Depthless Hunger: A Progression LitRPG, page 37
Chapter 66: The River's Strangest Bandits
If they'd had time, Kai would have looked toward Zae Zin Nim, or asked Razzagah questions to figure out if he was even fighting on the right side. But there were a lot of armed men and women staring at him, and when they attacked, he had no choice but to fight for his life.
A man with a Spellslinger Class tried to attack first. He drew on his mana much too slowly: Kai leapt forward and kicked him in the chest before he could strike. To his shock, the man's breastplate crumpled and he went flying back, breaking through a tree.
Could he have been faking his strength? Was the whole ambush just a bluff? Kai was so taken off guard that he hesitated, giving the nearest two bandits time to attack him. A spear glanced harmlessly off his head while a Knight Class's sword barely drew blood on his raised forearm. Both fighters looked shocked and it was Kai's turn to take advantage.
He knocked them flat and the bandits retreated, crying out to one another in terror. Even as he fought, Kai couldn't quite believe it was so easy. According to his human strength alone, he should only have had a slight advantage. It might be possible to win with the proper tactics, but he shouldn't be able to annihilate the group like this.
Kai's thoughts were interrupted by a giant of a man charging him. Not only was he seven feet of solid muscle, his Physique was rated F-6, almost as high as Kai himself. The man wrapped his enormous arms around Kai, binding him in place, straining his muscles to make him vulnerable to the others.
And yet he didn't feel that strong. As Kai freed his arms, he realized that his Physique was working together with the monstrous Direboar's Strength within him. He couldn't measure his exact total strength and the man must not be able to either, because he stared in shock as Kai began to push him backward.
Despite everything, Kai grinned as he overwhelmed the other man's strength. Monster-born or not, this power was part of him. It didn't replace his Physique or all the work he put into his training, it was the ultimate manifestation of those struggles. And he had more fragments within him... what could he do if he managed to tap into Rockspider's Claw or Isulfr's Bite?
Flames struck him from behind. Kai grunted in mild pain and threw the man aside to find who was targeting him. To his surprise, it was a woman with a full Flamecaster Class, with over 50 Power. That much mana should have pierced his defenses and started burning him alive, but his body resisted it. He could practically feel his minor injuries regenerating.
Kai laughed out loud and advanced on her. She took a step backward, then suddenly arrows struck her side. Shot by the hunters on the boat. As he came out of his fugue, Kai realized that focusing on the flow of his new power had completely blinded him to the rest of the battle.
Since he had taken on the bulk of the group, Zae Zin Nim and the hunters had been free to mop up the others. They had been entirely outclassed by the bandit group, but Kai had turned the tide of the battle on his own. He should have been happy... except for the fact that now he had to think about what these supposed bandits really were.
"What's going on?" Kai demanded. He turned back to the barge and glared at Razzagah, who looked faint.
"I don't..." The younger man shook his head slowly. "They don't feel like real bandits, do they?"
"Why would hunters from the city be targeting you? Are you smuggling something illegal?"
"Nothing like that!" Razzagah rushed to the edge of the barge, fists clenched. "Look at their equipment: they're dressed like bandits, but equipped extremely well. This is all a ruse: they wanted to destroy my shipment before it could reach the city."
Merchants killing one another over a little profit? That seemed ridiculous to Kai, but there was an easy way to confirm. Many of the attackers had only been disabled, not killed, so Kai grabbed a delirious man and lifted him into the air.
"Who sent you?" Kai asked. The man's eyes didn't focus until Kai shook him a few times. "Who are you really?"
"Just mercenaries..." The man shook his head wildly. "We're just... just hirelings..."
Before Kai could question him any further, he heard a sharp sound from the barge. The hunters were beginning to look downriver nervously, and when Kai followed their gaze and saw a speck in the air, he realized that things weren't going to end so easily.
The speck revealed itself to be a flat diamond of amber crystal carrying two warriors. A Krysali woman with a crystal around her neck crouched near the front, presumably piloting the diamond. A knight in full Goralian armor stood behind her with his arms folded, staring down at them.
Both had over 100 total power. Kai felt as though he could almost pierce through to see their power in more detail, but he knew they wouldn't fall as easily as the false bandits. Before he could push through with his spiritual sight, they swept closer.
"Razzagah Lantrian!" The knight spoke up as the diamond kept pace in front of the barge. "Unfortunately, your shipment has been waylaid by bandits. Unless you want this to end in tragedy, we suggest you get to shore."
