IM2: Chapter #29 (Patreon)

By this point, Thorn was quite adept in the jungle, and he slipped through the underbrush with hardly a sound. At his side was a bulging bag made of tiger skin that held dozens of plants and stone containers with tier five monster blood. Each of the stone containers had a specialized rune etched on it to preserve the mana and life force in the blood, allowing Thorn to keep it fresh until he needed to use it for his ink mixture.

“Three more tier five monsters, or one tier six, and we should be good,” Eve said, riding along with Thorn.

Sweeping the area with his mental sense, Thorn noticed something up ahead and slowed down, stopping next to half a footprint in a bit of mud. Frowning, he crouched and touched it, feeling how soft the mud still was.

“It looks like someone came through here recently,” he said, looking up and scanning the jungle again.

“Within the last hour or so,” Eve agreed.

For a moment, Thorn considered turning to go the opposite direction, but eventually his curiosity won out and, much to Eve’s displeasure, he proceeded forward carefully.

“What if it's Aciakko?”

“Her foot shape is different.”

“Then what if it's someone who reports to Aciakko?”

“We’ll deal with them before they can call her.”

“What if they have some sort of instant communication device?”

“We’ll run away before they see us.”

“Argh! Why do you have to take the risk?”

“I don’t. But I’m curious about who might be down here. You never know, there might be a city or adventurer’s camp that we’ve missed, where we could get supplies and gear and stuff like that. I, for one, could use a shower.”

Cautiously moving through the underbrush, Thorn soon heard the clash of weapons and the sounds of shouts, causing him to glance at Eve, whose expression was grim.

“You better check it out,” she said, unwillingly. “We can’t afford to miss the intel.”

With a slight smile, Thorn double cast his shields and then used Shadow Shroud to cover his traces before pushing through the leaves. In a rough clearing ahead he found ten adventurers battling together against a group of twenty-five humanoid figures unlike anything he had ever seen since coming to this world. Thick bands of metal ringed their limbs and torsos, forming heavy armor that gave off sparks of magical energy as they moved. Dense runes ran along each of the bands, flashing with crimson and purple light as they attacked and defended.

Most of the figures were armed with thick metal chains ending in sharp hooks that they used as whips, trying to catch the adventurers and drag them out of their formation, while a few of the armored figures held tridents that they shot energy blasts from. Even as Thorn watched, two of the trident wielding people targeted the large adventurer in the front of the group, forcing him to raise his double bladed axe to block. At the same time, five of the hooks flew toward him, trying to catch him on their sharp points.

Two hooks were battered aside by a middle-aged adventurer’s longsword, and the axe wielding adventurer managed to dodge another, but the last two hooked his armor, sinking into his flesh as the armored figures gave a sharp tug. Pouncing on the long chain, ten of the armored figures yanked, dragging the unfortunate adventurer toward them while the rest of their group kept the others back.

“Esvist!”

A staff wielding adventurer dressed in an artificer’s robe let out a loud shout and started to cast a spell, hoping to destroy the chains and hooks dragging her teammate away, but before her flame blade could chop down on them, a hand that looked like it was made from oil covered in flickering purple flames shot out of the jungle and slammed into the flame blade, shattering it into pieces. Staggering backward and paling as the backlash from her spell being broken hit her, the artificer looked terrified. Walking out of the jungle in an unhurried gait, a figure in highly ornate armor appeared in front of the adventurers.

Incomprehensible words flowed from under the ornate helmet, leaving the adventurers looking at each other in confusion, even as they continued to battle fiercely against their armored enemy. The large adventurer with the double axe was still being dragged away, and the adventurers could only watch in rage as he was pounced on by six of the armored figures who quickly restrained him with chains and dragged him into the jungle.

“Common is such a barbaric tongue, but if it's the only thing you worms understand, what choice do I have but to sully my tongue with it?”

Hearing the heavily accented voice from the ornately armored figure, the adventurers bristled, and even Thorn frowned. He had never heard such an accent before but there was something about the figure’s tone that set off warning bells in his head.

“Place your weapons down and submit to me, or face the same fate as your companion.”

