"Now, the North gates will be heavily defended. As you have known, Ascendant Ezio that was protecting the city left. We found out that he was headed South. So we are not worried he will be around protecting the gates. However, there will be quite a few Awakened warriors defending the city. With our numbers, we should be able to remove the resistance."
"Our top priority is to deactivate the defensive runes. Gerax has already started to find a way to bring it down!"
....
After few more instructions from Rex, it was decided that there would be three directional attacks. The two groups will attack the Northwest and Northeast of the city. While the main force will come from the North-central. Their main target was to support Gerax disable the Runes protecting the walls and meet with Gerax's group.
Now, everyone started moving.
...
Zane and Cecilia joined the northwest group alongside Goz, Barret, Old Gramps, and about 600 plus high-level warriors.
Running through the part of the Northern city, the part of the city was worst. Zane remembered it used to be the house for nobles. Houses were blown apart, and ashes were seen littered all over the city. Much worst was that the fire was still raging, and the air was very suffocating. The concentration of the explosions was very apparent.
Zane concluded that aside from the ones he planted throughout the city, most of his explosives were brought into this part of the city. When the opportunity was given, many slaves rebelled against their masters without hesitation. Much can be seen through their fierce fighting. Many also started looting, thieving, and some started setting other buildings on fire. Murder was exponentially raised.
Soon, Zane's group also met some resistance. About five hundred guards led by an Awakened intercepted their group.
Cecilia was the first to clash with the leader. Zane, on the other hand was more of a low-key.
'Sadly, I don't get any experience in killing humans. But, just thinking about that everyone I see are bunch of experience waiting for me to cull.'
He suddenly paused. He shuddered suddenly of his new way of thinking.
...
Zane analyzed at how everyone fought. Goz became a level 9 warrior wielding a large hammer, bashing everyone's head with one hit. Barret also became a level 9, his spears dances around the battlefield.
Old gramps, seems like returned to his prime and stepped into level 8. However, his fighting style on the other hand, was very dirty... He pretended to be old and weak, but when the opportunity came, he struck with twice speed and power. He also shamelessly ran fast when things were turning bad, and at times he played 'dead.'
Even Zane was amazed at the Old Man. He fighting style leaned toward survivability.
A few minutes later, Cecilia finished her opponent mercilessly. When the head guard fell, the morale of the opponent fell. With Cecilia on the leash, they finished the whole company within 5 minutes, with some fleeing.
Although the group finished the fight quite fast, many were wounded. Zane opened his bag and handed the diluted potions.
When Goz saw this, "Fancy pants, I did not know you can also brew some potions. I have seen your fights at the Arena. If people knew that 'Black Hair Lone Wolf' is an alchemist, they would have laughed at me."
When slaves heard the word "Black Hair Lone Wolf," many stared at Zane. Some doubted but when they saw his hair and feature, they were amazed.
Barret pointed at Cecilia, "Is he your companion?"
Zane smiled, "Yes. A close friend."
"Good thing he is on our side. Many tried to talk to him but met with silence. I assumed both of you are Awakened the way you fought."
Soon the word spread that there were two awakened in the group, and their morale was boosted. Many thought they were the lost cause since they were moved to a smaller group, but they found out their odds of serving might be higher. None wanted to be sacrificial for others' freedom.
...
As they move forward through the buildings, Zane saw that the houses were more luxurious than the one in the central and southern part of Capricia. They are the home to the nobles living in the city.
"Hours have passed after the initial explosion, but it seems that the place is still chaotic," Cecilia observed the surroundings.
"Well, it is not just the slaves taking advantage of the situation but the commoners and guards as well. These noble houses are like an opened treasured boxes waiting to be plundered. Only the nobles are the ones who wanted to stop all these chaos."
...
As they traverse to the houses, the whole company arrived at a large plaza. In front of them were about six hundred guards and led by four Awakened Warriors in the front.
A bronze skin man holding a large greatsword shouted, "STOP! You are outnumbered. Lay down your weapons; otherwise, we have no choice but to eradicate all of you!"
