"Okay everyone listen up. We're going to be going in, hitting them fast and hard. Our target today has a rather unsavory character, and also runs a fight club for vampire children. However this dude focuses mostly on the exotic. As we all know vampirism focuses mostly on what's inside and not appearances, which means anyone or thing with intelligence can technically become a vampire.
Our new friend who's about to be on the wrong end of our fist likes vampire children with an original mixed ancestry, which means he goes after vampires with the appearance of elves, devils, dwarves, sirens, etc. Any vampire with an exotic bloodline is a target. He's a well known figure in the shady and haphazard underworld of the pit. And if rumors are to be believed, one of it's pillars.
His real name is unknown at the moment, but he's known as The Curious Merchant. And he's a member of a very rare civilization of nature spirits..... An Ent. Otherwise know as the evolved form of a the tree spirits Treant.
He's old, he's powerful, he has really strong followers, both vampires and members of other races. However he is and always will remain a big chunk of wood that moves. Aim is to capture alive for Interrogation, but if he makes it too hard on you...kill him and everyone around without mercy!"
I paused and took a look at my Envoys, along with the new additions to my team. After what happened the last time, we were all eager for a more successful and less consequential operation.
Which was why we had four new Envoys, of course if I had a say, 3 of the new additions to the team would have never been added to it. But it's incredibly hard getting a teenage girl to listen to you, even if that age was rapidly gained by using a time chamber.
Rhea has only had one class her whole life, no matter what we do, she would never have more than that. But that was enough, because it was an Incredibly powerful combat class, a class that was so rare, knowledge of it was scarce, and people who actually have the class and fought over by the upper echelons of society. That class was known as the Domain Master.
Domain masters, which is actually the base form of the class as subsequent evolutions would make it Domain Lord, Domain King, And Domain emperor. People with this class are rare, though the abilities of their class are not.
But it is in the way there are capable of using it that makes them so special. Any sufficiently powerful person can own a domain, a sphere of influence where anything that happens can be seen and manipulated to certain degrees.
But the domain masters have a rather special and nifty skill to go along with the fact that they could create domains with multiple effects, they could create domains that were specially known as void zones.
Zones where nothing works, or reacts, unless the domain master allows it. In that zone magic, spells, skills, weaving, even guns, swords and shields won't do a single thing.
So if there happens to be another cowardly attempt at implanting a bomb in the hearts of children, Rhea can prevent it from going off, or even destroying it by bringing it under the power of her domain. Skills like this made her valuable to the Envoys, and it was hard trying to convince her and the others to not go through with this, as you can see I completely failed.
"This part of the blue district is isolated but still incredibly crowded, which means our enemies are a whole lot more. The Curious Merchant has been here for a very long time, there's a possibility that he's the oldest entity in the pit, which makes him wiser, more cautious, and experienced. Based on intel he lives right in the center of that tower, and the wooden houses you actually see surrounding the tower, is an extension of his roots.
Stealth won't work, so instead make a big splash and draw fire. Which is what team A led by Xaseah and Teluna would be doing. Get their attention as best as you can, and take Rhea with you. Her abilities are better suited for the front line, and it would place everyone's attention including our targets on her."
"Are you seriously going to use me as bait? This is revenge for joining the Envoys isn't it?" Rhea asked me with a glare on her face.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Since you're a member you have to pull your weight." I said to her with a straight face.
She pointed her fingers at me completely speechless. I think by this point everyone would realize I really did make her bait on purpose. But that should teach her about undermining my authority. Being the adopted sister of vampire leader has afforded her a lot of privileges, and one of those was strong arming me into letting her join the Envoys.
So this is revenge indeed. Rhea turned around to report me to Xaseah, who was trying her best to placate the young girl who kept going on and on about her big brother being a stuck up bully.
And just like that she's turned Xaseah against me, just like she did previously with Asha. The other Envoys had a smile on their faces, Including our final two additions, Sia and Meese.
Twin cat in sisters that were Rhea's bodyguards ever since she was six. They're seventeen years old, and really dangerous when they're serious about a fight. Fast, efficient and ruthless are some of the words I can use to describe the.
But also the fact that both sisters can combine into one body, quadrupling their already impressive individual strength made them one of the most dangerous combatants on the surface of Shearath. So I had no worries about them keeping Rhea safe.
"Team B would take a rather softer approach and infiltrate the enemy's forces during the scramble and panic. Your job is to assassinate the important players on the opposite side. They have a lot more muscle than us, but even then it's still not an even playing field.
Hit them hard and hit them fast, this team would be led by Black and White. And then finally team C comprising of myself, Kodak and Gus, would march up right to the main tower and capture the Ent.
If he doesn't cooperate, I'll set him on fire. The captured children are evenly spread amongst all of the wooden houses, and they're under guard by the same important players team B are meant to assassinate.
