Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Ruwen stood at the front of Rungs Two, Three, and Four and studied the bridge entrance a thousand feet away. The Founders had warned them the island had its own inhabitants, and they had made their first appearance.

What looked like walking seven-foot wolves defended the entrance of the bridge. They wore leather armor and brandished swords and crossbows. Over two hundred Adepts from other Clans fought the wolves and each other as they attempted to cross onto the bridge.

This close, the details of the bridge had clarified. It had no guard rails and spanned twenty feet in width. Interlocking stone slabs gave it a rough look. The river moved much faster than it had appeared to from the hilltop. Swimming or some type of raft would definitely take them far downstream before reaching the other side half a mile away.

Ruwen had considered following the river to the end and crossing where it entered the ocean but Sift had said the island appeared gigantic when he’d flown over the river and continued for as far as he could see. All that brought Ruwen’s attention back to the bridge.

The wolves would only be the first obstacle. Creatures and Step fighters littered the bridge, and the water roiled as beasts fought for position to catch anyone that fell off while crossing.

Fighting along the bridge’s edge would allow them to focus their defense on one side but made them vulnerable to any attack that pushed them into the water. Fighting down the middle of the bridge was the most crowded and would force them to defend both sides. Many of their enemies had weapons and the Bamboo Viper Adepts would be vulnerable to them in the crowed space.

“We could clear that bridge in less than a minute,” Sift said.

“I know,” Ruwen replied. “But is that the right thing?”

“If the point is to cross the bridge, then yes.”

“That isn’t the only point, though, right? The Adepts need to fight in this furnace to harden them for what their future holds.”

“I guess. But a furnace is for baking pies.”

“Unfortunately, our future is not that sweet.”

Sift reached down and confirmed his belt remained tied around his waist. “Too bad your new golem isn’t like Hamma’s. Smash would toss himself a path right through that crowd.”

Memories of Smash throwing skeletons as he chased Sift during the fight outside Uru’s Third Temple made Ruwen smile. It reminded him a little of what he’d done on the hilltop, and it gave him an idea.

“Hear me out,” Ruwen said.

Sift sighed. “Oh, no.”

“What is the strength of our Clan?”

“Me.”

Ruwen frowned at Sift.

“Fine,” Sift replied. “Options.”

Ruwen pointed at the mass of opponents. “They are all experts in combat.”

“And?”

“We don’t need to fight.”

“You want to cross the bridge by not fighting?”

“Exactly.”

“I didn’t think your ideas could get any worse.”

“Listen. If we fight, we get bogged down and it opens even more opportunities for our enemies. We need to slice through them like a Carnage golem through a horde of skeletons.”

“I’m listening.”

“On the hilltop, I had a line of Adepts use their Bamboo Steps to slow the enemy’s advance and feed the Viper team victims. I want to do the same thing now, but without taking time to fight. We just move through the crowd using Bamboo Steps to remove people from our path.”

Sift tilted his head in thought. “If we keep it narrow, like a knife, we can just throw people to the other side.”

“That’s what I was thinking. We let the Adepts forge ahead and I’ll stay near the front while you handle the rear in case of any serious issues.”

“Not bad.”

Ruwen turned to the Adepts, who all studied the chaos on the bridge.

“Those who favor Bamboo step forward,” Ruwen said.

Eight of the twenty-four Adepts moved toward Ruwen. He’d expected as much as most practitioners enjoyed the Viper offense to the more reactionary Bamboo.

“Form two lines,” Ruwen told the eight Bamboos. He turned to the others. “I need two Vipers between each Bamboo. We will form a narrow ‘V’ and push through that mess intending to avoid combat. Whenever attacked or approached, use your Bamboo Steps to throw them backward or to the side.”

The Adepts nodded their understanding and in a just a few seconds arranged themselves as directed.

Ruwen stepped behind the two lead Bamboo Adepts. “Let’s advance at a brisk walk and try to maintain it.” He raised his voice. “This is combat. Just like the hilltop, you don’t need to execute a flawless move, just one that keeps you safe and takes us closer to our goal.”

