Chapter 60: Entering the Fray
Zac Immediately got ready, even though his wounds hadnt completely healed. But between his high vitality and the numbing effects of the azure water, he was in an almost perfect fighting condition. With no more time to lose, he finally pushed down the rock wall that blocked the entrance while hefting an axe in his hand. It made quite a crash, but it was nothing compared to the roars of thousands of monkeys, with demon screams peppered in.
As soon as he got out he was stunned by the mayhem.
Zac had emerged from a secluded spot on top of an outcropping, giving him decent vantage over the peak and down toward the valley. Everywhere he looked he saw throngs of monkeys duking it out with legions of demons.
The air sparked with energy as fireballs and lightning bolts filled the sky, the ground rippled from a multitude of spears and other projectiles shooting out. Even nature itself had entered the fray as trees slowly reached down to grab unsuspecting monkeys, before ripping them apart.
The other beast types were here as well, as a thick wall of barghest stopped the monkeys from getting into melee range of the demons. They mindlessly charged toward the monkey groupings, completely heedless of their survival.
Groups of gwyllgi roamed the battlefield with far more finesse compared to the hulking demonlings. They roved in packs and struck weak spots or lone stragglers almost with surgical precision and then quickly got out of harms way.
There also was a smattering of imps placed together with the mage demons, but to Zac, it seemed that most of them still were in their underground dwellings, as their numbers were quite sparse. Perhaps Zac recently killing their boss had caused some sort of chaos to their ranks, making it hard for the demons to control them.
The monkeys wouldnt be outdone though, and the air was filled with flying debris, from the stalactites from the monkey captains to anything that the normal monkeys could get their hands on. Zac even saw corpses being used as projectiles, flung at the magical barriers erected by the demon mages. The barghest that came close to the monkeys were largely helpless after their first impact and were pelted and bitten to death by the angry monkeys.
The magical shields held for the most part, but every now and then they got overtaxed and shattered. The monkey captains were quick on the uptake and focused their energies on those areas. The focused fire turned the unlucky few behind the broken shield a crushed meat paste beneath a mountain of boulders.
However, most of the projectiles didnt reach the demons but rather slammed into the demon beasts who fulfilled their purpose of being meat shields.
Overall the demons clearly held the advantage, as they steadily pushed forward. For every demon the monkey horde killed, at least five monkeys died. It still was early in the battle though, and from experience, Zac felt that the demons would run out of juice sooner or later. Those spells cost cosmic energy, while the monkeys likely could keep hurling debris for a good while. As long as the monkeys could withstand their furious onslaught long enough they might have a chance to turn the situation around.
Besides, the terrain was not ideal for organized warfare that the demons were trying for. He saw that the orderly lines were starting to splinter, and the legions forced to split up as they advanced.
Zac didnt know why it had come to a full-scale war, but he didnt complain. This kind of chaos was the best news for him. He wondered if the monkeys disadvantage was because of him. He had thinned out their horde quite a bit after all.
Some movement in the distance grabbed his attention. It was a solitary group that emanated a pressure a notch above the other demons. They were steadily pushing forward and was entering the valley at a furious pace. None of the magic shields were breaking and the monkeys could offer no resistance to their advance.
In the front a few demons in resplendent gear were personally reaping the lives of monkeys like they were harvesting wheat. Especially attention-grabbing was one male demon with shining white hair that was dancing in the wind. He held a sword in his hand and had another strapped to his back, and as he moved forward it almost looked like dancing rather than engaged in battle. The sword moved in graceful curves and moved around him in a mesmerizing pattern. But Zac knew it was no performance art, as that demons speed of reaping monkeys seemed to eclipse even his own.
It looked like he had located the general.
Satisfied with what he had found, he started to make his way down from the cliff. He had wrapped his head in rags to hide his features and covered as much skin as possible. Zac hoped that the demons would be too preoccupied with the monkeys to realize he lacked horns and wore shoes instead of having taloned paws.
He skirted around the main army and aimed to enter the valley from a slightly different direction. There were a few clumps of demons along the path but none thankfully reacted to him. It was lucky that the demon armies all used individual clothing and gear, making their composition look very chaotic.
As he walked around a bend he almost ran straight into a party of 6 demons. The one in the front snapped something in demonic as Zac passed, but Zac only waved his axe in response. His heartbeat quickened as he kept running, waiting for the demons to go their own way.
It seemed the proximity was too close, as an arrow came whizzing at his back. Sensing danger Zac whirled around and blocked the arrow with his axe head. Sighing he made a 180 and rushed into the demon group while he summoned [Chop]. The man in the front held a sword, which by itself started burning as he swung it to intercept Zacs chop. The demon hadnt imagined the power contained in the axe, as the edge hit him like a truck and breaking most of his fingers as the sword was forced away. The swing continued onward as it chopped off his upper body, and continued to decapitate the unlucky demon who stood next to him with a short sword and shield.
