This chapter has been one that has been coming for a long time, finally it is here and I can tell you all that I am glad it is here. Because this finally is the mark of this story going into the big leagues, because I plan to focus on this story a lot now. Mainly because it needs the attention.
I have been so focused on United Against the Legion of Flames that I have neglected my other works. So this is to all the people who have been demanding this chapter. Here it is.
Transcendence
Chapter 27: Mines of Dread
"Get the wounded together!" Tyresa ordered, looking over the cleared Orc camp.
The bodies of dozens of ashen skinned Orcs littered the barren earth, while their victorious warriors stood above them bloodied but alive. Only a few had fallen besides the slain Orcs, but they were few and far between the multitude of Orc bodies.
She let out a sigh, they had been successful in the assault on the pass, and they had claimed it with minimal casualties. That was a good start for them; in fact they were actually ahead in many ways.
The pass had been taken quicker than expected, no small thanks to Reginald and his Knights whom had cleared much in the way of resistance. But in truth it was thanks to the heroic assault against Stonewatch that had likely saved many lives today and resulted in this victory.
For a moment she felt relief that they had saved so many lives today, two people assaulting a massive fortress and coming out alive and with survivors. That was something she never expected to happen, she had thought that they would have been killed. But instead the young Night Elf had returned with news of success and more soldiers to bring to the fight, it worked out almost perfectly.
Although, the fact remained, Ichigo had disobeyed orders and run off, something she could not overlook. She was grateful for his actions and the heroics of them, but that did not change the fact that he put the lives of others at risk, including himself to do something that was suicidal. And even if he did succeed he still was likely nearly killed, he could never had survived alone, and that was something she had to bring up later.
"We did well. In fact we may actually be able to assault the Steppes today instead of tomorrow," Reginald stated, stepping up beside the Paladin Commander.
"That would be good, it would give us a chance to catch them off guard, but we need to move quickly," Tyresa replied.
The Steppes was a dangerous place and the march to the Orc's stronghold would take a long time, they would likely be fighting into the night. But if they could do this, even if it was remotely improbable, they could deal with this Orcish expansion within a day. Something that would cripple them and prevent any form of counterattack in the near future, it would bring peace to the region for potentially years.
"We will get the wounded up, but some of them will need to be sent back, they are too bad off," Reginald replied, looking to their people, some had suffered some serious wounds.
The priests they had with them were tending to them, but healing such grievous wounds was not easily done. Some would likely need recuperation for several days before they could return to active duty. That meant sending them back to Lakeshire, meaning their time in this outfit had ended.
"How many are down and out?" Tyresa asked.
"Eight dead. Seventeen wounded, with fifteen out of combat," Joana replied, stepping up towards them and standing at attention. "We have cleared out the Orcs, the scouts ahead say the pass is clear until the Steppes,"
"Good, get those that are wounded back into fighting form, those out of combat send back to Lakeshire with the dead," Tyresa ordered, and received a crisp salute from Joana who quickly moved off to carry out the order.
"She is quite dedicated, almost reminds me of you back in the day," Reginald said, glancing at Tyresa.
"Well I was one of the first women in the damn military, and you know how hard that was," Tyresa replied, smirking a little at the irritated frown on Reginald, but she noted his eyes shift off to something behind her.
Turning Tyresa noted that three people had walked into the camp; she noted the two unknown mages tagging along with a familiar warrior in silver and brass armor. Her eyes narrowed in on the orange haired youth, she had been waiting for him to come back. And now that he had arrived she would get to finally speak with him.
"So Lady Jaina wishes to speak with me on some matter? Can you divulge nothing else?" Galen inquired, looking at the substitute with a hard stare.
"Can't do that, only she can explain, I just came here to help you, but we can't leave yet," Ichigo said.
He couldn't just reveal something important like that in the open, if someone overheard it would likely cause problems he didn't need. Also, Jaina had made it clear that behind closed doors and only with her could something like this be discussed. Too many factors to account for, so waiting till they were back in Theramore would be the next best step for them.
But until then they had to deal with these orcs, and Ichigo would not leave here until this region was secured.
"Yes, we need to help secure Redridge from the Blackrock Clan; I had not expected the Orcs to attack in mass however," Galen replied. "I do wonder why they have come here,"
"I remember them speaking of gathering precious metals near the keep, maybe they were running low in the Steppes," Caren offered, speaking normally for one of the first times Ichigo has heard, it would seem that she respected her master a lot, and not much anyone else.
"Maybe, but for now we need to focus on them here," Galen replied. "Alright Ichigo, we will wait on discussing this matter until these Orcs are dealt with,"
"Thanks, some extra help would be great at the moment," Ichigo replied.
"I am glad you think that, I hope you remember that next time you charge off,"
When Ichigo heard that he wanted to groan in annoyance, he knew what was coming and he really did not want to deal with it. He turned to see a neutral looking Paladin Commander with her hands crossed and looking right at Ichigo. Despite that impassive stare he could tell she was pissed off, he had seen expressions like that a dozen times he had done something reckless.
"Are you Commander Morgan?" Galen inquired, stepping forward and introducing himself.
"Yes, and you are?" Tyresa asked, only glancing at the man for a moment before focusing on Ichigo again.
