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Chapter Sixty-Five: The Sorte Part One
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2024-10-29 19:42:56“See, my lords,” we could hear Aurelius talking to the Storm Brothers from a distance, “I told you they would take this exit.”
Masaru grunted in acknowledgment. Everyone from our side was exchanging each other’s worrisome stares. The Blood Eagles’ shield wall stretched about a third of the clearing in a crescent formation; with their weapons aimed at the hole, our escape would be difficult.
Aurelius turned his attention back to us at the hole, still hiding inside the underground airfield. “I know you’re in there, Anne. Would you mind if you can come out and talk like old friends we once were?”
Several brow-raising glares fell on the chief.
“You two know each other?” Wilt asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” she answered out loud.
“Oh, don’t be like that, my dear,” Aurelius exclaimed. “We haven’t seen each other since the peace signing in War’s End —”
“Where are the warheads?” She cut him off.
“Anne, please,” Aurelius coaxed. “O
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After several minutes of running, we heard another warhead ascending. It was getting louder. “We’re getting close.” Chief Bess alarmed us to get ready to attack. “Do you think we’re expecting resistance when we reach the airfield?” Li asked. “Absolutely,” Raja replied. “Aurelius was one step ahead of us before we started all this. We need to think of something once we arrive there.” A light bulb popped above my head. “Commander, let me borrow your shield and launch me straight for their airfield.” They all blinked. Wilt tilted his head, recognizing my intention. “Do what he said, Commander.” Raja nodded in approval. When he stopped running, a golden shield materialized in front of me. The second I grabbed it, Raja mustered all his might to throw me headlong, but not before raising the shield when tearing through the canopy. Soaring above the treetops, the airfield was straight ahead. Once I was near, my skin began to crawl, urg
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“It’s Cutler.” Miranda recognized the person who tackled Raja. However, the enemy commander wasn’t human. Standing two and a half meters tall, he was a half-man half-lion, dressed like a Pharaoh and armed with a pair of long bronze knives. “We’d just split up a minute ago,” he cackled behind his feral smile. “Who would’ve thought that I’d be the one who finds you first.” Back on his feet, Raja dashed toward him, with shields and spears appearing in his hands. However, Cutler dodged all his thrusts, as well as Chief Bess’s arrows flying toward him with such godly speed and grace that he got a chance to bite Raja’s fifth arm. He yelped in pain, though he managed to smack the enemy commander with one of his shields, stumbling him several yards before hiding behind a tree to avoid the arrows. “Sloppy as usual, Raja,” Cutler taunted. “Still in your first-stage form? It’s a waste that your god chose your pampered hide.” Raja bared his gritting teeth at him.
The Game of Heavens and Earth Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Grieving Part One
“Brunch is here.” Alex let some townsfolk who brought food into our lodge. It was afternoon. We slept in the living room after getting back in town at sunrise. We didn’t have the strength to go upstairs, still heavy in grief and exhaustion after everything had happened last night. Sinchi and Danny’s groups also got back with the giant adamantite shortly after we arrived. With that, our quest was a success… at what cost? Wilt was gone. Marseille and Deborah were chasing after the flying warheads. Nine people from Sinchi and Danny’s groups got recalled during their escape from the enemies’ pursuit, including four freed prisoners. No cheers, no celebration, just a bitter victory. “We have to eat,” Alex said once the townsfolk left after placing our meal on the dining table. We were lying on sofas and the carpet. Zeki was also with us. He was equally dejected and weary. “How can you say that after what happened to Wilt?” Brock frowned. Alex was the only o
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“By the gods,” Zeki gasped. It was an airfield, the same one back in Hammerhorn. From both sides of the strip, there were also rows of winged warheads, hundreds of them. Mrs. Smith told us they had shown Raja, Wilt, and Marseille this place after the Eagles’ first raid. The airfield was once an important base from the last Great War. Only the Green Bits, Aurelius, and Mayflower’s oldest members knew about it. The Guildmaster of Green Bit revealed this secret to the Mayflowers after they settled Rockflower. The two guilds were hoping to keep it as leverage against anyone who threatened the Sleeping King Forest. “Does King Martel have something to do with Heaven One?” I asked. “No, no, no,” Chief Bess said in her late king’s defense. “That was all Aurelius’s idea. The airfield back in Hammerhorn was new to us. We don’t even know how he managed to acquire those warheads and how their airfield came to be. We were as surprised as everyone.” “He was
