The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar returned to the survivors in silence, some slowly backing away from the terrifying presence that contained all of his anger, sorrow, and hatred. Behind the helmet, tears still flowed without pause, dripping from the edges of the dark metal onto his shirt. No one, not even Fred and Emily, his two closest friends, approached him, looking worried yet hesitant to move. He said nothing to them and mounted Erden, leaving without a word.

The rest followed in silent compliance. Oscar led them from the burning fields to the forests north, then soon arrived near Greenwich City. Immediately, the stench of the battlefield of chaotic Ein, burning fumes of cannons, and blood choked out the air, but none of it compared to how Uncle Carlson's blood smelled on his hand. Peace was not the word to describe Greenwich City. An enemy fleet bearing red flags of the Undying Flame Sect bombarded the city, endless cannon fire ringing across the region. He counted perhaps two hundred enemy ships, a small number compared to the rest of the humongous battles of the past, but enough.

"Hold on! Don't let them take Greenwich City!" Celestina's voice shouted. Within the chaos of the swell of spells, armaments, and more, she fought against two enemy Marshal Exalts, leading the city's defense. A small fleet of fifty ships resisted the enemy's advances, but slowly, one by one, their ships fell, the wreckages sliding down the city's barrier like an avalanche of metal and wood. She flew with great wings of pure radiant light, flashing between her opponents and blasting them away.

The battle seemed dire. The city's barrier already groaned a grumble of Ein, distortions rippling where the weapons fired, intensifying in its waxing and waning like small ebbs turning into great tides as it slowly lost shape and thinning. Time was running out, and he needed to do something. Silently, he raised his one arm and pointed at the red fleet sieging the city. In a short breath, he growled out, "Kill."

"Kill!" The others shouted.

Oscar went in first, leading the charge at the forefront as he had done in every exchange for the past six years of this wretched war. His small force bolted from the forest like arrows loosened from a bow, formed in the arrow formation, one of the best for breaking through enemy lines. The enemy's lack of response to their charge spurred him onward faster as the anger in him boiled over, his face heating up from his enraged breaths. Leaping over the great divide between him and the enemy's forces, he gripped his shield tightly and roared a mighty warcry from the top of his lungs, piercing his Golden Drill straight through an enemy's back.

Metal drew blood. A violent, fiery Shattering Wave eviscerated and then burned the bodies. His rage could not be quenched. He rode in deeper, scattering the broken formations of the enemy. An airship burst apart as his charge plunged deep into its hull, setting everything inside ablaze. One by one, he devastated the airships in his way and tore apart the Exalts until nothing of them remained. From his roar, the enemy scampered away, the looks of fear making them seem like terrified rats.

"Don't you dare run!" Oscar had his Golden Maw chomp down on a couple fleeing Exalts, then crunched its teeth into an airship until the entire structure collapsed under its heavy bite. The burning fields of his home, Uncle Carlson's dead body, and the devastated wasteland of Orbis all flared the flames of his vengeance. They had no right to run away. They had no right to leave without facing the consequences. He was almost at the halfway point. The ambush on the enemy's rear proved successful, allowing him to delve this deep.

"Stop right there, you monster!" A group of powerful Exalts stepped in, bringing their forces to plug in the gap and block off the way through. "Your head will be a worthy trophy for the Scarlet Griffon Empire to behold." A Grade Eight and two Grade Sevens led the defense against his assault, melding their animas into their armaments, clearly focused on defense. Their tactic was obvious. Stopping his momentum and halting his advance for even a moment would allow the scattered soldiers to regroup and flank them from the sides and rear.

His forces fought off the few Exalts that attempted to break their formation from the sides, but the more they lingered, the more dangerous their predicament. A part of his anger left him as the circumstances grew more dire, and he patted the heads of the children and comforted them, "It will be alright, Renn and Gloria. These idiots post no threat to us. We are not alone here, isn't that right, Gavir?" He raised his voice, and an explosion of darkness boomed behind the blockade.

The second wind had started. Oscar shouted and gave the order to resume the charge. Erden roared and stomped on the empty air, his antler wings tearing through the winds with blazing beats. Spiking his Ein, he formed the Duality body, and Demon entered it. Like the crashing wave, he tore through the soldiers and ships before reaching the leaders. He punched out at the Grade Eight Exalt, who diverted away the force of his blows with a strange flag Meld.

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Demon leaped away and wrestled down one of the Grade Sevens, who only attempted to delay for more time. Emily and Fred detached from the formation and did their best to defeat the other. Motes of his Ein hardened into gold and burned with great fire, raining down in swords and staffs. The flag absorbed them, the clean red cloth now containing depictions of his spells. The Grade Eight Exalt snarled and shouted, waving the flag again.

