Empire Burning (Emerilia Book 11)

by Michael Chatfield

  The impact smashed against Dave’s shield. Still in mid-air, he was tossed backward. He grunted with the power smashing against him.

  From his hand holding the conjuration rod, small needles appeared, shooting out at the wind. The attacker’s wind blades easily destroyed the needles he had fired out.

  The attacker’s attacks only became more frantic and powerful as they unleashed more Air blades and Air Affinity attacks at Dave. She had seized the momentum, forcing Dave to defend, unable to retaliate.

  An arrow shot out of nowhere, leaving a blazing trail behind it. The wind mage let out an angered roar as she twirled her hand; a vortex rushed out to meet the arrow.

  The arrow broke the vortex but its power was reduced to just twenty percent of its initial power.

  Dave teleported, his shield turning into a dagger.

  The wind mage’s Mana barriers took the impact of the arrow, changing colors with the impact.

  A dagger appeared in the direction that they had been pushed in. The dagger emitted a gray smoke and had a terrifying energy pouring off the runic lines that ran down the blade.

  It pierced through the Mana barrier. The wind mage’s eyes went wide as she felt the blade pierce through her neck. Her eyes rolled back as her energy quickly left her body and she dropped toward the ground. The enchantments and runes that had been placed on Dave’s armor went to work, absorbing the power of the wind mage’s Mana pool as well as any other power left in their body.

  Dave looked to Deia, nodding to her. She was already firing arrows out to assist others.

  There was no time for words as he once again disappeared, continuing on his path of destruction.

  ***

  “Portal relays are online! Flying Citadel Groups One, Two, and Three are moving in to support.” Suzy was assisting from the rear with her creations. Lu Lu unleashed lightning at the slaves. A number of protectors were around her as she acted as the link between many of the commanders on the ground and the forces in the air and those fighting in the space around Emerilia.

  “Good! Get them to start breaking through the surface! Let’s break into whatever the hell is hiding underneath us!” Gurren said.

  Dave opened a private chat to Gurren.

  “Make sure that we don’t hit Party One,” Dave said.

  “Good point,” Gurren replied.

  The portal relays took off and started to climb into the sky. A Mana barrier appeared in the direction of the slave army and the Jukal defenses; the other portals started to open up with cannon fire. The destruction reaped could hardly be believed as whatever lay in front of the portal relays was ground into nothing, leaving deep lines of craters where they passed. Missiles shot out from behind the portal relays before coming around. Grand working warheads went off, changing the sky and earth as they unleashed spells.

  The flying citadels extended across the advancing lines, moving above the fighting forces, aiding them in their advance and dropping fire on the slaves and trying to defeat the Jukal defenses.

  People dropped from above, using the portals within the flying citadels to get to the drop runes and teleport down to the planet’s surface.

  Aleph manned the aerial batteries, cutting down those fighting in the air. The aerial forces moved to the towers, charging their armor, resupplying with Mana bombs and ranged weaponry or downing recovery potions.

  “Floating defenses!” someone called out as the floating defenses could finally be seen in the sky.

  The flying citadels reacted as if they had met their nemesis, as if only one of them could remain in the sky. Their weapons all tracked onto the floating defenses, swarming them with fire. In front of the citadels, layered spell formations appeared. The runic lines all glowed, seemingly pouring power into the powerful rune sets.

  One of them ignited. A lance of Mana charged across the sky, smashing apart everything in its path and turning night into arcane blue day. The beam howled through the air before striking one of the floating defensive structures.

  The shield shook but it stayed aloft. Another beam hit it a split second later; then another and another. They timed their fire so that as the first one fired, the second one was only a fraction of a second behind. When the last of the flying citadels finished firing, the first flying citadel was once again ready to fire.

  The first floating defensive installation was overwhelmed and it dropped out of the sky, blown to pieces as it was struck by even more damaging spells. Yet another beam hit it, boring into and through it as it crumbled. With its power failing and flight systems destroyed, the installation smashed into the ground. The impact was so immense that it made the ground shake. The flying citadels focused their fire on another defensive installation that was firing out light cannons and missiles into the troops.

