Chapter 643: The Hand of Deadwaste

The people of Hantron City had thought it was the end of the world when the monster loomed in the sky, some panicking and some giving in to despair. Those who hadn't been able to escape while it floated closer accepted that this would be their end.

When a new monstrous form emerged outside the city, those who still had enough sense to notice mostly groaned in ironic despair. They were already as good as dead, what did another unbeatable monster matter?

But when the new monster hurled itself against the enemy, something began to shift. For every person who felt the monstrous power and recoiled, another looked past it and realized that this monster was defending their city. Some of them remembered a son of Goralia who had been exiled and condemned as a monster before returning to defend them, in the incursion and again now.

None of them had a fraction of the strength necessary to go out and join the battle that shook the earth outside their city. But a few began to find their courage, helping those who had fallen, unsticking wagons, helping the evacuation proceed. A few hunters picked up their weapons again and some toasted the giant from the walls.

Everyone on the continent had felt when the Abhorroid awakened, no matter how little they understood of power. Now the world trembled again as another monster emerged, and yet when they heard a roar in their souls, they felt no despair.

And slowly, with that monstrous roar, Deadwaste began to wake up.

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As hard as Tusquo fought, he realized that it wouldn't be enough. Even with his wife by his side, they were barely able to keep the single remaining invader from taking the city. It burned especially because they had worked so hard to master their phase training, yet just attaining a level playing field still left them weaker than this single brute.

Beyond them, however, there was no one. Because there were only a few invaders left in Irun, the elites had focused on more dangerous fronts. Two of Kai's students had helped with the evacuations, but they didn't have knowledge of phases. A single invader could slaughter untold numbers.

When Tusquo looked over to Quinta, she gave him a grim nod. They could try to hold out for time... or they could try to end the battle. If they were willing to sacrifice themselves, they could probably land mortal blows.

It wasn't time for that yet, but Tusquo couldn't help but think it. He had always said that he would give his life for Irun, and if it came to that now...

Then without warning a sword burst through the invader's chest. As he fell to the ground, it contracted backward... all the way across the courtyard, to where Pourila stood. Tusquo had known the old woman had been a warrior when she was younger, but that should have been impossible. She was clad in the traditional liquid armor, which shouldn't have granted anywhere near so much power...

<

Name: Pourila Goryun of Irun

Total Power: 1006

Ironpath Physique: E-0 (300)

Soul Level: 9 (81)

Path of Steel: Steel 9 (125)

Carbonized Soul (+500)

>

Somehow her soul registered just over 1000 Power, mostly via an additional 500 from a new "Carbonized Soul". As Pourila marched over to them, sheathing her liquid steel weapon, she gave them each professional nods, one soldier to another.

"How can this be?" Quinta asked.

"Omilaena returned and helped us absorb the outsider metals," Pourila explained tersely. "She said there wasn't enough time for you: incorporating them properly would take months to years. But to simply inject the new metal, to solidify the soul... I have given up all future growth, but this is the way I can serve Irun."

"You will not be the last to serve," Tusquo said, giving her a deep proper bow. "Others will grow in the shade you have given them."

"Only if we save them now. Come on, we have a lot of work to do."

The last invader may have been killed, but they had a large number of Birtaegali mercenaries fighting with them. Those mercenaries had been at a distance, unable to touch the phased battle. But now, without their leader and facing a new enemy, they quailed.

For a long time, Irun had been the weak man of Deadwaste. Not anymore.

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..

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In the city of Goraykan, the invaders were still feasting when the merchants received a shipment from Razzagah Lantrian. It contained a letter, jars of wine, and a vial of blue liquid. The merchants read silently, then went to renew the feast. The invaders drank heartily, laughing in their superiority, enjoying the fruits of their strength.

Minutes later, they all lay dead.

Their mercenaries and collaborators realized what was happening and rushed into action, intending to strike down the defenseless merchants. But the hunters of the city, who had chafed for so long under the rule of the invaders, now vented their frustration against opponents who were not immune to their wrath.

The city of Goraykan returned to Goralian hands within a single hour.

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..

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Somehow, despite it all, Vyorrine was back in Krysal. She had never been truly at home there, much less in the strange new society that had been created, and it wouldn't have been surprising if she never went back. Yet here she was.

She unleashed all her abilities against the invaders, water and crystal and dragon breath. They stumbled back, shocked at every new ability she revealed, but the problem was that there were three of them and they each had roughly her strength. If she could maintain her phases she could keep them at bay, but she already felt her mind straining...

Some of the invaders had been isolated in their own fiefdoms, and the elites had annihilated them. But there had been a group that rushed to Yulthens together, aiming to decapitate the nation. They only learned about this from the leaders, who had been rescued by some of Kai's students, and so Vyorrine had gone with Yuinafal to finish off the group.

Just when she thought she was at her limit, one of the invaders coughed up blood. He fell, revealing Yuinafal behind him, one fist shining like steel.

"These are the last invaders in Krysal," Yuinafal told her. "Remain focused, this will be good for your phase training."

"Seriously?" Vyorrine sighed and readied herself on the last two.

Who realized that, at last, their invasion was over. They turned to flee, but it didn't matter.

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..

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As he fought a grim retreat through the Fire Union, Enalanis of Magma realized that this might finally be the end of his life. He was a practical man, and knew that a death in combat was probable, but he had always assumed that he would die in battle against a country-destroying monster, giving his life for the entire continent.

Instead he fought against the invaders in a fire court not far from the place he was born. It was a troublingly simple fight, all his flame and skill against their brute strength and speed. One he could have beaten, maybe two with the right advantages, but four of the invaders had gathered together in the chaos, and he could not overcome those numbers.

And so, with his options growing thin, he was likely to die soon enough. His powers could harm them, but he was very vulnerable to their blades, so the end would happen quickly. He would lose phase or move too slowly, one of the swords would pass through him, and that would be the end.

Then a storm surged from the clouds overhead, and even the invaders stopped to stare.

A young Goralian woman burst from the sky, carrying a fan that looked like it must have been from Cloudspire. When she swung it, the burst of wind cut the court in half, driving the invaders back. Enalanis recognized Inafay, one of the elites in training, but the level of power she was displaying...

The invaders shouted at her, daring her to come down to fight them, but they should have been watching their backs. A heavy Goralian man was approaching, and he brought a whistling storm with him. It struck them from behind and drove them back - not overwhelmingly, but they had to focus on resisting the storm, and they failed to look up.

Enalanis recognized the young man from the Wind Union: he had known Orotaisin when he was just a child. Now he landed as a bolt of lightning incarnate, his power bursting through the invaders.

Even that would not be enough, not against phased opponents, and Enalanis opened his mouth to warn them. But he saw that they were elites in more than power: all three converged, not holding back for a moment until they had annihilated the invaders.

"Hey there, Enalanis." Inafay turned to him and snapped her fan into a salute. "You okay?"

He took a deep breath and faced the three. Little more than children, to his eyes, and yet...

"We do not really have generations at the Frontier," Enalanis told them. "Everyone joins the edge of the battle and fights as long as they can. But today... I think it may be time to hand over that role to the next generation."