Soul Knight - Chapter 29 (Patreon)

Nick raced around the battlefield like a specter, his blade flowing from one enemy to the next. Each swing sliced through limbs, slaying or disarming the gorilla and monkey warriors with every attack.

He was competing with the Lothar, who’s large axe also cleaved the monsters in two. While Lothar’s attacks were fierce and powerful, Nick’s were speedy and precise. Nick danced around the creatures as they attacked him, his counters removing heads from shoulders or cutting the hand holding the weapon, before piercing them through their hearts.

Essence was building within his blade, and Nick’s soul thrummed with power as essence was brought into him, both from the blade and from his soul servants.

Jasper’s ball and chain crashed into skulls and sent monkeys flying, the former wolfling alpha’s attacks devastating. It took a time for it to build up the speed and power behind its attacks, as well as choose its targets, but it was aiding with keeping enemies off of ally’s flanks.

Jerome was displaying the skill of a seasoned warrior. He fought next to Kaya, protecting her sides and attacking vitals with his axe. His shield slammed into monkeys, sending them flying, and being a general nuisance for attacking apes.

Kaya was a storm of controlled fury, as she spun and danced with her axes. Fully a furred red panda, she appeared to finally have a confidence that she wouldn’t attack her allies. Nick would watch her, but he could feel through their Soul Pact that she was still in control–ready to send a burst of Cure Affliction.

Her axes cut deeply into the unarmored flesh of the monkeys and apes, her aggressively targeting the space between armored sections. Only the monster’s vitals were really covered, having a leather chest piece, bracers and knee or shin guards. There were spaces between the armor coverings where Kaya could target, which she did with devastating efficiency.

Much like Nick. His soul blade slashed as he dashed and spun, cleaving through their limbs before he pierced through their vitals, their weapons and shields dropping before he killed them.

With the enemies slowed by his Aura, the orcs expertly bested their foes even more rapidly. It took longer for Nick’s frost aura to build up its effect, but the effect on dozens of ape and monkey warriors was significant.

His wolflings were emboldened, the many little warriors even more easily finding success in their attacks. Their essence moved with fervor, as they hunted the monkeys and weakened the gorilla warriors further.

Killing the enemies more rapidly appeared to cause them to spawn faster from the portal. A steady stream of the apes and monkeys continued to spawn, their charge continuing as they replaced their fallen allies.

Nick’s soul blade continued to charge from the essence of the monsters he struck, forming flames of essence that burned deeply into the creature and weakening them.

The orc women had actually shifted to corpse removal duty, the number of ape and monkey corpses getting in the way of battle. Eirwen also helped, triggering Loot on several of the monsters and dragging away their armor and weapons.

New, larger apes spawned from the portal, Lothar calling out that a new enemy appeared. It looked like the encounter had moved on to the next stage, where stronger warriors appeared. The monkeys kept spawning, but did not seem to have changed at all.

Essence filled Nick’s cores, as he did his best to cultivate during combat. Fighting alongside his wolfling tribe and his new honorable allies, Nick felt truly alive. His blood sang as he flowed through battle, his conviction in facing this challenge with honor empowering his steps.

There was a detail that Nick noticed when Lothar and Agatha laid out the rules for the Bishop’s Oath, that would also provide a path to victory. One that he wouldn’t walk, no matter what.

It was simple–he, a third party, could just slay one of the hostages. Had it been before he met Eirwen, he may have considered it. Probably not one of the children, but one of the caretakers, he could have justified it in his mind easily enough.

What was one person when traded for hundreds? Most likely, he could have even gotten a volunteer. He could have taken the path of least resistance.

But now, that option was dismissed as quickly from his mind as it had appeared. He was now walking the Hero’s Path, and relying on such actions was cowardly and dishonorable. His body essence stirred, becoming more movable within his body, as his conviction and righteousness down to his very soul wrapped around his essence.

After seeing how his Judgement ability moved around the essence, he had created a new mental image for both drawing in essence, but also using it. The ability had moved similarly to the whirlpool, but as he had looked and felt with his soul sense closely, he had noticed something different.

The essence wasn’t shaped like simple streams, it was shaped like chains or ropes. Woven chains of essence grabbed other essence, including the enemy’s sins as the core spun, the almost-sphere of essence that made up his core like a ball of chains.

Those sins would be ground down for power by his conviction, empowering his very soul.

Each Pact an Archaen made was like another chain that bound them. But they were also the bonds with followers, allies, and wives that empowered them, and the power that they used to Judge and destroy evil.

As the stronger gorillas arrived, he created chains made of his essence wrapped around his arms and legs. His body was empowered, his legs and arms brimming with strength.

His blade became white, and he swung down in an overhead swing, easily cleaving through a large gorilla, weapon and armor alike as it attempted to block.

Nick’s blade was ready for its Essence Burst, but he used his new control trait to instead expend the essence little by little on singular attacks. One at a time, he dashed and cut through the larger ape warriors, the monsters not even able to respond fast enough to block his oncoming onslaught.

