Old East- Chapter 1 (Patreon)

For new patrons- this is the beginning of book 7 of my Four Laws series under pen name- David Burke. It is my best selling series so far- but I have high hopes for Dragon Sorcerer- lol.

Anyway- it will go directly to Amazon as all my other stuff did before I decided to take a chance with RR for Dragon Sorcerer.

For those who are current with the series- I'm actually going to post a story up to this point chapter later tonight.

In retrospect, I should have posted that before Chapter 1. Oh well.
I still have to touch it up.  

Chapter 1 – Encroachment

I spun around and Bargon’s Slice effortlessly cut through the armor of the orc mercenary in front of me at the same time as I slid just enough to avoid the spear thrust from a monkeykin. Wielding the sword had become almost effortless with the amount of fighting which I’d been forced to do lately was pushing my Melee Skill level up at a steady pace.

Of course, it might also be that the sword was practically wielding itself. The half of my parallel mind, which was monitoring the broader situation mused that this might be more than a stray thought. The sword was all but talking to me now and the more awakened its consciousness, not the sharper it seemed to get.

Not that I needed a very sharp sword to cut through leather armor, flesh, and bone. My cultivation still had not stabilized since the tournament, but gains continued to come as I inched forward toward being a proper A rank. As it was even without making any breakthroughs, I expected some of my stats would hit three hundred soon.

Fortunately, with parallel mind, I could have stray thoughts like that even during the midst of a battle. The orc I had just slain hit the ground even as I smashed my shield, A Wife’s Price into the spear which had just been thrust at me. The jarring force of the impact shook up the shaft and knocked the weapon free from the enemy monkeykin’s hands.

It didn’t matter to him for long though as I pushed off the ground and slammed into him shield first, like a Mack truck. The impact crushed bones but and sent him flying. If he wasn’t dead already, he would be soon. For the first time since the battle began, no one was trying to attack me. I looked around and took stock.

Then my enhanced expanded sense of touch felt two arrows flying through the air at me. I didn’t even bother to raise my shield. There was no mana attached to either of them, so the ki aura around my body would easily block them. I traced the trail of the arrows back and sent out a narrow Ki Slice. My control of the technique had improved and with Bargon’s Slice I was able to neatly send out a blade of ki which produced enough kinetic force to bisect both the archers even at more than a hundred feet out.

Denny and his squad of deputies were holding steady on the left flank. Our militia, which had formed around Redeemed Sons, a group of orc mercenaries who had started a bar fight in Yonder but ended up being part of our defenses now, was holding steady on the right flank. Despite Denny being an orc and a second son, as were all the founding members of the mercenary company he had remained the leader of the deputies and was acting chief deputy while Josie was pregnant and about to pop. Not that it mattered because they had found a worthy leader in Betsie, my cowkin deputy and another woman who seemed determine to court me.

Overhead, Daria and half a dozen other hawkkin would swoop in and take out any mage who looked to be trying to get off a spell. They were supported by our own mobile mage. It wasn’t that all the wives didn’t have magic. They each did, but Sema, the fairy, was at another level. Only my wives with active cultivator cores could match her for magical power, and even then, she had far more diversity in the types of mana she could use.

The enemy force has been of four hundred strong while our defenders had only numbered a hundred and twenty. It helped that I could almost assuredly taken out all of the force sent out on my own, not that my wives would have ever allowed that. Now there were only a few stragglers on each of the flanks and then a few seconds after that even they had broken. The fear their leaders must have put into them to keep them fighting with an eighty percent casualty rate must have been something.

Ironically, with four pregnant wives, being on the battlefield was almost a welcome respite, and Daria was actually the easiest of my wives to be around now. Well, she and Lina, but Lina was always easy to be around. Josie and Nimeera both had a case of what would have been called nesting back on Earth and they had it bad. They were fixated on making everything perfect around the house and on expanding the sheriff’s office/residence to accommodate our growing family.

