Firstborn of the Frontier

Of all the Abby in the badlands, I gotta say, I hate Swarmlings the most.

You wouldn't think that'd be the case given the diversity of big bads they got out here. Burrowed Ankhravs make for an ever-present threat with their Tremoursensing ways, able to pick up footfalls from 50 metres away and a fully loaded wagon from even further out, letting them really pick the perfect place to lie in wait. Dreadmaws Juggernauts are just better than Beetle Behemoths in every conceivable way, able to take a licking and keep on ticking due to their Abbertin infused armoured carapace and move right quick on their six, thick, powerful legs. All the better to impale you with their giant nose horns from a deceptively long range, or chew through you with mandibles strong enough to rip apart Darksteel. Then you got Silverfish, who are fast, slippery, and Regenerate so fast they can shake off all but the most grievous of wounds, while the humble Spitter is an upgraded Swarmling that can fill the air with barbed spines or Elemental Bolts if their Proggie was feeling extra fancy.

The list goes on for a good bit. Webweavers, Ripper Broods, Razorscythes, and Skreeler Wasps, to say nothing of the new bug on the block, the long-ranged Doomspitter who I've yet to cross paths with, but is sure to make a big stink when it shows up. Despite all that though, I still hate Swarmlings the most, and not without reason. They're the basic building block that this particular hive of Proggies done settled on, the goblin blue print if you will. That means they cheap to produce, and more importantly, they're effective, meaning they get the job done. Everyone harps on gobbos for being weak chaff that ain't much of a threat, but no one ever mentions how them Abby know it for fact. That's why they only ever travel in numbers enough to be a real right menace, and you can only kill so many of them with a gun before you gotta reload.

That's why I hate Swarmlings. Killing one is barely worth the cost in brass casings, much less the crystal Aether and other materials needed for the primer and Seal, and I ain't even collecting their corpses. It's all net negative here tonight, whether it be the 22-10's I've switched to in my Model 10 and Rattlesnake, the 44-40 shells I've spent on the twin Judges, or the pricey 45-60 cartridges the Nagas just eat up. Ain't much to think about, just point and shoot from the hip as the Swarmlings skitter across the uneven ground atop their four legs, then pounce with arms raised and ready to strike whenever they think they close enough to land a hit.

That pounce is another reason to hate them. Bad enough how their lower half moves almost independently from the upper half, with their upright buggy torso almost looking like it floats atop its horizontal sluggy torso underneath thanks to the stringiest hips you done ever seen. Then they pounce and that lower torso hinges down from the standard 90-degree angle to a full 180, so alls you see is six long, spindly limbs with sharp, barbed points hurtling towards you in the air underneath a bug-eyed head with a mouthful of fanged needles.

Makes for a right frightful sight, especially when you only spot them when they already mid air. Can't count the number of times I've been fightin' Abby in the badlands only to have a Swarmling launch itself into the air and scare the bejesus outta me.

There are plus sides though, namely how they ain't all that big and are real lightweights. No more than a meter long and a meter high, though their centaurid form means they shaped more like an L than a cube when it comes to calculating mass. Which ain't as high as you'd expect, because they're largely hollow, filled with air and the equivalent of meat foam instead of proper muscles like you'd expect. All told, it means that when they're hit in mid-air with a Bolt Metamagicked with Toppling, like my daddy's silver Rattlesnake which I'm using here, you can get some real distance and velocity on a good, solid shot.

Puts a smile on my face it does, popping pouncing Swarmlings to go careening back into the crowd. It's a bit like bowling, except instead of balls and pins, you got Bolts and bugs. Lots and lots of bugs, which means lots and lots of buggy blood that just gets everywhere and is foul as can be, but ain't no time to stop and wash up in the middle of a fight.

And believe you me, this fight ain't nowhere close to over.

Might well have been if not for Aunty Ray and her trick with the Deck of Illusions. I ain't all that clear on the specifics, and truth be told, I ain't so sure she is either, but the long and short of it is that she took the ready-made Illusions already Etched into the cards and used them as the foundation of her Phantasmal Force Spell. With the cards doing all the heavy lifting with regards to muddling perceptions, she was able to focus her Phantasmal Force on pure killing power. It's a terrifying combination, a life-like Illusion that can literally smash you into a pulp if you believe it, or even half believe it, because the mind is a powerful tool that can and will betray you every day. You forget things, remember something wrong, or convince yourself that there's an intruder or ghost about when it's just the sound of the house settling in. Even if you know it for fact, you still ain't entirely sure, and it takes some doing to unwind enough to fall asleep after the fact.