He cut ahead of the battle lines, pushing further toward the portal. To his side, he saw Lothar fighting, pushing hard with his strength and skill to match Nick’s efforts.

“Not bad at all, young one! That blade of yours and your aura is something else. But how long can you keep it up?”

“Isn’t it nap time for you, old man? I’m just getting warmed up.”

Lothar laughed. “You’ve done it now, young one. Let’s see if your blade can keep up with your mouth.”

The orc’s swings became even more ferocious, his body essence filling his muscles with power.

Nick almost felt like a mountain was marching beside him, the power of Lothar’s essence feeling completely different from what he was used to. The man had a much more powerful reserve, and Nick watched as he used skills one after the other.

Of course, Nick didn’t know what they were called, but the man’s skills appeared simple–Nick would not be surprised if they were called things like Slash, or Cleave. There was a power in simplicity, the man performing a telegraphed blow.

But that telegraphed blow was full of power and speed, the momentum of the orc’s large body behind the strong blows. Should one be unable to dodge, even blocking would cut deeply. Red energy swirled around Lothar’s axe as he used it, and this sliced deeply into the gorillas, creating cuts and sprays of blood even when they managed to block his physical axe with their weapon.

Having reduced the number of enemies to spawning fewer larger ones, Nick’s aura had a larger impact. The gorillas roared to increase their strength with some kind of essence ability, but the ice kept climbing their limbs and slowing them.

The ape warriors leapt through the air at Nick with their weapons, showing extreme mobility that belied their size and strength, but he was constantly in motion. Nick was a whirling dervish with his white blade, cutting through gorillas as he spun, twisted, and dashed.

Each attack on the smaller monkey warriors was used to charge his blade, Nick finding it necessary to cut nearly ten times with his soul blade for each time he used a charged swing.

This was similar to what he found in the fourth floor boss fight, where he used the smaller dogs to charge up his blade for his attack against the boss.

He wanted to try using his own essence to create the white blade, but he realized that what he was doing was fundamentally different. A true expert of a weapon skill, at least for non-Archaen types, would be able to mold body essence and mana together, and then send it both into their body and weapon. It was like an enhancement spell of its own.

What Nick was doing was sending Body Essence and his Soul Essence, and the blade was combining it with the mana and essence stored within to create the white blade.

It took a few minutes of Nick dashing around and slaying many gorilla warriors, but eventually, he did start flagging. The chains of essence that increased his strength and speed more significantly had a cost, and that could not be replenished as rapidly from drawing the essence into his blade, or just cultivating it on the go.

He was actually about to warn Lothar he needed to back off, when the portal brightened.

Lothar cleaved the head off a gorilla’s shoulders, as he looked at the portal. “Strange, I wonder if it’s because you and your people are here? A boss is spawning. We already faced a boss today. Let’s move back to the battle lines.”

Nick and Lothar finished off the few remaining warriors, as the portal seemed to build up. They backed off to the battle lines, which had moved forward, ready for what came out of it.

As Nick reached the battle lines, Eirwen used Reinvigorate on him with a smile–touching him to transfer her body essence and mana, before also using it on Kaya.

She looked exhausted after using it, but her smile was beaming. “You two are doing really amazing out there! Our new friends are really impressed.”

A larger ape stepped out, having much thicker, metallic armor, though it was similar in that it still only covered its vitals. It held no weapon, but its fists appeared to be encased in metal. It immediately leapt at the battle lines, but they were ready.

Several orcs had joined their shields together, a red aura encompassing them. The gorilla’s large fist smacked into their guard, and while the barrier was pushed back slightly, it held. Spears and other polearms lashed out in response, gouging out small chunks of flesh.

The monster was then hit with several hexes coming from the shamans. It roared in response, but Nick could see that its speed had decreased. The warriors all worked against it, the swings of their weapons causing it to stumble.

Nick’s aura had washed over the creature, but the effect was muted–almost like when there were twenty or more enemies in his radius.

The orcs surrounded the boss, inhibiting its movements with their shields and polearms. Nick and Kaya joined on one flank, and Agatha and Lothar formed up on the other side.

Lothar roared, his power building up even further than before, and Agatha shouted out a spell, which empowered Lothar even further. He dashed in, cleaving into the elite gorilla’s arm. It tried to counter, but his orc warriors blocked its fist once more.

Its attention drawn to Lothar’s side, the many orcs used their weapon skills to pierce deeply into its other side, Nick and Kaya doing their best to lay into the monster as well.

The boss was worked down, Nick eventually cleaving deeply with his white blade, and Lothar doing the same from the other side with a powerful slash of his axe. The giant gorilla was dismantled mostly safely as it was wounded repeatedly. It attempted to lash out at the trained warriors, but they were ready with their shields as it slowed from the debuffs and Nick’s aura.

The creature died, and all the orcs froze as the portal closed. A wave of exhaustion hit them all, as they stumbled to the ground.

