Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Matt burst into a full sprint. Every ounce of energy he had was directed into his legs, and he cleared the plain in moments while heading into the forest.

He only had half of his attention focused on the path in front of him. The other half was preoccupied with the influx of messages, and the overlay showing the positions of the refugees.

As he crested the final hill separating him from his target, his steps faltered for a moment. The group was being overwhelmed by golems. The sky was nearly black, with the metal bodies blocking out the horizon.

Matt quickly glanced at the icons of Liz and Aster that he had permanently displayed on his HUD. They were low on mana but physically fine.

Refusing to be dissuaded, Matt let out a scream, and launched himself down the hill at a breakneck pace. He made a beeline for the shrinking space between the golems and the mass of survivors.

With his longsword fully charged, he obliterated the first enemies he came in contact with. The momentum was short lived as they instantly replaced the destroyed drones with more troops. Matt formed a defensive perimeter with the other defenders and covered the retreat of the weaker humans. If they were to succeed, the Tier 5s and 6s were in for the battle of their lives.

It was hard and brutal fighting where each attack felt like flailing in a pool. No matter how many times Matt brought his sword down into the swarm, they rushed to fill in the gaps created by his strikes.

Most of them were the lighter, flying models, and took only a single attack to bring down. Still, their effectiveness was in their sheer numbers. The continous onslaught of golems wore down the defenders bodies. As the mindless fighting continued, Matt engaged with three of the melee golems, wielding the usual mana swords and shields. He was unable to finish them off, but his sole objective was a successful retreat into the rift, so keeping the monsters occupied was good enough.

As he was backpedaling and parrying, he stepped on something fleshy and heard a cry of pain.

Pushing forward slightly, he tried to buy time for the survivor to get up and move. When he heard no movement he quickly glanced behind, and his shout of impatience caught in his throat. He found them still on the ground, with an obviously broken ankle. Judging from the other boot marks, they had already been trampled by quite a few people.

Cursing mentally, Matt let loose a blast of mana from his sword and with the space provided grabbed them. With a single hand he threw the survivor at someone retreating in the mass of people. He didnt have enough time to see more than the two of them stumbling and gripping each other, before he threw himself back into the fight.

In the lull he quickly glanced at the icon of Liz; while low on mana she was physically fine. Aster was doing better on mana but she lost a chunk while he watched. If she was using mana, she was fine.

Matt wasnt sure how the melee fighters were doing, but the fighting was growing more and more frantic as each moment passed so he assumed it was worse than the flying mages. Golems kept slipping through, and trying to grab the weaker Tier 4s. Checking his AI, he saw that they were stretching out, pulling ahead faster than the rear of the formation, separating them further from the pack and forcing the defenders to cover more ground.

Allowing his anger at the situation to take hold, he let his rage fuel his strikes. He was forced to fight at max effort, and didnt have much mana to spare for [Endurance]. [Mages Retreat] was eating everything that wasnt fed into [Cracked Phantom Armor] or [Mana Charge].

The fighting seemed to go on forever. In between flashes of his released mana, he caught glimpses of spells and ranged attacks pelting the mass of golems.

It was helping, he knew that, but it felt so useless.

The anti-air constructs were sending out a continuous stream of mana bolts, and kept the golems from landing inside their formations. Still, some were already flanking them, and attacking those at the front of the retreat. There was a bright side though. The stronger people were running ahead, and were able to clear any golems that tried that.

A blast of flame washed over Matt, and the force of the explosion took him off his feet. Rolling and standing, he found more than a few humans moaning on the ground, while clutching themselves in various spots.

Matt swallowed, stunned for a moment. The smell of charred flesh was overwhelming.

Looking up, he saw a mage with a staff, who had a crossbow bolt sticking out of his shoulder, the bolt had thrown off his aim while he was using the skill. The mage looked on in horror at what had happened. His expression matched what Matt was feeling.

Shaking off the shock and jumping into action, he picked up the two most intact people, and started shoving them forward. He didnt get much further, before a golem came into his sight, trying to grab an unconscious man. With a roar, he turned and lept at the golem, knocking it aside and into the encroaching horde.

