Chapter 75: The Drums of War

Black Mountain had once been a prosperous, peaceful city. After suffering a horrific nuclear blast, however, it now flickered like a candle in the wind, its survivors clinging to life amid the ruins of their homes.

Fortunately, half the city had escaped the worst of the radiation. The residents threw themselves into rebuilding.

Though grief and pain weighed on everyone, the busy, industrious atmosphere still filled this ill-fated Refuge City with hope.

But today, the atmosphere was different.

Another group of armed, uninvited guests had arrived—the forces of the Radiant Path. Most were dressed in red, packed together like an immense flock of crimson crows. Their suffocating presence weighed on the people of Black Mountain, leaving them struggling to breathe.

Acting Mayor Kenneth Bell looked deeply troubled.

This was the fourth contingent the Radiant Path had sent.

At first, the Radiant Path had dispatched a convoy carrying food, water, and medical supplies to aid the survivors. Missionaries had accompanied it.

Black Mountain had been immensely grateful for the timely assistance. Many residents who had previously disliked the Radiant Path had even changed their opinion of them.

Then came the second convoy.

This time, supplies made up only half of it. The rest consisted of armed Radiant Path soldiers.

Calling themselves the Holy Army of Deliverance, they forcibly stationed themselves in Black Mountain and seized control of every major road and intersection.

The third contingent followed soon after.

Only a quarter of it consisted of supplies. The rest was made up entirely of soldiers.

They erected barricades, fortified checkpoints, and even raised the Radiant Path’s flags. The only thing they had not done was openly declare that Black Mountain belonged to them.

Despite the nuclear catastrophe, nearly half of Black Mountain’s population had survived. Its people had no intention of submitting to the Radiant Path. They took up whatever weapons remained and began resisting, trying to drive the believers out.

Several scattered clashes had already erupted throughout the sprawling city, leaving both Radiant Path soldiers and Black Mountain residents dead or wounded.

Since the Radiant Path was still officially providing aid, Acting Mayor Kenneth Bell had no choice but to play along. He bowed his head and smiled deferentially at High Priest Frank Griffin, the Radiant Path’s commander, insisting that the attacks were merely the independent actions of a few residents.

After all, most people in the wasteland had short tempers. Shooting someone they disliked was hardly unusual.

In truth, most of the residents had already begun organizing themselves. Armed with rifles and rocket launchers, they hid inside their homes and watched the Radiant Path soldiers on the streets below with cold eyes.

The remnants of Black Mountain’s Refuge Security Force were gathering weapons and ammunition as well, preparing for a bloody fight.

The Holy Army of Deliverance had also realized that something was wrong. Black gun muzzles were frequently trained on passersby, and the tension was rapidly approaching its breaking point.

High Priest Frank Griffin had promised to withdraw the troops and calm Black Mountain’s residents.

Yet less than two days later, the fourth Holy Army of Deliverance contingent arrived.

The noisy armed convoy kicked up a long trail of dust as it advanced brazenly toward the city. It was clearly much larger than the previous contingents.

Black Mountain’s residents worked through the night, using bricks and rubble from the ruins to block the key entrances into the city, hoping to stop the Holy Army force and its armored vehicles and heavy autocannons.

Kenneth Bell understood that conflict was now unavoidable.

But Black Mountain had already suffered a devastating catastrophe. It could not survive another bloodletting—especially against a colossus like the Radiant Path. Its chances of victory were almost nonexistent.

As acting mayor, Kenneth took the initiative to negotiate with High Priest Frank Griffin. He tried to persuade the Radiant Path to leave Black Mountain, avoid conflict, and minimize casualties.

“Impossible!” Frank Griffin replied without the slightest hesitation.

He looked at Kenneth with the haughty superiority of a benefactor addressing an ungrateful recipient.

“You people truly have no idea what’s good for you! His Holiness was right. Those without faith have fouler hearts. You don’t even know the meaning of gratitude!”

Kenneth knew that the aid Black Mountain had received placed him at a disadvantage, but he forced himself to answer.

“We aren’t ungrateful armed brigands. Once we’ve recovered, we’ll do everything in our power to repay the Radiant Path for the aid you’ve given us. But instead of withdrawing your army, you keep sending in more soldiers. How can the residents not grow suspicious?”

Frank Griffin’s expression darkened.

“Don’t forget who was the first to come to your aid. Who treated your wounded? Who helped rebuild your homes?

“Now that you’ve regained a little strength, you want to drive us away? You’re no better than an ungrateful wolf cub that turns around and bites the doctor who bandaged its wounds as soon as it recovers. If your late mayor, Darius, were still alive, even he would be ashamed of you!”

“Keep our late mayor’s name out of your mouth!” Kenneth Bell snapped. “As long as you’re in Black Mountain, you’d better remember whose city this is!”

“Hmph.”

High Priest Frank Griffin sneered down at Kenneth.

“It seems Black Mountain is in need of judgment—a bloody purge! Otherwise, you godless heretics will never—”

Boom!

A violent explosion cut the high priest off.

More explosions followed in rapid succession, shaking the ground. Fierce gunfire erupted alongside the roar of heavy autocannons.

A Radiant Path soldier hurried inside with a communications pack on his back and handed Frank Griffin a brass communicator.

“High Priest, we’re under attack outside the city!”

“Someone’s attacking? Outside the city?”

Kenneth stared in disbelief. He could not imagine who had acted without authorization.

Black Mountain had little military strength left. Their plan had been to eliminate the Radiant Path soldiers inside the city first, then break through the forces outside. And even that was still only a plan. They had not begun putting it into action.

Frank Griffin gave Kenneth a cold glance. The acting mayor looked equally bewildered and clearly knew nothing about the attack.

Now that the reinforcements had arrived, the one thing the Radiant Path lacked was an excuse for war.

Frank sneered inwardly.

It did not matter who had started the battle. War had already begun—and he was confident he could make it consume all of Black Mountain.

“What’s the situation?” Frank demanded into the brass communicator. “How many attackers?”

“Two!” The voice on the other end trembled.

“Two?”

Frank laughed dismissively.

“Then deal with them quickly! The heavy autocannons bestowed upon you by His Holiness weren’t meant for shooting vultures.”

“High Priest, one of them—it’s him! The Tier 5 Vanguard on our wanted list! Finn! He’s here! He’s slaughtering his way through us—”

A muffled explosion came through the communicator, followed by a sharp burst of electronic static.

Then silence.

Both the soldier on the other end and his equipment had been blown apart.

...

Finn raced through flames and explosions and plunged straight into the enemy ranks.

Profound Energy coiled around the Skybearer Sword. He slashed in every direction, its blade flashing with a deadly chill.

The blood-soaked sword never stopped.

It sliced through the Radiant Path soldiers’ body armor, severed their gun barrels, and hacked their bodies apart. Finn tore into them like a razor-edged mower cutting through dry weeds. Nothing could stop him.

Atop a camouflaged armored vehicle, a gunner manned a heavy rotary autocannon, frantically pouring fire toward Finn.

The weapon’s thunder was deafening. A thick stream of gold-red fire spewed from its muzzle, and its spinning barrels rapidly heated to a crimson glow.

Almost instantly, its ammunition feed ran dry.

The gunsmoke had not even cleared when Finn’s silhouette emerged.

He stood amid the cratered ground without a scratch on him.

Finn hefted a standard-issue black rocket launcher he had just taken from a Radiant Path soldier.

He pulled the trigger.

The rocket screamed through the air.

The armored vehicle exploded, torn apart in a brilliant burst of flame that added yet another blaze to the raging battlefield.