Chapter 35: Feigning Innocence.
Chiefty appeared to be angrily barking orders at the surrounding Eidolons, and they all kept their heads lowered, afraid of provoking him any further.
Damien’s eyes continued scanning the encampment. Something about the army felt wrong, but before he could dwell on it any longer, Leslie spoke.
"Let’s move while they’re distracted by their leader. We’ll sneak in through the rear, check out any new equipment they’ve acquired, then I’ll create a distraction so we can all get out safely."
Damien turned to her but said nothing. She was the one in charge, and he was merely along for the ride.
"Distract them how exactly? If all of you have flashy dormant abilities, then today might not go so well for me".
Leslie turned to Paige.
"You stay here with them". She said while glancing at the cloaked figure".
Paige nodded with a smile, which made Damien even more uncomfortable.
"There’s definitely a scheme here, and they’re not even trying to hide it, I need to make a move before they make theirs".
Damien and Leslie continued moving, keeping low against the snow while taking advantage of the darkness to make their way toward the rear of the Eidolon encampment.
It didn’t matter if the Eidolons had an intelligent chief. At the end of the day, they were still savage creatures that valued violence far more than strategy. Even the construction of the camp had only happened because their Chief forced them to.
When they finally reached the rear, Damien realized they had already left the frozen wasteland behind and stepped back into the frozen forest.
The familiar scenery brought back unpleasant memories, this was where he died, this was where he came back to life.
"Wait".
Leslie suddenly came to a stop, nearly causing Damien to crash into her back. Fortunately, he caught himself just before the collision.
The Eidolon encampment had been put together haphazardly. There was no real entrance or exit, just hundreds of tents scattered across the area without any apparent order. Most of the Eidolons wandered around aimlessly, while others, like the six before them, simply lay on the ground doing nothing.
None of them appeared to be armed.
Damien could tell Leslie had no intention of fighting them. He wasn’t sure if it was because her dormant ability wasn’t suited for combat, or because she simply didn’t want him knowing what it was.
So his eyes shifted down to a frozen rock, and he unceremoumously kicked it, the sound was loud under the cover of night, prompting the six Eidolons to look in their direction.
Leslie fell to the ground and glared sharply at him.
"You dumbass, we’re supposed to be stealthy, why are you announcing our presence to the enemy".
Damien feigned innocence, even blinking adorably to seem more confused than he actually was.
Leslie grinned her teeth in rage and spat coldly.
"Well get down here before they see you".
She didn’t wait for Damien to act, she grabbed the edge of his black cloak and pulled him down, but that sudden movement only made the Eidolons more suspicious.
One by one they stood to their feet and began approaching them, Leslie was about to lose her mind, she turned to Damien, the bastard was actually counting rocks like a little kid.
She gnashed her teeth and shot out, using the snow to soften the sound of her feet and the darkness to her advantage she struck.
Damien tossed the rocks aside and paid close attention to the fight, he wanted to figure out what her dormant ability was, and this was the best way to do so.
Before the Eidolons could even fathom what was happening, six short daggers shot out from the darkness, burying themselves deep into their throats. They instinctively tried to roar, but only muffled gargles escaped as blood poured from their mouths.
Short daggers alone weren’t enough to kill an Eidolon. If anything, they only made the creatures more unstable. The moment Leslie stepped into view, all six lunged at her simultaneously.
When she reached the first Eidolon, she suddenly jumped, scaling its entire body before landing right in the middle of the group. Her hands blurred as several more daggers flew out in rapid succession, striking eyes, stomachs and other exposed weak points before the creatures could even react.
One of the Eidolons swung its massive claws downward, intent on ripping her legs apart, but Leslie had already seen it coming. She somersaulted backward, planted both feet against the neck of the first Eidolon and violently twisted her body, snapping its neck before immediately kicking off the corpse and charging the last creature.
The Eidolon instinctively recoiled and raised both arms to defend itself, but it was already too late. Leslie spun like a hurricane, driving two daggers cleanly into both its eyes.
Still hidden behind the trees, Damien clicked his tongue. He couldn’t help wondering where she kept pulling all those daggers from.
Leslie slit another Eidolon’s throat before turning and swinging her dagger toward the next. One of them managed to slip past her guard, leaving only a shallow scratch across her back, but that seemed to annoy her far more than it hurt.
Grabbing the creature by its antlers, she slammed its head into the ground before driving a dagger into its neck and cutting straight through its throat.
Damien quietly began taking mental notes. "Is her dormant ability increasing her physical strength? Very few humans should be capable of overpowering an Eidolon like this".
Leslie immediately rushed the remaining three. The first reached her almost instantly, but she simply deflected its claws with her dagger, leaving a shallow cut across its abdomen before shifting her attention to the second.
Just as she expected, the wounded Eidolon immediately turned and charged again. Leslie ducked beneath the second creature before planting both feet against its back and shoving with all her strength, forcing it directly into the claws of the first.
The creature collapsed moments later with its ribcage torn wide open as Leslie wiped the blood from her face and shot upward.