Junfa April: Chapter 36-40 (Patreon)

Chapter 36

“Suki?  What are you doing here?”  Grant had left her in charge of District February, where she was supposed to be helping make sure District March didn’t starve to death.  “How did you even get here?”

“I don’t know who this Suki is, but you must have me confused with someone else.”  The speaker’s pot had been knocked away, its contents sprayed all over the small grassy clearing his opponent had chosen to stop in.  The whole space was no bigger than two wagons parked next to one another, just small enough not to stand out from the height of someone standing on the back of a chariot.  “You are the outsider, aren’t you?  I’m sorry you got caught up in all of this, but now I am going to have to take care of you too.”  She held up the spoon she had been using to stir the pot, and pointed it at Grant like it was a spear.

“I don’t think you need to worry about feeling bad.  It isn’t me that is going to lose.”  Grant shook his sword, as if to emphasize how ridiculous the thought of someone with a spoon fighting him would be.  He quickly got over the initial shock of seeing who he thought was his betrothed as the subject of his search.  A closer inspection had revealed they just had a lot of similarities.  Pink hair, similar build, and more than a slight resemblance in their facial features.  The biggest thing, though, is that Grant was sure Suki would never be caught dead in the flowing green robes the Wielder was wearing.  “Is there any chance you have relatives that live in District February?”

<It is entirely possible that she is related to Suki in some way.  If her family was descended from the same Noble Line as Suki’s when the barriers were formed, they would have certainly risen to prominence as Wielders in this District.  It’s honestly surprising we haven’t seen more familial resemblances throughout our travels.>  Grant gave the hilt in his grip a slight squeeze in silent thanks.

“I suppose it doesn’t hurt to tell you who is about to kill you.  I am April Thirteenth, the daughter of April Third, leader of House Saturday.”  She calmly bent down and scooped a spoonful of dirt off of the ground.  “Now, prepare to die!”  She flicked the spoonful of dirt at Grant, and he was shocked when it turned into a speeding ball of grit that slammed into him with the force of an arrow.

“Ouch!”  Grant grabbed at his side, where blood was already leaking down his hip.  The clod of dirt had punched straight through his armor.  “What in the gooseknuckle was that?”

“My Wielded Weapon allows me to affect the speed of whatever it touches.  It’s very useful when stirring delicate concoctions, but it truly shines when I use it to fight.”  She bent down and scooped up more dirt.  Grant was already moving, sprinting straight for her.  “Sorry, but that won’t work.”  He was too far away to close the gap between them before she could flick her wrist forward.  Grant was forced to dive to the side, rolling back to his feet as she reloaded her spoon of doom.  “You might have had a chance if your weapon was a ranged one, but a Wielder with a sword can’t win against me.”

“I can see why you would think that.”  Grant tried to deflect the next clump of dirt she threw, but its speed was so great that his own sword slapped him across the face when he knocked it to the side.  This was one nasty spoon.  “But lady, I’m no pushover.  And you have to answer for trying to kill all those innocent people.”

“Innocent people?”  She flicked another spoonful of dirt at him, and this time he moved out of the way.  “Those innocent people are going to get everyone in the District killed!”  Grant ignored her accusations.  He had been living with the people in the House Wednesday wagon train long enough to know she was wrong.

“From what I have seen, the only murderer around here is you.”  Now that Grant had a better idea of what he was up against, Grant fell into the same patterns he used when facing Junfa April.  Deflections didn’t work against her either, so he was forced to make good use of his dodge skill.  “Surrender, and answer some questions, and I can guarantee that you will be returned to your House when we get to the Conclave.”  The next three projectiles were easily avoided.  She didn’t know his full capabilities, and was obviously underestimating him.  There was also only one doom spoon, so this fight was much easier than what Grant had been dealing with over the past two weeks.  “I don’t want to hurt you, lady.  Even if you deserve it.”  Grant had been stringing out the fight to try and get her to talk, but she wasn’t having it.

<You should just use your lightning spell and end this fight.  She isn’t going to give you any more information.>

“Fine, but you made me do this.  Thundering Step!”  Grant aimed all of the lightning straight for her midsection, trying to avoid frying her brain.  The power that rushed out of him was enough to do over two hundred and eighty damage.  To Grant’s great surprise, she caught the whole thing in her spoon.  “Uh-oh.”

“Yeah.  Uh-oh is right.”  April Thirteenth threw the spell right back at Grant, who was blown off his feet.  “I forgot to mention, my spoon can hold more than just ordinary physical objects.  Things like lightning are just ingredients to the right alchemist, after all.”

