Chapter 335
That man is something else, D’Oillelat thought as she led the Resistance’s advance through the forest of Er’Mithren. The Scourge had been around for ages, and Kyle Mayhew just destroyed its main body. They were expecting to need to deploy all of their strongest D Grades against it, herself included. Even there, the best they could hope for was to neutralize the threat while the rest of their forces tried to take the city; a result that would have ended in massive casualties on both sides.
Part of the reason they had waited so long was for D’Oillelat to continue to grow in power, with the hope that she’d be able to tip the scales after reaching C Grade. Even then, she’d expected to need support from her elites. To see Kyle take it out while so newly in C Grade was nothing short of remarkable, even with his supposedly good match up against it.
That would have been plenty on its own. Now, looking at the small army of shrikes running alongside them, slicing through debris and stranglevines alike, she was at a loss for words. Even she had underestimated just how valuable Kyle was to the Resistance. The shrikes had come through to save them years ago, and now again they were allowing her forces to move with unprecedented speed.
Even though her troops were clearly uncomfortable with the shrike alphas and their packs, the safety they provided was invaluable. As was the threat. Anybody who had ill-intentions toward Kyle wouldn’t just be facing him; they’d be facing an army of angry shrikes. Not an issue for now, of course, though it did make her question the Courier’s long-term plans. If he wants to stay… D’Oillelat shook her head, refusing to go down that line of thinking. For now, they had plenty to keep them busy. She’d figure the rest out once she captured the capital, and they were back in the Verdant Republic’s territory.
They only encountered a couple of Pall’Eth’s scouting parties, which quickly surrendered to the Resistance forces, getting bound and having their communication devices confiscated. None of them seemed to have any strong love for Pall’Eth, and allowed themselves to be taken without incident. She didn’t relish the fact that some of her troops would need to watch the prisoners, reducing her overall manpower, but that was the price to demonstrate to the people of Er’Mithren that she wasn’t the destructive tyrant that their leader painted her to be.
With the gates to the city nearing, D’Oillelat steeled herself. Her defensive abilities would be crucial to providing cover for her forces as they closed in on the city proper. She looked over her shoulder to Ver’ah and Drokh. Both men had expressions of grim determination, and she gave them each a nod. The large ogre had a hint of worry in his eyes, and she hoped that he wouldn’t do anything stupid. They’d already lost too many.
Rounding a corner on the golden path, she saw the forest open up. Pall’Eth had ordered all the trees around the city be removed shortly after taking power, in order to “better protect” the citizenry. The true reason, of course, was so that he could stir up the Scourge while limiting the risk to his budding empire. It was short-sighted and foolish. Eventually the city’s resources would dry up, and he would be left ruling over a wasteland.
Fortunately, they were going to put an end to that today.
However, as they approached the gilded gate, no attacks rained down. No army appeared to meet them in the field. A trap?
D’Oillelat frowned, drawing her blade as she signaled the Resistance troops to slow their advance. The last thing they wanted to do was spring the –
Horror crossed her expression as the shrikes charged directly across the open space, beelining straight for the gates. The colorful shrike alpha that had been by her side gave a soft chirp in her direction, then pushed through the golden gate, which had been left ajar. She expected an explosion, or an ambush, or even some sort of poisonous gas to be released at their charge. Instead, nothing happened.
Still, she signaled for caution as she approached the gates, and a chill ran down her spine as she began to sense dozens upon dozens of D Grade presences. D’Oillelat caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and glanced upward to see a diminutive form on the overlook. She was about to attack, when the creature disappeared, replaced by a familiar figure, waving his only arm.
“Hey, D’Oillelat! Sorry, just wrapped up and didn’t get a chance to message, I decided to take a little initiative here.”
The goblin queen shook her head as she walked toward the gate, keeping her weapon ready. What did he do this time?
~~~
Seeing D’Oillelat approaching the gates, Kyle knew he needed to do a better job communicating. In this case, he just got a little distracted. Looking out at the massive tangle of empowered stonebloom vines, however, he still couldn’t hold back a grin. Like with the Scourge, he’d dropped in from above, using C.H.A.D.D.’s propulsion to get him far above the main gate, then descended. As he did, he summoned roughly fifty of the melee chaddlings, dropping them like bombs across the entire defensive formation.
The chaddlings outnumbered the D Grade gate guards, but after factoring in the E Grades, unawakened soldiers, and few elite D Grades leading Pall’Eth’s forces, Kyle knew they weren’t going to succeed as an occupying force. Fortunately, they didn’t have to. To their credit, the chaddlings fought well. When focused exclusively on defense, they were difficult to hit, and surprisingly durable. Leafy blades locked themselves in combat with swords, axes, and lances as pandemonium spread across the main gate to the city.
With the enemy sufficiently distracted, Kyle fell near-silently, pushing as much mana as he dared into the World Tree Seed while channeling Cultivate. He was gambling that the mana expenditure inside the seed would be difficult to detect, and was growing stonebloom-covered vines as fast as he was able. As soon as they descended to the level of the fighting, he pushed the tangle of vines out of the seed’s space, trusting C.H.A.D.D. to guide them out.
