Pandora Unchained B1C82: Hit and Run

Stephan and the shadow-pawed were both in rough shape. A mixture of red block and black gore covered their bodies, and Stephan's Armor, newly repaired and upgraded since their last round of corpse collection, was in tatters.

Despite the heavy damage he'd suffered, he didn't hesitate to taunt the badger using a skill as Sorin and Lawrence closed in. Thanks to his efforts, Sorin was able to inject two doses of flesh-melt poison straight into its heart while Lawrence stabbed it in the back of the neck. Stephan then took advantage of the creature's wounds and wrestled it to the ground while Lorimer crawled into its eye and ate through what barely qualified as a brain.

"Gareth is getting pretty ambitious, isn't he?" said Sorin, once again retrieving his poisons. He felt the stimulants in his body wearing off forcing him to drink another toxic vial, in addition to a vial of completely useless poison to stimulate mana and health regeneration.

"Most of the enemy demons are focused on the south side," said Stephan, breaking a healing potion onto his bloodied chest. "So now's naturally the best time for us to lay on some preemptive damage."

"I don't know if provoking that hawk was the best idea," said Sorin, noting the powerful bird diving down at them with malicious intent.

"I wouldn't worry about that hawk too much," said Stephan. "Stephan how two-star adventurers take care of demons that step out of line."

The demonic hawk in question had its claws stretched out and was halfway to the ground en route to Gareth, who genuinely seemed frightened out of his wits. "Isn't the acting a bit much?" muttered Sorin as Gareth stumbled, forcing the creature just a little lower.

It was only when the arrow shot all the way from the outpost wall and struck the creature that Sorin realized Gareth wasn't baiting the creature toward their group. Instead, he was setting up Victor's attack, which knocked the creature out of the sky and blasted it towards a cluster of three fire glyphs, which Daphne promptly detonated.

This left only the termites and a group of three two-star demonic wolves nearby. Gareth tried to bait the wolves but failed to catch their attention. Lorimer squeaked to Sorin, but Sorin shook his head. "Those wolves look smart. I doubt they'd fall for it."

"The demons are gone, and the army's going to close in soon," said Gareth. "Let's retreat."

"What about Orpheus and the rest?" asked Lawrence.

"I don't see how that's our problem," said Gareth.

"Let's kill the termites before we leave," Stephan interrupted. "Wouldn't want them becoming heroes or something silly, would we?"

"That doesmake sense," said Gareth, stroking his chin. "Sorin? Lawrence?"

"On it," said Sorin, taking note of Gareth's strange body language. The duo split, with Lawrence taking on the termite engaged with four of Orpheus's men, while Orpheus tried his best to single-handedly take down the remaining termite.

A risky move with a high payoff, thought Sorin, further convinced that Orpheus was armed with the information on how to become a hero. Too bad you chose to try breaking through near me.

Sorin launched himself at the termite, ignoring one of its many clawed appendages tearing into his right arm and nicking his bone in favor of piercing through its exoskeleton and injecting a dose of poison. Insects were more difficult to poison properly due to their organ structures and, therefore, didn't react as violently as Sorin expected. Is it because it has its own acids? he wondered.

Regardless, Sorin's attack ignored realm suppression and was disproportionately painful as a result. The termite immediately turned its attention to Sorin, knocking him past Orpheus, who took advantage of the opening to stab the creature in the abdomen.

"Don't… meddle… in other people's battles," said Orpheus with gritted teeth.

"Rich words coming from you," said Sorin, picking himself up on the ground. He stepped forward, only to suddenly realize that a two-star poison was invading his system. Sorin fell to one knee as his body struggled to metabolize the toxins. "By the way, nice job 'getting yourself in trouble' to land on Marcus's list."

"So, you're not completely brainless," said Orpheus, parrying a spur and rolling out of the way of the second. "It's too bad my mana type was incompatible with the treatment method. Otherwise, I wouldn't need to go through all this just to unlock a stupid Hero Meridian."

Orpheus was a gifted fighter and had clearly received premium lessons on swordsmanship. His techniques were also aligned with death mana, a rare affinity for a cultivator. Sorin could only imagine what kind of money his family had spent to obtain them.

Incompatible body type? Sorin wondered as he continued to metabolize the two-star poison. As far as he knew, Death Mana was quite compatible with the meridian opening treatment. It was life mana that was difficult to reconcile with the Kepler Clan's meridian unlocking procedure.