“Who are you, and why are you attacking us?!” the female artificer yelled, her face still pale from the backlash of her broken spell.

“I am Ingo Va’galsh, second Flesh Hunter of the Tower of the Deva.”

The pride in Ingo’s voice was thick, but from the way that the adventurers looked at each other, it was clear that they had no idea what he was talking about. Only the artificer and the middle-aged swordsman were an exception and their expressions were awful. Seeing that there were a couple people in the crowd who knew enough to be frightened, Ingo lifted the glittering hook blade in his right hand and pointed it at the adventurers.

“Curse your bad luck that you have fallen into my sight. If you submit now, there may be a chance for you, but if you try my patience my flesh hounds will feast well tonight.”

Hearing the threat in his words, one of the adventurers brandished his spear and spoke angrily.

“What are you on about? You think you and your goons can take us down that easily?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. I do.”

Even before he had finished speaking, runes lit up on Ingo’s gauntlet and he wove together a spell. At the same time, his heavily armored men attacked again, throwing their hooks out at the adventurers. Instantly, the battlefield devolved into chaos as the two sides clashed once again. Spells flew back and forth between Ingo and the artificer, while the rest of the adventurers tried to block the hooks and dodge the energy blasts.

From where he hid in the jungle, Thorn could tell that the fighting was fierce and neither side was holding anything back. Unfortunately for the adventurers, the rune covered armor their enemy wore was incredibly tough. Flashes of mana created sparks every time the adventurer’s weapons hit them, but none of the attacks were able to get through. On the other hand, the adventurer’s leather and bone armor did nothing to stop the attacks coming their way. In short order, two more of the adventurers had been grabbed by the hooks and dragged away, vanishing into the jungle.

Ingo stood in the back, his heavy black armor rippling with power as the runes carved into it lit up with a purple glow each time he cast a spell. With contemptuous ease he battered apart the artificer’s spells while occasionally casting his own to disrupt the adventurer’s battle line even more. The armor he wore was a jagged affair that had a gothic look to it, complete with intricate groups of spikes on his pauldrons and a towering set of blades on his helmet. Though Thorn thought he looked rather silly, he couldn’t deny the power behind the runes that covered the armor, especially after watching how they gathered mana to amplify the spells that Ingo was casting.

[Are you going to get involved?]

Hearing Eve’s question, Thorn bit his lip. Part of him wanted to jump in and help the adventurers. After all, their enemies wore their sinister look like a badge of pride and clearly relished their roles as the bad guys. However, he was honestly not sure how much help he could be. This was the fifth strata, which meant that even the weakest of the adventurers was tier five. The artificer and the middle-aged swordsman were both at least tier six, and from the casual way that Ingo was fighting, he was at least tier seven, if not tier eight.

Thorn had already experienced just how dangerous it was to have Aciakko on his tail, and the last thing he wanted to do was anger another eighth tier enemy. But that also meant leaving the adventurers to face whatever cruel fate the black armored people had for them. On Ingo’s side, the armored soldiers appeared to be low fifth tier warriors, but their armor and coordination allowed them to fight against the higher tier adventurers without any trouble.

“It would be easier to make a decision if Ingo was not around.”

[Ask and you shall receive.] Eve said, waving her hand.

Feeling a sliver of energy seeping out of him, Thorn heard a loud roar in the distance that shook the jungle for miles around. Hundreds of small creatures fled through the trees, driven silent by the clear anger in the sound. Letting out what Thorn could only assume was a loud curse, Ingo spun on his heel and dashed into the jungle, leaving the fight as quickly as he had arrived. Blinking at the shaking leaves where he vanished, Thorn was completely stunned.

“What did you just do?”

[I exhausted a destiny point. What that destiny point did, I’m not sure. But from the sounds of it, it probably allowed a sizable monster to escape its chains back in the armored folk’s camp. Now, what do you think about helping out the adventurers?]

Unslinging the bow from his back, Thorn strung it and drew an arrow in one swift motion, lifting it into position and aiming at one of the black armored soldiers. Letting out his breath, he fired the arrow and then drew and fired three more times in quick succession.

