“Are you going to need some extra training to get back on an equal footing to us?”
“Perhaps. I’m level 271 now. Will that be enough?”
“Considering that is about the average for the entire army, no,” Jonathan asnwered. “However, I’m not sure how else you can raise it other than by killing more of Slothari’s soldiers. Rustling up that herd of monsters might have seemed easy, but the entire area for a good few hundred miles in every direction is now devoid of anything worth our time.”
“Eh, I’ll manage. After all, I have Edgar here to protect me.” She turned to her lover, a sly grin on her face. “Isn’t that right?”
The mage opened his mouth, and then thought better of it. He gave Jonathan and Hushar a pleading look, but only received a shrug in response from the Uthraki and a mouthed “good luck” from Jonathan.
Hushar and Jonathan quickly left the scene, not wanting to get in between Edgar and his girlfriend, who was clearly in a capricious mood.
“What exactly was going on back there?” Hushar asked once they had made some distance. “I only responded the way I did because you seemed to know what was happening.”
“Sometimes, women like to test their partners. That question Eva asked had no right answer.”
“Ah, I see,” Hushar said. “Had he said he was there to protect her, it would have looked like he thought she was incompetent. But if he had said the opposite, that would have looked even worse.”
“On my home planet, one of my coworkers had a saying. Any man who says he’s happily married either is with his wife, or new to the whole thing.”
Hushar seemed a bit confused by the whole thing, considering that a good portion of childbearing in Tartarus had been suborned by a spawning pit, as if his race were mere monsters. Marriage was rare there, and families even rarer.
Jonathan sneaked a glance behind, and watched Edgar quail slightly before Eva as they conversed in tones too low to be overheard. Mainly, that was due to Edgar keeping sound from escaping the area. Sometimes, being a wind mage had its perks.
Jonathan smirked, and continued on his way. Although he greatly preferred his life here to back on Earth, it was always refreshing to feel a connection to his birth planet, even if it was only a tiny one.
The next few days passed in a blur of travel and carnage. Bolstered by their leveling, his weaker soldiers now could hold their own against most of their foes. For the first time, they were stronger in terms of level, though they had already been stronger overall from their lives in the Waste Warrens. Jonathan was proud of them, even though he hadn’t been responsible for their recruitment. All of that was in the hands of Edgar.
The Fetid Plains had quickly become a deathtrap, filled with legions of Slothari’s troops. Disconcertingly, the circle lord herself was still to make her final appearance. Jonathan felt that a trap was closing in on him and his followers, but there was nothing to do but continue as he was. Compared to the Ash Heaps, he had a far stronger army following him, as compared to a few fighters back when he had challenged Granath. Unfortunately, the odds were far slimmer as well, considering just how many foes he had. The Dread Legions of the Ash Heaps had been like ants before him at the end, but the majority of Slothari’s forces were at the high end of Tier 3.
Attacks came every few hours, from all sides. Corpses lay strewn across the plains in the wake of Jonathan and his army, a few of them sadly from among them. For every few hundred the enemy lost, Jonathan’s coalition lost one. It seemed like an immense advantage, but considering the number difference, it really didn't mean all that much.
They relied on their mobility to stay out of insurmountable danger, given that nobody at Tier 3 needed any sleep, food or water. That meant that they could continue on to the limits of their stamina.
Jonathan had decided to plot a circular course around the Fetid Plains so as to blunt the force of Slothari’s legions to the best of his ability. There was no real way to do so without losing soldiers, but this was the most effective. If they charged the Oozing Bastion like they were now, they would all simply die.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
More importantly, he had gained another level from the recent battles, bringing him close to the peak of the Tier.
Jonathan Harlowe
Tier 3
Void Human(Exalted)
Divinity Aspect: Void Hegemon
Elemental Mastery: 13%
Elemental Juggernaut: Tier 3 Legendary
Active Blessings: The Third Eye of Exal’drin
Level 292
(114 free points)
Health: 54293/54293
Stamina: 79718/79718
Mana: 57870/57870
- Titles
True Unbound Spirit: Unique
First Circle Breaker: Unique
Nascent God: Transcendent
Supreme Initiate: Ancient
Prodigy of Fusion: Mythical
Lesser Xenocide: Legendary
Greater Giantslayer: Legendary
Iron Will: Epic
Leader of Men: Epic
Refined Form: Epic
Avenger: Epic
Lineage Hunter: Rare
Righteous Killer: Rare
- Skills
Maw of the Void: Ancient
Ephemeral Trifecta: Mythical
Greater Smite: Mythical
Void’s Grasp: Mythical
Void Piercer: Mythical
Void Missile: Mythical
Runic Overcharge: Mythical
Mantle of the Void: Legendary
Rune Savant: Legendary
Void Drill: Legendary
Channeled Basic Truesight: Legendary
Sense the Weave: Legendary
Fists of the Maelstrom: Legendary
Minor Enlightenment: Legendary
Void Slipstream: Epic
Warrior’s Trance: Epic
Battle Focus: Rare
Impact: Rare
Focused Scry: Rare
Runes of Power: Rare
Redirect: Uncommon
- Pathway Skills
Blunt Weapon Mastery(Advanced): Expert 3
Energy Manipulation(Advanced): Journeyman 9
Runecrafting Expertise(Advanced): Journeyman 9
- Martial Path
Flowing Maelstrom: Journeyman 9
- Weapon Domain: Expert 3(Advanced)
- Quests
The Strongest: ???
Hellbreaker: Impossible
Pathway of the Titans: Heroic