Lothar shouted, “Blood and honor! The Trial has given us respite for our success. Gather the essence, and the spoils of battle, then you can rest. We must face the enemy again in the afternoon.”

The warriors did as ordered, helping each other up to gather the essence near the boss. But Eirwen went through, and triggered the loot ability on the boss.

The essence was sent out in a wave, entering all the participants in the plaza. Nick received a substantial amount, and he saw something that surprised him.

The armor of the boss shrunk, as the essence gathered around it. It appeared the boss’s armor became a viable loot for someone to use.

Agatha and Lothar approached Nick, Kaya having already reverted to a beastfolk as she sat down to gather the essence.

Lothar chuckled. “Not bad at all, Nicholas. Please, let Agatha see that blade of yours a little more closely.”

Nick drew his blade once more, Agatha already having an energy around her eyes as she watched him.

She watched as his blade came into existence, her eyes narrowing as she inspected it. She reached for the blade, but seemed to understand that touching it would be a bad idea and stopped.

“Very peculiar. I have never seen anything like it, even in my birth tribe. I can already tell, this is worthless in another’s hands. This is truly your power, your soul contained within your blade. Despite being magical, this is compatible with our ways.”

Lothar barked a laugh. “Good! This is good. We can work with this. Your talent, honor, and strength matches that of someone walking the Hero’s Path. But I think even you can see that in a battle with honor on the line, the fight will be far too close or rely on luck, for comfort. Your blade is something else, but it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to have it charged for our fight. What do you say, Nicholas? Would you take me to be your honor bound mentor?”

Nick could see that. The orc chieftain was powerful, and his strength and skill with his axe were definitely at the expert level. Lothar had, compared to Nick, an endless pool of body essence, and a huge output for sending out the cutting energy.

While Nick’s blade could compete with this in cutting power, it required a charge–something the orc chieftain noticed. He needed to master the ability to send his own body essence combined with mana into his blade, in order to win.

Nick raised his brow. “You’d really help me beat you? You started this tribe away from your birth one, to raise honorable warriors in a tribe under you. If we duel so you become my follower, you’d be under me. How’s that any different? Isn’t that the end of your dream?”

Lothar chuckled. “I would! It is different, and we will talk about that later. They have many of my people, and that includes my own daughter. I am willing to stand down, if it means saving the future of the tribe that I built, even if I’m not at the head of it. As long as it is honorable. My people and I would both choose death over that.”

Nick nodded. “Alright. In that case, I would like you to take me as your disciple.”

“Good! We will talk. I have some things to prepare. We have some time off, so we will need to move quickly. You should absorb the essence from this battle.”

Kaya asked, “How do you know when things are going to spawn?”

“Ah, well, we don’t–normally. But a few times, it has offered us breaks over the last few days. Usually at the end of the day, or after a boss. I was shocked when the last one didn’t provide one. It must have been preparing for this one, a test of endurance.”

[Wave Defeated!]

[Rest Period Earned: Next wave in 6 hours.]

Eirwen had gone around triggering her loot ability, the many men and women thanking her for her efforts.

Over a hundred people participated in the battle in total, but more than a hundred of the gorillas had been slain, and over a thousand monkeys. Eirwen was unable to split the essence on them all, but they had actually several people of their own able to use the ability.

Apparently, it was not a common skill among the orcs. The ordeal supporter was an uncommon class, and while others could have the skill, it seemed hers worked a bit better.

Lothar left them to absorb the essence, heading back to his hut. Agatha did sit down to absorb the essence a distance away, but called to speak with Eirwen.

Nick worked the essence into him, shocked at the amount. Were the humans also obtaining something similar on their end? As he understood it, these people could continue to cultivate essence within the Trial. They had been limited down to the level of the floor, but they were also rising back up in level over time, sort-of regaining their levels.

It had put Nick on a somewhat even playing field with their potential enemies, but he would have to work hard to keep it that way. He thought there might be a limit to what level they could obtain from the essence of these beasts, but the boss’s essence was especially dense. With enough bosses slain, reaching the eighth level was entirely possible.

The many women, even the crafters as opposed to just those involved in the fighting, joined in obtaining the precious essence. This was an opportunity to gain more essence than usual, the Trial granting this special situation.

Nick smiled, as his wolflings gathered around him. He learned from the orcs that the wolflings had stuffed themselves just before the battle, and they were quick to join the battle lines when the fighting began. They gained a significant amount of essence, and he then used Jasper to make sure they spent time absorbing it.

Kaya laughed. “I don’t think they can cultivate essence the same way. They are monsters, they just absorb the essence over time into their bodies. Eating it is likely the best for them.”

Kaya was gathering the essence with a smile on her face, and Nick realized even without the mentoring, this was an excellent opportunity. It gave new experience fighting with allies near them, rather than the odd, varied Tests of the Ordeal.

Nick was excited to see what the orc was going to come up with, for their training. He would have to beat the older orc in a duel, but Nick would finally learn from a veteran of Orion.