Path of Dragons 16 - Chapter 94 - Return (Patreon)

Elijah knew something was wrong the second the mountainous shape of the Vengeance came into view.  It took no great effort of deduction to reach that conclusion either, because it was absolutely swarming with all sorts of powerful beasts.  There were flying creatures, reptilian felines, wyvern-like animals, and a host of other species.  But the bulk of the beast tide was composed of thousands of smaller, scaled monkeys that behaved like baboons.

Of course, they differed from the Earth animals in a few key ways, their scales notwithstanding.  They were slightly larger, bulkier, and possessed twin tails festooned with sharpened spikes.  The beasts used them as weapons, whipping them around like bladed whips.

The next thing Elijah noticed was that despite the fury of the surging beasts, the Vengeance was holding its own.  Its defenses held, and its cannons filled the air with powerful blasts that echoed for miles all around.  When their munitions hit, they did so with massive explosions that burned through dozens of beasts.

Unfortunately, every creature there was at the deity tier.

The fact that the ship had yet to fall was a feat worthy of praise, and an unexpected revelation.  Certainly, the power expressed by beasts tended to vary pretty widely.  Just because something was technically on the level of a deity didn’t necessarily mean it could express that strength in a way that helped it during a fight with a sapient being.  They were just animals, after all.  There was a marked difference in lethality, based only off of species and ecological niche.

But even then, the ship’s continued defense was impressive. 

Even more worthy of note was that multiple people fought on its surface.  Some were deity-tier dragons, and they laid waste to those beasts around them.  However, there were plenty of demigods in there as well.  Elijah recognized quite a few of them, too.

Mounted on Trevor’s back, Miguel was an absolute menace.  Even from afar, Elijah could see his nephew darting through the battle, leaving destruction in his wake.  Every now and again, the sound of a gunshot rang across the battlefield, louder even than the cannons.  By the time Elijah heard it, he’d already seen one monster or another absolutely destroyed.

Gunnar.

Every single shot turned a deity-tier beast into nothing more than fine mist, reaffirming that the sniper was still just as deadly as ever.  Maybe even more so, suggesting that he’d further specialized as a long-range glass cannon.  Elijah suspected that if found, Gunnar would be very vulnerable to attack.

However, he also recognized that tracking Gunnar down would be extremely difficult.  Despite the fact that Elijah could hear the echoing gunshots, he couldn’t pin the man’s position down.  Doubtless, that was the result of a skill meant to keep him concealed, and it was very effective. 

Elijah could find him, but it would take effort.

Meanwhile, evidence of Kurik’s traps was everywhere.  Elijah saw multiple flowers that had somehow turned into bladed fans that easily sliced through beasts, waving vines that entrapped them, and even a plant that shot tar-like balls of fire that exploded upon impact. 

And there were dozens of other variations across the surface of the Vengeance as well.  Some were weaker, suggesting that Kurik might’ve let some of his apprentices get in on the fun, but they all affected the battle.

A more mindful opponent might have woven between the traps, but the beasts had clearly been driven mad by the cycles of the ancestral world.  They couldn’t stop themselves, even had they wished it.

Elijah also saw the familiar forms of his friends.  Bogoni held the line alongside a group of people from the Iron Legion.  He was the vanguard, but the others had the benefit of Carmen’s armor.  They could also function at range, sending lances of condensed sunlight to scorch through the horde, as well as in a melee.  Behind them and nestled within bunkers were the true ranged fighters.  Some used traditional weapons, like bows or crossbows.  Others were armed with guns from Seattle’s specialists.  Still others were Sorcerer archetypes, flinging spells out rapid fire.

In some of the towers were the true ranged specialists, though.  People like Kalyn, who had turned herself into something akin to walking artillery.  From that high vantage point, she could pinpoint any part of the battle.  She buried whole swaths of beasts in bolts from her crossbow.

Elijah wasn’t certain where to find Imal, but her efforts were obvious.  Elijah saw animals falling dead throughout the horde, water and blood leaking from their eyes and ears.  He knew she couldn’t quite replicate the effects of her cooperation with the space mage back in the demigod trial, but it was clear that she had adjusted well.

The real star of the battle was the Vengeance itself, though.  Whatever the Engineers had done to the cannons had increased their lethality by orders of magnitude.  The difference was stark, even for Elijah.  He’d known they would make improvements. While the dragon demigod crafters barely knew enough about munitions to adapt the orcs’ crude designs, the people from Earth were specialists.

And they’d overhauled the ship’s entire suite of weapons, building more and building them better. 

The defenses were similar.  The K’levehar clan’s Builders were talented enough, and they knew their business when it came to structure.  But they were not accustomed to constructing real fortifications.  The result was that they’d laid a good foundation, while Earth’s craftsmen had built upon that base to create a true juggernaut of a ship. 

There were weak points, though.  Elijah could see them, even from afar.  That was why the bunkers had been built – to protect the entrances.  Otherwise, the surface was entirely invulnerable to such an assault.

Perhaps a determined sapper could get through.  Maybe the orcs could do so, if only through sheer numbers and determination.  However, the beasts had absolutely no chance. 

They were lambs to the slaughter.

If lambs had fangs and claws the size of broadswords and bodies capable of obliterating a mortal just by looking at them.  Meaning that if the defenses faltered, even for a second, the Vengeance would be overrun.  Fortunately, everyone onboard seemed well accustomed to their tasks.

“Are you going to join the fight?” came a voice from beside him.  Only then did Elijah realize he’d been stationary, slithering in place as he watched the battle unfold.  Illska had finally caught up.

“They seem to be doing okay without me,” he answered.

