B3 Chapter 325: Crossing, pt. 4

They tore across the ground, racing through a jungle painted in miniature. Each tree still towered up a hundred-fifty longstrides or more, but they were clustered tightly — only a bare hundred strides between each trunk.

The undergrowth was similarly stunted. Closely clustered and battling for dominance, the young trees drowned the jungle floor in gloom — only the hardy grasses and knee-high wide leafed brush that grew near the trunks of the trees’ fully grown parents thrived.

Kaius grinned as he looked at their surroundings. It was perfect. Old Thousand Eyes might still have room to maneuver, but with its wingspan being a full third of the widest gaps between trees, it would be far less able to build up the speed it used so effectively.

Nor would it be able to flee from retaliation — the canopy was low enough that the bastard would be in range of his Stormlash, let alone Kenva and Ianmus’s reach!

“We make our stand here!” Kaius called as they approached a particularly dense patch of trees — every stride counted. It was only a third of the way into the copse of young growth, but Kaius wanted to steer clear of the fallen trunk at its centre. This way they would have room to manoeuvre without being boxed in by a natural wall.

They spread out — each sticking close to a tree they could use as cover, while still being close enough to assist if need be. Porkchop paired up with Ianmus — his brother had no appreciable ranged abilities of his own, and even with Starlit Alacrity their mage was by far the most vulnerable of their party.

He and Kenva at least had the mobility to dodge.

“When do you think it will come?” Ianmus called across the gap between trunks.

“Soon, I hope — just be ready.”

Old Thousand Eyes had healed by the time they’d entered this patch of the jungle. It had been obvious from the way its flight had returned to its prior speed and agility. The recovery had been quick, but Kaius thought it was most likely a simple result of its high Vitality rather than a Skill derived boost.

At least, he hoped it was. Vitality would only increase the speed of its recovery — it would do nothing for the efficiency or strength of its Health like his own Lesser Regeneration.

Still, the Champion maintained its distance — regenerating its pools, no doubt. Something that wouldn’t take it long. Kaius had seen the fragility of the beast for himself. Low Constitution meant a small pool — its sizable regeneration would top it off quickly.

It had been nearly a quarter hour since it had finished its recovery, and as devastating as their assault had been, he doubted they would have drained it dry. It might have already filled its pools, and was cutting its way between the trunks to find them.

Kaius breathed out slowly, clenching and unclenching his fists. It felt unnatural to have his blade sheathed in the middle of a fight, but until they grounded the Champion it was better that he was able to cast with each hand.

A shrill scream of rage tore straight through the canopy, coming from back the way they had come. Old Thousand Eyes was back on the hunt.

It burst into view a moment later, banking and turning as it wove through the trees. It was still fast, but far slower than the blitzing strafing runs it had been able to pull off out in the open — their hopes had been realised.

Mana glowed within the Champion’s chest — it screamed, releasing a cutting arc of force that raced straight for Kenva.

She dove behind her tree, a wave of splinters pelting her back. Kaius watched as she drew an arrow and fired as Old Thousand Eyes flew past her position.

It sank home, shattering in the beast’s flank. Snarling furiously, the Champion banked — forced to slow itself as it tried to put distance between itself and Kenva. Kaius unleashed his own assault, two Nails sailing from his hands as it drew close to his position.

One missed, the other cutting a hole through one of its back wings.

Kaius cared little for the fumble — he felt like screaming in joy! Two successful attacks, without any of them being the worse for wear, it was working!

His expectations were tempered as a rapid boil of magical potency was unleashed as a hazy beam from the Champion’s maw — sonic force clipping his shoulder. It sunk straight through his armour, blinding heat wracking his body as his muscles were pulped.

Kaius clenched his jaw as Rapid Adaptation helped him to push through the pain, throwing himself back into cover.

Pulling away, Old Thousand Eyes returned a few minutes later, throwing skill after skill at them. They punished each one, festering the beast with a dozen agonising wounds. It was still slow, and for every injury they were dealt one of their own.

To Kaius’s chagrin, the Champion categorically refused to dive at them — clearly unwilling to risk a repeat of their earlier ambush. It stayed far from him in particular, out of range of a Lash that would have been sure to bring it down in the tight confines.

The pace of the fight weighed on Kaius like a stone. They’d managed to avoid a one sided beatdown, but they were still playing to the beast’s strengths — it still had far too much space and time to recover.

It wasn’t fresh — its own aggression ensured that much, but progress was slow. That was dangerous, it left far too much space for things to go wrong.

“Kaius! Ianmus has an idea!”

….

“Are you sure, mageling? You’ll be putting yourself in grave danger — we’re barely avoiding the Champion’s attacks as it is. Channelling something like that will take everything you have.”

Ianmus nodded resolutely, tightening his grip on his staff. He must — even now that they were punishing the Champion, they needed something decisive.

He knew the beast could sense mana — was agile enough that it used the crescendo of his channelled magic to anticipate and dodge his spells. A simple overcharged beam wouldn’t suffice, he’d have to push the limits of his shaping to make something the beast couldn’t dodge. The Champion had proven too damned adept at reading his mana flows — dodging right before he cast with startling frequency.

Not to mention he would need to somehow survive the beast’s ire when it noticed the level of energy he was wielding.

A shrill scream echoed through the jungle as Old Thousand Eyes swooped past them. Porkchop shoved him flat into the trunk of the tree they hid behind, shielding him from two arcing blades of force it had thrown their way.

“I must, Porkchop — we’ll only be worn down if I do not.”

Porkchop grumbled, stepping back to free him, “Fine. I’ll do my best to keep you breathing, but be careful — you need to at least keep enough awareness to run, alright?”

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He could manage that — it would slow his progress, but it wasn’t like he’d be able to maintain such a complicated working with a hole in his chest anyway.

“We’re ready. I’ve told Kaius and Kenva — they’re going to try to keep the heat off of us.”

Nodding to his companion, Ianmus downed the strongest mana potion he had — enough to refill his pool completely.

**Ding! You have imbibed a Tonic (Rare, Tier I): Mana-drenched Wine**

It was a bit of a waste — he only had the one of such magnitude, and it could have restored another five-hundred if he’d been efficient. The spell he planned really would take everything he had, though.