"Galen Runecrest, and my Apprentice Caren Willmourne," Galen replied, gesturing to his young magi accomplice.
"Nice to meet you, I take it that you are the one this boy came here looking for?" Tyresa asked, using 'boy' simply to convey her current mood to the young man, who scoffed and crossed his arms in irritation.
"Yes, he saved me and my apprentice from our captors," Galen replied.
"I take it you three will be leaving soon then, along with Adelina I take it?" Tyresa asked, looking at the boy, she would make sure to get a word in before he tries to leave though, this behavior cannot continue.
"No, we'll be staying to help you finish what needs to be finished," Ichigo replied, and Tyresa raised an eyebrow, not expecting the bullheaded boy to make the statement.
"Is that right," Tyresa said. "Alright, Galen I could use your experience with those mages we have, if you can get them in order I would be grateful,"
"Of course, I will see about getting them ready for you," Galen said, looking off and finding a small group of them conversing with one another, sharing a meal.
He walked off, Caren in tow, leaving Ichigo and Tyresa with one another for a short while, both remaining silent. Tyresa looked at Ichigo and found the state of his armor to be less than what it was, it certainly had earned itself, with all those scrapes and cuts along it, it had proven to be well made.
"I can't help but be impressed; you went off on an important mission and actually carried it out well, according to Lieutenant Marris you handled yourself very well," Tyresa stated. "In fact you even went out of your way to stop a major Orc offensive with only one another to carry out the task, and through luck or sheer skill you did it. Saving the lives of dozens of people, and likely is why this operation was successful,"
"Yeah, yet I see a 'but' coming up here," Ichigo replied, and noted that the paladin's eyes narrowed a bit.
"But. The fact that you ran off like an idiot with absolutely no regard for your own life makes me question why in the Nether you did that," Tyresa replied, a scowl working its way onto her face. "You should never have gone off like that Ichigo; you could have gotten yourself killed along with your friend,"
"I did what I needed to, if those Orcs had gotten to the pass who knows how many people would have died. I saved them because no one else could have," Ichigo said, feeling annoyed that they were complaining that he did right.
"I am not faulting the reason you did it, I am saying that you went in with no plan other than to try and draw them off. From what I was told Adelina was the one that prevented you from outright attacking them," Tyresa said, glaring at the boy. "You are lucky, very lucky, and I am not just referring to the armor, but the fact that you had someone with brains with you,"
Ichigo felt his vein pop at the insult.
"What the hell? I did this and you complain that I could have done something wrong?" Ichigo yelled back, clearly annoyed. "I went there to save everyone I could; I fought to make sure they wouldn't hurt anyone! I am not apologizing for that,"
"Did you know there were survivors? Did you know how to escape the keep if there weren't? No," Tyresa said. "You were reckless and it nearly cost you your life, I do not say that what did not happen, but what will happen one day is that people will die if you do not step back and think before you strike. You had people's lives saved today, but tomorrow you may be forced to choose which lives you have to sacrifice. I face that choice every time I go into battle,"
Ichigo was silent for a moment, knowing that he had been caught in that, it was true he did not know what the hell was going to happen but that didn't mean he was unprepared. He would have figured something out.
"Don't do that again, I have lives that I need to protect as well, and it only becomes harder when those under my command don't listen. I have seen to many young men die for glory and praise, the last thing I want is more bodies on my shoulders," Tyresa replied, turning and moving off, leaving Ichigo there for a moment to think on her words.
Ichigo felt a little put off by her comments, he had done what he had to do and he knew she couldn't fault him on that. But at the same time he understood where she was coming from, and that irritated him because that made her right and him technically wrong.
"Great, now I got that to deal with," Ichigo said aloud, running a hand through his hair.
He needed to take a break; he's had enough to deal with at the moment, adding to the fact that despite his actions he was being a reckless idiot didn't help things.
One Hour Later
Their forces had moved, they marched through the pass and into the Burning Steppes, their next destination in sight. Close to two hundred warriors were on the move, on horseback or on foot they marched together.
"So we have to take down this Orc stronghold?" Ichigo asked, besides him was Galen.
He had come to find the man to be quite intelligent and easy going, in fact he almost reminded him of Urahara. But luckily this intellectual didn't have those nasty habits of being a know-it-all in your face and often making jokes at your expense.
"Apparently so, the Orcs are using it as a staging ground to invade Redridge and also defend the entrance into their territory," Galen replied. "If we can remove it then the Orcs will not be able to assault Redridge again in the immediate future,"
"That's good to hear," Ichigo replied, moving with the rest in silence, although the further they went into the pass the more he could feel something was off.
As they eventually entered the region he found out why, ahead of them was a completely destroyed and barren wasteland. He could see the scorched earth for miles ahead that led to a vast mountain range that sat over the horizon.
The sky was a deep orange red and looked to be on fire as much as the ground, that had been charred black and covered in ash and soot. Even the air had a taste of ash as he took in a breath, and nearly choked on it. This place looked like hell, or what would be hell if the fires were snuffed out.
"What the hell?" Ichigo said aloud, looking at the place that was a near contrast to verdant and prosperous Redridge.
Ichigo stepped onto the earth and heard it crunch under his feet, the ground completely dry and without moisture. As he took another step the ground ruptured slightly and small particles of dust lifted up into the air, already adding to the likely poisonous atmosphere. Ichigo began coughing in an instant, he could see that most of the people had already covered their faces with rags.