Picking up the downed man, Matt ran for all he was worth to catch back up with the retreating masses. Leaving behind the others tore at him, but he knew he had no choice. Not if he wanted to save the still unconscious man, or himself, for that matter. Getting killed or captured wasnt exactly on his list of things to do.

Turning and running, Matt got back to the group, and after handing off his still unconscious baggage, returned to the fighting. The trees were a blessing and a curse. They stopped the golems from pelting them with their crossbows, but they also impeded their progress, forcing people around the thick trunks.

Matt kept his HUD up, and saw the group he was next to split off to the left a little too far. They ran into a hill too steep to climb, getting themselves separated from the retreat.

Checking his surroundings, he found that the defenders had the situation mostly under control. So he ran to the side, and launched himself off the top of the hill that the stragglers were stuck under. While landing, he tried to lead with his sword. It worked for the most part, but he still tumbled down into a mass of metal limbs.

Something stabbed into his side and punctured his armor. He let the pain add to the rage already fueling him, and brought his fists down on anything that moved. Before he lost himself in the killing, he retrieved his sword and screamed at the party of nine.

Fucking get your asses moving. Now! His voice cracked on the last bit, and he spit out a mouthful of blood. He had bit his tongue hard during his graceful entrance.

The survivors only looked at him as if he was stupid and the rage flared up again. He started shoving them to get them going. Seeing that no one wanted to take the lead, Matt pushed forward, with his sword cutting through a pair of golems. With him leading the way, they quickly reunited with the rest of the retreat.

In the moment he was inside the defensive line he took a swig of water from a canteen someone had out and checked his AI for Liz and Aster's status. They were full on mana now but out of his range so with his primary concerns ensured safety he made to return to the fight.

Before he could return to defending the rear, Matt got a ping. Fen was pinned down close by, along with a group of survivors. Not slowing down, Matt turned and rushed through a volley of crossbow bolts. They were simply nuisances that he ignored as Matt didn't feel any connect.

After nearly five minutes of sprinting, he found the group. Fen, Bow, and Arrow were the only fighters defending the group of seven. The others were bloodied and wounded, but trying to help as much as they could. Their wounds only rendered their already weak weapons and skills essentially useless. They were barely holding on.

How did they get so separated?

He didnt have time to consider the question, as he slammed into the back of the small group of golems. One of them turned towards him, and fired a crossbow bolt into his side at point-blank range. He grunted in pain before punching out blindly through the agony. He was quickly surrounded, but he grabbed the crossbow golem and used it as a shield. Charging forward, Matt barreled through the line of monsters and made it to the group of survivors.

After coughing out a mouthful of blood, Fen called out, You look like shit Matt!

Matt didnt know how the man had the energy for banter, and just nodded to the side in response. He led the group away from the rest of the golems, breaking out of the encirclement. The monsters tried to stop them, but with Matt leading the charge, along with the two massive bonded wolves, they were able to secure a path to safety.

Fen was limping heavily, and he struggled to keep up, but some of the survivors helped enough for him to keep pace. Matt moved to help as well, but then noticed that the cut on Arrows side was disappearing, as Fens limp grew worse.

Being able to transfer injuries was a very interesting Talent. Matt wanted to probe more, but now was hardly the time for an interview.

They were able to meet back up with the rest of the party, and Fen, with his two wolves, made towards another group that needed saving. Fen slapped Matts back, and the wolves nodded as they passed. Matt gently patted the injured humans shoulder, while scratching the wolves heads in response.

Matt begrudgingly returned to the melee. They were close to the rear, where the fighting was fiercest. He was tired, exhausted from the effects of [Mages Retreat] boosting him so far beyond his physical means, but someone had to do it. The defenders ranks were growing thinner, as more and more were being taken out of the fight, or fleeing.

As he fought on, he nearly slipped on the churned mud the ground had become. A bolt of lightning arcd from the small hill behind him, and struck the melee golem closest to him.

Glancing back, he saw a group of about twenty standing and fighting.

