Chapter 129: Striking back

The Rootsite was quiet after the battle. Too quiet. Clayton stood on the wall, eyes fixed on the dark horizon. The swarm was gone for now, but the smell of burned chitin still hung in the air. Piles of blackened Behemorph bodies steamed in the lanes. Korrath had sent his first real push against them... and failed. Clayton knew this wouldn’t be the last time. Korrath wanted him angry, he wanted him to strike back too soon. But Clayton wasn’t going to run headlong into a trap. If he struck, it would be on his own terms. "Status?" Clayton asked. Torren stepped up beside him, Pyreaxe resting on his shoulder. "No breaches. Wells still running strong. Minimal damage". Kaelin appeared from the shadows, wiping blood off her blades. "I checked the north funnels. All clear. No scouts left behind". "Good," Clayton said. "Then we move before they come again". Veyra leaned on her new bow. "You’re thinking of a hit and run, right?" "Yes," Clayton smiled crookedly. "We can’t fight them on our doorstep every time. We have to hurt them out there, take away pieces of their network until the machine starts to limp". Kaelin smirked faintly. "Sounds like sabotage". Clayton’s eyes narrowed. "Exactly". Sometime later, they gathered in the council chamber. Clayton placed a map of the table, a rough outline of the Forgotten Atlanta Expanse with scattered markers. "These are Korrath’s forward nests," he said, pointing to three dots near the western ridge. "Small garrisons. Mostly storage and relay points. Destroy one, and the others will shift resources to cover it". "Destroy two, and the supply line thins". Torren studied the map. "You’re not suggesting we hit all three in one night, right?" "Not yet," Clayton said. "We start with the weakest. We sent a fast strike team, no more than four of us. Once we’re in, we destroy the spire, then get out before their reinforcements arrive". Kaelin tapped one of the dots. "This one. It’s the most isolated. If we cut through the old drainage tunnels, we can reach it unseen". "Good," Clayton said. "Kaelin, you lead the approach. Torren, you’re our hammer. Veyra, you cover our retreat". "What about me?" Soren asked from the side. Clayton looked at him. "You stay here with Lorn. Hold the Rootsite. If they attack while we’re gone, you’re in command". Sorren nodded firmly. "Understood". ... Night fell. And with it, the mission began. The team moved quickly through the overgrown streets, their path lit only by faint Genesis glows from Clayton’s roots. The air was damp and heavy, the smell of wet stone and moss thick around them. Kaelin led the way, slipping through gaps in the ruined walls with silent ease. Torren followed with his Pyreaxe slung across his back, its head wrapped to hide the glow. Veyra moved like a shadow, her bow ready. Clayton brought up the rear, his roots snaking quietly under the cracked pavement. They reached the mouth of an old drainage tunnel. There, rusted grates lay twisted and half buried in soil. "This is it," Kaelin whispered. The tunnels were narrow and slick with moisture. Water dripped in the dark, each sound echoing down the stone passages. Clayton’s Hive-Sight flickered in the corners of his vision, showing rats, centipedes, and other small scavenger bugs that skittered along the walls. The route bent and dipped, carrying them closer to the enemy spire. They could feel it now; a low hum in the air, like a heartbeat buried in the earth. After some time, they emerged from the tunnel behind a collapsed building. Ahead, the spire rose from the ruins like a shard of black glass, its surface crawling with faint red light. Two patrolling constructs guarded the base; lean, four-legged things with blade-like limbs. Kaelin crouched low. "I’ll take the one on the left. Veyra, take the other". Before Clayton could finish speaking, Kaelin was already moving. He darted forward, his blade slicing cleanly through the construct’s neck in one swift motion. It fell without a sound. WHOOSH! Veyra’s arrow whistled through the air, striking the second construct in the joint. It staggered, and a second arrow finished it. Clayton stepped forward. "Clear. Let’s move". They approached the spire. Up close, it pulsed with a strange, living rhythm. It wasn’t just metal, it was plantmetal in fused with Korrath’s influence. Roots of black alloy dug deep into the ground, feeding it power. "How do we kill it?" Torren asked. Clayton placed his hand on the spire. The Heartseed in his chest burned. "We overload it". Clayton acted immediately. His roots plunged into the ground, wrapping around the spire’s buried base. He