Chapter 73
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Chapter 73
The group stood well downhill of the tortoises, observing them. What do you think theyre all doing up on the ridge? Hoyt asked.
Sunning themselves, it looks like, Anton answered. Doubt theyll take kindly to being interrupted though. If they attacked a contingent of soldiers theyll certainly plan to attack us.
Maybe not, Hoyt said, Maybe if we move a few at a time. I think one of us should approach them to see their reaction. He looked around, Me, probably. I imagine youll be more effective at range, he inclined his head to Anton, And Catarina is the only one who can conceal the group. If we can draw them away or shoo them off it should be good enough.
Ill start setting up, Catarina declared. A stationary concealment formation was quite powerful, but if she was going to make it mobile it would be much less effective. Keeping the main group of people unnoticed before disturbing them would be much more likely to draw the tortoises towards Anton or Hoyt- or if they ran away, then it would just be a small bit of wasted time and effort.
Anton and Hoyt stood over to the side, discussing their plan. Id prefer to just wait until they moved, Anton said, But if theyre sunning themselves, that could take half a day. And theres no guarantee they wont just hole up for the night. There doesnt seem to be much vegetation here for them to eat, but they might not have to eat every day. Tortoises have a slow metabolism and some magical beasts sustain themselves half off of energy, I believe.
Hoyt nodded, So how do you want to approach this?
If I knew them to be a hostile species, Id just as soon start shooting. The Black March might have been because of these creatures, or other inhabitants a century or two ago. Its also best to try not to startle them. Anton kept sweeping his eyes over the creatures, hoping to see a break in their line or any sort of overall movement. Some of them shuffled around, but they mostly remained still, flat on their bellies. If you approach close at a slow pace, they might just shuffle away. If you can do that, we can just squeeze open a path and walk through. That would be the best way. Anton frowned, The ground look odd to you?
Hoyt just shook his head, Not really.
Catarina gestured to the group with her. The tortoises shouldnt be able to sense them easily, but formations werent perfect against everything. There was a gap in the tortoises, however, directly between Hoyt and Anton. It was large enough for them to slip through if they stayed close- and they had to do so for the sake of the formation regardless. Catarina was at the front, flicking out little bits of energy to change the terrain in front of them. She pick the path that would best support the formation they had which was unfortunately not the easiest climb. Hopefully all of the miners could support the weaker members among them.
Some of the tortoises, while not aiming for their group, started getting far too close. It was a good thing theyd started moving when they did, because the angles involved meant that the tortoises further to the sides would be more towards where they stood, at least from Hoyts side. Anton was far enough back that most of the tortoises would have gone behind them even if they didnt move.
Catarina kept a steady pace, keeping track of Pete on the rear-left of the triangular formation they were holding. He was doing just fine, but Oskars portion on the other side was unstable. He at least avoided making erratic movements, but he also wasnt doing anything to direct the flow of energy properly. That was still good enough for someone without training. He was responsible enough to know to keep his arms held in front of him carrying the rocks she directed even if he didnt understand the specifics. Everyone else was more chaotically arranged, filling out the rest of the equilateral triangle. Fuzz stayed right on her heels.
So far, things had been going pretty well. That was until someone broke away from the formation. Lara. She was allowed to walk unrestrained because of the difficult terrain, and she dashed off down the hill just as they were nearing the top of the ridge. There were several tortoises that had held back from flinging themselves downhill and several others that had just meandered their way up to the crest where they could actually slide down. Upon seeing a woman suddenly appear out of nothing, they had another, closer target than the two cultivators to either side.
Naturally they began to attack. Lara had run more or less directly downhill of the formation, which placed the trajectories of some of the tortoises directly through the group. Everyone get closer together! Strongest cultivations on the outside! She hoped the tortoises wouldnt really hear her words, but she couldnt silently guide people in the current situation.
If Catarina had just a minute or two she could have set up a passable defensive formation. As it was, the concealment formation had to suffice. It was good enough to keep the tortoises unaware of their presence until they were about to impact. The first one was almost directly at the point of the formation, herself. She could easily dodge it, but then all of those behind her would die. Instead, she gathered as much of her energy as she could onto her legs, taking a firm stance as she kicked the side of what was effectively a sliding boulder. She didnt hold back a tiny bit, but even with her body at the peak of Body Tempering and the energy that went along with it, the power she could harness in an instant was barely enough to deflect it. Sharp pieces of rock sprayed into the group as the tortoise slid past, wounding several of those on the outer layer. A few had passable energy defenses and held their ground, but they couldnt fully protect those in the middle either. That was the problem with traveling around with close to thirty people.
