Eric returned to help Kaden, Finley, and Clarke gather the scattered supplies they would need for their journey and fill them in on the additions to the group. The diverse skill set of the group would be valuable for his plans to deploy hit and run attacks against the Valix forces and he was thankful for Finley and Kaden’s experience as rangers to help with tracking their foe.

The group all took some time to rest and recover from the previous night and allowed their Health, Mana, and Stamina to fully recover while sharing a meal and packing up the remaining supplies. They headed toward the front of the column after saying farewell to the remaining members of the division that hadn’t departed.

It didn’t take long to reach their destination, and Eric spotted Jax’s tall frame from a distance as they approached. He made out Ella, Liam, and Cattie in a tight circle around Jax as they got closer. Cattie saw him from around Jax’s stocky frame and smiled cheerfully giving him an enthusiastic wave.

The others walking alongside Eric looked at him awkwardly for a moment, and he let out a short chuckle before returning her wave with a slight raise of his hand. “She never seems to be out of energy,” Eric said before they reached earshot of their waiting companions.

“As long as she saves enough energy to take care of the Valix we will get along fine,” Clarke replied with a grin.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Eric said lightheartedly.

They stepped up to the waiting group, and Eric smiled broadly. He was happy to see everyone alive and well. He introduced his new companions to Cattie and her guild mates, hoping everyone would bond quickly in preparation for their adventure. Introductions didn’t take long, and they established a party using their social menus before beginning the march west to pursue the Valix. Eric was optimistic that they could use their small numbers to cover distance quickly and efficiently to catch the retreating army before they reached their next destination.

Kaden and Finley believed they would retreat back into the frontier to lick their wounds and assemble more troops before making another strike. Eric hoped to reach them before they entered the frontier or their efforts would be much more difficult. According to Ella, the frontier was a thick forest for the first couple hundred miles followed by grassy plains stretching hundreds of miles into the middle of the continent. No adventurers had ever reached the end of the plains to find out what laid beyond, but the speculations about what might be residing beyond the plains were endless.

Eric would be happy enough to catch the rearguard of the Valix troops and cause them grief while gaining some valuable experience to continue getting stronger. If he could at least cause them a little suffering, it would make it worth the trouble, and it never hurt to get some more combat experience as well as potentially a few more levels. Eric figured he should be able to gather some loot from the downed enemies. The organization Legion prevented troops from looting the bodies of defeated enemies so Eric was anxious to get his hands on the potential loot found on the Valix.

The group kept a quick pace and the devastated column quickly disappeared behind them. They stuck to the main road to help avoid difficult terrain. Kaden and Finley confirmed the army’s direction using their tracking skills. The day slipped away and by the evening the group had left the road to follow the enemies’ tracks heading northwest into the foothills of the Galot Mountains. The trek became more strenuous with the rise in elevation and it started to take a toll on the group’s Stamina, especially Ella and Liam.

Eric urged the group to continue on even with their Stamina waning. He was anxious to cover as much ground as possible while they were still following fresh tracks and he was hopeful they may be able to engage a handful of the rear guard within the next few hours if they continued their pace. The groans weren’t encouraging, but eventually, he won over the sentiment with talk of all the valuable loot they would acquire, and the group continued on.

“That’s it I can’t go on,” Ella said in exhaustion after another twenty minutes of hurried tracking.

“Same here, I have been struggling to keep up for the last hour,” Liam announced as he settled down onto the ground breathing heavily.

Eric groaned knowing they were almost close enough to smell the retreating army. He also felt the strain from his drained Stamina and with the moon already high overhead he gave in to the complaints of fatigue.

“I think this as a good of a place as any to settle for the night,” Eric said looking around at a small clearing. It was at the top of a small rise and surrounded in a loose formation of trees, brush, and scattered boulders.

