Adam lunged at the Arcane Obstructor. Immediately a shield appeared around the large Drathan. It was a purple oblong bubble, covering him from every side. Within the bubble, see through magical shields appeared on both his arms.

A wordless shout came from the power boosted Adam as he swung his hammer. The head of the hammer contacted the shield and there was a loud crackling sound. The shield flickered, but the hammer didn't pass through the energy. Instead, it was rebelled and bounced off. Then, purple lightning flashed out of the shield and struck Adam.

When the energy hit Adam, he was thrown backwards. Purple crackled and sparked around where he was hit. No one watching, neither human nor Drathan, could tell if Adam took damage from it due to his already burned skin.

Even knocked backwards, Adam righted himself before he landed. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he leapt forward again. Like before, he swung his hammer at the bubble shield. This time it cracked and dissolved into the air, but the shield on the Drathan's arm was ready to catch the hammer strike.

This time it was the invader who slid backwards from the impact. While he was still trying to regain his balance, Adam attacked his legs. The hammer head was thrust at the Arcane Obstructor's knee. The invader raised his leg, catching the attack on his armored shin.

The Drathan hissed, and a slight dent could be seen in the armor, but not enough to hamper the giant defender.

"[Proximity Discharge]," cast the Drathan.

Two orbs appeared by his shoulders, and they sent another purple energy bolt at Adam. Wary of them this time, Adam rolled to the side. One of the bolts missed but the other hit. A chunk of flesh and muscle was gouged out of Adam's left arm. He roared, but it had no effect on the Drathan.

"[Repulsive Shield]," said the Drathan harshly, and a new purple bubble surrounded him.

Adam dashed to the invader's side several times as he dodged more of the purple bolts from the orbs above his shoulders. The Arcane Obstructor turned his body while in a defensive stance to keep Adam in front of him.

"[Arcane Flare]."

A spot on the bubble became denser. A thick spike of energy erupted from the spot, but Adam's instincts seemed to be aware of it since he had thrown his hammer towards it. The energy hit Adam's hammer, slightly misshaping the head, but that was enough to disperse it.

Adam wasted no time, using his [Gladiator's Approach] pseudo-skill to teleport forward. There was a crackle of energy from the bubble shield, where Adam would have passed through if it had been movement. Adam appeared at the larger creature's face, grabbing his snout tightly with both hands as purple energy sparked on Adam's hands and arms.

"[Arcane Reinforcement]," mumbled the Drathan, unable to fully open his mouth due to Adam's hands clamping each side.

While Adam held on to the face, and brought both feet into the invader's chest, the purple glow from the skin cracks became brighter. Adam's feet landed with force on the Drathan's chest. The armor vibrated from the impact, but the Drathan didn't seem bothered by it. The invader's arm swung sideways, the magic created shield used as a weapon to hit Adam.

Adam let go and dropped, ducking under the shield. He tried sweeping the legs, but the impact stopped Adam's motion. Adam grunted from kicking an immoveable limb, toughened by magic.

With his attack halted, Adam sprang upwards from his planted leg and uppercut the Drathan in the protruding jaw. The invader's head moved, but once more it did little damage. Both of the Drathan's arms closed in, trying to catch Adam in a hug.

[Arc Shockwave] was used, as force hit the Drathan. It didn't move him at all, but the force of the shockwave rebounded from the sturdy body of the Drathan, and Adam used it to turned in the air. He then kicked off the chest of the Arcane Obstructor and flipped backwards giving him space.

Adam was gasping for breath when he landed. The heat coming off him had lowered and the intelligence had returned to his eyes. Dropped to one knee, Adam felt [Power Through] fade and the river sloshed and overflowed, leaving his soul space through his inner wounds.

It took a force of will for Adam to stand. He staggered to his hammer and tried lifting it. He was able to get the handle in his hands but instead of coming off the ground, the head stayed down while the handle was held like a golf club.

"This situation is unexpected," said the Drathan slowly. "You have injured me, though not significantly, but also seem able to handle the counter damage I can do."

A loud siren then cut the air. Horns and honking followed. One of the Arcane Obstructor's eyes stayed on Adam while the other looked at the myriad trucks speeding along the nearby highway.

"I was rushed to this world without any preparation. It seems I must learn more about what is happening."

The Tier 4 Drathan then focused an eye on the invaders around him. Many were injured and they were still on the ground, waiting for the outcome of the fight.

"I shall take my time to gain understanding of who we are fighting, and then I will return with the appropriate forces. You have been warned. [Secure Envelopment]."

Adam didn't say anything as he watched the Drathan. A new purple bubble surrounded him and a line of energy reached from it to the 28 remained Drathan. They had a thinner bubble of energy surround each, connected to the Arcane Obstructor.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"[Connected Evacuation]," he declared.

Then the Arcane Obstructor launched into the sky with the other Drathan dragged behind him. Adam watched them go, wondering if he could have defeated someone so durable even at his full power. As the Sentinel Army vehicles grew closer and their noise became louder, Adam released all his anger and power. He didn't even have the strength to use [Soul and Body Shaping] to protect his soul from the wounds.

As the vehicles circled the lookout tower and people rushed out to defend, question, and support those already there, Tom, Lamar, and Andrea walked up to Adam.

"Glad I could chase them away for you, boss," said Tom proudly.

Adam sent him a glare that was so strongly infused with [Intimidation] that the ever-fanatical Tom stepped backwards and began sweating.

"You ok, Adam?" asked Lamar. Andrea had already rushed back to an ambulance for more blood packs.