Somehow the formation held together from the first tortoise and another few that came extremely close to impacting the formation towards the rear. There were only a few more of the giant tortoises, but one was angled about a third of the way inward on the right side. It wasnt possible for everyone to get out of the way, especially those moving uphill. Then the formation shattered as Oskar grabbed the two people closest to him, flinging them away from the corner. Though Catarinas eyes werent on the scene, she could feel his energy suddenly spike as he dashed forward. His arm wide, he managed to sweep up four others in the way of the tortoises descent and shove them out of the way, along with himself. Catarina could probably carry four people, but she was at the peak of Body Tempering and not just somewhere around the first star. However, the instant after that Oskars energy flattened. She would have turned to see him but there was one last tortoise straight ahead. With the formation scattered they were quite visible now. Before it even started moving, she gathered all of her energy and charged forward to meet it.
Her quick thinking probably saved a dozen lives, because though it moved straight towards her it didnt have as much time to build up momentum. Catarina once again kicked with her heel to throw the creature off course, this time being flung tumbling off to the side. But she diverted the creature enough that the left side batted it away with their weapons as they dodged out of the way.
Catarina looked downhill. At least there was some justice. Lara had been the target of most of the tortoises, and they were quite accurate. Catarina grimaced as several tortoises stood around a decidedly non-rigid body. Catarina didnt watch, but she was certain she saw one of them open its mouth to take a bite of the mess, before she turned away.
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Chapter 73
The group stood well downhill of the tortoises, observing them. What do you think theyre all doing up on the ridge? Hoyt asked.
Sunning themselves, it looks like, Anton answered. Doubt theyll take kindly to being interrupted though. If they attacked a contingent of soldiers theyll certainly plan to attack us.
Maybe not, Hoyt said, Maybe if we move a few at a time. I think one of us should approach them to see their reaction. He looked around, Me, probably. I imagine youll be more effective at range, he inclined his head to Anton, And Catarina is the only one who can conceal the group. If we can draw them away or shoo them off it should be good enough.
Ill start setting up, Catarina declared. A stationary concealment formation was quite powerful, but if she was going to make it mobile it would be much less effective. Keeping the main group of people unnoticed before disturbing them would be much more likely to draw the tortoises towards Anton or Hoyt- or if they ran away, then it would just be a small bit of wasted time and effort.
Anton and Hoyt stood over to the side, discussing their plan. Id prefer to just wait until they moved, Anton said, But if theyre sunning themselves, that could take half a day. And theres no guarantee they wont just hole up for the night. There doesnt seem to be much vegetation here for them to eat, but they might not have to eat every day. Tortoises have a slow metabolism and some magical beasts sustain themselves half off of energy, I believe.
Hoyt nodded, So how do you want to approach this?
If I knew them to be a hostile species, Id just as soon start shooting. The Black March might have been because of these creatures, or other inhabitants a century or two ago. Its also best to try not to startle them. Anton kept sweeping his eyes over the creatures, hoping to see a break in their line or any sort of overall movement. Some of them shuffled around, but they mostly remained still, flat on their bellies. If you approach close at a slow pace, they might just shuffle away. If you can do that, we can just squeeze open a path and walk through. That would be the best way. Anton frowned, The ground look odd to you?
Hoyt just shook his head, Not really.
Catarina gestured to the group with her. The tortoises shouldnt be able to sense them easily, but formations werent perfect against everything. There was a gap in the tortoises, however, directly between Hoyt and Anton. It was large enough for them to slip through if they stayed close- and they had to do so for the sake of the formation regardless. Catarina was at the front, flicking out little bits of energy to change the terrain in front of them. She pick the path that would best support the formation they had which was unfortunately not the easiest climb. Hopefully all of the miners could support the weaker members among them.
Some of the tortoises, while not aiming for their group, started getting far too close. It was a good thing theyd started moving when they did, because the angles involved meant that the tortoises further to the sides would be more towards where they stood, at least from Hoyts side. Anton was far enough back that most of the tortoises would have gone behind them even if they didnt move.
Catarina kept a steady pace, keeping track of Pete on the rear-left of the triangular formation they were holding. He was doing just fine, but Oskars portion on the other side was unstable. He at least avoided making erratic movements, but he also wasnt doing anything to direct the flow of energy properly. That was still good enough for someone without training. He was responsible enough to know to keep his arms held in front of him carrying the rocks she directed even if he didnt understand the specifics. Everyone else was more chaotically arranged, filling out the rest of the equilateral triangle. Fuzz stayed right on her heels.
