System Break - Chapter 122: Battle of Attrition

It was my turn to howl, and I screamed with rage as I dug my hand into his chest. Tactics and strategy were thrown out the window. Pure rage took over every thought and emotion. I didn’t notice Gisael scale down to Reyas’ side as I vented upon the massive ape beastman.

He swung his right arm at me with his mighty strength behind it. His core was large compared to an adventurer, but not as large as mine. His techniques were superior – I’d witnessed several body techniques, stoneskin and an advanced qi strike. He was naturally strong, and his sheer bulk was a defence in itself.

Qi flowed up the wood in my fingers to the tips and I pushed through his flesh. I was crazed and rather than worry about his arm I swung my head into his.

He was twice as big as me, but I was taller. And my mask revelled in the qi that flowed into it. With every ounce of strength I could muster which was fuelled by the rage of seeing Reyas in such a state I smashed my head into his.

It was crude. It was vicious. It was effective.

His ape face caved beneath the blow and his skull cracked open like a walnut under a hammer. His massive arm dropped limply. And before he could recover my fingers dug through his rib cage, reached for his heart, and pulled it from his chest while it was still beating.

I held it before his bleeding eyes as he sunk to his knees. It beat once and I squeezed it until the flesh and blood oozed from my hand onto the rocky ground. His lifeless form fell backwards, and I threw what was left in my hand away and over the cliff.

My anger drained from me as my eyes turned to Reyas. With two steps I was by her side searching for something to mend with my qi. Gisael had her trusty herb pouch and tended her when the shaman call from inside.

“Bring her in here,” the raspy voice said.

Gisael looked at me and when her eyes widened I knew something was wrong.

Demon bird screamed in my mind. He was hurt and he tumbled down the ravine. I had blocked him out for a few moments and in those moments he’d been attacked.

I turned and saw him pull himself up onto the ledge. The wolf was not dead.

I stood and said, “Take her inside.” Gisael slipped a vial into my pants pocket and began to drag Reyas inside the cave.

The wolf surveyed the scene calmly. His fur consisted of a few hues of grey from light to dark and it was blemished with clumps of blood. But he was not bleeding. His wounds had congealed into scabs. They way he stood made me think nothing was broken.

His alien eyes took in the sight of his dead companion and he let out a howl. It sounded miserable – he mourned his friend’s passing.

His eyes flared with blue light and you didn’t need qi sight to see the sparks streaking laterally from each eye. He brought up his claws in front and lightning jumped from one to another like he was playing with it.

I stood side on and crouched slightly. While he was strutting I popped a qi-core into my mouth and sucked it dry. I let my qi flow throughout my body and concentrate along my wooden endoskeleton.

He stalked to the left in silence. Our eyes met but no words passed between us. We were both warriors determined to kill the other. There was no bragging, no sledging, just calculation and preparation for what was about to happen.

He moved to my left so the ravine was no longer at his back and I allowed it. Throwing him off didn’t kill the son of a bitch anyway and it suited me as well.

His foot was in the air as he took another step and I moved. With a qi burst from the soles of my feet I pushed off and moved as fast as I could. It was blindingly fast. I was a blur.

But no matter how fast I was, I wasn’t faster than lightning. He reacted without thinking. Lightning leapt from his claw like a whip and it struck me in the chest.

It seared a hole through my skin and into my chest. It shocked the rest of my body. It was probably like being electrocuted. The only thing which saved me was the wooden endoskeleton attached to my rib cage. The living wood resisted and was supported by my qi.

I could see the qi between his hands, but I would need a magnifying glass and a lot more time to work out the technique. What it was doing was creating the spark; creating the lightning which he then wielded.

I was stopped in my tracks, but I grit my teeth and forced another step. Walking while being electrocuted is not only painful – it’s fucking difficult. But if I didn’t kill this bastard Reyas would surely die and probably Gisael as well. They meant a lot more to me than the stupid land core.

I took another step and began to qi-stitch the hole in my chest. I may as well and although the lightning burned it faster than I could heal I slowed his progress of drilling a hole through my body.

He snarled. “Die,” he said. I could see his own core leaking qi rapidly. He needed me to die before he ran dry.

“Fuck you,” I said and took another step.

He raised his hands and the lightning intensified. I screamed as two bolts drilled into me. For some reason I pictured Gisael. She was fierce, beautiful and I loved everything about her. I remembered her lithe curves and the way she bared her teeth at me. I wanted to hold her close and bang her brains out at the same time.

Then I remembered the vial. Pain arced through my chest and my heart protested. I couldn’t take another step. I fell to my knees and reached into my pocket.

The wolf snarled viciously. “Die alfar scum,” he said. His mouth was open showing all his sharp teeth as he snarled, and lightning streamed from him to me.

I flicked the small glass vial with my qi. Like the protector from Dawnharbour, like a Svartalfar arrow or my spear – I guided it with my qi. It flew up and into his mouth. I crushed the glass before releasing my qi.

The Shaman’s poison burst into a green cloud and a slimy liquid slid down his throat. The lightening stopped immediately, and I fell to my hands in relief.

As I coughed up blood onto the rocky surface the wolf cried in pain as his insides disintegrated. The acid like poison infected his qi and sunk to his core. It was a despicable concoction which destroyed the wolf’s ability to use his qi before killing him.

I felt guilty using it. I hated using it. But it was necessary, and I would do anything to protect my own. Me, I could probably come back. I would live. We should have run. It wasn’t logical, but when was life ever logical.

The stupid wolf had no one to blame but himself. He should have kept to his own land and left the mountains alone.

He dropped where he stood. He was dead in less than a minute. I lay on my back looking up at the dark purple sky. The sun had disappeared behind those purple clouds and soon the horizon.

I breathed. My heart began to beat regularly, and I mended my chest with qi-stitching technique.

As soon as I had the strength I got to my hands and knees. “Reyas,” I said but no one could hear me. I crawled towards the shaman’s cave and prayed she was still alive.