A Lich's Love (Death Knight Series Book 5)

by Michael Chatfield

  Now it would come time to test out whether they worked or not.

  He had come up with the rotating barrel formation. The two fleets would spread out, creating a cylinder in the air. The cylinder would rotate in the air, with ships dropping down on one side, then gliding over to the side, rising back up and circling around. This way, one force was defending the other, taking hits from the Drafeng hitting them with their cannons and then rotating out of the line of fire. They found that it was harder to turn their ships and go against the wind but if they reduced their speed, it was possible. If they cut all of their sails, then they could turn their ships in the air so that they could rest their cannons at different times.

  It was based off the formation that they had used when they had established the beachhead on Cheon. Now they would just be using it in the skies above Dena.

  When firing their cannons, the mages needed to spend more power to course correct, but with testing, the mages and the helms people had gotten good at working together to control where the ships were supposed to be going.

  “All right then, let’s do this,” Admiral Raye said. “Send up the signal.”

  They weren’t far from the platforms now. They could see the different towers and the mounds that were formed from crystal and stone.

  Behind the ship, thick streamers of potent chaotic power were released from the conversion towers. Most of it was taken in by the Drafeng and the chaotic beasts, but there was just so much being converted that it was leaving a thick fog behind the platform.

  The ships moved into formation. They cut their sails and rolled out their cannons. They started to rotate slowly, getting used to it. They had done several drills in the past day.

  Behind the rotating formation of the two fleets, there were the three Guardian ships. Admiral Raye looked over to them. It was his job to distract and do as much damage as possible; it would be up to those three ships to bring down the Drafeng platforms.

  “Good luck,” Admiral Raye said into the wind and then looked at the target.

  “Sails are stowed. Guns have been run out,” the signal officer reported.

  “Very good. Then I guess we should start blasting these bastards back the way they came from. Signal the fleet to increase their speed and go off the flagship.”

  Colors were run out again. The fleet increased their speed.

  Chaotic Beams cut over the rough seas, creating trenches where they passed.

  The mages were all ready. Mana barriers snapped into existence. Beams missed the fleet here and there, hitting the air; others painted the mana barriers and lit up the faces of the ship crews.

  “Well, now I know the purpose of those odd-looking crystals. They’re cannons,” Raye muttered as he held onto the rigging.

  “Steady!” Captain Devra said.

  Admiral Raye watched the battlefield as if he wasn’t a part of it, looking for the advantages and adjusting his plan accordingly. “Target those beam towers. Have half of the ships using Guardian purification rounds.”

  The signal officer organized the flags and the signals went up.

  Raye watched the platform. He didn’t need a ranger to know when they were in firing distance. “Fire!”

  The flagship’s cannons fired. The rest of the fleet, hearing their guns, fired their own. The formation shifted but those at the helm and the supporting mages corrected their positioning and they continued to rotate. New ships fired as they got a clear line of fire; new mages took over, creating mana barriers to protect against the beam weapons.

  The first volley was wild. With the ships moving, their shots were all over the place.

  The second volley was better, taking out a number of the beam towers.

  The Drafeng islands were all at the same height, making it so that they couldn’t fire over one another.

  “The other platforms are trying to go around on either side and are going lower so that their towers can hit us from underneath!” someone yelled from the crow’s nest.

  I hate dealing with a smart enemy.

  “How fast are they moving?”

  “Slowly. Should take them twenty or thirty minutes or so to complete the movement. Their momentum is too high to counteract quickly.”

  Beams cut through the air and struck a ship. The mana barriers snapped up, but there were tens of the beams. A Guardian shield snapped over the ship and blunted the attack. Another ship was hit with multiple beams; it activated its Guardian barrier, sucking up the mana in the area around it.

  “They’re focusing their attacks—increase the rotation speed of the formation!” Raye said.

  The third valley took out more beam towers that crumbled, falling on the other buildings below and crushing them.

  War raged in the skies. Above the seas, beams lanced out from the Drafeng platforms, striking the mana barriers that were thrown up to defend the fleet.

  Cannon crews were quickly covered in black smoke and dust. They reloaded, aimed, and fired, the ships rolling with each barrage.

  As they rotated out of the front lines, the mages would drink the expensive mana recovery potions as if they were water, recovering quickly for the next round.

  “They’re heading in,” a watcher said.

  Raye looked over the three beaten-up merchant ships that had been hiding on the other side of the formation. Now they dropped below the formation, below the islands. Their enchantments blazed with power and the dragon-phoenix boat flapped its wings, taking up the forward position and leading the charge.

  “Send word to the elementals!” Raye said.

  “I think that they got the message already, Admiral.” The signal officer pointed into the sky.

  Admiral Raye saw three different humanoid shapes that were made from air, from lightning and storm clouds, from the sea.

  Thunderwing and his cousins stood upon the sky, commanders of their own realms.

  Dena seemed to fight back as the skies that had been dotted with a few clouds now rolled with dark clouds that came in from the four corners of the world. Lightning sparked between the ominous clouds as they started to twist together.