By coupling these vines with the stranglevine essence they’d absorbed in their first trip, they lashed out with incredible speed and precision. The defending gobilns, trolls, and ogres quickly found themselves wrapped and bound in the mana-rejecting plants. As soon as they were, Kyle simultaneously activated Parasitic Resonance to drain their mana, while channeling Infuse into the vines, giving them upper-tier D Grade durability and infusing each vine with the concept of Immutability.
In moments, the entire defending force at the gate was neutralized. Now, he was working with C.H.A.D.D. to arrange the prisoners neatly while the chaddlings patrolled, amusedly watching as the shrikes investigated the acorn-like soldiers as they moved about.
Sharp, but no meat, the colorful alpha observed, nudging one of them with its clawed hand.
No meat, Kyle agreed. He was about to instruct the shrikes to leave the city and start clearing out stranglevines, but stopped himself, asking a question first. Do you still want to help me?
Yes, the alpha replied without hesitation.
Kyle formed a mental image of a stranglevine pod, and then the view of the forest from the sky. There are still lots of these around. They are dangerous. Can you and your packs clear them out?
Yes! The shrike’s reply was excited, and it genuinely seemed happy to have a job to do. Then and again, they were used to receiving instructions from the Matriarch.
As the shrikes turned to leave the city, D’Oillelat finished climbing the stairs to the watchtower. She surveyed the neatly arranged rows of prisoners, and nodded, seemingly to herself. Then, she turned to Kyle. “This was an unexpected surprise.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Kyle said, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand. “I had time, and thought it would be helpful.”
“It’s definitely helpful,” D’Oillelat agreed with a chuckle. “How long will your bindings last? Will you be able to join the approach to the tower?”
Kyle considered, looking at the prisoners and vines with Identify. As an answer came to him, C.H.A.D.D. beat him to the punch.
[THE BINDINGS WILL LAST FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, ALTHOUGH THE LARGEST UNKNOWN COMES FROM THE DIFFERENT SKILLS THE ELITE GUARDS MAY OR MAY NOT POSSESS. THE MANA-REJECTING PROPERTIES OF THE VINES SHOULD INHIBIT THAT SOMEWHAT, HOWEVER AS THEIR MANA SLOWLY RECOVERS WE SHOULD NOT DISCOUNT THE POSSIBILITY OF UNIQUE SKILLS ASSISTING IN AN ESCAPE.]
“Just kill us already,” one of the troll guards snarled, looking up at D’Oillelat.
She crouched down, meeting the man’s gaze. “No, I will not. And I have no intention of causing any unnecessary death today. I’m here to free the city from your madman’s rule, and restore order to the realm as we establish ourselves under the Verdant Republic. Nothing more, nothing less. If you still feel as though you want my head afterward, our new sponsors have policies and procedures for duels.”
Her voice was calm, but carried to the other prisoners. Kyle observed as whispers ran through the bound individuals, and many expressions softened at her words. He suspected there were already doubts about Pall’Eth’s propaganda, and seeing the so-called villain they’d been told to hate act this way did a lot for her credibility. She’ll be a fine leader indeed.
D’Oillelat spent a little more time organizing a light defense of the captives, joined by the bulk of the chaddlings. Only a dozen or so would join for the final push to the castle, along with most powerful among the Resistance’s forces. This was where Kyle’s role got trickier, and he reviewed the regulations set forth by the Verdant Republic for his engagements against lower tiers. He flirted with line by directly binding the D Grade guards, though because nobody got hurt, he could justify it as protecting them from D’Oillelat’s forces, the shrikes, and the chaddlings. Of all their options, being peacefully captured and bound was definitely the best outcome for them.
Now, he had to be more careful. He knew that he was allowed to defend himself and others, but the regulations about entering and toppling an existing government was clear. Unless he could prove immediate and current abuses of the citizenry, which he was permitted to quickly resolve, he had to leave the actual fighting to D’Oillelat and her group.
To solve for that issue, he took a position beside and a step back from the Resistance queen. There, he would be able to react to any attacks, while also not directly leading or guiding the rest of the Resistance forces into the tower. Besides, this wasn’t his fight. Not really. D’Oillelat and her people had been wronged by the Er’Mithren Council, even though her father was truly monstrous. This was an opportunity for her to put things to rights, and his role was to be a witness and deliver a message.
The streets of Er’Mithren were mostly empty, though Kyle idly noticed many families looking out of windows at the solemn march of the Resistance. There were a couple of small skirmishes with Pall’Eth’s guards, though those were rebuffed with little effort by D’Oillelat’s own soldiers. For her part, the queen had yet to draw her blade, just continuing her inexorable march toward the final confrontation with Pall’Eth. Her expression was serious, and Kyle sincerely hoped that this would mark a turning point for her. She deserved to have a season of rest after everything she’d been through.
Finally, after crossing the last street before the tower district, a series of ranged attacks flew out at the Resistance from the rooftops above. This was more than just a skirmishing force; it was a full military regiment. Before they even got too close, Kyle blew the blasts of energy and projectiles away with a focused application of Repel. Still, the attacks served as the spark that ignited the Resistance. With the scraping of steel against steel, D’Oillelat pulled her greatsword free. “With me!” she shouted, and the Resistance cried its agreement. With that, the final battle for Er’Mithren began.