On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Seventeen

My Territory was overrun with weaselkin, who were involved in a series of running battles with my own degraded weaselkin. The true weaselkin clearly had the advantage in terms of intelligence, but they were hampered by the defences of my Territory, ether and aether being drained from them, rising as silvery wisps into the sky, the fading strength of my Territory barrier keeping them scattered and away from anything crucial. As I watched this for a few moments a silver bolt of force discharged from above, streaking past me and hammering into one of the enemy weasels, exploding it into a cloud of ether which my Territory quickly drew in. As that weaselkin died its companion was suddenly barraged with a volley of small throwing darts, and as it staggered two of my own mindless weaselkin engaged it, dragging it down and finishing it off.

Looking up on the roof I could see my Defensive Emplacement, a glowing orb of crystal floating on a metre-high platform. It was cycling up for another shot, gathering and converting ether. Thank the Gods I had the foresight to build defences. I guess all my hours of RTS play paid off. Turtling for the win!

As I watched one of my kobolds ran up to me, panting in a rather adorable fashion, tongue hanging out. “It’s the Seelie, the bad ones! They come to enslave us again, again! Two of us already died, dead. Watch out for the big one, it strikes from afar, it does!”

“I’m sorry to hear that some of you died. I’ll do my best to protect the rest of you. Just stay back and throw your darts from a distance like you’ve been doing. I’ll back up our own weasels.”

“Stay safe, be safe!” the lead kobold, the miner said, as he clutched his pickaxe nervously. “The Seelie are terrible, they’ll show no mercy, no mercy!”

“I’ll do my best.” I smiled as I grabbed my spear and leapt into the fray. My target was a large black-furred weaselkin who had just battered down one of my own weasels with a crude wooden club that looked as it if was just a torn-up tree root. Landing in front of it I thrust my spear out, draining a little aether to increase the mass. It barely managed to get its club in the way of my thrust, but the spear pierced through and tore into its arm, causing it to gape in pain, a long hiss leaking from it.

“Sorry, but I can’t have you invading my Territory and killing my precious subordinates.” I growled, feeling surprisingly aggressive. I kicked out, aether adding weight to my blows, sending my foe backwards. My spear tore free with a welter of gore, and with another quick stab I drove it backwards. As I did so another bolt of aether sped past me, sending another weaselkin flying like a ragdoll, tumbling to the ground where the kobolds surrounded it, hacking down with pickaxe and salvaged weaponry until it burst apart in a shower of gore and ether.

Not wanting to be outdone I swung my spear like a club, driving back my foe, and as it backed up I had enough reach for a thrust once more, and my knife-head spear-point tore through its throat with extra weight and sharpness. It burst into ether with one final growl, and before my Silo could absorb it I converted it to aether, strengthening my dwindling supply.

This is no time to be frugal. I can handle this invasion and worry about how much ether I have left later.

Caught up in the battle I rushed to support my own beleaguered weasels and quickly made a couple of kills. Three degraded weaselkin had joined up with me at this point, one of which was armed with the damaged club from earlier. Moving as a group I directed them to support me and we quickly took down several more enemies, with my Defensive Emplacement managing to also score another couple of kills.

“This is going great.” I exulted as we engaged and drove back another black-furred foe. It really is advantageous defending a Territory and having troops. It’s a bit of a pain having to direct them, but if they were from a Barracks it would be easier as they could act on their own. Still, this is going very well…

The black weaselkin exploded into ether in front of us, along with one of my own weasels. The foe had leapt forwards with its dying breath and bitten out the throat of one of my retainers.

Damn, I was getting a bit carried away there, forgetting about the danger. If that had been me… maybe I wouldn’t have died, but it would have been risky, I doubt very much I'd fare any better with my throat shredded…

As I was thinking, the very air around me shook and a warning scrolled across my vision, interrupting my musings.

Your defensive barrier is now at thirty-six percent.

Damn, it just dropped by quite a few percent all of a sudden. If we take too many more attacks like that, the barrier will collapse.