It was a passing thought that Sorin swiftly set aside to focus on the termite poison. It was a weak toxin that was quickly converted to nourishment and life force via his Toxic Metabolism.

Orpheus continued to land one strike after another, whittling down the creature's defenses until an opening presented itself, and Orpheus dodged to land the finishing blow. "Look out!" Sorin shouted, finally purging the last of the poison and leaping over to 'help' him. Orpheus's attempt was foiled, and his position became unfavorable, opening him up to a counter-attack.

It was, of course, entirely possible for him to dodge. But Orpheus had gotten his fair share of termite poison, slowing his reflexes. Dodging became all but impossible once Sorin discretely used Cobra's Glare to temporarily paralyze the man and force him to block.

A deadly spur smashed down onto Orpheus's sword at just the right angle, shoving it deep into his shoulder and through his collarbone. Drat, thought Sorin. Not through the vitals. He blocked the termite's follow-up attack so as to avoid suspicion while reflecting on the ethics of what he'd done and how little sabotaging Orpheus affected his mental state.

Seeing their captain fall to the termite's attack, his remaining team members split apart to defend him. Lawrence finished off the remaining termite, and Gareth joined in, along with Daphne. With fireballs and arrows striking it from behind, it quickly fell.

Heavy meridian damage and light nervous system damage, thought Sorin as he evaluated Orpheus's injuries. His teammates were doing their best to bandage him up and apply strong healing potions. But the blood wouldn't stop, and they could only watch on helplessly as his blood puddled beneath his cooling body.

"We need to leave," said Gareth, running up to them. "Cut out the cores and prepare to retreat."

"Can't you see our captain is dying?" snapped one of Orpheus's teammates.

Gareth chuckled. "Given our relationship and the shit he's tried to pull on us, why should we care? Also, good job, Sorin. Who knows what kind of state he'd be in if you hadn't stepped in to defend him."

"Guys," said Daphne, huffing as she made her way over to them. "We have a problem."

Sorin's eyes narrowed as he suddenly sensed a threat to his life. It was the sort of sixth every cultivator had but rarely triggered. This time, everyone sensed a powerful presence stemming from Bloodwood Forest, whipping up the nearby demons into a frenzy. This included the remaining two-star demons.

"We have to run. Now!" snapped Gareth.

"But he's going to bleed out, " urged one of Orpheus's teammates. "Aren't you a physician?"

"Former physician," said Sorin. Hesitating, he placed a hand on Orpheus's unconscious body and spotted the key arteries spurting blood, then used flesh-melt poison to block them off. "This is all I can do for now. Please note that his injuries are severe and that my treatment will lead to necrosis, nerve damage, and meridian damage the more treatment is delayed. At best, I've preserved his life, assuming we can get him to a competent surgeon quickly enough."

The four clearly had no idea what had transpired in battle and could only thank Sorin and pick up their leader. A bloody-furred Stephan trotted over to Daphne and picked her up. Gareth hopped onto Stephan's back and pulled out three arrows.

Sorin and Lawrence fell into position beside Stephan. All four of Orpheus's teammates, hardy warriors by the looks of it, fell in line behind them. Gareth and Daphne did their best to rain fire and arrows down on any demons that drew too near. But their enemies were far too many, and soon, Lawrence and Sorin were covered in wounds, and Stephan's sides were bloody and raw. Corruption was beginning to set in, and even Sorin, gifted as he was in purging corruption, predicted that treating it would be far from easy.

"Incoming!" shouted Gareth as a massive eagle dove towards them. His arrows did nothing to stop it, but thankfully, an arrow shot from the outpost walls forced it to veer off course and miss them by a few feet.

"We're too slow," said Gareth. "We need to push in faster."

"I'm trying," said Stephan, making his way towards a large basket being lowered from the wall to retrieve them.

"We've got three minutes, tops," said Gareth, eyeing the demons closing in on them. He scanned their surroundings, then pointed. "Go that way."

"That's hardly the best direction," argued Stephan.

"It's the path of least resistance," said Gareth. "Move!"

Upon hearing the man's voice, Sorin felt power surge through his limbs, and a want—no, a need— to follow his orders. It was the same for their entire team.

Sorin suddenly gained a high-level awareness of their surroundings. It wasn't a precise view like the occasional pulse Lawrence sent their way to make them aware of nearby threats, but more a bird's-eye view of their surroundings. It showed Sorin that they were indeed cutting across a map filled with thousands of different creatures in a pattern that pushed through their respective groupings and through weaker enemies.

