Bloodstained Blade-Chapter 58 - Bloodbath

In that terrible moment, the blade saw many things. Orcs were climbing the walls, and men were falling from them. There were dead on both sides already, and it basked in the Life Force that was radiating from the dying as well as the corpses as everyone fought for their lives, and most of them lost. More than anything, what it fixated on as Var’gar strode through the rapidly widening gap in the gates were the expressions of the men on the other side.

There was no bravery there. There was barely any resolve. Instead, most wore an expression somewhere between dread and pure terror at what had just happened. These were men who’d never expected the orcs to get inside the walls, and now that the monsters had accomplished the impossible, the men were frozen with indecision.

The blade didn’t care what they decided. Whether they stood and parried the blows that came next or ran for their lives, it was that fear that the blade concentrated on. It wasn’t just here, at the front, either.

Terror was already running wild through the city, even though the other gate had not yet been breached by the second army. Already, it was certain that half the city was in flight, trying to get through that third gate on the far side of Holmen. If the city was no longer safe, then they would scurry away like rats and find somewhere new to hide.

They wouldn’t escape that way, though. The blade had already instructed its wielder that the third gate was the primary objective for both him and his vanguard.

Prevent them from fleeing, and you will feast on more bodies than you can count, the blade had promised the chieftain. For once, Var’gar hadn’t argued, either.

It was the simplicity of the plan that had won the dolt over. If they blocked the last way out, then everyone who yet remained would find that their sanctuary had become a prison, and they would die here. That thought was more than enough to make up for the last few disappointing days as it watched Var’gar’s crude strikes rise and fall. There was no art to it, yet despite that, the few defenders with a spine fell like wheat before the scythe.

+281 Life Force.

+24 Human Souls.

The humans had swords and steel armor, but even if chain mail blunted the edge of the Ebon Blade, it did nothing to stop its wielder’s inhuman strength from shattering their collar bone or caving in their ribcage as he and his strongest warriors forced their way through the gap and into the city proper.

Despite their fear, the initial wave of defenders had put up a fight that had been both intense and claustrophobic. It had been breached in only a few minutes, but compared to what came after, it had been a wall of steel.

Once Var’gar’s ban broke through that layer, the real, satisfying fighting that it enjoyed all but evaporated. There had been a second rank and part of a third, but there were no reserves past that. Just boys with spears and crossbows, and most of them ran when it became clear that death had come for them. After that, it was nothing but a bloodbath.

+339 Life Force.

+17 Human Souls.

“To victory!” the chieftain roared, urging his men on even when it became clear they’d rather raid some of the houses and side streets where people still huddled inside. The blade could feel them as its wielder moved past, and sometimes, when the Orc had to stop to execute a stray defender, it would even be able to taste them before they continued on to their destination.

Along the way, they avoided the central keep, and the only points of any resistance they found were the bridges. The latter they forced through without much difficulty, and the former, well, it could be cleaned up later. The city’s rulers were just as trapped as everyone else who thought themselves safe here; they just had a little longer to live.

+447 Life Force.

+19 Human Souls.

In a few hours or a day at most, they’d be lying in the gutters with everyone else. Once the orcs controlled all three exits to the city, there would be no escape, and they could sack or siege the rest of it at will.

The group found the far gate all but overflowing with people who were trying to escape. Many had cramped their belongings on mules or in wagons and carts rather than flee for their lives with nothing but the shirts on their backs. Those baggage and conveyances blocked the crowded path so much that by the time those men and women knew the orcs were among them, the way was too crowded for many to squeeze through.

The blade basked in that moment. There were some guards here, but they were uncoordinated and entirely insufficient, and the result was a bloodbath. People were dying by the score around it every few seconds. Women were screaming, men were being gutted, and Life Force flowed into the weapon faster than it had ever known before from half a dozen different vectors.

Every time its wielder hacked into someone, the light in their eyes went out, and it collected a surge of Life Force. It also collected their soul, which it had to spend immediately because its soul reservoir was overflowing as much as its Life Force was. That, combined with its Aura of Hunger, its Red Haze ability, and the souls of everyone dying around it, consumed it like a pyre of pure ecstasy. Once, it had gotten a single Life Force per blow and a few dozen per fight. Now, it was gaining hundreds a second, and it was almost selecting abilities at random just to keep from maxing out and getting the dreaded warning that its capacity was full.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

+1189 Life Force.

+44 Human Souls.

