Dokeshi March: Chapter 18 (Patreon)

Chapter 18

The deepening shadows were a great place for more than just Grant and Suki to hide. Considering the proximity to the casino, there were far more people around.  They had to run past several beggars that looked on the edge of starvation, and Grant paused to hand a fresh tomato from his pack to a particularly skinny little girl.

“I have to change things in this District, one way or another.”  Grant’s determined tone brought a buzz of approval from his Uchigatana.  “I can’t let anything stop me.”

<That’s the spirit!>  Sarge was equally determined.  Just because he was a sword, didn’t mean he wanted to see children starving.  <We will bring this place to rights.>  Grant gave a growl of approval.  <You get closer to the proper mindset every day.  Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.>

“We need to go right up here.”  Suki cut in on their conversation, and Grant refocused his rising anger on the thought of people standing in his way.  They would regret trying to keep him from bringing this District back to a semblance of normalcy.

Up ahead the twisty alleyways and curvy roads started to straighten out, and the two Wielders could see the bridge in the dwindling evening light.  Standing on it were several figures, much more than the five House Friday guards that had left the casino.  A gust of wind ruffled the clothing of the lead figure, and Grant recognized the tattered clothing he was wearing.  It was Dokeshi’s Vassal, and he was about to learn the folly of facing Grant when he was in a bad mood.

When they reached the edge of the bridge, Grant didn’t pause, and Suki stayed on his immediate left.  Arrayed against them were the five guards, and ten of the soldiers that had accompanied Tatters on his patrol they had spotted earlier.  The only person Grant was truly concerned about wasn’t present.  The House Saturday assassin must have continued with the other soldiers from the patrol elsewhere.

“I just knew you would have to pass through here eventually.”  The clown was standing with his hands on his hips, probably trying to look dramatic.  “When these House Friday gentlemen arrived, imagine my joy when they described who was on their way here!  This is far more exciting than torturing the trash that inhabits this region.  To be able to bring the head of the man that killed Lord January and defeated Lady February to the Dokeshi will bring me more pleasure than watching the light leave the eyes of the children I hunt!”

“Before we start, I need you to answer a question for me first.”  Grant completely ignored the other fighters standing behind the Vassal.  “Are you the only Vassal from Dokeshi in the area?”

“Um… yes?”  Tatters seemed confused by the question.  It certainly wasn’t what he was expecting.  “Why would you care about that?  Once each of us gets a blow in, you won’t be alive to care anyway.”

“I challenge you to a duel.  If you win, I go with you quietly.  If I win, your weapon is destroyed.”  Grant placed his hand on his Uchigatana in preparation of the system approving the duel.  Instead, the clown started laughing.

“Hahahaha!  Accept a duel from you?  I don’t think so!”  Tatters waved his hands expressively at the men waiting behind him.  “There are enough of us to guarantee my victory without bothering to make silly deals.”

“That works too.”  Grant crouched, his legs tensing.  “I was going to go easy on you, but I don’t think that’s an option anymore.”  Before he could leap into their midst, an arrow flashed out from the rear of the enemy formation.  Grant used his Iaijutsu to knock it out of the air before it could strike him.

Combat initiated

Action: Defend with weapon

Result: Attack deflected

Opponents remaining: 26

Actions: Please select one option from the following list

Attack: Lethal, Non-lethal, Spell

Defend: With weapon, Without weapon

Run: Attempt escape

Grant selected Spell, and jumped forward into their midst.  When it went off, the lightning jumped from enemy to enemy, disabling and injuring over half of his opponents.

Thundering step is increased by Lightning attunement! Damage per second is currently: 83.6 per second

Multi-hit! Spell struck more than ten enemies at once!  Mental cultivation is increased by 10% for one hour!

Suki was right behind Grant, and she landed a huge uppercut on the House Friday guard that was doing his best imitation of a wall of muscle.  The man teetered backwards, teeth and blood spraying out of his mouth.  She fell back, unable to capitalize on the devastating hit due to the system forcing her to wait her turn.

The soldiers and House Friday guards were wearing armor that had varying spell-mitigation, so they weren’t uniformly affected by its effects.  Tatters, who had been on the edge of the spell range, seemed to only be a little twitchy from the continuous shock of the spell.  He raised a scepter in one hand, and a potion bottle in the other.

Grant selected ‘Defend with weapon,’ and suffered through the attacks of three soldiers in rapid succession.  They were regular cultivators, so he couldn’t afford to accept their hits directly.  He managed to knock the blow of a nagita into the path of a fourth attacker, and there was a brief pause in the battle when Suki came off the railing of the bridge right on top of another House Friday guard that was using a crossbow.  Everyone watched in amazement as her flying punch caught the man straight in the top of his head.  The unfortunate guard seemed to shrink a few inches, and he tottered around for a second before falling forward onto his face.  There was a collective wince before everyone jumped back into the fight.

Grant was continually selecting ‘Defend with weapon,’ biding his time for the perfect moment to strike.  Tatters finally tossed the potion bottle at Grant, who surprised the clown when he used the flat of his blade to redirect it toward the archer that had first fired at him.  The man was just getting back to his feet from the spell when the glass vial shattered in front of his face, and the pained screams that quickly followed made Grant very happy that he hadn’t broken the glass while it was still near him.

“Well, that didn’t go like I thought it would.”  Tatters shoved the soldier standing next to him at Grant.  “Get in there!  We can wear him down eventually!”

The entire party was focused on Grant, except for the jumbo-sized guard.  He was focused on Suki, blood still leaking from his ruined mouth.  She was landing punishing blows to his midsection, but it looked to have little effect.  Her gauntlets were doing a good job of deflecting the punishing blows from the giant’s club, but every time she knocked aside his thundering swings, Grant could see a sharp wince of pain.  Everyone present knew what the clown said was correct.  No matter how skilled or strong the two of them were, eventually they would wear down, and the fight would be over.

