Nova Terra: Guardian - A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Titan Series Book 4)

by Seth Ring

  Marius Hup, on the other hand, was having a great time. He was laughing excitedly and clapping his hands every time XianDragon was sent flying.

  “Wow, haha! You were not kidding! That war construct of yours is a powerhouse!”

  “Yeah, he’s pretty good at this whole fighting thing.” Baxby gave a small smile as he pulled out a long tube and fiddled with it.

  “Don’t celebrate just yet. The Tyrant’s real power is only shown when they combine together.”

  “Like Power Rangers?” Baxby chuckled and looked around, only to see everyone looking at him with blank expressions. “Power Rangers? Nothing? Really? Didn't any of you study history in school? No? Before your time? Okay, now I feel really old.”

  [Buddha’s Strength]

  In the arena, Raul thrust his palm toward XianDragon. As it touched the martial artist, his skin glowed and his body seemed to get thicker.

  “Go! I’ll support you!” Clapping his hands together, Raul began to chant as he urged his partner forward.

  Across the arena the dust had finally settled down and Thorn began to charge. He could have caught up to XianDragon earlier with his armor’s [Predator's Leap] ability, but it had a long cooldown so he wanted to preserve it for the time being. He also had [Moon’s Reflection], which would give him up to six seconds of invulnerability, but once those six seconds were up, he would be left vulnerable until he had a chance to recharge his armor in the moonlight.

  Breaking into a run, Thorn charged toward his two opponents as Raul’s chant began. Seeing him coming, XianDragon glanced nervously at Raul and then, squaring his shoulders, ran out to meet Thorn.

  [Monkey King’s Dance]

  Shouting with all his might, XianDragon’s body began to change. His limbs thinned slightly and grew a bit longer as short fur sprouted from his uncovered arms and his cheeks. Two fangs poked from his lips and a lashing tail curled around his staff. Dashing forward, he planted his staff and launched himself into the air, spinning around in a somersault, his staff swinging down toward Thorn’s head.

  Lifting his tetsubo, Thorn swept the staff aside and tried to counterattack, only to have XianDragon nimbly dodge past his attack and land a kick on Thorn’s helmet. The force of the blow was strong, but Thorn didn’t even flinch. XianDragon abandoned the attack and flipped backward as Thorn’s claws ripped through the air where he had just been. Taking his distance, XianDragon tumbled to the side to dodge Thorn’s thrust and countered with a thrust of his own, the end of his thick staff glancing off of the armor over Thorn’s ribs.

  Back and forth they fought, trading blows. As fast as he was, Thorn had a lot of trouble hitting XianDragon as the staff-wielding martial artist used his monkey-like agility to slip away from Thorn’s strikes. On the other hand, XianDragon found that no matter how many times he hit Thorn, it did not seem to matter. Thorn was like a mountain, solid and unmoving.

  As they fought, Thorn kept a close eye on Raul. The monk was still chanting his prayers, layering buffs on XianDragon. Faster, stronger, and more agile, XianDragon was able to contend with Thorn without losing ground, a testament to how powerful the buffs were. While he still did not dare take Thorn on in a direct contest of strength, he was more than able to dodge around Thorn’s attacks.

  Resolving to get rid of Raul first, Thorn started moving that direction when a sudden sound alerted him that something was wrong. Under the crowd’s astonished gazes the remaining doors suddenly opened and Heuron and Lady Ruby both walked out to join their companions in facing Thorn.

  “What sort of cheating is this, Bampton?” Gereon turned to glare at Bampton.

  “Hold on, this has nothing to do with me.” The thin man’s face was pale as he looked down at the arena. Turning to his Orc guard, he slapped him on the shoulder, urging him to hurry. “Get down there and find out who is breaking the rules! No one is allowed to break my rules!”

  “Sir, Mr. V…”

  “I don’t care who it is! Get down there and find out!” Turning back to Gereon as his guard ran out to the box, Bampton shrugged apologetically. “I really don’t know what is going on but we’ll find out and get everything sorted.”

