Ascension of the Nephilim

Chapter 132 - Understanding The Flow Of Battle

Martha was a prodigy in battle. Whenever the fight starts, she just happens to know what to do and how to do it. That gave her the ability to fight and entrap enemies as she could somehow sense what would happen next in combat.

But she never really took the time to understand what it was and what the specifics were. She was just a prodigy fighting without thought. Her arrows were launched without any consideration as to why she needed to shoot at that specific angle.

She never took the time to think or explain to herself how she could win those many deadly encounters. But now she did. It was staring her right in the face, but she never really could voice it out.

What she never realized was that she could see the direction and turn off the battle. But now, it was more evident than ever. She finally understood the flow of the battle and the feeling of what would happen next.

The individual orcs all had their flow, and Martha was beginning to see how they would move and the possible movements they will make.

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Path of Foresight acquired.

---

As Martha saw the notification, she knew she could do it. She could tell which orc would step forward and could somehow guess the next actions of the group. 

"Hunter, Hems, Hemsey. Listen up." Martha sent a message as she prepared to shoot the rocks.

Three rocks flung out with incredible speed. Each was covered with Force energy, and while it was weaker than her bows, it was enough to change the tide.

Hunter had just pushed back the shield orc that was dominating him and restraining his wild charges. As he pushed back one of the shield orcs, a large orc captain ran towards him and brought down a large ax chomping down. Two more shield orcs approached as they laughed and held their shields high. They weren't captains, but they closed the path of the attack.

Hunter's sword arm was too damaged to raise and defend that attack. But Hunter never gave up. Instead, he charged forward and wanted to bite the orc. But even as he charged, he knew that the ax would fall first.

But then... the rock struck the neck of the ax-slashing orc.

The rock didn't penetrate through the orc, but it was clear that the rock was lodged deeply within the orc's neck. The sudden attack made the orc lose concentration on his attack, veering slightly to the right.

Hunter acted immediately. Martha didn't tell them what exactly to do. But she told them they had to find the right momentum to turn the flow of battle to their favor. Her attacks weren't made to save them but only to help them.

Hunter, Hems, and Hemsey were all in a critical juncture that could end in their life or death. But with one stroke of the bow, the rocks struck and gave the three the time to execute their counterattack.

Hunter's senses were the most honed of the group. He knew what to do. He took a step to the side and used his shield to hit the arm of the orc to change the direction of the falling ax.

The ax veered further to the right and fell on the head of a laughing shield orc.

SPLAT!

The shield orc collapsed as the blow had killed him. He was guarding against Hunter and had little time to react to the attack.

Hunter moved quickly and bit down on the orc's neck as he pulled the orc closer and made him his shield.

The sudden attack surprised one as they tried to help their fellow orc, which the ax had struck. Others tried to pull their captain away from Hunter, but Hunter kept turning and even threatened to kill their captain by smashing the head with the shield.

On the other side, a similar incident occurred, allowing Hems and Hemsey to bite their enemies. Again, the attack of Martha helped them land blows to kill their supposed killer and bite them.

Martha didn't use arrows for this reason. Instead, she needed to use a rock so that her attacks would be unnoticed by many as they won't see an arrow sticking out of their head.

The desperation and hunger that the three H's had allowed them to spur their blood as they absorbed the vitality of the corresponding captains that they fought.

The absorbed vitality quickly allowed them to recover. Hunter was able to lift his wounded sword arm and took advantage of the panic to kill another orc.

Several orcs began to move in as the shield orcs retreated at the command of some warriors who moved in to kill the three.

Martha launched another volley of sharp stones with his bow. Because she could now tell the flow of battle, she began to shoot to disrupt the flow for the benefit of three H's.

Hemsey carried his sword and shield but ignored the spearman rushing in to stab him. A rock struck the spearman and allowed Hemsey to parry the stab easily, and Hemsey went to stab another orc.

Slowly, the three became accustomed to fighting. Finally, they could tell which of the orcs they needed to ignore for a time and which to focus on. They managed to bite more and more orcs, and it eventually reached a point where Martha no longer shot her attacks. 

The fight urged the orcs to retreat as they realized they could not overpower the three H's.

At their retreat, the three H finally managed to gather together.

"Hrm? We're supposed to split up?" Hems asked.

