CHAPTER 79: TREACHEROUS JOURNEY [3]

Five days into the Scorchpaths journey, Clayton trudged through ash-dusted ruins, his Shedskin cloaked as a scavenger’s rags, hiding his Verdant Lord aura.

His face was filled with curiosity, the same kind that he started this journey with as he etched what was left of humanity in his head.

As an outskirts kid, Clayton never really had the chance to leave Scorchpath Outskirts (Arizona), but he still had the chance to see the public television.

Then, he could remember vividly during news broadcast when news channels go to the field. Then, most if not all of these ruins were once boisterous, and vibrant ecosystems of humanity.

Once, this was all a thriving human ecosystem; perfectly tiled roads, functioning tram hubs, vehicles driving through the interconnected streets and channels, full of life.

But now, it was a hollow representation of the past.

Genesis corruption already changed the world, warping it into such an alien form that Clayton could barely recognize his surroundings.

From toppled skyscrapers, to abandoned cars and trucks, to human skulls lying on the road, Behemorph carcasses, military trucks, abandoned and destroyed.

Some of the military trucks still looked in good condition though, and were salvageable, though the normal person wouldn’t know.

Torren though, he had an eye for salvaging things.

Afterall, it was a necessary skill to survive in the wild as an adventurer.

They planned for the journey, but this was the world of the Genesis Protocols. Anything could happen, from being stranded in unforeseen weather conditions, to being isolated by an especially powerful Behemorph that they did not account for.

Heck, they could all be annihilated by stumbling into the wrong ruins.

This was why adaptability was extremely important as an adventurer.

Due to Clayton developing a penchant for asking him about facts, and curiously listening to his stories, Torren developed a liking for the green boy, and so, he felt inclined to tell and show him more.

He tried to teach Clayton how to salvage for materials, and how to recognize ruins, buildings, and military trucks that may still have supplies that they could use.

Disappointingly to him though, he didn’t have the chance to show how much of a Lord Scavenger he was, simply because the boy was too freakishly good at it.

At first, he was fooled, but then he realized.

"What, you’ve scavenged before?"

"What am I even saying? To be this good... you’re a scavenger, right?"

Clayton knew he couldn’t hide it. Besides, the more time he spent with this group, the more he realized that he couldn’t hide some things from them.

So he just shrugged. "I did scavenge at some point in my life".

"How long ago?"

"Really, really long ago".

"Like 2 years, 5 years? From your age, it should be 3 years right?"

Clayton’s face twitched.

He forced a smile. "Trust me, you really don’t want to know how long ago".

"Ah... so mysterious". Torren smiled mischievously.

Outside of combat, Torren was a pretty easygoing and funny individual. And since he already developed a liking to Clayton, he revealed even more of his personality in front of the new recruit.

The Earthcore Nexus’s pulse thrummed, twisting the Expanse’s ruins into ash-veiled chasms and fungal spires.

The 5th day of the journey...

The team navigated a crumbled city, once a transport hub, now a maze of warped steel and sentient roots.

Clayton’s Territorial Sentience pinged a fortified ruin ahead, a rogue warlord’s domain.

"I see something!" Clayton alerted the others.

They reacted immediately, drawing their weapons and paying attention to their surroundings.

After a few days of traveling together, they already developed good synergy among themselves. They recognized each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and Torren realized that of his 3 scouts, Clayton’s Aspect made him the best scout at detecting threats and things far from them.

This was why they made him the lead scout. They respected his words.

Clayton’s face twisted into a slight frown.

What his Territorial Sentience pinged this time was clearly a rogue warlord’s domain. Barricades of bone and slag ringed a shattered tower, guarded by 6 Initiate Ember Awakened, humans wielding Ashblade Aspects with fire-infused blades.

At the moment though, the 6 Initiate Ember guards sat leisurely around a wooden table, playing a card game.

Clayton’s Territorial Sentience does not differentiate the power levels of organisms that it detects, but after months of experimenting with his Aspect, Clayton could now differentiate between the ranks of humans and Behemorphs that Territorial Sentience pings.

As for knowing about the guards’ Aspects, he got hints from their fire-infused blades, and other tiny aspects about them that he’d practiced over the months.

At the tower’s peak, there was a Luminous Seed warlord, a powerful-looking Awakened that radiated Emberstorm Wrath, a firestorm Aspect.

Clayton relayed his findings to his team.

Torren signaled a halt, his Flamevine Wrath sparking as his eyes turned sharp. "Warlord’s den?"

He looked at his teammates. "Sneak or fight?"

"Sneak’s smarter," Clayton muttered, Shedskin blending with ash, but just then a guard’s Ashblade flared, spotting Soren’s Emberblade glint.

ALARM!

Mycoglygh-etched horns blared.

Clayton’s eyes widened in horror. "Are these guys crazy?! What the hell are they thinking to make such noise in Behemorph territory?"

As soon as the horns blared, the six guards abandoned their game and charged, blades igniting. Their swift reaction was almost like programmed robots.

"Doesn’t matter," Torren growled, eyes turning narrow. "We fight".

The team got ready, and they came to blows within seconds.

BZZZ!

Torren’s pyro-roots lashed, torching a guard’s arm, Flamevine Wrath roaring.

Veyra’s Thornstrike arrows pierced another’s chest, roots bursting.

Lorn’s Sapflow Healer shielded Kaelin, whose Ashveil Cloak smoked, daggers parrying a fiery slash. Soren’s Emberblade clashed, sparks flying, but a guard’s Ashblade grazed his shoulder, searing flesh.

But then, the warlord himself finally moved.

Atop his tower, he unleashed his Aspect, Emberstorm Wrath, triggering a molten wave that scorched the ground.

BOOM!

Clayton moved, Shedskin deflecting heat, his Architect reflexes sharp.

He nocked Regalia’s bow, channeling Embers for root arrows; dense and explosive as they left the bow.

Two shots slammed into a guard’s torso, roots erupting, felling him.

The warlord’s firestorm surged, but Clayton rolled, Thornshade Dagger slashing a guard’s leg, venom sizzling through armor.

He kept Core Maw and Aphid Network hidden, posing as a skilled wanderer still even amid the chaos.

Veyra’s arrows and Torren’s pyro-roots downed three guards, while Soren and Kaelin felled the last.

The warlord roared, firestorm intensifying, but Clayton’s bone arrow, switched for precision struck his shoulder, staggering him.

Torren’s pyro-roots bound the warlord, forcing surrender.

DING!

~----~

[Enemies Defeated: 6 Initiate Ember Guards; 1 Luminous Seed Warlord Subdued]

[Genesis Embers Acquired: 36]

[Genesis Embers Total: 2,225]

[Aspect Strain: Low]

~----~