Book 4: Chapter 4
I didn’t have to give my order twice.
My men jumped with me off the skiff before Jei Su Long could even get a word out. I tucked my arms close to my body and went into freefall, wind pressing into my face as I dove to get to the ground as quickly as possible.
Scorched earth and demon hordes rose up to meet me as I slammed on the brakes with a burst of [Lightning Walk] right before slamming into the ground itself. My body exploded with a shower of earth and lightning, taking out at least a dozen demons as I landed in a superhero pose.
As I rose from my crouched position, a sea of lemonade greeted me as the remainder of Onyx company turned to stare at me. There had to be over five hundred soldiers still pressing against the hordes and when they saw me, I could feel their elation grow.
I cultivated their awe and redirected it back towards them with a rally cry. “Onyx Company! Fall back and make a perimeter around the meteor. We’ll clear out everything here and then deal with the Thrantor!”
My words boomed across the chaos of the battlefield, supercharged with Frenzy and [Struggler’s Resolve]. The technique resonated within their souls, bolstering them with confidence. Immediately the platoon commanders began echoing my order to reorganize their men just as my own teamed slammed into the ground behind me.
“Hard press towards the meteor!” I commanded, pointing my axe to the building sized boulder that was a couple football fields away. “Kill everything on the way there!”
I let out a battle cry as I led the charge, Axe and Glaive tearing through the stray demons with ease as I poured on the speed. The demons themselves now paused to take note of us as we tore through their ranks, exuding nothing but fear. They were red skinned and humanoid, with horns, wings and claws. The normal variety as far as I could tell and although they fought back, I didn’t even try to evade their attacks as their claws bounced off my naturally hardened skin as ineffectively as if I had been using [Steel Skin].
Holy shit, I thought reflectively. Was I this much stronger now?