Chapter 55—Blind

Chapter 55: 55—Blind The world seemed to be constantly exploding around Lucen. It was deafening. Too many shapes flew across his eyes, he could barely make out his own hand. His mana sense flared around him. He avoided using [Targeting] to not focus too much on one beast, but even with [Reading] he wasn’t sure what to attack. The ground roared as a great inferno rose some distance from them, and Lucen saw clearly for a moment. His heart dropped. Kon. He released his held breath, flung himself at a Bull wolf that had pinned Kon down. His spear glowed with starlight amidst the dizzying colors of war—the furious red flares and magical explosions. His exhaled breath wrapped around his spear, and then he let go of it. The spear turned to a brilliant flash of light and raced across the field before biting into the wolf’s side. The air popped as the spear shot forward; Lucen was kicked back a little by its force. But it only sunk halfway into the hide of the red wolf. The momentum threw the wolf off Kon, however. Lucen flexed his hand and the spear returned, tearing itself from the wolf in a gory display. He grabbed the spear with his left and pulled Kon up with his right. He grimaced at his horribly mauled arm. It bent in the wrong direction, fingers were missing, and skin barely held onto the bone in some places. Kon could barely put words together. "I can’t fight... ever again... my dad, what will I tell my—" Something slammed into them, flinging them into the air like pebbles. Lucen landed well despite his head pounding. "Kon!" he yelled, looking around for the cheerful boy. His mana sense caught the Bull wolf’s charge just in time. He jumped out of the way as the hulking red beast tore through space like a comet. Lucen faced the wolf, but searched for allies with his mana sense. It was twice as tall as him on all fours, powerful muscles rippled under its fur, and it had a pair of two grey horns long as swords. He wished with all his heart that this was a Fledgling wolf, but its size—and the fact that it was still alive after his spear tore into it—told of a Stalker. Hot blood poured from the wolf’s side onto the blackened earth. Its eyes shone with barely contained hunger, and unrestrained malice. It dashed toward him in the blink of an eye. Lucen shocked both himself and the wolf and dashed forward too. The wolf’s front paws sunk in a [Sinking Sand] trap that he left behind, and Lucen raised his spear to pierce its skull. His scrambled mind didn’t remember enough. The wolf raised its head to meet the spear. There was a thundering clang, and vibrations ran up Lucen’s arm like he had just struck metal. The wolf ripped its claws free of the trap and surged toward Lucen. He dashed back, leaving a trap behind, and the wolf sunk into it. Then he used [Breath of Veil] to hide himself as he circled it, and enchanted his spear with [Will’s Breath]. Its skull was far too hard to pierce. He needed to stab it from the side, aiming for its heart like Warren had taught them. But the wolf turned around, sending a claw at Lucen’s chest. He blocked it, but the blow sent him reeling. The Bull wolf wasn’t as fast or flexible as the Shapeless wolf. But its power and its defense negated an advantage he normally had. His mind whirred like an overworked machine. Its speed was low enough that he could keep away, but there were other fights happening around them. [Sinking Sand], [Bone Spear], and [Will’s Breath] would be his main tools. He reached into his pocket to get some bone shards, and his mana sense picked out his spots. The beast pounced, its body a red blur, and Lucen led it on a wild chase across the burnt field. The wolf swiped, snapped, and charged, shattering the ground with each move. Lucen did dismiss his spear for agility; he instead used it to escape attacks, partially activating the silver spear to increase his speed and move mid-air. Soon his body was aching, and he was using a lot of mana. The wolf had stopped bleeding, and was even getting sharper and more ferocious as the fight went on. He read that Mid-tier wolves may have the [Rage] ability. But he could barely see past ten meters, let alone remember his studies. The flares in the air lit up the entire battlefield in a mix of dizzying colors. They were meant to disorient the wolves, but Lucen felt they were working more on him than the enemy. Once again the beast sank into a sinkhole, and Lucen dashed to its side, no longer bothering to use [Breath of Veil]. He charged in, spear raised. The beast once again tried to pull its hand from the sinkhole and claw at him. But then Lucen activated the bone shards he left to seep into the sinkhole. Three bone spears shot up from the ground, piercing the beast’s body in different locations. It howled, but it was stuck. Perfect. Lucen had already enchanted the spear with three breaths just in case. He used the stored energy of [Surging Flames]. The ground beneath his feet caved in as he surged forward. His spear glowed brightly, and the air around it cried like a jet engine. He thrust the spear through the wolf’s neck. It drilled through skin and smashed into its iron bones. He fully activated the spear’s ability and it pushed forward harder. With an ear-splitting crack, the spear shot from the other side of the wolf’s neck, soared through the air like a shooting star, and back into Lucen’s waiting hand. The wolf fell with a heavy thud, and the spear thrummed happily in his hands. Lucen smiled, heart pounding like a drum. But he didn’t relax. His mana stores were now dangerously low, and they could be surrounded at any moment. He let his mana sense spread to see the battlefield, and swung his head around to find Kon or anyone else from his team. He found them. Helie, Elle, and Hither were assisting Thomas to fight another Stalker wolf. Helie’s metal whip cut across the wolf’s eyes, Elle shielded a Knight from a Fledgling wolf, and Hither looked unsure what to do—his fireball could hit an ally in this tight space. Lucen rushed toward Elle first. He hid his approach with [Breath of Veil]. The Fledgling wolf didn’t sense him like its higher-ranked brother. He jumped high into the air, spear raised over him. Elle’s distraught face brightened up as he appeared over the wolf. He enhanced his descent speed with the spear, but he only had time to enchant it with one breath. So he briefly used [Targeting], and slammed the spear through its spine. The ground beneath them cracked as the wolf was slammed down. Lucen’s eyes narrowed as his spear pierced through the bone a bit better. "It’s still strong as hell," Lucen muttered, climbing off the paralyzed wolf. Elle ran toward him, and he nearly impaled her. She threw her arms around his neck, and her brown, fluffy hair got into his mouth. "Oh, thank god, you’re still alive!" she cried. "Thomas ordered me to stay here, I wanted to help—" "Did you guys see Kon?" he interrupted, trying to pull away from his murderous thoughts. "He landed right in front of us, one of the Knights carried him to the backline," Elle sputtered, tears pouring. "But his body was so beaten up from the charge, he didn’t enhance himself, and the fall—" "Hey, hey, we’re still in danger," he said calmly. Kon would be okay. He is okay. A couple meters from them, a wolf was shaking a man’s head between its jaws like a chew toy. The way his arms and legs ragdolled, and the wet crack of the carnage, made him tighten his jaw. "Let’s kill some wolves, then we can worry about Kon and Thomas."