  The light cannons were much weaker on planets with the interfering atmosphere; as such, their attacks weren’t as powerful as the flying citadels’ by a large margin.

  Dave teleported his blade. Cutting out, he stabbed through where a human’s kidney was located. His chosen victim seemed more enraged than anything as Dave teleported away.

  “Fricking alien biology,” Dave muttered to himself. He increased the gravity of the area, slowing down the reactions of the victim and unleashing Mana bolts so fast that they didn’t have time to react. Their shield took a number of the impacts before the creature leaped forward, a wild look in their eyes.

  Dave’s eyes went wide before he gritted his teeth. He had underestimated his opponent, too confident in his own abilities.

  One of the weapons under his control fell apart and then recombined in milliseconds, unleashing a super dense dart that cut through the air. It struck Dave’s opponent, turning them into a mist.

  Dave had won but there was a grim look on his face as he pulled back from the battle, mentally chastising himself for his actions that had nearly gotten him killed and put him in a disadvantageous position.

  A terrible howling noise filled the sky as the massive needle pillars from Gunboat Isle shot out from portal relays. The noise was incredible as the needles turned into meteors, burning up from the air friction, and smashed against the ground ahead of the Emerilians in an amazing display of destruction.

  Dust was thrown up to the heavens as the ground cracked and fell apart. The underground areas of the emperor’s residence were revealed as more and more rounds smashed into the ground, tearing apart the emperor’s grounds.

  A powerful buzzing noise filled the sky. Dave looked to the arks as the portals along their sides flared with power. Energy beams shot out; spell formations formed and a thin membrane appeared. A Mana shield spread out to cover the Jukal emperor’s residence, encompassing the gardens to the rear and the emperor’s primary palace.

  Jukal orbitals started to launch attacks against the stationary arks, only to find that they were covered by powerful Mana shields themselves. The arks that had spread out now created an impenetrable shield to keep Jukal reinforcements and aid out.

  The Pandoran destroyers, seeing their job was done, turned their bows toward space. The spell formations behind them flared with more power as they left the continent behind, increasing speed over the ocean around it. They tilted upward. The arcane fire engines seemed to explode with power. The water beneath them was turned into craters under their thrust as they shot upward into the skies.

  “Jakan incoming!” Suzy said.

  From the portals, Jakan marched out, leaving their home world behind and coming to the battlefield. As their lead forces came through, they saw the ongoing battle. They increased their pace and a messenger was sent back.

  As the Emerilians had kept their side of the deal, so would they.

  The Emerilians established a beachhead and access for the Jakan. Now the Jakan were filled with excitement. More and more Jakan continued through the portals, marching into battle, joining the lines and replacing the Emerilian fighters.

  They lost more people but with their numbers, they didn’t lose any
ground. Instead, they advanced as they brought in more of their support. Their entire force was at a steady advance.

  Dave’s eyes narrowed as he looked to where he sensed powerful auras coming from.

  Thirty or so slaves shot out of the ruins of the battlefield underneath the emperor’s residence. They stood above the destruction like kings overlooking their domain. Behind them was a cadre of powerful experts at their command.

  “Battlefield lords,” Bob said over the party channel. “They’re people capable of making a kingdom within the battlefield that lays under the emperor’s residence. They aren’t to be underestimated.”

  The thirty people’s powerful auras covered the battlefield. The morale of the slave army surged as their attacks increased in speed and ferocity.

  “We’ve fought gods and we’re waging war on the Jukal Empire—what are some battlefield lords?” Lox barked, his words heard by all in the Emerilians forces.

  The Emerilians grit their teeth and fought on.

  Dave didn’t try to focus on the constant stream of people who were being pulled out by healers or being sent back to Ice City via portal to be put back together, or those who were put off to the side, their worries in this life over.

