by Matthew Peed
I frowned at the memory of how bloodthirsty I became with just a few dozen necromancers in my aura. She not only had hundreds of necromancers but also thousands of undead. She had held out this long due to her nature being the complete opposite, but also since her mind was firmly locked in her avatar. Apparently, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt her core, and I worried what that was doing to her mentally.
I shook away my idle thoughts. The bridge of the station was a hive of activity with the final preparations being made to the weapon. I pulled up the schematics myself, revealing a rod composed of an osmium, or as the locals called it “Ismium,” shell. Ismium was denser than tungsten, that was true. But the main reason I chose it over tungsten was its magical properties.
I could probably have enchanted it with scripts until every speck of surface was covered and it would hold up fine. It even beat mithril out by a thin margin. The con to that was the magic enscripted on it would be relatively . . . weak. It was like comparing copper and wood to mana transfer. It would serve my purpose, though, and the mana cost was lower than tungsten in the long run.
Next, there was a core of mithril. At forty meters long and one meter thick, it was the most expensive piece of mithril I had ever created. With my army continually expanding, I’d had to create it with mana. I thought I would cry tears of oil when I felt the massive mana drain. Seriously, I knew that if I didn’t end this war soon, I would start going dry.
My Rod from God, as they were called back on Earth, was a mighty weapon with magic involved. There would be zero air resistance and constant acceleration until impact. It wouldn’t be absorbed afterward with my “signature” on it, so Alara wouldn’t be able to repair her dungeon until it was removed. I added a few more tricks just in case. You could never go wrong with a guidance computer . . . guidance spell.
“Rod from God is a little self-serving,” I mumbled to myself. “Hmm, let’s call it Starfall. It is falling from space, after all, and is basically a meteor.” I nodded.
The name appeared next to the countdown, which read three minutes. Personally, I would have liked to go warn Alara about what was about to happen, but if the necromancers were keeping extra care to observe her, the plan might be given away. I would have to harden my heart and apologize afterward.
I double-checked everything. With all my calculations, I estimated I would be able to punch through at least half of her ninety-plus floors. Even with that it would be an uphill battle for my forces, who were ready and waiting at the barrier’s edge. My commanders had their orders. My own personal weapons were ready, toys I’d worked on in my spare time. Me and mine were ready.
Chapter 12
Louella
“Is this all of them?” I inquired of the guards who were sent to gather the living and dead from the attacking force after the fire had died down. Next time, Ezal and I would need to have a bit more practice before we launched spells at the enemy. We’d both thought it would do a quarter of the amount of damage it did.
“Yes, my lady. Only ten survived . . . and survived is pushing it,” the guard reported with a salute.
I tried to not notice the slight terror in his eyes. Not that I could blame him. With my heightened senses, I could see the destruction we wrought. I couldn’t imagine what it was like up close with the sound and smell of the still burning around you for over a hundred meters.
“I’m sure there were observers. Hopefully this will have sent a message,” I replied offhandedly. I didn’t want to appear cruel, but I also needed to show that I’d meant to do this. If people thought we couldn’t control our own power, they would lose confidence in us quickly. Last thing anyone wanted was a leader who might level the city because they couldn’t control their spells.
“Yes.” The guard nodded furiously. “I doubt anyone would want to attempt an attack after that display.” I was glad to see his patriotism was stronger than his fear of me.
“Thank you. You can return to your duties,” I ordered.
I watched him go, then saw Ezal float down to land on Lucifer’s back behind me. She was looking tired. Even if it was only one spell, it still was quite powerful. I changed my opinion when she pulled a bag from her waist and emptied her stomach into it.
“Damn morning sickness,” she moaned.
“I hope that wasn’t a space bag,” I said, pointing to the bag in her hands.
“Huh? Ah, Regan gave me this a while ago. Said I would need it eventually after explaining its use.” Ezal shook her head. “It absorbs all the . . . stuff and makes it vanish.”
“That’s pretty useful. Have you tried putting other things inside?” I asked curiously.
“Yeah, gone without a trace. Though when I tried it on a prisoner, it wouldn’t close until his arm was removed,” she replied.
“I hope he earned it for you to try something like that,” I said, worried she was going crazy from the pregnancy and stress from her new position.
“Yeah. Raped a bunch of women and then sold them into slavery in another town. Tried to do the same thing here, but the obelisks struck him before he could get them into a private home.”
“What do you plan to do with him?” I asked, anger leaking from my tone. I hated slavery more than just about anything else short of the necromancers. At least they have the courtesy to kill you first. You are fully aware when it comes to slavery.
Ezal smirked evilly. “Why, he will be a sacrifice to the great Lord Regan,” she said with an exaggerated bow.
“At least the scum of the world is remotely useful here,” I said as I laughed at her antics.
“Speaking of scum, Malaki should have healed a few of them enough for us to question,” she said, glancing toward the stockade. I nodded in reply.
“Give them a few more minutes to recover. It’s not like they have anywhere to run,” I said with a look to the stockade as well.