His flames and gold spells rebounded onto him, flying from the tapestry. A third element glimmered strongly like pearls within the red flames. Somehow, this flag Meld imparted the user's light element into the stolen spells, and since it was a Grade Eight anima, the power was uplifted into a greater potency. The light made them faster and sharper than before. But so what? Oscar weaved through stolen spells and punched out with Shattering Wave again.

The flag trembled, shaking under the weight of his blow, a look of shock crossing the user's face. But still, the flag absorbed his attack, and Oscar ducked below the rebounded force. Erden swung his wings like blades, forcing the Grade Eight Exalt back further for Oscar to attack without pause. It was troublesome to fight with two children to protect, having to dodge everything rather than shield himself with Indesctrutible Gold. Oscar sighed and said, "You're late, Gavir."

A spear of gold with a black blade protruded from the Grade Eight Exalt's chest, passing through like a knife through butter. Darkness corroded the insides and spread to the man's throat, rendering his pained cries mute until he fell from the sky. A thread of shadows tightened near Oscar, and the spear followed its path back to its owner, who had grievous wounds on his body, blood seeping from under the broken armor, but his figure stood tall and stoic as his dragon's helmet gazed at Oscar.

There was no time to talk. Gavir shouted in a gargled voice, "Hurry! We don't have long."

Oscar led his forces down the path Gavir had carved through the enemy's lines before the gaps closed. A row of blue soldiers parted slightly for Gavir and Oscar to enter, retreating to the safety inside their formations. Wheezing and bleeding, Gavir downed an entire elixir, coughing out mixtures of blood and elixir. After a few moments, his breathing recovered.

"Well done. Well done. You managed to lead a good number out." Gavir gripped his spear, the shaky fingers betraying the lack of composure.

"Where did this fleet come from?" Oscar asked, looking at the enemy fleet.

"Sixty airships were placed in the back by Greenwich City as a reserve. The enemy slipped through the narrow passages after the collapse of our frontlines. Thanks to your interference, the pressure was lessened on our side." Gavir laughed. "So unlucky. The princess ordered me to fight my way to you. So I couldn't take the chance to relax."

"There is no time for jokes. The enemy should be heading past Orbis and reaching Greenwich soon." Oscar said.

Gavir seemed shaken and asked, "With the beasts around, I assumed the enemy would need time to route their forces around."

"I took care of the beast problem. I won't explain, but Orbis is now open for them to travel through. Nothing will obstruct them." He regretted what he had done, but it was his only option to find his friends. In a resigned whisper, he said, "I will atone by fighting harder in the future. You must warn everyone and come to a decision. Retreat or keep fighting?"

Gavir relayed Oscar's words to Celestina through a communication bead, and after a few exchanges of words, he took off his communication bead and handed it to Oscar. "She wants to speak to you."

Oscar warily placed the bead in his ear and said, "This is Oscar."

A relieved sigh numbed his ears. Celelstina's voice rang out loud and clear. "What took you so long? Is Emily and Fred with you?"

"They are, and I found two children as well. They're safe with me." Oscar patted the children's heads.

"Truly?!" Celestina exclaimed in a delighted tone, her voice trembling with joy. "Thank you. Thank you." Her repeated cries of gratitude spilled continuously. He glanced at the battle overhead, noticing she was still combating other Marshal Exalts, stabbing one cleanly in the chest but unable to finish her off. He found it quite impressive for her to talk so normally in the heat of battle. "I'm afraid I can't retreat without properly evacuating the civilians."

"Thought so. That's just how you are." Oscar chuckled. He guessed he was in for a long battle. "How long do we have?"

"The closest reinforcements will need another thirty minutes to reach us. I'm sorry that I have to keep relying on you, but please defend Greenwich City." Celestina asked. "If it gets too dangerous, then–"

"Understood. Leave it to me." Oscar cut off the conversation before she could say more and returned the bead to Gavir. To fight with his all, he handed Renn and Gloria to him and asked, "Taken them inside to safety and join me in the battle later."

"Quite young. This one is as old as my son." Gavir rocked the children in his arms, cradling them tenderly as if the bloodthirsty Drakiri was nowhere to be seen. Ever since his child was born, whenever they gathered, he had never stopped mentioning him to Oscar for the past five years. Oscar had enough details to practically know the child without ever meeting him. But Gavir was the best to handle the children for now.

"I'm taking temporary command of the Drakiri. The rest of you, follow me back into hell." Oscar rushed out. Thirty minutes against this outnumbering force would be a daunting task. They were placing a foe four times their size, and all the power he had could not turn the tide of this battle. There was no great stratagem to guide him, no trump card to overturn the siege. With his shield in hand, Oscar reentered the fray, defending with all his heart and power.

"Hold the line!" He shouted.

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