Yeah, the brain be a tricksy thing, and our lacking understanding is what makes Illusions and Enchantments so darned effective. How can we figure out a defense against them when we can't even figure out how the brain is supposed to work normally? If we could, we wouldn't have all them mental issues that crop up every now and again, like the A.D.H.D Aunty Ray thinks I got, or whatever it is with Chrissy that's got her so introverted. All in all, what I'm saying is that even when you know it's an Illusion, that ain't always gonna protect you from it, because if you even sorta believe this combined Illusion that you know is an Illusion, it can still smash you flat.

Soon as I clear out the most eager front runners of the pack still chasing us down, I skate on up to the back of the wagon and grab hold for a bit. Mostly to catch my breath, pull out all the spines stuck in my duster, and check on the horses who're giving it their all out of fear and desperation. They'll tire out right quick if we keep this pace up for long, but Cowie knows that well enough, so I trust him to set the speed and gauge when it's time to slow down and give everyone a breather. Now's the best time to put distance between us and the bulk of the horde behind, one that might well give up if enough of them die to the Illusory Orcish battalion Aunty Ray threw at them.

Course, Chrissy helped out too, not just with a Psychic Scream or two, but also a Phantasmal Force of her own, one modelled after the Joker in the deck that's got a picture of me in my duster and hat. Seeing myself go haring off into the fray with guns ablazing put a big ol' smile on my face that's still going strong as I wipe myself down with a Water Sphere. Once I'm clean as can be, I check in on Chrissy who's all cuddled up with a pillow in the jostling wagon interior, still sitting mostly upright but with shoulders slumped and chin buried in the soft cushion like her head weighs a hundred pounds. Most telling is how she got one hand clamped over her wrist where she's wearing the Metamagic bead bracelet that my mama made for herself. That's the one I usually wear, and I gave my daddy's to Tina, but seeing how I was set to use the last of my Aether on an Upcasted Mage Hands and didn't need no Metamagic for them, I handed the bracelet over to Chrissy soon as I worked out a plan to get ourselves out of dodge.

One that worked better than expected if I'm being honest, because I wasn't so sure how effective Aunty Ray's Phantasmal Force would be. That's the thing about Illusions though, and Enchantments too now that I think about it. They either work perfectly and things go swimmingly, or they don't and leave you up Shit's Creek with no paddle. That's why I like Fireball. You pick your spot and anyone caught in the area of effect dies or is burned so badly they pretty much out of the fight. Unless they dodge it of course, which is a whole other kettle of fish, but you really shouldn't be slinging Fireballs at nimble, fast-moving targets in the first place.

"You doin' good, Princess?" I ask, and she gives me a sleepy nod in reply, her bright violet eyes blinking something fierce as she watches the bright lights and Aetheric flows happening off in the distance behind us. It's gotta be like a fireworks show for her, even though I ain't seeing much of anything anymore. I'm much too far away to be taken in by the Illusion, while my Detect Magic Spell has a much lower range than my eyes, much less Detect Aberration. Operates on the same basic principles though, so might be I could finagle some extra information out of it with some effort and hard work, but it ain't ever been all that relevant before today. Still ain't entirely relevant, not directly, except now that I seen how effective Illusions can be, I would very much like to have a means to counter them should they ever be used against me.

Detect Magic ain't the be all end all of course, because Illusions are designed specifically to get around that Spell and Abby's natural abilities to perceive Aether same as Chrissy, but any advantage I can get is a step in the right direction, especially seeing how I can always compare and contrast against her to see how far I still have yet to go. That said, Chrissy done a whole lot better than expected on this trip out to the badlands, not only pitching in with her Spells to help wherever possible, but also keeping her cool and heeding instructions without so much as a fuss. If we was back home and she was this tuckered out, she'd have long since asked how much longer we gonna be, or at the very least mentioned something about how she wants to sleep. Here and now though, she understands the stakes at hand and is soldiering on without complaint, which is touching to be sure and breaks my heart at the same time. I wish she could live safe and sound and happy as can be, but life ain't all sunshine and roses and I can't protect her from it all.

Nor am I certain she wants to be protected, as she reaches out to take my hand and give it three quick squeezes. With the arm not wearing the Metamagic bracelet mind you, because I think she really loves the feel of it against her skin. Can't let her keep it since I need it for work, but ain't no harm letting her wear it a little longer since I'm all out of juice. Squeezing her hand three times right back, I ask, "You enjoyin' the campin' trip so far, Princess?" Girlie doesn't even need to think, just nods all sleepy and happy as can be, no doubt still high off the adrenaline from fighting Abby like she did. That brings me to my next question, which I gotta phrase delicately so as not to confuse or alarm her, so I ease her into it a bit. "That was some great work with the card back there. Looked just like me, only faster and loaded with more Spells than I could ever sling." My copy was doling out Fireballs like they was half price drinks at the saloon, one every five seconds because that's the damage interval on Phantasmal Force. "I gotta ask though, you learn the Spell you used there recently?"