Matt screamed at them, Fucking move! No heroic last stands! Just keep pushing forward!

They didnt move as quickly as he wanted, so he resorted to herding them with shoves yet again. It got the momentum going, and they all started running together with the last stragglers. A wave of crossbow bolts slammed into the whole crowd through the treetops. Scores of the retreating survivors stumbled and staggered, but most were helped along before they could fall.

As they reunited with the main group, the relief was palpable, but it didnt last long. He thought the darkening of the sky was the approaching night, but the flurry of messages caused him to look again. The golems were sending a large force to flank them and split the formation.

The worry for Liz and Aster skyrocketed but his AI had an update on their position and he found them with the front of the group and physically fine, just once again low on mana.

A second quick glance at his AI indicated that the group had grown more and more stretched out as the retreat proceeded. There was simply too much ground to cover.

Finally, the order he dreaded came down.

They were to cut and run. The Tier 4s would be unable to keep up, and they would be sacrifices to protect the Tier 5s.

It was a cold, calculated call.

Matt agreed with it.

Without hesitation, he turned and ran. The horror on the faces of the people they were abandoning finally broke something in Matt. It wasnt fair to anyone. He didnt want to leave them to the mercy of the golems, but they were about to be enveloped because of the difference in speed and endurance.

Each step felt like failure. Each beat of his heart reinforced that he was leaving humans to the mercy of the ruins monsters. Matt knew how much restraint they had. He had seen it firsthand growing up.

Not even Melinda can heal the dead.

Matt finally fell asleep, with Liz and Aster in his arms. They were safe, and that was all that mattered.

***

All of the people who were planning to leave the rift were gathered together, and sitting in a half-circle to get a good view of Juni. They had only thirty-four people who were combat capable, after the golems assault on the rift. Too many of their fighters had taken crippling hits, or injuries that severely hampered them.

There was no reason to force them to fight. The rift was safe enough, and with the reduction in numbers, they had more than enough food to last for four months.

When everyone finally settled down, Juni said, That was a fucking shit show. But we made it through. Though, not completely unscathed. But now, we need to decide what our next steps are. The Princes original plan was to wait for a single day, then break out in coordination with the other groups.

There was grumbling at the mention of the prince, and Juni let them vent some of their frustration.

Finally, he held up a hand and regained everyones attention.

We still need to plan our next moves. We should be moving in the next five hours, but if anyone wants to stay here and wait this out, no hard feelings.

No one exactly sprung to their feet. Not that Matt expected them to openly declare their intentions. If anyone wanted to stay behind, they would simply decline to show at the rift entrance in five hours.

Our next steps are to move to the center of the continent, and meet up with the rest of the Princes forces.

One of the women who had been with the guard force interjected, Are we still going to join him after what he did to us?

Juni shrugged. Youre free to do as you please. I cant stop you, nor will I. But that golem fortress is still sitting there, and they will only grow in numbers. We could wait until the higher Tiers are forced to step in, but that might take a while. And how would we know, even if they did?

Another woman from the guard party spoke out, Whats your idea then? We never even got firm details about what to do after we arrived, well before this disaster.

We need to get out of the rift and meet up with the prince. Were hoping they arent guarding the rift entrances closely, now that people are inside of them. Anyone that stays would always be vulnerable, even if this isnt an ideal rift for the golems to gather materials.

They talked a bit more, but in the end, it was up to people to decide on their own.

As they were about to leave, one of the crafters came up and said, We have a bath house carved into the river, and a small steam house built as well.

That was all Matt needed to hear. They were still covered in blood and sweat from the fight yesterday. They had been abruptly woken up for the meeting, and had not had the time to clean up at all.

Everyone else clearly had the same idea, and rushed towards the river. Matt saw that Fen was now missing an arm, but Arrow had four legs once again. The human looked battered, but was still smiling.

They reached the river, and found a small area dug out in the shape of a small halfmoon and a set of steps built into the side.

Matt rushed to pull his under armor off, and fell into the shockingly cold water. He spluttered, surfacing with a shudder. The cold was a brutal way to get the last remnants of sleep out of his bones.