So far, things had been going pretty well. That was until someone broke away from the formation. Lara. She was allowed to walk unrestrained because of the difficult terrain, and she dashed off down the hill just as they were nearing the top of the ridge. There were several tortoises that had held back from flinging themselves downhill and several others that had just meandered their way up to the crest where they could actually slide down. Upon seeing a woman suddenly appear out of nothing, they had another, closer target than the two cultivators to either side.
Naturally they began to attack. Lara had run more or less directly downhill of the formation, which placed the trajectories of some of the tortoises directly through the group. Everyone get closer together! Strongest cultivations on the outside! She hoped the tortoises wouldnt really hear her words, but she couldnt silently guide people in the current situation.
If Catarina had just a minute or two she could have set up a passable defensive formation. As it was, the concealment formation had to suffice. It was good enough to keep the tortoises unaware of their presence until they were about to impact. The first one was almost directly at the point of the formation, herself. She could easily dodge it, but then all of those behind her would die. Instead, she gathered as much of her energy as she could onto her legs, taking a firm stance as she kicked the side of what was effectively a sliding boulder. She didnt hold back a tiny bit, but even with her body at the peak of Body Tempering and the energy that went along with it, the power she could harness in an instant was barely enough to deflect it. Sharp pieces of rock sprayed into the group as the tortoise slid past, wounding several of those on the outer layer. A few had passable energy defenses and held their ground, but they couldnt fully protect those in the middle either. That was the problem with traveling around with close to thirty people.
Somehow the formation held together from the first tortoise and another few that came extremely close to impacting the formation towards the rear. There were only a few more of the giant tortoises, but one was angled about a third of the way inward on the right side. It wasnt possible for everyone to get out of the way, especially those moving uphill. Then the formation shattered as Oskar grabbed the two people closest to him, flinging them away from the corner. Though Catarinas eyes werent on the scene, she could feel his energy suddenly spike as he dashed forward. His arm wide, he managed to sweep up four others in the way of the tortoises descent and shove them out of the way, along with himself. Catarina could probably carry four people, but she was at the peak of Body Tempering and not just somewhere around the first star. However, the instant after that Oskars energy flattened. She would have turned to see him but there was one last tortoise straight ahead. With the formation scattered they were quite visible now. Before it even started moving, she gathered all of her energy and charged forward to meet it.
Her quick thinking probably saved a dozen lives, because though it moved straight towards her it didnt have as much time to build up momentum. Catarina once again kicked with her heel to throw the creature off course, this time being flung tumbling off to the side. But she diverted the creature enough that the left side batted it away with their weapons as they dodged out of the way.
Catarina looked downhill. At least there was some justice. Lara had been the target of most of the tortoises, and they were quite accurate. Catarina grimaced as several tortoises stood around a decidedly non-rigid body. Catarina didnt watch, but she was certain she saw one of them open its mouth to take a bite of the mess, before she turned away.
Chapter 73The group stood well downhill of the tortoises, observing them. What do you think theyre all doing up on the ridge? Hoyt asked.Sunning themselves, it looks like, Anton answered. Doubt theyll take kindly to being interrupted though. If they attacked a contingent of soldiers theyll certainly plan to attack us.Maybe not, Hoyt said, Maybe if we move a few at a time. I think one of us should approach them to see their reaction. He looked around, Me, probably. I imagine youll be more effective at range, he inclined his head to Anton, And Catarina is the only one who can conceal the group. If we can draw them away or shoo them off it should be good enough.Ill start setting up, Catarina declared. A stationary concealment formation was quite powerful, but if she was going to make it mobile it would be much less effective. Keeping the main group of people unnoticed before disturbing them would be much more likely to draw the tortoises towards Anton or Hoyt- or if they ran away, then it would just be a small bit of wasted time and effort.Anton and Hoyt stood over to the side, discussing their plan. Id prefer to just wait until they moved, Anton said, But if theyre sunning themselves, that could take half a day. And theres no guarantee they wont just hole up for the night. There doesnt seem to be much vegetation here for them to eat, but they might not have to eat every day. Tortoises have a slow metabolism and some magical beasts sustain themselves half off of energy, I believe.Hoyt nodded, So how do you want to approach this?If I knew them to be a hostile species, Id just as soon start shooting. The Black March might have been because of these creatures, or other inhabitants a century or two ago. Its also best to try not to startle them. Anton kept sweeping his eyes over the creatures, hoping to see a break in their line or any sort of overall movement. Some of them shuffled around, but they mostly remained