As opposed having known it for awhile without sharing with the class. Not that she would ever intentionally keep it a secret or nothing, she just never would've thought it relevant to mention how she came into a Spell that can kill people with an Illusion. It's not like the Spell Structures come with named labels or anything, so she wouldn't even know to call it Phantasmal Force. All she would've known was that she had a new Big Spell, one to go with Catnap, Psychic Scream, and her other natural Enchantment Spell which she ain't ever supposed to use, the ever dangerous Beguile Person.

Them three Big Spells is what earned her an Enchantment Specialization and Magus Designation, meaning she's earned her a bronze heart and triangle pin, whereas I've only got the latter. She has three more Big Spells to play with too, namely Major Illusion, which we assume she learned natural through her bloodline, then Mental Fortress which she most certainly learned through Intuition, and now we got Phantasmal Force to add to the list of her known Spells, though I ain't so sure how she learned it just yet. That's 6 Third Order Spells, all available to her at any given moment mind you, meaning so long as she got the Aether, she can sling whichever one she wants without having to juggle a finite Prepared Spell List of 12 like me, and even do unheard of manipulations like combining it with a card from a Deck of Illusions after seeing her mama do it the once.

Yeah, growing up with Chrissy will keep even the most talented Spellslinger humble, that's for sure. Don't begrudge her for it either, because I know she's a sweetheart who wouldn't ever hurt a fly, not even if it deserved it.

Ain't all that fussed about killing Abby though, and I think she might even enjoy it, because she nods like a kiccaw pecking grains in response. "Recently like this trip recent?" I ask, and she nods again, meaning she likely picked it up Intuitively from watching her mama. "Amazing," I say, and she beams to hear it as she sinks into her pillow some more and looks right ready to topple over fast asleep. Truth is, I ain't all that far from it either, because I ain't running on empty, but full on got no Aether left in the tank. Couldn't cast a First Order Spell if my life depended on it, and while we still got our Potions of Gaseous Form to get us out of a pinch, we're running real low on almost everything else.

Well… lower than I'd like. Still got a few hundred rounds of 22-10 ammo, and an assortment of the rest, but we got about 14 hours of travel to go before we reach New Hope. That's best case too, and I doubt we can keep going until we get there because Cowie and the horses are on their last legs. Would be risking permanent damage if we push them any harder, though it'd be much more permanent if we stopped. For now, the plan is to head straight for the closest watchtower which should be less than a handful of hours away. 2 if Cowie was fresh, but might take up to 4 once he slows down in a bit. We still got Ferals trailing us, but here's hoping they turn away once we get to the Watchtowers, or there's a patrol of friendly Rangers working nearby who'll stand watch while we rest up.

The weight of fatigue hangs heavy on me as I stand atop my Floating Disc and watch Chrissy sink deeper and deeper into her pillow. Don't mean to stare, but I'm tired too, and seeing her all comfy is putting me into a sympathetic coma. Not only have I been running on about 4 to 6 hours of sleep most days, I'm currently operating on 2 in 48 and 8 in 72, and being out of Aether don't help matters none. Still got plenty of energy to go boarding up and down the badlands all day long, but I can barely keep my eyes open in spite of it all. So I take a moment to indulge in thoughts of climbing into the back of the wagon and snuggling up with Chrissy for a snooze before Conjuring up another Water Sphere to splash myself in the face.

Gets me a giggle from Tina hanging out overhead and standing sentry with rifle in hand, so I glance up to flash her a smile too. "You done great work too, Songbird," I say, which earns me a big toothy smile that's got me all twisted up inside. "Don't think I didn't notice you throwin' out a Discord back there to help your mama and sister out. Really got them Ferals in a tizzy and ready to fight when them oversized gobbos came a burstin' out."

Tina brightens even more to hear it, which I didn't think was possible considering she was much too bright and chipper for me to really handle, but her self-satisfied smile says 'praise me more', so I do. She done earned it after all, manning the big gun up top and slinging Vicious Mockery at any and all Abby that caught her eye, keeping them off of the horses and intent on her and the wagon itself long enough for me or Chrissy to clear the front runners out. Tina don't got any Third Order Spells, but she's got the training to make up for it. Shows in her impeccable timing with the Banishing Waves, holding her shots until the very last second to get as many Abby as she can in one fell swoop. Sounds simple, but when the blood is hot and the battle-juices flowing, there ain't many who can keep their cool like my sorta-sister there, as most would be chugging out shots every five seconds on the dot because they just pulling that trigger until it goes off.