Which makes rescuing them your primary mission. As soon as you've done that, move the children to the edge of this clustered mess, at the eastern side and wait for team A to bring the fight to you before joining forces, and having Rhea check the children for any fail safes. Both teams have only fifteen minutes to carry out their individual tasks and get to the rendezvous point. So hustle." After explaining Rhea raised her hand to ask me a question.
"How many minutes do we give you then. Does team C also have 15 minutes to fight the Ent?" Gus was the one who chose to answer her.
"No offense lady Rhea, but that's an insult to our abilities. We'll be done with the Ent in 5. We just need to find him."
I couldn't help shaking my head. Does he always try to be cool on purpose, or was it just his broody nature that makes him so intimidating. With Gus I can never really tell, but that's just who he is. The very personification of the concept 'Emo Vampire'.
"Alright Everyone, move out!" I ordered.
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TEAM A
XASEAH, RHEA AND TELUNA
Teluna took a deep breath as a [Lance Of Darkness] appears above his head. He was getting more and more efficient with using this skill, so much so that he could control the size, and the amount of power held within it. He pointed the lance at a cluster of wooden houses that seemed to grow out of the ground, and extension of actual roots that stretched out from the tower. It was a rather weird sight, but he was dealing.
He had no idea which houses held the children, so he had to be careful with his attack. Teluna angled the [Lance of Darkness] so that it was hanging flat like a disk, increasing it's shape until what he was holding, was actually a twenty meter long and five meter wide ornately designed lance made of darkness.
Of course increasing it's size like this drastically reduces the power behind the lance's strike, but it was just enough for Teluna to do what he had planned. After all, he just needed to get attention.
Teluna swung the [Lance Of Darkness] over the roof of a few houses, shaving them off and leaving the inhabitants exposed to the open. There was a loud explosion, and wood was blown to rubble and splinters and screams filled the air.
Teluna turned to Xaseah who gave him a thumbs up as she called out her armor, looking incredibly ferocious as she hefted a massive double headed axe. Xaseah looked at the rest of her team and said to them.
"Keep up."
Then she shot at the incoming wave of enemies, spinning so hard as she got close that her entire form became a whirlwind of blades and blood as she spun right into the middle reaping lives and limbs.
She paused and raised her Axe high above her head, drawing all attention as the blade began to glow an eerie purple and black light. Someone among her opponents screamed out a warning but he was drowned out by Xaseah's raged induced scream.
"Cleave!!"
A massive crescent beam of purple and black lights that seemed to sparkle with tiny silver starlight shot out of her axe as she swung it down. It dug a huge trench in the ground and completely obliterated every opponent in front of her in a five meter wide and almost thirty foot long area. Sweats broke out, and hearts pounded.
Teluna was completely unwilling to be left out of this show as he stepped into the shadow realm and appeared behind a startled wood elf.
Then he proceeded to unceremoniously shove his hand through the elf's chest, his hands bursting out the front with a still beating heart clutched in his fist. Teluna pulled his arm back, and the elf collapsed to the ground, very much dead.
The rest of the vampires jumped into the fray, and Rhea could not believe what she was seeing. She had seen members of the pride fight before, some on a much grander scale than this, but there was just something more intimidating seeing vampires fight.
This guys were hunters to the core, the apex predators of Shearath. They were completely different than what the media portrayed them as back on earth. They were normal, like people, but yet they were ferocious and ruthless, like lions.
Her brother had really done well for himself, and Rhea couldn't help but be proud of him. It made her regret that in her previous life she didn't have Kael as a brother. Life on the streets of London would have been a whole lot easier then.
"Mistress are we going to join the fight?" Sia and Meese asked at the same time.
Rhea never did get used to this quirk of theirs. She understood that they were sisters, but how is it possible that they would be capable of saying the same thing at the same time.
Was twin telepathy really a thing? But they were right, She was itching for a fight too anyway. Rhea was actually standing with a case as taller than she was on her back, and it looked heavy too.
Without having to drop it, she reach back and twisted a giant dial, on the jet black two meter long and a foot wide case. The top of the case slid open with a hiss, and a handle was slowly pushed upwards.
[HYDRA MULTIFORM WEAPONS CASE VOICE COMMAND ACTIVATION MODE INITIATED. IDENTIFY YOURSELF]
"Rhea designated user and designer 001. Activate dual S.M.G Mode, Solar rounds only."
The case hissed, and then the handle shown at the top suddenly disappeared into the case. The sides of the case opened up, and two sub-machine guns with orange highlights and a unique transparent vial on their top were pushed out. Rhea grabbed both guns and then turned to her bodyguards.
"Well what are you guys waiting for, go wild!"
And then she pointed her guns at the unfortunate group of people who thought attacking a helpless human girl was a good idea. She smiled.
Ratatatatatatatatatatata
Safe to say, the pit experienced what it was like to be burned by the sun in a very long time. And it was only just the beginning.