Chapter 40 True Plan
My rage had long ago turned into cold-blooded ruthlessness. It didn't even feel like anger anymore. I was just a machine executing those that deserved it. It was a process without feelings. I just did.
Yet there was a never-ending pit inside my stomach. I simply couldn't stop. It was like an invisible hand was making me move, the invisible hand being my emotions.
But there was a piece missing.
The emotions were there. The actions in correspondence were there. Yet I didn't feel these emotions. It was like I was disconnected from what I should be feeling.
I shook my head and smashed my fist into the skull of a charging hog. The Stone Rank beast stood no chance as Mana Strike obliterated its entire brain. Those weak, little, pesky things were no threat to me, but they could take the lives of my soldiers with ease, and I couldn't allow that.
By now, multiple hours had passed since I watched Anthony die.
I traveled further west and further away from the middle of the battlefield as I killed Stone Rank after Stone Rank.
Sometimes I was forced to circle back because a monster would emerge here and there, but mostly I continued moving forward in one direction.
As this was the final battle and the last bits of the Beast Wave, the Stone Ranks came out in masses. They were still little in number compared to the whole Beast Wave, but since they came out at the end, it seemed like there was an endless number of them.
And that endless number meant suffering.
Corpses littered the battlefield around me.
Men and women. Beast and animal. All lay there as their lifeless bodies were not even bothered to be cleaned up.
There were too many. We were exhausted. I looked at the group of soldiers battling a group of Wood Rank animals as I went further west. Their faces were covered in dirt, blood, and grime.
Exhaustion haunted their eyes and heavy eye bags accompanied all of them.
I watched to see if they could handle the group or if I needed to help.
Then a scream cut through the sound of battle.
"Stone Rank! A boar and a deer!" I heard from a soldier further west.
I glanced at the fighting soldiers in front of me. Their weapons struck out with great ferocity. They were like a wall keeping out those that wanted to enter what was behind it.
They would be fine.
I hope.
I sped off in the direction the scream came from. Mana Step catapulted me forward. By now, the soles of my feet hurt a lot from the constant use. Honestly, I was a wreck. My vocal cords could barely be used. My Mana Channels ached with each use, and my feet and hands throbbed in dull agony.
In the distance, the Stone Rank duo closed in on the small group of soldiers. I wouldn't make it. I gritted my teeth and prepared for the pain. I stuffed as much Mana as I could through my Mana Channels and used Mana Step again.
My speed increased greatly, but so did the pain.
If it wasn't for me constantly using Meditation whenever the opportunity arose, I would have run out of Mana a long, long time ago.
I reached the boar right before it could tear through the brave man and woman facing off against the monster. I didn't hesitate and used Mana Strike on my legs. With the momentum from my run, I jumped upward and extended both of my legs. I drop-kicked the monster right into its side.
It wasn't flung to the side like I expected.
Instead, I dug into the monster heel first. My feet pierced the thick hide, then made their way forward, drilling through flesh, organs, and bones alike. My momentum didn't dissipate until I was waist-deep in the monster's body. It wailed in pain for a few seconds, then dropped to the ground—dead.
However, I was still stuck inside the boar. The Stone Rank deer ran past me, its antlers glowing in a faint green hue as it charged at my soldiers. I gritted my teeth and pushed the corpse off me. It wouldn't budge. I was truly stuck.
My eyes traveled towards the deer as it closed in on the nearest soldiers.
Dread filled my mind. With no other idea on what to do, I used Mana Step.
Mana traveled from my heart through my Channels into my legs.
Each passing moment hurt. But I pumped more and more energy into the soles of my feet. It got ready to explode outward.
Then I stopped myself.
No, I stopped the Mana from flowing. Instead, I forced it with all my mind to heed my command.
I didn't just want it to explode out of a singular point of my feet like a rocket thrust. I first made sure to strengthen my ankles.
Then I made sure the Mana went through my feet, encompassing each and every tiny muscle that was used during springing, running, and jumping.