"This is absurd!" Razzagah stepped to the front of the barge to glare at them, frightened but holding his ground. "Your real ambush failed. The two of you aren't even attempting to disguise yourselves. If you attack, everyone will know that the Corinins bankrolled this attack on me."
"Can you prove that?" the Krysali woman asked with a smirk. "I'm a foreign mercenary, you know. You shouldn't make accusations against important clans so lightly."
"You're welcome to try to prove it in court." The knight unfolded his arms and hefted a greatsword from his back. "But then you might have to explain just what cargo you lost. And that would lead to all kinds of questions about permits, wouldn't it?"
Razzagah gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, but he had to back down. He turned back toward Kai and shook his head grimly. "They did this just to send a message, but we can't fight them. These two are the Corinin elites, so this is way beyond what I've paid you. I'm just sorry that it ends this way."
The sailors appeared to already be using their poles to nudge the barge closer to one of the shores. They looked nervous and Kai understood why: the Krysali mercenary was manifesting a thick spear of crystal in one hand that looked like it was going to go straight through the barge. Razzagah didn't actually own it, but apparently they didn't care if a few barge workers lost their vessel. And maybe their lives.
"Kai?" Zae Zin Nim appeared at his side so silently he didn't realize until she spoke. "I could not possibly care one stroke less about who is right in this conflict. Do we fight or not?"
"Can we take them?" Kai asked. He wanted to check the two elites again, but there was almost no time left. The crystal spear hovering overhead could be coming down at any moment.
"In a straight fight? No. But our goal is only to keep the barge safe until it gets within sight of the city, and that might be possible."
He didn't have an answer for her. The Corinin clan sending mercenaries like this was shady, but the way they spoke about the permits made him wonder if Razzagah was up to something worse. Taking action could well embroil him in a new conflict and he had no idea which side was right.
Seconds ticked on and the sailors appeared to be struggling to get the barge out of the current. The Krysali mercenary rolled her eyes and then lifted a hand toward the spike. That was what pushed Kai to a decision in the end: whichever clan they represented, these two were willing to risk the lives and livelihoods of innocent bystanders.
"We fight."
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)
>
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)
>
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.
Chapter 68: Arrival at Rayakan
As the water gates into Rayakan opened, Kai barely saw them. He caught brief glimpses of majestic architecture, a bustling port, and grand statues of hunters past, but they didn't matter. His attention was entirely focused on the woman lying lifelessly in his arms.
Ever since her final exertion, Zae Zin Nim had shown no signs of consciousness. If he hadn't caught her, she would have fallen into the river and drowned. Her condition was clearly worse than before, but she didn't even cough, just oozed black bile constantly. He'd been watching her carefully and her eyelids hadn't so much as fluttered.
It was a small comfort that they had made it to the city. With Barroguk knocked so far back and their opponents' method of flight damaged, the barge had made good progress. Everyone had been tense that they would face another threat at the gates, but when they came in sight of Rayakan, Razzagah had breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently his enemies wouldn't attack him in front of an audience.
"You did more than anyone could have asked of you."
The voice penetrated Kai's haze and he looked up. For a moment he didn't even recognize Razzagah Lantrian, then he shook himself. They had arrived at the city. His job was done and they were, in theory, safe.
"I know that you're worried about your friend," Razzagah went on, "but I need to pay you. The two hundred Eagles I promised, plus an extra hundred as hazard pay. If there's anything else I can do, I'd be happy to throw in a little more as a courtesy..."
"That's..." Kai wanted to tell him to go away, since the last thing he wanted to do was think about a Lantrian. But he had a lot of problems and not very many resources, so he didn't have much choice. "She needs some standard healing potions, as well as some Class potions. The kind that grant you a portion of mana in a different Class."
"Tricky order, but I'm sure I can arrange something. Is that all?"
"We need an inn. Somewhere close. And not affiliated with any of the clans."
"Done and done." Razzagah touched his shoulder gently. "I need to go now, Kai, but remember how grateful I am. Without you two, this shipment would have failed and I might be dead three times over. Follow my assistant and they'll help you with what you need."
One of the workers from the caravan guided Kai away from the docks to a tall inn only a short distance away. He barely saw it, mostly focused on ensuring that Zae Zin Nim didn't bump into anyone. With her hood fallen over her face, she looked almost like someone who was simply ill. They received a few strange glances, but he was in the company of a clan official, so everyone looked away and assumed it was clan business.
