Echoes of War, Ch 34: Spirit Hunt (Patreon)

The Silver Army gathered in front of Sam on the deck of the Ice Drake as the ship floated in the air above the central plains. The silver lightning bolts and crowns on the nagas’ scales gleamed fiercely in the sunlight as they stood in shining ranks. They’d defended their lord’s honor on this world and were proud of themselves.

A series of notifications was waiting for him as he looked over the army. The nagas were basking in the moment, so he took a second to glance at them. The World Core’s voice echoed in his mind.

You have gained a new Trait: King Killer.

It’s rare to kill a king, especially one at the peak of power. Those who do it are either feared or loved. Either way, your presence will never go unnoticed in a crowd. +100 Charisma. You have learned the Skill: Intimidation at the Elite tier.

You have earned a new Trait: King Maker.

Those who kill a king are rare, but those who make one single-handedly are rarer still. Your words are magnetic. Those who hear you cannot help but listen. +100 Charisma. As you already have the Skill: Diplomacy, it gains an additional tier.

Your Diplomacy skill has gained two tiers and is now Elite.

Your Leadership skill has gained a tier and is now Elite.

He saw the result and nodded silently. It was no surprise that killing the king had an effect. The two traits were heavier on attributes than most of the ones he’d received from the World Core in the past, and the skills that came with them matched.

He didn’t expect much from the World Core in terms of power any longer, but these were a nice gain. There was a pause as if the World Core were considering what to do and then it continued.

For granting the World Tree to Aster Fall, you have gained the Ability: Hand of Blessing (Special).

Your hand brings a fruitful harvest. You can channel your mana and aura into plants to make them bear fruit more quickly. The speed is based on the size of the fruit, the season, and the amount of energy put into it. This ability is usually held by High Priests or those who worship nature.

Sam studied the description thoughtfully as he felt the energy of the traits building in the air. It felt like the World Core was running out of things to give him as rewards. It wasn’t really true, since there was a vast number of abilities and traits recorded in the artifact, but it was definitely harder for the World Core to find things that both suited his actions and his abilities as his strength increased.

Every new Trait had to be balanced with what he already had. They were all an interwoven tapestry like a spell form. Only in a new Evolution was there room for significant change, where the base structure could be altered. Apparently, this ability fit, perhaps because of his Blessing of Silver Stars that boosted his allies and followers. It was actually a very useful ability, especially for a leader during a famine, so he was happy to get it even if he didn’t need to eat any longer. It might be needed in the Ice Sylphs’ valley or at the relic.

The new traits and the ability swirled around him like a mystical cloud as lines of energy fused into his spirit. His Charisma increased by 200, which gave him 100 to every other attribute as well. When the notifications faded away, he turned his attention back to the nagas who were waiting. Their eyes gleamed like emerald blades as they watched him.

“You’ve done well,” Sam said as he gave them a nod of approval. The king’s army and the nobles who supported his policies had been dealt with. Those who hadn’t been involved were terrified and unlikely to cause trouble. The nagas hissed with delight as he continued to speak. “Now, we have enemies to hunt. There are a hundred spirits who escaped from the gate and threaten this world.”

He raised his hands and an enchantment covered the deck. Silver runes and purple moonlight entwined together, creating hundreds of tracking spells that hovered in front of the nagas.

“Spread out in teams of four and hunt down the ones that fled. These marks will lead the way. I will be hunting them as well, so I’ll give you a challenge. Let me see if you catch them first or I do.”

The nagas let out a competitive hiss, staring at him eagerly as they reached out to touch the tracking marks. As soon as they touched the runes, the symbols fixed themselves to their hands. The idea of competing against their lord was exciting for them, especially in a hunt. They’d been bored before he called on them, but it shouldn’t be a problem for a while.

“Find the spirits and whoever they’ve possessed,” Sam ordered. “If possible, capture the host without killing them. Bind them inside your strongest shields and call to me. I’ll come and try to remove the spirit. If it’s not possible to capture them, then kill them. Don’t allow the spirit to escape again.”

He raised his hand and a hundred silver spheres flew outward, each of them for an assault golem. A similar wave of tracking marks formed in the air and then sank into the golems’ bodies. The purple moonlight in the marks was from Amaris, which should give them some increased sensitivity to the passion essence and the restraining curse that was on each of the spirits.