"Honestly? That really sucked," said Adam before the tension broke, his body lost all strength, and he collapsed.

***

For three days they waited and watched the base floating above them. No flyers or Drathan came from it. They could observe no movement.

There was a weird overlap in base territory from the floating Drathan base. Neither base lost its territory while both sides could use their Rift Menu in the area of contention.

Unfortunately, the Rift Menu said they were still besieged, blocking the more useful features. They couldn't use the instant construction to build better defenses, fortifications, or weapons. They also couldn't summon objects or create portals for movement.

The Rift feature that allowed him to watch and communicate within the territory wasn't helpful either. Only the bottom of the floating land was in their territory, not the area where the Drathan lived. This prevented Adam from peeking at what they were dealing with or trying to open a dialog. All he could see was chucks of earth at the bottom of their base. He couldn't even find what made it fly.

That forced them to prepare for an incoming assault in a tedious way. More Sentinel Army troops came in from all areas of their territory. It was leaving a lot of their land weakly protected by overloading this area in the east. Should trouble happen, they would need to spend time traveling to it.

It was a gamble to bring so many of their forces here, but up until now, no other race seemed able to get past their gun manned lookout towers and patrols. There was also a need for supplies to be transported to their new encampments, requiring a lot of their vehicles and fuel.

The Sentinel Army didn't camp directly under the invader base since they didn't know its capabilities. Instead, they set up a few miles away, still able to watch for incoming threats. Engineers and construction workers were setting up raised areas for new rifles and physical barriers.

During that time, Adam didn't have much to do. He communicated with the Jackson HQ to inform them of the situation and to decide on future actions. His friends listened to his story of what had happened, then everyone went about helping set up the tens of thousands of people who were camping out to wait.

Adam would have liked to help as well, but the fighting had taken a lot of out him. The XP energy that usually sat around his soul had been burned out. Without wanting to weaken himself further, Adam decided not to help around. Instead, he spent a lot of time sleeping, eating, or diving into his own soul, trying to find some way to use the remaining energy as a patch.

Since his soul was bonded with Cruxannith's, he also went into that and watched how the energy between the two felt like it had become assimilated. As time had gone by, the exchange of energy and movement smoothed out, and it was like having a large addition to his house. It was still its own space, unable to be considered an expansion of his own soul, but the gaping hole between them allowed him to use the space as freely as his own.

Thoughts of trying to make a soul graft from parts of Cruxannith's went by the wayside. He didn't know a pseudo-skill that would allow him to do that, and knocking down an outside wall in another part of the house would still create a big draft that the energy could still escape through.

No one was sure what to do regarding the Drathan. There was no current weapon able to fight off a large, floating land mass. They also didn't have a way to get up there. Even if they salvaged and enhanced a helicopter, the flying beasts would be able to take it out. Lashtam insisted they wouldn't be able to negotiate with the Drathan either, so not taking an assault force also wasn't worth it.

The Sentinel Army members who weren't here waiting for an attack were scrambling throughout their territory. Lookout towers were manned by more than two people and replacement shifts had to travel by car. Patrols were pathing along their borders more frequently.

The mission to contact the Juungii had been sent out, including Lucas, Brittney, Abbey, and Brandon. It felt like a long shot, but if the Juungii truly weren't hostile and they could form an alliance, maybe they would help against the Drathan. Or perhaps provide some information or magic to get up to the Drathan base or move it out of the territory.

The corruption in Adam's soul did not sit easy with that plan as it shouted to conquer both races. That left Adam snarling at himself and fighting his own nature, trying to separate what was him, and what was the voice from future Adam.

Towards the end of the third day, Adam was sitting on the ground, his back propped against a defensive barrier. Those around him thought he was meditating, but really, he was just grumbling to himself about the situation.

"Stupid invaders, and stupid damage to my soul," he angrily muttered, too quietly for others to hear. "Can't even let me fight like normal when I already can't level up…"

"What was that?" asked Davian's voice.

Adam's eyes snapped open, and he looked at the display in front of him.

"Nothing," he said petulantly. "Did something else happen?"

Davian coughed, a little embarrassed.

"Actually, yes. Not as bad as you have it, but we've heard from the group that went to the Juungii."

"And?"

"They weren't directly hostile, though they look down on people who have lower levels. Clear discrimination there. That left Lucas and Brittney responsible for the discussions. They ignored our people trained in negotiation and intel gathering due to their lower levels."

"How did that go?"

"Better than I would have expected. There was no fighting or posturing. We did hit a problem though. They aren't willing to give up those under their 'protection' without meeting 'the ones most blessed by the [System]'. Essentially, they want to discuss it with our strongest, which is obviously you."

Adam let out a sigh.

"When it rains, it pours, huh?"

Davian wryly chuckled as Adam slowly got to hit feet.

"Isn't the whole universe against us, Adam? Look on the bright side. There are loads of ways it could have gotten worse."

"True," agreed Adam. "Still, pulling me away from an upcoming battle site isn't the best timing either."

"I understand," commiserated Davian, "but this seems the most prudent way to move forward. There should be a large enough force to face the Drathan without you, and your team members as a group should be able to face them even more effectively than you running around solo."

Adam frowned.

"Don't get me wrong," hurried Davian. "It's always better when you're there, but we need to be able to defend the base without you too. Like with the Scyrric. Let someone else handle this for now."

"Alright," conceded Adam. "I'll stop by HQ for a shower and a briefing before heading to the Juungii."

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