A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"And what would that involve?" Oliver asked, lowering himself into a crouch. He'd tested the first Form of the Poison Water Style, Trickery, and it had proved effective. What of the Form of Overwhelm? Or what of the Form of the Monster?

"Mm, a village about the size of Solgrim would do it. Slaughter them all. That might feed me enough to recover the wounds that have been wrought," Ingolsol said, Oliver could feel the Fragment's delight streaming out of him, merely imagining the idea.

"We both know that isn't an option," Oliver said. He allowed his grip on the sword to change, holding it loosely, improperly, as though he was unfamiliar with the tool.

The Boulder Crab slashed its claws out in front of him, and Oliver dodged back, using all four of his limbs to steady himself once he landed, and not rising up out of them again. He detected the slightest bit of hesitation from the crab as it saw him like that, standing more like a beast than man, and then it was shooting forward again, squeaking that cry that it had, indicating its frustration.

Oliver moved like a goblin. He allowed his rage to taint his blade, as he merely attacked what was in front of him. He put far too much force into his strike as he attacked the crab's hard carapace, just below its mouth. He'd known the strike wouldn't get through, but he allowed that built-up frustration to let loose a whole series of them.

The crab was thrown off by that fact. It didn't seem to feel pain, but nor did it seem to understand why he bothered to move as he was. When it came with its claws, the strike was almost delicate, as it tested the waters, seemingly expecting a trap.

And then Oliver hit the claw with the Form of Overwhelm – Claudia's Style. Built on his imagination of what a proper hero would be like. With the strength to overcome any foe. To surprise his enemy with all he had.

He caught the claw, daring to put his whole body on the line as he fended it off, and pushed against it with a strike of his own. He could feel his knees creak, as he tried to reverse the crab's force. It didn't feel like he was succeeding, but then that crab's claw had slowed a mighty amount. The creature seemed just as surprised as Oliver felt.

"Damn it," Ingolsol cursed with a sigh. "This is not a fitting ending to a life of beautiful darkness. Fine, I suppose, on this occasion, I might offer you some advice. You were greedy. Well, no, that's a lie… I was greedy. Injected with such Divine Fragments, how could I not want to hold onto its power?

Though you reached for it as well… You controlled it. That mad bastard Dominus quelled us of it, but we still retained a little bit… If you could restart the engines, and allow us to sip, we'd be stronger for it."

"Engines? Sip? I have no idea what you're talking about," Oliver said. His primary mission now was to dodge. His strike against the crab hadn't gone as far as it needed to. Its weight had pressed against him until he was sure that one of his joints was liable to snap.

With a spin-off to the side, he sent the crab stumbling forward, surprised by the sudden lack of resistance.

He was behind it again now. Closer to the trees. There were more options where the trees were, he could see a path to victory through them. If he could get a deeper cut. Do as he'd done before, but lash all the way through one of the joints, so that the creature wouldn't be able to stand… That was a path to victory, as good as any.

"Infuriating. That's the trouble with mortals. You hide your own selves from yourselves, because you're scared of how it all works. Fine, I suppose. Let me speed in terms that you'd more easily be able to understand. You've a room full of the finest slaughtered meat – this is magic meat.

If you eat it, it'll make you stronger," Ingolsol said.

"And the bad part?"

"Kukuku. Yes, well, though it might clean up some of the wounds that have been inflicted on your soul, and it should get that irritating wench back to functionality… I'd be surprised if you survive it, it's going to do a number on what's left of your soul," Ingolsol said. Surprisingly, he didn't seem delighted by that fact.

Oliver supposed it must have meant bad news for the Fragment himself – he had mentioned that if Oliver died, he would also die, after all.

"I would have expected that to be a fitting opportunity for you to take control," Oliver said, dashing through the trees on the outskirts of the plateau. The crab followed, but its eyes weren't perfect. He caught it looking in the wrong direction, even though he hadn't been trying to hide. He thought he might be able to use that.

"Yes, yes. The crow bites the ticks off the buffalo, but the crow will also feast on its corpse. Unfortunately, I'm tied to your back. No room for any excitement. Only the irritating finality of death. Besides, this is interesting in its own right, it's a bit of a jab at that mourning Claudia. Discover hidden content at empire

You'll be toying with the laws of progress. The toll on your body will be extreme – if you can hold it," Ingolsol told him.

"Then what do I do?" Oliver said. The trees all but exploded behind him as the crab found out where he was. The beast could easily shatter trees, just as the book had said, but that didn't mean that it didn't need to use a significant amount of strength to do so. Each one that it destroyed took time to slow it, buying Oliver a chance to think of a plan.

"I'm darkness incarnate, human, for me to be the one to warn you is laughable – but are you sure you should agree so easily? It will not be an easy death. You won't just die in this life. Your soul will be torn to pieces," Ingolsol said. "And mine with it."