Chapter 9 — Turning Point 1

Morgan began to see figures emerging in the center of the training field.

“Barnes, what’s going on?”

Barnes remained focused on the field.

Eyes shifting, sweating, rapid short breaths.

He gripped his sword hilt.

Combat stress.

Morgan and Dre had seen it before. They had even experienced it themselves.

Dre grabbed Barnes by the shoulder.

“Explain later. Are they hostile?”

“Yes.”

“Where’s your men?”

“In the woodline, like us. I sent a messenger to my father for reinforcements.”

Dre shifted slightly.

Morgan remained low, examining the men.

They were searching through the tents, kicking over cooking stands that were still burning beside the fires.

“They aren’t here, sir! They couldn’t have gone far!” one of the men shouted.

Morgan leaned closer to Barnes.

“Hey, pretty boy, What do you want to do?”

“There’s nothing we can do right now. We weren’t prepared for a fight.”

That was true.

Morgan thought about how he and Dre had only just begun training to fight using these foreign tactics. Barnes was right.

If they had rifles or grenades, they could do something.

Morgan slowly began to push himself up.

“That’s it.”

Barnes and Dre looked at him.

“I got it.”

Even in the darkness, they could tell something about Morgan had changed.

He was smiling.

“I have an idea. Pretty boy, assuming this is your land, these are unwelcome visitors with ill intent, right?”

“How did you kno—”

“Yes or no?”

Barnes stared at him.

“Yes.”

“My squad was pinned down one day, and we had another group coming up behind us. We didn’t have the numbers or the firepower to take on both groups at once, so we had everyone take out their grenades and hand them to one guy.”

Morgan's eyes remained fixed on the field.

“Everyone kept engaging the group to the front while I waited until the second group got close enough. Then I threw all the grenades at once over the wall.”

He smiled.

“Decimated those fuckers.”

Dre’s eyebrows raised.

He had heard this story before.

That had been a Delta group his team was on the way to provide support for.

“Wait, Morgan. That would work, but we don’t have grenad—”

Morgan held up a rock.

“You sure about that?”

Dre smiled.

Morgan almost laughed.

“Barnes, you said I’d learn how to use my skills here as well. Does Detonate work on anything I touch?”

There was a long pause.

Barnes began piecing together what Morgan was saying.

Could Detonate really work that way?

He knew the skill could consume a majority of the user's mana if used incorrectly.

There wasn’t time to think about it.

They were already in the camp.

On his land.

“Yes,” Barnes finally said. “But be careful.”

“Morgan, I have a skill called Mimic. I can briefly copy another persons skill.”

“No. Don’t do that.”

Dre looked at Barnes.

“Why?”

“Because you don’t have enough mana. You’ll pass out if you use it all up.”

Morgan began to think.

“Dre, wait fifteen seconds from the first blast and rush in. Hit the big guy the same way you hit Barnes. Hey pretty boy.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Fine. You follow Dre and back him up.”

Barnes looked at Morgan.

“Now prepare yourselves, this is going to get chaotic.”

More men entered the camp.

About one hundred and fifty in total.

They moved through the tents, grabbing gear and laughing about how Barnes and his men had run away without a fight.

Morgan picked up several rocks in one hand and grabbed his dagger with the other.

That familiar sensation of Weapon Mastery filled his mind and body.

He scanned for a target, picking a man in the center of a group.

He drew his arm back and threw.

The knife flew through the air like a streak of light, striking one of the men in the hip.

His scream filled the night.

Then—

BOOM.

The ground shook.

The shockwave tore through the camp, sending bodies and pieces of bodies flying.

For a moment, everything went silent.

Then the men rushed toward the explosion.

Rocks began pelting them from the darkness.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

Explosions tore through the camp.

Men went flying.

More screams of pain.

Chaos erupted.

Barnes' men took advantage of the confusion and began firing arrows from the woodline.

Morgan threw more rocks toward another group.

Another chain of explosion ripped through the camp.

Dre saw an opening and bolted.

Using his Overdrive skill he reached the man in the blink of an eye.

He slammed into him twice as hard as he hit Barnes.

The man didn't budge.

Barnes rushed in behind him, then stopped.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Fire filled his camp.

Bodies were strewn everywhere.

A man crawled toward him.

His entrails dragged behind him. 

He was missing everything below his stomach.

“Kill me! Kill me!”

Morgan appeared behind the man and kicked him, sending him flying.

Another man rushed Morgan.

Morgan stepped aside and touched the man's helmet.

“Detonate.”

BOOM.

The man's head exploded.

Barnes stared.

“Monsters…”

He looked across the battlefield.

“These men aren't heroes.”

His eyes followed Morgan and Dre as they moved through the chaos.

“They're gods of war.”

“Barnes!”

Morgan's voice snapped him back.

“Dre needs you! I got these bastards!”

Barnes shook himself out of it.

He saw Dre fighting the large man, the two of them clashing swords.

