The Oracle Paths

1049 Utterly Decimated

Or rather, a fleeing force crashing toward them was!

Barely an hour had passed since their departure from Grimstone Keep when an army of ragtag barbarians-armor-clad and wearing mismatched scraps similar to their own-suddenly surged forward, blocking their way. In stark contrast to their own depleted regiment, missing 40% of its numbers, this mob was massive.

Sadly, by the time they encountered this half-giant horde, it was already the least of their worries...

Indeed, a few minutes before they could see this oncoming storm with their own eyes, they had first felt the earth beneath them tremble, sending waves of panic through the undisciplined conscripts straggling along, often three to five in a row.

The thing is their procession, stretching out like an endless serpent, was particularly vulnerable to ambushes... and other mishaps.

Such as the perils of the very landscape itself.

As the first signs of impending doom manifested, they had just transitioned from the cracked plains surrounding Grimstone Keep, offering open views, to a maze of rocky hills. These inclines were so steep they looked more like cliffs than hills.

The narrowness between them made their path canyon-like. With these "hills" partially obstructing the sunlight, the trail they embarked upon was almost perpetually veiled in gloom.

For this reason, their regiment of green recruits, already skittish from leaving the plains, had been shaking like leaves in a storm for a while when the sound of a rockslide reached their ears.

Following yet another quake, more intense than any before, a colossal slab of rock had without warning detached from the cliff at the trail's end, hurtling down its slope and gaining momentum rapidly.

"By Lumyst, how can our luck be so damned cursed!" one conscript shrieked from somewhere within the ranks.

Then pandemonium ensued. All hell broke loose.

Some recruits tried to flee backward, while the savvier ones pressed themselves against the canyon walls, hoping to let the avalanche pass them by. But safe spots along the canyon's edge were few, and the path narrow. As a result, those stuck in the middle soon resorted to fists, jostling and elbowing as if their very lives hung in the balance.

Which they did!

Their commander, witnessing the chaos, had already given up on issuing any orders, knowing full well they'd fall on deaf ears. Instead...

In such dire straits, nothing spoke louder than a show of raw power. The burly warrior, radiating fierce determination, dismounted his steed in one swift motion and decisively unstrapped the heavy guandao-akin to a western glaive-from its place behind his saddle.

The enormous polearm, taller than the man himself, culminated in a thick, saber-like blade. As soon as it was detached from the horse, the creature's hunched back seemed to straighten a tad. If this beast weren't some mutated abomination, vastly different from the horses Jake had known, it would've collapsed long ago under its burden.

Jake, one of the few who had held his ground, watched with an inscrutable glint in his eyes as the officer brandished the majestic guandao overhead. It radiated a thick, grey-red aura, amplified by screaming souls, enhancing its lethality. With a move as fierce and swift as a thunderclap, he slashed forth.

The cliff face, several meters wide and weighing an immeasurable tonnage under the effects of the amplified gravity, was instantly split in two. The guandao sliced through it like a hot knife through butter.

The two remaining rock fragments, their freshly cut surfaces eerily smooth and glistening from the weapon's passage, were still hovering in place when the guandao whistled through the air once more.

In the blink of an eye, the commander slashed through the air dozens of times, generating wind blades and shockwaves rivaling divine fury. The sheer power and dexterity he was displaying at that moment was nothing short of breathtaking. For the uninitiated barbarians who had witnessed nothing of this superhuman scale before, it was a true eye- opener.

But for Jake? Just another day in the life. His attention had already drifted elsewhere, his Cosmic Eye focusing on a point far beyond the now-flattened cliff-hill.

'An army is coming toward us. But it doesn't explain such tremors," he noted coolly, debating whether to inform his superior. Given the rapid pace of the advancing army, alerting them would make no difference. It'd only add to the current mayhem.

From their attire, this army comprised a blend of fresh recruits and seasoned infantry. At that moment, he could see them pouring like a relentless tidal wave into the countless narrow canyons in their path, filling and blocking any route they might've taken to avoid them.

At a rough estimate, there were at least 100,000 to 150,000 of them. And it looked like they were coming from... Havocspire Citadel!

'Oh shit, I've got a real bad feeling about this...! Jake grimaced, his

expression darkening with every passing second.

If Jake and his regiment remained on this trajectory, they'd inevitably clash with this army's vanguard. Given the palpable desperation evident in their ashen faces, whatever pursued them was far more terrifying than the horde itself.

Only Jake, with his otherworldly vision, could see it. For the rest, including their commander, this surging tide of barbarians was simply... their doom. Or at least the reason they were fleeing as if hellhounds were on their heels was!

With his heightened sight, Jake could already discern the real cause of the tremors. Frankly, 150,000 stampeding soldiers couldn't account for such seismic activity. Especially when, unlike their commander, most of these troops looked rather average.

One couldn't just go by their towering stature or muscular frame. Under the ludicrous gravity, these Underworld Barbarians were just ordinary mortals. Only after successfully cultivating their Lumyst Aura would they have the chance to rise above.

No, the cause of the tremors was...

Fwoooosh!

Before the first fleeing foot soldier could even stumble into their canyon, the pale sun above was abruptly eclipsed, and the air hummed ominously. Moments later, the remnants of the cliff before them crumbled like a house of cards, bombarded by forged steel arrows as large as spears, and faster than cannonballs.

Realizing the cause of the sun's sudden disappearance, the commander's eyes widened in horror, and he bellowed anxiously,

"Shields!"

He didn't yell "Take cover" because there was nowhere to hide.

Those with a shred of sense and fortunate enough to possess a shield, or rather a buckler, instinctively raised it over their heads, while the others froze in terror. Some even soiled their pants, while others lost hope completely.

"Damnation! Hic! Go f-fuck yourself, Soulmancer King! We're gonna... huh... bite the damn dust 'fore even gettin' to the front!" A recruit, barely over 20 but looking twice his age, slurred, his face draining of color.

Walking beside Jake at the forefront, with his matted hair and tattered, grimy attire, he looked more like a vagrant than a soldier. Clearly, enlistment wasn't just duty for this barbarian; it was a lifeline.

This ever-chatty fellow, perpetually wide-eyed and with a booming voice, usually had some joke up his sleeve to lighten the mood. He also reeked of booze... How he managed to get hammered after 48 hours standing guard and then marching right behind their commander was quite the feat...

Ironically, the twist of fate that placed him so close to Jake at that

precise moment had just become his lifeline. I mean, how could flimsy

wooden bucklers stand up to a rain of arrows with enough kinetic

force to reshape the very face of a mountain range?

Even if Jake was at the pinnacle of his power, he would've thought twice before flaunting his true abilities, especially now, when he was operating on just a sliver of his might.

Hence, he'd coldly resigned to the fact that the rest of his regiment was bound to die today.

Soon after, the very heavens seemed to tear open as a relentless barrage of projectiles consumed the sky, their descent cruelly reminiscent of the Reaper's inexorable swing. As time seemed to stretch into an agonizing eternity, the dust finally settled, leaving only a haunting silence in its wake.

Their newly-formed regiment had just been utterly decimated.