Book 4 - Chapter 52 - To The Battle Lines (2/2)

Cloudhawk shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s go, we still need to find Drake.”

Dawn stole a glance toward the old drunk. She still wasn’t sure about who he really was. Could he actually be the old War Saint? What would turn such a noble man into… this? If he wasn’t the War Saint, then how was he so good at Templar martial techniques?

Each of them had practiced his no-name strengthening techniques as they traveled toward the front lines. By now the benefits were starting to show. They felt more agile, especially when it came to body control even on micro levels. All of them had noticed the improvement, giving credence to the old man’s skill.

And whoever the old drunk was, he was willing to follow Cloudhawk around for the time being.

Cloudhawk was destined to be a big name for the Polaris family. At least for now, it looked like his presence would also include this strange but capable old man. If he chose to remain with the family under Cloudhawk’s command, it would be an incredible boon for the Polaris clan.

“We’re close to the front.”

Cloudhawk stared toward the horizon, calculating the distance yet to travel. He figured they were still about a day out.

It was probably the last time they were going to stop and search for clues. The front was bound to be mired in chaos, with hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of soldiers fighting for their lives. It was likely the Crimson One and his closest lieutenants would be there as well. Trying to move through a battlefield was dangerous, they had to be careful.

“Move out.”

The others nodded and started heading back to the ship. And then, suddenly, everyone looked up toward a streak blazing stars trailing into the distance.

“What’s that?”

Everyone fixed their eyes on the scene, and by then the twinkling lights had filled nearly the entire pre-dawn sky. They couldn’t be stars, besides they were moving – fast.

Cloudhawk reached through his connection with Oddball and borrowed the critter’s sharp eyesight. When he saw what it was, his face blanched. “Abandon ship! Everyone needs to abandon ship!”

Too late!

Dozens of… something, dragging tails of fire in their wake, carved a path through the black sky. They split the darkness like a hot knife before smashing into the airship overhead. The projectiles were small but shook the whole vessel from the impact.

Supply ships didn’t have armor. The resulting explosion boomed across the barren landscape as their means of escape was blown to pieces like it was made from paper.

Flaming debris began to tumble from on high. Shock waves from the blast rattled through the ruins and caused the debris to shift. Half-toppled buildings fell from the additional strees, and as screaming balls of flaming metal fell from the sky the land all around Cloudhawk suddenly became a deadly field of nightmare.

The world turned red.

“They blew up our ship!” Dawn was more furious than surprised. Pale fingers wrapped around the hilt of her weapon and ripped it from its sheath. Wild eyes glared in the direction the attack had come from. “Who’s the bastard that dared destroy my ship?! I’ll cut them to pieces!”

Cloudhawk tried to talk the rash woman down. “Don’t go rushing off!”

Barb and the old man stood to one side, faces stern. The ships burned and crashed to ground over the next several minutes.

Shortly after the air was filled with raucous sound. Fifty or sixty wastelands ships appeared on the horizon, heavily outfitted for combat. It was obvious that this fleet was put together specifically to deal with the expeditionary force’s armada.

The harsh light of the fires danced in the drunk’s craggy face. He stared at the ships as they traversed the early morning sky. “These don’t look like the Crimson One’s men...”

“No. This is the Dark Atom.”

“The Dark Atom!?”

What Elysian didn’t know of that old terrorist organization?

The battle of the Blisterpeaks was Skycloud’s most costly defeat in hundreds of years. Everyone had been distracted by the Conclave’s meteoric rise over the last several months, which had stolen the spotlight from this old nemesis. However, as the greatest Seeker cell in the wastelands no one dared doubt the destructive capabilities of the Dark Atom.

But, weren’t they at odds with the Conclave of Judgment?

It was the reason they didn’t join when the Church established its wasteland alliance. But from the lumbering dark figures passing overhead, it was clear Skycloud’s perennial foes had returned.

1. ROFL!

2. She wanted him crawling over something else,

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