Frozen time melted away and the explosion ripped through the camp as men moved to meet once again.
Horus was still thrown through the air by the explosion, but he spun into a roll before jumping to his feet.
He studied at the incoming heretics and the towering, black trees all around them, clenching his jaws.
Why was he on the side of idiots that would set up camp in a place with such poor visibility?
He rose to his feet and inspected his equipment.
Black steel armor that was partially on fire; he batted it out and walked over to his helmet. It was sleek black with a crescent moon as its plume.
He put it on and checked the curved black blade at his hip. Its sheath was specially made so he had to unclip it to draw the sword. The midnight black steel of the blade was dotted with millions of glittering stars.
He sheathed the blade and opened the Bag of Holding tied around his back; along with other things that weren't important right now, inside was a dagger and two Talismans.
One was a Cloudbody Talisman, which reduced your weight and made you more agile, and the other was a Stormblade Talisman, which made his attacks far faster.
He picked the Cloudbody Talisman and hooked it inside his armor. "Okay, let's do this."
[Common Swordsman] had 4 weapon slots for equipping specific things. Equipped weapons or tools could be summoned back to the user if left somewhere, and in battle even if he was hit very hard and let go of his sword, it wouldn't leave his hand.
So he willed the system to equip them.
[Celestial Steel Sword has been equipped.]
[Black Mercury Armor has been equipped.]
[Cloudbody Talisman has been equipped.]
[Bag of Holding has been equipped.]
With everything in place, Horus took off, racing across the burnt fields to the heretics. His body and weapons all grew lighter under the influence of the talisman.
The heretics wore simple leather armor and their faces were painted with blood, injuries and black paint. Their arms were bare and they wield axes and other weapons carved from bone.
[Name: Wailing Heretic]
[Rarity: Common]
[Class: Weeping Brute]
[Description: Those devoted to Weeping Lady. They are a brutal and fearless force.]
He aimed for the first Heretic that was busy stabbing another soldier—Penitents, that's what the system called them. The Penitents wore steel armor and weren't as ferocious as their enemies.
Horus' sword cleaved through the air and into the man's skull. Blood splattered over his helmet, but he ignored it, grabbing the Penitent bleeding out.
After checking the man's pulse, but it was silent. So he discarded the corpse.The system whispered in the back of his mind.
[You have killed a Common tier enemy. You have gained one Skill shard. You have gained 20 credits.]
[You have reaped one life.]
The last line was unusual, but he ignored it as another heretic attacked him.
The wind hissed behind him and he ducked a sudden strike. A man clad in rough leather armor skidded to a stop in front of him.
Bone ornaments that looked suspiciously like human bones jingled at the man's neck, his eyes were fixed on Horus; bright white against the crimson moonlight and filled with madness.
"AHHHHH!" The Heretic shrieked as he jumped at Horus once again, propelling his body across the air in a second, bringing his crude sword down.
A Dash skill, Horus thought calmly as the blade sailed by him. He sidestepped then struck so fluidly it looked light.
The heretic's feet hit the floor first, then his head followed after, rolling to a stop as Horus faced another opponent immediately.
[You have killed a Common tier enemy. You have gained one Skill shard. You have gained 20 credits.]
[You have reaped one life.]
The battle was chaotic. He killed about three more people and disabled a few more before something changed.
Someone grabbed him while he was disemboweling another heretic; he spun and swept the enemy off their feet before they could even speak.
He raised his sword to finish the man when he saw that it was a Penitent. "What do you want?"
He helped the man up and deflected a slash, then used the hooked nature of his sword to disarm the enemy and kill them in one move.
[You have killed a Common tier enemy. You have gained one Skill shard. You have gained 20 credits.]
[You have reaped one life.]
The Penitent's eyes jumped from him and the dead Heretic. "T-the Commander wants you to push further east with u-us… and then perform a pincer—"
He got the general idea. "Where are the rest!"
A minute passed and Horus grimaced. There were only twenty of them. Not very ideal but they would make do.
He organised a charge carving through heretics into the forest, where they had come from.
Fighting in here would be hell, especially since Horus didn't know their numbers.
