Novel Full Chapter 875 - Taming the Fifth Year - Attrition - 4
Chapter 875 – Taming the Fifth Year – Attrition – 4
Someone had been watching… Waiting for the right moment.
Which raised disturbing questions about how extensive Orion’s intelligence network actually was. Did he have people in the castle? Informants who’d reported their route? Surveillance techniques nobody knew about?
Or had he simply positioned mutant forces at all possible ruins entry points and activated them when any were triggered?
Either possibility suggested preparation level exceeding what they’d given him credit for.
Julius eliminated another mutant approaching through the tunnel, a beast charging with opened jaws being intercepted by a strike that killed it instantly.
A dense mineral spear Julius pushed manually through its skull. Clean kill, another one down.
It was an easy victory like hundreds before during the last hours. But individual ease didn’t change the general situation.
They’d been perfect so far. But perfection was unsustainable indefinitely. Eventually fatigue would cause error.
“We need to discuss options,” Julius uttered aloud, words directed at Zhao but also at tamers under his command who were close enough to hear in the resonant tunnel. “Because staying here indefinitely isn’t a viable option.”
Zhao launched his feathers and eliminated the target further back before responding. “Options are limited when our only escape route is blocked and these beasts are determined to refill any breach we open.”
It was a precise summary of the tactical dilemma they faced.
“We have that option,” Julius began with caution, communicating he didn’t like what he was about to propose. “But we need to evaluate carefully before committing.”
Zhao looked at him with understanding. “Fusion,” he said simply, the word carrying the weight of all implications coming with that particular technique.
Julius nodded confirmation.
The fusion tamers of their caliber could execute was a technique giving capability elevating them to a level where they could face threats that would eliminate complete squads of ordinary tamers.
Power that made you almost invincible…
For 15 minutes.
It came with that critical limitation making casual use extremely imprudent.
Three theoretical options:
Option 1: Hold position indefinitely. Pro: defensible, preserves the most reserves, lowest risk. Con: resource depletion, surface situation deteriorating, eventual breakdown if the flow didn’t stop.
Option 2: Attempt fighting through without special techniques. Pro: still preserves reserves. Con: probably impossible, would take days if the flow didn’t stop.
Option 3: Use fusion to force breakthrough. Pro: almost guarantees success. Con: days of recovery afterward, useless for Victor’s rescue.
No good options. Just varying degrees of bad.
“Only 15 minutes,” Zhao murmured while considering whether that was enough time to execute the escape from the trap that had locked them in. “To open a route through these mutant concentrations and reach the surface before fusion depletes completely.”
They’d have only those approximately 15 minutes to use their maximum power the complete fusion provided. After that, bond with their beasts would deplete to the point where they’d need days of rest to restore energy to levels where they could operate effectively again.
Not simply being tired but genuinely out of commission. “But it’s feasible,” Julius evaluated with a tone that was analytical without being optimistic. “Error margin is small. We’d need to only use half the tamers in case there’s an additional trap layer waiting like an army outside… so we can carry the depleted ones and avoid the problem of everyone being depleted in a potentially worse position than the present one.”
It was a risk they needed evaluating against alternatives of remaining here until resources slowly exhausted, which would give them even weeks to wait for help being high-level tamers. But it was too much time… No option was good. It was a question of deciding which risk set was more manageable.
“The problem will be the days where we’re out of commission,” Zhao added with a voice carrying concern beyond immediate tactical considerations. “Victor is in Orion’s hands. If we’re incapacitated when a final confrontation occurs, that leaves them without the backup they might need.”
It was the strategic calculus that made this decision so difficult.
Julius clenched jaw with frustration of situation having no clean solution regardless of what choice they made.
His brother Victor was in danger… Captured.
His brother Arturo was operating with incomplete information about what Orion had available.
Selphira was probably pushing more aggressively than prudent because that was her nature when family was threatened.
And he was trapped in a tunnel kilometers beneath surface, locked by enemies that regenerated faster than he could eliminate them using conventional methods, facing a choice between risking escape that would leave him defenseless for days or remaining here while the surface situation potentially deteriorated without his intervention.
No good choices. Only bad and worse.
♢♢♢♢
Ren sat on his room’s balcony at the academy, looking toward what tomorrow would transform into an arena for the exam’s final battle.
It was night. Darkness broken only by crystalline lights illuminating paths between buildings and by three moons hanging large in the clear sky.
The air was cool without being cold, perfect temperature for contemplation without the distraction of physical discomfort.
He’d been sitting here for maybe 30 minutes. Not training or planning or reviewing strategy. Just… existing, letting his bonds regenerate, feeling them. Watching the calm night.
It was a luxury he rarely allowed himself. Usually there was something demanding attention. Training that needed completing, techniques requiring practice or problems needing solving.
But tonight, nothing pressed. Tomorrow’s battle would come regardless of whether he spent tonight preparing or resting. And he’d already done all the preparations that mattered.
So: rest. Breathe air. Exist without purpose beyond existing.
Simple and… surprisingly pleasant.
Ren knew nothing about what was happening outside academy walls.
Had no idea Selphira and Arturo were trapped in a prolonged siege against an army that had entrenched in absolute defense.
No idea Julius and Zhao were locked in Yino ruin’s depths, defending against an endless mutant flow someone was deliberately controlling. Had no full knowledge of conspiracies developing at levels exceeding his present capacity to influence.
The Brain in Yino’s depths. The missing purple cores. Orion’s mutant control. Victor’s capture. The stones that directed corrupted creatures like weapons. The second part of the Brain that Orion obsessed over.
All of it happening. None of it visible from the academy balcony on a peaceful night with three moons overhead.
For Ren, the world at this moment was reduced to mental preparation for the confrontation coming with dawn.