“Well, I guess that means we have to do this the hard way.”  Grant’s Lightning Attunement skill meant he was able to direct the spell around himself.  He wasn’t able to do anything about the kinetic force her spoon had added to it.  He was steaming a little when he got back to his feet, but it had done almost no damage to him.  “You aren’t the only one who didn’t mention everything they can do.”

“Fair enough.”  April Thirteenth pulled out a small round stone from a pouch at her waist.  “It looks like I should take you more seriously, then.”

If Grant hadn’t spent so much time training with Junfa April, he probably would have died.  The stone flew so quickly that it made a cracking sound like one of Junfa April’s whips, and it was almost invisible as it buzzed past his ear.  He had read the angle of motion her hand and wrist made, meaning it was barely possible to get out of the way.  Considering the danger, Grant decided he would return the favor and ramp up to match.

“Oleander Thrust!”  His forward lunge was much faster that the House Saturday Wielder expected.  The marble intended for his face flew over his head, and her robes provided little protection as his Uchigatana pierced the forearm she raised to defend herself.  Grant mercilessly twisted his blade, tearing the wound open before dragging it downward sharply.  It came free in a spray of blood, laying open her forearm to the bone all the way to the elbow.

“No!”  Her shout was a mixture of surprise and pain, but that was overshadowed by the tone of denial.  “You can’t do this!”  Grant slid the edge of his blade along her throat, applying enough pressure to draw a thin line of blood.

“If you do anything besides dropping your spoon right this moment, I will cut your head off.”  Grant’s sword drew a little more blood as she swallowed hard.  The sound of the metal spoon dropping to the ground only made him back off a little.  He almost absorbed her ability - which would have been absolutely amazing to have - but he resisted the temptation.  Too many people would be affected if it came out that someone in the House Wednesday caravan broke a House Saturday Wielded Weapon.  “Now, it’s time to answer some questions.”

“If you think I’m going to…”  The flap of skin and muscle that was now her left arm slapped against the exposed bone, causing her to wince hard.  She opened her mouth to say something else, but her eyes rolled back in her head, and she passed out instead.

<Well, congratulations on the level up, I guess.>

Grant’s only reply was a defeated sigh.

Chapter 37

The sound of the chariot approaching was like music to Grant’s ears.  He had been trying to stop the flow of blood from April Thirteenth’s arm, but Grant was much better at making things bleed than stopping it.

“Are you hurt?”  The first question out of Skor’s mouth wasn’t about his prisoner, or about the mission.  It was about if Grant was okay, and the warm feeling in his chest almost overwhelmed him.  “There is a lot of blood.”

“I’m fine.  Most of it is her blood.”  Grant poked at the haphazard dressing he had tried to apply.  “She might bleed out before we can get her back to the wagons.”

“That’s pretty bad.”  Sokkur walked up with a thick roll of white cloth.  “We are going to have to apply a tourniquet.  She might lose the arm, but at least she will still be alive.”

“Do it.”  Skor’s voice brooked no argument.  This was the person who had tried to kill his friends and family.  Losing an arm was getting off lightly.  “She’s an alchemist.  They probably have pills that will let her regrow it or something.”

Sokkur quickly wrapped her arm and used a stick through the wrappings to twist it tight enough to cut off blood flow.  Grant helped him lift her unconscious form into the chariot, while Reimaria picked up her cauldron and spoon.  She took what was left inside the cauldron and poured it over the small fire April Thirteenth had been using to cook her alchemical mixture so they didn’t leave an unattended fire when they left.  And then all hell broke loose.

“Great googly moogly!  What did you do?”  Skor ran over and tried to kick dirt over the growing flames, but it was too late.  The billowing red smoke that poured out of the fire was completely ridiculous.  Such a tiny fire hadn’t even put off enough smoke that they could see it over the height of the grass when they were riding it the chariot.  Now, people over an hour away would be able to see it.  And the smell was something like rotten eggs mixed with sour milk, enough to make a goat gag in disgust.  Skor grabbed the small cauldron from Reimaria and looked inside.  “What was in this thing?”

“We need to get out of here.”  Sokkur was standing up on the back of the chariot, looking out over the expanse of empty grass around them.  “If this was some kind of signal she was making to bring the rest of her group here, we might be in trouble.”

<There is no way she intended for this as a signal.  You were too close to her when she was making it, and would have made it here long before any House Saturday allies could reach her.  You need to wake her up, and ask what happened.>  Grant grimaced.  He knew what needed to be done.

“We need to wake her up and ask her what she did.”  Grant looked around at his friends to see if they had a better idea.  All he got was blank stares.  Pulling out one of his last healing potions, he bent over April Thirteenth and pried open her mouth.  He paused, his inner voice telling him he was wasting a precious resource.