Deciding it was time to change things up, Grant dove forward in a roll right at Tatters the moment his turn to attack came up.  He sprang to his feet only a sword-length away, and immediately selected ‘Attack with weapon.’  Tatters must have selected ‘Defend with weapon,’ because he lifted his scepter to block.  It was exactly what Grant was hoping for.

Kenjutsu (2/10) Skill tier 1: All damage dealt when wielding a sword is increased by 10%.

Skill tier 2: your sword will never betray you. When a sword is wielded by you, the blade will always land exactly where you intend.

The spot Grant intended to hit was where the crystal head of the scepter joined with the wooden shaft.  A Vassal’s weapon was only a copy of the Wielder’s weapon it was based on, and unlike a Wielder’s weapon, Grant had learned it could be destroyed.  He put every bit of power he could muster into the swing, and it struck like a hammerblow straight from the heavens.

A tinkling sound of shattered crystal rang out over the bridge, immediately followed by an explosion that threw everyone on their backs.  The stone and mortar bridge shook from the detonation, raining down dust and grit onto the polluted and dirty water running under the supports.

“Ow.”  Grant sat up and looked around to check the damage.  He was sore, but didn’t feel any broken bones or see any major bleeding.  He looked over to see what happened to Tatters, and realized it wasn’t the same story for people that had been on the side of the explosion where the crystal shards had been hit by his sword strike.  They were in much worse shape.  He was worried Suki had been hit, but the shock of pink hair poking out from under the unconscious form of the human mountain told him where she was.  It looked like the big guy had taken the hit on his back, meaning she was probably okay.

The people that had been on his side of the explosion were already starting to move around, so Grant jumped to his feet.  As he moved to strike the soldier that fought with a nagita on the base of the skull with the hilt of his sword, a screen popped up.

Warning: System failure. Agreement, Deal, and Oath enforcement has been halted. Please remain calm. A Vassal will be dispatched to your location to reinstate deals. Remember, events around a temporary breach will be dealt withhhhhhhh…

<System is down!  Strike now, while they are still disoriented!>  Sarge shocked Grant with his merciless outlook, but he was quick to comply.

He laid about with his sword, sometimes knocking his enemies unconscious, and other times mercilessly chopping into arms and legs if they tried to still rise and fight.  Grant did his best not to cut through bone, but he wasn’t willing to let them get to their feet.  They hadn’t been interested in a fair fight, so neither was he.  No one would stop him from fixing this District.  Especially the kind of people that followed a child-killer like Tatters.

“Speaking of the evil clown…”  Grant finished with the people still able to get to their feet, and walked to the side of the bridge where the other half were still laying prostrate on the bridge.  The Vassal was laying on his side against the waist-high railing, his body torn and bleeding.  “Wow.  It looks like you got torn up pretty bad there, Tatters.  Looking a little tattered, if I do say so myself.”

<Don’t do that.>  Sarge cut him off before he could continue.  <You aren’t very good at it.>

“You think this matters?”  Tatters sounded raspy, and blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth.  “Dokeshi March… will still have… your head… as an ashtray!”

<That seems oddly specific.  Do you think he already has a head for a footrest?  I feel like your head would be the perfect size for a footrest.>  Grant sheathed his sword and looked at it with a raised eyebrow.  <What?  Now that I told you, the next time you see your reflection, I bet you will see it too.>

“When… you die… it will… be screaming…”  Tatters was trying to sit up straight, but his arm wasn’t willing to hold his weight.  Probably because most of it wasn’t there.  “I-”

February Twenty Nine jumped out of his sheath like it had a mind of its own, smoothly removing Tatters head from his body.  With an extra flick of his sword, the head took a trip over the bridge to explore what was at the bottom of the stream.

<Behind you!>  Sarge’s shout was a split second too late, but it meant the crossbow bolt that would have impacted the middle of his back embedded itself in the back of his left arm.  <Finish him!>

Grant spun around to see the crossbow-wielding House Friday guard scrambling to reload.  He forced his battered and sore body to sprint at the man, and managed to tackle him just as the twang of another bolt sounded in his ears.  His Uchigatana had punctured the man’s abdomen, but it was far enough to the side that it wasn’t immediately fatal.  Neither was the additional crossbow bolt that now resided in the front side of Grant’s left arm.  It hung uselessly at his side, with what looked like one solid wooden stick poking all the way through his arm.

“Ow.  Again.”  Grant got off the man he had stabbed, and wasn’t exactly gentle when removing his sword from the man’s abdomen one-handed.  As he raised his sword over his enemies head to give him the same treatment, the guard raised a hand in defeat, the other pressed against his wound.

“I yield.  Please, don’t kill me.”  The man sounded too tired to be scared.  “This is just a job for me.  I swore to do it to the best of my ability, but I didn’t swear to die for that stupid casino.”

Grant returned February Twenty Nine to its sheath, and a screen he hadn’t seen in a long time popped into his vision.

Do you, Grant Monday, wish to absorb the power of March 30: Double Tap? Accepting ‘Double Tap’ will override any previous Wielded Weapon power absorbed in the current monthly series. If not overridden by another weapon of the same month, this ability will return to its current Wielded Weapon at the end of the year, unless the quest ‘Heal The World’ has been successfully completed.

Accept / Decline.

Grant accepted.  The guard was a Wielder, not a Vassal.  If he survived, Grant would be long gone before he was capable of coming after him.  Taking the power was an easy decision.  He would worry about what it did later.  First, he had a much bigger concern.  How was he supposed to get the unconscious big guy off of Suki?