  “You better pray you do. Otherwise the council is going to hear about this.”

  In the arena, XianDragon turned a back handspring, rapidly distancing himself from Thorn and joining back up with his companions. Lady Ruby glanced at his frazzled and dirty appearance and sneered. About to speak, she paused as Heuron held up his hand. His eyes fixed on Thorn, Heuron unsheathed his twin axes and clashed them together, sending sparks flying.

  “Alright, let’s cut this big guy down to size.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “I’ll face the war construct head on, Ruby, you go left, Dragon, go right! Raul, you support us from the back. Look sharp, folks, this one is tough.” Looking at the members of his squad, Heuron gestured with his twin crescent axes. Turning back to look at Thorn’s figure, Heuron’s head tilted in confusion. The spot where Thorn had been standing was completely empty. “Hey, where did the war construct go?”

  “Uh, boss…”

  A dark shadow fell over Heuron, rapidly growing larger. Tilting his head back, he saw Thorn’s massive metal covered body falling toward him. With a shout of surprise, Heuron threw himself to the side, tucking his body and rolling away. The rest of his team scattered as well, running as fast as they could to try and get out from under him. As soon as Thorn had seen the doors open he knew that he would be in trouble if he could not disrupt the Tyrant’s rhythm so he activated [Predator's Leap] and launched himself toward them.

  *BOOM*

  Smashing into the arena floor, Thorn’s weight carved a deep crater into the sand. XianDragon and Heuron had both tumbled away without issue, and Lady Ruby had also escaped by jumping into the air and riding the shockwave from Thorn’s impact. Raul was not as lucky. He too dashed away when he saw Thorn flying through the air, but no matter how quickly he tried to escape, he was not faster than Thorn’s tetsubo.

  Just before he landed he hurled his metal weapon toward the monk with all his strength. Spinning like a top, the metal tetsubo scythed through the air, the whooshing sound that accompanied it masked by the sound of Thorn’s landing. Even though Raul was running as fast as he could, he felt a movement behind him and glanced over his shoulder only to see the tetsubo growing ever larger.

  Heuron’s roll carried him away from the impact zone, and he was soon lost in the cloud of sand that was raised around Thorn. Peering through the flying dirt, Heuron tried to locate his teammates but was unable to spot them. Instead his eyes landed on the massive metal form rising from the crater. Tightening his grip on his axes, he had just lifted them up when he heard the sound of a brief scream, abruptly cut off.

  “Raul!” Lady Ruby’s sharp voice cried out from the left. She had gotten out of the cloud just in time to see the monk vanish in a shimmer of lights as Thorn’s tetsubo smashed straight through him.

  On the other side, XianDragon heard the cut off scream and then Lady Ruby’s shout and dashed forward toward where he had heard Raul’s voice. He had hardly taken two steps when Thorn abruptly appeared next to him, silver claws leaving glowing trails in the air as they came slashing toward his chest. Twisting to the side, XianDragon pushed the body of his staff out toward the clawed hand that was reaching for him. Feeling the thick staff slam into his fingers, Thorn spun his hand, grabbing the body of the staff and pulling it toward him as he struck out with his other fist.

  Unable to shift his staff, XianDragon instantly realized that his monkey form, though incredibly agile, would not allow him to escape from the next blow that was undoubtedly coming if he wanted to keep his staff. Stubbornly refusing to give up on his weapon, he planted his feet and roared.

  [Raging Rhino’s Glory]

  The hair across his body disappeared into his skin leaving a rough, greyish tone behind. His limbs, long and lanky a moment before, thickened as his body gained bulk. Bulging muscles rip
pled along his arms as he pulled on his staff. Lifting his thick arm, XianDragon struck out with his free hand, aiming at Thorn’s incoming fist.

  Just about to hit XianDragon, Thorn sensed danger rushing toward him. The hair on the back of his neck jumped and he knew that the incoming attack was going to be deadly. Decisively, he abandoned his attack and activated [Moon’s Reflection]. Less than half a second later, Heuron appeared from the dust cloud, his twin axes landing on Thorn’s forearms as the bearded warrior yelled out.