Daria and Sema both landed next to me. Well, Sema didn’t land, but instead flitted about my head. The hawkkin looked me up and down.

“Something wrong?”

She laughed. “No, I was just told no less than five times to make sure that you didn’t do anything stupid.”

“So little faith they have in me.”

Sema’s high-pitched voice said, “Hardly, I don’t have any real experience with how wives treat their husbands other than in your family and that of a few of your married deputies, but my impression is that if you told them you were going to pick up Mt. Yonder with your hands, they’d believe you and only be concerned about you overdoing it.”

“I really have been trying to take it easy lately. It isn’t my fault that Westerton and Centrum seem to have decided they don’t want a neighbor to the west of them.”

“It probably is your fault, husband, but they also are defying the goddess, so deserve to die,” Daria said.

I groaned. “Not you too. I’m already married to two handmaidens of Sativa and the equivalent for Korkanis. If I don’t miss my guess, Rava is on the cusp of taking up Telmorra on her offer, too. Which means just you and Mursha aren’t associated with any of the gods.”

“Well, you know what Lina would say. There’s any easy solution for that.”

I arched an eyebrow.

“Just marry more wives.”

I groaned again. “I think I’m gonna go hunt down the stragglers.”

Sema said, “Fine but you have to take me and Daria with you. We can keep up with you overhead. So don’t worry.”

I winked at the fairy. “We’ll just see if you can really keep up.”

My enhanced hearing picked up Daria’s sigh as she said, “You just had to go and challenge him didn’t you?”

I was already racing away but then had to stop in order give directions to Denny and Betsy, “Deputies head back to town, militia clean up the battlefield. Don’t take any prisoners. Turn in all loot to one of Rava’s approved merchants and then shares should be split equally between everyone who fought.”

“I’ll come with you my lord. The captain can handle things like this,” Betsy said.

I shook my head. “No can do, You won’t be able to keep up with me. And before you say anything about me doing stupid stuff, there are only a couple dozen of them left and I already have babysitters.” Then I pointed up towards Daria and Sema who had both caught up to me.

Betsy started to complain, but I added, “And I haven’t forgotten that I owe you a private dinner this week.”

“Maybe with desert this time?”

“No promises, but maybe. Just cut me a little slack, Josie is gonna give birth any day and both Nimeera and Mursha are right behind them. A few weeks after that and Rava will be having twins. So, I’ve got a lot on my plate.”

Betsy just bowed her head but didn’t argue further, so I raced off. There was little chance the enemy could get away from me unless they had a spatial mage with them. As it was, they had gone only a little more than a mile when I caught up with the first group of a dozen.

Perhaps I should have at least made it sporting with them, but one didn’t extend any courtesies to cock roaches if you found them in your kitchen. As far as I was concerned, these were no better than that. They may have only been following orders, but then again the roaches are only following instinct and hunger. They still were invading my home.

I surged forward into their midst without even pulling out my sword or shield. My hands were glowing with the level ki infusion I was using and my body was moving so quickly that I was likely nothing more than a blur to them. Each blow, whether a punch to the side of the head or a kick to the chest, was fatal.

The sheer force from the speed of my attacks was likely enough to kill most of them, it certainly would have been on Earth. Once you added the power of my ki infusion, a kick to the chest could leave an exit wound which ripped their backs wide open. Truthfully, this was butchery, not combat, but it had to be done.

This was the third force sent to attack us since we had returned from Centrum three months ago. Neither the government of Westerton or Centrum had sent a diplomatic envoy, and I didn’t have enough people that I’d trust to risk anyone.

The first attack had come when they sent some mercenaries with a group of builders and their families who were immigrating to Yonderton. Our population had more than doubled in the past three months, but I was afraid these attacks would have a chilling effect on our growth.

This attack was the first where some of the mercenaries said they had been hired by Centrum. A city that big, with a population of over a million could certainly muster a force of a few thousand if they needed to, but so far they were only hiring mercenaries. I guess that was for the best.