*ZIPZIPZIP*

The sound of the arrows cutting through the air sounded like a swarm of angry bees, but when they hit the soldier’s armor, the damage they did was nothing like a bee sting. Instead, fist sized depressions appeared, blasting the armored soldiers backward. Though none of the arrows had managed to make it through the armor, the force was enough to shatter a fourth tier warrior’s bones and from the sluggish way that three of them rolled around, it was clear that they had suffered internal injuries. The fourth soldier, though he had not managed to avoid the arrow in time, was clearly stronger than the others and turned a backflip to lessen the momentum.

Sliding back after landing on his knee, he shook his head and stood up, peering into the jungle as if he could see where Thorn had fired from. Shocked by the sudden support, the middle-aged swordsman let out a shout and stabbed out with his sword. A golden glow wrapped his blade as he revealed this strength and the tip of the blade cut through the mana shield that sprang up around his target. A moment later, his blade returned bloody and the soldier he had stabbed fell to one knee.

“Retreat toward the jungle!”

Though there was a sense of unwillingness in their expressions, the adventurers were well trained and hurried to retreat toward the jungle’s edge. The sudden shift in the flow of the battle caught the armored soldiers off guard, but a moment later they charged after the retreating adventurers, their hooks flying out to try and stop their enemy’s escape. All but one of the hooks fell short, and even that one was knocked away by the middle-aged swordsman who brought up the rear.

As they dashed into the jungle, Thorn released another set of arrows, sending them whizzing over the adventurer’s heads to slow the chasing soldiers down. A few seconds later the first of the adventurers caught sight of Thorn. He was kneeling on a thick branch, wielding a giant bone bow and covered in tattered looking armor made from tiger skin and snake scale. Everything about him screamed danger, and the adventurers could only be grateful that he was on their side and not their enemy.

“Keep running!” Thorn spoke in a commanding tone, smoothly drawing another arrow.

*ZIIP*

The arrow vanished from his bow and the adventurers below him did not dare to hesitate as they sprinted into the undergrowth. Though the heavy armor they wore was able to protect the soldiers lives, they were not well suited to traversing the jungle, and they quickly fell behind as Thorn and the adventurers ran ahead. Thorn didn’t bother to use any of his teleportation abilities, even though they would have gotten him out of danger in an instant. Instead, he ran along at the back of the group with the middle-aged swordsman, occasionally turning around to deliver a powerful arrow to one of the chasing soldiers.

Even after the enemy soldiers fell behind, the adventurers did not stop, continuing deeper and deeper into the jungle. It was only a full hour later, after double checking multiple times and changing directions to throw off any pursuit that they finally stopped. Still on high alert, the six adventurers who had escaped stood together while Thorn kept some distance. After regaining his breath, the middle-aged swordsman stepped forward, his eyes meeting Thorn’s.

“I am Rifton Calaris, leader of the Jagged Leaf adventuring team. Thank you for your assistance back there.”

“No problem,” Thorn replied, waving his hand. “Do you know who those soldiers were? I’ve never seen anyone with armor like that.”

“Deva slavers,” the artificer spat, pushing her way to stand next to Rifton. “Scum who jump into worlds like ours to steal resources.”

“You mean they’re not from this world?” Thorn asked, quite confused.

“No, they come from the Tower of the Deva, a shard near Intra Mundum,” the middle-aged man said, putting his hand on his companion’s shoulder. “They have no resources of their own so they prey on other worlds, using their rune soldiers to seize what they can with brute force.”

“Then your companions?”

“Will be dragged back to their filthy home world.” Rifton said, his expression hardening.

“If they’re lucky,” the artificer said with a sneer. “You heard that roar. They’re clearly here to capture high tier beasts, so Esvist and the others may just end up as food to keep the beasts from rebelling.”

“We need to rescue them!” one of the adventurers shouted.

Hearing the outburst, Rifton shook his head sadly.

“You heard their leader. He’s a Flesh Hunter, which means that they’ll have a whole company with them. That’s two hundred men at minimum. How are we supposed to fight against that with six of us?”