The Path of Ascension 2: A LitRPG Adventure

67

She knew that she wasn’t the only one who questioned how he could fight with such sustained vigor. The others thought that he had an armor Talent, but she knew that was wrong. What he was really capable of was only growing more apparent in fights like this. He continuously took blow after blow that should drain the reserves of any armor skill. The others in their rescue team hadn’t talked about it, at least not when she was near. She had been keeping an ear out for exactly that and would warn him if need be.

A twinge of jealousy racked her as he picked a golem up with one hand and repeatedly slammed it into the stone wall.

She had a Talent that was all about empowering her strength but was still unable to match the man in power. Pound for pound, her AI said that she was stronger, but the man was huge, and was packing on more and more muscle every day.

Camilla was only 5’6” and one hundred thirty pounds to his nearly two-fifty. It was unfair that he got more out of strength cultivation. She had assumed that her Talent would allow her to out muscle anyone at her Tier, but unless she activated her trump card, she didn’t have a single hope of matching the man.

The thought brought her to the small device implanted in her lower back. She had demanded that Aidan go through with the surgery as soon as she discovered the possibility of creating a drive to directly stimulate her nerves. The pleasure was debilitating, but the strength it put out was equally impressive.

The problem was it damaged her to the point that she needed a dedicated healer with impressive skills to keep her going. Especially if she pushed it too far, nerve burnout would occur in less than a minute.

It was a last resort. She had promised Aidan as much, and she wasn’t willing to break a promise to him.

The fighting continued as they moved through the fortifications. Golems rushed to them in waves, only to meet their end.

Finally, they hit the open area where the rift was situated, and Geraden slammed his staff into the ground. The tree that hid its form in the shape of a staff had its roots reach out of the ground and swallow the remaining golems. With the area cleared, she turned to see the holding force reach the edge of the forest.

It was embarrassing that they just now reached them, but they all turned and ran back to save the group of noncombatants that were moving toward them. They were already signaling that they were being attacked with greater and greater numbers.

How useless.

Liz stood from her vantage on their flying sword and reached up and scratched Aster fur. They had helped where they could, but after the melee fighters had engaged the golems, they had to aim their shots well, and this was only the beginning of the fight. With Thyme holding on to her waist, she turned and flew back to the group.

They had made depressingly little progress for the time they had been running.

Pushing the flying device, she shot ahead of the others, and quickly reached the rest of the group. There were so many dead that she had to swallow.

As morbid as it was, it gave her what she needed. With a flick of effort, she gathered the blood of their fallen comrades up, and sent it spinning in a whirlwind of blood.

It wasn’t perfect, but it bought the defenders some distance. Seeing the melee golems pull back to avoid her blood, Liz levitated the blood, with her innate connection strengthened with [Blood Manipulation]. With waves of her hand, she started attacking the spider drone golems that were trying to overwhelm the anti-air defense with disposable units.

Her mana quickly drained with the effort, and she pulled from her mana stone’s reserve. She had been sparring with her expenditure so far, and it was just for a situation like this.

The mages knew that they would get back here faster, so they unleashed their most destructive spells only when they would do the best.

Liz moved the flying device so they were still part the anti-air defense, but Thyme and Aster could join in.

They helped hold the line by attacking any group of the golems that tried to pierce the thin outer layer of defenses and reach the weaker Tier 4s.

Liz refused to let that happen. After finding out what they had unleashed, she wanted to beg anyone she knew to come and stop the c*****e, but her parent’s’ words stopped her.

When she was young, she asked why Uncle Manny didn’t just fix everything. They said, “If people don’t have struggles and loss, they can’t grow. Even if they do, they will fall at the first sign of harsh winds.”

She thought their words were directed at the random people in the Empire at the time, but now she knew better. They had been directed at her. She needed to make mistakes and solve them.

Matt had held her crying more than once after a failed rescue. They both hurt.

She hated that he had had to kill the vile woman and debated using her position to put pressure on the prince, but she found it too unlikely to succeed. Promises for the future were worth less than allies now. It had been necessary, but she didn’t like it. And the action had hurt Matt no matter how much he tried to hide it.

With the weight of responsibility driving her magic, Liz moved to disrupt golem formations while the party retreated.

Two hundred people didn’t move fast. As she was trying to snake a line of blood around a golems leg, Aster’s yip and Thymes’ sudden jerk brought her attention to the horizon.

At first, she thought it was only a large cloud but realized that it was a massive wave of golems blotting out the sky.

Liz wanted to cry.

How am I going to protect everyone from that many golems?

16

Matt burst into a full sprint. Every ounce of energy he had was directed into his legs, and he cleared the plain in moments while heading into the forest.

He only had half of his attention focused on the path in front of him. The other half was preoccupied with the influx of messages, and the overlay showing the positions of the refugees.

As he crested the final hill separating him from his target, his steps faltered for a moment. The group was being overwhelmed by golems. The sky was nearly black, with the metal bodies blocking out the horizon.

Matt quickly glanced at the icons of Liz and Aster that he had permanently displayed on his HUD. They were low on mana but physically fine.

Refusing to be dissuaded, Matt let out a scream, and launched himself down the hill at a breakneck pace. He made a beeline for the shrinking space between the golems and the mass of survivors.

With his longsword fully charged, he obliterated the first enemies he came in contact with. The momentum was short lived as they instantly replaced the destroyed drones with more troops. Matt formed a defensive perimeter with the other defenders and covered the retreat of the weaker humans. If they were to succeed, the Tier 5s and 6s were in for the battle of their lives.