ROTLE- Chapter 157- Into The Fray

Aiden missed. The spear cut through the air and slammed into Zen.

Zen was sent flying off his still moving jepat and straight into a tree. He stayed stuck to the tree, pinned to its trunk by the spear that now ran through his head. His eyes stared forward. Dead.

Aiden’s heart clenched. His lungs shook as the air refused to go in or leave. He waited, as if it would change something, as if waiting was the ultimate move. As if time would heal all wounds.

Feira screamed loud and terrifyingly. It was like a needle through the silence, shattering it like glass. It snapped Aiden out of his stupor as she turned her jepat and rode it to Zen’s body.

Turning away immediately, Aiden prepared for what would come next as his heart clenched tightly in his chest and tears welled up in his eyes.

Zen was supposed to live. He was supposed to live a long life, nine years more at least.

This is your fault!

Oncot leapt from his jepat, shooting through the air like a fired bullet. Something leapt from among the trees where the spear had come from to meet him. Both people clashed and Oncot was sent flying back, straight into a tree.

Aiden used that moment to gauge their opponents. If they could send Oncot flying in one clash, then they were powerful.

How many? Aiden thought, his mind slipping from emotional to calculating.

Zen’s blood was on his hands, and he would berate himself for that at some point. For now, however, he needed to make sure that Zen’s blood would remain the only thing on his hands.

“Elami!” he barked as he pulled his jepat to a stop, turning on their new enemy while his perception scanned the area for the person’s support. “Take Valdan and ride for Bandiv!”

Elami was already going, riding into the wind before the instruction was given.

What the hell? Aiden thought as his survey brought an answer back to him.

There was no one else. Unless they were working under the cover of the [Stealth] skill, he couldn’t sense anybody. He couldn’t hear anything except the rustling of wind and the silence of the birds.

Their enemy stood before all of them clad in a knight’s armor of no distinguishable design. He was tall but not overbearing. His helmet concealed his eyes but Aiden’s perception was high, if he focused, he could see them, so he did.

The man’s eyes scanned the group carefully. He was searching. Aiden had an idea what he was searching for. In this moment, nobody else was moving. Even the jepats stood still.

The only sounds that carried in the air was the sorrowful wails of Feira at her brother’s body. Aiden understood now why Zen had not seen this coming. It was because he had literally not seen it coming.

It crushed his heart some more just thinking about it. Feira’s wails took hold of his guilt and continued to squeeze. This was his fault, they said. He had brought Zen death that was undeserved.

The man’s eyes finally settled on Aiden and he moved. Aiden’s eyes widened in shock and he threw himself off his jepat.

The man blitzed past the jepat, nothing but a blur of movement to Aiden’s senses. Aiden hit the ground and spun into a roll, unsheathing his sword in one fluid motion.

Oncot stepped out of a rummage of trees. Aiden hadn’t even realized that the man had ruined trees as the outcome of his clash.

The armored man looked at Aiden, ignoring all else.

“The pouch,” he said, pointing at it. “Give it.”

Aiden’s grip on his sword tightened. Feira was no longer crying.

“Why?” he asked.

The armored man took a step forward and Oncot leapt at him. He turned at the last moment, throwing his momentum into Oncot. Before he left the ground, a giant spider rammed him from the side, pummeling him straight into a tree.

Aiden turned his head and found Fjord already running straight at the man pinned by the spider. Aiden had no idea what the boy intended to do, however, right behind him, five other summoned creatures came charging forward. Ted had come down from his jepat. There was pain in his eyes and a sword in his hand.

It seemed Zen’s death had also rubbed him the wrong way.

“He dies now,” Ted said in a dark voice. His decree was non-negotiable.

The spider sunk fangs into the neck of the armored man, but only the sound of metals meeting filled the air. Its head reeled back and it struck thrice more before the man grabbed it by the skull.

The spider changed tactics immediately as another summoned, akin to a snake with spider limbs and as tall as two men placed atop each other wrapped itself around the armored man and the tree, keeping him in place.

Along with efforts from the giant spider, it tried its best to bite through the armor. Nothing seemed to be working.

With a show of force, the armored man pulled at the spider’s face and ripped it in two. Ted winced as the summoned creature began evaporating into smoke. He held his sword out and pointed forward.

The armored man took purchase of the creature wrapped around him and tore its serpentine body in two, releasing himself. He stepped forward and a massive gorilla slammed into him. The force of the impact shattered the tree and they both went down.