The fighting remained thickest in the center of the bridge’s entrance, so they angled for the left side. Most of the enemy fighters kept their focus forward, and the Bamboo Viper Clan’s initial penetration of their ranks proved effortless. A hundred feet from the bridge, the fighting intensified, and their progress slowed.

The combatants on this side of the bridge looked mostly human, with only minor differences. The farther down the bridge Ruwen gazed, the more creatures he found, along with organized bands of demons. He wondered if these fighters lived here and were rewarded for slowing or stopping Clans from advancing.

Everyone stayed out of the water. Ruwen couldn’t find a single boat or raft. It reinforced his belief that the water likely had worse than anything the bridge provided.

Ruwen refrained from helping the Adepts around him, even though he wanted to move faster. While he ignored some of the advice he received, like advancing Sift so quickly, other advice he took seriously, especially from entities like Sivart who specialized in warfare.

Ruwen had purposefully not spoken to Sivart yet, as he wanted to grow as a leader himself. He planned to go over his choices with the Narrator after everyone reached safety. Just because Ruwen had mastered the Steps didn’t mean he didn’t have a lot to learn on this island.

Even though their pace had slowed, they still made progress, and twenty-five feet from the entrance Ruwen had seen enough to agree with the Founders’ assessment: the Bamboo Viper Clan did emphasize quality over quantity. The Clans that surrounded them provided little resistance to the highly trained Adepts of his Clan.

Ruwen knew part of the reason for their easy advance was they fought through the weakest of the combatants here at Savage Island. If these fighters had been stronger, they would already be marching to the bridge’s other side.

They reached the bridge entrance, and the fighting became much denser, making the Bamboo Step throws harder to execute.

Ruwen modified his approach to match what he’d done on the hillside. He raised his voice above all the shouting and sound of combat. “If you can’t clear, stun. Vipers incapacitate. Watch your step for bodies.”

The new directions sped them back up as the enemies around them fell to the ground from well-aimed strikes to nerve bundles and pressure points. The Viper teams finished them, creating a line of bodies behind them like the wake from a boat.

They pushed through the jam of enemies and onto the bridge. Now that Ruwen stood on it, he realized the entire bridge consisted of a single vertebra from some massive creature. The bone curved and gently pushed everyone to the sides and away from the middle.

Most of those on the bridge looked human, but their red-tinged eyes gave them away as demons. Ruwen wondered why they guarded the bridge and how they’d gotten here. Maybe one of the other Adepts knew and could tell him once they were safe.

A loud gong sounded and Ruwen almost turned to see if Blapy had arrived, but the sound had come from the distant mountains. Specifically, from the giant fortress in the distant peaks.

Ruwen and the rest of the Adepts had crossed a third of the bridge when the gong sounded, and they slowed in surprise as all the demons dashed for the hands that lined the bridge on each side. These hands came from the massive statues that held the bridge on their backs.

In just seconds, the entire bridge had cleared of demons and Ruwen glimpsed Echo almost completely across the bridge. Rung One trailed two hundred feet behind her, not able to match the speed of her Gem Fortified body. Not sure what was happening, he didn’t want to waste the opportunity of the clear bridge.

“Run!” Ruwen shouted.

Their group dashed forward, and it took all Ruwen’s self-control to not grab the slowest runners and carry them. Echo left the bridge and dashed into the grass as Ruwen and his Adepts reached the middle. A shudder through the structure was his first clue that something terrible might happen.

“Bad luck on the timing of that call to prayer,” Tarot said as he hovered on a card in front of Ruwen. “I’ll see you on the other side. I hate getting wet.”

With that, Tarot disappeared and Ruwen felt the bridge drop. It only took him a moment to understand the situation. The statues supporting the bridge were massive golems, and they kneeled in prayer, the bridge descending with them.

In just a few seconds, they’d be floating in the river.