Zac pushed on and made quick work of the last four demons, whose feeble attempts to stop him couldnt even slow him down. After the blitz he was bleeding a bit from two small wounds, but it was nothing serious. A few of his old wounds had opened as well, but there was nothing to do about that for now. He was also drenched in demon blood, and could only hope that the smell wouldnt attract any beasts.
He slowly kept moving forward, and after half an hour he reached the forest at the edge of the valley, taking twice the time compared if he had rushed straight in.
As he moved forward he saw that the orderly war at the slopes of the mountain was turned into a chaotic melee in the valley by now. There were clumps of demons fighting monkeys scattered all over the place. In most places, the demons still held an advantage, but at a few other they got overrun by sheer numbers.
He saw an unlucky group of 10 demons getting ripped to pieces by an angry horde of monkeys. They put up a valiant defense, but two fists couldnt defend against ten, and in just moment they were mangled corpses strewn on the ground. A few of the monkeys had even ripped off a limb and contentedly chewed on it as it moved toward the next pack.
Zac tried to avoid battle as much as he could, not wanting to get any more experience until he seized a Fruit of Ascension. He stayed clear of any larger battles, zig-zagging forward in a careful manner. Of course, every now and then he got accosted by either a group of demons that figured out his identity or a group of enraged monkeys happy to target any humanoid.
The clashes resulted in furious melees as Zac wanted to finish the battles as quickly as possible. Unheeding of energy expenditure he ravaged any party that got close with great chops using his skills. When he ran low on cosmic energy took a sip from the lake water and let the burn quickly restore his deficit. He did avoid using the Dao of Heaviness though, as he didnt have any means to restore his mental energy apart from sleeping.
Soon he arrived at the field of desolation, his body covered in a multitude of shallow wounds by now. Due to the consumption of the water he didnt feel any pain though, and still felt he was in peak condition.
The vision the system showed earlier was accurate, and a huge area was now covered in dried out and dead trees. The once lush forest was gone and replaced with a dead space.
After a quick look he saw that it only was fifty minutes until the fruits ripened. Even if he had blazed through all resistance in the forest it took some time to traverse the distance. He figured that if he ran it would take him twenty minutes or so to reach the crimson tree. He was hesitant whether he should leave the cover of the forest to enter the field as he would be completely exposed if he did.
After some deliberation, he ran along the forest edge toward the opposite side of the field. The demons should be concentrated on the eastern side, as they entered the valley from there. The army might have spread to encircle the tree by now, but it should at least be thinner at the opposite side.
When he was a bit more than half-way to the other side he veered into the dead zone and headed for the tree. He was running out of time and needed to get to the fruits. The area was largely devoid of combatants, either monkey or demon, and soon he saw why.
As he approached the tree he saw a scene of utter chaos. The magical tree still stood tall as it had before, with the addition of the two ripening fruits. Covering it was a glimmering shell covered in dense fractals. Zac felt that the shield should be the work of the System, as the fractals felt perfect and in harmony with the universe, just like the ones on his array flags. The inscriptions on the demons weapons were far more simplistic in comparison.
Packed around the shield was a confusing and bloody carnage between monkeys and demons. There were no lines of demarcation, no strategy, and no order. There were just hundreds upon hundreds of bodies crammed together, desperately trying to kill anything on the opposing side. They all tried to claw their way closer to the shield and the tree, to be as close as possible when the shield dropped.
Right by the edge of the shield, a few areas almost devoid of people could be seen, and in one of them, Zac saw the white-haired demon fight against the monkey king. The Herald had a few supersized monkeys by his side, and they furiously did everything they could to support their leader. It looked like the Herald was mostly healed up, but a huge scar adorned its chest now.
Every strike between the Herald and the general created rippling shockwaves in the area, keeping all the grunts at bay. The ground looked blazing hot with fire and molten rock, likely a result of the heralds onslaught.
But the general clearly held the advantage, and with dizzying swordplay was whittling down Cindermanes defenses. The large scar on his chest had started to open up, and new wounds over his arms accompanied it. Zac realized the lethality of the general, as even Zacs own mighty swings had only left a white mark on the Heralds sturdy hands. The hulking monkey captains were covered in wounds from head to toe as well, one of them even had a whole arm missing.
Meanwhile, the general still looked pristine apart from some soot marks, as though the carnage and fire in the surroundings was isolated from himself. The monkey captains were doing what they could to ease the pressure, but it seemed that they wouldnt be able to hang on for long unless something changed. Since Zac didnt want the general to kill the Herald, at least not yet, he was determined to be the change that would turn the tides.
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