"What is this place?" Ichigo asked, raising his arm over his mouth to shield it from breathing in anything he shouldn't.
"This is the Burning Steppes; this place was once as verdant as Redridge, until about three hundred years ago," Caren replied, stepping forward and covering her mouth with a neatly knitted cloth.
"What happened?" Adelina inquired, unfamiliar with this history of this region.
"The War of the Three Hammers, the three Dwarven Clans went to war, the Bronzebeard Dwarves with the Wildhammers went to war with the Dark Iron clan. It led to this," Caren replied.
"A war did this?" Adelina asked, not understanding how a war could possibly lead to this kind of devastation to the environment.
"The Dark Iron summoned a being that did this, a powerful fire elemental known as Ragnaros," Galen replied.
Ichigo looked around and actually stopped to press his hand against the nearby stones, once formally some kind of building. He couldn't understand it at first but with a little focus he noticed it, he could feel spiritual energy. His senses were not the best there were but he was able to get a feel for it, simply because it was all around him. This place was saturated with it; whatever had done this was so powerful that it incinerated this entire region in the blink of an eye.
"How powerful was this thing?" Ichigo thought aloud, he had not technically come across anything in this world that he could consider this powerful before.
He wasn't one to boast but he knew he had the power to challenge the Captain's, most of them anyway, who were undoubtedly the most powerful force on his world. But the fact that when he first arrived here he had not sensed anything even remotely as powerful as them or more so gave him closure. Yet he steps in here and that despite after three hundred years this thing's spiritual energy was still permeating the area made him concerned.
'Was this thing… like the old man?' Ichigo thought, wondering how powerful certain beings could be on this world.
If there was some kind of elemental being that's power not only matched that of the Old Man, but was actually on par, he was concerned that he may actually have to face this thing one day. He had sensed it back in the Soul Society, even when battling against Byakuya he could feel the potency of it. But the fact that something like this has remained here for three centuries made him wonder what kind of monster this thing is.
"Ichigo, are you well?" Adelina inquired, stirring the substitute from his thoughts.
"Huh? Oh yeah, just surprised is all. I didn't think there was anything that could have done all this from just appearing," Ichigo replied.
"Well believe it, the Dark Iron summoned that thing up and ended the war in a single stroke, caused a lot of damage but luckily it ended when it did. Otherwise more could have been lost," Caren replied.
Ichigo did not doubt that, he could now feel the residual energy in the atmosphere. It was still present here despite the time it would have taken for it to dissipate. This Ragnaros guy must be pretty powerful to cover this entire region and burn it to nothing, hell this place is likely several thousand square kilometers. That alone was testament to the power that he possessed, power that he hoped he wouldn't need to face.
The party moved in silence, occasional chatter broke out amongst those that were familiar with one another but nothing else. Soon they had arrived at their destination, a dilapidated tower near the base of the mountain ranges that separated Redridge from this barren wasteland.
"Everyone camp on the slopes, sentries at the base and the high ground, I want to make sure nothing surprises us while we are here!" Tyresa called out.
As she moved up the slope she was flanked by Reginald and Joana, moving up past the stationed soldiers present and towards the woman sitting on a crate near the entrance of the tower. The woman had neat short black hair, while her pale face looked on with a scowl. Her body was covered in thick brown plate with spikes and thorns, while at her side was a long one side bladed spear.
"Well, didn't expect you to get here so quick, or at all," Morgan said, rising from her seat and stepping forward. "Good to see you again Tyresa, how's Stormwind?"
"Don't give me any lip right now Anabelle. We are here for business, not to catch up," Tyresa replied, scowling herself as she looked at the leader of the Morgan Militia.
"Damn, didn't think that everything was that bad between us, haven't spoken since you visited three years ago and you are jumping down my throat. Harsh," Anabelle replied.
"I have to be, since you have decided to live in this living hellhole for reasons that are pointless," Tyresa replied.
"I stay here to reclaim what our family lost; obviously you wouldn't know that since mom ran from that all those years ago. And look what it got her, killed by Orcs," Anabelle replied.
"She was your mother too remember?" Tyresa replied.
"After she ran with you, she kind of stopped being that," Anabelle snorted, before she quickly changed the subject. "So you're here to stop the Orcs are you? Well good luck with that, because you do not have enough men,"
"It's just one Orc stronghold, there shouldn't be more than a few dozen there," Reginald cut in.
"Not just that, we got Ogres in the area, really close to the compound, you attack they will attack. Same goes if you try it the other way around," Anabelle replied, moving over to a small natural ramp near the edge of the Vigil and overlooking the Burning Steppes.
They looked out to see that much of the area was obscured by smoke and smog, making it hard to see anything clearly after a few kilometers. But they could make out a mountain in the distance that seemed to have activity on it, small shapes and pyres could be seen on the surface.
"A base?" Reginald asked.
"A mine, running dry really, that place has been the thing that has been supplying the Blackrock Clan their ore for the last couple of years," Anabelle replied.
"So that's why they went to Redridge, to get more. Guess the intel was right," Tyresa replied. "That leaves us little options on how to deal with this problem,"
"The Orcs and Ogres will be impossible to deal with at once, we need to take one out and then deal with the other," Joana suggested.