Everyone else had joined him, and was scrubbing away at themselves with bars of soap from the ledge. As he went to grab one, he stopped and twisted to check his injuries. The bandages had come off when he pulled off his clothes. Poking, he found them mostly healed, at least the surface.

He had kept [Endurance] running for most of the night while he slept, and with nearly 40 MPS to dedicate to the task, it had healed rapidly.

A slight gasp caught his attention, and the crafter who led them over was covering her eyes while looking up.

Is there a problem?

Umm uhh... Men and women dont bathe together. Its not really considered proper. Weakly, she pointed to the partition that he hadnt noticed and continued, Thats the area for men.

Matt shrugged, walked back into the water and started scrubbing. He didnt notice that only the people from the Empire proper were here. Thyme and Basil were nowhere to be seen. They and the others from the local kingdom must have suspected something like this would happen.

He didnt have it nearly as bad as Camilla, who was covered in dried blood. Liz was helping her with [Blood Manipulation], and was using the same skill to keep the blood from lingering in their bathing water.

Finishing his cleaning, he scooped up Aster, who was busy creating chucks of ice and trying to bite them. In between chomps, she was sending shards of ice at the two wolves splashing around the struggling Fen.

Aster resisted his interruptions of her playtime, until she saw the soap. Then she made her way over to the ledge, ready to be pampered.

After he finished scrubbing the dirt and debris out of her fur, returning it to a pristine white, Aster jumped back into the water and resumed her splashing with the wolves.

As much as he wanted to sit in the frigid water, Matt got up and moved to the sauna. He found a fire device designed for camping, and filled it with mana, sending the water in the bowl on top to a boil.

Steam quickly filled the air, and he was joined by Liz and the others soon after.

He called out, Shut the door! Youre letting my steam escape.

A chorus of complaints were good-naturedly returned to him, and the others filled in.

Liz plopped next to him, and he couldnt resist the opportunity to check her out. It wasnt the first time he had seen her naked, but it was the first time since they had agreed to date exclusively. His appreciation was cut short at the long red line across her hip.

Running his finger down it, he asked, How did you get that? Liz had her unique [Blood Endurance], but she didnt have his unlimited mana to spend on the healing skill. It couldnt have been terrible, but he didnt like seeing her hurt.

Liz leaned into his side and whispered, Fucking golems from the ground started to shoot at us at the end. I got snagged. Nothing crazy. It was a glancing blow, but...

He felt her shrug at the end. He understood. It could have been much worse.

They sat there for a long while, until the heat had chased away the cold of their baths, and they came back out into the pleasant air of the rift.

As they toweled off and slipped into their clean clothes, he found Aster holding court with the other two bonds. Bow and Arrow both sat together, and had their heads cocked at the little foxs yapping.

Matt found Fen with his feet kicked up, and his good arm covering his eyes.

You see what your bond has done to mine? Its not fair.

Matt laughed, Shell miss them when we leave tomorrow.

That caused Fen to lift his arm and look at Matt questioningly. Who said were not coming?

Seeing where Matts eyes went, he rolled his eyes. Its only an arm, and I can fill in just fine as a spell caster. I only prefer melee.

He shrugged and added, And I bet that prince has a capable healer. Cant get it regrown here, so might as well push forward.

They sat there for a while, watching Aster until she turned around and bolted off. Matt was worried for a moment, until Bow and Arrow followed her. He saw that Camilla had exited the steam house, and was promptly tackled by a mass of fur.

Bow and Arrow looked confused, but didnt hesitate to join in on Aster's fun.

Matt let the laughter and quiet barks lull him into a peaceful state. With Liz curled up at his side, he relaxed. He used the down time to allocate the essence in his full spirit. He hated to think how much essence he wasted being full.

His hand slightly shook as he reached into his spatial bag and pulled out a few drinks. It took concentrated effort to stop the shaking, but hearing Aster playing was enough to lighten his mood. A part of him wanted to stay here and let the world pass him by, but images of destruction kept flashing in his mind.

Someone had to clean up this mess, and he didnt trust anyone else to do it right.