CHAPTER FOURTEEN
On the outskirts of Vesuvia, the number of Pelasgians appeared endless.
Fighting Turin, like Marus, was like trying to fight a ghost. Fog shrouded his body as it swirled around him. He easily blocked several attacks from a Satyr before stabbing it through the neck.
Vesuvians from all of the Houses were present. It was at times like this Marus was reminded of the disparity in power, even between individuals of the same House.
A Remian five hundred years old, and looked like an Olympic athlete, easily disarmed and killed a Satyr and two Centaurs within three seconds before going after a Cyclops.
Another Remian, just over a hundred years of age, was thrown to the ground by a Corinthian and killed with a stab to the heart.
It was easiest to spot the differences in power between two people of the House of Liro.
Many could grow razor-sharp claws and had a small change in appearance, notably in the face area.
Some Liros had a semi-final form with slightly bigger claws and more pronounced physical changes.
With each level came a slight increase in strength and speed, but this didn't compare to the Remia.
There was no such thing as a Liro without heightened senses.
All of this was enough to combat many of the Pelasgians fiercely, if they could get their hands on them.
A few Liros reached the final form. It was terrifying to behold, being more bat than man in appearance. While the Cyclopes’ size proved to be a bit of a problem, the Liros could pounce on anything smaller and claw them to pieces.
The Doran had perfected the use of blood as a weapon. It was like liquid mercury in their hands, and they had full control over it.
One used his blood staff to block a Corinthian's sword before turning it into a whip-like weapon that shot through the Corinthian's chest.
A powerful Doran could control the blood without even touching it. The blood spike was a nasty weapon that could repeatedly run someone through, with the Doran at a safe distance.
Two Satyrs went after Marus, jabbing at him with their spears through the fog. One managed to slash his coat pocket, dropping the few precious blood marbles he had.
Several yards away a Centaur took aim with his bow.
As Marus tricked the Satyrs into stabbing each other, an arrow stuck his shoulder. Flinching for a split second, he took a Satyr's spear and threw it at the Centaur's head with incredible precision.
At the rear of the Vesuvian army, the Siena made the most of their unmatched intuition with a bow and arrow.
What separated one Siena from another was their ability to hit a target in all the commotion. The least adept aimed high, shooting far into the enemy army.
For the more experienced, it was like watching a magic trick executed effortlessly. The best could fire past dozens of people in the midst of battle and hit the enemy exactly where they wanted.
The only Vesuvians not physically fighting were the Kanara. Mind-control used a fair amount of blood, even for the powerful ones. In a massive battle, it wasn’t as efficient as a support role.
They functioned as a second set of eyes for those actually fighting. A Remian pulling his sword from a Satyr would have been struck from behind were it not for the timely telepathic warning of a watchful Kanara.
The Kanara also relayed vital information about enemy movements at the speed of thought. This let the Vesuvians instantly know where their line was beginning to break and reinforce it.
The dirty fighting was left to the Orlok, and they loved it. Those who could do so remained invisible, with many Pelasgians never knowing what hit them.
They preferred jagged knives and blunt objects, quickly eliminating enemies already locked in battle from behind.
A Turin girl blocked one attack after another from two Corinthians using only a short sword. As a Minotaur joined the fray, she threw a black powder that ignited with a blinding flash. With some assistance from the Orlok, she was able to quickly finish off the Pelasgians.
Melding with the ground in the nick of time, Marus barely avoided being smashed by a Cyclops bringing his mace down like a hammer. He instantly reemerged and stabbed the Cyclops through the chest.
Monitoring the battle from the Council's building, Helen called out to Marus with her telepathy. “Fall back! The Pelasgians are pushing hard into the flanks.”
“Can we counter?” Marus thought as he pulled the arrow out.
“It doesn’t look good,” Helen replied. “The rural section should be better for fighting, but you must go now.”
At once, the Vesuvians went into retreat.
The Pelasgians gave chase, fighting much of the way across the farmlands. They soon reached the rural section, a part of the city with buildings up to three stories high at the most.
“Stand your ground!” Marus ordered.
Without question, the Vesuvians turned to face the incoming enemy.
Marus dodged a Minotaur and kicked him to the side where an Orlok happily took over.
Little by little the fog covering Marus was dissipating, making him easier to see. A Corinthian swung and barely missed.
Marus blocked the second attack, but that allowed a Satyr to spear him in the stomach.
The sound of Marus' grunting in pain instantly drew his fellow Vesuvians' attention.
A Liro tackled the Satyr, with many of the Turin charging the Pelasgians.
The fog around Marus completely vanished as he pulled the spear out. Slumping against a house as he retreated, he noticed his blood marbles were gone. Another arrow struck his leg, causing him to fall over some baskets.
A Cyclops broke through the Vesuvian line, swinging his massive club. He spotted Marus and ran at him.
Marus forced himself up and dove into a small dark corner, virtually disappearing.
The Cyclops swung his club and completely demolished the corner. It seemed impossible, but there was no body.
Marus dropped from another shaded area directly above and rammed his staff into the Cyclops' back. He was thrown forward as the Pelasgian fell dead into a small market stand.
Wounded and disoriented, Marus crawled and made it as far as the next corner where he saw his fellow Turin struggling with another Cyclops at the next intersection.
The Vesuvians behind him were doing well, but they seemed so few to the Pelasgians.
The shadow of a winged creature overcame Marus and landed beside him. Looking up weakly, he was relieved to see it was Gavin.
Gavin and a select few were in their legendary form. This was very similar to the final form but came with huge bat wings.
With a low hiss, Gavin dropped a blood marble and flew off.
Liros in this form were also very nimble in the air, as Gavin flew up past an oncoming griffin and picked off its rider with ease, dropping him to the chaos below.
Marus ate the marble and was instantly on his feet, fog shrouding his body. Melding with the ground, he grabbed his staff.
In the next moment, as a Cyclops swung his mace, Marus exploded from the ground behind thrusting his staff through the Cyclops' head.
One of the Turin approached. “Marus, help is on the way, but the enemy is pouring in from everywhere. What are we going to do?”
Marus looked back at the sound of Pelasgians coming around the next corner, and gave what he hoped wouldn't be his last order. “Stand your ground.”