"No, even if we do that we would still suffer heavy casualties, it would be a slaughter for us. The Ogres are the main problem, if we can avoid facing them that would be for the best," Tyresa said.
"Sadly that is going to be tricky, that close to the Orc's stronghold they will attack for sure," Anabelle replied.
"Any suggestions?" Tyresa asked, turning to her two officers.
Sadly they could not think one up, they had no Intel on the Ogres. They also knew that even if they had more men than both the Ogres and Orcs they would likely still suffer heavy casualties. They were out of luck it would seem, attacking was pointless, and retreating was not an option at this point.
"I have an idea, it is a bit risky but it can benefit us all and even cause disarray for this Dark Horde," Anabelle replied, smirking slightly.
Ichigo took a swig of the water skin and nearly drowned the entire thing; even with his throat being parched he still felt it getting drier with every passing second. He looked around to see that these militia men were going about their patrols as usual and seemed to be doing alright. How in the hell do these guys stand being in a place like this, it's a nightmare.
He looked over to Caren and to his surprise he could see that there was some mist evaporating from her. Ichigo noted that it was possible that she was using some kind of ice magic to keep herself from getting hot, lucky her.
Although the rest of the people here were not in such good shape, some of them looked to be on the verge of heatstroke. Damn, this place is hell to be in, how were they meant to stay here any longer in this place for an unknown amount of time. How could they fight in these conditions was an even more pressing matter.
"Ichigo Kurosaki,"
The Substitute glanced up to see Tyresa's second in command standing there, the same woman that had been at the recruitment run in Stormwind. Joana was her name if he remembered correctly.
"Yeah, what's up?" Ichigo inquired, getting to his feet.
"You've been selected for a mission, high risk and important,"
"Uh… why?" Ichigo asked.
Last time he went on one of those he got reprimanded when he got back, although that was probably because he went AWOL. So the fact he was being selected for another one seemed a little out of character for Tyresa, especially if she didn't trust him to stay put.
"Because, despite your idiocy in running off to fight an army, you performed your mission exceptionally well and are being recruited into this one. Also it seems that you have enough skill for what we are doing," Joana replied, turning and moving off.
Ichigo looked to Adelina and Caren, the latter giving a shrug while the druid simply smiled and nodded her head, encouraging him to go ahead. Ichigo gave a sigh before moving after the paladin and towards a small meeting between the different commanders. He seemed to be catching onto the end of their conversation.
"Will this work?" Tyresa said.
"It should, Oralius does tell me the Ogres would scatter as soon as they saw what happened to their leader," Anabelle replied.
"Commander, I have the team ready," Joana said.
Ichigo looked to see that there were four others with him now, all of them in light armor and appearing to be made for speed rather than direct fighting. He was the oddity in the group; the rest of them seemed to be more akin to assassins rather than warriors. How was he meant to be of use here if he was not a small agile guy with a small sword?
"Good, now all of you have been chosen for a mission of extreme importance," Tyresa said. "You all will be infiltrating the Dreadmaul Rock; it is the base of operations for the Firegut Ogre clan which are aligned to the Blackrock clan,"
Some of the people looked a little worried about this, as if fighting against Ogres was much worse than Orcs. Although Ichigo had no idea how much more dangerous these Ogres could be, maybe they were bigger or meaner, possibly both. Or they could just have a bad reputation among Humans that made them seem much more dangerous than Orcs.
But he wouldn't know anything about that, this world is still filled with things he could not understand or begin to imagine. Hell when he was in Theramore he heard that there were Black Dragons in the southern region of the Marshes, it had shocked him. Especially since that was very close to where Lost Point was, but not as much as the fact they existed period.
'I wonder if I will ever get used to the craziness here,' Ichigo thought to himself.
"The team will find and assassinate their leader, Gor'tesh, the Brute Lord; he is located inside the mine that his clan currently controls," Tyresa stated. "Once he is dead and the Ogres realize this their people will scatter, then we can mop up the resistance in the stronghold and we are done here,"
There seemed to be no major argument from anyone, but Ichigo had to wonder why these Ogres would run away after their leader was killed. Wouldn't they try to avenge him or at least stop those who killed him? Maybe they valued strength above all things, maybe seeing their strongest guy killed could make them turn away and run.
"We depart in an hour, rest up and get as much food and drink in you before then. We will have a long way to go," Joana said.
Ichigo and the team he would be working with left the little meeting after that, he found it quite quick and simple. He guessed that she didn't want to overcomplicate things with them; otherwise it would throw them off. But he had to wonder, if they were invading some mine wouldn't it be smart to go over where they could enter from instead of going in blind?
"You sure about the kid? He went off track once, again could cost us," Reginald said, looking at the retreating soldiers that would be carrying out the mission.
"Have to risk it, the kid is a damn good fighter and if he did half of what was said we will need him down there," Tyresa said.
Although she was a little worried, stealth didn't seem to be the thing he could do well, not with that big sword and armor. But in the event things went awry he would be someone she likely could count on to fight to keep everyone alive. The kid she could tell was someone that would go to Blackrock Mountain and back again to save someone.
He had that weird aura about him, the feeling that he would go out and risk life and limb to save someone. Some would call it foolish, but she doubted that this kid was a random meat axe looking to sink into some violence.