But he trusted the intuition of their commander, Gelstill, the son of the goddess, since he would likely have the [Tactics] skill at the Adept or even Elite tier.
The Commander must have sensed the shift in the battle that Horus brought and assigned him with these cowards to perform a winning maneuver.
The moment they entered the forest darkness blanketed them and the sound of the battle just outside faded. The crimson moon's light was strangled by the thick branches of the trees. Their footsteps crackled against fallen leaves like thunder.
Each black trunk seemed to absorb light like a sponge. The men momentarily left battle, but were herded into what could be an ambush, following Horus' glittering sword through the dark.
Their eyes searched the dark frantically, weapons raised in every direction, but they didn't sense the enemies when they came.
A branch cracked and Horus lunged forward, severing the hand of a heretic that had been sneaking towards them.
[Perception] > 13 > 14 (Common)
Shadowy figures jumped out of the dark screaming terribly.
"FIGHT!" Horus roared to the stiff men, shaking them from their fear.
Their bodies moved, facing the Wailing Brutes. Steel clanged in the dark, men screamed and cried out in pain, blood splattered over the grass.
Horus dodged an axe and sliced open a screaming heretic's stomach. "Keep moving."
They made it to a patch of crimson light where they could stand and fight their enemies.
The armoured, organised Penitents came out on top with Horus' ferocious commands and uncanny fighting style. But he didn't even have a shield and he was a kid.
The men looked between themselves; only eleven were alive from the original twenty-one that started the flank manoeuvre. Then to Horus, who pointed his sword out of the forest.
They were now behind the heretics. "Let's take them!"
They froze, staring blankly at him, and Horus couldn't blame them. The enemies they were flanking were almost fifty in number, and he sensed their lack of trust in him.
So he pointed to where they had just come from. Footsteps neared them and every Penitent raised their weapons ready to fight, but it was only thirty more of them.
The Commander sent them to start the flank and clear out the heretics hiding in the forest; now more of them were here.
"If you don't trust me, trust our commander!" Horus encouraged, raising his sword.
One man raised his sword and yelled shakily. "Gelstill!"
"Gelstill!" the others chorused.
They all charged into the fray and Horus let them pass him as he evaluated the battlefield. The situation changed rapidly as the flank started; he could see another flank happening across the field too.
They were enveloping the enemy, even though there were three times as many Heretics, and it seemed like there was no escape for them.
But Horus could see powerful enemies breaking the charge. Adept-tier warriors.
Huge men in loincloths, each wielding thorny black whips that tore through metal like paper. Their faces were covered with white shawls.
We'll lose more men the longer those things are active.
Killing them would allow him to plunder Adept-tier skills and he would also gain recognition that would help him with his quest.
It wouldn't be easy. But easy wasn't profitable.
Horus waded through the swamp of bloody men. His flowing slashes always put the enemy on the defensive. He cut down three more men before he reached the Adept-tiers.
[You have killed three Common tier enemies. You have gained five Skill shards. You have gained 60 credits.]
[You have reaped three lives.]
One of the Penitents raised a hand, yelling. "Stay back kid, these guys are too—"
A black whip wrapped around his head. The heretic let out a guttural roar before ripping his whip back.
First, the thorns dug through steel and into flesh, crushing the Penitent's helmet around his skull, then the man was pulled off his feet with a resounding crack, flying through the air and crashing into the bloody grass.
The man's body slid to a stop. His face was a bloody mess and his neck had been turned 360 degrees.
The Heretic let out a scream resembling a dying creature's cry. Under its white shawl, Horus could see blackened purple skin and scars.
[Name: Wailing Heretic]
[Rarity: Adept]
[Class: Weeping Berserker]
[Description: Those devoted to Weeping Lady. When pushed to the limit their screams can stun enemies, and the more pain around them the stronger they grow.]
He moved more out of instinct than though, diving into his Bag of Holding and pulling out a cold leather pouch and a handkerchief. He edged around the Berserker, rubbing something over his blade.
Then the seven-foot-tall Heretic bore down on him screaming madly. And Horus banged the hilt of his sword against his chestplate in response.