Both groups used their stealth people first to quietly take out as many perimeter guards as possible. Mia, whose armor was Occlusion, could conceal and reveal things. “Dark Fog Rise.” A darkness wrapped around her, allowing her to move like a shadow among the trees. She was one with her katana, slicing the air without a sound.
“Rage of the Wild.” Trace called upon the power of the Armor of Gaea. He tapped the ground with his staff, causing vines of magical strength to grow up beneath the feet of several watchmen. By the time they looked down to see what was going on, the vines were already encircling their necks, choking off any words of alarm they were about to shout.
Zoe tugged at the power of the Armor of Tundra with her mind. Zane felt her and pushed some energy her way. He was the primary holder of the armor, but because of the close bond the two twins shared, Zoe was always able to access the armor’s power if Zane didn’t fight her. She could then form ice weapons with the energy she siphoned.
Zoe pierced the ground with an ice spear. The ground froze in a straight line towards several sentries. With magical speed the ice leaped up from the ground to freeze them solid, looks of surprise stuck on their faces. Through their connection, she could feel Zane doing the same thing on the other side of the village.
Zane smiled at the thought that he and Zoe had had the same idea. He had also frozen some of the lizard men in the same way. He turned to see Astarte moving fluidly and inhumanly fast through the trees, taking out H’ris without a sound. She’d had plenty of practice, being an ex-goddess of war and being thousands of years old. What surprised him was how silently Gilgamesh moved. He was a hardcore, in-your-face kind of fighter from everything Zane had seen. It was strange to see him throw his massive battle-axes without a word, felling guards with precision and stealth.
“We’re ready when you are. Have Astarte give the signal.”
“Why Astarte?”
“You’ll see. She
has a way with a battle cry.”
“Zoe says they’re ready and wants you to give the attack signal.”
Astarte smirked. She raised her sword, an indestructible weapon made by her sky-god father, and charged into the village. Her long, high-pitched, trilling scream nearly gave Zane a heart attack. Astarte glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and smiled innocently.
Zane shook his head in irritation, trying to get the ringing out of his ears. Astarte would do anything to get on his nerves. She was starting to grow on him a little, though. Besides the fact that it felt like someone had stuck an ice pick in his head, he actually thought it was kind of funny. Especially when he saw the look on the faces of the lizard men.
Astarte swung her sword, effortlessly lopping off the head of one of the H’ris. She spun just in time to catch the blade hand of a warrior who was raising it to strike. She crushed his hand with her vise-like grip even as she kicked another H’ris attacking from the side. She shouted in some strange sibilant tongue. <You H’ris are pathetic! You don’t even know how to make decent armor and you’re sluggish fighters. I cannot believe your backwards race still roams the earth!>
<You mock us, filthy human female? Destroy as many of us as you please, but we will persevere and multiply. One dies and two will take his place. We always defeat our enemies one way or another with the Deadly One’s blessing. And if we die, then Great S’rpes will reward us in the afterlife!>
Astarte burst out laughing and switched back to English. “S’rpes? You still worship that fool? You truly are a stupid species to pray to a dead god. I killed him almost 2,000 years ago. But do not worry. His death was not wasted—his skin made several fine pairs of boots.”
“Lying vermin!” Several H’ris charged her at once. Astarte laughed as she nimbly avoided them, back-flipping and spinning with inhuman speed and agility.
Gilgamesh rarely used his “Sonic Shout” attack because he preferred to fight hands-on. Where was the glory in obliterating your opponent with ease? He slammed the handle of one of his axes into a lizard man’s face; then swung with the other axe to decapitate him. He turned to sink his axe into the chest of another, pushing the corpse off his blade with a kick. Besides, Gilgamesh believed that some opponents did not deserve a quick death. Monsters like the H’ris should be made to look closely into the face of death as it takes them, bleeding and moaning.
Trace stood calmly in the middle of a group of H’ris who were slowly advancing on him. He held out his staff horizontally. With but a thought, Trace made the ends grow in a quick burst, knocking down a couple of warriors. He spun the staff in a figure-eight motion to crack a few of them in the head. Using it as a vaulting pole, Trace then jumped over the heads of the H’ris, shrunk the pole and took out a few of the lizard men before they even knew he was now behind them. As they turned to attack, he tapped the ground. “RAGE OF THE WILD!” The ground beneath the feet of the H’ris rumbled as plants burst from the soil, mutating into thick, steel-strong vines. They clawed at the plants, but more grew up to replace each one they managed to slice. The H’ris weren’t the only ones who knew how to overwhelm an opponent with sheer numbers. In a matter of moments the warriors were held fast, being crushed by the boa-constrictor-like foliage.
Sai thrust with his trident, hooking two descending swords. With a twist he flicked the weapons out of their hands. He skewered one and backhanded the other with his gauntlet-covered fist. One of the H’ris struck out with a clawed hand, taking him by surprise. The creature actually managed to make gashes in his armor before its magical repairing properties kicked in. He needed to take these guys out a little faster. He held his trident out in front of himself. “SUPER WAVE SMASHER!” Water formed around him, spinning and gathering energy. Pointing his trident, he directed the water at the group of warriors before him. With a powerful crashing wave, the H’ris were swept away, gasping for breath.