"I hope you are right commander, we do not need him becoming reckless down there," Joana replied, she would be leading the team this time.
She would make sure that Ichigo did not go off on his own; she would need to keep him from doing something that would threaten the operation. With a nod towards her superior Joana moved off, she would need to make sure that they had the supplies set up when they depart. It would be a long hike towards the mound and it would be even more brutal with the temperature.
Ichigo let out a deep breath and sucked another in, and that did nothing but make his throat feel dry and sting. The damn air here was so hot and dry that breathing was always an issue, and his throat was constantly dry and starting to irritate him. Along with his skin, he was starting to itch and that was driving him crazy.
"Keep low," Joana ordered, slowly walking forward in a crouch to a stone before glancing up the mound.
Ichigo kept himself low and took a swig of his water skin, he grimaced when he didn't get as much as he wanted out of it. Empty, he had only had it for about forty minutes and drunk the whole thing. Again he wondered why he was so thirsty, was it because of his body again?
'God I have no time to deal with this right now,' Ichigo grumbled in his mind.
"Alright, follow me, keep low and check your left and right, make sure nothing sneaks up on us," Joana ordered, before quickly moving to scale the side of the mound.
Ichigo looked up to see a massive mountain of dirt and rock, whatever this mound was it was riddled with pikes and pyres. But he could see that there were several well-travelled paths along the outside of the mound, showing that they were patrolled.
They quickly scaled the sides and near the top of the small mountain they found an entry, Joana made no command but motioned them all to follow. Ichigo gave one last glance outside before following the party inside, keeping silent as everyone else.
For the next few minutes they travelled in silence, Joana leading and occasionally giving them signals to stop or to quickly move. Not a word was said and that was probably for good reason, he could hear echoing through the tunnels. Shouting and roaring, whatever was inside this place was likely big and scary and worse than the Orcs.
Joana gave one command and everyone went still, and listened. In a moment they started to hear shouting, it would appear there were two people talking with each other loudly.
"What do we do again?" A dull set of words was heard around the corner, and Ichigo found them almost slow.
"We hit rock and get metal out, that what we do," was the reply, in an equally dull tone.
"Rock hard, and metal hard, how we tell difference?"
"Uh… oh! Rock red and metal black,"
"You smart,"
Ichigo immediately looked around the corner just out of curiosity and found two large eight feet tall humanoid creatures. Noting they wore only loin cloths and were largely overweight, but the fact that they were speaking so slowly and dumbly he couldn't understand why people were worried about them.
'These guys look like idiots,' Ichigo thought to himself.
Joana stood up and lightly pushed Ichigo back, before she turned and looked at everyone.
"Alright, two Ogres easily handled," Joana said. "Now, I will deal with one while I have Arden and Duncan help me. Ichigo you with Martin and Frederick deal with the other one,"
They all nodded their head and moved to engage, Joana motioned Ichigo forward and quietly had a word with him.
"Alright, the one on the right, that is yours, try to lure him to the corridor down the right. From there distract him while Martin and Frederick wear him down from behind," Joana instructed and received a nod from the substitute.
With that she quickly rounded the corner and Ichigo was right behind her, both moving for the Ogres who turned towards them surprised at the sudden attack. Ichigo slashed at the Ogre to the right and forced it to stumble away. As it's back hit the wall and slid down Ichigo stabbed Zangetsu forward, yet the Ogre miraculously parried.
Ichigo actually felt his Zanpakuto drag him off course, he actually stumbled from the parry. The damn Ogre had used a pick axe to defend himself and he had nearly been thrown off his feet. Ichigo actually scolded himself on that, these guys couldn't be considered easy pickings if they were so feared. Big and bulky, that was their strength and advantage.
Ichigo quickly skipped backwards, allowing the Ogre to lumber after him. Another surprise was that despite their size and even appearance as being overweight they were actually quick on their feet. Ichigo used Zangetsu as a shield against the tip of the axe pick, he didn't need to fight but give the others time to strike.
But even then the strikes were actually pretty intense; they held a lot of force behind them that he had to brace himself for every swing. Also, this guy tended to randomly take a swing at him with his fist as well, making defense and keeping still difficult. In these cramped conditions Ichigo had to rely mostly on Zangetsu to weather the attacks.
Luckily he didn't have to defend himself for long; he watched as both his off-siders moved in and sliced into the back of the Ogre's legs. It fell down with a groan of pain before Ichigo steadied his blade and stabbed forward, striking it in the heart and piercing through its back. Another dulled groan of pain escaped its lips before it lurched backwards and fell to the ground lifelessly.
"Nicely done, you did well," Joana said, moving past Ichigo as she sheathed her blade.
Ichigo shook his head, again with that feeling. Ever since his talk with Zangetsu he had been feeling conflicted with the need to kill, but while he can do it he felt himself drifting off. As he kept fighting he could feel the need to kill return in order to keep people safe, but still the act made him hesitate.
'Dammit, what the hell is going on inside my head?'
The path they moved down was mostly empty, a few Ogres around each bend here and there. Easily dispatched when needed, but that did not stop them. Moving deeper into the mines and searching for their quarry. Soon enough they came to where they likely were to find him.