<Just get it over with.  Don’t give her the whole thing, just enough to get her back on her feet.>  Grant did as instructed, and poured around a fourth of the potion in her mouth.  She woke up sputtering.

“Who?  What?  Where am I?  What happened?”  Skor had already positioned himself to shoot her in the face if she tried anything.  April Thirteenth quickly glanced around and saw her predicament.  Then, she looked at the bright red smoke billowing up into the sky, and her face paled in fear.  “What have you done?”

“What have we done?  Broken axles, lady!  This is your fault!”  April Thirteenth raised herself up on one arm to argue, but Reimaria wasn’t having any of that.  She stomped over and hefted her mace, ready to bring it down on the Wielder’s unprotected skull.  “You try to kill us, hundreds of innocent people, including my family, and you ask what we have done?!”  Her shoulders were heaving after her outburst, the lethal mace in her grip trembling as she gripped it hard enough to make it shake.  Reimaria took a deep breath to calm herself, and leaned in close.  “Tell us what was inside that cauldron, before I turn your brains into wheel grease for our chariot.”  Her tone had changed from fiery anger to icy determination, and April Thirteenth saw her death in the young Vassal’s eyes.

“If you kill me, the fallout will be-”  Reimaria’s fist rocked her shit.  The spray of teeth and blood were coupled with a loud thunking sound of the back of her head bouncing off of the floor of the chariot.

“You forfeited your right to the rules when you started this.  I will kill you right now if you don’t say something that makes you useful to us.”  Reimaria took a step back, but her mace was still resting on her shoulder, ready in an instant to end the pyromaniac.  Grant looked over to see if Skor or Sokkur were going to step in, but neither were looking particularly merciful.  Skor had said earlier that he wanted to keep the Wielder alive, but when faced with the choice, he didn’t seem inclined to actually do anything.  Grant couldn’t blame him.

“Ith washn’th even a concocthion yeth.  You poured Class Four beasth blood sthraighth intho a fire.”  The audible gasp of everyone but Grant made April Thirteenth look at him.  Their shock certainly wasn’t from the lisp Reimaria had given her when she knocked some teeth out.  “You don’th know, do you?  The smell of spilled blood will bring every monster that shmells it running.  When it ish burned like this, it enragesh them.  That’sh one of the reasons why the Anthi Flame Fanathics exhist.  Did no one thell you any of thish?”

“We didn’t think it was important, considering we have the best Warden in the District riding in our convoy.”  Skor tossed the cauldron in the back of the chariot, and waved for the rest of Team Three to get in.  “We need to go.  Now.”

“It can’t be worse than the Greenlock, right?”  Grant kept his eye on April Thirteenth, who was loosening the tourniquet on her arm now that it was starting to heal.  Even her split lip and missing teeth seemed to be slowly getting better.  Of course, he would use one of his good potions on her.  “I mean, I can’t imagine there being something that bad.”

“It was pretty rough, mate.”  Skor snapped the reins the moment everyone got in the back of the chariot.  “But, for a large part of that fight, you were underground, where they couldn’t overwhelm you with numbers.  The tunnels helped you almost as much as having Junfa April around did.”  Grant looked around the open plains, where the only thing breaking the horizon were the distant mountains, and the smoke pillar.  It finally clicked.

“We are completely screwed.”

Chapter 38

The Saunterling seemed to pick up on their fear, and it practically flew over the plains.  No one in the back of the chariot complained as they were jostled about like rag dolls.  The distant roars of unseen beasts echoed across the open plains, loud enough to be plainly heard over the sounds their vehicle was making.

“Now is the time for you to explain yourself.”  Grant was crouched down next to April Thirteenth, who looked more scared than the rest of them combined.  She was an upper-level Noble, and had clearly not faced the types of battles the rest of Team Three had been through.  It was obvious the House Saturday wagon train was more obsessed with rank than the House Wednesday one.  Grant decided to play on those fears.  “Before we all die, you might as well tell us why you tried to kill everyone.”

“I… I wasn’t really trying to kill everyone.”  Grant’s potion had healed April Thirteenth enough that she had already lost her lisp.  “I just wanted to weaken the faith everyone had in Junfa April.  If enough supplies were destroyed, and people injured, she wouldn’t have their unanimous support at the Conclave.”

“Well, you certainly have a terrible way of trying to not kill everyone.  You almost killed innocent people.  Why would you do that?”  Reimaria was leaning against the front of the chariot, but turned around to face the weaponless Wielder.  Her mace was still resting on her shoulder, ready to smash down on April Thirteenth if she tried anything she didn’t like.  “What could possibly justify the risk?”

