Chapter 336
The previously empty streets of Er’Mithren exploded into action as the Resistance charged, attacks raining down on them from above. At the same time, Kyle felt mana infusing the ground around them, turning the solid footing of the streets into a sandy mire, all while sections of the street rose to form walls and blockades. They’ve got an impressive number of Earth Mages, Kyle thought, choosing to stand guard over the Resistance Mages rather than join the fray. The trio of goblins were desperately trying to counter the ground manipulation skills, though they’d been caught unaware. It was a tried and true battlefield tactic, and one that fully took advantage of the defenders’ position.
Synaptic Barbs warned Kyle about an incoming projectile flying straight for one of the Resistance Mages, and he stepped in to intercept it. The arrow splintered against the skin of his right arm, unable to pierce through his defenses. Still, over a dozen more followed in short order, each packing enough power to cause serious damage to the less durable goblins. By now, D’Oillelat’s squad reached the first barrier, and he watched with a smile as a pillar of dark energy washed over the makeshift wall and crumbled it to dust.
Ver’ah’s group didn’t share the same success, as they were caught in the mire and pinned down under a rain of different attacks. Activating Cultivate, Kyle launched out long spears of bamboo from the World Tree Seed, forming a lattice over the group that was quickly followed by a weave of creeping vines. As the plants grew, Kyle also activated Infuse, giving them tremendous durability and vibrance as they formed a shelter, alleviating the bulk of the pressure on the troll’s squad.
Flashes of lightning and booming thunder from the rear guard told Kyle that Drokh was doing his job, scouring the tops of nearby buildings of the defenders with crackling electricity. A quick use of Identify showed Kyle the power thrumming through the ogre’s body as the prosthetic leg seemed to only enhance the power of Drokh’s attacks. A rain of arrows and ice flew at the large ogre, who stood as an imposing target. With a broad wave of Repel, Kyle knocked all the projectiles wide, while also stepping in to intercept another arrow flying at the goblins he was guarding.
Too late, he noticed that this arrow was different than the others. The moment before it touched him, it exploded into a storm of splinters, which were quickly joined by other specialized projectiles. Some exploded into splinters, others carried waves of elemental energy, and some just seemed to split into a set of phantom projectiles. Without an other choice to protect the mages, Kyle activated Storm Shelter, though he didn’t enhance the skill with Heart of Creation this time.
Instead, he allowed the barrier to easily absorb the attacks, while withdrawing one of his specially-grown barricades from the World Tree Seed. With an effort of Willpower, Kyle used Parasitic Resonance to change the shape of the construct; sacrificing some durability to create a wider dome over the goblins. At the same time, he extended a couple of tendrils to the mages, activating Healing Impetus to close some of the bleeding injuries from the shrapnel, and to give each of them a small portion of his mana.
The mages looked at him with wide eyes, and he gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “It looks like I’ll be needed in other parts of the battlefield pretty soon. Can you detect where the enemy is using their ground manipulation without direct line of sight?”
One of the goblins nodded at him, though the others still looked to be in shock at the quick developments of the battlefield.
“Focus, and neutralize what you can. The barricade should hold just fine. If you need me, shout loudly.” With that, Kyle stepped out of the small exit in the back of the freshly-changed barricade, dropping Storm Shelter as he did.
Attacks continued to pepper the sturdy bark, but none were able to leave meaningful damage. By now, Ver’ah’s group had managed to regain their footing, even as the earthwork barrier in front of them began to lower on its own, courtesy of the redoubled effort of the Resistance mages. D’Oillelat was clearing one rooftop after another, having long left her personal guard behind. It was incredible to see the suppressive effect of her aura at work, with each of her opponents’ mana reduced to nearly nothing against her presence.
[SHE IS DOING AN IMPRESSIVE JOB LEAVING HER OPPONENTS ALIVE,] C.H.A.D.D. noted, projecting a quick status report of her opponents.
Kyle winced at the bit he could read while moving, expecting many of them to be in quite a lot of pain when they awoke. She hadn’t yet fully activated her boosting skill, but all it took was a quick pommel strike or unarmed blow to knock most of her enemies out of commission. Using a blast of Repel, Kyle launched himself up to be near her, leaving a trail of thick vines behind him to both aid the Resistance fighters trying to climb past the remnant earthworks and to bind the myriad unconscious defenders.
