Rat & Demon: An Epic Fantasy Progression Saga (Shattered Gods Book 6) by Chris Fox

Author:Chris Fox [Fox, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chris Fox Writes LLC
Published: 2023-06-29T16:00:00+00:00

17

PRACTICE

Our newly formed quint met aboard The Fist, which Saghir had configured into a dueling arena. The walls absorbed magic, which meant that we could let loose without fear of blowing up the ship around us.

What’s more, Saghir had worked a void pocket into the ship, and the interior was now several times larger than the corresponding space it represented. We had plenty of room to live, train, and study, all in comfort.

Within the circle, Ena and Hadi glided from stance to stance, darting and lunging as each sought an advantage. Ena abruptly vanished, leaving Hadi standing in the middle of the room, his falchion cradled in both hands and his stance loose as he prepared to react to Ena’s ambush.

A demonic tail snaked around Hadi’s foot, cinching like a noose even as Ena’s clawed foot scythed in toward the bird’s face. Hadi ducked under the kick while simultaneously wrenching his blade down and severing Ena’s tail to free himself.

The tengu hopped backward, but Ena pursued, tackling him to the ground. His falchion went spinning away, and the tussle ended with Ena straddling the bird. Her clawed hands were wrapped around his throat, but he’d gotten a dagger loose from somewhere and the blade dug into the hard leathery skin over her heart.

“Break,” I called, and the pair obligingly leapt to their feet, then hurried from the arena.

Celeste had been observing the fight with a frown and moved to heal Ena’s tail without a word. She wasn’t offering feedback, but disappointment rolled off her in waves.

“Our line isn’t much of a line.” I folded my arms and glared at both Hadi and Ena, in exactly the way I imagined Caw would have. “Neither of you can stand and fight. Hadi, you need room to maneuver. Ena, you rely upon stealth. If you vanish in mid-combat, then our mages are exposed. Both styles are fine, but it makes us predictable. People will very quickly realize I am hanging back to protect the mages. So we’re going to need to change things up a bit. Ena, you’re going to reactively protect Saghir and Celeste. Hadi, you and I are going to crack their defense and get at the mages.”

Celeste knelt and picked up the battle pack, which appeared comically large as she cinched it around her petite frame. Was that what I’d looked like back at the academy and when Saghir and I had first started using the tactic? It might appear comical, but it had been devastatingly effective and would be again.

“Are we assuming combat starts and we have not had time to buff?” Saghir inquired, his voice drifting out of the pack. “If Celeste is watching the battlefield and focused on counterspelling initially, then I could layer protective spells about us.”

“I’ll act as editor,” I announced as I entered the circle and slowly slid Narlifex from my sheath. “We’re on equal sands, no aid nor hindrance from the arena. Hadi and I have bypassed your melee line and are assaulting you directly.

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