A little discipline goes a long way in a big fight, and Tina's got it in spades. Shows in how she takes a knee atop the wagon, with her Merlin 45 at the ready and one of them big, roaring rifles we took off the Vanguard slung across her back. Having seen the weapon in action against Abby, I can't wait to get back and pick Clayton's brain on the subject, as he was the one who done the modifications to the Ogre's Bane and will likely have some ideas for this gun. Ordinarily, I'd ask Mr. Kalthoff or Marijke for advice on something like this, but modifying a semi-automatic weapon to fire fully-automatic would probably be crossing some lines, and I don't want to put them in a position that might not be all that comfortable for them.

Even if gun laws are silly when you look at what we up against out here. That horde of Ferals ain't going down to a semi-automatic rifle, and I done pulled the trigger so many times today my fingers are feeling sore. Especially the right ones, which aren't really fingers at all, but Conjured Ecto in the shape of the hand I done lost. Begs the question of how it can feel sore, or even hurt something fierce after a long day of slinging Spells, shooting Abby, and inner conflict over killing kids and taking prisoners. It's getting real bad, almost as bad as the day I done lost it, and I'm thinking it's got something to do with the fact that the Ability is about to time out in about thirty odd minutes or so. Still have another use to call on, but unless I absolutely need it, I won't be using it before I catch some z's. A 5-hour duration sounds like a lot until you remember that I got a minimum of 14 before I'm home free, and it's not like we're safer the closer we get to New Hope. Fact is, I'm not feeling all that safe travelling with 7 Qin prisoners, 6 of whom are armed with sharp objects, especially with only one hand. Not just because of the prisoners themselves, but because any mercs, travellers, or folks on duty in the Watchtowers who spot us might well think we're in cahoots with a Qin raiding party and decide it's best to shoot first and ask questions later.

Would be highly illegal to do so, but the law ain't about saving lives. It's about seeing justice upheld, and even then, it fails more often than not.

Thing is, while I could go around and collect all their weapons, we ain't out of the fire just yet. We still got some Ferals dogging our heels, and even if I could, I wouldn't want to go clear them out just yet. We're too close to the bulk of the horde still fighting the Illusory orcish force, and if I start a big fight here and now, some of those Ferals back there might think to chase after us instead. Since the ones still following are content to hang back for a bit, I'm of a mind to let them, which means leaving my prisoners armed and ready in case Abby comes a calling once again.

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I'll be honest. I wasn't expecting much of anything out of them, and really only gave them a couple weapons and Spell components to ease my conscience. Least then I could say I gave them a fighting chance if Abby got in close, and fight they did. Yihan especially was a beast with his Elemental Blade, a Second Order Spell that requires Concentration and lasts 10 minutes at base. Don't seem like much, but most fights last less than 10 minutes, and Extend Duration makes that 20 minutes, which is pretty decent for Second Order. On paper, all it does is conjure up a sword in your preferred Element, namely Fire, Ice, Acid, or Electric. Points for style, but end of the day, it's still a sword with a blade measuring round about 3 feet or 90 centimetres long, which ain't a lot of reach. Not compared to a pistol at least, but after seeing Yihan sling his flaming sabre around like a Living Whip and the other two scouts using their bayonets to great effect, I'm thinking it's high time I leaned how to fight in close combat.

Ain't no law that says say I gotta use Elemental Blade after all. There are Cantrips that can do similar things, albeit on a single use basis. Like Elemental Strike, which adds a bit of extra Elemental sting to an otherwise mundane weapon, or Echoing Strike like I seen Kacey use to bring down a freaking bugbear in hand to hand. Who says I even gotta use a sword to begin with? Sure, little Tian's sword is a pretty piece of mastercrafted steel, and a bayonet on a rifle works great in a pinch, but a heavy-duty chain with a heavy weight on one end like what I bought for Errol would make a great dedicated melee weapon. I ain't no pro with Living Whip like he was, but I ain't no slouch neither, and while I wouldn't be able to pair that with an Elemental or Echoing Strike Cantrip, I could use them interchangeably depending on what I'm up against.

Or I could ask Carter how he turns a natural branch into a staff capable of crushing Aberrtin plates like Papier-mâché and carry a real bonafide big stick to match the one up top of my wagon. There are probably a whole host of other possibilities I'm missing out on, but I'm ready and raring to find me a trainer who can teach me how to fight in hand to hand. Still think guns are better by far, but when it comes to efficiency, it's hard to beat melee weapons enhanced with Spells, Imbuements, and Augmentations.