Falling into stride alongside her, Kyle nearly froze as he saw D’Oillelat’s expression. Her face was a mix of anger and grief; rage and regret. She looked to be on razor’s edge between either breaking down in tears, or slipping into the wholesale slaughter of her enemies.
Stepping in front of her, Kyle met her eyes and raised his hand. “Slow down, you’re overextending. And take a moment to breathe, the battle is going fine.”
“I hate the battle,” she said, fierce eyes meeting Kyle’s. “I hate fighting these people, my people. I hate that he’s just throwing them at us. I hate that he doesn’t seem to care if they live or die. I hate that they haven’t even considered surrendering.”
“And he’ll answer for it,” Kyle said, keeping his voice neutral. “You blazing ahead too far just creates risk. Believe me, it’ll end today. Your people are mostly unhurt, and casualties for the defenders are much lighter than they could be. We know that Pall’Eth has other cards to play, and the last thing we should do is run headlong into a trap.”
D’Oillelat took a deep breath, and some of the shadows around her started to recede a bit. Her berserk skill is dangerous, Kyle noted. It was qualitatively even stronger than Ignition, but the side effect of inflaming her anger was problematic, especially in circumstances like the battle they were embroiled in. Looking back down, Kyle saw the Resistance troops climbing up the trail of vines he left behind. They would catch up soon, and then they would continue their advance toward the tower proper.
Now that they were closer, Kyle could see that the upper portions that had been detonated when he’d first returned to the city still hadn’t been fully rebuilt. Instead, a series of parapets were erected in a circle around the highest surviving level. C.H.A.D.D. flashed a warning, just as Kyle felt mana beginning to gather around the parapet facing their approach. Kyle prepared himself for an attack, but nothing came toward him. Instead, a lance of white-hot flame flashed into the vine pathways in Kyle’s wake, causing a portion to crumble into ash as more began to burn.
More lances of energy blasted out from other parapets, all focused on breaking down the infrastructure that Kyle created. Some of the Resistance soldiers were also caught in the blasts, the intense heat burning those unfortunate souls to cinders. The mana expenditures were massive; beyond anything that the D Grades he’d faced prior should have been able to do, and a sickening feeling began to crawl through Kyle, even as the remaining scars on his stomach ached. What did you do?
Deciding to hold nothing back, Kyle activated Genesis Engine, then pushed as much power into Cultivate as he was able. Vines erupted out of his shoulder, carrying with them hundreds of small seeds. They rushed across the distance between Kyle and the parapets, drawing fire from the constructs. Many were burned away, with Kyle having left them intentionally uninfused. All the vines needed to do was get the seeds in position, and with a surge of mana, a forest appeared between Kyle and the tower.
Thick trees resembling termite mounds formed a wall, obstructing the parapets and covering the Resistance advance. The base of this model was the baobab tree, and as Kyle grew them, he used Infuse alongside the concepts of Growth and Adaptation. They were naturally fire resistant to begin with, but to Kyle’s delight, limbs shot out with incredible speed to intercept the lances of fire trying to strike through to the Resistance forces. The trade-off for this specialization was spongy bark that had very limited longevity, but it would provide the cover they needed to close in on the tower.
D'Oillelat still stood beside him, looking at the forest for a moment. “Is this really the power you get when you reach C Grade?” she finally asked, turning to meet his eyes.
“I haven’t spent enough time around other C Grades to find out,” Kyle said honestly. “Though I’d like to think I’m a little ahead of the curve.”
She gave him one more long look, then continued forward, Kyle in pursuit. He had a bad feeling about what they’d find inside, and through Pack Leader’s Instinct, sent a nudge to C.H.A.D.D. Please scan the building.
[ALREADY ON IT, DR. MAYHEW.]
Sure enough, Kyle’s fears were proven true. Though they didn’t get a full scan of everything within the tower, the parapets were being fueled by mana with a wide variety of different signatures, not the uniform mana that he’d expect from somebody using a skill. Pall’Eth found a way to create these mana-based weapons, and the only way that would have been possible was if he’d taken the mana from somewhere else. Or in this case, someone else.