Sage kicked the warrior in front of him and then shifted his kick to the side. He swung to the left with his huge nodatchi, slicing into another lizard man, then another. The more he took out, the more attacked. Sage ducked just in time to avoid a H’ris flicking venom at him with a long forked tongue. He’d had enough. “THUNDER BOLT CUT!” A massive bolt of energy shot from his sword, incinerating the H’ris in its path. He turned to blast more behind him. Finally, he was making headway against these monsters!
Kento smashed his fist into a warrior, dropping like a stone. He turned to bash the head of another with his three-sectioned staff. With his weapon firmly in both hands, he rushed several H’ris, taking them by surprise. They were knocked to the ground by the force of his charge. It was time to finish these guys off! Kento held his staff low to the ground. “IRON ROCK CRUSHER!” The ground ripped up all around the H’ris, rocks flying up with explosive fury. Warriors were crushed by debris as the earth shook and burst.
Rowen noticed that Zane was employing similar tactics to his own. Since Rowen’s weapon was a bow and arrow, fighting in closed spaces was harder for him. He had to keep moving, keep firing. But with his “Arrow Shock Wave” he could take out several with each arrow. Fortunately, his armor magically produced another arrow each time he shot one off. Rowen let loose another one, flattening the H’ris warriors in his path with the massive energy wave.
Zane’s weapon was also a projectile type with an endless supply. He could attack in closed quarters with his spears, but they worked better for distance fighting. He and his sister had been working on creating other weapons out of magically strong ice, but he still felt more comfortable with spears. A spear appeared in each hand. He threw them both at the same time, skewering two H’ris. Zane barely erected an ice shield in time to stop a sword coming towards him. He smacked the warrior in the head with his shield, knocking him unconscious. He looked over to see Zoe block a blow with her ice sabre. The H’ris thought she was vulnerable because she wore no armor so they attempted to grab her. They were surprised to find she had covered herself with a hard, but flexible coat of ice. As they melted it with their touch, she would simply build up another layer to take its place.
“FLARE UP NOW!” Ryo rained fire down on the H’ris, spinning and kicking among the flames. He blocked and sliced, keeping up a swiftness that the slower lizard people could not match. His katanas were like a part of him, moving gracefully and skillfully. But no matter how fluidly he moved, he knew he had nothing on Mia. He glanced in her direction for a second before turning his attention back to his own battle. He worried about Mia only because he cared so much for her—but he knew that he didn’t need to. She wasn’t the strongest fighter or even the most experienced, but she was probably the most cunning and efficient. Her armor gave her the ability to know everything about her surroundings and adjust accordingly. No one could sneak up on her. No one could strike an unexpected blow against her. She always knew instinctively what her opponents were about to do and make the correct movements to block or avoid them with the minimum of effort required. He finished off the group that had attacked him, turning just in time to see her sidestep a H’ris warrior. Without even looking, Mia threw three shurikens to her right, imbedding them in the face of another warrior.
Anubis kept close to Jack. This was Jack’s first big battle as a Sentinel while wearing his armor. Anubis wanted to be with him to keep him balanced in case the armor started to unduly influence him, making him psychotic. But Anubis had his own armor problems. His Armor of Chaos filled him with intoxicatingly wild power that made him want let loose his inhibitions. He had to stay in control to help Jack if he needed it. “CHAOS FURY!” Anubis stood in place, twirling his scythe in front of him. A vortex swiftly formed—a vortex of darkness and chaos. He aimed the energy at a group of charging lizard men, flinching as the power of a small black hole caught the warriors. They were pulled and stretched until they blew apart. Anubis made ready to strike out at more with his scythe when a bolt of lightning flew right past his head. “Jack! Watch what you are doing!”
“Chill out, Anubis. It missed you, didn’t it?”
“Apparently you still need to learn more focus and control.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Other than a slightly belligerent attitude, Jack really did seem to be doing okay. He threw his hammer at a group of warriors, watching with a smirk as it ricocheted from one to another and then returned to his hand. With an evil laugh, Jack held the hammer over his head and directed lightning bolts to incinerate a few more. After it was all over, he sank to the ground, shuddering as if trying to shake off the darkness the armor always sent coursing through his soul. Anubis put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Jack looked up at him with a thankful expression in his eyes. Anubis looked over to see the others were also finishing up their battles. They all started heading for the hut.
Zane noticed that Astarte was standing next to him, looking as fresh as she had before the fight. He knew he was going to regret it, but he had to ask. “So were you just making up that stuff about S’rpes and turning him into boots?”
Astarte snorted in amusement. “Of course.” She paused for a moment. “I would not sully my feet with such rotten quality snakeskin. I fed him to my dog, naturally.”
Zane shook his head. “Naturally.” Ask a stupid question.