A trilling screech sounds out from behind to interrupt my thoughts, and I turn about just in time to catch the final flash of Lightning from the Cloud Giant in the far-off distance as the last bits of Aether holding it all together crumbles and fades away. Inside the wagon, Chrissy heaves a soft, disgruntled sigh and sinks deeper into her pillow. "Card gone," she says, sounding sad as can be like she done just lost a friend. Then again, having seen her play with Illusions before, that might well be how she feels, because even though she knows it's just a delusion of Aether that exists only in her mind, she's still able to interact with the Illusion like it's real. Why else would she go a hopping about with Illusory wallies like they real thing? In her eyes, they might well be as real or perhaps even more real than the real thing, because she sees more than the physical world.

"It's alright Princess," I say, giving her hand three quick squeezes. She hasn't let go since she first latched on, and she clings even tighter thanks to the reminder. "The Cards can be remade, and being all Aether, they don't feel no pain or nothing. They did a good job, and I'll get whatever it is your mama needs to draw them up again."

Until then however, it looks like I got more work ahead, as the horde ain't milling about in confusion or gorging on their dead in a feeding frenzy. Not all of them at least, as Detect Abby reveals that a good portion are all heated up after a big fight and ready and raring for more. Conveniently for them, and not so convenient for us, as the group shadowing our wagon here done laid a trail leading right to us, alongside Aetheric signs I can only imagine say, 'tender human, horse, and bull flesh this-a-way', and a good portion of the Ferals done took them at their word.

Stifling a sigh, I put on a cheery face and give Tina a wink when she glances my way for reassurance. "The distraction didn't last all that long, but still lasted longer than expected," I say, staying optimistic despite the fact that we don't got many tricks left to play. "Phantasmal Force only lasts a minute at base, and we're much too far for your mama or Chrissy to manually maintain it, but them cards last five minutes, and I'm guessing the Phantasmal Force was able to piggy back onto that extra duration since it didn't have to create no Illusion itself." Glancing at Chrissy for confirmation, I get nothing as she's still sad as can be, while Aunty Ray sitting up front ain't much better. She ain't slept since she woke up yesterday morning, and while that's less than a full 24 hours without sleep, she's had the same erratic sleep schedule as the rest of us, a staggeringly high Aether expenditure for the day, and a distinct lack of youthful energy to make up for it. 37 ain't old old, but she ain't no spring chicken either, though I don't really know what that phrase means.

So we're right back to where we started, with no aces left in our sleeves, laughably few Spells left to any of us, a bunch of tired animals who are gonna need to rest soon, and a long ways to go before we're safe. Maybe 2 and half before we're in Radio range of the closest Watchtower, so even if there's a Ranger Patrol right there ready and waiting, we're 3 hours at a minimum from getting any backup, 4 hours before we reach the point where Abby might give up the chase, and the better part of 14 before we reach the town walls.

…Really regretting not taking Uncle Rigsby, Sergeant Begaye, and Sergeant Dixon up on their offers to tag along right about now. No help for it though, which means I gotta step up and bring everyone home safe and sound, or die trying.

Look on the bright side. If that happens, then I might get some much-needed shut-eye before meeting up with my daddy, mama, Josie, and baby up in Heaven, alongside everyone else I lost along the way. Assuming Heaven exists of course, and I make the cut, which is debatable. A bridge to burn after I get there, because ain't no one, not even God himself, is gonna keep me apart from my family and loved ones.

That right there is a fact, one you can take right to the bank. In contrast? Fighting off a horde of Abby over the next 14 hours or so ought to be pretty easy peasy lemon squeezy, so what am I even worried about?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Yao Guai horde attacked thrice more over the next two hours, and each time, Ao Tian prayed for their success.

It was not to be however, as the Firstborn saw them off with what looked like relative ease, so much so that Ao Tian could not help but respect the other man for his skills. It would have been far too easy to fall into a defensive mindset and take the fights wherever Abby wanted them, but he was always active and finding small advantages wherever he could. He broke line of sight as often as possible and ambushed whatever scouts they deployed to keep track of his progress, allowing him to veer one way or another to force the horde to spread out lest they lose them. Coordinating with his Aberrant, he set up Illusory chokepoints to funnel the Yao Guai through dried ravines and narrow rock formations to slow them down, and used even more playing cards to leave all manner of Illusory people and Aberrations behind them.