  Fire, Air, and Water’s auras surged to meet the battlefield lords as they moved into the air.

  “Masters, support!” Fire called out. She was the leader of the master’s force, a group of the most powerful people across Emerilia—masters of weapons, the arcane, wielders of Weapons of Power, many of them Legendary figures in the lands that they came from. Among the ranks, there was Party Zero, Denur and some of her direct children, Bob, Fire, Water, Air, Jelanos, and Alamos. There were overseers wearing battle cloaks, dwarven protectors, elves, humans, gnomes, orcs—nearly fifty people from all across Emerilia who held the title of strongest.

  There were two divisions under them, made of another fifty people a piece, bringing their strength to one hundred and fifty.

  “Well, these pricks are going to be a pain.” Steve floated in the sky. Runes shone across his soul gem body as he twirled his axe in his hands.

  The battlefield lords looked at the masters fighting groups, their disdain clear. They were seasoned veterans of battle. Unless someone had been in the battlefield under the emperor’s residence, they didn’t even place them in their eyes.

  Fire took a step forward, Mal beside her. Flames appeared around him, forming into a massive demonic avatar made of flames that towered over Fire.

  “Kill them,” Fire said. The two forces turned into streams of lights as they rushed at the enemy.

  Dave casually pulled out grand workings, activating them and tossing them into the air. They appeared all around him before disappearing with a flash; they reappeared instantly among the battlefield lords.

  Overlapping spell formations unleashed curses on the battlefield lords as their spell formations started to form, aiming to attack the Emerilian masters.

  The grand workings only needed moments to activate as the enemies’ spell formations took more time to create.

  The battlefield lords cried out in rage as they felt multiple curses fall on their bodies. Their power surged, trying to get rid of the curses and hexes directly affecting this combat ability.

  Spells clashed between them. Terrifying Mana ripples and shock waves blasted through the night sky.

  There was only time for one exchange of spells before the two forces clashed. The powerful impacts and strikes were enough to kill anyone in an instant if they allowed it through their defense.

  Even Dave’s eyes went wide as he saw the overwhelming power of the battlefield lords. He was reminded of the time that they had gone up against the fifty or so elites of the Xelur clan, giving them no time to voice their regrets as they pounded them into nothing with constant spell formation and artillery cannon fire.

  The slaves’ army opened up as they were being pushed back. Under the flying citadels’ support, the Emerilian forces started to advance at an even faster rate.

  The sky became a deadly place as the Aleph aerial batteries went to work and the aerial fighting forces that were using the tower rushed out to aid their allies already engaged in combat.

  Dave dodged out of the way of a spear. The air of the spear pushed against his armor’s Mana barrier, pushing him backward. He disappeared from where he was. A bow formed in his hands as he fired at the spear-wielding battlefield lord that had appeared.

  A roar that shook the heavens sounded out around Bob. A resplendent atmosphere filled the sky. He turned into a gray blur; his claws lurched out, weaving through the battlefield lord’s defenses and tearing them apart.

  Dave saw the cold smile on Jung Lee’s face. His body was wreathed in gray smoke as he combined the six Affinity spirits that were in his body, reaching new heights of power.

  Dave’s opponent moved with lightning speed, their spear elusive, quick, and powerful at the same time, seemingly like a snake bobbing around as it looked at its prey. He advanced on Dave, who was feeling just a little bit pressured.

  Dave let out a shout as the man got closer. His voice was greatly amplified, making the spear wielder grunt. But injuries were nothing new to him; instead, anger surfaced on his face, as if annoyed with himself for being injured by such a lowly being.

  Dave disappeared and reappeared. In his hands, a cannon appeared, the barrel next to his opponent’s face. The cannon glowed with resplendent light, firing out a grand working shell that tore through the opponent’s head like paper.

  “Overkill much?” Steve barked.

