Chapter 523 – In Need of a Hero or a Few
~Alright, ladies and gentlemen, this is your time to shine.~ All the gathered forces exchanged resolute looks amidst their units as Grea’s voice echoed in their heads. ~Thanks to Lord Umbra’s assistance, I’ll be able to address you all directly if necessary, but for most of the time, orders from your Field Officers should be taken as my own. You know what to do. Go and make our Emperor proud.~
The fairly unique groups cheered in their respective ways and launched themselves into the stone city one by one until only Bryn’s little squad remained behind. A soft smile adorned her lips as she watched everyone leave with such enthusiasm. But that wasn’t the only reason behind her amusement.
Asterios still didn’t know he was already being addressed as the Dragon Emperor by his subjects.
It was going to be an interesting day when he finally learned of it.
Regardless, those were thoughts for a different time. Thus, Bryn schooled her expression and turned to her golden troops, who watched her with slight reverence. She still couldn’t get used to this kind of looks directed her way after years of being shunned and disregarded at best. Yet, she was somewhat of a representative of her race right now, if not respected by many, then at the very least feared.
“You heard Commander Grea.” Bryn turned to face her charges, a regiment she had personally created from willing volunteers. “You’ve been selected for this operation due to your high medical knowledge and respectable recovery magic. Our job is to reduce the number of casualties to a minimum. Don’t try to play hero and keep to your task. Rely on your allies for everything else. Move out!”
Thunderous noise filled the air as the winged women soared ahead, splitting up at the edge of the town. They either formed pairs or ventured into the streets alone, depending on their personal capabilities. As for their leader, she cast her gaze down at the prone figure of the Power Suit, which had been left behind during the frantic escape, forgotten even by its creators.
Coincidentally, this put its wielder in the safest position out of all the possible places as the draconian Golems completely ignored the close vicinity of the keep and rained only upon the city. Perhaps Patriarch Garm had thought of that when he rushed to ensure that the rest of his family didn’t fall victim to the heinous assault.
Bryn slowly descended towards the black armor and watched it twitch at her arrival, its structure too damaged to move and its owner too exhausted to fight back anymore.
“Do not resist,” she gently requested, aiming two fingers at the dark figure. “You are being rescued.”
The golden gem in her artifact tiara glowed brightly, then shot a thin ray of light that swiped across the suit’s front plate vertically, leaving behind a red-hot line. A second later, the chest slid open to the sides, revealing a battered dwarf inside, who peered at her with wide eyes. Thankfully, he hadn’t lost an arm in the earlier duel, somehow managing to retract it before the metal limb had been ripped off. Still, she bathed him in rejuvenating energy to help the poor man.
“W-What’s happening?” His gaze jumped between his savior and his hometown, currently drowning in chaos.
“Everything will be alright now.” Bryn peered into the distance too. “Master might not have wished to intervene in your lives, but now that his legions are here, nothing bad will happen to your kin. A new era awaits you.”
※ ※ ※
Guided by direct and extremely precise orders, the provisional army spread out through the cold stone settlement in a flash. The Golems rained destruction on the buildings and the foundations of the shelf itself, their orders clearly focusing on leveling the entire thing and leaving no rock spared. Even the Fe-Lines changed their previous patrolling behaviour, becoming extremely aggressive towards the residents, who either ran to their homes or valiantly fought back against the attackers. But the ominous metal constructs easily overpowered most defenders.
Thankfully, they weren’t alone in that effort.
“Dad! No!” A young boy cried out in anguish as he watched one of the Fe-Lines mercilessly sink its deadly fangs in a man’s side, tearing out a chunk of flesh as it dodged the swing of a handaxe.
“Run, you fool!” The mature dwarf snarled over his shoulder, dropping to a knee as he held onto his bleeding hip. “Get your mother to the cellar, NOW!”
“But—”
Whatever the kid was intending to say died on his lips as the monstrous puppet lunged forward, aiming for the man’s exposed neck this time. Just moments before disaster, a lance of light struck the Fe-Line and sent it tumbling aside. A winged woman wearing golden armor appeared by the weapon as it lost its radiance and revealed itself as a gorgeous spear. She picked it up and took a defensive stance. Another one descended to the wounded father and immediately began mending his injury.
“A-Angels?” He gaped at the beauty towering over him.
“Don’t waste your breath.” The lady admonished him with a voice he could only describe as divine.
“Work faster, Svangri!” Her companion grunted in front of them, blocking the Golem from reaching their spot. “You know that neither of us is a warrior!”
