Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Sift closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed. “Let’s hear it.”

Ruwen pointed as he spoke. “There are two immediate groups that need countered and another on the way. One of us goes for the approaching group, one of us defends half this hill, and the Adepts guard the other half.”

“I want the approaching bunch. It’s already crowded up here and it’s only going to get worse.”

“Okay, I’m going to open a connection with Sphere of Influence so we can talk at a distance. It will work as long as you’re in sight. If things get dicey, retreat here. No stupid.”

“Says the puddle to the rain.”

Before Ruwen could respond, Sift sprinted down the hill. The Shattered Clan moved to cut Sift off but gave up when it became obvious Sift’s speed wouldn’t allow them to intercept him.

“Bamboo Viper Clan,” Ruwen said. The twenty-four remaining Adepts all turned toward him. “They outnumber us four to one, which is terrible odds for our enemies.” He smiled, and the Adepts returned it, their heartbeats slowing.

Ruwen continued. “I propose we divide this hill in half.” He pointed toward the Shattered Clan. “On that side, assemble into groups of three, one from each Rung. Once done, use those groups to form two lines, one at the hill’s edge, the second ten feet behind. When the second line calls out, the Adepts in the first line will use their Bamboo Steps to throw an attacker to the second line.”

“Isn’t tossing enemies behind us dangerous?” Prythus asked.

“Yes, it is. That’s why the second line will work in groups of three against each single enemy, quickly incapacitating them. If you see another group struggling, help them before calling for another body.”

“What about the other side?” Nymthus asked.

“I’ll handle that side. If you need help, call out. The groups below have spears and likely blades. The Adept in each group of three with the most experience deflecting ranged weapons will focus on that. Remember, your Clan is behind you, so redirect the weapons upward, not straight backward.”

Prythus looked worried. “You are one man. If they overwhelm you, our backs are vulnerable. We should form a circle and present a more traditional defense.”

“The lack of space here, coupled with the numbers we face, makes that a deadly strategy. If we only defend, they will eventually overcome us. This method allows us to slow our attacker’s progress while whittling down their numbers. I believe once they see we aren’t easy prey, they’ll retreat.” Ruwen looked around at them. “We use the strength of our Clan. With only Bamboo or Viper, we would lose here, but together we will find victory.”

“They’re moving up,” Nymthus called. “Shield disappears any second.”

“Let’s do this,” Ruwen said.

Ruwen turned away from the Adepts as they followed his strategy. He stepped to the edge of his side of the hill and studied the attackers who had climbed to within twenty feet. Whatever Clan they belonged to focused on blades as all of them carried at least one.

With a glance, Ruwen sized up the enemies. Most moved with the competence of a Master level Step practitioner, but none stood out as exceptional. He didn’t wait for them to get any closer and jumped the twenty feet to their front line.

The move surprised the attackers, but they reacted as any trained Step expert would, and transitioned immediately into an attack. Ruwen had already decided he didn’t want to kill any non-demons on Savage Island unless necessary. The people here had spent decades of their life attaining the skills needed to reach this place. While their Clans might have different reasons for participating, it didn’t feel right to end someone’s life permanently over what amounted to a glorified training trial.

Demons were different. In the Infernal Realm Ruwen had witnessed the endless hordes under Lalquinrial’s control. His connection to Uru and his Inventory remained active here. That meant the demons likely kept their connection to Lalquinrial as well. It meant they, unlike the others here, had the possibility of revival, which had the additional benefit of consuming more of Lalquinrial’s resources.

Ruwen struck elbows, shoulders, wrists, and fingers. Weapons had many benefits, like reach and damage, but they all had the same vulnerability. Training with them as the centerpiece of your style meant that without one, you lost the vast percentage of your training. While he hadn’t yet mastered a weapon, it didn’t matter. He had mastered unarmed defense and offense. With broken arms he could still defend himself and attack with deadly force. His enemies could not say the same.

The first ten seconds of Ruwen’s attacks incapacitated fifteen of their members. He moved casually through the front ranks, slowing his movements to Metal levels to avoid accidentally ripping their arms from their bodies or instantly killing them. Swords and daggers fell into the grass, drowned out by the cries of pain.