“It’s Junfa April herself.  Haven’t any of you noticed the increase in beasts?  Or how much more aggressive they are getting?”  No one argued with her.  Sokkur was even nodding in agreement, before he realized it and stopped himself.  “She denies that it has come down from its lair.  Her refusal to see the truth and bring the Houses together means we are going to be picked off one by one.  Our only choice is to let my father, April Third, take over as Junfa.  He can unite the clans, and save us all!”

“She is the only person who has faced the Ice Wraith and survived.  She would know better than anyone if it had returned.”  Sokkur’s statement hit Grant like a thunderbolt.  It wasn’t until just now that he realized the lone survivor of the expeditions to kill the Miniature Giant Ice Wraith was actually Junfa April.  She must have been much older than she looked.

<That’s very common for advanced cultivators.  Most of them age at a different rate, or not at all.  Lord January was like that.>  Grant gave a silent nod, not wanting to interrupt the interrogation.

“Junfa April just doesn’t want to face the truth.”  April Thirteenth shifted to try and get more comfortable after a particularly hard bump.  Reimaria had to restrain herself from swinging.  The House Saturday Wielder was blissfully unaware that she had almost just died, and continued talking.  “She is afraid.  Everyone knows it.  Her fear of facing the demons of her past will be the thing that kills us all!”

“No, Sheila.  The thing that’s going to kill us all is that.”  Skor pointed off to their left.  Grant stood from his crouch, and he could see the grass shifting wildly as something closed the distance between them.  A whole lot of somethings.  Trailing the hidden enemies was some kind of plant monster that stood head-and-shoulders taller than the grass.  Skor angled the chariot so they were running directly away from what was chasing them, but they were still gaining on them.  “We can’t outrun whatever that is, especially if that walking shrub is a Catnip Monster.  They put out a scent that increases other monsters' ferocity.  It’s going to catch us.  Get ready to fight.”

“Give me my Wielded Weapon.”  April Thirteenth held out her uninjured hand.  “I can help you fight.”

“Fat chance of that happening.”  Reimaria said with a snort of derision.  “You will just turn on us the moment we finish fighting the beasts.”

“I swear on my honor as a Wielder and member of the Noble House Saturday that I won’t attack you after we fight off the creatures.”  April Thirteenth shook her hand, silently demanding that her weapon be returned.  “Well?”

“We can’t trust the word of a person that has no honor.”  Skor looked back at the Wielder with zero emotion on his face.  “You have already shown your true self.  I would rather we all die than see you escape to try your sabotage another time.”

The Wielder shrunk in on herself, the verbal lashing from Skor doing more pain than Grant’s sword ever managed.  She looked down at her feet and clenched her fists, unable to speak in her own defense.

<Good.  She is young enough that this might be a turning point in her life, if she takes the lesson to heart.  Intending to do good through acts of evil is no way to achieve a better world.>

Any further discussion was cut off when a grass tiger - that was most definitely not as friendly as the ones Junfa April had - leapt out of the grass and knocked Sokkur out of the chariot.

“Wo~oah!”  Skor hauled back on the reins, dragging the Saunterling to a halt.  Sokkur was huddled under his shield several yards behind them, with the tiger doing its level best to tear through it and get to the tender Vassal underneath the pesky metal shell.  “You two go, I’ll cover from here!”

Reimaria gave April Thirteenth a glare warning her to behave before following Grant out the back of the chariot.  She sprinted to catch up, but Grant was already gone.  He had activated Thundering Step, and in the blink of an eye had already blasted into the side of the tiger like a Januarian falling down a ramp.

Grant winced in pain as the tip of his sword failed to penetrate the thick hide of the beast.  Since he used his spell instead of a skill, there was no bonus damage to help him get past the natural defenses of the beast.  He had to absorb the heavy impact with his arms, and Grant was worried his wrists would break.  What kept that from happening was his relative size and weight compared to the tiger.  While the tiger would have normally outweighed Grant by a fair amount, his storage pouch added enough to his mass that he could at least budge the monster off of his friend.

“Thanks!”  Sokkur bounced up off his back and properly seated his shield on his arm.  “That was a close one!”  The sound of several more beasts crashing through the tall grass was growing louder - meaning they should run - but they couldn’t turn their backs to the tiger that was already on its feet.

“Down!”  Reimaria came running straight at Sokkur, who dropped to one knee and angled his shield over his shoulder by reflex.  They had been training together for much longer than the time Grant had been with them, so he wasn’t all that surprised that they had specific actions to accentuate each others’ strengths.  When Remaria used Sokkur’s shield as a springboard to launch herself into the air, it was still very impressive.

