Using his affinity amplified senses, he could feel that Anna and Dave were no longer holding back. Anna’s blade, let out piercing howls that would make one’s heart tremble in fear. Her movements were even faster than Jung Lee’s. Her sword and body was covered in Air energy, allowing her to break through the air resistance that pooled around her and tried to slow her actions.
“Grand Demon Lord this way!” Jung Lee said as his senses picked one up. He stabbed forward with his blade, clearing a path toward where he felt the energy coming from.
The other two changed their movements so that they followed him.
Around Dave, grenades appeared. He had only used ten or so before at one time, but now there were nearly a hundred. Dave’s attacks filled the air with gray smoke and arcane energy discharged from his Mana bolts. His grenades rushed outward, exploding and widening the path that Jung Lee had made from a meter to nearly five. The rippling grenade explosions tore apart the Xelur.
Anna and Jung Lee could only kill those that were within a certain range of them and were limited in the number and speed that they could kill. Dave’s creations and abilities were made to kill people at any distance and were effective at any of those ranges.
“Welcome the rain!” Dave yelled out. Pins fell from the sky, like shining raindrops; they were summoned within the soul shield so they couldn’t be stopped by it.
Many of them were stopped by the Xelur soul energy, but a few penetrated their tough hide. The runes on them discharged power into the Xelur. Their soul energy turned chaotic; many sustained heavy injuries while the weaker among them that couldn’t regain control of their soul energy exploded as their energy ran rampant.
The rain of pins spread over a one-hundred-meter wide area, but its effects were immediately apparent; tens of Xelur were killed either by the pins or by their allies soul energy turning into mana and exploding.
“Move!” Dave yelled.
Jung Lee’s sword cut down Xelur as he rushed forward. Now able to see the Grand Demon Lord ahead, Anna moved to his other side. The two of them automatically adjusted to each other’s fighting styles and opened a wider path. Dave followed behind, chugging a Mana recovery potion.
A roar shook the heavens and the ground.
From above, fifteen Dragons led by Malsour passed through the citadel’s soul energy shield that now only covered the inner walls of the citadel and was fluctuating wildly.
Xelur soul energy beams attacked the Dragons. Grand Demon Lords made to attack but the Dragons had come in from nowhere. They unleashed their attacks, not on the ground but on the tower of the castle.
The stone exploded outward with the force of the Dragons’ attack.
They split into two, attacking the sides of the tower that were already greatly weakened.
An enraged shout came from the top of the tower as five Grand Demon Lords jumped from the tower and unleashed their attacks upon the Dragons. Their soul energy-filled attacks cut through the air and landed on the Dragons. Their Mana barriers were broken through but only three sustained any injuries against their scales.
Malsour let out a cry as his scales revealed a bloody line.
“Watch out, one of them up there is extremely powerful,” Malsour said, even as the Dragons rushed out of the now distorted soul energy shield.
The tower tilted and then dropped. On top of the tower, a massive totem with glowing runes could be seen. As it shifted, the soul energy shield showed holes where grand working shells made it through, landing on the tower and the castle, opening up the defenses of these structures.
The tower dropped onto a section of the castle, breaking apart and crushing that section of the castle. Dust spread out from where it landed, making it hard to see on the battlefield.
A cheer rose up from the drop forces as the shield completely collapsed. The flying citadel’s fire was now unimpeded as it smashed apart the castle. The forces that had been on the walls firing their energy beams down onto the advancing drop forces were now laid bare before the flying citadel’s guns.
The five Xelur that had attacked the Dragons now dropped down into the cloud of dust, hidden from view.
Rounds were changed from the purely destructive rounds to the various summoning rounds.
Domes of darkness started to cover the castle. Xelur yelled out as grand soul gem rounds smashed upon the ground, releasing energy pools from which different Affinity spirits and energy constructs were called from, attacking the Xelur with abandon.
The battlefield became even more chaotic, neither side willing to back down, knowing that to pause was to invite death in.
Jung Lee and Anna focused on the Grand Demon Lord ahead. It didn’t have time to turn from the DCA it was fighting when Jung Lee rushed forward. His sword cut the Grand Demon Lord’s back. Jekoni, who had been within the blade, managing its strength, surged outward, killing off the Grand Demon Lord and making him his own.
Blood gathered around him, creating a whirlwind of blades that shot out at the Xelur, killing dozens as they looked in shock at their Grand Demon Lord that had turned on them.
Jung Lee’s power could be rated near the top of Emerilia; when combining his strength with the Affinity spirits, he was a force to be reckoned with.
Jekoni wasn’t as strong as Jung Lee, but his knowledge of the arcane, magic, and Mana was much more deep and profound. A creature like the Xelur, which were filled with raw energy that could be converted into Mana, were just asking to be dominated and their power used by Jekoni.
The Stone Raiders gave their lives in order to buy the strongest among them and the people of Emerilia time to react. They, sold their lives dearly, using all the tricks that they knew in order to delay the Xelur Grand Demon Lords.
Those with Weapons of Power moved in groups, engaging the Xelur Grand Demon Lords, wearing them down before landing the final blow that felled the Grand Demon Lords to their knees.