pushed Genesis Embers into the structure, forcing them into its circuits until sparks began to dance along its surface. Torren stepped in, Pyreaxe blazing. "On three?" "On three," Clayton said. "One. Two..." The ground trembled as a deeper hum filled the air. "They know we’re here," Kaelin warned. "We have minutes, maybe less". "Three!" Clayton shouted. Torren’s axe cleaved into the spire, molten fire spilling from the wound. Clayton poured more energy into the roots, forcing them deeper, twisting and crushing the core. The spire’s red light flared bright, then shattered into darkness. Then, the hum stopped. The spire sagged, splitting down the middle before collapsing in a heap of smoking debris. Mission complete. Then... "Move!" Kaelin barked. The mission was complete. Now was the time to escape. They sprinted back toward the tunnels as distant mechanical roars echoed through the ruins. Shapes moved in the shadows as more constructs emerged, rushing to the dead spire. Veyra turned mid-spin, loosing arrow after arrow. Each one exploded in a burst of green fire, slowing the pursuit. Clayton sent his roots snaking behind them, tripping the fastest of the enemy. Torren followed by swinging his axe in a wide arc, cutting down a construct that leapt from a wall. They dove into the tunnel just as the first wave of enemies reached the spire’s ruins. The darkness swallowed them, the sound of pursuit fading behind. They emerged hours later into the safety of the Rootsite, having escaped the influence of Korrath’s domain and territory. Soren was waiting at the gate, Emberblade still sheathed. "Any trouble?" Clayton asked. "Nothing we couldn’t handle," Soren replied with a slight grin. Kaelin dropped onto a bench, breathing hard. "That’s one spire down". Clayton looked toward the horizon. "And two more to go". Torren grinned faintly. "Korrath will feel that one". "Oh, he’ll feel it," Clayton said quietly. "And he’ll answer". Veyra’s gaze hardened. "Then we hit him again before he finds his balance. We don’t want to let him get comfortable". Clayton nodded. "You’re right, we will. But we pick the time". The night around them was calm, but the air felt heavier somehow, almost like the city itself was holding its breath. Korrath’s machine had lost another piece. And Clayton knew the Verdant Lord’s real fight was only beginning. ... That night, the core of the Rootsite stayed awake, keeping watch. Having struck so deep inside Korrath’s territory and destroyed something so important to his dominion, no matter how patient and insidiously cunning the older Verdant Lord was, Clayton would not be surprised if he retaliated immediately out of rage and frustration. That was why he instructed all the best warriors of his domain to stay awake that night and keep watch for an attack. Yes, some could go to sleep while others kept watch. But that way, depending on how much Korrath invested into his comeback for losing one of his important spires, a warning may not be enough to wake the Rootsite fast enough to repel and ambush or a night raid. This was why despite the mental and physical exhaustion that it would take on him and his subordinates, Clayton went with the idea nonetheless. That night, tension filled the air. Every Awakened warrior guarding every corner of the Rootsite was at high alert. They expected an ambush, and so they didn’t just guard, they actively sought for signs of an attack. For the first few hours of the night, nothing happened. By midnight though, one of the scouts due to his unique Aspect managed to spot the glare of a telescope. Immediately, the Rootsite entered war mode. Clayton personally led a group of elite Awakened to the distant skyscraper where the scout noticed the glare. Despite their speed, they found no one when they arrived. But Clayton found evidence nonetheless. He found a silver pendant. In his/her hurry to escape after being discovered, the sneaky intruder dropped her pendant, proving that the scout didn’t raise a false alarm. After that, Clayton didn’t need to stay more, the warriors of his Rootsite shed all signs of sleep as they actively kept watch. For the rest of the midnight period, nothing significant happened; no intruders, no Verdant Apostates, till a Null Crown Behemorph stumbled upon the Rootsite by exactly 3:00pm. Clayton led an intense battle against the dangerous Luminous Seed rank Null Crown. After an hour of battle, they killed the Behemorph. They fought a few more Behemorphs that strayed into the vicinity, and that was all. The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Clayton and his domain survived the night.