“Each team will take a golem along,” he said as he pointed at the spheres. “They cannot be possessed by the spirits. Use them as you see fit. When all the spirits have been destroyed, return to the Moonlight Relic.”

“We hear and obey the Silver Lord!” The nagas’ answer roared out across the deck as they quickly divided into teams. Each team took a golem and then leapt over the edge of the ship, unwilling to wait any longer. Their eagerness was on full display.

The fight against the royal guards had only been an appetizer for them and their blood was still boiling. They wanted to find more enemies to defeat in the name of their Oathlord. In moments, all of the nagas disappeared into the distance, including Sleset and his team.

Sam nodded as he watched them go. What they wanted most in the world was to fight beside him, and this sort of competition was the second best. They were born hunters. With the armor he’d crafted for them and its defensive enchantments, they should be safe enough from possession.

No other force he knew of in the world had an army of four hundred Third Evolution and high Second Evolution troops with the ability to carry out this mission. The church might have the numbers if they gathered people from multiple kingdoms, but they still wouldn’t have equipment that could compete or the nagas’ bloodline enhancements.

On top of that, the nagas were born hunters. Their instincts would drive them to find and kill the spirits more efficiently than almost anyone else, and they would enjoy every moment of it. It would leave the relic without some of its defenders, but the relic’s innate defenses were strong on their own. He’d deal with the Flaws there himself if they got out of hand.

Dealing with the king had taken less than a day and the spirits should have found hosts by now, which would keep them from moving around too quickly. Hopefully, the nagas would catch them before they did too much damage. As for him, he would be hunting them as well, but it would be in his own way.

He stepped off the Ice Drake into the air. A gesture made the ship shrink into a tiny version that was less than a foot long, which he stuck into his cloak. Then he looked up at Amaris. The purple moon was hovering on the edge of the horizon. It made him frown as he studied it.

Amaris had left the spirits alone after striking the gate.

That wasn’t the first time he’d seen traces of Outsiders on Aster Fall that the moons ignored. Their wards were powerful, but they seemed to only sense the energy at a certain concentration, or perhaps a certain purity. The wards could be weakening over time, but given what he’d seen on Silvas, it was unlikely. They had a massive amount of power behind them. They were probably just saving it for critical attacks if the three demons showed up.

At least the moon’s aura was still useful against them. He just had to use it himself.

He sent his senses out across the area as he searched for the traces of the spirits. The essence in them was a clear beacon in his mind even across hundreds of miles. They’d spread out all over the kingdom already, mostly as individuals. Some were closing in on the northern border and the mountains there, but the rest seemed to have stopped, which meant they’d probably found someone to possess. It was the right time.

They weren’t able to hide on his world. He was going to track them down and tear the essence out of them. With a flash of silver light, he disappeared from the area.

*****

It took him half a day to track down the first spirit, which was hiding in a farming village. Once he located it, he didn’t fully leave the Void. He moved like a ghost as he walked through the buildings, concealing his presence so as not to set it off. Astral Binding wrapped the spirit in layers of silver light as he dragged it out of the cook it was possessing.

It had only been there for a few hours, but from the things gathered around the kitchen, it was clear that it planned some murder spree in the town, starting with those closest to the cook. He tried not to look too closely as he reached out through the Void and gripped it.

The spirit thrashed as it tried to fight back, but a moment later, it was incinerated in a field of astral flame and Sam slapped a healing scroll on the cook before he disappeared. He couldn’t tell how much of a restraining force Amaris’s energy had on it, but hopefully it had limited some of the damage.

The spirits had spread out once they left the area of the gate, but he managed to find two more over the next few hours. One was possessing a barmaid in an inn and had already murdered the innkeeper, while the other had chosen to possess a horse and then made it go crazy, killing the rider and trampling two people who came to help. He tried not to look too closely at the result as he tore the spirits to pieces. A searing anger followed him as he moved on.

In both of the places, the spirits showed themselves as misshapen clouds of orange light that terrified the people nearby, so after he destroyed them, he appeared in a flash of silver light and nodded at the people, explaining briefly what had happened as he left a bag of gold coins and some healing scrolls behind.

It wasn’t much, but he couldn’t leave nothing.