The group settled into a circle in the middle of the clearing and spread out their bedrolls. Jax and Eric gathered some firewood to make a small campfire in the middle of the group before laying down to rest. As soon as Eric laid down, the exhaustion hit him, and I realized he was much more tired than he thought. He stretched his legs out under the warm blanket and felt the soothing heat of the fire on his exposed face.

Liam summoned his small fox familiar to keep watch and alert the group to any monster activity while they rested. It only took a few moments for fatigue to overtake Eric and he fell into a deep sleep.

“Good morning sunshine,” Clarke said with a nudge to Eric’s mid-section with the heel of his boot.

Eric’s eyes were bleary, and the sun was already peeking over the horizon. “Morning…Is everyone else awake?” he asked groggily while stretching his arms out and releasing a long yawn.

“Just about. We should be ready to move out in a few minutes,” Clarke responded before turning to start packing up his bed roll.

Eric sat up after stretching out his body a bit. He still found it amazing how realistic his virtual body felt. It seemed like the programmers of the virtual world thought of almost everything. He slipped on his boots and stood up seeing the rest of the group milling around getting ready to head out.

Everyone had a quick breakfast, and they set out for the second day of tracking the Valix army. The renewed energy from a good night’s rest showed through their quickened pace. Finley and Kaden found tracks less than two hours old by mid-morning and the group got another burst of energy.

By mid-afternoon, they were all anxious to make contact with the enemy. They approached a hill covered in large boulders and loose trees when Finley suddenly threw a hand up behind him with his palm flat signaling the group to halt. He stalked quietly up to the edge of a large boulder at the peak of the hill and glanced around before turning back to the group with a smirk.

Everyone waited patiently for him to return and report on the situation knowing it might be the first sighting of the enemy. He stealthy returned and in a low voice said, “Looks like we finally caught up to those filthy creatures. This terrain must be slowing them down more than we thought. Those damn lizards aren’t used to being away from the swamp I guess. We can finally give them a punch in the face for the trouble they have caused us.”

“How many are there?” Eric asked in a whisper as adrenaline started racing through him.

“There are no more than twenty-five of them; it must be their rear guard. They look weary and off guard though so I think even with their higher numbers we can handle them if we take down enough from range and remain hidden,” he replied with a grin.

The group nodded together, and Eric could feel the excitement building with the opportunity to strike back in reach.

“You, Kaden, Clarke, Liam, and Ella can provide ranged support from the hillside using the boulders for cover. Cattie, Jax, and I will sneak down the other side of the hillside so we can engage them in hand to hand combat once their numbers are reduced and keep them off of your position,” Eric said taking charge of the battle plans.

“Let’s do this!” Jax said while pulling out his Two-Handed Axe from the thick strap across his back.

The rest of the group gripped their weapons and nodded before separating to put their plan into action. Cattie took the lead of the group, and they carefully made their way down the hillside using the boulders and trees for cover to avoid detection.

The Valix warriors were resting and laying about in a small clearing at the bottom of the hill absorbing the warmth of the sun overhead. Their lack of focus gave the band a perfect opportunity to strike. When the lead group got within a dozen meters of the enemies scattered around the clearing Eric looked back up toward the hillside and gave a hand signal to initiate the attack.

The hillside was over forty meters away, but with the elevation, Eric’s allies would have the advantage. A thick spear of ice appeared from the hillside, and took only a moment to reach its target. The ice spear made a clean strike to the chest of one of the Valix troops, completely immobilizing and stunning it against the ground.

Eric heard a discernable grunt from the impacted foe before all hell broke loose. It only took a few moments for the other warriors to realize they were under attack and war cries cut through the air as they started scanning the hillside for enemies. Eric nocked an arrow in preparation to flank an unsuspecting enemy once the Valix spotted his allies.

The initial ice spear was quickly followed by arrows cutting their way through the air with heavy striking power. The long range limited their accuracy and only one in three arrows found its mark, but the rate of fire was steady, and additional ice spears also began making contact with enemies one at a time every half dozen seconds.