Ruwen tilted his head to avoid a bladed boomerang from striking his neck. He caught a thrown metal star and flicked it back at his attacker. They had raised their arm to throw another and the throwing star lodged in their armpit.

They had all trained as fighters and recognized a better Step practitioner. It only took a few more seconds, and another five fallen comrades, for the entire group to turn and run. If Ruwen had arrived here by himself, he might have let them flee, but he wanted to protect his Clan, especially Rung Four.

Fifteen seconds later, Ruwen faced the last attacker. The man raised his two swords like a cross to stop Ruwen’s attack. He could have killed the man a thousand ways, paralyzed him, or permanently maimed him. Instead, he executed the Viper Step Slapping Gust and broke the man’s forearms.

Fifty bodies lay in a short line down the hillside, weapons scattered among them. Moans and hisses of pain surrounded Ruwen, but none of them cursed him. They knew he had spared them, and their racing hearts revealed the fear they felt.

Ruwen had monitored the fight on the opposite side and Sift’s fight via the vibrations in the ground and air. Sift didn’t need any help, but the group fifty feet above did. Ruwen still faced downhill, and with a small crouch, he flipped backward, turning his body as he arced through the air.

Landing behind the Adepts’ second line, Ruwen studied how the fight progressed. For the most part, the process had worked like he’d intended. The front line slowed the advancement with Bamboo Steps and fed the Viper Step group new bodies as they needed them.

The original problem Ruwen had foreseen had started to his left. Shattered Clan fighters had bunched up on that side, trying to flank the front line and get behind the defenders. His Clan had responded by collapsing the sides and moving slowly backward, giving up valuable territory.

Other than the pressured left side, Ruwen’s fellow Adepts performed superbly. The mixture of the three Rungs helping to balance the lines. He glanced through the Shattered Clan fighters, and only one, an eight-foot demon in the back, looked to have any advanced skills. Ruwen could have wiped out the entire group in seconds, but something Sivart had told Ruwen repeatedly came to mind, “Blood binds soldiers like mortar, creating unbreakable armies.”

This training provided valuable experience for the Adepts, so Ruwen leaped thirty feet to the left side to relieve the pressure there, dispatching five demons in less than two seconds. Then he triggered Last Breath and watched the entire line, ready to aid any of his Clan that encountered a situation that might kill them.

The large demon screamed in Inferni but Ruwen’s Hey You understood the directions. They were about to trigger a poison attack.

The Shattered Clan withdrew, trying to pull the Adepts closer to the hillside edge.

Ruwen considered using his passive Sphere of Influence to speak in all the Adepts’ minds, but he didn’t know if using it in such a flagrant and mass manner went against the Founder’s wishes. So instead, he just yelled. “Trap. Fall back.”

To the Adepts’ credit, they all withdrew immediately. The large demon grabbed a four-foot demon and threw him at the Adepts. Dozens of sacks that hung like giant raindrops off the flying demon’s face and body expanded as the demon neared.

As the demon arced downward, it clenched its hands, straining. Ruwen leaped to the front of the Adepts, directly to the spot where the demon would land. Before the demon hit the ground, though, the bags on its body exploded, releasing black spores.

Ruwen studied the approaching cloud and quickly brought his hands together in a clap, this time using his Peak Diamond strength.

The space around Ruwen’s hands ignited from the friction of his movements. The air, shredded violently by the sudden motion, whistled shrilly, followed by a massive boom which arced outward in an enormous pressure wave.

The poison demon vaporized along with the spore cloud. Air, solidified into spears with the strength of steel, minced the demons in the front row. Those lower on the hill escaped the immediate decimation but fell backward and tumbled down the hill.

Ruwen stood at the hill’s edge and studied what remained of the Shattered Clan warriors.

Showoff, Sift said from his fight on the plain below.

Ruwen smiled, increasing the Shattered Clan’s fear as they struggled to regain their feet. He considered what to do with the surviving dozen demons. Killing them would be easy, but he wondered if they could avoid future trouble if word spread describing what happened here.

Ruwen locked eyes with the eight-foot demon and spoke loudly in Inferni so all the demons could hear. “Leave your weapons. Leave your relics. Leave. Tell the others to avoid the Bamboo Viper Clan if they wish to live.”

The large demon nodded and hissed at the others. They immediately dropped their weapons and fled.