It was obvious Reimaria was used to doing this trick with a heavier mace than what she was using now, but the longer spikes on the head of the weapon still made it effective when she smashed it down onto the tiger’s back.  The creature yowled in pain, and it retreated back into the tall grass.

“Get back to the chariot!”  Skor’s voice had a thread of concern, making all three young warriors turn and sprint for the dubious safety of their vehicle.  Arrow’s from Skor’s bow flashed over their heads as he bought them time.  It wasn’t enough.  Skor could see they would make it back just in time for them to get swarmed.  “No time!  Grant, spell!”

“Thundering Step!”  Grant didn’t question his Team Leader, he just spun in place and used his will to shape a line of flashing lightning behind them.  The spell lasted for five seconds, which wasn’t enough time for them to get away.  It was, however, enough to let them get in a better position to defend from the back of the chariot.  If the Saunterling hadn’t decided it was time to go.

“Umph!”  Air blasted out of Skor as he was thrown out of the chariot and landed on his face.  April Thirteenth tumbled to the ground like a sack of tossed potatoes behind him, landing on his legs and tangling them up.  A sharp grunt of pain from the normally stoic Skor meant the fall had actually hurt.

“Protect them.  Try to signal the convoy for help.”  All of the experience Grant had gotten over the past few weeks using his lightning spell had given him a new appreciation for how to use it.  He concentrated hard, and erected another lightning barrier around the others.  Instead of using it for high damage over five seconds, he drastically reduced the mana output to make it last longer.  The beasts would still make it through, but they would be stunned and weak, giving those inside the barrier a chance to capitalize.  Chaining two of his spells together dropped his mana to dangerously low levels, but it should give them four or five minutes of protection.  Grant took a step away from the barrier now surrounding his friends and glanced back at them.  “I’ll lead as many away as I can.  Good luck.”

Reimaria and Sokkur shouted for him to stop, but Grant didn’t listen.  There was only one way to survive what was coming, and that was by dividing the attention of the beasts enough that they wouldn’t have a chance to overwhelm Team Three all at once.

Grant was the only Wielder they could trust, and it was his job to protect those he cared about.  It didn’t matter anymore, anyway.  He was already committed.  Now it was time to show these beasts that they had tried to bite off more than they could swallow.

Chapter 39

Grant didn’t make the mistake of charging without using a skill this time.  He led off with a leap that took him over the initial wave of beasts.  It was a mishmash of monster types, but the most predominant were grass tigers.  He used his Begonia Chop skill as he came back to the ground, slicing deep into the back of the grass python that tried to slither past.  He couldn’t capitalize on the successful chop, because there were three other beasts demanding his attention.

The next ten seconds were a blur of motion, with Grant only able to use his parry and dodge skills.  He wasn’t able to kill a single creature, but that didn’t matter.  It accomplished his goal of gaining the attention of the majority of the beasts.

<Good job.  You got them to notice you.  Now you’re surrounded and vastly outnumbered, with the only allies trapped inside a stun barrier you erected.  What now, genius?>

“Oleander Thrust!”  Instead of using his skill to attack another of the monsters, Grant shot through a gap between two tigers, using his momentum to shoulder-check one of them out of the way.  “Now, I run!”

Grant knew he didn’t have a chance to outrun a grass tiger, but he could certainly outmaneuver one.  It wasn’t easy to shift six hundred pounds when it was moving quickly.  He checked his stats to see if he had enough mana regenerated to cast another Thundering Step, and was surprised to see he was missing almost one hundred health.

<You didn’t come out of that exchange unscathed.  And, you didn’t heal from your fight with April Thirteenth.>

Now that he was aware of the injuries, his Bodily Awareness skill seemed to find a way to push through his adrenaline.  The stabbing pain from his side, coupled with the deep gouge across the back of his shoulders made Grant stumble.  Without thinking, he activated Thundering Step to give him a burst of speed.  Almost bottoming out his mana gave him an instant headache, and his vision got blurry.  But, Grant did what the universal trait of all victorious warriors the world over had been doing for time immemorial.  He pushed through.

A hard block from a slashing set of claws that tried to intercept his forward progress shifted into a Hemlock’s Bane parry without thought, and the offending limb came off in a spray of blood.  The speed boost deactivated as Grant reentered combat, so he used the remaining energy to create a stunning halo around himself.  It saved his life.

“By the Regent!  That’s a lot of monsters!”  Grant looked back to see the first beast that hit his spell tumble to the ground as it’s limbs locked up.  It was some kind of green fox, but its small size meant the much larger tiger right on its heels didn’t see it until the fox tripped it up.  The tiger turned into an accidental roadblock, as those too large or heavy to dodge slammed into the beasts in front of it hard enough that Grant could hear the dry snap of breaking bones.  The tiger that had tried to slice into Grant as he ran past was now missing a paw, but that didn’t deter it from renewing the chase.  He turned and ran, leaving a pile of injured beasts behind him.  All the more nimble beasts were hardly slowed, and now they were gaining on him.