“Yeah, I doubt whoever was behind this will want them back. He will probably claim there was a coup or something to get out of the blame.” Ezal sighed. Nobles and lords always had a way to get out of trouble. Though, something of this scale would have backing from at least two nobles. My neighbors, if they could be called that, were not developed enough to support an army even of this size.
“Nobles,” I replied and looked around. Quite a few people had showed up to offer their services, but I didn’t know any exact numbers. “How was the response from the town?”
Ezal was the one organizing the defense. I only showed up to help out, plus it was my duty to stand with my people, though I was surprised it only took our one attack to take them all out. I knew that Ezal was powerful, but she was almost to the level of a national weapon, even without my help. It made me shudder to think Regan could have hundreds of more powerful minions in that hole of his.
“It was decent. Most everyone that we expected to show, showed. The dwarves had the biggest presence last night. Speaking of which, Nastok would like to speak with you. None of the visiting nobles showed up until after they heard about us turning the invaders into ash, with the exception of Lord Skywood and Lord Wintergrasp. They both responded to your call immediately,” Ezal reported with a business tone.
“We’ll give them this one chance. I don’t want any more bloodshed for a day or two,” I said. I was pleased that Elder Yuin and Lord Brine had showed up. It raised my opinion of both of them several notches. The other nobles had managed to sink lower on my internal ranking, which I didn’t think was possible until now.
“All the guilds with combat personnel responded. I saw many issues that need to be resolved before we are attacked again, but overall, it was a good drill,” Ezal finished with a grin.
I nodded in agreement. There were several issues that needed to be addressed. Mainly, our early response. We needed to know much faster in the future.
“We’ll have to make sure to thank whoever was kind enough for the free targets. If I had known we could take them out so easily, I would have had the regular forc
es train a bit,” I said, putting my hand on my cheek. While combat training was good and all, an actual battle would have been good for many of the newer recruits that had never seen bloodshed outside of practice sparring.
“I’m sure Regan would tell you the same thing, but it’s best to finish them off quickly.” She shrugged. Of course to her, an eliminated threat was a good threat.
“Fair enough. Alright. Let’s go welcome our new guests,” I said, noticing that Malaki was walking out of the tent.
Lucifer made his way over, and we hopped down when we were closer. Everyone made way for us, with some fear in their eyes, I noticed again. I guess I couldn’t blame them. We did just incinerate an army with one spell. I couldn’t help wondering if we were going to get a new nickname. I pushed the flap to the tent aside and walked in.
The ten prisoners were chained with mana-suppressant shackles. They all looked young, as if they had just enlisted, the oldest being somewhere in his early twenties. Steeling myself for whatever stories they tried to spin, I looked around, trying to decide which one I wanted to ask first.
A young man who looked to be just past his seventeenth birthday was staring at the ground as if he couldn’t understand what was happening. He was in perfect health now after Malaki had patched him up. I pointed at him. Hopefully with his youth he would be more inclined to tell me the truth rather than protect whatever lord he served.
Two of the guards moved forward and hauled the young man to his feet. I stepped back out and moved to the tent next to the stockade. It was enchanted with soundproofing and would allow us to ask questions and keep them from creating some fabrication. I took a seat in the throne-like chair that felt a bit out of place for the situation.
I couldn’t take it and turned to Ezal. “What’s with this over-the-top chair?”
She sat next to me on a much more normal chair and chuckled. “The soldiers felt it suited you.”
“Should I feel honored?” I asked seriously.
“Yup, I think that would be the best way to take it. After yesterday, I think we both have quite the little following.”
I let out a breath of air and turned to the young man, who sat in the chair across the table from us. He stared at us, but it felt like he was looking right through us. He was a decent-looking man if a bit on the weak side cultivation-wise. Likely a commoner, either having just joined the army or having been drafted as they passed through his village.
“Young man?” Ezal asked, tapping Feuer on the ground. He jerked in his seat but only shifted his eyes toward her.
“What is your name?” I asked with a gentler tone.
“Trido . . . Trido Guill,” he answered lifelessly.
“Who do you serve?” Ezal asked.
“Duke Neil,” Trido answered slowly. It didn’t sound like he was trying to think of a lie, more like he was just in too much shock.
That name sounded familiar. I tilted my head as I thought about it. Then it struck me that he was the noble who’d sent bandits after me a long time ago. I wasn’t in a position to do anything about it then, but I could now.
“What do we know about Duke Neil?” I asked Ezal.
“He was the lord who owned this land before you, my lady. While he did send the one attack, there hasn’t been anything since, which leads me to believe it was a fake. Probably bandits trying to pin it on a high noble if they were caught. He is Lord of Ebony Blade, our nearest neighbor after all,” she explained.
I bit my thumb as I thought the information over. Nobles were a pain in the ass to deal with on a normal occasion. Something like this could cause any number of headaches, depending on how the proceedings were handled. It would be a few days before he even knew his army was gone, but that still wasn’t enough time for me to appeal to the king about the situation. Depending on what Duke Neil said in defense, I could find my head on the chopping block.
“Sounds like he’s going to be a pain,” I said, rubbing my temple.
Ezal nodded. “I agree.”