  “[Twisting Crescent Strike]!”

  Heuron’s signature attack was a devastating blow that harnessed his full strength to bring both of his crescent axes down on the same spot, drastically increasing their cutting power. Leaning into the strike with his full weight, the bearded warrior focused carefully. Thorn’s armor was thick and he was not completely confident that he would be able to get through it, even with his strongest attack.

  As his axes met Thorn’s forearms, Heuron felt them slice through the armor as if it was not even there, plunging deeply into his enemy’s arm. For a second, Heuron was elated to see his axes dealing so much damage, but almost immediately his elation turned to confusion. The momentum behind the strike sent him stumbling forward as his axes found no purchase. Expecting to hit flesh and bone, the bearded warrior instead found himself passing straight through Thorn’s form.

  It was as if he had dipped his axes into a calm pond, sending ripples across the surface but ultimately leaving no mark. A terrible danger filled his mind and in that instant, Heuron’s warrior training saved his life. Instead of trying to stop himself, he threw himself forward into a roll, barely avoiding Thorn’s knee which drove up toward Heuron’s side.

  As his knee strike missed, Thorn twisted his body, bringing his foot around in a round kick aimed at XianDragon who had stumbled backward. As soon as Thorn had activated [Moon’s Reflection] his hold on the thick staff had vanished. The lack of force caused XianDragon to reel backwards and it took him a moment to stabilize. He had barely gotten his bearings when Thorn’s foot appeared next to him like the grim reaper’s scythe.

  [Burning Whip]

  A shrill scream rang out from behind Thorn and he could tell that Lady Ruby had launched an attack in an effort to distract him. Ignoring her, Thorn focused on his attack, trusting that his armor would keep him safe. His kick was fast, though not fast enough to catch XianDragon in his [Monkey King’s Dance] stance. Unfortunately for Thorn’s opponent, the once agile warrior had swapped into the stronger, more durable [Raging Rhino’s Glory] form to try and contest with Thorn straight on.

  *BOOM*

  Lifting his arm to block, XianDragon felt Thorn’s metal boot smash into his body, sending a tremor through him that lifted him from the ground. Unable to bear the weight of Thorn’s attack, XianDragon flew through the air, the world blurring around him until it went dark abruptly.

  “No!”

  A guttural roar ripped from Heuron’s throat as he got to his feet, his face contorted in fury as he saw his teammate smash into the arena wall. XianDragon vanished with a shimmer like Raul before him, his slightly deformed staff and a few other scattered trinkets the only evidence of his passing apart from the massive crack his impact had left in the arena wall.

  Pleased with the result of his attack, Thorn was about to go after Heuron when a searing pain lanced across his back. Lady Ruby’s [Burning Whip] crackled as it slammed into his armor, leaving a thick scorch mark. Grimacing, Thorn intended to ignore it when he saw the tip of the whip flying toward his face.

  Just like its name, [Burning Whip] was an ability that coated Lady Ruby’s whip in a crimson flame that ignored a significant portion of the target’s armor, making it most effective against heavily armored foes. Jerking his head back, Thorn lifted his arm to block the end of the whip. Lady Ruby flicked her wrist with a sneer, the whip shooting forward to wrap around Thorn’s arm. Unable to move him with her strength, Lady Ruby was content to let the passive damage from the flaming whip seep through Thorn’s armor.

  [Whirlwind Step]

  While Thorn’s attention was being drawn away, Heuron rushed forward again, his crescent axes twirling. Swirls of air surrounded his feet, allowing him to accelerate tremendously as he charged Thorn. With his arm entangled, Thorn was not confident in being able to block both of the whirling axes, so instead he snapped a kick, forcing Heuron to dodge to the side. Still, the charging warrior managed to slice at Thorn as he slipped past, his axe leaving a shallow scar on Thorn’s armor.