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“What?” we all said in bemusement. “Vainamoinen,” Alex repeated. “He’s a magic god with a magical voice.” Many of us twisted our tongues trying to pronounce her god’s name. “You already know where I came from, so there’s no need to tell you that again.” “I see,” the Shaolin began. “Then mine’s Guan Yu. He was a great general from ancient times. And this was his famous weapon.” He raised the Green Dragon before us. “Hang on, Guan Yu’s a god?” I remembered him from the book,Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which was based on actual Chinese history, but I only knew its summary. Li nodded. “We have a small temple dedicated to him in my village.” “That means your powers are based on everything about the general,” I said. “And also a city god from what I’ve heard,” Zeki added. “Unfortunately, the Blood Eagles knew how to counter city braves like you, so don’t bother to use your powers.” “I see,” Li swallowed in disappoin
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“I-I didn’t know what happened after that. It all went black, but on the next day. Mom disappeared. My dad and I had been searching for her for weeks. And when we found her, she… we had to admit her to an institution. But dad kept drinking and drinking afterward. He always reminded me everything that happened to mom was all my fault. I was worried he might hurt me next when his drinking became worse, so I ran away.” I pressed my eyes against my hands as tears finally burst out. “I want to go back home — my real home. I want to go back to the Philippines. But, what am I supposed to do? I’m just a kid. I don’t even know what to do anymore. There was this bridge where I could clear my head sometimes in the past. But after what happened to my mom, I was always there almost every day. But after all the things that happened, I… I….” “It’s not your fault,” Katie said. “Yes, it is!” I sobbed with my fists shaking. “I could have blamed dad. I want to punch him
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It was sunrise. Minutes after everyone in the trenches woke up, the atmosphere became heavier and heavier until our skins began to crawl. “They’re coming,” I said with assurance. “Commander Raja?” The Slumberjack Guildmaster came by with his entire members, including Xin. “Do you feel that?” “I felt it too,” Commander Raja affirmed. I was glad that everybody was calling him commander. They were starting to respect him. He turned his gaze to those guarding atop the wall. He signaled them to ring the bells, alarming the whole town that a battle was coming. “How’s your arm?” Alex asked. The commander tore the bandages on his arm. Much to his delight, the wound and bite marks had disappeared. “It’s all good, thanks to Argo.” He tilted his head after feeling an eerie chill in the air. “They’re here.” A fog began to envelop the forest… no, they were clouds. In an instant, the Blood Eagle’s sole landship appeared. While the older braves remai
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I failed! I failed! I was so close… I was about to pass out from the blood loss. My eyes were getting heavy. Once they shut, that would be my end. “I got you! I got you!” Commodus bragged. “Didn’t I tell you that you’re nothing but a bug?” His loud, boastful voice was ringing my ears, which kept me from losing consciousness. I took a glance at him. My fist was still hovering near his face. That gave me one last idea as I quickly grabbed his hand that was holding the spear, grasping tightly so that he wouldn’t escape. “I got you,” I said with a weak voice, concentrating all my super-strength toward my fist. “What do you mean…?” Commodus was no longer bemused when my fist near him shook. He then realized my intent once my thumb released the full force from my bent index finger. “No, no, NO…!” Bam! A flick on his forehead and Commodus was sent zooming down the ground, along with his spear. My scream thundered throughout the sky in excruci
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After I regained consciousness, I was in a different location, lying on the ground with an aching back — again. Once I returned to my feet, my senses alarmed me to duck. A halberd almost cleaved my head. A knight in red armor appeared from nowhere and prepared another swing. I slammed the ground with my heel to rock his footings before sending him flying with a punch. Two more knights, four Greek hoplites, six Chinese armored warriors, and dozens of raiders appeared in front of me. I waited for them to make a move. However, my eyes bulged to find Cara and her friends were among the raiders. They were shocked to see me again. Boom! I caught a cannonball before it could strike the back of my head. Several dozen yards away, a cannon team was reloading. The Eagles were about to gang up on me. I jabbed the ground, knocking them off their feet. Then I threw the cannonball back toward the cannon, and it broke into iron scraps. More enemies got close,