All of which bought them mere minutes over the course of 2 hours, but precious minutes that could very well mean the difference between life and death. Unlikely, but still wholly possible, especially when combined with his fearless and frankly reckless can-do attitude. Though the horde attacked thrice, the Firstborn attacked them five times over the course of the chase, hurtling in towards them with guns ablazing and a grin on his face, while returning with fresh injuries each and every time. Minor ones for the most part, aside from one barbed spine which struck him in the unprotected right calf by mere luck, as the Spitter was most likely aiming for his chest. It punched clean through the muscle and flesh, so it was easy enough to cut the barbed head and remove the shaft, but the most impressive part of it all was how the Firstborn returned standing on both feet and barely even grunted while his milk mother removed the embedded projectile and stitched the wound up atop the shaky steel wagon.

A risky proposition, attacking an overwhelmingly superior force as a man alone, but in doing so, he kept the horde from delivering any coordinated attacks and forced them to respond to his aggression instead of doing as they pleased. As such, the bulk of the Yao Guai were still directly behind the wagon as opposed to spread out all across the badlands and slowly encircling them as the ox and horses slowly but surely expended what little was left of their stamina. The milk mother Cast a handful of Spells to bolster their flagging strength, but magical enhancements provided only mental relief, not physical, and any strength they received from the Spell was more imagined than real. A deception of the senses, that was what Enchantment entailed, and even Abjuration or Transmutation couldn't provide any real relief, so the beasts were all on their last legs, and so too were the Firstborn and his Aberrants.

It was only a matter of time now, and Ao Tian could hardly wait. Respect had been earned and given freely, but the Firstborn was still the man who killed Ao Tian's father, so there would be no reconciliation between them. Not now, and not ever, so he would count himself contented so long as the other man died, even if he died alongside him. Though dying to Yao Guai claws and fangs was hardly ideal, as he would much rather the Firstborn die by his own hand. Unfortunately, Ao Tian's suspicions were validated as Gao Qiu had yet to free him from his bonds, and had made no mention of it since, so he could only leave things up to fate and the Heavens above.

"Do not move or react," Gao Qiu whispered, his voice sounding strained and fatigued from maintaining the Floating Disc for so long. He even leaned forward against him as if too tired to sit upright, but that was only to hide his furtive movements as he used his bayonet knife to cut through Ao Tian's bonds before pressing the knife into his hands. Then, the other man quickly loosened the gag while keeping it in place just enough to look like it was still functional, before leaning back and whispering, "This is all I can do. The rest is on you, young dragon."

Ao Tian said nothing, did nothing, didn't even so much as glance at the other man as he clutched the knife tight. A 30 cm long blade was far from ideal, especially one that was rough forged and mass produced from low grade steel like this bayonet here. The hilt wasn't even wrapped, just a piece of bare steel with slight grooves to set your fingers in and no grip whatsoever, so he used a length of severed rope to bind the weapon to his hand before tying off the rest into one knotted length to hold in his left hand.

Nothing could be left to chance here, as this might well be his only chance to bring down the Firstborn with his own two hands.

"Visualize the fight in your mind's eye." Sifu's voice sounded out in Ao Tian's memories, and he closed his eyes to do just that. "See the moves you will make and how your opponent will respond. Then adjust accordingly and do so again, and again and again until you have seen all paths moving forward. A Diviner reads the signs and proceeds according to the best laid path. A Sword Master accounts for any and all variables before drawing their blade, so that they might be prepared for all paths."

Patience was a virtue, and Ao Tian possessed nothing besides time. Eager as he was to kill the Firstborn, his foe was dead regardless of what may come, so he made his preparations and planned his attack while watching and waiting for an opportunity to strike.

One appeared within the next quarter hour, as the Firstborn returned to the wagon after his sixth foray out, all done with only his smallest revolvers in hopes of conserving ammunition. The blonde Aberrant kept watch behind them from atop the wagon, while her silver-haired twin was nestled in her mother's embrace and resting as best they could. As for the Firstborn, he gave them a cursory look, then turned his back to hop onto the side of the wagon and access something inside. A Radio from the looks of it, and only then did Ao Tian realize their time was more limited than he thought. If he was turning on his Radio, it meant they were close to the Watchtowers, at which point he might well be able to summon a patrol of Rangers to ride to his aid.

No matter though, for this was Ao Tian's chance and he would not fail. Could not, not with the Heavens and his ancestors watching over him. All three Aberrants were either blocked by the Firstborn or looking the other way, so he took this opportunity to cast a Second Order Transmutation Spell, Magic Weapon. Hardly the ideal choice, as it required Concentration and precluded the use of Shield in its stead. Better to use a weapon like his Mastercrafted sword, instead of enhancing a mundane item to a comparable state for only an hour. Needs must however, as he would need every advantage he could get in order to kill the Firstborn in a single hit. The other man's jacket was Imbued with all sorts of protective magics, and he wore an armoured plated vest underneath to protect most of his vitals, while Mage Armour was almost always a given. As such, Ao Tian chose this Spell so there would be no need to risk a Spell, armour, or Imbuement turning aside his blade.