A massive chasm in the middle of the mine, inside they could see many different layers of excavation going on as Ogres pulled out precious ore. Inside were at least a dozen Ogres, all mining the ore, aside from one who stood out amongst the crowd.
"That's him, the Brute Lord," Joana said quietly.
She quickly overlooked the cavern to see about the best possible route, but that was narrow because she could not move about the corridors of the mine. The Ogres were random and haphazard with their way of excavation and dug their tunnels without thought.
It would be smart to use the entrance they had found, but that would make their next task difficult. The Brute Lord was on the other side of the chamber and the tunnel they occupied was about three meters above any flat landing. And that landing was two levels below the strata that the Ogre was now on, meaning they had to fight up towards him.
"This will be tricky," Arden said.
"Yes, but I do not see any other choice. Making our way around to him will be impossible, and we are on a deadline. If we do not kill him soon and send out the flare our people will not attack," Joana growled out.
This was a dangerous position they were in, with the distance between Morgan's Vigil and the Firegut Mines they couldn't mount an effective attack with the time it would have taken to travel between those two points. So their only option was to set a deadline and wait for the signal to come, and that would only come if they killed the Ogre's leader and then scared off the rest of the clan.
"How long do we have?" Frederick asked.
"They will wait for an hour, we have up till then, but at the moment us fighting in there and then to the top of the mound will cut deeply into that time," Joana replied.
"So, we attack now then?" Ichigo asked, reaching for Zangetsu's hilt.
"Looks like it," Joana replied. "Alright, we fight our way up to the level, standard fair here. Ichigo you are with me, fight besides me and we can clear a way through. You four stay at our back and take anything out that isn't dead."
Ichigo nodded his head and moved up to stand beside the paladin; with a meaningful glance he showed his readiness. With that acknowledgement both leaped from the opening and onto the strata below, within seconds they were seen but already moving.
Joana rushed the first Ogre in their path and quickly blocked his pick axe with her shield before Ichigo charged past and slashed open his side. Joana ducked under his arm and allowed those behind her and Ichigo to finish off the wounded Ogre. As they moved around the level, cutting down any Ogre in their path as they moved up one stratum after the other.
Ichigo slashed up and shattered an Ogre's mining pick, and immediately after Joana sliced open his throat with a quick slash of her silver blade. As the Ogre's body hit the ground Ichigo vaulted over it and rushed for a nearby ladder, large in size and thick. Ichigo knew that climbing up would not work; the rung was too thick to grasp. But the gap to the next strata was only about four meters.
"Hey! Running and jump!" Ichigo called out, before turning to Joana and pointing to her shield. "Use that to throw them up,"
Joana glanced down at her shield and for a moment nodded her head. She sheathed her sword and pulled off her shield from her arm. She reached the ladder and with Ichigo they dropped the shield lower to the ground and held on tightly. They waited for Arden to come close and when he touched onto the shield they both pulled it up and launched the man up towards the top of the ladder which he scaled.
Next came Fredrick, who followed through in a similar manner. Martin and Duncan were up quickly enough, leaving Joana and Ichigo to follow up.
"There they are, get them!"
Ichigo turned to see a group of Ogres running up the edge of the stratum towards them. Turning Ichigo cupped his hand and motioned Joana to put her foot on it, she did not give much protest other than a frown before complying. Ichigo quickly vaulted her up the ladder by a good three meters where she scrambled over the edge. She turned and reached down for Ichigo, motioning him to take her hand.
Ichigo took a step onto the ladder to use it to reach her, but as he reached for her he saw an Ogre was attacking him. He let go with one arm and swung to the side and out of the picks path. Saving himself from likely being skewered.
Ichigo dropped from the ladder and to the ground when another followed afterwards; he rolled forward and away from the Ogre. As he rolled onto his knee he quickly rose while turning around with a draw, pulling Zangetsu from his back he swung at the Ogre. He caught the lumbering beast in the chest, forcing it to stumble away. Yet the thick layers of fat over muscle made it tricky to cut through deep enough.
Ichigo back pedaled as he blocked swing after swing from the Ogres, luckily only two could stand in front of him on the stratum. But that made it none the less difficult as he had to fight against two large monstrosities that were not letting up in their assault.
Ichigo braced Zangetsu as best he could, but backpedaling and defending himself was not easily done when he was being forced off balance like this. He kept his eyes on the Ogres and tried to find an opening, and was rewarded when he noted that both moved in to strike at the same time. Acting quickly the substitute stepped back and slashed, cutting into the ogres' chests and making them stumble backwards in shock.
'Can't fight them like this.' Ichigo thought, getting too close could be dangerous.
If his body was not as durable as he wanted it to be than having these guys grab him would be fatal. So he was left with only one choice now, he had to run. Ichigo looked up to the side of the stratum to see that the three meters could be scaled if he was able to get a running leap.
'Got a couple dull rocks I could use,' Ichigo mused.
Taking the initiative the substitute capitalized on the Ogre to the left and slashed him along the knee, effectively lopping off the limb. As the Ogre dropped to the other knee Ichigo leaped onto its bowed back and then leaped onto the still standing Ogre. Planting his foot into the morons face he used it to vault himself to the lip of the next stratum. As Ichigo passed over the lip he stabbed Zangetsu into the ground and then pulled himself over, quickly glancing back to see the Ogres were trying to climb up after him.