still, flat on their bellies. If you approach close at a slow pace, they might just shuffle away. If you can do that, we can just squeeze open a path and walk through. That would be the best way. Anton frowned, The ground look odd to you?Hoyt just shook his head, Not really.Catarina gestured to the group with her. The tortoises shouldnt be able to sense them easily, but formations werent perfect against everything. There was a gap in the tortoises, however, directly between Hoyt and Anton. It was large enough for them to slip through if they stayed close- and they had to do so for the sake of the formation regardless. Catarina was at the front, flicking out little bits of energy to change the terrain in front of them. She pick the path that would best support the formation they had which was unfortunately not the easiest climb. Hopefully all of the miners could support the weaker members among them.Some of the tortoises, while not aiming for their group, started getting far too close. It was a good thing theyd started moving when they did, because the angles involved meant that the tortoises further to the sides would be more towards where they stood, at least from Hoyts side. Anton was far enough back that most of the tortoises would have gone behind them even if they didnt move. Catarina kept a steady pace, keeping track of Pete on the rear-left of the triangular formation they were holding. He was doing just fine, but Oskars portion on the other side was unstable. He at least avoided making erratic movements, but he also wasnt doing anything to direct the flow of energy properly. That was still good enough for someone without training. He was responsible enough to know to keep his arms held in front of him carrying the rocks she directed even if he didnt understand the specifics. Everyone else was more chaotically arranged, filling out the rest of the equilateral triangle. Fuzz stayed right on her heels.So far, things had been going pretty well. That was until someone broke away from the formation. Lara. She was allowed to walk unrestrained because of the difficult terrain, and she dashed off down the hill just as they were nearing the top of the ridge. There were several tortoises that had held back from flinging themselves downhill and several others that had just meandered their way up to the crest where they could actually slide down. Upon seeing a woman suddenly appear out of nothing, they had another, closer target than the two cultivators to either side.Naturally they began to attack. Lara had run more or less directly downhill of the formation, which placed the trajectories of some of the tortoises directly through the group. Everyone get closer together! Strongest cultivations on the outside! She hoped the tortoises wouldnt really hear her words, but she couldnt silently guide people in the current situation.If Catarina had just a minute or two she could have set up a passable defensive formation. As it was, the concealment formation had to suffice. It was good enough to keep the tortoises unaware of their presence until they were about to impact. The first one was almost directly at the point of the formation, herself. She could easily dodge it, but then all of those behind her would die. Instead, she gathered as much of her energy as she could onto her legs, taking a firm stance as she kicked the side of what was effectively a sliding boulder. She didnt hold back a tiny bit, but even with her body at the peak of Body Tempering and the energy that went along with it, the power she could harness in an instant was barely enough to deflect it. Sharp pieces of rock sprayed into the group as the tortoise slid past, wounding several of those on the outer layer. A few had passable energy defenses and held their ground, but they couldnt fully protect those in the middle either. That was the problem with traveling around with close to thirty people.Somehow the formation held together from the first tortoise and another few that came extremely close to impacting the formation towards the rear. There were only a few more of the giant tortoises, but one was angled about a third of the way inward on the right side. It wasnt possible for everyone to get out of the way, especially those moving uphill. Then the formation shattered as Oskar grabbed the two people closest to him, flinging them away from the corner. Though Catarinas eyes werent on the scene, she could feel his energy suddenly spike as he dashed forward. His arm wide, he managed to sweep up four others in the way of the tortoises descent and shove them out of the way, along with himself. Catarina could probably carry four people, but she was at the peak of Body Tempering and not just somewhere around the first star. However, the instant after that Oskars energy flattened. She would have turned to see him but there was one last tortoise straight ahead. With the formation scattered they were quite visible now. Before it even started moving, she gathered all of her energy and charged forward to meet it. Her quick thinking probably saved a dozen lives, because though it moved straight towards her it didnt have as much time to build up momentum. Catarina once again kicked with her heel to throw the creature off course, this time being flung tumbling off to the side. But she diverted the creature enough that the left side batted it away with their weapons as they dodged out of the way. Catarina looked downhill. At least there was some justice. Lara had been the target of most of the tortoises, and they were quite accurate. Catarina grimaced as several tortoises stood around a decidedly non-rigid body. Catarina didnt watch, but she was certain she saw one of them open its mouth to take a bite of the mess, before she turned away.
