Chapter 119: Apostate Raid

Dawn was just breaking over Atlanta when Territorial Sentience screamed in Clayton’s mind, Hive-Sight mapping shadowy movements. Dozens of hostile signatures moved fast from the north. Unlike Ironshades, these weren’t scouts. Their Genesis signatures burned like twisted suns, warped and metallic. Clayton was awake as usual, and he reacted first. "Torren!" His voice carried like a whip. Within moments, Torren, Veyra, Kaelin, Soren, and Lorn gathered at the Rootsite’s command ridge. Below, civilians huddled in growing panic, sensing danger long before they saw it. Torren scanned the horizon, Pyreaxe igniting. "That’s not a raid," he said grimly, eyes dimming. "That’s an army". Veyra nocked an arrow, her Mythprint bow glowing faintly. "Apostates. Elite ones. You can feel their aura". Her brows furrowed. "All these belong to Korrath too?" Kaelin already melted into shadow, returning seconds later with confirmation. "At least fifteen, moving like a hunting pack. Chains, spines, molten claws. Stronger than the last one". Clayton’s face hardened. "Korrath finally lost patience". There was no hesitation, no wasted movements, no detour. Immediately after the approach, the Apostate raid started! They came screaming like metallic wraiths, tearing through ruined highways with mad brutality, biomechanical limbs pounding against cracked concrete. Fifteen Apostates, each grotesquely unique; spine-tentacles thrashing, molten blades for arms, segmented jaws spewing green flame. At their head marched a behemoth of fused steel and vine, standing twice as tall as Clayton’s humanoid form. It’s voice was a grinding roar. "VERDANT LORD OF ASHEN ROOTS!" "...KORRATH COMMANDS YOUR EXILE!" Clayton’s Heartseed Core pulsed violently at the sight of the behemoth. Beside him, his companions braced for war. "Protect the civilians," Clayton barked. "This time... we finish it here". "We don’t let them pass through!" "We don’t let them breach!" The Apostates hit like a tidal wave. BOOM! The first clash shook the ground. Thorn Hounds and Emberwings from the Aphid Network launched in droves, colliding mid-air with spiked drones that followed and were commanded by the Apostates. Individually, they were all anomalies among Awakened, ridiculously powerful and yet, somehow, Korrath managed to rope them into his army. That was what increased their danger level and lethality past the level of normal Awakened warriors, or even normal Apostates. They didn’t just work together, advancing like an unstoppable hurricane, they also had the perfect support in drones that fought alongside them. The Rootsite’s response? BAM! Roots erupted from beneath, lashing and impaling attackers, but Apostates tore through them with molten blades. Torren’s Pyreaxe carved a glowing arc, severing a chain-wielding Apostate in a shower of sparks. Flames roared along his vines, pushing enemies back. Veyra stood atop a biomass tower, raining explosive arrows that detonated in emerald bursts, shredding Apostates trying to flank from above. Kaelin blinked in and out of shadow, severing tendons and arteries with surgical precision before vanishing again. Soren’s Emberblade met Apostate claws in molten clashes, sparks lighting his stoic face as he fought like a burning phantom. Lorn shielded civilians with walls of woven vines, her Sapflow Aspect also supporting the combatants by knitting wounds faster than Apostate blades could tear down. But even with his companions’ fury, the Apostates pressed harder still. Civilians screamed as one broke through the inner wall, molten claws reaching for the helpless. Clayton moved like a storm... harrowing, unstoppable, absolutely devastating. The earth howled as roots erupted in a spiraling vortex, pulling attackers into a living maelstrom. His humanoid form blurred, Regalia shifting between spear and whip as he tore through enemies. A few weeks ago, weeks after his breakthrough to the Luminous Seed rank, he finally met all the other requirements for his Artifact’s complete upgrade. And with its upgrade, Regalia unlocked a new form, the whip form. And now, Clayton wreaked havoc with it. Yet it wasn’t enough. Fifteen Apostates weren’t mere fodder; they coordinated, adapting to his tactics, suppressing his biomass manipulation with corrupt Nexus filaments. "Verdant Lord..." the lead Apostate hissed, towering over Clayton. "...your garden will BURN!" The creature’s molten claws descended. Clayton’s eyes snapped open, glowing brighter than ever before. And that was when it happened... The Heartroot tree behind the Rootsite suddenly detonated with viridian light, roots surging like tidal waves. Then... DING! ~----~ [Genesis Threshold Breached!] [New Aspect Ability Unlocked: Verdant Ascendancy] >Active: Temporarily merge humanoid and Verdant Lord forms into a singular entity of pure biomass sovereignty. >Effects: Territory control doubled, biomass regeneration amplified 300%, Aphid Network reaches full synch, granting perfect control of all subordinate Behemorphs. >Duration: 7 minutes. >Cooldown: 24 hours. ~----~ Almost a month ago, during