The wrath of Kedan (2)

Seeing the oncoming bolt, Tsapo felt his scalp tingle. he hadn't expected his opponent to be so decisive. As the force of the bolt came at him, a cold sweat descended his spine. The force and trajectory were so overbearing it was inescapable.

Yet this was Tsapo. The leader of Harrow City. The ultimate strong dog in the canine community. He was invincible among his peers, the monster that everyone bowed to. He was not to be easily underestimated.

Facing such a fierce attack, he wasn't holding back. He erected layers of ice to act as barriers to block the oncoming attack. Not only that, he redirected every ounce of power he had to his skin and bone, powering up his Fortification Skill to the max. As he watched the bolt break through every barrier he had, he swung his ax at it with all his might.

The moment he made contact with the bolt, he felt his arms go numb as the force almost paralyzed his arms. Furthermore, he was forced several steps back and almost stumbled off the wall. His brows were sweating profusely after feeling just how powerful the attack was. Watching his movements and response, even Kedan was impressed.

Looking around, he realized that out of the 50 that had been targetted, only 10 survived. Out of the 10, only one was uninjured, the leader. Everyone else was either flung off the wall or pinned to it. Moreover, every Ballista bolt, including the one meant for Tsapo, took with it at least 3 soldiers each.

Making matters worse, among the fallen, 40, there were at least 25 Supers that had been targetted. In essence, with one move, Kedan had wiped away half the foundations of power in Harrow city.

Such devastation was unprecedented. After that attack, everyone was agreed on one thing, no ranged weapons at the opponent, he'll only overturn the weapons and use it against them. Such terrible killing power brought fear in the hearts of all those gathered.

There was another effect on the battlefield. All through, the wolfkins were utterly confident in their victory. Facing whatever force especially from humans, it was quick work to put the humans in their place time and time again. Even now, they had been confident that come what may, they would win, that this was just a troublesome nuisance that was taking longer to deal with. They were not so sure anymore.

What was a force of 50 Supers when half could be easily be taken out in one move. What was the point of having war weapons when they could just be used by the enemy? None of all their priced war machines were of any help. This was the first time the city was facing such a substantial attack. Rather, this was the first time that the city was in real danger of obliteration, and from one man at that.

To say that the horizons of the wolfkin were broadened would be an understatement, but so was their fear. They could feel the aura that was emanating from their attacker, and though it was just the one, it felt overbearing.

From down below, Kedan could feel the despair rising from his targets, but a lifetime of being told you better than others doesn't just get washed off in one move.

Kedan's ability was the manipulation of the laws of attraction. With this, he didn't need to carry the weapons that were flung at him, he just needed to play with the attractive forces acting on them.

Elementary physics taught in Faction Protector academies says that at any given time, several forces were acting on a moving object. These forces include the centripetal and centrifugal forces. On their own, these forces kind of nullify each other, but under the control of a master manipulator life Kedan, they served his purpose well.

The arrows, and later the bolts, moved along with the forces acting on them. kedan just extended the attractive forces to act as a tunnel, redirecting the arrows and whatever they would fling at him back to the sender.

In simple terms, what this meant was that Kedan was just starting, he hadn't even broken a sweat yet. But Tsapo wasn't done with his onslaught.

He was the only one to successfully block the attack. While everyone had seen him stumble a few steps back, he hadn't been injured. The stumble could be explained. He wasn't prepared; he had been caught by surprise. All these were excuses that were voiced by many in the army.

The fact that Tsapo stood strong served to energize the soldiers. They may be small and inconsequential to such a powerful invader, but he was dreaming if he thought that the city would be easily sacked. They still had their leader!

Tsapo himself did not want to lose face. Seeing that his ranged attacks were useless, or even worse than useless, he abandoned that strategy altogether. Raising his hand, he signaled for the remaining wolf packs, who had been finally organized after much effort, to be let loose.

The massive Western gates opened. It was quite a wonder to see the gates fully opened on any day, but now, they were being stretched to the limit. It is noteworthy that entire generations had lived and died without ever witnessing either the all-out wolf attack or the full opening of the gates.

The ground shook as the awe-inspiring force of the wolves attacking in unison. The sheer size, the fury, the aura of a beast going all out could be felt across the battlefield. Watching the army approach, any onlookers felt that they had no other option but to be trampled over the sheer size of the beasts.

The soldiers watching from the walls and those that were behind the massive wolf army also felt their hearts jolted. So what is he had shown fierce killing power? So what he was a monster? Under the combined attack of the wolves, what could the puny human do?

Down in the dungeons, they too felt the ground shaking. The start of a great war. A massive mobilization. They didn't know what to make of this. How could one man cause such a commotion? Just what did he do?