Gareth wasn't the only one to starkly change in demeanor. Something seemed to shatter around Daphne as she drank down a mana potion. She didn't throw out a fireball as she usually would but instead summoned one from the center of a group of demons.

The fireball exploded like a fire trap, clearing a swath of demons out of their way just before they reached it. Gareth shot down a strong demon trying to fill in the gap while Sorin lobbed a Veridian Smoke Bomb to disable lesser enemies trying to fill it using paralytic poison.

"Here, use this," said Sorin, tossing two vials of Dream Blade Ointment to Gareth. The ointment wouldn't be as potent on arrows but it was better than nothing. Gareth promptly used the ointment to empower several arrows, enabling him to disable five high-threat one-star demons before they became a problem.

"Prepare to embark!" shouted Gareth just as they reached the wall.

"We won't make it," said one of Orpheus's companions. "They won't be able to pull us up before the two-star demons get to us." Sorin frowned as he pondered over their options. He could maybe buy time against the five two-star demons heading straight for them but wouldn't be able to intercept their momentum.

"Leave it to me," said Daphne, over-drafting her mana to summon several orbs of fire in the middle of enemy ranks. They didn't immediately detonate but accumulated much like her original fire traps. By virtue of her breakthrough as a hero, she was able to quickly summon a full twenty trap orbs. "There. That'll keep them busy."

"Your meridians are under heavy strain," noted Sorin as he observed Daphne's condition.

"I'm fine," said Daphne.

"What are you all waiting for?" yelled Gareth, nocking an arrow. "Pull us up!" He unleashed a Shackle Shot that tangled up a demonic stag reminiscent of the stag they'd fought during corpse collection duty.

An additional barrage of arrows further impeded the demons. These were shot by none other than Vice Guild Master Victor. But he could only spare one shot every few seconds, as the three two-star demons flying overheard would tear him apart once he showed any openings.

They reached two thirds of the way up when suddenly, one of the two-star demons broke through, forcing Daphne to detonate the fireballs. She coughed up blood and collapsed as the explosion rocked the platform and threatened to shove everyone off.

"The rope's frayed!" shouted Lawrence, transmitting an image to their team. One of the two ropes pulling up their basket was singed and breaking apart, and was mere seconds from letting them go.

Then, to the horror of everyone, it suddenly snapped. Sorin, thinking quickly, used Python Coil in conjunction with his whip and grabbed the end of the rope, preventing them from falling.

The strain was enormous, especially given Stephan's weight. Sorin felt his ligaments begin to tear as the basket was slowly hauled upwards.

They were barely five feet away from the top of the wall when one of the avian demons decided enough was enough. A steelfeather eagle— the more potent cousin of the steelfeather sparrow— dove down towards them despite Victor and Gareth's heavy barrage.

It was about to make contact when suddenly, a blade swept upward and caught the creature in the neck, decapitating it. Two powerful sets of hands caught the basket and yanked it the rest of the way.

"Some would call what you lot did foolish," said a stern voice. It was none other than Vice-Governor Marsh, who'd caused Sorin much trouble in the past. "Fortunately, I'm a man who appreciates ten two-star demons getting prematurely taken out of the equation."

"I'm sure my urging had nothing to do with you coming here," said Haley, appearing beside him.

"Politics have no place on this battlefield," said Vice Governor Marsh. "Heroes that can take down so many two-star demons before bone-forging are an asset that must be protected."

For a moment, Sorin felt shame wash over him. Shame over how he'd sabotaged Orpheus. But then he remembered everything Orpheus had done and reaffirmed that he'd made the right decision. Who knows how many people died because of his sabotage over the years? thought Sorin. Who knows how many more would die in the future if he was left unchecked?

The subsequent battle didn't take long to wrap up. The remaining demons threw themselves against the wall to expend ammunition, poisons, and alchemical explosives.

While the soldiers wrapped things up, Sorin and his team were quickly ushered off to the medical tent. Stephan's wounds were the worst of the bunch, but they paled in comparison to Orpheus, who was ushered off to a surgical room thanks to the power of money and political influence.

Sorin's only consolation was that while he cut off bits of corrupted flesh and purged smaller amounts of corruption from Stephan, Orpheus would not be having a good time. There would be no miraculous recovery for the backstabbing cultivator and his endless provocation.