The Valix easily identified the direction of the attacks and swarmed toward the hillside in a angry rage. They passed Eric’s position unaware allowing him to step around the boulder he was using for cover unseen. He drew back the nocked arrow to full strength filled the arrow with Lightning enchantment before letting it loose toward the closest enemy.

Eric’s arrow found its mark in the back of the skull of his target. The Valix crumbled to the ground from the deadly attack, but several other enemies sensed the new threat. They discerned the flanking enemies from the rear and stuttered their charge to face the new threat. Eric motioned for Cattie and Jax to enter the fight while nocking another arrow.

Eric hoped they could distract a handful of enemies while the rest of his party continued to dwindle the enemy’s numbers from range using the terrain to its full advantage. Jax and Cattie charged into the clearing engaging the enemies that changed directions to meet the closer threat. Eric methodically eliminated several more Valix with practiced precision before joining the fray of hand to hand combat with Cattie and Jax to draw more enemies away from his allies.

After only downing several enemies at Jax and Cattie’s side, Eric noticed the thick armor of the Valix troops was proving more troublesome than expected. He saw many enemies with arrows or ice shards sticking out of their bodies still making progress toward the rest of the party. He carefully scanned the battlefield and realized unless they could attract additional enemies away from the hillside his ranged comrades would be overrun in no time.

Eric dodged a quick jab from the closest Valix before tumbling to the side and bringing up Shadowspark with a vengeance. He found a slender gap in the warrior’s armor and planted his feet before driving a lethal strike into the snarling reptile’s ribs. Thick blood gushed from the wound, and the Valix warrior collapsed to the ground critically wounded.

Eric spun around after wrenching his weapon from the body of his foe and saw his allies were makinga retreat over the crest of the hill they had been using for cover. The remaining enemies, enraged by their lost companions; were swarming up the hillside in pursuit. Eric turned his body and tensed his leg muscles as he began to cover as much distance as possible before his allies were engaged, but he suddenly felt a tingle run through his body and to the ends of his fingers. He looked down toward Shadowspark gripped tightly in his hand and was briefly blinded by a light swirling around the shaft. He slowed his pace and focused on the strange light until it subsided into a new symbol. The swirl of golden light imprinted against his weapons grip and Eric noticed a flashing message in his view. He quickly read through the contents and looked up with a satisfied grin.

Ting!

New Skill Alert - Spark Teleport (10 Mana + 0.5 Mana/Meter) – Imbuing Lightning magic into a Grand Bow arrow allows you to travel along the Lightning trail of an arrow to quickly cover long distances.

Eric confirmed he had over half of his Mana remaining and didn’t hesitate to draw and nock another arrow. He took aim toward the hillside right in front of the charging enemies. He initiated his new skill and immediately felt his nocked arrow begin to fill with a thick Lightning enchantment. He felt the magic pulling him forward toward the tip of the arrow. He released the tight bowstring with a snap and gave in to the feeling drawing him toward the arrow, activating his new teleportation skill.

Eric experienced a feeling of extreme rush, and his adrenaline surged as he was pulled into the arrow’s Lightning trail. He saw a flash of light before his eyes and in a blink, he was completely mana drained and stumbling to regain his footing. He realized with a quick scan he landed short of his target. He saw the arrow he had released stuck in the ground up the hill and still releasing arcs of electricity into the ground. Eric focused on his surroundings and found himself in the middle of three enemies all snarling at him and reeling back to attack.

Relying on his instincts, Eric dropped to the ground just before a spear took the place of his head and bounced harmlessly off a boulder behind him. As Eric hit the ground, another enemy stabbed down into his exposed left calf, and he let out a short yell at the sudden pain surging through him. Grunting, Eric re-gripped Shadowspark and swiped out behind him aiming at the enemy pulling at the spear embedded in his bloodied leg.