Zane quickly used his identification; three Awakened warriors were at level 11, and the last person, the one in the middle at level 12 the one responsible for all the yelling. The four had the stats of an Awakened, but the difference was that they didn't have any talent or skills.
'It seems that they are just a 'regular' Awakened,' Zane concluded that most of them were probably Awakened due to external circumstances, highly likely potions as well.
Suddenly, a roar came from the back, "THE ONE WHO STRIKES FIRST GETS THE UPPER HAND!" With extreme speed, Cecilia headed towards the leader, making everybody on Zane's group follow involuntarily.
Although a bit sudden, Cecilia's boldness seemed to have worked, making the other side falter and lose their stance. Many guards were confused and startled.
The reality was that guards did not have the same mentality like the well-trained Blood Warriors who honed their skills from the Arenas. Although they were well armed, many were but rookies without any type of experience.
Soon, blood and guts flew around the battlefield. Many guards couldn't take the smell and horror, many puked and peed their pants. Some were too afraid to even fight back, and many started running away.
The four Awakened warriors were also taken aback by the situation. The morale of their group had reached rock bottom very quickly. Even though they had the numbers but with what was happening, they became lambs waiting for slaughter.
The four also didn't have the time because they quickly found their match. Cecilia had taken the leader one on one. Meanwhile, Zane also found one of the level 11 who was wielding a double dagger.
Name: Zane
Awakened: Level 10
Strength: 39
Agility: 28
Perception: 28
Constitution: 35
Mana Capacity: 15
Gene Skill: Identify
Passive Skill: Swordsmanship Level 1, Archery Level 1, Hand Crafts Level 1, Alchemy...
Active Skill: Blood Berserk Skill
Looking at his opponent's stats, the dagger wielder's highest attribute was on Agility at 26 while the rest of the stats were but meager at 15 to 20. He heard some slurs from him, but apparently, Zane wasn't paying attention to any of them.
Feeling ignored, the dagger wielder increased his attacks, but all were dodged easily.
'Let's test the new skill first'
'Blood Berserk'
Suddenly, a rush of energy came from all over his body. His enemy started to become slower to the point that he could see the trajectory where the dagger was going.
Zane wanted to experiment further, but he felt that his body fats were slowly getting thinner by the second. He also felt that his lungs were burning, he can feel the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.
With an opening, he slipped passed the dagger wielder's arm, and moved closer to his body, he swiftly stabbed his sword to his jaw up to his brain.
When his opponent realized what just happened, his eyes were shock no words came from his mouth. Soon he fell head first.
'Deactivate!'
After it was deactivated, he felt a massive headache and pain from all over his body. It seems that his muscles were strained to the point of breaking. He had no choice but to quickly pop two intermediate potions right away.
'The effects are very impressive, the only thing is that the side effects are quite severe.' as he smiled at the results.
'Sadly, I won't be able to teach it to Cecilia since it was from a skill orb.'
...
As glorious as it looked, no one was paying attention to Zane's battle since everyone was focused on their very own battle. It only took about a few minutes for Zane to finish his opponent while Cecilia also finished hers. The third Awakened Warrior was dispatched by Cecilia pretty quickly afterwards while the fourth one was handled by the trio, Goz, Barret, and Old Man.
Although the Awakened Warrior had superior stats, their teamwork was impeccable. Most of the Blood Warriors had experienced fighting Awakened Beasts before, which in reality were more ferocious than any Awakened humans.
Furthermore, before the battle, Zane handed out a few paralyzing potions to most of the high-level warriors making their attacks more deadlier. In the last moment of the Awakened Warrior, he was extremely frustrated how can mere non-awakened killed him. His body was stiffened like a rock.
Once he fell, these shocked the non-awakened warriors for both groups. Previously, the only way to handle a Awakened was throwing bodies until one was exhausted. The trio were laughing maniacally with their victory.
When all four Awakened Warriors died, the battle became a one-sided slaughter.
...