This was only the first of several Spells he intended to use, and he needed a 2 and a half seconds before he could cast the next. The longest 2 and a half seconds of his life, as he strove to remain calm and relaxed while watching for any sign of alarm from the Firstborn or his Aberrants. They were all focused on the Radio however, listening to static as he cycle through channels and tried to raise someone on the other end, so Ao Tian waited a half second more before launching into his second Spell. Namely Gift of Alacrity. A dangerous gamble considering it took a full minute to cast, but he would need it against a foe as dangerous and unpredictable as the Firstborn. The sutras could be performed behind his back, while the muttered chant was easily hidden by lowering his head, but that meant he couldn't keep an eye on the Firstborn and his Aberrants. If caught, he would at least still have the bayonet ready to fight with, but it would have cost him the advantage of surprise.

No matter though. He was committed to the cause, so even if the Firstborn came over to see what was up, Ao Tian would kill him or die trying. Better to try and fail than die in regret and risk seeing his hated enemy escape unscathed while leaving his prisoners and accomplices behind.

The Heavens were smiling down on him, and he completed his minute long Spell undiscovered, increasing his speed of thought 10 times over at the very least and enabling to take in every detail before him. While utilizing a chip of steel broken off of the bayonet as the Material component of his Mage Armour Spell, he went over his plan once more and made amendments at the speed of thought. The Firstborn still had his back turned, and more importantly, was using his left hand to carry out his tasks rather than his right. A minor discrepancy, but one he noticed all the same, because of the awkward manner with which he had to twist his upper body to access the panel within. That lead to the discovery of the silver pistol strapped to the Firstborn's left hip, when ordinarily it was on the right.

Odd that, as gunfighters tended to prefer one hand over the other, or train a gun with only the one hand. Perhaps the stories of the Firstborn losing his right hand in the Coral Desert wasn't a pack of lies and falsehoods after all, but truth that had been covered up with whatever means the Firstborn used to make up for the loss. One that was no longer available to him it would seem, so perhaps a mechanical prosthetic that had run out of Aether. Ao Tian had never heard of anything that could match the speed, strength, and range of motion the Firstborn demonstrated, so it was also possible the real answer was that the other man had injured his right hand in the last fight and was avoiding its use.

Either way, it was a weakness, one Ao Tian would happily exploit.

Still he waited while casting Hearing Protection, because it would not do to strike while his target was stood next to two powerful Aberrants or have his balance broken by a deafening shot from a near miss. The silver-haired girl had already ruined his attempts once, and the matron could do far worse, and his Spells were minor in the grand scheme of things. Gift of Alacrity affected only his mind, while Magic Weapon was cast upon the bayonet hidden behind his back, so neither Aberrant should see anything amiss. They didn't, barely paying him any mind as the Firstborn hopped backwards onto his Floating Disc and staggered ever so slightly due to the injury on his right calf. Both hand and leg on his right side were injured, so that was the side Ao Tian hoped to strike at, so he chose his moment carefully.

The Firstborn backed away from the wagon, and moved on ahead to his ox, presenting his left side to Ao Tian and thus a poor target of opportunity. Not to mention how all three Aberrants would have an easy line of sight to him, and thus be free to interrupt with a Daze, Command, Fear, or whatever other Spell they might have at the ready. Not to mention the bull itself was a force to be reckoned with, one he would be a fool to fight with only a knife even if it had no magic of its own. For that reason alone, he waited until the Firstborn turned to leave, exposing his right side to Ao Tian, but again he did not act immediately. He watched as his target slowly skated towards the back of the wagon, and once he passed the driver's seat and was no longer visible to either Aberrant sitting up front, that was when Ao Tian leaped into action.

Which was not a figure of speech, as he hopped off the Floating Disc and took a single step forward before activating his most secretive of advantages, one he'd never used in front of anyone besides his Sifu who taught him. Everyone knew about his Misty Step, and thus his rivals and foes all made plans to deal with it, but so too had Ao Tian. Let them ready to strike at him as he appeared in a silvery flash, for what they believed was a Second Order Misty Step would actually be a Third Order Thunder Step, a Spell that did the exact same thing with one added caveat.

It brought Thunder to his foes, and struck them down in a burst of Electric energy.