“At least we sent a message. If he decides to do anything, it won’t be until after he either gathers a larger army or gets the king on his side,” I said, considering for a moment.
“Or gets lured with power by the necromancers. Though, currently it’s suicide to choose that path,” Ezal added.
“Are . . . are you going to go . . . go to war with him?” Trido asked, shifting back and forth. Some energy had returned to his eyes.
“That depends on the ten of you,” I answered honestly.
“My . . . my family. They still live on Duke Neil’s land,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I believe that is the danger of war, boy,” Ezal said.
“I . . . I know. Still isn’t there some way to prevent harm to the commoners?!” He jerked up in his seat but was held by the shackles. The guards reacted by slamming him back into the chair and pressing on both of his shoulders.
“Hmm, I understand what you’re trying to say, and I almost want to say I feel for you. But what would have happened to my people had your friends managed to break through the walls? I honestly can’t say I feel any sympathy toward your situation,” I said, leaning forward to rest my chin on my folded hands. “Yes, we bested you. Bested you in incredibly easy fashion, but the opposite could have happened.”
Trido remained silent for a long time, then looked straight in my eyes. “I’m willing to become a slave! Please—anything to spare them,” he begged. Tears ran down his cheeks from, I assumed, the desperation he felt at the situation.
“My lady scorns slavery!” Ezal shouted at him. “If she made you a slave, she would be making herself a hypocrite!”
I nodded. If I made him a slave, I would indeed be turning my back on what I preached. Even Wrakras was a gray area because he was on loan from Regan. The thought of bending someone to my will for the entirety of their lives just rubbed me the wrong way. I really had no desire to do that even to my enemies. A swift death was much easier to manage.
“My apologies! But I have nothing else to offer!” Trido cried in horror.
“Let’s put all this aside for the moment,” I said, seeing we had gotten sidetracked. “Why did Duke Neil attack?”
“I wasn’t told, but I heard from the other soldiers that the lord here was in possession of his property and he was reclaiming it. Some of the speculation was that the deeds were in his name, and if the lord . . . if you were to die, then it would revert back to him,” Trido answered.
I burst out laughing. Ezal and Trido looked at me funny. It took a moment, but I calmed down. “So the father doesn’t know what the son was doing.” Then a thought crossed my mind. “Or the son is playing the father.”
“My lady?” Ezal asked, confused.
“Ah, sorry. It’s true I bought this land from a Duke Neil. I was able to meet the man who put the entire area up for sale. One Marquis William Neil, or the son of Duke Neil Senior. I wonder if the son used all the money on gambling and whorehouses by now. Anyway, I have a feeling that William may have put the land up without telling his father,” I explained.
“Lord Neil has been bedridden for months now, but the church has recently started healing everyone for a fraction of the cost or even for free. I heard a saintess has even been meeting the high nobles to cure them of any aliments they have,” Trido suddenly said.
“So, the son wanted to reclaim the lost territory before his father recovered,” Ezal mused.
If the church was moving, we would need to be even more careful going forward. The church relied on the massive donations of gold from the nobles to operate as it did. If the noble who attacked us had the backing of both the church and the king, we would seriously be in some trouble. Regan or no Regan.
“That would be . . .” I started to say when it suddenly felt like the world was coming apart under my feet. I felt a wave of terra mana coming from the mountains that reminded me of a wave at the beach. I jumped to my feet and stumbled outside just in time to see a ripple in the su
rface that was at least half a meter high and moving from the direction of the mountains.
“What the hell is going on?!” Ezal shouted, floating in the air next to me.
A man dressed in an earthly green robe ran forward. “Reporting! The Mages Guild just sent a message that something struck the realm from the heavens in the north. The mana fluctuations could be felt from there!”
“Is the town in any danger?!” I demanded quickly.
“If the waves intensify, we could be in danger.” The man looked to the north with a worried gaze. I followed the direction and saw another wave that was a bit higher than the last emerge from somewhere on the mountain. If they got much higher, we would be rebuilding the town in the morning.
“Gather all the Terra mages! Have them redirect it, absorb it, or do whatever they can think of to protect the town!” I ordered.
The man saluted, then hopped on a horse and took off toward the mage’s tower. The first wave struck the town, and parts of buildings cracked and broke off, falling to the street. I could vaguely hear some screaming from here. I looked at Ezal, who nodded, and we both shot higher into the air, heading for town.
A message started to blast through the air. “Attention citizens! All Terra mages report to the north face of town! An emergency is taking place! Your tier doesn’t matter! Everyone is needed!”
“Good, he found an Air mage,” I mumbled as I heard the message.
Everyone was responding as best they could to the unknown incident. Mages ran toward the north side of town and formed a line a few dozen meters from the edge of it. They stood on the foundations of the third line of the walls that were being raised. The mana-suppressing qualities would help keep them stable.
A formless wall made of terra mana developed in front of the massive line of nearly two thousand people. As there wasn’t a target or even a way to accurately deal with the incoming wave, their best hope was to try to get the energy of the wave to dissipate into the surroundings. I looked everyone over, unable to miss their worried expressions.