Aiden kept his attention on the man. They had to run, needed to run. If the man was taking all that beating and reacting the way that he was, then he was powerful. And Aiden had yet to take account of the time mage.

Wherever the time mage was, they weren’t close by.

What was the person’s plan. The fact that he has already experienced déjà vu meant that this fight had already happened before, which meant that the time mage already had a counter for everything that they were supposed to do.

Aiden frowned, eyes still scanning his surroundings, attention stretched thin to avoid an ambush.

The summoned gorilla continued to beat down on the man and his armor until the sound of flesh against unbending metal began to change in sound. The gorilla was winning. Its brute strength was overpowering the armor’s defense.

The problem was that they could not join the fray. Aiden took a look at Ted and knew that Ted would be in no hurry to run. Oncot wanted the blood. Feira did not look ready to leave her brother’s corpse behind. She kept on reaching for it yet not touching it as tears streamed down her face.

The gorilla’s hand came down once more but did not land. The man’s hand shot out and grabbed the fist before it finished its descent. With a flick of the wrist, he broke its wrist. The gorilla let out no cry of pain, reaching instead with its other hand to strike.

The man reached forward and punched a hole in its chest. It was one of the most effective casual blows Aiden had ever seen.

As the gorilla dissipated into smoke, the man got back up. His armor was a beaten mess. The helmet was caved in and Aiden could see blood leaking from it.

It seemed the gorilla had done a good amount of damage.

Aiden brought his hands together.

[You have used Class skill Enchanted Weave]

…

[You have used Weave of Strength]

[You have used Weave of Speed]

[You have used Weave of Endurance]

He felt each weaving take effect as his stats rose. His body seemed firmer, stronger. His muscles felt denser.

Oncot rushed at the man, cleaver swingin.

Unarmed, the man met the swing with a raised hand. It struck his armored arm, biting into the metal and drawing blood, but it did not take it off.

Oncot ripped the weapon free and swung again. The armored man stepped forward, right into the swing, and pushed out with his hand.

Ted appeared right next to him, sword piercing into his side.

In a shocking display of speed, the man canceled his attack and slapped ted to the side. Ted went flying but did not release his sword as he cascaded through the air.

Oncot’s second swing, however, landed a solid blow on the armored knight, biting into the shoulder of his armor and drawing more blood.

The armored man reached up and grabbed the cleaver, keeping it secured to his shoulder, and looked up at Oncot. Oncot tried to pull the weapon free, but the man’s strength was beyond his own.

Abandoning the weapon, Oncot leapt back and away. The man charged him. Aiden could not allow everyone to die.

[You have used skill Walking Canvas]

The skill he was about to use was one he had been perfecting for not too long now. It was all done in his head but he was sure he had a good idea of how it would work.

[You have used Weave of Gas]

Gas came alive within his lungs, choking him for only a moment, some spilled from his skin—to his surprise. Aiden ignored it all as he took in a deep breath. With [Weave of Endurance] and [Weave of strength] coursing through him, his deep breath was deeper than any human lung had any right to make.

His fingers weaved the final sign.

[You have used Weave of Flame]

Heat filled him and sparks of fire erupted in the air.

The armored knight must’ve felt what was happening because he ignored his charge on Oncot and made a beeline straight for Aiden.

Too late, Aiden thought as he sent all the air in his lungs pouring out in one great gust. When he had used this in the cave, he had used lesser variations of the enchantments. Now, however, there was no need for control.

Fire erupted from his mouth like a forward explosion. It slammed into the armored man and sent him flying back. Aiden kept his mouth open, expelling flames even as he felt the burns grow inside of him.

The fire spread, engulfing trees and grass. Igniting the air. It was a wave, a tsunami of an inferno. It claimed everything in its path and raised enough heat to make Aiden sweat.

Aiden didn’t know how long he kept it pumping. It seemed to last forever as it burned through him to burn the world. At some point he couldn’t even see the armored man. He didn’t know if the man was still burning or if he had escaped the fire.

The absence of a kill notification told him that the man was still alive. The absence of a critical or fatal damage notification worried him.

When the flames were done, they guttered out. Aiden coughed up tongues of fire as he forced the last vestiges of the gas out of his system, deactivating [Walking Canvas].

Oncot stood off to the side looking at him in shock. Around them some trees no longer stood, burnt to cinders. Those still standing were covered in fire, fire that was spreading along the canopy of leaves.

Aiden had started a forest fire and he knew it.

Ted moved over to him. “We’ve got to go. He’s too strong.”

Aiden agreed, yet he drew his finger across the length of his sword’s blade. Oncot heard what had been said but was in no hurry to leave.