Then my Mana exploded outward, and I was catapulted out of the boar at once. Guts and organs blew out on the other side as I skidded through the air. A notification rang through my mind, but I ignored it.
I scrambled to my feet. The deer was now right in front of my soldier. I channeled my Mana without a moment of hesitation. Pain flared up. But pain always flared up.
I used Mana Step again, in the same fashion as before. This time I simply disappeared from my spot. My speed was incomprehensible for the average Stone Rank, and with that, I arrived right behind the deer, its antlers now glowing in a bright green glow that illuminated the night.
I only had a split second to choose between Mana Strike and Snake Strike.
Do I go for maximum speed or damage? I opted for both.
My Mana followed the pathways Snake Strike had laid out for me, and then I added the ones for using Mana Strike.
They clashed, like two separate forces trying to gain control of the Mana Channels.
But these were my Mana Channels and my Mana. It was supposed to follow my command and will, not the other way around.
Unfortunately, I was not able to integrate both Martial Arts into one at this instance.
Instead, I was left with a much stronger Snake Strike, it seemed, as my fist smashed into the deer's rear.
I made sure to throw a hook so as not to push the animal into my soldier, and that turned out to be the right choice.
My attack dug through the monster's flesh with surprising ease, and I blew off a chunk of its hip bone and surrounding muscles.
Not expecting such force to hit the Stone Rank deer, it spun around itself, its antlers making their way towards me. Despite not being prepared for such an occurrence, I thanked my lucky stars and took full advantage of the situation.
Again, I tried to combine both Martial Arts, the drain on my Mana being simply huge, and again I failed. Although not as miserably as before. This time, I hit the monster with a fast Mana Strike to the head as it spun towards me.
Its face imploded into its skull. Bits and pieces of bone and flesh scattered around me, but I kept my eyes wide. The only thing I cared about was my soldier.
The deer dropped to the ground, revealing the trembling figure of a young man. He held his shield firm, but his legs were shaking. His eyes were full of fear, and behind him the rest of his group stood there.
Realization hit us both at the same time—he was alive and I had saved him.
I fell upon my buttocks and sighed in relief. I was hurt. Exhausted and not in the best state of mind. I needed a genuine break. Not to recover Mana, but to heal.
But instead, I slipped back into meditation. The war was not over. Rest was not given. It was earned. I had to continue, but for that I needed to have my Mana.
I wasn't sure how much time passed when I opened my eyes. It couldn't have been long as the soldiers went from murmuring around me to now surrounding me in a defensive formation. Man, what an idiot I was to just enter meditation. I was too used to Gerald.
Luckily, I felt much better now. My mind was a little clearer. My body ached less, and most importantly I had most of my Mana again. However, before standing up, I gave a look at my notifications.
The System has detected a Martial Art—Mana Step [Rare]. Do you wish to turn it into a Skill?
Of course, I denied and integrated Mana Step into Martial Forms.
Mana Manipulation [Uncommon] has reached level 13.
Mana Manipulation [Uncommon] has reached level 14.
Mana Manipulation [Uncommon] has evolved into Mana Manipulation [Rare]. Level reset.
A wide grin couldn't help but appear on my face. I loved my Class. Sure, I basically gained zero levels, but the amount of Skill improvement I had was out of this world. I started at Uncommon Rarity not long ago, and now my Mana Manipulation reached Rare, and I even developed my own Martial Arts.
Is it my Class or my talent that allows me to grow this fast? Who cares. It's like asking what came first, the chicken or the egg. The chicken and egg are there, and that's all that matters.
As much as I wanted to enjoy my feeling of progress, I knew I didn't have the time. It was still dark. The battles were still raging on, and just as I was about to thank my soldiers for standing guard, I heard the next scream.
"Stone Rank Monster incoming!" a soldier yelled from further west.
And gone I was, running even further away from the battlefield.
Now that Mana Step was integrated into Martial Forms, I was even faster.
Honestly, me traveling west was a little weird now that I thought about it.
After all, the monsters should appear more spread, but before I could give it more thought, I arrived in front of the Stone Rank Bear.
I had expected it to be stronger.