While whole families were slaughtered, the blade selected the last two abilities it was missing to complete its Aura of Hunger, bringing every sub-ability to level five. There were some popups associated with that, but it ignored them. For now, it couldn’t be bothered. It could only feel and spend. That was 8,000 Life Force, but even that was not enough to bleed off everything it was getting, and quickly got two levels of Lesser Life Reserves for 1,500 more Life Force. This not only spent significant energy, but it increased its maximum limit to 6,500 Life Force, slowing down the problem.

Aura of Hunger:

Breadth 5 Affect up to fifteen people.

Reach 5 - Reach targets up to twenty feet away.

Speed 5 - Drain a target over ten seconds.

Strength 5 - Aura of Hunger’s Drain is 30% of your Siphon.

Aura of Hunger Complete!

Aura of Hunger has reached its full potential. The only way to further upgrade it would be to sacrifice one area, to increase another. For 5000 Life Force any of the Aura’s attributes can be halved a single time, to double another.

That gave the blade enough breathing room that it could at least pay attention to what was happening beyond the barrage of numbers and sensations that were assaulting it. Still, not much had changed. Deaths were mounting, and the streets were running with blood, but the red far outnumbered the green. Its blade was still attracting it, though, and when its wielder dragged its tip carelessly on the ground as he finally moved to slam the northeast gates shut, it siphoned into it like an unending torrent.

+986 Life Force.

+19 Human Souls.

The blade had only just started the second level of the Path of Blood before tonight, and already, it was close to the end of it. 884/1000 had already been reached. Hundreds of dead lay scattered throughout the streets in its wake, and the fighting was far from over.

Orc continued to pour in from both gates and within hours, outside of the walls of the central keep, humans had become an endangered species. Those who were smart and brave leaped into one of the rivers to try their luck, whether they could swim or not. Those who were only brave fought and fell, and those who were smart found somewhere clever to find.

Whether the orcs found that last group or not, they couldn’t hide from the fires, and soon enough, Holmen was nothing but a city of the dead. It was somewhere in those burning hours before sunrise that the blade noticed that it had increased to level 3 on the Path of Blood.

It flicked briefly over the pop-up but didn’t dwell on it. It was hard to focus on numbers with everything that was going on, and once its wielder began consulting his strongest warriors about the best way to sack the central keep, it lost all interest in them. Upgrades could be dealt with later. Now, it wanted to enjoy this climactic moment.

The world is drowning in your efforts. Where you walk the old world dies and a new one waits to be born. Still, you must press on. You must kill, for that is your nature.

The Path of Blood: Level 3

Kill, maim, or grievously injure one of each of the below subjects to taste every variety of blood so you can truely understand its nature in order to reach Level 3. These acts of violence can be perpetrated by anyone, but they must be within the reach of your Aura of Hunger…

A man, A woman, a child, an infant, someone elderly, a human, an Elf, a halfling, an orc, a goblin, an animal, a mythical beast, a mage, a holyman, a thief, a pauper, a merchant, a noble, and a hero.

Level 3 Powers:

Red Haze: gain 25% of your Siphon from every significant wound inflicted within your reach.

Flesh and Bone: your wielder heals faster than ever. Though the cost of healing wounds increases with that speed, even the most grievous of wounds can be erased with enough blood.

The list seemed much easier to it than killing or maiming 1,000 people had been, though that seemed only true at first glance. Some of those are pretty rare, it thought to itself. Where am I going to find a halfling? What qualifies as a mythical creature?

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

While there were still survivors in a few other structures, like temples and warehouses, Var’gar ignored those. He didn’t simply want more killing. He wanted to claim the head of the ruler and devour his flesh and the victory celebration tonight.

The blade saw no reason to stop him from trying. It would be difficult for anyone who remained to kill him, after all. Instead of discouraging the orc, it just pointed out the weaknesses of the structure as it saw them. The postern gate was probably the easiest. With his strength and weapon, he could almost certainly hack through that oaken door in a couple of minutes.

Var’gar spurned that answer, though. “Chopping wood is woman’s work!” he spat, as he pointed the Ebon Blade to the parapet three stories above them. “We go over the top!”

The blade said nothing. It wasn’t the worst plan. The main problems it had with the daredevil stunt were logistical. If the orc was shot arrows, it could not heal until it removed them, and if he fell, then it was entirely likely he would let the blade slip away in the impact.

Someone else will find me, it told itself as its wielder sheathed it and then ran to a likely spot in the wall and started to climb. The only advantage to being venerated as a god, it decided, was that it wasn’t likely to be forgotten about by anyone in the giant war band. No matter what happened to Var’gar, someone would pick it up if he fell.