The drop forces roared with anger and power, unleashing their rage as they fought forward. In groups here and there and lines in other places, the Xelur citadel was truly a place of chaos.
Explosions illuminated the sky as beings of energy moved like a swarm, clearing out the area around where their grand working rounds had struck and carved through the Xelur, unfeeling and unflinching as they were attacked again and again by the panicked Xelur.
Jung Lee spared a glance for Dave and Anna. Anna fought like a demoness, her armor covered in blood as air moved around her with deadly grace unleashed upon the Xelur that came within her reach.
Dave was like a war god overlooking the battlefield. With a flick of his fingers, grenades or pins flew out; with a gesture, a shield would snap into existence, covering their allies and stopping a soul energy-powered beam that was coming at them. Attacks flashed at him but he didn’t seem to pay them heed.
Xelur rushed toward him in a group. He pulled out a sword but Jung Lee rushed forward, his sword dancing among them.
Dave was good with the sword, but he couldn’t approach Jung Lee’s mastery, nor did his strengths lie there.
He returned to being the omnipotent war god. While Jung Lee could kill dozens in as many seconds, Dave could kill ten times that number as he used not only his own skills but enhanced them with his creations.
Jung Lee moved forward and called upon his Affinity spirits. They rushed out from Jung Lee and appeared in the air around Dave.
He might be powerful offensively but his defense was lacking as with each attack his shields would have that much less power to draw from.
Jung Lee knew that Dave had pushed his boundaries again and again.
“Time to see what I’m capable of.” Jung Lee felt a calmness settle over him. His movements increased in speed but to Jung Lee, it felt as if he was in harmony with the world. His sword moved as if it were no longer a part of his body but a divine beast that he was merely attached to.
To those watching, they would have seen Jung Lee’s movements seem blurred as he walked forward with
steady steps, their scalps tingling at the slight smile on his lips as Xelur were cut away.
No one, not even Deia, had the ability to fight in this manner. Even with her two swords unleashed, she was only barely stronger than Anna, but Jung Lee’s power was in a whole other realm compared to them.
There was always someone stronger, and always someone to look up to.
***
Dwayne looked at the reports coming from the Xelur portal in the Densaou Ring of Fire. He then looked out of his citadel and at the growing earth works that the Jakan had laid down. His expression became dark. With every day, there were more Jakan and they were dug in like a tick.
“Hey, Dwayne, I thought that you might want a hand in negotiations,” Josh said over a party chat.
“What are you up to?” Dwayne asked, a smile unconsciously forming on his face.
“Well, I was thinking that eight flying citadels might be a way to get the Jakan to rethink their strategies and see if we might be able to turn them into mercenaries,” Josh said.
“Mercenaries?” Dwayne asked.
“We give them the opportunity to fight others that are looking to take this place. We give them transportation and supplies; they go off and destroy them. We reward them with land—kind of how the Nalheim were dealt with,” Josh said.
“They fight for honor—what makes you think that they’re willing to fight beside us?” Dwayne asked.
“We’re fighting on multiple sides. How can we be the stronger force? Also, there are people saying that they are gods and are trying to control Emerilia—it defames their god. We get them to get engaged with the Earth and the Dark Lord— paint Water, Fire, and Air as defenders and fighting avatars. I’d bet that they’d go for it. Also, I have been told that we might not need to deal with these negotiations—we might have some help,” Josh said mysteriously.
“Who?” Dwayne frowned, unsure of who might be able to sway the Jakan’s hearts.
“Well, warrior avatars, of course,” Josh said lightly, leaving Dwayne all the more confused.
Chapter 21: Clan Leader Ish’tal Che
Esa watched the battle that was going on at the western and two southern Xelur-controlled citadels. The fighting was fierce and the lines that the different sides had started out with had dissolved into a wild melee.
The Terra Alliance had the upper hand now as the last soul energy shield at the western citadel collapsed. The other citadels had been using weaker soul arrays in order to keep up their soul energy shield.
The citadels concentrated their fire on the towers and the castle, large grand workings at work as they suppressed the Xelur in those strongholds and toppled the towers onto the castles below.
Esa’s eyes flickered to the western citadel’s view. Her eyes narrowed as she saw a blur reach out and grab the falling soul shield array from the rubble and pull it into the depths of the citadel. “What the hell are they doing?” Esa pondered.
A new flash filled her vision on a different screen. This one was watching the area between Dwayne’s controlled citadels at the Jakan portal.
Flames and water seemed to come together right beside each other before revealing two people: one woman in her prime as well as an elderly and sage-looking man with a long beard. They wore red and blue clothes.
Esa’s eyes went wide as she looked upon the Lady of Fire and the Lord of Water.
Silence fell over the command center as all eyes were fixated on two of the Affinities Pantheon members.
They were the undoubted strongest existences on Emerilia and here they were, standing in midair and looking down upon the Jakan, their expressions unreadable.
They glided down toward the Jakan as if not worried in the least by the weapons that the Jakan raised in their direction nor the rushed movements as the Jakan came to full readiness.
Josh said that he had a trump card when talking to the Jakan but Esa had never thought that he would call on two gods to negotiate with the Jakan.