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The raining weapons almost got me as I leaped into a safe distance. While keeping myself out of Commodus’s reach, I threw whatever I could get my hands on at him; branches, trees, and rocks. However, he evaded them with the same grace and agility as Cutler while manipulating the weapons to fly toward me. I had to dodge them with every inch of my life until I hid behind a tree once again. “Damn it, I need to get close.” My blood began to boil. “Wait, why did I say that?” Why did I feel the urge to attack him? My brain told me not to do anything stupid. “Calm down, Sam.” I breathed in and out when my rage grew. “Calm down.” “You’re quite confident for a newcomer,” Commodus’s booming voice wasn’t far from my hiding place, though not close. “I sensed both your fear and rage were conflicting. Signs of experience. Tell me, are you a warrior back in our world?” “I’m a former social justice warrior,” I replied. “I think that counts.” “You sounded doub
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For a long time, we had a staring contest. My plan was that if Aurelius even flinched once, I’d give an earth-shattering punch before making my escape. Fighting a commander was one thing, but there was no way I could go up against aGuildmaster. As minutes passed, none of us even blinked. If I could land just one blow, it’d be over for him. He would never survive against my super-strength. Still, I didn’t have the confidence to fight him head-on. Aurelius observed me with hate-filled eyes as the raging battle thundered around us. What was he waiting for? I must get back to my friends. “That was genius!” he burst out laughing, to which I flinched. “You masked your escape when Anne unleashed her moon. We expected you to hold your siege or run away. Instead, you blow up your town as a diversion so you can bring the heaven stone to Hammerhorn. A better-fortified position. “Such a shame that there’s no one left in that hill-f
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The five of us remained on guard. Those who were weaponless picked up the bronze knives that were scattered all over the ground. I, on the other hand, grabbed the uprooted tree. As we got close to finishing him off, Cutler cackled again before he was coughing heavily. Eventually, cracks began to appear all over his body. “Cutman?” Brock called him out. “It’s Cutler,” he corrected before coughing again, yet he was motionless. He had no strength to spare a glance at us. “That boy’s name is Wilt, huh? Let me tell you. He went down with a brave face.” His breathing was slowing down. “Thanks for the hunt, Foxfires.” He drew one last breath with a satisfying smile. “It sure is fun….” He slowly became dust. “He….” Katie took a deep breath five times to cool herself down. Her skin was no longer burning red. “He went down like a warrior,” she said begrudgingly out of respect. It wasn’t long for Zeki and Commander Raja to arrive, looking exhausted. “Is everyone
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The bugs were the first to charge while the tengu braves followed behind. In a short moment, we were being surrounded, struggling to watch each other’s backs, especially Alex. “Alex,” Katie called while kicking a monstrous wasp in mid-air. “Now’s the time to do your magic.” “I can’t… focus…” Alex struggled to come up with a magic tune while most of the enemies set their sights on her. “I need to focus.” Cutler was observing our battle, waiting for his chance to strike. “Commander Cutler.” Another tengu brave appeared. “Our forces managed to regroup after the enemies ambushed us. We struck them back in a six-pronged assault. King Aurelius is now clashing with Chief Bess as we speak. And Rockflower’s denizens are almost at the river with the heaven stone.” “Good,” Cutler said. “We’re making progress.” “Why are you doing this?” Katie demanded, and the enemies got her attention. Cutler signaled the bugs to stop attacking. “Why are you dest
The Game of Heavens and Earth Chapter Seventy-Five: The Eagles' Resolve Part One
Back on the ground, we were heading to our rendezvous location with the Green Bits to help them stop the Blood Eagles from reaching Mrs. Smith’s group. However, ten seconds had passed, Li had everyone halted. “Look, Storm Brothers!” He pointed at them stuck on a redwood tree, about twelve meters above us. They were back in their human forms, but they had white eyes, scorching burns, and smokes rising from their bodies. “They’re unconscious,” Commander Raja sighed with relief after watching them motionless for a while. “They must’ve been caught by the blast.” “Good, we should finish them off,” Alex stated. “You’re right.” The commander summoned his spears. “We have to make sure they will never be a threat ever again.” The rest of us reluctantly conceded. Even though the brothers were now defenseless, they were too dangerous to be left alive. “Enemies from above!” I cried when my skin crawled in alarm. Twelve tengu braves pierced through
