Chapter 189: Total Destruction Protocol
The soldiers arriving from the Red Forest reached the fortress walls at a full sprint, their faces drenched in sweat and their chests heaving. As they peered over the battlements and witnessed the tide of metallic centipedes, red beetles, and lava lizards surging from the pass, horror gripped their eyes.
"Open the gates!" shouted the warriors toward the gatekeepers. "Bring every man out fast! Prepare the Total Destruction plan!"
Following Kellar’s directives established long ago, two fail-safes had been designed for a desperate scenario. The underground storerooms had been loaded with tons of gunpowder ready to detonate; in an extreme emergency where the main post could not be held, the standing order was to blow up the mine and the city rather than lose it to the enemy.
Boran marched into the central courtyard, axe in hand, looking for the chain of command.
"Who is in charge of the city?!" bellowed Boran over the chaos.
A slender woman of intelligent appearance and poised posture stepped forward through the crowd.
"My name is Tari, I am in charge of the city in Helga’s absence," she said with a steady voice.
Beside her walked Elia and Liora, Kellar’s women, maintaining their composure amid the uproar. Seeing them, Boran offered a bow of respect before turning back to Tari with urgency.
"Please, authorize moving the explosive charges," pleaded Boran. "We can stop the beasts before they reach the walls, there is no time!"
Tari evaluated the situation in a fraction of a second and nodded.
"Bring everyone who can move, even those from the mines," ordered Tari, a cold resolve settling over her. "And if anyone attempts to flee, kill them!"
Despite her delicate appearance, Tari possessed an iron heart and never feared using her authority to maintain discipline.
Among the miners forced into hard labor, Krag and Namre pushed heavy wagons loaded with gunpowder barrels through the courtyard. Both looked unrecognizable compared to their former selves. Namre, once an imposing woman built almost like a bear, now appeared thin and emaciated, her face hollowed by relentless toil. Beside her, Krag, the former chief hunter, was nearly skin and bone, his face buried beneath a thick beard.
Seeing him dragging his chains, even Boran felt a pang of sorrow in his heart. Krag had been the Shaman’s right hand, a formidable warrior respected by the whole tribe, but he had committed a grave error that had cost him dearly.
Yet despite his physical exhaustion, the iron discipline remained in his eyes. Krag pressed his shoulder against the wooden cart, directing the other miners in a raspy voice.
"Move the charges toward the narrow pass!" barked Krag, spitting dirt as he locked his eyes on the glowing tide approaching in the distance. "If we plant the powder along the gorge walls, the collapse will bury their vanguard and buy us time."
Tari walked toward the front of the convoy, observing the penal squad with detachment while the guards kept their rifles trained to maintain order.
"You have one chance to serve the city," said Tari, staring directly at Krag and Namre. "Plant the charges at the structural points of the mountain. Do it right, and the Shaman will know you did your duty."
Namre looked up, gritting her teeth as she hoisted one of the heaviest powder kegs onto her shoulders. Without uttering a word, she sprinted toward the canyon mouth alongside Krag, determined to seal the pass before the lava beasts and metallic centipedes breached the kingdom’s borders.
Vael, the mine foreman, arrived at a sprint, his clothes caked in soot and his face dripping with sweat.
"Everything has been brought out, there’s nothing left!" reported Vael hastily, halting before Tari. "Tari, should I open the special weapons vault?"
"Is there even a question?!" cut in Boran immediately, his voice tight with desperation. "We need everyone who can pull a trigger!"
Hundreds of rifles had been stockpiled inside the city’s armories for an emergency such as this. However, the crowd in the courtyard wasn’t a trained army, but civilians, craftsmen, and laborers; handing them firearms was dangerous, but leaving them unarmed was far worse.
Tari clenched her fists and made the call without flinching.
"Open the vault," ordered Tari with cold resolve. "If anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility."
"Right away!" replied Vael, spinning on his heels. "Everyone who can fight, follow me!"
The vault’s heavy doors were thrown open, and men began hauling out rifles at top speed, setting up long tables covered with powder horns and small leather pouches packed with lead bullets.
Boran grabbed a veteran soldier by the shoulder.
"Teach them how to load the weapons!" commanded Boran before turning and sprinting at full speed toward the canyon line, where Krag was shouting at the miners to fall back toward the city.
"What are you trying to do, Krag?!" shouted Boran, catching up to him at the canyon mouth.
Krag turned for a second, revealing a resolve in his eyes that Boran hadn’t seen in him for a long time.
"Tell the Shaman I am sorry for doubting him and risking everything for a promise from the old nobles," said Krag in a raspy voice, tightening his grip on his torch. "I hope my sacrifice is worth it."
"No! Wait, Krag, what are you doing?!" gasped Boran, stepping forward to grab him.
"Someone has to hold them back," declared Krag, turning his back on him. "I’ll buy you time."
The lead beasts of the horde—metallic centipedes and incandescent beetles—were rounding the canyon bend. The powder kegs were set precisely against the structural rocks, but the fuse was far too short and the swarm was right on top of them: someone had to stay behind to ignite the spark at the right moment.
"No, Krag! Light it and run!" screamed Boran in desperation, reaching out a hand as the metallic beasts and glowing beetles closed in meters away from the old hunter.
Krag didn’t even turn around. He held the torch steadily above the powder trail, a smile breaking through his beard.
"I don’t want to anymore..." muttered Krag, his voice swallowed by the roar of the oncoming iron tide. "Live your life, kid. I only wanted one chance to ask for forgiveness. I only endured being a slave to one day pay for my mistake... Tell Kellar I’m sorry."
Krag thrust the flame straight into the fuses. The spark raced in a violent thread of fire toward the base of the kegs wedged between the stone pillars.
The lead beasts lunged with open jaws meters from his face, but before the metallic fangs could tear into his flesh, the entire mountain gorge ignited in a blinding white flash.
BOOM!
The deafening detonation echoed for miles, shaking the fortress straight to its foundations. A wall of fire, shattered rock, and black smoke erupted through the pass, bringing down tons of stone over the horde’s vanguard and burying the gorge under a pyre.