Meanwhile, while all these were busy reacting in their various ways, the one who was facing the attack had a relaxed smile on his face. His entire countenance even came off as smug, like he was watching a child crawl. The match of the wolves seemed like nothing more than a babe wielding a cane at him.

From where he was at, Kedan was over a kilometer away from the gates. The wolves were crossing that distance at dizzying speed, that even if a mortal was to try running away, they wouldn't make it a few steps.

900 meters.

800 meters.

...

100 meters.

They were practically right at him at this point, just a leap away. A worried Tsapo breathed a sigh of relief. The enemy was handled. He'd feared that the enemy would use some sort of ranged attacks to bring down the wolf army, but now that they were that close, what could he do except offer himself to be minced meat.

It was such a shame, for an opponent that strong, he should have put up more of a fight. The same thoughts were running through anyone with half a brain. They, had they been in Kedan's shoes, would have chosen to run, or kite the threat. As a ranged mage, their distance was their armor. Too bad. They weren't mourning, but rather, relieved. He'd been a difficult foe, so as long as he was down, life can move on.

The notion that he was a ranged mage and utterly powerless in close quarters may have applied to Kedan when he was facing his peers. In this situation, however, it was a notion that Kedan had to thoroughly get rid of.

When they were less than 100 meters, Kedan took out a Trident from his spatial artifact. This was another weapon that had been left behind by Keeling, or as he knew him, Dane.

Structured from Ebony metal, the black trident stood at 2 meters tall. It was overlayed with golden magic array formations. On its own, it exuded a tyrannical aura that was oppressive to those it considered its enemies.

The weapon was formed from one of the strongest metals in the galaxy. Its sturdy composition made it almost indestructible even before any magic was introduced to it. It had a perfect balance and in the hands of a skilled trident user, it was a reaper's scythe.

The magic array formations served to amplify each one of its natural attributes, but it had 3 other skills. I forgot to mention this a while ago. When a user held a standard weapon made in the galaxy, and they knew how to use it, there was an option to bind said weapon.

Some weapons were only bound to the makers, while others could be bound as long as someone fulfilled a set of conditions. For instance, weapons made in an assembly line to be used by soldiers could only be bound to soldiers.

Binding a weapon gave the user the list of skills available to them, and how to use it. It was like a magical manual contained in the weapon. It also served as a way of allowing the weapon to recognize the user as its owner and obey their commands. This was especially useful for the advanced weapons in the universe that had consciousnesses. Unless the user had permission, they could even face backlash from using such a weapon.

Kedan's Trident's first skill was called Fortify Strength. When wielded, the strength and power used by the user would be amplified by 15%. The second, Fortify Spell, amplified the power in the spell by 5%. The third, which was the most appealing to Kedan, though not at this point, was the Boomerang Effect. As the name suggests, when thrown, it would return to the user.

As such, it not only powered up the user's strength and skills but it could also be used as a ranged weapon as well.

The first wolf pounced at its prey expectantly. In its mind, it was already a foregone conclusion, it was having human meat! As the leader of the pack, he was the first to get to the prey, and the first to mindlessly attack.

One swing of the trident later, the wolf was sent tumbling in the opposite direction. However, Kedan didn't stop at that. His next swing tore through a wolves skin and flesh, instantly decapitating them.

The first contact was good, but his follow-up moves were even better. Never standing at the same spot, Kedan's movement could not even be seen. Like a god of death, his every movement reaped a life, or severely injured a wolf.

Of all the animals in the world, there is no better animal at coordination than the wolf. Due to its pack existence, the beast is specialized in utilizing the zerg tactic. They way they do it is, they surround you, cutting off any line of escape. Then multiple beasts attack you from any direction. This is a tried and tested method that lies deep in the very instincts. It is part of who the wolf is.

Yes, what threat did their zerg tactics have on Kedan? Cutting off any escape is a good idea, but it only works if the person you cornering is trying to escape. No wolf could land a blow, plain and simple. Whatever strategies, speed, size, strength were completely useless against true might!

Luckily, wolves also happen to be one of the smartest non-sentient beasts. After more than 50 beasts had fallen, the rest came to the realization that continuously attacking this fiend was serving up one's life. You can imagine the speed at which they scattered in all directions, though none went back to the city.

The entire fight, from the time the wolves had charged till their hasty retreat (if it could be called that) had taken less than 5 minutes. The army couldn't stop staring at the mountain of carcasses that had been left behind after the battle.

Yet, what really shook them, disintegrating everything they thought they knew, was that they could see movement from where the bodies were lying. That's when he came out. Bloody from the tips of his hair to the toenails.

When Kedan finally got clear of the bodies, he started strolling forward, heading to the direction of the city.