the decisive battle against Korrath’s Avatar to secure the future of his Rootsite, Clayton had a stroke of ephiphany, briefly deepening his understanding of his Aspect. As a result, he temporarily unlocked a new ability then, Hybridization, the ability that enabled him to merge his Verdant Lord form with his humanoid form to create the verdant titan that took out Korrath’s Avatar. That temporary ability then after weeks of settling in, laying at the depths of his mind, finally found full expression, manifesting as a new Aspect ability. Verdant Ascendancy was the permanent version of Hybridization. BZZZ! Clayton roared, his humanoid body fusing with the surge of roots and vines until he towered like an emerald titan. Thorned tendrils lashed outward like living whips, hurling Apostates into collapsing ruins. His Aphid Network blazed to life; two hundred Behemorphs joining the fray in perfect unison. Thornwewave Sentinels slammed into Apostates like living siege engines, Flameveil Stalkers erupted from behind burrows to drag enemies into biomass pits, Emberwings swarmed in emerald firestorms. Clayton stared, and then he erupted... "MY DOMAIN!" His voice boomed like thunder, shaking the ruins. "YOU SACRILEGEOUS BASTARDS DARE TOUCH IT AGAIN? YOU DARE SEND THIS MUCH BACK?!" "...prepare to die!" His voice echoed with ruthless finality, fueled by boundless killing intent. The Apostates faltered, their nexus threads unraveling under the overwhelming biomass authority. But they didn’t stop. And that was their mistake, because against the Rootsite’s coordinated defense that had been optimized over and over through the weeks, they stood no chance, especially with an enigma like Clayton at the helm. And then... One by one, the Apostates were crushed; some impaled on massive root spears, others burned alive by Torren’s vines, shredded by Veyra’s Death Dealer volleys, or carved apart by Kaelin and Soren’s synchronized strikes. It was a methodical breakdown, a chronological assassination, looping from to the next with ruthless precision and inevitability. They stood no chance. They never stood a chance. The towering lead Apostate tried to retreat, molten claws carving a desperate path to escape. But Clayton’s fused titan-form slammed a colossal spear through his chest, pinning him to the earth. "You tell Korrath," Clayton growled, emerald flames flickering across his body, "that this is the last time he sends his filth here. Next time, I’m bringing the storm to him". The human now nothing but a hollow version of its past self, now just a creature screeched as biomass devoured its form, silencing it forever. Yes, Clayton sent a message. But he didn’t care if it was delivered or not. If Korrath wanted to learn the contents of the message that he sent, that bastard was free to visit hell for all he cared. And right at that moment. DING! The system interface flared before his eyes. ~----~ [Apostate Elite Raid Repelled!] [Genesis Embers Gained...] [Verdant Domain Expanded...] [Population: Safe] ~----~ As the fusion faded, Clayton dropped to one knee, exhausted but unbroken. Just like the first time that he fused his 2 forms through the power of his Aspect, after the crazy surge of power, the aftermath was deep exhaustion. His companions gathered close, their faces marked with soot, blood, determination, but the quiet gleam of triumph. Around them, the civilians wept with relief, clinging to one another beneath the glowing Heartroot tree. For every attack force that Korrath sent, they couldn’t help the worry gnawing at them, the primal fear threatening to bloom into something dangerous. Today, they were scared more than ever before due to the nature of the force that the Verdant Lord of New Chicago sent. And yet, they survived again. That changed something. Subtly, their view of this Rootsite, of this city began changing. Where there was despair before, there was now hope and belief. The air was thick with victory, but also tension. Torren planted his Pyreaxe in the ground, breathing heavily. "That... wasn’t just a raid," he said grimly. "That was Korrath testing how far you’d go to defend this place". Clayton stood slowly, his gaze turning toward the horizon where New Chicago lay hidden beyond the wastelands. "He knows now," he said quietly. "He knows I won’t abandon this Rootsite". Veyra stepped closer, eyes burning with fierce loyalty, and maybe something more? "So what happens next?" She asked. Clayton’s fists clenched. "Next," he said, voice like thunder rolling across the ruins, "we stop waiting for him to send dogs". He turned toward the gathered enclave, hundreds of faces looking up at their Verdant Lord. The Heartseed Core inside him pulsed like a war drum. "Next, we prepare," Clayton declared. "We grow stronger. And when the time comes... we march into New Chicago not as prey, not for revenge, but to end Korrath’s reign forever". The Rootsite erupted in cheers, roots pulsing with vibrant light as Clayton’s vow carved itself into the soil. And far away, in the depths of his metallic throne, Korrath felt the tremor of that promise...