  Dave didn’t say anything as weapons and parts started coming out from his items of holding. The items that had been hovering in the air supporting the forces now shot to Dave. The panels came together and the vault soul gems added to one another as a torso built around Dave; then shoulders, a neck, lower legs. The parts came together like some grand puzzle, forming into a massive person.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Steve yelled, looking at the goddamn magical mecha Dave had created. “When the shit did you have time to build that?” Steve complained. “Trying to become a damn Transformer?”

  Dave’s power surged as he rushed forward into a group of the battlefield lords and their retinues. A blade formed in his hands and tore through the sky with a howl. Dozens died in the attack as he teleported into the air. The gravity under his feet increased. Those who weren’t allied with them dropped to the ground, their eyes bulging out at the pressure that rained down on them. Dave waved his hand imperiously, throwing out pins into the sky. Behind them, spell formations activated as they shot toward the ground in a deadly shining rain.

  Dave conjured another sword, leaving a path of death behind him as the pins ended those who had been below his feet.

  The cannon on his shoulder fired. The shell slammed into a defensive structure on the ground. He teleported away. Once again, the battlefield lords barely held any interest to him, the basic fighting forces nothing more than ants to him in his most powerful form as the cannons and orbs around him unleashed spells and enchanted shells upon the Jukal defenses. His display of overpowering might made those on the battlefield tremble in fear.

  They had lived fighting one another, but seeing the ease with which Dave destroyed their lines, their morale plummeted.

  “Someone jealous?” Suzy yelled.

  “Think he’s making up for something?” Gurren asked Lox slyly, over the party chat.

  “Well, screw this!” Steve yelled. He disappeared from the battlefield as Dave finished forming his new body that was fifteen meters tall, covered in runic lines. It looked like a much larger version of the Devastator armor, except it was covered in orbs at its joints and there were two massive cannons mounted next to his head.

  “Excuse me—coming through. What’s the right of way with a portal?” Steve asked.

  “Go through the other way, dumbass!” Lox yelled back.

  “Be back in a mo!” Steve said sweetly. Steve disappeared throu
gh the ship portal that was allowing the flying citadels through.

  “Wait!” Lox barked.

  “What the hell is he doing?” Deia asked.

  No one said anything, as if collectively shrugging, and continued on fighting.

  Around Dave, gray smoke seemed to cover his massive war machine. The gravity was much higher and it was harder for the battlefield lords and their minions to control their Mana.

  Dave brandished two swords in his hands. “I’m getting that damn weapons master class!” He roared and disappeared from where he had been. His body flashed as he appeared next to a fighter. His sword lashed out, aiming to cleave them in two; they dodged, and struck out. A Mana bolt shot out from one of the orbs, vaporizing their shield as needles that had been hidden from them shot out. Their body withered away and fell into dust. Their power rushed toward Dave, being absorbed by his mecha.

  “I thought you were a conjuration mage!” Suzy asked.

  “Ah, well, I’d say I’m more of a crafter,” Dave replied.

  “You took a fantasy-class mage and you turned it into a techno mage,” Malsour said.

  “Guess so,” Dave said.

  “This is broken, so broken,” Gurren said.

  “Will you just shut up and fight? Don’t worry—the terrible techno mage is all just an illusion,” Lox said, as if he were the authority on it.

  “I really don’t want to do my maths again to learn all this techno stuff,” Gurren said.

  “Fat chance of that,” Jung Lee said.

  “Look, even the samurai-possessed ghost dude alchemist is arguing!” Gurren said, sounding depressed.

  Even as they talked, they were fighting the battlefield lords and their minions to their limits. The fights weren’t easy, but on the party chat, they could talk freely. They weren’t the most normal batch of people when it came to being in fights.

  “How have we survived this long?” Induca asked in a voice filled with curiosity.

  “I have no idea,” Deia said.

  “Can someone help me with this druid? He looks like the world’s most messed-up potted garden rolled into one! I don’t know if he’s trying to get a pruning or saying hello.” Gurren sounded confused.