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Ignoring the other messages about the gain and loss of ether I was experiencing, I headed towards the outer edges of my Territory, trying to spot what was causing all the damage. Running around some of my buildings I ran into several weaselkin lying in ambush, and barely reacted in time, throwing myself to one side as a rusty hatchet swung by one of them passed by where my head was mere moments before. Lowering my mass with aether I sprung up rapidly, leaping over them. I landed heavily but managed to mitigate the impact with more aether, as I spun my spear, sharpening the edge and adding mass. One weaselkin fell, throat torn out, and another reared back as my spear stabbed deep into its shoulder. Letting out a growl of effort I leveraged my greater strength and height to slash the blade deeper until the weaselkin blew apart in a shower of ether, some of which I absorbed and cycled to replace my growing aether losses.

The third lunged at me, gripping the fallen axe from its deceased comrade, bearing its fangs and hissing threateningly. “Die-die!” it howled, as it closed in, eyes filled with battle madness.

“I’d rather not.” I replied, slipping to the side and dodging. My spear tore into its ribs, and it fell, writhing in agony. One more thrust and I had put it out of its suffering.

I’ve definitely improved in terms of combat skills. I wonder if the muscle training is paying off already? It seems a bit unlikely it could work so soon, but then what about this whole mess makes sense, objectively?

The situation was still desperate, as another message announced that the barrier was now down to just thirty percent. The rate of damage seemed to be increasing, despite us defeating many weaselkin. There had to be a threat that was causing this. After a moment of thought I believed I had found the answer…

The big one that attacks from a distance the kobolds mentioned. Damn, that’s going to be a pain. My hardest fights have been against those with ranged weapons, such as the weaselkin with a bow that attacked me before…

Still, I had no leisure to delay. If the barrier failed then whatever ranged attacks that were destroying it would be turned on my central facilities, the precious Buildings I had struggled to construct. Losing the Defensive Emplacement would be a huge blow to my chances, and I was reminded of this fact by the flare of another silver aether bolt, and the announcement that another weaselkin had been slain, offering me more ether.

I raced towards the outer perimeter, engaging another black-furred weasel on the way. It drove me back with powerful blows, but the reach of my spear, combined with distractions from my own weaselkin, was enough to attain victory. As it fell I had another welcome announcement.

You have gained in strength. Your Level has increased from Five to Six.

The extra boosts to my stats, while minor, would definitely be a help. Another aether bolt discharged from my Defensive Emplacement, though this time it didn't manage to take down its foe. Seeing it flying off to my left, I decided to head that way, confident it wouldn’t be firing at nothing. Another pair of weaselkin barred my path, but my own quickly engaged them. One which had been injured by the black weasel earlier was slain, but between the survivor and me we quickly took down the other two. Reaching an open space at the border of my Territory I finally saw what must have been the ‘big one’ the kobolds were so scared of.

It was a weaselkin standing nearly six feet tall, covered in needle-like brown and grey fur, with dark eyes filled with menace. It was holding a pair of shiny and cruel metal sickles in each paw, and on its feet were long nails that were also as long and sharp as the sickles. As it saw me it let out a low chuckle and waved one sickle at me in a seeming gesture of greeting. Green light flared around it, and seconds later pain engulfed me, my body feeling as though it had been put in a shredder, cold pain quickly blasting through the warmth of my aether, droplets of blood flying from me, to evaporate as silvery mist. Beside me my last weaselkin defender was torn apart in a welter of gore, as if it suddenly exploded.

Staggering back against the wall I moved instinctively as it waved its other hand, and in a flare of jade energies the wall behind me was scoured with what seemed like claw marks, biting deep into plaster and stone. I barely had time to take this in before it raised one leg and waved that as well. The ground erupted around me, jagged needles of rock flying at me ceaselessly. Blows also raged around my body, flinging me back once more, further damage ripping through me. I coughed in agony and blood splattered out, dyeing the floor before it evaporated.

Shit, shit, SHIT! I really could die here… it hurts, it hurts a lot! If I retreat into my Territory I can use the barrier for a bit but it will eventually be destroyed, and then I’m screwed. I could give up my Territory and quit entirely, just make do with what rewards I’ve already gained… but that would put all my effort to waste. Sunk cost is a terrible poison… wait, that’s it!