[You have used skill Unarmed Engrave(U)]

…

[You have used Enchantment of Sharpness]

…

[You have used Enchantment of Endurance]

…

[You have used Enchantment of Dismemberment]

…

[Dimensional mana detected]

…

[Enchantment of Sharpness is now Enchantment of Void Sharpness]

…

[Enchantment of Endurance is now Enchantment of Void Endurance]

…

[Enchantment of Dismemberment is now Enchantment of Void Dismemberment]

“Now, Aiden!” Ted barked as Aiden’s sword took up a slightly dark hue, its blade thrumming with the need to be used. “We have to—”

Silence settled on everything so that even the roar of flames became completely ignored. All eyes turned in the direction of the trees that were now nothing but cinders.

Standing there, amidst it all, was the armored man.

[Tethered Title Knight Killer is in effect]

[Knight Killer]

[Effect: +12% increase in damage when facing opponents with the Knight title.]

[Effect: 12% damage resistance when facing opponents with the Knight title.]

Aiden’s jaw almost dropped. Some monarch had sent a knight to deal with them.

The armored man walked through the grave of fire. He staggered like a man in pain but didn’t look as if he had taken too much damage. His armor shone a bright red in different places from the effects of the fire. Oncot’s cleaver was still in his shoulder and it blared a bright red.

He has to be boiling inside, Aiden said in horror. How is he still…

His thoughts trailed off as realization dawned on him.

The armored man reached for his helmet and ripped it off, tossing it aside as if it was a worthless thing, which it was.

Aiden stared at the eyes that fixed on him and he knew that they were in trouble.

“Ted!” he barked. “Run!”

Ted turned, Oncot moved, the knight flashed forward.

Aiden was too slow and Oncot intercepted the knight before him. Ted was already on the move. The problem was the jepats were gone, scared off by the flames, and they could not outrun their opponent.

Oncot and the knight met. The knight had no face to see as it was covered in burn marks, but he did not waste his time with Oncot. In two moves, Oncot fell to the ground with what could’ve been a broken spine. Aiden wasn’t sure.

Aiden moved immediately, wasting no time. His sword flickered as he blitzed through the air, carried by [Dash]. He needed to buy Ted some time. He allowed his attention to settle on a on the knight.

“Second Order sword technique,” he muttered under his breath, knowing that his body could handle it comfortably. “Third Flow…”

…Driven man.

[Dash] moved Aiden, and he shot across the distance. He did not come to a stop in front of the knight, instead, he moved a step past him, and his sword severed his arm at the elbow.

But he did not stop.

Aiden spun around the man even as the man moved to stop him, slipping behind him. His sword moved with his momentum, drawing a quick line across the man’s back, the sword, covered in enchantments tore through armor and skin. Aiden was fast, the world seeming to blur around him. His focus was on nothing but the knight.

When his spin came to a stop, he was standing in front of the man. The tip of his sword had drawn a dip line in his thigh, and he had the end of his blade buried in the knight’s neck.

His interface came to life in front of him as he leapt back, summoning his enchanted bow from his storage space.

[Congratulations Prisoner #234502385739!]

[You have used a Flow from the Order Sword Technique.]

[You have used the third Flow of the Second Order.]

[You have learnt Driven Man]

Aiden landed, bow in one hand and arrow in another.

He notched the arrow and drew the bow back. The shamanic enchantment on the knuckle guard of the bow glowed a bright purple as he activated it. Then he let the massive arrow fly.

One armed, covered in a molten armor that was definitely boiling him from the inside, and covered in burns, the arrow pierced a massive hole in the knight’s heart.

The knight staggered forward, stopping himself before he fell. There was a gaping hole where his heart should be, and blood dripped from it.

Oncot rushed out of nowhere and slammed into him.

He hit the knight and came to an abrupt stop. The knight had a hand out at the last moment and grabbed the large man by the neck. Oncot struggled against the hold, reaching for the hilt of his cleaver still in the man’s shoulder.

With a flick of the wrist, he broke Oncot’s neck.

The large man fell and hit the ground, lifeless.

Aiden confirmed it now as he watched Ted standing not too far away, having changed his mind about fleeing.

They stood, now, in a battle against the Immortal.

Aiden watched the man, worry seeping through him. In his past life, for all the wars and chaos, one of the things he knew for a fact was that until his death and regression, no one had found a way to kill the Immortal.

He met the Immortal’s gaze and steeled his resolve.

Stepping forward, he thought to himself. Once more…

… Into the fray.