<You need to go back.  Now.>  Grant obviously thought Sarge was a raving lunatic.  Why would he turn and run back into that mess?  Monsters were literally nipping at his heels.  <There was no signal arrow from your friends.  They might be getting overrun.>  Grant glanced behind him and looked up.  The absence of any signal smoke made his heart feel like it had dropped down to his knees.  Sarge was right.  Something was wrong.

His mana regeneration was at around four a second, so he was building back enough to cast another Thundering Step quickly.  It shocked him that only a few seconds had passed since his last spell, considering how long it felt.  Grant would need at least two spells to be able to circle back.  One to put up another blocking wall, and one to boost his speed enough to get there quickly.

<I’ll count you down.  Four seconds.>  The beasts still on his heels managed to get close enough to bite at him.  Grant had to do a diving leap forward to avoid being hamstrung, rolling back to his feet in a smooth and practiced motion.  A backward swipe of his Uchigatana clipped another grass fox as it tried to take advantage of his forward dodge, but this time he didn’t get lucky with another pile-up.

<Three seconds.>  A grass tiger he didn’t see came barreling into him from his right.  Grant tried to use his parry skill, but a thin piece of metal was just no match for a six hundred pound ball of hatred and fangs.  They both tumbled hard.  Grant somehow managed to roll to his feet with his sword in his hand, but he had no idea where he was in relation to his friends.  Getting lost in the sea of grass would kill him as assuredly as a beast would.  All those thoughts blurred through his head as he used his Begonia Chop to hack into the side of the grass tiger that was still getting its legs under it.

<Two seconds.>  Sarge helpfully formed an arrow in front of him that pointed off to his left.  Grant ignored the grass tiger he had wounded and took off in a dead sprint, angling to give himself some space between the leading edge of the horde still howling for his blood.  The tumble with the tiger had badly bruised his hip, but Grant pushed through the pain.

<One second.>  A creature that looked like a rat crossed with a nine-tailed fox was leading the pack, and Grant could tell he was about to be overrun.  He spun in place, using his momentum to complete another roll.  The nine-tailed rat spun in response, and slapped Grant nine times across the face.  He was barely able to keep standing, blood spraying out of his mouth with the concussive impacts.  The slap-happy rat was pushed to the side by all the other beasts following behind it, saving Grant from having to face more rat slaps.

<Now!>  Grant activated a wall of lightning in front of himself, and turned to run.  The hits from the rat monster meant he had to wait five seconds before using the non-combat form of his spell.  They went by in a blur, time not nearly as stretched-out now that he wasn’t about to be eaten.  He activated Thundering Step again, and blurred away from the monsters that had just broken free of the spell he had dropped to slow them.  Following the arrow in his vision left there by Sarge meant he could get back to the rest of Team Three quickly, and Grant was struck by how lucky he was to have the sword spirit there to help him.

<We are in this together, Grant.  Now go see why there were no signal arrows, before you get eaten.>

The sensation of relief he felt when he saw everyone still alive was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.  Reimaria and Sokkur were standing to either side of Skor, who was down on one knee in front of April Thirteenth.  A wall of dead beasts was piled in front of them, almost perfectly outlining where Grant had set up his stun wall.

“Grant!  Thank the Sword Saints you are still alive!”  Sokkur ran over to him, and helped Grant climb over the low wall of carcasses.  “We heard a whole lot of fighting, but then it stopped.”

“That’s because I managed to get away.  You really should fire a signal arrow.  They will probably be here soon.”  Grant limped over to Skor, and pulled out his partially-used healing potion.  “Here, finish this off.  It should get you back on your feet.”

“Can’t use one.”  Skor took the bottle, and poured the remainder down his throat.  The crooked leg he was kneeling on seemed to straighten on its own, and the archer carefully tested it as he climbed back to his feet.  “Thanks.  That was really hurting me.”

“What do you mean you can’t use a signal arrow?”  Grant glanced back from where he had come from, the sounds of snarling beasts already reaching their ears.  “Those things will be here soon.”

“The signal arrows were in the quiver mounted to the chariot.”  Reimaria was the one to answer.  She was standing close enough to April Thirteenth that she could still put her down if she tried to run away in the confusion.  “The red smoke from that fire should have alerted the wagon train anyway, even if it wasn’t a signal arrow.  We just have to hold out long enough for them to send a patrol to see what caused it.”