“Indeed.  The Vengeance seems safe enough,” she acknowledged.  A second later, she nodded toward Fungee’s island, adding, “But that might be a good opportunity.”

Elijah followed her gesture to see that the island’s guardian had been surrounded by a troop of those baboon-like reptiles.  They were even bigger than the ones attacking the mountainous ship, and though the rhino-dinosaur was powerful enough to defend itself, it was incapable of simultaneously guarding the tree.  It bucked and kicked, but there were too many of the creatures surrounding it. 

Soon enough, it would be overwhelmed.

Elijah knew he needed to intervene.  After letting Illska know what he was going to do, he jetted off.  The moment he reached the landmass, he shifted into the Shape of the Reaver.  By the time he landed, he’d already completed the transformation.  Tyrant’s Edge exploded from his forearm, the jagged blade longer and wider than before his recent cultivation. 

It glittered with potent ethera, emitting an aura of hunger that it had once lacked.  Elijah felt that it was appropriate.

He fell upon the reptilian baboons from behind.  One swipe was all it took to horizontally bisect a pair of them.  Their dying screams also got the rest of the troop’s attention, and they turned to him as one.

In the past, Elijah might’ve had trouble picking up the minutiae of their movements.  Especially without his armor, which he’d stupidly forgotten to don before setting off across Orveth Kaal.  Over the years, he had come to rely on the enhancement to his reflexes, and while he maintained his buffs, he still missed his equipment.

Yet, his body cultivation had done more than just make him stronger and more durable while enhancing his regeneration.  It had done those things, but it had also given his base reflexes a much-needed boost.  Elijah gave credit to his redesigned nervous system, which functioned as much off of ethera as it utilized electrical impulses.  Everything fired faster, conveying more information far more quickly than before.

The end result was that he could see the deity-tier beasts’ movements.  Not like they were moving in slow motion or anything, but well enough that he had no trouble bracing for their coming tide.

One thing was absolutely certain, though – some of those beasts were the equivalent of high deities.  If they’d participated in the battle aboard the Vengeance, the ship’s defenses would’ve struggled to contain them.  Fortunately, for such powerful beasts, the natural treasures on the island were a much more potent lure than the ship.

Elijah barely had time to brace for their attack before they reached him.  In less than a second, they were on top of him, ripping into his arms and legs and tearing flesh free.  Each wound sent a puff of spores into the air, courtesy of Fungal Leech.  His Bracken Body responded as well, absorbing quite a lot of damage along the way. 

The creatures were equipped with a moderately powerful toxin as well, though Elijah was functionally immune.  That gave him an advantage, which he used as he returned their attacks with sweeping strikes from Tyrant’s Edge. 

It wasn’t long before the whole area was covered in a fine mist of mingled blood and spores.  For every reptilian baboon Elijah cut down, another took its place.  The process taught him a single lesson – he needed more practice with the blade protruding from his arm. 

Just one more item to add to his training.

Still, by virtue of the powerful form, Elijah managed to hold his own.  At the same time, the rhino-dinosaur hybrid guardian went on the offensive as well.  It charged groups of baboon-lizards impaling them on its horns or simply trampling them beneath its clawed feet. 

Every time an attack landed on Elijah, Mantle of Thorns ensured that the beasts paid the price.  A sapient opponent might have adjusted, only striking when an opening presented itself.  However, the reptilian baboons were anything but strategic, and they attacked without plan or restraint – to their detriment.

Elijah didn’t use any of the shape’s active abilities, instead relying only on his passives.  And Wild Resurgence, of course.  It combined with Fungal Leech to repair what damage the creatures could inflict.  But the difference in his body after reaching gold-tier cultivation was stark.

Before, he’d have been ripped to shreds.  Sure, he could have survived, but it would have been an ethera hungry process that probably wouldn’t have resulted in victory.  However, with his advancement, not only was he more durable and regenerative, but his attacks landed with added weight as well.  He hadn’t really measured the effect of his strength, but the difference was night and day.

With them being hit from two different directions, the baboon-lizards eventually succumbed.  Not easily, and not without taking a pound of flesh from Elijah.  But the Shape of the Reaver was well-suited to handling that kind of situation.  The end result was that, after a while, most of those beasts lay dead.  A few had come to their senses and scattered, leaping into the air and racing away as their footsteps left tiny motes of ethera to float in the air.

But most chose to continue their assault and die.

By the time Elijah finished his task and turned back toward the Vengeance, the battle was mostly over.  The attackers had mostly fallen, with some having turned to retreat.  A few stragglers remained behind, but the ship’s defenders were hard at work surrounding and defeating them.

Elijah shifted into the Shape of Withering and glided across the intervening distance so he could lend a hand.  It wasn’t strictly necessary, but he had no intentions of leaving them to their own devices.

Only when the last beast fell did he turn his attention to the reason for his return.  It didn’t take him long to sense Imal in one of the towers, but their reunion was delayed by a frustratingly small window.  Elijah wasted no more time before entering the ship and heading in her direction.

People greeted him along the way.  A few gaped.  But for the most part, Elijah ignored them.  Now that he’d returned, he only had one person on his mind – Imal.

Eventually, they found one another, and their reunion came in the form of a tight embrace and a kiss that might’ve been at home on the cover of a romance novel.  Normally, Elijah might’ve been a little self-conscious about that, but in the moment, he didn’t care.  He could only think of her.

When they finally broke apart, Imal breathed, “I’m glad you’re back. I really am.  But if you ever stay away that long without contacting me, I will –”

Elijah cut her off with another kiss.

That was a good strategy for winning arguments, as far as he was concerned.  And for the moment, everything felt right with the world.