Every time the swords made contact it sounded like thunder.

Barnes ran toward them.

He never made it.

A war hammer slammed into him from the side.

Barnes flew sideways and crashed onto his back.

He coughed.

Pain shot through his ribs.

Looking up, he saw a face he recognized.

“Gordon.”

The man smiled.

“Barnes.”

“You bastard. Why are you here?”

“I was hired for a job.”

Gordon dropped his hammer and drew a sword.

“Glad I took it.”

Barnes coughed again.

Blood came up.

At least two broken ribs.

Gordon stepped closer.

“Come on! Get up, Sword Master!”

He sneered.

“You filthy fucking commoner. Get up!”

Barnes felt anger rising inside him.

But there was something else.

Fear?

No.

Not fear.

The sounds of Morgan’s explosions.

Men screaming in terror.

The fire.

And now Gordon.

Barnes looked around.

His men were joining the fight.

He could hear the clash between Dre and his opponent.

“I don’t have time for you today.”

Barnes stood and drew his sword.

“Too fucking bad. You’ve had this coming for a long time.”

Barnes took a defensive stance and drew a deep breath.

“Come at me.”

Gordon’s face hardened as he charged him.

Barnes deflected the attack and redirected Gordon’s momentum, maneuvering behind him.

Barnes considered using his Dash skill to get to Dre.

But that would leave his back exposed.

Gordon swiftly turned and locked swords with him.

Barnes shifted his weight and kicked Gordon's knee.

There was a sickening crack.

Gordon collapsed, grabbing at his leg.

Barnes finally had a moment to compose himself.

He bent down and picked up Gordon's hammer.

“Here.”

He looked down at Gordon.

“You dropped this.”

THUD.

Barnes drove the hammer into Gordon’s chest.

Gordon gasped.

Then passed out.

Barnes looked toward where he had last seen Dre.

He was gone.

“Fuck! Where is he?”

The sounds of thunder were gone.

Weaker explosions could be heard from what seemed every direction.

Barnes’ men were now engaging larger groups with swords.

Barnes made his way through the chaos, fighting off stragglers who carelessly charged him.

He felt calm.

He didn't understand it.

Only moments ago, his heart had felt like it was about to jump out of his chest.

Now there was only focus.

“There!”

He caught a glimpse of Dre fighting someone.

As Barnes got closer, he realized they weren't fighting with swords anymore.

The large man had knocked Dre to the ground and was now on top of him.

Barnes activated Dash.

He crossed the distance in an instant and drove his sword through the man's side.

The man's face contorted in pain.

He grabbed Barnes by the throat with his free hand.

“So fast!”

Barnes pulled his knife from his belt and tried to cut the man's wrist.

The man threw him aside and got back to his feet.

Morgan had made his way to Dre.

Both were bloodied.

He grabbed his arm and pulled him upright.

“You good, bro? You look like hell.”

Dre shook his head.

“Yeah, man. Just a little banged up. You?”

“Yeah. I think I'm almost out of magic, and I'm pretty sure I broke my hand on some dude's face.”

Morgan looked around.

“Where's Barnes?”

Dre, trying to catch his breath, pointed toward the two men trading punches.

“He saved my life. We need to help.”

Morgan spotted a fire iron still sitting in the flames.

He reached down and grabbed it.

Then slowly walked toward them.

Barnes was being overpowered, struggling to hold the man's arms back, trying to keep him at bay.

Morgan stepped behind the man.

He drove the fire iron into his back.

The man tried to scream but couldn’t, morgan had pierced his lungs.

He dropped to his knees, desperately reaching behind him, trying to remove the iron from his back. 

Barnes walked over and grabbed the hilt of his sword, still buried in the man's side.

He looked down at him.

“This belongs to me.”

Barnes pulled the sword free.

Blood poured from the wound.

His arms went limp as he slumped forward.

Morgan looked around the battlefield.

“Is that all of them?”

“Im not sure.”

“Commander Barnes!”

One of the soldiers shouted from across the camp.

“That’s all of them! We won!”

The remaining soldiers began cheering.

Some shouted.

Others jumped up and down.

“Sir! Your father’s men have arrived! They’re here!”

Barnes finally sat down from exhaustion.

“Good.”

He took a breath.

“Go tell my brother to tend to the wounded.”

Dre walked over.

“You okay, Barnes?”

Barnes began breathing heavily.

The weight of the fight was finally beginning to set in.

What had he just witnessed?

A fight like he had never seen before.

He couldn't even call it a battle.

It was a slaughter.

These two men standing before him had shown no hesitation.

No fear.

Killing was second nature to them.

Just where the hell had they come from?

THUD.

Dre and Barnes looked over.

Morgan had collapsed.

“He must have used all of his mana,” Barnes said.

Barnes stared in admiration at Morgan for a moment.

If Morgan hadn't intervened when he did, he would be dead. 

“Let's get him somewhere he can rest.”