“It’s my fault.”  Skor didn’t seem overly upset at admitting his mistake.  He was just owning up to something he did wrong, and it was too late to change anything.  “I should have kept at least one on me, instead of trying to pack in more arrows in my quiver.  If we make it through this, it’s a mistake I won’t repeat.”

“It’s okay, Skor.  Now that Grant’s here, we can make it through this just fine.”  Sokkur thumped Grant on the shoulder.  “Just keep us protected with that stun wall trick, and the four of us can outlast them.”

“No, you won’t.”  April Thirteenth stood up from where she had been laying on the ground.  The arm Grant had injured was still damaged, so it hung uselessly at her side.  “Grant had it right the first time.  You will be swarmed by their superior numbers.  And there are bound to be beasts resistant to lightning in a group that big.  They will overwhelm you in no time.”  She looked at the members of Team Three, and saw that they all realized what she was saying was the truth.  “Give me back my weapon.  Let me at least die fighting.”  They all stood silently contemplating her words, the sounds of the beast horde getting louder in the background.

“Fine.”  Reimaria shocked everyone when she pulled the spoon of doom out of her belt pouch and handed it over.  “But if you turn on us, I will kill you, and lobby for the destruction of your entire House.”  Skor gave a sharp nod of agreement, silently backing her decision.  And promise.

“I won’t turn on you.  I would be killed, the same as you.”  April Thirteenth bent down to scoop some dirt into her spoon.  “My cauldron was in the back of the chariot, along with your signal arrows.  There is no way I would survive without it.”

Her honest admission seemed to cause Reimaria to finally relax.  Not enough to turn her back on the pink-haired Wielder, but enough to stand beside her.  Then, it was time to fight.  The beasts had arrived.

Chapter 40

The next four minutes were a blur.  Grant wasn’t even sure how many times he had to cast the shock barrier with Thundering Step, but he was fighting through a strong mana headache the whole time.  There wasn’t a single moment Grant wasn’t swinging his sword.  He had been working on chaining together his new skills, but this moment, with lives on the line, it wasn’t a chain of separate skills.  It was a wave of violence and blood, each separate skill flowing together into one constant movement.

Grant was responsible for holding the left side of their line, with Sokkur in the center and Reimaria on the right.  Skor and April Thirteenth used their ranged attacks to help everyone, but the lack of a strong offensive ability meant Skor used most of his arrows on Sokkur’s enemies.  That was fine with Grant, because he didn’t need much help.

<Down!>  Grant reacted to Sarge’s order instantly, dropping to one knee as a pebble flew over his head fast enough to blast a vine monster resistant to lightning back through the barrier.  He looked back to see April Thirteenth already flicking devastating damage over Reimaria’s head.  Grant was suspicious that she had aimed at the back of his head, but it could have been an accident, or she just expected his reflexes to be good enough to dodge.

The monsters Grant faced next were a swarm of bright green vipers that blended perfectly with the grass.  He had to dance backward, and finally sheath his sword so he could use his Iaijutsu skill to activate Peach Flower Petal Flurry.  The devastating attack brought them down before they were able to bite him, and Grant breathed a sigh of relief.  And ate a mouthful of vines for his troubles.

<That’s a Corrupted Catnip Grass Monster that just slapped you like a noob.  If you can kill it and get it stored away so the scent it emits diminishes, it might bring some sanity back to the other beasts.  Some of them might even retreat.>

For Grant, it was like fighting Junfa April’s whips all over again.  The attacks from the vine monster cracked against his armor, and he was unable to cut through the thick and fibrous limbs of the creature.  The center mass of the creature was even tougher, but he could still see where the hole from April Thirteenth’s attack had shot through the center of the monster, so he decided to try and focus on the weak spot.  Grant was able to use his Oleander Thrust to widen the gap after a few parries, and the creature shook in pain.

<That’s it!  Keep it up!>  Another thrust at a sharp angle tore the weak spot open wider, and he capitalized on it by executing another Begonia Chop.  The two halves fell apart, shuddering as the vines curled up against the body like a dead spider.  <Good, now stuff it in your storage bag.  It should help make things a little less crazy right now.>

Getting the monster in his storage bag was easier said than done.  Grant had to still keep the other creatures from tearing him apart.  Eventually, he got it done.

“Good job, mate!”  Skor glanced over long enough to give Grant a thumbs up.  “They should start to calm down now.  The scent of the burning blood dissipating, plus the vine monster being gone, will make them back off.”

Skor and Sarge’s prediction turned out to be true.  The biggest threat in the horde had been the grass tigers, and they quickly dispersed.  After several more minutes of mopping up the beasts too stubborn to quit, silence gradually fell on the small battlefield.