Luckily they were too heavy to accomplish the task.
"You guys should lose some weight," Ichigo said aloud.
Joana ducked under the Ogres axe, narrowly avoiding having her head cut off. She quickly moved forward and slashed at the Ogre's stomach, the edge of her blade cut into the skin but did not penetrate as well as she would have liked. Their skin was thick and the fat beneath was even more dense, making cutting this bastard down impossible.
Joana raised her shield and took the incoming axe; the large weapon had a head the size of her torso and was rather bulky more than sharp. But that didn't mean anything, one hit from that and she would be done for. As the weapon struck the paladin stumbled away, unable to maintain her stance against the force of the strike. As she stumbled aside the Ogre advanced, attempting to grab her, he was dissuaded when her blade sliced into his palm.
"This is harder than I wanted it to be," Joana growled out.
She glanced to the right to see that the rest of her team was fighting off those two guards, and doing so very slowly. Without Ichigo here there was no one to take their attention and keep them distracted, meaning the poor men had to fight with what dexterity and agility they had to not get bludgeoned. Meaning she had to face the Ogre lord alone, without support, that was never fun to do.
Ducking under the axe Joana rushed forward and quickly slashed as the Ogre's waist before smashing her shield into the side of his knee. The slash did little, too much fat under the thick layers of skin, but the shield did a nice job as the massive humanoid howled in pain and attempted another attack.
Joana weaved to the side and avoided the axe as it slammed into the ground where she stood, digging itself deep into the rocky and hard earth. Joana saw her opening and took it, raising her sword up she channeled her power into the weapon. As her silver sword was bathed in golden light she struck, swinging it down and towards the axe, right along the shaft of the weapon.
She was pleased to see the dark iron weapon shatter from the strike, as a burst of holy light shot out with a concussive boom. The Brute Lord stumbled back, shocked and dazed from the burst of light and force. Joana turned to the Ogre and quick raised her shield arm, and grasped at the air. In an instant a mass formed and took the shape of a glowing ethereal hammer, shining with golden light and thrumming with power.
Turning on her heels she swung her hammer around and tossed it right towards the Ogre, who had no chance to dodge or defend himself from the Hammer of the Righteous. As the hammer struck it exploded and threw the Ogre off its feet, sending it falling to the ground with a booming thud. Joana rushed over and quickly leaped up and onto the Ogre's stomach, with all her might she stabbed her sword down into the beast's chest.
A cry of pain and shock passed its lips before Joana released her sword and summoned up another hammer, before slamming it into the pummel of her sword. In an instant the blade plunged its way through the Ogre's chest up to the hilt. A dull groan escaped the Ogre's throat before he went limp completely, his head sagging back and hitting the ground.
Joana remained motionless for a moment to observe, watching closely to see if the Ogre was breathing before she grasped her sword. With a mighty heave she pulled her weapon from the chest of the Ogre and turned towards her fellow warriors, who were still struggling against their two opponents. Joana moved to engage, planning on finishing the Ogres off and then move to finish their mission.
But she was beaten to the prize it would seem, for sprinting past Arden and Duncan was the young orange haired warrior. She watched as he slashed and parried the sword of one Ogre before he slashed at its stomach and then along its chest. He moved quickly and expertly despite wielding such a large and likely cumbersome weapon.
Soon the Ogre fell, Duncan stabbing it through the leg and then Frederick finishing it off with a knife through the jugular. Ichigo sprinted past them all and towards the final Ogre, drawing back his blade as far as he could before giving a mighty swing. The speed of the blade was incredible as it arced around and slashed through the Ogre's stomach and chest.
Joana quickly moved forward, making her way towards her party and ensuring they were all well off. Arden appeared to have been wounded, the slash along his arm was noticeable as it bled out and turned the brown leather he wore crimson. With a single gesture she healed the laceration; even so he swayed slightly and looked pale from the blood loss.
"Thank the light you came along when you did, was getting desperate there," Frederick said.
"Yeah, sorry about that, them Ogres kind of cut me off from escaping," Ichigo replied, placing his blade over his back and somehow sheathing itself.
Joana was relieved to see he was alright, after he was trapped below she was tempted to jump down and rescue him. But with the Ogre lord so close she could not risk letting him escape from their grasp. It relieved her to no end that the boy's skill had saved him and kept him alive.
"It is good you are alive, I am sorry we could not come for you," Joana offered.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Ichigo responded, waving off the concern.
"We need to get to the top of the mound," Joana said, taking charge of the situation. "Get ready to move, do not stop for anything,"
Joana turned and moved towards the dead Ogre Brute Lord, standing next to its head and glaring down at its ugly dead mug. Raising her blade she quickly slashed at its neck and severed its head, grabbing it quickly she moved to the nearest exit shaft. None needed a command to follow; they were on her heels as soon as she made a beeline for the passage.
Howls of anger and bellows of stupidity could be heard all around them as they quickly moved through the passages towards an exit. The Ogres knew they were there and they were coming for their blood, and they were coming fast. Ichigo glanced over his shoulder to see shadows dancing along the walls, their executioners were close and they had no idea where they were going.
"Where the hell is the exit?" Ichigo exclaimed as he heard a cry behind him.