  Rain hailed down from the heavens. The weight of the attacks caused the platforms to dip; water got into the holes and warrens, trying to fill them up. The rain cut into the crystal and stone constructs.

  Dozens of tornadoes dropped from the sky, hitting the platforms and causing them to dip once again. The wind’s cutting blades tore apart buildings, through the crystal, Drafeng, and anything that was not secured or hidden within the platforms.

  Lightning as thick as a man crackled down through the storms. The arcing lightning ran across the surface of the platforms, traveling through the water that had invaded the deeper reaches.

  The island was lit up with a new light as the attacks continued.

  Raye looked to the three ships. Under the cover of the massive storm, they had gotten closer. Now they were entering the range of the storm. A mast was torn from one of the ships and sent flying, but they didn’t slow or turn back; they stayed the course.

  “Maintain fire until my order!” Raye yelled. Rain was coming off the massive storm. Though not the cutting rain that injured and killed those on the platforms, still it worked to soak and cool the crews.

  The beams found new targets, shooting at the elementals, but waves of water appeared in front of them, protecting them from the attacks with ease.

  ***

  “All right, you bastards! Don’t fall off now! Everyone ready?” Anthony yelled to everyone across the three ships, his voice magically enhanced.

  A yell returned from the three ships. A stray bolt of lightning struck a ship, scorching it and starting a fire, but the rain quickly put it out. The Guardians who had been struck got back onto their feet and found new footholds on the ship.

  Anthony stood at the helm. Dave and Penelope were guiding them now.

  They tilted to the side as a beam went across their bow and main deck.

  “Mages!” Claire yelled
.

  Barriers snapped into existence. They were just a few hundred meters from the platforms now.

  The cannon fire still cut into the platform as the storms raged on. The platforms took the hits and kept pushing forward.

  It would be great if they could just hit the platforms from a distance and then wear them down, but the Drafeng beam weapons had a longer range than the cannons and the elementals were using their own stored power to fight. There was only so much that they could do. Their power was great, but they would have to pay decades to regain this amount of power.

  The ships shook in the storm but Anthony grinned. He might be a damn skeleton, but hell if he didn’t feel alive. “Dave, Penelope, take us up!”

  With the rain and wind whipping at the rigging and stored sails, the wings of the ships flapped harder as the two familiars let out their war cries, dragging the ship and its crew to the platform.

  The other ships followed behind.

  They rose just meters away from the side of the platform, like whales coming from the deep. They dropped down and leveled off, skirting over the top of the platform.

  Beam weapons that could finally see them opened up.

  The attacks rained down on the mana barriers that were colored purple. The enchantments on the ship glowed brighter and with greater power, they started to burn into the ship as the power was too much for the material they were carved into. They crashed into buildings and towers; crystals started to collapse around them as they drove forward.

  Anthony let go of his hat and it was torn off by the wind. He grabbed his sword; hands reached out and held onto his shoulders. Bruce, Solomon, and Wendy took on their true form, standing with him.

  They turned, weaving through the tower city. The beam weapons found them from time to time, but it was rare as they hid among the towers, aiming for the mound in the middle of the platform.

  Beam weapons lanced out from the mound as they cleared the city. Drafeng emerged from holes and warrens, firing beams from their mouths.

  “Jump!” Anthony yelled.

  Guardians ran and jumped off the ships. Those who were belowdecks smashed their way out.

  They hit the ground, rolling and getting back onto their feet.

  Anthony sent his sword whizzing out. It tore through Drafeng. Dave and Penelope reverted to their humanoid forms, appearing with Anthony and the others.

  The mages were the last to leave the three ships. They hit the ground, carving a groove into the ground, killing the Drafeng in front of them. They carved their way into the platform, killing hundreds, possibly thousands of Drafeng. As they hit larger rock and crystal protrusions, they exploded into splinters.

  The tornadoes had died off; the rain was no longer cutting but lightning illuminated the storm-covered platforms.

  The Guardians rushed forward, getting into their formations among the chaos.

  The archers brought the Drafeng under fire as the melee types continued the charge. They carved a path through the Drafeng; they moved through the trails that the ships had made, moving through bulwarks, the rudder, and the masts that had shattered.

  The terrain became rough as they met the full force of the Drafeng. The Guardians looked as if they would be swallowed up by the numbers. Instead, they hit like a bull through a wheat field. Drafeng were tossed to the side as the formations struck.

  Their organization turned into groups. The Guardians worked with their groups to push forward and support one another. Their speed slowed but only slightly as they displayed their full killing might.

  Spells cut through the Drafeng; the melee fighters were like unstoppable wrecking balls.

  Arrows, pistols, rifles, spears, axes: Drafeng met a wall of weapons and the masters wielding them. The power of Dena flowed through the guardians. Each of them were champions of their own race. Their spells and their attacks contained the flames of the Guardians within, burning through the chaotic power.

  Troga hit a chaotic beast, his axe finding purchase as he cut them to the side.

  Damien took on his werewolf form as his hammer struck out, hitting a chaotic beast and sending them flying. He waded into the waves of Drafeng, his body glowing with purple flames.