"Right. I feel it too." Hunter sighed.

But now, they faced a brigade of orcs with archers and magis.

"Archers! Magis!" The Orc captain ordered. 

The archers took their stance.

The three H looked at them.

"You guys know what to do, right?" Hunter asked.

"I'll take the left." Hems answered.

"I'll go right then." Hemsey voiced out.

"Good... Now!" Hunter roared.

---

Path of Combat acquired.

--- 

At that moment, Martha's attack arrived.

Without saying a word, they could somehow tell the next attacks that Martha made.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Several green explosions attacked the area where the magis were.

The explosion released a green mist that caused many orcs to scream.

"Poison!" The orc captain cursed as he turned to look back. But as he turned back, he felt a strange chill and turned to the front and swung his sword.

Hunter evaded by moving the side and swung his shield towards the leg of the orc.

SMASH!

The shield broke the leg of the orc, causing him to stumble.

"You have the Path of Combat too? Or is it just the favor of Fate? Whatever, It's mine now anyway." Hunter stabbed his sword on the orc.

Hunter moved and attacked the nearby enemies with one sword in, using the sword he got from the orc.

Hems and Hemsey did the same thing. They caused the sword to be remained stabbed within the orcs. These orcs were the last surviving Captains in this fifty-strong platoon. 

The sword they stabbed was slowly absorbing the blood of the orcs. When they fought, the blood of the three H had dripped onto their respective swords. One of the things they realized they needed was a means to drink more blood without biting. And then they remembered the form of the Blood Blade.

Their desperate situation forced them to take drastic measures and finally realized that they needed their blood, and they had to sacrifice a lot of blood to form it. The orc captains were the perfect sacrifice, and so they were the warriors that each fought.

---

Blood Blade formed.

---

At the notification, the three cheered and abandoned the sword they were carrying and went back to grab their sword.

The sword they had was coated with a huge amount of blood, and it was as if the blood was alive.

"It's not as good as Lord Kyros's sword, but this will do!" Hems laughed as he charged to fight.

The battle began to turn to their advantage. Martha had begun to use arrows in her attacks. She could tell that victory was near.

"So this is the Path of Combat!" Hunter dove towards the ranks of orcs and began to fight five at a time.

Martha observed from afar and stopped shooting.

"I'll leave the rest to you three. As of now, you three will still be defeated and overwhelmed. You all have to increase your understanding of the Path of Combat to win this. Knowing my attacks were easy. We are one Coven, and the Path of Combat seemed to be linked to groups. As Fate bounds our Coven through our vows, it also affects all the other Paths of Fates. So now, you have to fight without my help and understand more about it. Am I clear?" Martha asked.

"Yes, lady Martha! We understand!" The three chorused.

Martha closed her eyes and sat down. She paid no attention to the fight below. The three had to grow through a bloody trial to grow stronger.

---

Path of Molding acquired.

Fate Challenger Job acquired.

---

Martha saw the notification and began to immerse herself in the sensation of Fate.

In a certain orc outpost...

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Path of Combat acquired.

Fate Challenger Job acquired.

---

Diana was pretty pleased with herself as she saw the notification. It was a strange feeling since this was the first.

"I guess because Fate is now affecting the Steele family, I should get used to seeing these odd things." Diana chuckled.

"Lady Diana? What happened?" Avary kept using his sword for drinking the blood of a certain orc.

"It's good to see that my suggestion worked. Since you are like my son, you should have such abilities. Scarlet, any luck?" Diana turned to Scarlet.

"I'm sorry, lady Diana. I can't seem to create a blood bow. And coating these arrows won't work either."

"It's alright. When we get back, you may need to switch it up. You shall join Lady Martha as she trains you." Diana decided.

"Anyway, I just received a notification stating that I now have Path of Combat. It's all thanks to you. By watching your fight, I was able to see how Fate flows in a fight." Diana smiled.

"Lady Diana!" Avary shouted.

"What did you find?"

"Nothing much. But I did find a slave girl." Avary carried an unconscious young girl with such fair white skin and a beautiful face.

"A girl?!" Gregory was stunned. Why was there a girl in this outpost?

"Lady Diana! That girl! She's the reason why Fate led me here!" Scarlet exclaimed.

Diana approached and noticed something.

"Wait! Avary! That's a vampire!" Diana was amazed.