She didn’t receive a response as her friend was wholly lost in her healing arts. The flesh was knitting back together and regrowing, but it was a slow and tedious process. It was nowhere near the level of the Chosen One, whose divine prowess would surely aid in her own development too, allowing her to help even more people through her healing.
“Argh!” A pained growl pierced through that focus, and she flinched, eyes snapping to her ally.
One of the bipedal draconic Golems joined the fight, pushing the other valkyrja back. Its strength was incomparable to that of the four-legged beast. After its initial sneak attack, it began charging another one deep in its throat. The defending lady managed to strike its jaw just before it finished.
That wasn’t enough to completely stop it though, and a pillar of condensed flames streaked through the buildings above them. Including the one beneath which the other woman was tending to the injured dwarf. She could only watch in terror as a massive part of the house began tilting towards them, chunks raining from its destroyed structure. Her eyes snapped shut as she threw herself over her patient and awaited the inevitable.
However, even after a few unimaginably long seconds, it didn’t come.
Opening her eyes again, she saw four giant ethereal hands in pairs of pink and green supporting the falling building. A blue spherical barrier protected them from the sharp pieces of rock that bounced off the see-through surface.
“Leave this to us,” a slightly strained, youthful voice came from next to her.
A blue-haired Spiritual Fox female stood by their side with arms extended to the sides. Two more knelt outside the transparent shield, extending their hands towards the broken house. And another engaged the pair of constructs with ferocious spiritual martial arts.
Then, out of nowhere, a green gust of flames swallowed the Golem from above, disorienting it enough for the Foxkin and the Valkyrie to freely strike the puppet’s energy-filled innards, causing it to overload with their own mana. As it blew up, shaking the area, three Lesser Dragons soared above, continuing on their way without pausing for even a moment.
If this was how a makeshift army made of a mashup of races was supposed to work together, then Svangri had no idea what the hell the valkyrjas back in her home realm were even doing.
※ ※ ※
“Nice shot,” Phatru commented as she took a quick peek behind them.
“It was nothing,” Althea replied casually. “If I couldn’t land such a simple strike after the days of training I spent with Asterios, there would be something greatly wrong with me.”
“I’m jealous. Duking it out with a True Dragon sounds fun.” Rusi whined on her other side.
“Like you are the one to talk. You are constantly at each other’s throats with Tina.” Her mother huffed indignantly. “A ferocious thing, that little one.”
“Enough chatter. This is not a sightseeing tour,” Ast’s wise mentor admonished them. “Rusilthea, go aid Visenna. We can handle this side on our own. Make sure everyone is keeping to their routes. Remember, the people on the ground rely on us to find the escape points.”
“Yes, Mom.” Rusi rolled her eyes and banked left.
“You will not talk to—and she’s gone.” Phatru sighed deeply. “What did I do to deserve such an unruly child?”
“I think we both know the answer to that, old friend.” Althea let out a reminiscing chuckle.
“Fair enough.” Her companion shook her head.
They flew over the streets as they had previously, sticking to their established paths. Rusilthea joined up with Visenna and did the same. Sometimes, they split up and circled specific areas for a while, watching the dwarves gather in open spaces while protected by the Spiritual Foxes.
All Lesser Dragons had the same job to fly above everyone and repeatedly head in the direction of the manholes or direct entrances to the sewers. Big, long, colorful serpents were easy to spot and follow, even amidst all the turmoil that the city was currently in. And their firepower wasn’t anything to scoff at. Some additional air support helped surprise and confuse their enemies.
Some could say that their role was one of the most important ones. This wasn’t an assault on an enemy city. This was a rescue operation with a sprinkle of defense. Their goal here wasn’t to defeat every single Golem, but to ensure that every single citizen came out of this vile scheme alive and well. Even now, the fort buried deep within the side of the mountain barraged the entire shelf with more and more constructs, its ammunition seemingly infinite.
But that was for their Emperor and his elite hit squad to worry about.
Until the castle’s bombardment went silent, everyone would continue to do their best to save as many people as possible.
※ ※ ※
“Hup!” Grigorji lifted a weighty manhole, his thick arms bulging from the heft of the chunky metal plate. “And here goes another one. Let our friends know, Narmaya.”
“Already done,” his wife replied, ducking under the weighty lid as it was thrown right over her head. “Be more careful with those, dear.”
“For what?” It’s not like there’s anyone here. Best case scenario, I’ll hit one of those bastard—”
“Umph!” A thud and a grunt reached them from the direction where the disc had disappeared.