Ao Tian had envisioned it time and time again. The single step was vital to it all, because if his target was facing 12 o clock, he wanted to arrive at precisely the 4 o clock location. With the Firstborn's injured right leg, his first instinct on hearing his milk mother cry out in warning would be to pivot on his left leg, putting Ao Tian about as far as he could possibly be without risking being spotted by his target's peripheral vision. This would afford him plenty of time to find the gap between the Firstborn's armoured plate carrier and plunge the bayonet in between his ribs to strike at his heart, lungs, liver, or kidney. Any one of those choices would be fatal, and that was all Ao Tian cared for, but as the idiom goes, Heaven's plans supersedes those of man.

Because instead of turning left, the Firstborn turned right, pivoting on his injured leg without any regard for the pain or discomfort involved. Not ideal, but in keeping with his Sifu's teachings, Ao Tian had accounted for just this scenario. Rather than go for the kill, he struck hard and fast in an effort to grievously injure the other man before the fight even started. The only problem was that the Firstborn was two steps ahead, for even as Ao Tian's bayonet lanced out to strike at any target at all, his foe was already diving aside out of sheer reflex of seeing an unexpected figure standing at his back.

Which in turn meant he was barely struck by the Electric energies emanating out from Ao Tian as he arrived, ones that let loose with a thunderous clap of lightning that lit up the world all around them. The damage was nowhere near as domineering as a Fireball or Lightning Beam, but it was still a Third Order Spell and capable of inflicting grievous injuries, with the caveat being you had to be in almost point-blank range to be affected. The Firstborn should have been an easy mark, helpless before this unexpected ambush, and yet he still managed to dive aside just in time to avoid the worst of the Thunder Step. As if that weren't enough, his jacket even warded off some of the Electricity to the point where he barely even felt a shock, when he should have instead been paralyzed by the energies coursing through him.

That's how, against all odds, the Firstborn was able to not only avoid the plunging towards him, but even twist about in place and smack the thrust aside as he dove. Ao Tian saw it all unfold in agonizing slowness, the Gift of Alacrity proving a curse as he watched the Firstborn react, register the threat, and carry out a counter in less time than it took to blink an eye. It was not speed of hand and body that served him here, but speed of action, with no thought or hesitation to be found, because while Ao Tian had prepared for this ambush, the Firstborn prepared for any and all eventualities in life.

He cared not for his right hand and reached for the blade without hesitation. A normal man would have recoiled from the blade, moving hands away and leaving vitals unguarded, but not the Firstborn. He smacked the weapon with an open hand, then when that failed to shift its course enough, he closed his fingers around it, edge and all. That slowed Ao Tian down some, but not enough as he put the full weight of his body behind the thrust, only for the tip to remain precariously close to the target without so much as touching the other man's torso. The iron grip of the Firstborn's right hand was locked around the steel blade and Ao Tian's hand both, with the edge cutting deep into what should have been flesh, but was revealed to be a leather glove wrapped around a wooden frame and brass innards of a mechanical hand.

One that the magically enhanced edge of the bayonet cut through with ease, yet the prosthetic retained its steely grip upon the weapon and Ao Tian's hand all the same. Maddening that, especially considering how he'd even considered the possibility of a prosthetic, yet failed to account for it in his plans all the same. A mistake, but not a costly one, for they were in close quarters now, and that was Ao Tian's expertise. Rather than fight to pull back, he pushed forward driving the both of them off of the Firstborn's Floating Disc and using the other man's body to cushion the fall as they landed on the rocky, uneven ground with a thud.

This took a long time to describe, but it all took place in the blink of an eye. The rattling wagon wheels continued rolling away even as the women all cried out in alarm, and Ao Tian moved quickly to free himself and put the Firstborn between him and any Bolts that might come their way, but the fall had done little to knock the wind out of his foe.

"Keep going!" the Firstborn bellowed, followed by a bestial snarl that sent a chill down Ao Tian's spine. Then it was his turn to be sent reeling as something hard and dense smashed into his face, and it took him ages even with Gift of Alacrity going to realize he'd just been headbutted. "Don't stop. I got this," the other man shouted, his beady brown eyes narrowed and burning with rage. "Be back with y'all in a sec."

Ao Tian moved more on instinct than anything, driving his weight down upon the Firstborn in a frenzied struggle to plunge his bayonet home into flesh while fighting to keep the other man from drawing his pistol, a death match on the badlands that could only end in disaster for them both.

Because regardless of which one of them walked away victorious, the other would soon be overrun overtaken by the Feral bugs stampeding towards them, and for Ao Tian, even that much was enough to call this a success.