Connecting my mind to my Territory by my aether I took control of the Defensive Emplacement and targeted the dangerous weaselkin. Time for some manual control, RTS-style!

“Eat this!” I snarled, and a silvery bolt flared out. It raced towards the weaselkin, and for a moment my heart rejoiced… until it faded out of existence a few paces away from the foe, leaving it sniggering unpleasantly.

Damn, out of range? This weasel really is as cunning as they are said to be in folklore…

“You truly are a fool if you think you can stand against me-me.” The weaselkin chortled. “I will eliminate you and your land in the name of the princess. We shall not allow another obstacle to arise blocking her path-path to conquest.”

What do I do? How do I get out of this? As I racked my brain the weasel raised one of his sickles and lashed out again, the green strike coming once more. Reflexively I thrust my spear out, even though the distance was too great, and I felt a heavy impact on my weapon as the jade light connected. Something passed to either side where my spear had struck and hammered into me, cutting and sharp. As I reeled in pain my stressed mind grasped one fact.

I hit… something, but I didn’t block it, instead it split to either side of my spear… whatever that green strike is, it isn’t entirely tangible. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the weasel swing again and I threw myself down as green light flashed, feeling a faint tugging at my clothes before an impact sliced away again at the wall behind me, jade sparks scattering. Another bolt from my Defensive Emplacement streaked out, but again it faded away, the distance too far to reach.

“Too bad, you will die-die here. Nothing escapes my sickles.” With that he lashed out with both a clawed foot and one arm, and even though I leapt aside I was still caught hard by the glowing blasts, though this time I was expecting it so managed to channel aether to create an invisible wall to block it. As I fell down, lamenting the cost in aether my defence had employed, my memory was jogged by a word my foe had said.

“Sickles… hmm.”

I remembered a story I had told my little sister and Eri-chan when we were all young to scare them. That of the Kamaitachi, the sickle-weasels that rode the wind and caused invisible injuries, like unseen knives. My sis just laughed it off, but I remember Eri-chan ended up crying and hiding under her bed. I regretted it after that…

“You’re using the wind, aren’t you?” I said as I got to my feet. “The green lights are blades of air, that’s why I can’t block them.”

“You are a smart-smart one. Knowing will not help you though.”

He was right. How was I going to get out of this one? If only my Defensive Emplacement could reach… damn, that's it! I hurriedly connected myself to my Territory Anchor and read the options that scrolled across my vision quickly, the silver letters coming and going in a blur.

Defensive Emplacement Rank 2- Upgrade cost 9000 … too expensive! I didn’t have enough ether so I blinked the info away.

Defensive Emplacement Upgrade Rank 1- Sniper Mode- Upgrade cost 800. This upgrade reduces the firing rate of your Defensive Emplacement greatly, but greatly increases range and damage. This upgrade will take an Astral day to complete.

This was what I needed. I immediately queued the upgrade, and when I was prompted if I wanted to spend more ether to upgrade it faster I screamed affirmatively inside my head and dumped my remaining stocks in. It was a gamble, but if it paid off I could salvage this dire situation…

I leapt aside once more as the Kamaitachi struck, and my leg was blazing with pain, deep wounds gouged into it in a shimmer of verdant light. I stumbled and fell, barely dragging myself out of the way of another burst of green wind. As I did so the words in my vision announced the upgrade was complete.

“Totally worth it.” I muttered, linking my mind to the Emplacement.

“Your resistance is useless. You will die here for the glory-glory of our princess.” The Kamaitachi flailed again and wind darted at me. My spear spun in a desperate block which managed to divert most of it around me at the cost of serious damage to my hands, driving me backwards.

“A good effort, but now you die-die…” it said, just as a rapid bolt of aether stabbed out, using the newly gained stockpile of ether my Territory had drained from the rest of the weaselkin invading my domain. The bolt struck home, ripping one arm clean off the Kamaitachi, sending it slamming backwards into the wall, where it lay stunned.

“No, sorry. Now you die-die!” I retorted, dragging myself to my feet and hobbling over to the grounded Kamaitachi. My spear stabbed down into its dazed face, and it exploded into a massive cloud of ether, as well as a small shining ball of green light, which hovered there in the air, wobbling and drifting…