It was late in the day before the first group of nagas called him and he teleported to their location. Their group had a wandering adventurer trapped in a web of spells as they waited for him to arrive. They looked very pleased with themselves.

Unfortunately, as soon as the possessed adventurer saw Sam, his body immediately stretched in different directions, far past its natural boundaries. Then he exploded, turning the inside of the shield red with boiling blood. A mad cackling laugh sounded inside the shield as the spirit shot upward and slammed against the barrier.

Sam reached through the shield and crushed it with a dark look. The spirit shattered into shards of orange essence and wisps of soul energy that faded away into the air, leaving behind only the essence and experience. He shook his head and gave the nagas a few instructions to continue hunting before he disappeared.

After that, he made sure to ambush the spirits, so that they didn’t have time to kill their hosts.

The next five days passed in a similar chain of events as he teleported from one edge of the kingdom to the other. Several times, he crossed the border into neighboring countries or the northern wastes. The spirits were causing damage in every direction, but they were also impulsive and tended to grab the first living thing they saw that was able to cause trouble, whether it was someone from a civilized race or an animal. If the host died, they fled for a while and then grabbed a new one, which made their trail erratic, but they were slower than they’d been fresh from the gate.

The animal possessions were the easiest to deal with. About a quarter of the spirits had gone that route and possessed wild animals. They were unable to restrain their bloodlust and went on a slaughtering rampage around the nearby territory, attacking everything in sight and leaving the carcasses scattered across fields and roads. He killed them as quickly as possible and incinerated the remains of their prey. It didn’t slow him down for long.

The spirits who had possessed people were worse, but they weren’t all violent. Some of the spirits wanted to play games by telling lies, causing fights and emotional damage, making their hosts betray their families, and so on. Every time he caught one, he crushed it as quickly as possible and tried to leave behind some gold or healing as needed. Some of them he referred to the church or he created more unique enchantments on the fly, depending on what was needed. In other places, he left a map to the relic if they wanted to join him.

Teleport by teleport, he came to understand why the Demon of Passion was worse in many ways than the other two. Emotional damage was harder to forget than a straightforward enemy. Fortunately, he managed to catch most of them before they caused serious problems. The spirits were impulsive and tended to possess weak hosts, which also limited some of the damage. Once they were separated, the spirits didn’t have a good way to communicate and the hunting teams and his own chase were extremely quick.

One by one, the spirits were captured and slain.

It was a week later that he separated the last spirit from its host and crushed it into fragments with a glowing silver hand. This one had been hiding in the center of a bustling city on the eastern edge of the kingdom, and the press of life all around him was a buzz of voices. He pushed the scene in the brothel and the nearly comatose patrons who had been performing there for days out of his mind as he disappeared back into the Void.

At least for that one, they were all still alive.

There were sure to be stories about this wave of Outsider possessions, but its impact was on the lower end as invasions went. He shook his head as he located the teams of nagas. A few dozen teleports gathered up the scattered Silver Army and he brought them back with him to the relic.

The nagas were once again in silver ranks on the Ice Drake as they hissed in anticipation, waiting for his words. He was surrounded by a bright silver aura of flames and stars that stretched out across the sky as he gave them a nod and announced the result they were waiting for.

“You hunted well and found 43 of the spirits of madness,” he said, “compared to 57 that I found and destroyed myself.”

They’d done a good job, but they hadn’t been as fast as him, and they’d had a harder time capturing the spirits. For a lot of the spirits, their teams had doubled up to pin them down. Despite that, the nagas’ hisses were thunderous in response as their tails slammed into the ground, and their battle cries split the air. They’d never expected to beat him, and they would have been dissatisfied if they had, so they were pleased with the result.

“Go and check on your nests, and then prepare for travel,” he said. "Soon you will be needed as emissaries to other powers in this world, to summon them to the Conclave of the Moons.  You will be my ambassadors, the symbols of the Lord of Silver Stars."

The nagas' response was another thunder of hisses and tail slams as they roared in approval. Sam grinned as he dismissed them back to their nest. The nagas needed a job to keep them busy and they were impressive in their own right. It was the best of both worlds if they went out across the world as his emissaries. There were few people who would try to contradict a 24ft naga that was near the peak of the Third Evolution, and he didn't plan to send them alone. Their equipment should be enough to keep them out of trouble, but a golem or two wouldn't hurt.