C.H.A.D.D.’s scans revealed mana-conductive wires descending from the parapets, and Kyle was going to find out where they led. Of course, he was also not going to fall for the same trap as last time. With Genesis Engine still active, he pushed power through Cultivate once more. A massive network of vines and bamboo began to expand out and around the tower. By the time they’d reached the entrance, the supportive mesh he’d created nearly encircled it.
Still, he wasn’t done. The moment D’Oillelat smashed the door open, more vines flooded inside the structure, climbing toward the top as quickly as they could. At the same time, thick plates of bark rested atop large, spring-shaped vines that grew toward the ceiling as quickly as they could. Kyle felt the strain from his skill growing, being pushed faster than he’d ever done before, but with C.H.A.D.D.’s help he was able to get the construction mostly completed, just in time for Pall’Eth, wherever he was, to attempt to detonate the tower. Again.
This time, however, there was no collapse. A deep rumbling shook the tower, certainly, but the tightly-wound support from both inside and outside the tower held it together. What did happen, before Kyle could stop it, was the destruction of the weapons atop the parapets. An explosion boomed outside the tower proper, and Kyle felt the mana flowing into the weapons cease abruptly. At the same time, C.H.A.D.D. highlighted a seemingly innocuous piece of the floor.
D'Oillelat didn’t hesitate, snarling as her blade bit into the floor, destroying the hidden trapdoor and revealing the staircase beneath. Before Kyle could stop her, she dashed into the darkness once more.
[PALL’ETH IS HERE,] C.H.A.D.D. noted, showing a goblinoid running on the map of the extensive tunnel system.
“What about the people he used to fuel his weapons?” Kyle asked, the sickening feeling turning to anger.
[GONE, DR. MAYHEW. I BELIEVE THEIR MANA IS WHAT FUELED THE ATTEMPTED DESTRUCTION OF THE TOWER. IT LEFT NOTHING ELSE IN THEM.]
“Then he’ll pay for that, too,” Kyle replied with a growl, following D’Oillelat into the tunnel.
The golden glow of Genesis Engine pierced through the darkness as they ran, following C.H.A.D.D.’s map and gaining ground on the retreating goblin. He attempted to leave a few traps behind, but they were either destroyed with sheer power, or outright ignored as D’Oillelat and Kyle approached their prey.
Finally, they laid eyes on him. Kyle lashed out with a web of vines, not striking the goblin, but obstructing his way. Pall’Eth turned, a manic look in his eyes. “I knew it! I knew you would come to kill me. Everybody said I was mad. Everybody said that I was paranoid. But I knew! I knew!”
Kyle felt D’Oillelat’s energy spike, and he half-suspected she was going to strike him down on the spot. Not that he would stop her. This was her business to conclude, however she wanted to. All he knew was that he wanted the manic goblin held accountable. Whether that happened here or at the hands of the Verdant Republic, he had no qualms. Either way, Pall’Eth wouldn’t survive.
“Pall’Eth,” D’Oillelat managed through gritted teeth. “I find you guilty of crimes against the people of Er’Mithren. You have sacrificed them, caused them to starve, caused them to die, all in the name of your hatred. It ends today. Your choices are simple. Surrender, and come with me to face judgment, or resist and die.”
“You think I didn’t prepare?” Pall’Eth said with a sneer, pulling a small vial out of a pouch on his belt. “I –“
Before the goblin could get another word out, a surge of shadows rushed over and through him, mincing him to pieces. D’Oillelat grabbed the vial with telekinesis, drawing it to herself before putting it in a pouch.
“Good riddance,” she said. Her voice cracked, just a bit, but her posture soon straightened. Then, she turned to Kyle. “I’ve already sent word to clear the area around the tower. We need to get out of here, and then I’m going to need a little bit of time. You’re welcome to stay in the city, or anywhere else you’d like. I’ll be in touch when we have your next steps figured out.”
There was a lot that Kyle wanted to say, but all of it felt like it would fall flat. So, he simply nodded. “Okay. When you’re ready for me, I’ll be around.”
They followed C.H.A.D.D.’s map through the escape tunnel to an exit aboveground, and breathed a small sigh of relief. The job was done, and Er’Mithren was finally D’Oillelat’s. Kyle felt for the Resistance queen, but planned on honoring her desire for some time. And he had a good idea where he wanted to spend it. And then, the feeling in his Center told him that he’d have some decisions to make.