Book 5, Chapter 60 - Reinforcements

Cloudhawk felt his body getting heavier .  

He was really in the s.h.i.+t, both physically and in general .  He wasn’t sure how bad he was hurt but he felt his strength slipping . The orb of castigation fire was too much for him to maintain . Meanwhile Ja.n.u.s’ attacks were still constant and had no sign of slowing .

Those biting daggers kept coming from different directions . They were too fast and hid behind dark powers just long enough to land their blows . With every pa.s.s they damage they dealt increased .

Because of this a.s.sa.s.sin’s methods, although his attacks fell like rain they were still practically impossible to follow . Even keen-eyed spectators watching from beginning to end could not tell where he was hiding . After all, Ja.n.u.s was not only exceptionally fast and able to change his form, he could also cloak his presence . To most his attacks came from nowhere, summoned from nothing .

All they could do was watch .

Cloudhawk struggled to uphold the flames . While he continued to blast through a huge number of Ja.n.u.s’ shadows, more kept coming and slipped through the net . The a.s.sa.s.sin’s attack was ever changing and unceasing .

With each pa.s.sing second Cloudhawk’s body sported a new slash, all of them were laden with poison . So far it wasn’t enough to overcome Cloudhawk’s resistance and his regenerative abilities were closing the slices as quick as they occurred . At least from outside Ja.n.u.s’ attacks didn’t appear to be doing much harm .

However it continued, over and over again . As his strength waned it was a miracle Cloudhawk had survived this long . Another demonhunter would have fallen long ago .

Where’s that d.a.m.n a.s.sa.s.sin! Where is he hiding? Cloudhawk tried to see if he could pick him out with Oddball or with his own special senses . So far nothing was working .

Eventually he understood that one’s stealth capabilities could be strong or weak . Oddball’s eyes were sharp enough to pierce many illusory relics – such as the sort used by Atlas – but not whatever power Ja.n.u.s was using .

Under these conditions, Cloudhawk’s own senses were equally confounded .

Each of the shadow a.s.sa.s.sins hummed with resonance, completely obscuring where their origins were coming from . In addition to the chaos all around them, with hundreds of demonhunters at war and their many relics activated, Cloudhawk couldn’t tell any particular relic out from the din .

Selene couldn’t see what was happening clearly but she knew Cloudhawk was dead if things didn’t change . Her power reached in Transcendence and he braced herself to leap to action .

But before she moved an unsettling rasping sound filled her ears . It wasn’t so much a sound since it didn’t come through sound waves . It was borne on wisps of mental energy that reached directly into her mind .

It dug into the darkest parts of her thoughts as though someone were digging a needle into ker skull . Even Cloudhawk felt the excruciating pain of it .

All at once, demonhunters lost control of their relics and their power faded . Huge groups of soldiers fell to the ground grasping their heads .

Cloudhawk didn’t need to guess where it came from, he knew the instant he felt it . At the same time all the shadow a.s.sa.s.sins stopped in place as though rooted in place .

It was the mental dissonance from Silvana’s flute!

The Shepherd G.o.d had two primary skills; first was the ability to control animals, and second was to control movement . By flooding her victim with mental power she was able to override and take control of their actions .

The Shepherd’s flute was the G.o.d’s own artifact . When employed against those of low intelligence it took them over completely . Ja.n.u.s’ shadows were powerful but unable to act of their own accord . They had no intelligence, making it easy for Silvana to manipulate them as she pleased .  

And as the Shepherd G.o.d’s song reached across the field, a cascade of yellow sand sprinkled down from overhead . It spread wide enough to encompa.s.s the stronghold’s central dais, so thick that those caught within couldn’t see two meters in front of their noses .

Among this sudden, unnatural sandstorm was a hail of arrows . They were made from raspy yellow grit and were practically invisible as they dashed along attacking indiscriminately . Noxian soldiers or Elysian elite, it didn’t matter . The arrows ran them through just the same .

Hundreds died when the sandstorm appeared . Most of the victims were Elysian .

One of the Skycloud demonhunters roared angrily and tried to control the winds with his relic . A huge gust was released, blowing the sand aside like someone had blown a bubble into its midst . It disrupted the storm enough to give them a glimpse of clear air .

It lasted only a brief moment . The gust was crushed and once more every eye was blinding by yellow sleet . While it raged at least a thousand troops arrived on the field – Dark Atom’s elite warriors .

Two figures stood out, hovering in the air . One was Autumn, in her emerald dress . The other was the hideous and intimidating Abaddon, Caliph of the Sands .

One G.o.d . One Demon . Both presented themselves before Arcturus .

Their timely intervention had saved Vulkan and the Khan of Evernight .

Four figures of vastly different background, but all working in tacit congress . It was a mighty seige laid out before the Governor of Skycloud . But could the four of them threaten Arcturus? 

Things had changed near Cloudhawk as well . Silvana’s flute had frozen the shadow a.s.sa.s.sins in place . He staggered backward as a streak of bright blue light flashed by his face .

It was so brilliant it stung the eyes and moved several times faster than the speed of sound . In the blink of an eye the shadows were cut apart . All that remained was a single target, hanging in the air .

Ja.n.u.s the t.i.tan of Many Faces was revealed .

