Chapter 1150: Early Clash
Terris didn’t charge alone, and neither did Leon; from behind both of them came their strongest warriors. Two Strategoi followed Terris, as did dozens of other strong mages. Behind them, in turn, came a dozen of Terris’ whale-shaped arks, pushing into the tunnel of cleared air that Terris had created.
On Leon’s side, Valeria, Maia, and Cassandra were already at his side, as were several Tempest Knights and Alcander. The rest of Leon’s people were spread throughout the valley, but in the wake of the alarms and the shattering of the shield, were now scrambling to reach the frontline. None of them moved swifter than Anastasios, Eva, and Clear Day, however. Maintaining the shield hadn’t done wonders for any of them, but Leon was grateful to see them rushing to reinforce him, pale as they were.
They wouldn’t arrive before Terris did—at least, not unless Leon did something to blunt his charge. So, as Terris bellowed his war cry, Leon drew back on his bow and, after allowing the Stormborn wood to drink a tremendous amount of his magic power, loosed the blacker-than-black arrow.
It moved faster than even his eyes could track, and Terris was barely able to dodge out of the way to avoid Leon’s perfect aim; the arrow sailed over his shoulder and slammed into a light cruiser leading the rest of the arks’ charge into the clear tunnel. Cracks were made in space itself, lasting just long enough to be seen, before vanishing. The light cruiser promptly shattered, falling apart for a split second before the ruptured lines of magic erupted into flame, consuming the broken war machine utterly.
Lances then began to fire their deadly bolts as the Diluvian arks further back pressed on, heedless of their casualties. Ice and iron flitted past each other in the air, and the southern Talon and three more arks were peppered with shots. The heavily fortified Talon fortress withstood the bombardment well, though losing one of its towers and the Aurichalcum Lance atop it. The arks, however, were battered and damaged, though not so much as to knock them completely out.
They pressed on, and Mir decided to finish the job, striking these damaged arks despite the hole cut through the misty veil. Leon could sense a loss in power as a result of whatever Terris had done, but with the damage those arks had already sustained, it was enough; all three were slagged under the heat of Mir’s lightning, falling to the earth in a rapidly cooling rain of ash and molten metal.
Terris shot forward, determined to clash with Leon. Lightning bolts rained down upon his people, but his prodigious power then extended upward, forming an ice shield that encompassed the entire tunnel, protecting him and his forces from Mir’s strikes. Dozens of bolts rained down upon it, shaking it heavily, but leaving not so much as a scratch upon its surface.
Leon scowled and drew his bow one more time—his last time given Terris’ proximity, and loosed it. He didn’t target any other arks or Terris himself, however, choosing instead to loose the arrow at the freshly-made tunnel.
The arrow struck the thick ice, and the spatial rupture shattered the tunnel. Ice fell like snow as the entire upper half of the tunnel plummeted. Lightning from Mir shot through this snow, targeting the arks mostly, though a few bolts struck some of Terris’ weaker mages.