Chapter 1723: Outnumbered but not Outmatched - Frosttusk

Shortly after Hakon grabbed the handle of the ancestral axe, all hell broke loose.

It had released a surge of aether that, while harmless, alerted every single enemy warrior who was camped out here for the sole purpose of securing the axe.

Dozens of Aether Grandmasters, hundreds of Aether Masters and below, and a handful of Aether Lords came barreling down on the four of us as we turned the central chamber into our defensive choke point.

This wasn’t the first time the other kaijin and I had to fight in an underground area, but something about this time felt...different.

Probably because we were working with mortals this time around as opposed to handling tasks on our own, but the assistance was mandatory this time around.

With this many enemy warriors at the same level or higher as the Zhen Clan party, fighting independently would just leave them vulnerable to being ganged up on.

That said, none of the enemy warriors were having a good time as they tried to attack us.

[Incoming...to the right...!]

’I got it,’ Zhen Shi declared as he clenched his fist in preparation. ’Little annoyed I can’t use one of my big moves, but whatever.’

Early in the fight, some of the more hot-headed enemy warriors attempted to use intermediate Ethereal-grade aether arts when attacking us. Unfortunately for them, it was an incredibly bad idea.

The moment they attacked, several of the tree roots that were dangling above us and not doing anything beyond guarding the skeleton suddenly surged forward and attacked the idiots who tried to open the fight with a bang.

The ones who were Aether Grandmaster and above were able to fend off the roots before anything terrible could happen to them, but the poor fuckers who were Aether Master rank and below had gotten pierced like pincushions.

Either way, everyone fighting in the central chamber at this time had no choice but to fight using nothing but minor Ethereal aether arts.

Well...only the enemy warriors had no choice but to fight like that.

We, on the other hand, could still use [Chaos] to fuel our big attacks.

Of course, we didn’t let them know that.

Using an enemy’s doubts and preconceived notions against them was part of our Jarl’s fighting doctrine, and it was something that worked out quite often.

Especially when such trickery happens at the last moment, when the enemy has already fully committed.

"Die, you old freak!"

Attacking from his right, Zhen Shi was being charged at by several members of the Rot Feather tribe, being led by one of their Aether Grandmasters.

The latter took the lead, as he had the telltale swagger of someone who believed their [Regalia] was all but invincible to everything and everyone.

He was going to be in for a rather rude awakening, though.

[World Serpent’s Wake!]

Channeling ice aether and [Chaos] into his palms and feet, Zhen Shi rushed right through the Rot Feather warriors like they were rocks in a river and he was the river.

Several heavy palm strikes rang out one after the other like drum beats at a festival, leaving a snakehead imprint on the chests of every enemy warrior struck, each one empowered with enough ice aether to leave behind thick layers of frost and ice.

The look of shock on the enemy Grandmaster’s face was something to behold, especially when it was accompanied by the sound of breaking bone and cracking aether armor. As for those below that rank, the injuries they received were even heavier.

None of them died, surprisingly, but the amount of frostbite they suffered was something to behold.

That said, even though Zhen Shi and I were putting in a lot of work, we weren’t the only ones with a remarkable kill count.

[Wolf Fang Blitz!]

"Is that guy just covered in poison?!"

"Fucking dodge!"

Zhen Long, despite this being the first time using the power of a kaijin, was remarkably quick in leveraging Slug-at-arms’ innate powers for his own.

Using his aether and [Chaos], Zhen Long manifested a variety of weird weapons that were loaded with aether venom, which he then combined with his aether arts to deliver one devastating attack after the other.

I was unfamiliar with the ideas of "septic shock" and "necrosis" until I saw the results of such things crop up in the defeated warriors.

"Hot damn!" Zhen Long cried out in an uncharacteristically youthful voice. "This feels fucking amazing! No wonder Xiao Liu fights like this."

"Try not to get too lost in the sauce, father," Zhen Hai called out as he began to channel Hurricroak’s power into his aether treasure. "Try to find a balance like this!"

[Tidal Storm Cutter!]