It wasn't.
Just barely into Stone Rank, it stood no chance as my shin slammed against its hind leg.
The leg bent the wrong way, and I followed up with multiple strikes in quick succession.
Since none of my people were in danger, I didn't use any skills in Martial Forms, and with me having the advantage, the Stone Rank Bear died all the same.
Then another Stone Rank beast was spotted as I was done with this—again further west. I went there and killed the beast. Again, the same process was repeated.
This time one of my soldiers was in danger.
So, I used Mana Step to save her. I recouped my Mana for a few minutes, then was forced to travel even further west.
It was another Stone Rank beast.
A really bad feeling swelled up inside me.
This was not natural at all. The monsters were presented to me in a row, and arrived right as I finished the last one.
I never got overwhelmed but also never truly got time to rest. It almost seemed...
artificial? Like I was pulled away from the center–then it hit me.
I was pulled away from the center. There was a Shaman who was almost able to control my mind.
Who said he couldn't control the mind of a beast?
Force it to stay still and charge when he commanded it to charge?
I turned around with haste and scrambled back towards the middle just to freeze.
Sebastian's words echoed through my mind. 'Do not underestimate the Shamans like many others did. They are as smart as humans if not smarter.'
What if they weren't just thinking one step ahead, a.k.a.
luring me away from the middle, but two?
What if they wanted me to go west just to then go back again?
Their methods were too clumsy for me not to realize that I was lured away.
But was I just lured away or was this some kind of cat and mouse game?
My teeth gnashed against one another, as the gears inside my mind spun. No matter which decision I came to, it would be a gamble. I didn't have enough information. So, I just decided to trust Sebastian's words. I decided not to underestimate them.
I stopped thinking, and turned back around west.
Fuck, I should have just killed that thing when I had the chance, I thought. Unfortunately, I never had the chance. I could have charged the group of Goblins right when I saw them, but that would have very likely led to me dying.
As I continued my way further west, I realized my theory might be right.
The number of Stone Ranks rose. If I fought one every ten minutes then now I was fighting one every five and sometimes two at once.
But it wasn't until the end that I realized that my theory was indeed correct.
I faced off against four Stone Rank bears.
Bears aren't pack animals. They are apex predators. They don't travel together.
After a fierce fight, that ended with me injured, bloodied and with little Mana, there was nothing. No new Stone Rank. No new scream from my soldiers.
The Goblins expected me to realize the first part of their plan, which is why they forced me into this last fight. I was injured, and had little mental energy. If I didn't know better I would be sprinting back now.
Yet, despite seeing through their plan, I couldn't shake off the terrible feeling I had.
Why? And how?
How were they able to control so many beasts and why didn't the Shaman just use his magic to force all Stone Ranks to charge me at once?
I guess because it was some kind of skill cooldown.
But most importantly, why didn't the Shamans want me in the west? Why not just not do this? If there were no Stone Ranks in the west, I wouldn't have traveled there in the first place.
There must be a reason.
As I regenerated my Mana, I entered and left meditation every few seconds to search for any threats and clues.
The first thing I noticed was how quiet it was.
The sound of battle was far behind me. Then how clean it was.
Besides the four bears, there was nothing else.
No dead soldiers. No other members of the Beast Wave.
Just me, and the Stone Rank.
But this was not the thing that sent chills down my spine. It was the fact there was no maze, no walls, no traps, no nothing. Not because it was destroyed, but because we never built anything here in the first place.
The Beast Wave should have never reached here.
I was just next to my town. It was the outskirts, with only a few homes built and a couple lonely alleyways. Not many civilians, but the Stone Rank was right next to my town.
And then I spotted them in a dark alley.
The green little gremlins as they strolled into the town like they owned it. Like it was their own fucking place and not the home of thousands of residents. They snickered. They laughed. It was as if they had already won.
The Gods seemed to have cursed this little town. Just as I was thinking about a plan on how to take care of them, a few curious children must have snuck out of their homes after hearing the sounds of battle.
And with that, they were face to face with the Shamans.