He did not turn around to identify what it was; he knew it was an Ogre. Joana did not respond, but took a sharp turn and through a passage that had a steep incline to it. The next few minutes were a blur of many twists and turns and shouting that grew louder. But eventually they found something to change that, a sudden harsh light piercing into the exit of the tunnel.
"There's our exit!" Joana called, rushing forward with new found speed and into the open.
The harsh heat assaulted them, but it was actually a lot cooler outside than on the inside, which oddly felt refreshing. But they had little time to revel in this as they noticed at either side of them and below the Ogres were coming, moving up the mound to capture them.
"Up the hill, now!" The Paladin ordered.
They turned and ran, clambering over stone and dirt to get to the top, while behind them pursued their adversaries. There was no escaping now, the Ogres had them surrounded and they were going to the highest point where they had no choice but to fight.
"Dammit! How are we meant to get out of this?" Arden yelled out.
Ichigo looked around, the top of the mound was more like a damn simple nub at the top, large enough for a single person while it just roughly formed a cone like shape towards the ground. This was where their final stand was going to be, and they had about a hundred Ogres coming their way right now.
"Get ready, we're going to be fighting our way out of here," Frederick said.
"No, we won't," Joana replied, before slamming a pole into the ground.
All turned to the woman, but their query was caught in their throats at the gory display before them. The Ogre's head had been impaled upon a pike, the Brute Lord they had been sent to kill was displayed in a very horrific fashion.
Ichigo's eyes widened at the savage display, he had no idea what Joana was doing and at a time like this. But in the next moment he did, for when he turned back to the attacking Ogres he could see them. Every single one of them had halted and looked up at the top of the mound. Instead of anger and rage, it was replaced by the sheer opposite, fear and shock.
"They killed Gor'tesh!" A cry came from the crowd.
"Gor'tesh dead? What do we do?" Another yelled.
"Run!"
In that moment there was mass hysteria everywhere, the Ogres ran from the hill and basically fled as fast as they could. Not entering the mines to delve into it but away from it, running in almost every direction to escape from the murderers of their leader.
"Can't believe that actually worked," Duncan said, running a hand through his reddish hair.
"I thought we would have been killed for sure," Arden replied.
Ichigo however looked over at the fleeing Ogres and to the severed head, which sat a little badly with him. Using that kind of tactic to make them flee, it really made him think it as pretty dark to use in order to survive. A hand landing on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts and he looked to the person in surprise.
"You alright?" Joana asked, her eyes looking right into Ichigo's.
Schooling his features and composing himself he gave a nod, but even then she did not release his shoulder or look away for another second or two. When she did she quickly moved aside and took the rifle from Frederick's back and then fired it into the sky. Surprisingly it released a flair that sailed into the air that burned a bright green.
"The commander's forces should have seen that, they will be attacking the fortress at any moment. Let's move," Joana ordered, moving down the now deserted mound towards the West.
Ichigo remained back for a second, taking one last glance at the head on the pike before grimacing. Turning he moved after the rest of his party, keeping his mouth shut and not speaking on what he was feeling right now. The entire day since he first engaged those Orcs he had been feeling it, no, that wouldn't be right.
He had been feeling it for a while now; ever since he left Feathermoon he has been feeling this. He had no idea why he was like this, but ever since he began fighting he had felt tightness in his chest and a cold chill through his blood. Every time he got into a fight, every time he struck out he felt it. He didn't know what it was, but he felt that he was drowning right now.
There you have it, hope you liked it.
Reviews
Kragh50: Yeah, sadly it was a long wait, sorry about that. But now I intend to devote some time to this story as I should. Also Bankai will be in the next arc, I promise you.
Meech Macko: That is true, while Ichigo is facing his demons he doesn't exactly know why he is facing them. He knows what he has to do but he was hesitant in facing them, always backing away when they come to the surface.
In the next arc we will actually deal with this and be shown the full extent of that despair and fear he faces.
Also while Harem fics have a certain appeal, while I loathe them for the fact that the women just fall in love with the guy. The feeling that he is such a ladies magnet kind of works at something manly in you at times and makes you like it. But with me I do not want to make a Harem fic despite the desire to do it because it would never work. Not in this universe at all.
After all how would these girls fall for a fifteen year old kid with anger issues and such, also his skills while weird are not that extraordinary compared to some other ass kickers. Like Varian, he should be swimming in the ladies but isn't.
Abazaba: Do not worry, less moaning this time around, he has faced that he is hesitant on killing and now he needs to find the why.
Guest #1: Dude, I read this review and I was like, man this guy is awesome and the way you write it just shows your character and I feel like I am talking to an Irishman or Scotsman. Bloody brilliant.
Reality Deviant: Thanks.
Krazyfanfiction1: Thank you, and I will.
Telron: Thank you.
Ultima-Owner: Thank you, I aim to please.
Impstar: Ichigo does need to come to terms with it, because if he doesn't he risks more than just failing others, but risking his own soul. You will see why in the next chapter.
Aether Asylum: That he does, and he will. He will face these demons post haste and will need to overcome them or he will not only lose others, but also himself.
Also this is set about three months into Vanilla and about seven or so months before the Burning Crusade. Also you will see many of these locations and his interactions with the other races.
That is all folks, talk with you again later.