  Tairlyn’s pistols rumbled, her rounds ending the Drafeng’s charge.

  Tommie tossed out small fighting bots.

  Aila’s power threaded into them, controlling and powering them as they ran into battle, working together to take down Drafeng. She pulled out her daggers and slid forward underneath a Drafeng, cutting their stomach open; curses ran through their veins and they dropped forward.

  She tossed herself to the side. Using a rock, she stepped on it, flinging herself out of the way of a following chaotic beast’s paw. Her dagger flashed out and grabbed hold of the arm with its hook. She used the purchase to fling herself forward, burying her other dagger into their eye. They dropped and curses ran through their body.

  Aila twisted and jumped from them, landing on another Drafeng and burying her daggers into their neck.

  Tommie’s grenades went over her and the Drafeng she was on, laying down a wave of destruction on a group that was charging them. He jogged forward, his left arm changing into a crossbow. He fired it, taking out three Drafeng as his right turned into a shield, taking a beam impact from a Drafeng.

  Tommie let out a yell as he charged the beam, shaking his left arm and it transformed once again. He fired his blunderbuss, clearing a path ahead of his shield. He retracted it, but the shield didn’t want to go all the way down.

  Dave sent arrows across his back, killing several Drafeng as Penelope’s spell formations shot out beams of fire that turned the water into steam underneath the Drafeng, causing them to yelp out in pain.

  Bruce was locked in combat with a Drafeng elite, the two of them exchanging blows enough to make one’s eyes hurt.

  Solomon appeared on the Drafeng. His blade seemed to move lazily as it cut into the Drafeng. The pain made them pause and Bruce used the leverage of his staff to hit them to the side.

  Solomon turned into a cloud, and appeared running behind Bruce.

  Bruce ran into the ground, his staff hitting out as Solomon evaporated and appeared, his blades doing the work.

  Green and white light weaved together. A rain of seeds fell upon the path ahead. As they landed in the water, the seeds grew into thorned vines, looking like forest-born tentacles that lashed out to the Drafeng. The thorns stuck in their hides; they leaked power and then the Guardian Flames that burned within the Guardian’s armor burned through the chaotic power.

  Drafeng who had fallen to the Guardians were burned and withered by the Guardian Flame.

  Anthony stopped a blade with his sword and rolled to the side. A magical spear shot through the opening. Claire anticipated his moves as he cut through a Drafeng’s leg; they dropped to the ground, snarling, as a spear shot from the ground and through their skull.

  Guardians fell, torn apart by beasts or hit by an attack they didn’t see. Their numbers thinned as they advanced.

  “Why aren’t they getting back up?” Anthony yelled to Claire as he blocked and shot forward with a burst of speed. The Drafeng tried to catch him, exposing their chest as a spike of crystal tore through their chest.

  “The chaotic power here is too strong! Once they have been hit too much, then the power in their bodies can’t pull them back together,” Claire yelled back.

  Anthony saw one Guardian pinned down. He ran over to help. As they fought two beasts, a Drafeng charged. They stopped the first hammer, but the second hammer struck them, sending their bones flying.

  A spear rose out of the ground. The Drafeng slammed into it and Anthony tossed his sword, killing one of the chaotic beasts that had pinned the Guardian. The other lashed out as he got into range but Anthony turned into smoke and reappeared beside the beast. His sword landed in his hand and he buried it deep in the Drafeng’s side.

  He looked forward. The mound was just tens of meters away.

 
Beams cut out of the mound, cutting through their own allied Drafeng to hit Guardians.

  Mages’ barriers and spells rose up a half second later. A second war of mana and chaotic power crashing in the skies above and between the two armies.

  “Run for it!” Claire yelled.

  Guardians fought frantically, trying to break away as beams lanced through the two armies.

  Guardians cleared paths, supporting one another a dozen spears to the heart of the Drafeng camp.

  Tairlyn and Damien reached the mound first. The two of them let out yells, drawing in more power as they swung their hammers. The side of the crystal mound exploded inward, killing Drafeng on the other side. Guardians struck the mound, opening up other entrances, and they rushed inside.

  They had lost at least half of their strength already. Inside the mound, there were Drafeng all over the place. The Guardians rushed into the fight; mages and those with enchanting abilities gathered in the center.

  The mound had different levels. The main area they were in had ramps that led up and down to different levels within the platform.

  Those with enchanting backgrounds started to carve into the floor, outlining the enchantment that Claire and Tommie had worked on.

  A hobgoblin and his group ran around the room, throwing grenades into the openings in the floor, killing Drafeng and destroying the ramps to the level, curbing the amount that could enter the room.

  Rangers moved around the mages, covering them as melee fighters created an outer wall.

  Claire worked with the mages to create the enchantment.

  Flames burned through the floor and water carved it; the very floor itself changed shape.

  “Twenty minutes!” Claire yelled as the enchantment lines and runes formed in the floor.

  Wendy was with her, using her sword as if it were a quill to add to the enchantment. All of them worked on their own sections, one part of the whole.

  The melee fighters engaged the Drafeng, who had slowed their attacks.

  Chapter: War on All Fronts