  The [Burning Whip] that was wrapped around Thorn’s arm grew hotter and Thorn could feel his health continuing to drop. Gritting his teeth, he reached for the whip, intending to pull it from Lady Ruby’s hands, but before he could grasp it Lady Ruby twitched her hand and it unraveled from his arm, slipping through his fingers like a flaming snake. Before he could go after it, Thorn heard the sound of wind off to his side and realized that Heuron was charging again. Spinning to face the attack, Thorn blocked the two axes and slapped out a palm strike in response, only to feel a burning pain in his leg as Lady Ruby’s [Burning Whip] returned to sear his leg.

  Trying to keep an eye on Heuron while he defended against the [Burning Whip] attacks from Lady Ruby, Thorn felt like he had fallen into a morass. No matter which way he faced he was attacked from the other side by a flaming whip or wind covered axes. Soon his armor was covered in thin gouges from the spinning axes and scorch marks from the whip. Still, he defended as best he could, patiently waiting for his opportunity.

  Heuron, dodging past Thorn once again, took a deep breath. Two of his team had been smashed into oblivion by Thorn’s attacks, and he had no doubt that he would suffer the same fate should he fail to dodge one of Thorn’s hits. Realizing that things were not going according to plan, he abandoned all pretenses and gave a long whistle.

  As soon as he did, the doors around the arena rattled open and guards rushed out onto the arena floor. Some of the guards, armed with crossbows, took a knee, leveling them at Thorn, while the rest, holding spears and shields, rushed to surround him. It did not take long for Thorn to be surrounded by a ring of shining steel. The hot sun beat down on the arena, glinting off of the silver spear tips as a rumble of confusion and discontent rose from the audience. It was one thing to have opened the doors early - that simply made the fight a bit harder. This was something else entirely.

  Up in the box, Baxby shot a hard glance at Bampton, who was white faced and trembling, his mouth hanging wide open. The arena was his, yet his guards were obviously taking orders from the Tyrants, a situation he found intolerable. Gasping out something unintelligible, he ran for the door.

  “Baxby, I’m sorry.” Gereon frowned apologetically. “I never imagined that things would turn out like this.”

  “Heh. It is not over yet.” As soon as Baxby spoke, a tremendous explosion rang out from the 6th gate.

  Chunks of stone flew through the air, peppering the nearby arena guards, howls and curses echoing out as they ran from the shards of stone. Shouts and screams drew the attention of everyone in the arena as part of the seats above door six began to cave in. A brilliant golden light burst through the ruined wall, forcing guards and spectators alike back. Flames could be seen burning in the tunnel that ran around the edge of the arena as Mina slid through the massive hole in the wall, her three frozen orbs spinning around her head.

  Striding out of the hole behind the Ice Witch came a beautiful figure covered in golden armor, a halo of light shining from behind her head. Velin’s black hooded cloak was nowhere to be seen and the armor did nothing to mask her, leaving her gorgeous face exposed. In one hand she held her staff, its end glowing so brightly that it was hard to look at. In her other hand, she held a massive sword formed of golden light. Like an avenging angel she slammed the end of her staff onto the ground, a searing beam of light shooting from it.

  The beam cut a wide swath through the arena guards, not stopping until it had burned another hole into the arena walls. A
s it flickered off, Velin’s mouth opened and a soul stirring song burst from her lips as she activated her [Battle Hymn] ability. Instantly, Thorn could feel a soothing feeling rushing across the burns that criss-crossed his body. Feeling his health returning, he gave a silent shout and sprang toward Heuron.

  Unwilling to let him go, Lady Ruby flicked her wrist again, sending her whip shooting toward Thorn’s broad back. Before the burning lash could get near Thorn’s back, warning bells rang in Lady Ruby’s head and she jumped backward, avoiding the ice spikes that buried themselves where she had been standing.

  “Hey, carrot top, two against one is hardly fair. How about you tango with me?” Her wand leveled, Mina blinked in between Thorn and Lady Ruby.

  “Carrot top? Your hair is redder than mine.” Lady Ruby spat, drawing her whip back to her side. She had a nagging feeling that she knew who this short witch with bright red hair was, though she was sure that they had never met before. Still, that feeling of familiarity was telling her to be cautious.