The Path of Ascension 2: A LitRPG Adventure

50

“Yes, it is. But think about it more. This is a subjugation. No one here is unaware of the risks. Sure, the Tier 15 is f*****g us by not letting the higher Tiers participate, but we’re still good fighters. Or at least, you three are. I’m not quite at that level yet, but still. Even at Tier 5, we can make a difference. But getting killed because we’re injured and were too impatient is just stupid.”

Liz chimed in. “We can even try and gather some people for the re-engagement as we move to the nearest gathering point.”

That reminded Matt to check for the nearest location of a gathering point, set by the prince. The plan was set in motion, and while it might not be perfect, it was what everyone else had heard. And so, they needed to follow it. At least far enough to get communications established. Other, more involved, and impactful plans could follow from that. But until then, they were limited to following the majority.

The news wasn’t good. The closest landing site was incredibly far away. The nearly two hundred miles was a short trip on his flying sword, but the more Matt thought about it, the worse the idea sounded. The forest gave them cover, and they would need that if they were to move undetected.

Matt also wanted to try and rescue as many people in their area as possible. If their teleport group was representative of the average subjugation group for this planet, there would be quite a few Tier 4s.

If they didn’t get help, they would be slaughtered en masse.

Matt felt responsible for them.

This was still his fault.

“Okay, let’s rest up for the evening. It’s almost dark here anyway.”

With [Endurance] eating most of his mana, Matt paced around the entrance of the cave that they had set up camp in. During his watch, he watched as the scene outside the cave returned to a quite normal. There was a swath of land that was absolutely devastated by the ruin’s drones, and the area in front of their cave was no exception. But the scale was completely different when compared to the area directly below the floating mountain.

Matt made plans while he paced back and forth. Even with [Endurance] helping to keep him going, he was tired and wanted to sleep. Aster had refused to leave his side and was curled over his shoulders. It was awkward, but he didn’t have it in him to push her away.

When his shift ended, he was so tired, he hardly even took note of Camilla sharing the tent. It was a four-person tent and was plenty large enough for two to be comfortable and not cramped. But he worried that the somewhat close quarters would make the girl uncomfortable. In the end, his tiredness won out over his concern, and he craved the climate control that the tent offered.

The next morning, he was so stiff and sore, getting out of the tent was a chore. Even with [Endurance] being channeled from the moment he woke up, moving was still a struggle. It wasn’t a perfect skill, even when expanded as it had been. It was just all they had and the best that they could get.

The skill still helped, and seeing Camilla on watch, he started to cook breakfast. The smell woke Liz and Aster and brought Camilla back into the cave.

After they scarfed down the food, Liz spoke up.

“I think we should move in a wide, zigzag pattern until we find people. Once we do, we can either help them if they need it, or start getting people to meet up at the crash site. Most won’t have a flying item, and we can act as messengers for the prince.”

Matt nodded at her suggestion. Getting people to group up would be a step in the right direction. There would be safety in numbers.

With the plan set, they moved to the entrance and got on the flying sword.

In wide sweeping arcs, they used the speed of the blade to cover lots of ground. The first two groups they found were Tier 6 teams, who appreciated being directed toward one another.

The third group turned out to be a problem.

It was a group of what seemed to be two parties, being chased by a swarm of the spiders that they had been ambushed by in the ruin. They were almost completely encircled by the time the group got close enough to help.

Why they were out of the ruin, was a question that Matt couldn’t answer. But the monsters glowed with the mana that they had absorbed.

Their quick movements through the forested terrain were in stark contrast to their haphazard actions in the ruin. The added speed of the spider’s attacks only added to the danger of their mana enhanced, bladed legs.

Matt dropped from the flying sword with Camilla, while Liz and Aster started to rain down attacks from above.

One of the groups shouted to them, but their words were lost over the noise of battle.

Matt brought his longsword around and released a [Mana Charge] and disintegrated three of the skittering spider golems.

He saw Camilla’s mace sweep through the mass of monsters, and they started to pull back alongside the newly discovered group, as the wave of spider golems kept approaching. Their intervention pulled the swarm in two directions, which was enough to stop the other group of cultivators from being surrounded.

A mass of blood fell from the sky and started to sweep back and forth through the backline of the monsters. Matt didn’t have the time to truly appreciate the damage that Liz was doing. But from the sound of splashing, he knew Liz was probably taking out more golems on her own than he and Camilla were together.

A wave of cold washed over him from his side, and between swings of his sword, Matt saw large shards of ice shred through scores of spider golems.

From the other group, a wave of [Earth Spikes] added to the chaos, and the ensuing c*****e seemed to be enough to force the spider golems to retreat. En masse, they turned and disappeared into the forest.

After the battle, the other group came over to them. Out of the eleven cultivators, all but one was limping, and a quick scan told Matt that he was the only Tier 6 of the bunch.