Chapter 447: Fated (1/2)
Danger sense erupted in Zac's mind the next moment, and he desperately swiveled [Everlasting] to block a strike coming from behind. A dark-green lance had appeared out of nowhere, aimed straight at Zac’s core. Zac tried to dodge, but his bulky body wasn’t quick enough and he barely managed to reposition himself before the lance slid right through his armor as though it was made of paper before continuing into his side.
Radiating pain spread throughout his body, and Zac felt like he was being bitten by a million fire ants. But the lance pushing straight through his body had one upside; the incursion leader was suddenly well within his range. The man was pretty quick, but he was nowhere near as fast as the assassin he had just fought.
Zac immediately let go of his shield as he grabbed onto the poison master before he could slink away again. His grip covered half the invader's torso, and there was no escaping now. The warrior seemed to realize the problem, and a green blade appeared in his hand as he tried to cut Zac’s arm off with one swift motion.
A black shield appeared around Zac’s arm as he hurriedly threw out a talisman from his Spatial Ring. It was something he had gotten from the undead level, a defensive treasure that could be used almost instantly. It wasn’t strong enough to completely block out the strike, but it absorbed enough momentum for the Fragment of the Coffin along with his conjured armor to block out the rest.
Wet crunching sounds emerged from the poison master's body as Zac’s grip closed like a vise. The man started wailing in pain as he desperately tried to morph away, but Zac was flooding the guy with his corrosive Dao, making it impossible to change his form.
However, the man seemed completely unwilling to give in even when half his torso was crushed, and a storm of daggers rushed toward them both in an attempt at mutual destruction. Zac was forced to quickly cut the man in two to finally sense a burst of energy enter his body as the flying daggers lost their power and fell down on the ground.
The invasion leader had almost been as durable as himself, launching destructive strikes even though half his body was crippled. Perhaps he was just like Alea, forced to focus on Vitality to counteract the effects of the poisons he used.
Zac felt as though both his body and mind were on fire from the poison, but he still released the cage of [Profane Seal]. The fighting between both sides had mostly subsided, and they gapingly looked on as the massive form of Zac walked forward, holding the crushed incursion leader like a ragdoll in his almost grotesquely large hand.
“This invasion is over. Return or die,” Zac said to the humans, his gravelly voice sending shivers down the spines of the listeners.
Seeing that most of the humans immediately fled toward the incursion pillar he turned to the massive trolls. They hesitantly looked at Zac, unsure whether he was an ally or just a bloodthirsty lunatic.
“Do you understand my words now?” Zac simply asked as he forcibly tried to quell the storm raging in his mind.
“We understand, Warmaster,” one of the trolls said as he stepped forward. “Why did you help us?”
“I am following a prophecy that took me to your world. I am looking for the Hayner Clan,” Zac said.
Following a prophecy was an excuse that Ogras had used multiple times when searching for information upon arriving at new levels. It didn’t really explain why they were there, and neither did it divulge whether you were an ally or a foe. Furthermore, a lot of people read into it whatever fit their point of view, which made them accidentally divulge some extra information.
“The Hayner Clan?” the troll mumbled with a frown. “Are they the cause of this cataclysm?”
“They have something in their possession that should not exist on this planet,” Zac said, neither confirming nor denying the troll's question.
“So it is them,” the troll growled. “Delving into the taboo. They pretended to be our saviors bringing words of warning, but they were actually the harbingers of our doom.”
It turned out that the Hayner Clan was an ancient clan full of sages who delved into the mysteries of the heavens. They had warned the forces of this world that a great war was coming, that invaders would come to disrupt their way of life. It had allowed the forces to ready themselves for war, but it had also inadvertently helped Zac gain an excuse for why he was looking for them.
However, a frown quickly formed beneath Zac's helmet while listening as it quickly became apparent that the family focused on the Dao of Karma, just like Abbot Everlasting Peace. Fighting those kinds of people was notoriously annoying since they were often able to anticipate your next move.
Did the Hayner Clan already know they were targeted by him? Perhaps they had even gone underground the moment he arrived, which would make Zac’s mission even harder to complete.
He had already confirmed that the incursion leader wasn’t the guardian of the level. No Teleportation Array had appeared when he killed the poison master, and he was pretty sure by now that he would have to actually find the Hayner Clan to advance to the next floor. After asking about the general state of the world and getting a decent map of the area Zac left the trolls to deal with the aftermath of the incursion.
However, Zac only ran for twenty minutes before he stopped and took out another healing treasure along with some general antidote pills. With the number of pills he had eaten over the last hour the effect was drastically reduced, but he needed to do something about the poison rampaging through his body.
It had been a struggle to just stand upright and talk with the trolls. They were very congenial after he had killed the Incursion leader, even calling him Warmaster, but that friendliness might have taken a sharp turn if they found out he was in an extremely wounded state. Dealing with poison was his strong suit, but the wounds had tacked up to an almost unmanageable state by now.