A broken sword was immediately hacking toward his chest . The angry blue sword was drilling forward as well .

Frost and Atlas finally had something to keep them busy as well . A mighty crystal dragon descended from on high with a Dryad upon its back . When it appeared the crystal dragon released a deluge of green fire toward Frost de Winter . The Dryad leaped off its back and, with its vined hands coalescing into hammers, flung itself at Atlas .

Overhead countless green dragons were suddenly visible in the sky, whipping around the dais . With ripping claws and gnas.h.i.+ng teeth they tore at whatever enemy they could grab .

Such beasts were the bane of demonhunters, for their relics were useless against dragonhide .

Phain ordered his Templars to take the field .

“Such a ruckus! Now’s the right time . ”

An erudite man with a black eye patch was revealed, hands clasped at the small of his back . Wolfblade, leader of the Dark Atom, strode forth like a man taking a leisurely walk . With his one good eye he glanced around at the chaos .

Upon eliminating Ja.n.u.s’ shadow a.s.sa.s.sins, Wolfblade’s dazzling blue sword returned to his side . It danced around him in orbit as though it had a soul of its own . Any demonhunter foolish enough to draw near was impaled and killed on the spot . Whatever defensive relics they bore were useless before the deadly blue blade .

What’s more they died in a strange and frightening fas.h.i.+on . Each victim dissolved into nothing, starting from where the sword had wounded them . They were forced to watch themselves atomize until nothing remained .

“Cloudhawk! Are you alright?” A gruff voice caught Cloudhawk’s ear .  

Wolfblade had sent his genetic soldiers with the van . Their enormous mutant leader, saved from the Blisterpeaks, had cut through walls of soldiers to reach this point . Coal stood a short distance away looking at his friend with concern .

Now he was alone . His squad was decimated, giving credence to the ferocity of the battle .

Coal wasn’t unscathed, either . The mutant of iron sported a dozen nasty wounds, but with his superhuman const.i.tution he paid them no mind .

Good . Cloudhawk was still alive . Coal finally breathed a sigh of relief .  

He wasn’t sure whether Cloudhawk still considered him a friend, but in Coal’s own heart the man was the closest thing he had to a brother .

Wolfblade picked his way across the field until he reached Dawn’s p.r.o.ne body . He fetched a syringe of some unknown liquid from his vest and inserted it into her neck . Heedless of the insanity surrounding him he calmly injected the solution into the girl .

Dawn’s still chest suddenly heaved as she took a gulping breath . She quickly shook as a coughing fit wracked her, causing blood to spill from her mouth .

Cloudhawk’s eyes went wide with sudden hope when he saw her start to move . “She . . . ”

“She won’t be dying yet,” Wolfblade a.s.sured him .

Excellent! Cloudhawk was elated . Wolfblade, that piece of s.h.i.+t – he always had an answer! He wasn’t one who made many friends, but at least this time he’d done Cloudhawk an incalculable favor .

Yet no sooner did he drop his guard than an intense feeling of exhaustion wash over him . He was near his limit and couldn’t know how much longer h.e.l.lflower’s stimulant would stay in effect . But even under its influence he was more or less spent .

Meanwhile the fight on the dais was becoming more intense by the second .

The center of the stronghold was being awash in enemies, too many to deal with . From below Hammont ordered his Corps to charge to the center and lend aid . But Hammont’s main aim was to hunt down and slaughter that despicable mutant, Coal .

He didn’t have the strength to fight off the other leaders, but that freak he could handle . But when they arrived at the dais he was stunned by the scene . He was amazed it had reached such a deadly pitch .

Cloudhawk spied Hammont’s approach . Hammont, feeling his gaze, looked back . The two men locked eyes and for a moment just stood there and stared .

There was conflict in the fat man’s face . He couldn’t face the man he respected so deeply the same way he had before . The Cloudhawk before him now was a wasteland general . In the eyes of Elysians he was a fiend worthy of nothing but a brutal death – responsible for all manner of evils . A traitor who had thrown his lot in with mutants and demons!

Hammont tightened his grip around his weapon . His face grew hard .

Cloudhawk knew what was in his heart . If Hammont had half a chance he would busy that sword in Cloudhawk’s body . If he did, he would a hero to his people . The highest positions and greatest accolades would await him .

The fate of Sanctuary would be decided here, at its apex . Yet no matter who won or who lost the devastation on both sides would be staggering . When a war reached such a point it was inevitable that death would be the ultimate victor .

Only… for the cost of so much blood and so many lives, what was the point?

Cloudhawk’s only interest here had been to save Dawn’s life . He’d succeeded, but many died for the effort .

In recent months he had risen among the wastelanders like a brilliant star . At the same time he was a foul shadow cast over the Elysian lands . How many wastelanders would wors.h.i.+p him as a hero if this fortress fell? His valiant efforts for their freedom would be immortalized . Yet how many Elysian children, parents, lovers, and siblings lost their lives? To those who were forced to live on, they would forever curse the name Cloudhawk .

Wolfblade straightened and faced Ja.n.u.s Umbra, then looked at the others gathered nearby . A grin touched his lips . “Look at all of you panting . You should rest, catch your breath . Watch the show – I’m sure you’ll be impressed . ”

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