They both stared at their son getting up from the ground while massaging the back of his head.
“Oops.” Grigorji flashed his wife a guilty smile.
Narmaya squinted at him. “You are lucky he inherited your thick skull. In more ways than one.”
“We have company,” Ulgier suddenly called out, and they all tensed up.
Several Fe-Lines stalked out of the alleyways, clearly lured in by the noise. One of the humanoid Golems sprinted towards them from a distance.
“We need to clear them out. The civilians will be here at any moment.” The young Bearkin raised his gaze to the sky, where a purple Lesser Dragon was circling them. “I’ll take the cats on the left.”
He rushed in without waiting for an answer.
“Look at my boy. So heroic.” Grigorji wiped off a fake tear from his eye.
“More like a show off.” Narmaya snickered, watching her son wield a greatsword suspiciously similar to the one they had seen in the hands of Miria’s mate. “He’s clearly trying to impress.”
“I’m already impressed.” Her husband grinned proudly.
“Not you, you oaf.” She snorted.
“Who then?” He frowned at her.
The elegant deer lady tipped her head to the side as she crossed her arms over her chest. A group of beastfolk from Guildmaster Oria’s unit charged in from their surroundings. Most of them were females, and four had already jumped in to assist their son.
“I see.” Grigorji cracked his neck. “I better not fall behind, then.”
With a thunderous laugh, he sprinted right at the incoming draconic Golem and stopped it in its tracks with a pure grappling technique.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Narmaya pulled out her bow with a snarl. “If you even entertain the idea of bedding any of those young girls, the next flask will land straight on your balls!”
A vial of murky green substance appeared above the man and the construct, pierced by a whistling arrow in the next second. The steaming liquid splashed all over the metal puppet and began melting its outer shell with a sizzling noise. It ate away at the plates so fast that the bear man didn’t even have to do anything but watch his opponent turn into a useless pile.
Grigorji shuddered, shooting his mate a peek over his muscular shoulder. “Oh, honey, you know I didn’t mean it like that. I promised no more conquests, right? You know I always keep my word.”
She scoffed, still aiming her bow right at his head. “Keep talking and you are sleeping on the floor tonight.”
He froze when she sent another arrow his way, which lightly grazed his rounded ear and whizzed past him, striking something with a powdery explosion. Turning ahead, he found another Golem which had been mid-swing, interrupted by the glittering dust that currently surrounded it. One more projectile passed the Bearkin, and the moment it touched the cloud, the whole thing blew up, sending them both flying backwards.
Grigorji slid all the way back to stop at the feet of his beloved wife, his front slightly smoking. “That nearly burnt off my eyebrows.”
“Good. You needed a shave anyway.” Narmaya smirked down at him. “Now get up and fight properly. People are here.”
As she said, a stream of anxious dwarves was heading their way. Leading them was a trio of girls—a Wolfkin, a Spiritual Fox, and one of the Valkyries. They rushed past them with the lupine woman offering a quick, respectful nod, and the three dropped through the uncovered manhole.
“Ah, the wonders of youth.” Narmaya giggled to herself as she readied up another shot.
“What?” Her mate blinked at her, still a bit dazed.
“You wouldn’t get it.” She shoved him forward with her hip. “Sometimes I wonder if you even get my heart, not to mention that of young girls such as them.”
※ ※ ※
Down in the tunnels, three brave ladies ran together in a tight formation.
“Why do we have to be assigned to the sewers?” Atra muttered under her breath.
“Ronye! Slow down!” Zoe shouted at their third, who kept ahead of them.
At the next bend, they spotted a Fe-Line prowling the upcoming intersection. Without waiting for her companions, the foxgirl sped up by pushing her feet off translucent platforms and charged upside down. The construct barely managed to rotate its cat-like head before she dropped on it with a loud cry.
A downwards kick smashed the puppet into the ground with a loud boom. Numerous ethereal hands came up and grabbed the edges of its armor plates. Ronye pried them open before shoving her flesh hands inside and grabbing the core. With a controlled surge of spiritual energy, she caused it to explode. A slight gust of mana dispersed the dust, and the thin protective layer covering her figure flickered away, no sign of even a scratch on her skin.
She was leaning forward to continue on when someone grabbed her wrist.
“Enough!” Zoe growled furiously as she yanked her back. “You will slow down!”
