Book 4 - Chapter 8 - Captor and Captive (2/2)

“Shit!”

Terror gripped him. He tried to call his phasing power.

Just at that moment Eckard summoned the strength to stand and grabbed the Silver Serpents with his bare hands. The old warriors skin was tough as iron, and Cloudhawk didn’t have the time to heave back. He slipped from Cloudhawk’s grip.

Had Eckard recovered from having his tendons severed this quickly?!

Phase!

He reached out to the stone and used its power to slip free from Natessa’s whip. Only, just then another blast of unexpected power assailed him. It struck him like a hurricane, storng enough that it overcame his phase field and shattered it.

Fuck! Fuck!

Furious and flustered, Cloudhawk brandished the Silver Serpents and flung himself at his enemy. Ten quick blows followed in succession, each one scraping harmlessly across the glowing Dawnbreaker Armor. A metal hand shot out and clamped around his throat, then pinned him to the deck.

He was crushed against the sturdy stone-like material of Condor’s deck, which snapped beneath the pressure. He was practically shoved into a hole.

Cloudhawk found himself embedded in the ground. Condor’s deck was constructed using Skycloud’s unique methods, which imbued it with a sort of memory. Over time the material – strong as steel – would repair itself.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Rio’s face paled. “Warden!”

Dumont wrenched Cloudhawk up from the deck, still in his grip. Dangling there, Cloudhawk spit a mouthful of blood onto the glorious armor before swinging wildly with his weapons once again. But no matter how hard he swung, he couldn’t cut through the relic armor.

The enemy command vessel was destroyed, Condor was free from encirclement. It alone was strong enough to fight off the wasteland airships that remained. The Elysian transport ship had robbed Hell’s Army of their victory.

But it didn’t matter. They might have lost the battle, but there was still a long way to go before the war was decided.

Natessa wasn’t here to win in a single stroke, either. Their purpose was to stop Cloudhawk from getting to Woodland Vale. The hidden settlement was too important. Their leader was captive, and for now she believed that to be a victory.

Natessa lifted her hand, signaling the retreat.

A pair of red-robed missionaries descended from overhead. They wrapped Cloudhawk in a set of thick chains.

They were the same chains that were used in Skyden, used specifically to rob demonhunters of their power. He couldn’t communicate with his phase stone, thus was unable to escape.

“Retreat!”

At her command, Hell’s Army soldiers leaped from Condor’s deck onto the remaining warships. They turned their cannons toward the Elysian flagship and pummeled it with attacks, buying time for their heavily damaged vessels to escape.

“The Warden’s been captured by those bastard turncoats!” Crain had recovered enough to cry out. “What are we supposed to do?”

The novice demonhunters had been completely stunned by this savage string of attacks. From ambush to battle, encirclement to interception, and finally captors to captive.

It’d all happened so fast, and from Cloudhawk to the Giants of Hell’s Army it was a fight of skilled combatants. Their reaction times, tactics and smarts had left these newbies with their heads spinning.

Demonhunters were noble. They had poise and self-confidence. This was the first battle they’d ever really experienced, but they’d been utterly useless. All of them had stood around like idiots and just watched as the battle unfolded. Where was their poise and self-confidence now?

This was battle! This was war!

“Our commander is temporarily unable to order the troops.” Rio quickly made his way to the bridge. “According to rules of engagement, I am taking command of our forces.”

“Aye!” The captain’s face was solemn. “We’re awaiting your orders!”

Rio searched the bridge. “Where is the Warden’s disciple?”

“The blast from the transport ship was fierce,” the captain explained. “She may be the Warden’s disciple, but she’s still just a child. The blow knocked her out, but she’s fine otherwise.”

Rio sighed in relief then continued to issue orders. “As acting Warden of the Talons, I am ordering that we give chase to the enemy. Hound them, spare nothing!”

1. In Chinese medicine, often when someone has mental disorders we say it is a consequences of ‘evil wind’ stirring. This is the second or third time we’ve seen someone with a wind-type name being called crazy. This is reflected in the characters, too. Wind is 风, while crazy is 疯 - a combination of 疒, sick, and 风, wind.

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