Depthless Hunger

Chapter 67: The Corinin Mercenaries

Kai nearly spoke too late: the crystal spear was already plummeting and he was too far away to intercept it. But Zae Zin Nim heard him and instantly snapped into action, leaping and meeting it with a palm strike. The crystal spun into the distance, shedding a rainbow of shards as it broke apart.

And, on that beautiful note, everything went to hell.

The Krysali mercenary drew back in shock, but the knight didn't waste a heartbeat. He was already overhead, swinging his sword to cut Zae Zin Nim in half. Kai leapt at him on instinct, tackling him off the boat with such force that they embedded themselves in the muddy shore on the opposite side of the river.

A second later a gloved fist hit Kai's stomach and he fell back. The knight didn't even get up, he launched himself from his prone position into a horizontal spin that brought his greatsword overhead with lethal force. Kai only just managed to leap backward and out of range.

"Move, move!" Razzagah recovered first among all the guards and civilians, then began urging them all on. They pushed the barge back into the main current and began retreating at full speed... woefully slowly compared to the elite mercenaries intending to sink them.

"You're in a bit over your head, aren't you boy?" The knight swung his sword up onto his shoulder and frowned at him from within his helm. "If you're from too far into the badlands to have spiritual sight, I should tell you that my name is Barroguk Clanless. I was hunting monsters when you were nursing from your momma's tits, and if you fight me you'll lose enough teeth that you'll be back to drinking milk."

Kai could see the man's soul easily enough, now that he had a moment to breathe, and his spiritual sight didn't help.

Name: Barroguk Clanless

Total Power: 137

Knight Class: 31 (41)

Physique Level: E-0 (80)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

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The man had a total power of 137, including a highly developed Knight Class and an intimidating E-0 Physique. It contributed the majority of his overall strength, but none of his other aspects were weak. Worst of all, Barroguk was an opponent who could fight directly against Kai's strengths.

He glanced toward the barge in the hope that it would offer an alternative strategy. Zae Zin Nim was releasing bolts of qi to keep her opponent at bay, but they deflected off the Krysali woman's armor at strange angles. Even as he watched, the woman gestured at her diamond platform and it wrapped around her back, forming armor that covered her chest and arched up into a crown of brilliant crystals.

Name: ???

Total Power: 151

Crystal Cultivation: 5125 (104)

Physique Level: F-4 (38)

Soul Level: 3 (9)

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Her essence looked, if anything, even worse. Slightly lower Physique and Soul Levels, but she had developed thousands of crystals that granted her over 100 Power all on their own. It was one of the single most dangerous pieces of a soul he'd seen, barring the Frontier elite, and she was going up against a weakened Zae Zin Nim.

"Run now or suffer." Barroguk was already stomping forward, sword swinging in a blow that could split an entire company in half.

Presuming he would have a way to follow up such a telegraphed blow, Kai leapt backward to the edge of the river. His opponent was on him almost instantly, shifting his swing into a thrust. Kai barely managed to dodge to the side and struck the side of the sword with all the strength he could muster.

It swung to the side, but that was all. The sword started to pull back for a second swing, so Kai quickly grasped it with his gauntlet.

Barroguk kicked him in the chest a moment later and Kai almost vomited as the pain shot through his stomach. Without letting go of the sword, he managed to land a blow that made his opponent's helmet ring. If he could keep his opponent's sword bound, trade blows up close...

The sword twisted violently and pain shot through his hand. Kai stared in horror as he realized that his Irunian gauntlet had been shredded and his hand was covered in blood.

An instant later, he was slammed onto his back by an enormous armored boot. Barroguk kicked him in the side, sending him tumbling along the river. Kai tried to struggle to his knees and made it just in time to see the next kick coming toward his face.

Without thinking, he swiped his bloodied hand through the air. It should have accomplished nothing, yet Kai felt mana leave his body. An invisible force struck Barroguk across the center of his body and knocked him backwards into the river, where he sank like a stone.

Kai staggered to his feet, unsure what had just happened. His hand was mangled, tatters of Irunian steel still hanging around it. Somehow he had released a force he had never used before, and he knew it must have emerged from the monstrous side of his soul, but there was no time to think about that.

Even during their brief fight, the barge had traveled a surprising distance down the river. As he sprinted after them, Kai could only watch as Zae Zin Nim desperately defended the barge from crystalline shards thrown by her opponent. Though it was remarkable that she was still holding her own, it was obvious that she could barely keep up her defense. Her body hadn't failed yet, but it was only a matter of time.

And all Kai could do was run after them. He tried to swipe with his hand like he'd done before and it accomplished nothing. Whatever he'd tapped into, it was closed to him now and every attempt only hurt his hand further.

Zae Zin Nim held on until he got closer, then briefly met his gaze. He wasn't sure what she meant, but he knew that this was his only chance. Kai judged the perfect moment and then leapt at the Krysali mercenary's back with all his strength.

She twisted aside in midair with unusual agility, but not fast enough. Kai slammed his remaining gauntlet into the crystal crown that hovered over her head and was gratified to feel it shatter.

He hit the top of the barge awkwardly the next moment and struggled to roll to his feet through the pain all through his torso. Thankfully the Krysali woman was wavering wildly in the air, clutching at floating shards around her head, so she couldn't retaliate. Zae Zin Nim gave him a brief nod of satisfaction and began drawing up new strength for a larger qi attack.

A gauntlet closed around the side of the barge. Barroguk pulled himself up onto the barge in a single vaulting motion, shedding water in all directions.

Three large scratches had appeared across the front of his armor, leaving lines marring his breastplate and helm. If only they had been enough. The first two had failed to penetrate his armor and the third across his face had only drawn a line of blood.

"What the hell was that, boy?" Barroguk hefted his sword into a striking position, but he hesitated as he began examining Kai with his spiritual sight.

Only then did Kai realize that his false Class had been burned away in the combat. There was nothing he could do, either, with the greatsword in position to strike him. Yet if he did nothing, his opponent would see what he was and the entire city might be closed to him.

An explosion of qi saved him. Zae Zin Nim spun in the air and unleashed a flurry of qi bolts. They failed to penetrate Barroguk's armor, but they launched him off the barge and far upriver.

Just as Kai was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he realized that she hadn't been done. Many of the bolts that had apparently missed redirected themselves, flying up toward the Krysali mercenary. She dodged or deflected many of them, but several slammed into the back of her crystal armor. Several large pieces broke away and she plummeted.

Kai turned toward his ally, shocked at her display of power. He had known she was strong, but he had underestimated just how far she could go when pressed.

"I think..." Zae Zin Nim's next words were choked off as she coughed up dark blood. Black bile began pouring from her eyes, mouth, and ears. Her eyes looked at him for only a brief moment before they rolled back in her head and she collapsed off the side of the barge.

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