“But—”
“You made me the leader, and you will listen to me!” The Wolfkin squeezed stronger, knowing that much would be barely felt by the powerful Spiritual Fox. “Or else I’ll have the Commander withdraw you from this operation!”
Ronye’s eyes widened before she cast her gaze down in shame.
Zoe took a deep breath, letting go of her friend’s arm. “Look. This is not a competition. We all want to prove ourselves. But we aren’t going to do that by blindly rushing at enemies. We can gain recognition by doing our job well. Understood?”
“Yes…” The foxgirl nodded guiltily.
“And you.” Zoe glanced at the silent Valkyrie. “Commander Grea might have an overlook on the entire battlefield, but your abilities are much more detailed when it comes to direct reconnaissance. We are here because we are the best ones for the job. And we aren’t the only ones.”
“Sorry…” The winged woman mirrored her beastfolk teammate.
“I swear, you two are worse than Miria.” Their leader chuckled quietly. “Atra, check the structural integrity. Ronye, lead the way, carefully.”
The rowdy pair got to their orders immediately. Atra scanned the underground passages with her magic while Ronye was ready to intercept any ambushes. Which, to be fair, had low chances of happening with their Commander being able to see all of the enemies and their positions.
But you should never grow complacent.
“Girls, new orders.” Zoe spoke up after a while. “A group is heading for one of the safehouses. We are leaving patrolling to the others and going in hot.”
“Finally.” Ronye grinned to herself. “I’ll have a chance to test out my new weapon.”
She affectionately stroked her left gauntlet at the same time as Atra brushed her fingers over a sizable book attached to her hip.
They reached their destination in a few minutes, arriving slightly ahead of the invaders. The tunnels turned into a rectangular open space with something akin to a big vault on one end. It was currently shut tight, but they knew there were plenty of innocents inside. And more should be joining them soon.
Fe-Lines and Dragon Golems poured out of the three tunnels leading to the chamber. The numbers were not in the girls’ favor. But, they weren’t your usual girls.
Atra floated into the air as high as the ceiling allowed her. With a snap of her fingers, she summoned an intricate metal tome in front of her, bringing it out of the holster at her waist. It hovered before her chest, adorned with golden glowing runes, and opened up, revealing pristine white pages filled with sophisticated patterns that seemed to flow, change, and reshape themselves in real time.
She extended one hand above the pages, palm down, and they flared to life, beginning to leaf through at a fast pace. Just then, pillars made of light emerged from the ground all over the room. Those were actual pillars, meaning intricate columns of see-through gold. When all of them were up, they started humming loudly. Their reverberating song was strong enough to blur the air in the chamber.
“Your turn now,” the winged lady announced.
“Thank you very much.” Ronye leaned forward eagerly.
She brought out the best of her awakening, and five tails danced behind her back. Spiritual energy flooded her channels as she reached for a beautiful silver gauntlet on her left forearm. It was a sleek and gorgeous vambrace, peppered with a dozen glimmering gems. Circling three of them with her finger, she made them pop out of their sockets.
“Go forth, my minions!” She grabbed them and threw the crystals towards the enemies, who could barely move inside the humming zone.
Each gem bounced off the floor once, then flashed with colorful light. Out of thin air, three fierce beasts appeared. A red wyvern screeched threateningly. A green bear roared in rage. An orange gorilla beat its chest in provocation. All three spiritual spectres joined the fray at the behest of their summoner.
But Ronye didn’t lag behind either. She pushed herself forward and engaged one of the Fe-Lines. The construct swiped at her even while being suppressed, but the attack was too slow and sloppy to hit anything. As for the foxgirl, her fist smashed straight into the big cat’s jaw, and a violet crystal lit up in the bracer. A snake surged out of it and coiled around her forearm, moving further to bind the enemy.
Doubly restricted, the Fe-Line posed no threat to anyone.
Zoe grinned as she watched her team properly cooperate. It wasn’t an easy feat to achieve, and all three of them knew it. But, they hadn’t voted her for the leader without a reason. She might not be exactly their equal when it came to raw power, but she would do everything she could to be the tactical brain of the squad and steer its members towards greatness. With a pinch of martial prowess thanks to her precious glaive, perhaps.
A powerful explosion suddenly almost sent her to her knees, and she wasn’t the only one caught off-guard.
“What was that?” Atra asked from above.
“That would most likely be our Great Emperor finally making his move.” Zoe laughed jubilantly. “Time to earn our keep, ladies. Keep up.”
She spun her polearm and joined the fight.
Though it shouldn’t really be called one at this point.