Of course, there were also the assassination attempts. I didn’t know if it was six or seven times, I couldn’t decide if one of them had been a real assassination attempt or not. Either way, I was having to stay on my toes and it wasn’t really what I worried about that most. It was what could happen to my wives or one of my children.

That was the fury which pushed me to reach the second group of fleeing enemies. This one had already been gift wrapped for me as they were wandering around in a circle, lost in an illusion which Sema had created for them. I relished the more hands on approach; it allowed me to vent my anger, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that when they were completely helpless.

Not that I was going to let them live. I didn’t want any reports going back about what they had faced. So I used a single technique. It was probably a cleaner death than they deserved, but then again I was angry right now.

Ki Slice

The attack cut them down like wheat before the scythe. Then I sat down cross-legged on the ground and cleared my mind.

My senses were super acute now and very difficult to hide from, but I they had limits on their reach. I forced myself to calm down, slowed my breathing, and cleared my mind of hostile thoughts. I had to know who I was. It was part of making the best use of this skill.

I was INDOMITABLE, or rather than was the universal concept which I identified with. It was why I would never quit and every one of these enemies would die before I returned home. But I was more than that. I was a builder and wanted to create a home for my family.

As soon as I reached that calm state, I got the same pop up notification which I had now seen at least fifty times. I still hadn’t done it because I feared that it would take too long and I couldn’t afford to be incapacitated if an enemy was attacking, especially not with four of my wives pregnant.

Transition to A rank is ready to begin. Yes?

Seepage had begun. Transition is already 12% complete, but results are random and uncontrolled.

Begin?

If this was only 12% then I didn’t know what to think because my stats and skills had grown impressively. Part of that was training, but I felt like part of it was this so-called transition. I knew it needed to happen soon, but was worried about when it would be safe to begin it.

Now that I was calm though I could use the necessary skill.

Soul Projection

Unlike my senses, I was able to project my soul out to cover an area for a good five miles in every direction. It was still a strain, but I was managing. My Soul Stat was now over 100, and that had made it much easier. Sema’s training was also helping, although she hinted that there were more techniques she could teach me. I was reluctant to become too dependent upon a fairy even one professing loyalty to me, not until things were sorted with her mother, the queen.

Ah, there they were. One, two, three fleeing forms. They had been smarter and split up. I sent telepathic instructions about their locations to Daria and Sema who each took one of the figures while I stood up and stretched before streaking after the final one.

With that grisly chore done, I found a stream to wash up in. I didn’t want to be all bloody when I returned to my wives. The two ladies didn’t have any trouble with their targets either and so I invited them to come clean up with me, while sending a message to my wives back home. My telepathic range had extended enough that even though we were ten miles from Yonderton, I could still reach them. It just showed the value of working on skills.

When Daria landed next to me, she looked concerned. “Sema says your soul is starting to feel strained. You need to make the transition to A rank. Once that happens, we’ll have nothing to fear.”

I pulled her down to sit on my lap as her wings flared behind her. Our mouths quickly found one another, and I allowed the passion of a kiss to wash away my stress. Finally, she pressed against my chest and said, “I’m not that easy to distract.”

“Darn it, and here I was hoping.” Then I shook my head. “No seriously, I can feel part of what she’s talking about. Maybe after the first three give birth, I’ll feel more comfortable.”

“Just don’t wait too long, husband.”

“I know. But I’ve Sara and Robbie to keep me entertained. Children really are good for soothing the soul. Now, I need to meditate for a bit and then we’ll head back, unless you want a tumble in the grass.”

She pushed me forward and I let myself fall back against the ground.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Battle was gruesome, but it did stir the blood. Daria helped me forget it and while it might not have been very fair to Sema, I was far more worried about what was fair to my wife. Even after our immediate passion was spent, I lay in the grass, feeling it brush against my skin while she lay atop me with her wings spread out over us.

Then I turned my eyes inward to take in my status sheet and all the changes I’d undergone in the past three months. That message about seepage and Sema’s warnings were beginning to worry me.