Eric’s attack caught the enemy across the chest, but only scratched the thick plate armor. Eric was forced to readjust into a defensive position as the other two of the enemies closed in on his position. He was wounded and partially immobilized by the injury to his leg, but managed to block two quick jabs before regaining his feet in an unsteady motion. Blood began dripping down into his boots from his injured left leg and he could feel the warm liquid pooling between his toes.

Eric staggered back to open some space between the sneering reptilian monsters and himself. He felt a boulder at his back after a few steps and decided he had to end the fight quickly before more enemies appeared. Eric realized his grim situation, but was thankful to be able to distract some of the enemies chasing his comrades. He yelled out in frustration, probing the band into a unorganized attack, “Come on you slimy bastards, what are you waiting for?!”.

It only took the three Valix a moment to become further enraged at his taunting, and the two closest warriors both charged simultaneously. Eric rolled to his right, avoiding the first spear that stabbed out at his chest. He smashed Shadowspark hard against the shaft of the spear and head a crack. He felt the backlash shake rounghly against his hand. At the same time, he slammed his armored forearm across the first enemy’s face hoping to daze it for a moment.

The Valix reeled back from the impact, but quickly sent another swipe of its spear toward Eric. Eric ducked below the strike and sprung forward with Shadowspark extended in response. He found the gut of the monster and punctured the thick armor with his strengthened attack. Eric heard the sharp cry of defeat and disengaged his first opponent as it staggered away in pain, but his second opponent was immediately in the fray. Eric felt a spear tip dig across his exposed cheek and began to feel the agonizing burning sensation of poison start to infect the wound.

Eric gripped the shaft of the spear that crossed his face and pulled with all his strength. The Valix warrior holding onto the other end slammed into Eric’s body. Eric released the shaft, switching his grip to the creature’s throat. The monster’s eyes widened, and Eric felt it’s claws dig into his side as he tightened his grip around its throat. Thinking quickly, Eric dropped Shadowspark and grabbed the small bronze dagger hanging from his belt.

He drove the dagger deep into the head of the creature feeling bones scraping across the crude blade. Eric released hisc grip and shoved the enemy away, gasping in pain as the creature’s embedded claws tore away at his flesh. The creature was still standing with Eric’s dagger sticking out of its skull as Eric grabbed Shadowspark from the ground and pushed off the boulder behind him to build momentum for his next attack. He slammed the tip into the creature’s chest and left a deep gash on the scales underneath its armor. He forced the weapon deeper into the wound with one final push and finally felt the body of the creature collapse beneath him.

Eric jerked his weapon from the corpse and looked around to see only one enemy remained. The other Valix was lying on the ground unmoving, and blood was pooled underneath it. Eric realized he had landed a critical attack when he pierced its gut. The remaining Valix was only holding a small knife, but Eric found it still looked as deadly as ever. The two opponents stood still for a moment, eyeing each other cautiously. Eric was breathing heavily and felt his wounds slowly bleeding his Health toward zero.

He noticed the fallen enemy at his feet had dropped its spear, and Eric made a calculated decision feeling his injured leg slowly giving out on him from the Valix poison. He released Shadowspark onto the ground and dropped to one knee. He grasped the spear and flipped the head toward his enemy that had begun a wild charge toward him. Eric dug the back end of the spear deep into the soil in preparation to meet the enemy’s charge.

The Valix’s dagger reached out at Eric, but he easily avoided its reach and grabbed the wrist of its owner as it passed by preventing another attack. At the same moment, Eric kicked the shin of the enemy with all his strength and used the Valix’s own forward momentum to pull it toward the awaiting spear tip. The result was nothing less than spectacular as the creature fell into the spear of its comrade and was turned into a lizard skewer. Eric saw its eyes widen in surprise before blood spilled from its mouth and its body slackened.

Eric released his grip on the spear, and the Valix dropped to the ground with a clatter before Eric fell onto his back and noticed hi Health and Stamina were down to a sliver. The last thing he saw before falling into unconsciousness was his ranged allies streaming down the hillside yelling out and chasing down two wounded Valix.