This was well beyond her expectations.
***
Deia paused in her movements; the three Xelur she had sliced through fell to the ground. She had been fighting with her ranged attacks and her bow for so long, keeping back from the battle in order to better command Party Zero or to protect herself when she had been pregnant. She’d been assured that she could escape no matter what but still she stayed in a support role, protected by the others, not willing to risk Koi.
Now Koi was safely in Ice City and there was little use in trying to coordinate Party Zero and the forces within the western Xelur citadel.
She’d pulled out her blades and freely joined the melee; she’d cut through a swathe of Xelur. Now she felt a great energy coming from within the ruins of the citadel’s castle.
The rest of Party Zero and the stronger members of the drop forces all looked at the center of the castle, confusion in their eyes.
Whatever it was, it felt as if it were dangerous.
“Party Zero on me!” Deia yelled and moved forward. Her blades, wreathed in blue sheets, cut through a Xelur’s sword and then cut them in two. The blue flames condensed around her blades to create physical sheets of flame.
They easily cut through everything in her path. As she moved, flames appeared behind her, looking like Dragons. Their bodies were attached to Deia by a thread of fire but they attacked as if they had their own intelligence, killing any that came near Deia as she forged ahead.
The rest of Party Zero carved a path toward her and the castle that was still being hammered by the flying citadel’s grand workings, turning into energy pools for energy-based beings to attack the Xelur and boost the drop forces’ combat strength or smashing into the castle, destroying entire sections of the castle and turning them into rubble.
Around the castle, there was an open area where the Xelur had been killed already.
Deia led Party Zero forward.
“I’ll clear us a path.” Anna rose upward into the sky, a goddess ascending as her eyes flashed with cold white light. Air currents built around her, forming into her Air titan. It was much faster than when she had used this form before and also stronger.
She turned and slashed at the castle. A blade of wind five meters tall and one across slashed into the castle, blowing away walls, debris, Xelur, and anything that lay in its path. It extended through the castle and into the main area that had been underneath the main tower.
Anna unleashed three more attacks. Her attacks left deep grooves in the ground and opened up a path to the center of the castle.
“One battering ram coming up!” Steve charged down the path that Anna had created. Rocks hit him as he charged forward, putting his axe on his back and summoning a shield on his arms. He smashed through everything that lay in his way, making the gap big enough for others to follow.
Gurren, Lox, Jung Lee, and Jekoni in his massive Xelur Grand Demon Lord body all charged forward. Deia followed them, with Suzy right behind her and Anna condensing her Air titan so that it only doubled her size. The circulating air was powerful enough to tear apart anything that came near Anna as she rushed forward.
Steve smashed through the damaged walls and into the central area that had been under the main tower.
“Such impudence!” A voice that made Deia’s eyes widen and her body feel as if it had been dunked in cold water reached her ears.
An old multicolored soul energy beam lit up ahead of Steve. It easily pierced Steve’s shield, and pierced his chest, a hole right through him.
Gurren and Lox raised their shields and their barriers to full strength. They were right behind Steve and even as they stopped the beam that had gone through Steve, their summoned shields were destroyed and their Mana barriers fluctuated wildly as they were tossed in opposite directions from the strength of the single attack.
The rest of Party Zero rushed into the open area and Deia could finally see their opponents.
There were four Xelur Grand Demon Lords standing in front of a Grand Demon Lord
with a raised hand. Their auras and the power rolling off them couldn’t be compared to the strength of the Xelur Grand Demon Lords that were fighting outside the castle.
The Grand Demon Lord that had shot Steve, Lox, and Gurren looked over them all with clear disgust in his eyes. “Kill them,” he said flippantly before he turned back toward the main soul array that controlled the soul energy shield that had covered the western citadel.
“Yes, Clan Leader!” the other four replied, their eyes focused on Party Zero.
Debris fell from the castle above and rocks had formed a small hill in the center of the area where the tower had been located. The remains of the tower had served to create a blockage that they couldn’t see the sky through.
The soul energy shield array lit up the room, as did a few torches that were strewn around the room. The only other light was provided by Party Zero’s Mana, weaponry, and the Xelur Grand Demon Lord’s runes that had been carved into their bodies.
They rushed forward; their muscles rippled, supplied with powerful soul energy.
Jung Lee’s six Affinity spirits rushed outward, condensing into one creature and then imposing themselves on Jung Lee as his aura surged wildly. He let out a cry and charged forward.
Lox and Gurren picked themselves up and rushed ahead, roaring with anger. Their armor’s runes turned a glowing gray, almost silver, as gray vapor trails were left behind by these glowing runes and their summoned weapons.
Dave rose up into the air. Pins and grenades appeared around him as gray streams reached out from his body to the others in Party Zero, strength filling them.
He let out a yell as the Xelur Grand Demon Lords unleashed their soul energy beams. Within his domain, Dave was like a god, as he distorted and broke the Grand Demon Lords’ soul beams. He sank slightly, his body being taxed to the limit even as he threw out grenades and pins that rushed at the Grand Demon Lords.
Emerilia Series Box Set 4 Page 79