If the damage had been to Erickson Steel no one would care But if there were other population centers involved
Alright letÆs retreat now and run damage control Crane said while his mind spun at one thousand miles a minute As long as we can get on scene and mop things up quickly we can control the news and spin it w we want
LindeÆs response was bitter and childish But if we kill the monsters before they can threaten Erickson Steel
Crane punched Linde full in the face before he could finish that sentence Although sowing more discord between them might hurt him in the long run Crane couldnÆt deny how much he enjoyed the feeling of dominance he felt afterward as he looked down at the blank faced stare that Linde gave him
That is business Crane said bluntly A business I donÆt want your grubby fingers touching This is for the good of the Zone LetÆs get going
Oblivious the staggering group of thirty people ran past arriving before Erickson Steel
They didnÆt have breaks not really on their trek West to return to Erickson Steel But even so there were exercises that took significantly less energy than the others Which ended up being the equivalent of rest Jogging was actually the most restive of those but there was also time given to the aspirants of the Order Ducis for self improvement
During one of those self training exercises Vye had mentioned to one of the other applicants she had become close to Garrett that she wasnÆt sure how their training could grow worse form this current level Despite her Level she hadnÆt had her Stamina above one third full the entire week Let alone sleep their meals were so truncated that Vye felt less like a civilized person and more like a beast hurriedly devouring carrion before an even greater predator arrived and stole the lionÆs share of the spoils for itself
During the week they had spent sweeping sinuously North and South on a meandering path back to Erickson Steel the Order Ducis has antagonized and exterminated every Raid Boss they encountered while carrying weights and sprinkling in random duelsÆ between the different members of the training camp
At one point at AjaxÆs barked order Vye had to hurry out from a protracted siege of a warren filled with monstrous badgers to participate in a duel immediately Afterward he had urged her to return because everyone had saved her spot in the attack Æ
And truthfully Vye had hurried back Because she had been forced not to advance in an attack but simply hold her ground without killing any monsters while some of her companions had dutifully marched out to duel It was hell And then it was a relief when the person dueling returned and the group could finally resume killing the monsters God only knew where Naffur had come up with such a hellish series of rules to exacerbate the difficulty of fighting even further
GarrettÆs expression darkened while he listened to VyeÆs flippant joke Heh make sure you donÆt say that too loudly Believe me they have ways
When Vye raised her eyebrows Garrett shook his head sorrowfully I was there as the first three were inducted into the Order Ducis Afterward Randidly insisted on personally training Naffur Now I know that Naffur isnÆt the most outwardly intimidating but youÆve seen his obvious Stamina by now But a half an hour later Naffur had practically every bone in his body broken
Perhaps even worse the rumor was that the Ghosthound had learned NaffurÆs Skills during the training session and used them to beat him bloody It was mental and physical suppression But Naffur later admitted that he had gained almost a hundred Skill Levels from just that one session with Randidly Ghosthound So it will get worse but we will grow faster
When I met Randidly He honestly seemed rather normal Vye said lightly
Garrett sighed Of course because you were just a person to him But to those in the Order Ducis IÆve heard he tortured someone who slacked too much on their training just by looking at them and unleashing his killing intent
Blinking Vye tried to rationalize the view of Randidly as this average barefoot man with him as a torturer He tortured someone
Well I think thatÆs a rumor Garrett had said But just remember itÆs gonna get worse when the Ghosthound starts handling our training
Now after a week of training that had been plenty exhausting for Vye she was standing outside of the gates of Erickson Steel Which was perhaps the most exhausting activity she had done this entire time
Mental and physical suppression Vye thought bitterly But she refused to give up She would find the Path Randidly used to become powerful even if it killed her
Chapter 1009
They came at night without any fanfare to speak of
Tatiana stood at the Southern wall of the Erickson Steel compound and looked down over the sparse trees and grassland below her A small wind came lightly touching TatianaÆs hair and causing the grass below to sway The only noise in the night was the soft rustle of grass Then they arrived
The first group came silently which such abruptness that Tatiana had to blink These Riders were different than the ones she had seen in the past Their steeds were tall and long legged possesses none of the brutal horns or preter natural agility that she remembered They simply looked like lumpy horses calmly grazing the grass below the compoundÆs walls
These initial Riders kept their arms folded and weapons sheathed as they studied her almost a dozen of them in all Then seemingly satisfied they turned and regarded the dark grassland behind them
Next came the rumbling It built slowly while Tatiana waited alone on top of the wall and the dozen outriders milled about below her It was a hum then a buzz the a rumble and then a roar
Out of that rumbling darkness next skittered a strange variant of the Riders with additional legs and a ridiculous amount of mobility They hopped and scrambled up toward Erickson SteelÆs walls They didnÆt move in formation but came in some sort of strange circling wave As Tatiana looked down over them her eyes were drawn into their beguiling shifts and woven movements of their current like formation
Then as the roar had reached a volume that it had begun to resonate in TatianaÆs chest the final column careened out of the darkness These Riders were perched atop hulking monsters of muscle moving rigidly in tight groups and columns Despite their obvious power they managed to control their momentum to an incredible degree
As they came closer their wide hoves smashing the various undergrowth in the sparsely vegetated landscape Tatiana had a brief moment of fear where she believed they would simply smash into Erickson SteelÆs walls The reinforced concrete would crack and disintegrate and then the Riders would continue charging leaving a wide swathe of destruction through the core facilities of Erickson Steel
They would not stop They were more freight train than an actual train bound together in a tight knot of weight and momentum
But of course they slowed before that could happen falling into an easy canter up to the gate The rumbling drifted off to silence leaving the night empty except for rustling grass
TatianaÆs mouth quirked upward Was this for dramatic effect
Nah Randidly leaned against the wall next to her having simply appeared there a few moments ago as though he had been standing there for hours Tatiana privately believed he was relying on pure Agility rather than stealth but it was hard to tell with Randidly Mostly this was to see how tight control I can keep on them if I make my orders explicit Honestly it went better than expected One less reason to worry about what comes next
Tatiana opened her mouth to reply but then she paused Narrowing her eyes she carefully examined the Randidly next to her Same short black hair same lithe musculature same piercing emerald eyes but standing beside him Tatiana felt like this was not the Randidly that she had once known The air felt different You how long have you been away