“Well, that wasn’t fun.”  Sokkur flopped down on the carcass of a beast that looked like it was a giant ball of green fur.  “I think my whole body hurts.”  All of them were battered and bloody after the desperate battle.  “Even my toes hurt.  Do your toes hurt?”  Sokkur looked over at Reimaria, who pointed down at his feet.

“You stepped on that thorn monster.  Take the poky things out of your feet.”  Reimaria walked over to April Thirteenth while Sokkur plucked the inch-long thorns out of his toes.  “Hand it over.”

“Aren’t we past this?  I helped you survive, and-”  April Thirteenth cut off when Reimaria hefted her mace over her head.

“We all saw you almost hit Grant.  Trying to take out the only Wielder we have while everyone was distracted was a dumb move.”  Reimaria shook her open hand in the House Saturday Wielder’s face.  “Now, hand over the spoon.”

“It’s not like that.  I already fought him, so I figured he would be able to dodge it.”  April Thirteenth moved to put her Wielded Weapon in her belt pouch.

“Stop.”  Grant wearily walked over to put himself on the opposite side of her, so Skor - who had found a still-serviceable arrow sticking out of a monster and was now standing in position to interfere if things went sideways - still had a clear shot at her.  “You are still a prisoner, so whether you meant to hurt me or not, you need to hand it over.”  Sokkur finally finished plucking out the thorns from his foot, and moved to stand behind April Thirteenth.  “You lost against just me, and there are four of us now.  Don’t do something stupid.”

The five of them were in a standoff, the stench of dismembered beasts and desperate battle only intensifying as they waited for the enemy Wielder to decide how things would unfold.

“Finally found you!”  The shout jerked all of them out of their heavy focus, and April Thirteenth tried to capitalize on it by grabbing a pea-sized stone from her pouch and dropped it into her spoon.  A cracking whip snapped her Wielded Weapon out of her hand, and the House Saturday Noble hissed in pain as she grabbed her bloody appendage.  “I don’t think so, little lady.  We don’t need any trouble from that little pea-shooter.”

“Junfa!”  Sokkur was closest to the woman as she stepped into the clearing.  “Thank the Sword Saints, you found us!”

“How could we miss you?  The red smoke, sounds of battle, and lightning flying all over the place was a pretty good way to figure out where you were.”  Junfa April gave Skor a nod, and waved her hand to signal the teams following her that it was okay to come into the clearing.  “Now, I have a feeling you have a story to tell.  Let’s move to a place a little less… exciting, and talk.”  She snapped her fingers and pointed at Grant’s storage pouch.  “Hand that to April Tenth, so he can arrange for the beasts here to be put in your bag.”  The Wieldier was already tying April Thirteenth’s hands behind her back, so he had to wait until he was done before passing it over.

They quickly followed behind the caravan leader as she led them over to a familiar-looking chariot.  The giant Saunterling had a set of claw marks running down its flank, but they hadn’t pierced its tough hide.

“I see you found our runaway.”  Skor walked over and rubbed the creature’s snout.  “I figured this one would be halfway to the Conclave by now.”

“The scouts found it roaming to the north, too afraid to run into the dead forest.”  Junfa April motioned for them to have a seat in the grass, where they leaned against the side of the chariot for support.  It had been a long day.  “Now, tell me what happened.”

<While they talk, you should check your stats.  You killed fifty six beasts, and leveled up again.>  Grant was shocked to hear he had actually killed that many.  He remembered wounding plenty, but actually killing them should be a smaller number.  <Several of the monsters were actually finished off by your barrier after your friends gravely wounded them.  Those all counted for your cultivation totals.>  Grant gave a thoughtful nod and pulled up his improved numbers.

Strength is Power

Cultivation Level increased to 32

Name: Grant Monday (Options: Grant Monday, Earl Spring)

Rank: Earl Spring  (Lord of The Month for January, February, and March)

Class: Foundation Cultivator

Cultivation Achievement Level: 32

Cultivation Stage: Mid Autumn

Inherent Abilities: Swirling Seasons Cultivation

Health: 612/896

Mana: 38/38

Physical: 564

Mental: 150

Armor Proficiency: 261

Weapon Proficiency: 272

<It’s too late to recuperate your lost health from the battle through meditation, so you are going to need to rest soon.>  Grant silently agreed with the sword spirit.  He was shocked to be missing over two hundred health.  Which then made him think of a time when he didn’t even have two hundred health to lose.  <You truly have advanced at an impressive rate.  Don’t get comfortable, though.  There is still a long way to go before you are ready to face Regent December.>