"Incoming stampede! Wait, why is it covered in lightning?!"

Zhen Hai was young, but being an Aether Grandmaster at that age was more of a boon than a detriment. Combined with Hurricroak’s innate lightning skills, Zhen Hai’s already absurd attack capabilities reached a level that threatened even Aether Lords...which happened more than once.

An Aether Lord hailing from the Red Weavers attempted to get a jump on Zhen Hai, assuming that the rank disparity would be enough to overwhelm the young warrior, only to get absolutely blindsided as Zhen Hai swung around his giant shark-tooth club and slammed its electrified edge directly against the Aether Lord’s [Astra], sending them flying in the opposite direction.

By normal standards, this was an absurd outcome.

[Eel Hunter!]

"What the fuck is that thing?!"

"A snake-fish?!"

"RUN!"

Despite not having any form of Kaijin assistance, Terra’s innate [Chaos] made her more than capable of fighting off multiple enemies of the same tier.

Especially when she exercised her [Astra].

Terra’s [Astra] took on the form of a flexible spear that channeled her innate electrical powers like a full-blooded kaijin.

More than once I saw an enemy Aether Lord try to get the jump on her, only to suddenly flail because of the [Chaos] in her spear caused them to recoil in fear and pain.

In other words, despite them clearly outnumbering us by a large margin, they failed to match in any capacity that mattered.

’I’m actually surprised,’ Zhen Shi confided in me as we kept fighting off enemy warriors. ’I figured by now they would realize something was wrong and attempt a different course of action. Hell, I figured they would be trying to attack Hakon.’

The young master from the Storm Singers, and Nepherage for that matter, were still attempting to pull the axe out of the skeleton of the Ice Blood Mammoth.

Encapsulating the two of them was a thick layer of ice aether, which was what was cloaking them from being perceived by the enemy warriors. Well, that was part of the reason why they were being ignored.

The other reason was because of us kaijin.

[You should know better than most that Chaos has a minor mental effect on even the most powerful of warriors,] I explained to Zhen Shi, the heat of battle making my thoughts move faster than ever before. [Now imagine what happens to a bunch of idiots who have never been exposed to Chaos until this very moment.]

’Good—whoa!’

Before Zhen Shi could finish sharing their thoughts with me, a member of the Rot Feathers attempted to come down on us with his [Astra] in hand.

This guy’s [Astra] resembled a heavy saber that was shaped like a rotten vulture’s wing.

I wasn’t even in corporeal form, but I could smell the rot and decay.

"Hateful FUCKING invader," the Rot Feather Aether Lord cried. "I’ll eat your fucking eyes while I make your liver rot!"

Only mildly annoyed and perturbed by the warrior’s threat, Zhen Shi figured now was a good time to call out his [Astra]. And with it, my [Taboo] became a part of it.

Unfortunately, I could not maintain both [Stigma] and [Taboo], so I migrated myself to Zhen Shi’s [Astra].

[Astra, appear!]

From Zhen Shi’s wrists, dozens of chains began to form and writhe like serpents rising from the depths.

By themselves, Zhen Shi’s [Chains of Obligation] were able to move independently from his body and had the ability to inflict massive amounts of ice aether upon contact.

However when combined with my influence, the nature of his [Astra] changed.

The chains around his right arm began to wrap around themselves until they formed a thick braid of chains that ended in a giant iron ball covered in ice and spikes.

Engraved on the surface of this iron ball, was my visage.

While this was happening, though, Zhen Shi’s [Regalia] had noticeably shrunk back down to his regular form and size.

Needless to say, such a strange display caused the Rot Feather warrior to scream in alarm.

"What trickery is this?! Why did you shrink? Why is your [Astra] radiating so much power?!"

"Because it ain’t just an [Astra]," Zhen Shi answered as he began to swing the ball and chain around and around, causing a blizzard-like aura to form around us.

"But you’re not going to find out what it is, because...FUCK YOU, THAT’S WHY!"

And with that roar, he launched me towards the Rot Feather warrior.