With their help, he planned to gather everyone at Level 399 who wanted to leave Aster Fall. He'd never heard of any other force trying something like the conclave, so with just the nearest people gathered, it would be the biggest meeting of peak strength in living history.

As the nagas flew away from the Ice Drake, the golems also shot through the skies, returning to their guard posts. Sleset and his team of five other nagas were the last on the ship. Sam let him take control of it as he disappeared himself, heading for Sun’s Rest.

He’d been keeping an eye on the valley while he was hunting. The Flaws had continued to increase, with another twenty appearing over the last week, but it was still under control. For now, no other enemies had come to visit.

He scanned across the mountain to locate his family and make sure they were safe, and then he teleported to the peak. He stood in the last rays of the sunset as he looked out into the distance. The sun was slanting through the clouds with that translucent and peaceful haze that comes at sunset, bathing the land in harvest gold.

He took a moment to breathe in the mana of the high mountains as he looked across the world. He’d managed to track the spirits down before they could do too much damage, but they had still done some. It was better than the gate opening, so it was a success, but in the future he would put down more layers of defense. If he’d had one more enchantment surrounding the area, he might have been able to kill all of the spirits before they escaped.

Eventually, he turned his attention to the result of the hunt. He’d gained a large amount of essence and experience. The notifications had been building up and were waiting for him to read through them.

He looked at the experience notification first. There were twice as many spirits in this batch as the first one, so it was a significant amount.

Congratulations, Lord of Silver Stars. You have gained fifteen Class and General levels.

You are now Level 360.

You gain 150 Strength, 150 Constitution, 75 Agility, 75 Wisdom, 750 Intelligence, 750 Aura, 300 Charisma, and 30 free attribute points.

For reaching Level 350, a new Class Ability is available to you. Please choose from the following options:

Dominion of the Stars.

[As the Lord of Silver Stars, your blessing enhances your followers. This ability allows you to take that a step further, bringing power from the stars to take the field beside you. Your allies will be blessed with enhanced attributes, attack, and defense. Their weapons will be edged with starlight and they will gain more resistance to some forms of damage.]

Construct of the Stars.

[Your studies into golem creation and artificing have led you to this path. You are now able to create golems imbued with starlight, which takes the place of some basic materials for their construction, accelerates your production of golems, and gives them enhanced attributes, attack, and defense.]

Avatar of the Stars.

[As a Lord, you have many responsibilities and need to be in more than one place at a time. Your studies of the stars have enabled you to create an avatar of yourself that you can send on missions or leave to watch over your home. The avatar is made of starlight and is able to travel quickly from place to place.

At the Basic tier, you are limited to three avatars in addition to your main body. Each of them will have approximately half of your strength. The quality and number of avatars can be increased through further study and at higher tiers. The more avatars you have, the greater the demand on your attributes.]

Make your choice now.

Sam’s attention was fixed on the choices as he looked through the options, studying one and then the others. There were three divergent paths laid out in front of him: aura improvements, golem crafting, and personal strength. Whatever he chose, it was designed to make him specialize in a certain area of his class.

All of them were good, but he could only choose one.

Dominion was an enhancement to his aura and it would boost his followers, which was critical if he wanted to rely on the Silver Army and expand it in the future, but Construct of the Stars was just as good in its own way. With it, he could create even more golems, and they would be a fearless army that he didn’t need to worry about. If they were destroyed in battle, he could just build more.

He wanted to learn both abilities and combine them!

As for Astral Avatar, it was also very tempting. The description was dead on with what he felt constantly. He needed to be in more places at once. The ability to create three avatars with half of his own strength and the ability to send them quickly from place to place might be critical in the future.

It also meant he might be able to gang up on someone in battle. If there were three more of him in a fight, then what sort of strength would that be?

Just as he was studying the choices, however, a shudder went through his mind as a glaring warning from the World Core crashed into his awareness. There was a thread of panic in it that he’d never heard before from the nearly emotionless artifact. The words felt like a lightning bolt was striking his heart.

Warning, High Artificer! A Vos’Rekan is approaching Aster Fall!

Sam’s eyes were filled with silver flame as they snapped open and he looked up into the Void.