Underlord (Cradle #6)(85)

Mercy's staff melted, the dragon's head sliding down to the center as it transformed into a bow. She pulled the string, manifesting an arrow. “Three of them, and three of us. Could be worse!”

Dross slid out of Lindon and held a tentacle over his mouth as he cleared his throat. [Ahem. AHEM.]

Mercy brightened further. “So we outnumber them!”

Meira's voice rang out through the hallway. “We expected you to use this time to surrender,” she said. A ball of green light appeared on her upturned palm. “I'm glad you didn’t.”

A line of life energy burned the air toward Yerin. At the same time, a crackling blue light streaked out from Kiro's sword, and a silver-gray bar of Daji's own madra.

No one was caught off guard.

Lindon's dragon's breath met Kiro's sword-blast, and the beams deflected one another. Blackflame left a line of red-hot stone in the floor, though it didn't melt anything—the Akura vault was not so easily broken. Kiro's blue madra traced a thin line on the ceiling.

At the same time, Mercy's black arrow met the line of force madra from Daji. The arrow was blasted aside. Yerin blocked his attack with one bladed arm, though it took a great effort of madra, but it didn't stop her from retaliating with a wave of sword-madra from her Rippling Sword technique.

Which left the green line of life madra blasting for her.

Lindon reached out his right hand.

He activated his hunger madra, swallowing as much of the green light as he could, but this was the attack of an Underlady. The light knocked his white hand back, splashing him with madra that attacked his lifeline.

It was like trying to chop down a tree with a paper axe. Before Lindon's lifeline, which had been reinforced by Ghostwater's Life Well, Meira's madra withered away.

He pulled the green madra from his arm into his body, but not into his core. The madra went wild, trying to harm him, but his Bloodforged Iron body was already feeding on it. The life madra attack dissipated, accomplishing nothing.

But he didn't have time to relax or retaliate, because after that volley of Striker techniques, the Underlords were upon them.

While Lindon was still recovering, Meira hacked at Yerin with her scythe. Yerin leaped backwards, and the Underlady narrowly missed cutting the spire at the center of the room. Lindon didn't know what would happen if she broke those scripts, but it wouldn't be anything good. Yerin fled down one hallway, with Meira chasing her.

Lindon tried to chase after, but Daji dashed for him, and he readied himself to meet the new Underlord’s attack. An instant later, he didn’t have to: Mercy’s Strings of Shadow technique snared Daji’s feet, tangling him up. He tore through her power easily, still set on Lindon.

Then a black arrow took him in the cheek.

He conjured his helmet, roaring at her, and finally changed his target.

Daji swiped at Mercy, but she turned her third page, radiating the power of a Truegold. In an instant, she was pulled away on Strings of Shadow. The young prince followed her down a different hallway, shouting.

Leaving Lindon standing and facing Kiro. If he turned his back on the prince, he would die.

Slowly, the Underlord raised his shield. “I expected you to run,” he said.

“You were wrong.”

Lindon was afraid for Mercy; she was completely outclassed in this contest, but she was an Akura inside her home. Killing her would mean swift and certain execution for the Seishen Underlords.

He was even more afraid for Yerin. If they had to fight Kiro and Meira again, Lindon had intended to be the one to fight Meira. But he had missed his opportunity to take that fight, so he had to turn his focus to the one ahead of him.

He had to end this quickly.

“Let Yerin advance,” Lindon said quietly. “Leave us alone, and I will swear an oath right now to turn down any nominations for the tournament.”

Kiro stopped his gradual advance. His shield lowered slightly.

“I beg you, please stand down. She is dying.”

The prince hesitated. Lindon thought he sensed uncertainty in the man's spirit, and for a moment Lindon hoped.

Then Kiro shook his helmeted head. “I can't. I bear greater responsibility than you can imagine.” He lifted his sword, his shield rising to match it. “And why should I make a deal with you? You're not even an Underlord.”

Lindon's Blackflame madra surged, and he reached into his void key.

“I don't care,” he said.

Then he pulled out a cannon.





Chapter 18





The Emperor’s ship fled through the darkness, flanked by enemies on all sides. Even Eithan’s sight was restricted by the shadow aura of the Night Wheel Valley, but he could still see Underlords dashing through the trees on either side, pitching Striker techniques at their hull.

Most of the Truegolds were either maintaining defensive scripts in the ship or using their own techniques to defend them. Cassias and Naru Jing were no exception, standing at the railing and taking shots at distant enemies.

They were only inches away from where Eithan stood, pouring his madra into the ship’s propulsion constructs, fueling their flight. Eithan reached one hand over to tap Naru Jing on the arm. “Would you hold on to your husband for a moment? The skies are about to get rough.”

She looked confused for a moment, but then her yellow Remnant eye flashed, and she threw her hands around Cassias’ shoulders.