deathless Sentinel if you fail,” Zirel offered.

“Yeah, that’ll be ideal. Thanks, Zirel.”

“Don’t mention it,” Zirel replied, before he blended into his environment.

“You ladies done?” Aleph playfully teased.

Tom chuckled, before shaking head, “About as ready as I can be against an entire army.”

A moment passed before Zirel spoke from next to Aleph, causing her to lightly flinch, “Hey Aleph, how about a competition.”

“Your terms?” Aleph asked, taking a step away from Zirel, not having expected him to sneak up on her as a mock revenge.

“Whoever kills more sentinels wins.”

“You’re on.”

“On your call then, my lady,” Zirel said, drawing upon the noble form of reference for one of Aleph’s stature.