"They came through here?" Jack muttered. He stared into the shattered remains of a fortress courtyard, the surrounding walls still intact. The stone was still cut from the portals the wards had drawn here, dark red patches of dried blood awash across the ground.Turning, he shaded his eyes from the blazing sun, to squint into the endless barren dustball of the Crimsonwastes. Nothing but red dirt and twisted foliage as far as the eye could see, before crashing against the green gra.s.s of Alandria at this Fortresses" feet.
"They tried Templar, but we pushed them back. Cleaned up the demon"s corpses, and piled "em up in the warehouse. None of the usual Ruin Rippers, Snipclaws or Sandrakes though, but real demon. They were organised, Lord Templar, b.l.o.o.d.y fierce too." The Captain continued to salute where he stood, armour slightly dented along with his mithril shoulder plate but otherwise in great condition.
Behind him, ranks of heavily armoured warriors of the Southern Army stood shoulder to shoulder, while they"re Durren and Harlequin auxiliaries got to work repairing the defences.
It was the stunted Durren" skill with construction that had made these thick walls, to begin with, and there was no more trusted servant of the kind to rebuild them greater than ever. The "Harlequins" was a rather different matter entirely, faces hidden with white musks, eyes shining orange within. A natural lover of the night, the species hated Vampires with a pa.s.sion over some ancient spat but were a natural with traps physical, mental, and magical. When it came to the designs of death, torture and defeat, a Harlequin was always the right mind to seek out.
"About those Siege Golems, know when they might be arrive Lord Templar?" The Captain added, having grown nervous over Jack"s extended pause.
"The King"s War Factory produces them at a set rate. They arrive when they do - ah! There"s who we were waiting for now," waving overhead to the trio of spots in the sky, Jack watched ten Wyvern Knights descend with a great stone War Golem attached between them. Amidst a storm of fluttering wings, the War Golem landed hard against the shattered stone.
"It"s specialised, to help our forces survive in the Crimsonwastes," Jack said, pointing out the magical circuitry from the huge blue gem to cross the light grey stone of the War Golem"s humanoid frame. "It"ll produce a shield that"ll keep us safe from the magical anomalies of that region, make us invisible to magical detection and block ranged attacks from any enemy ambush that would arise."
Below the Durren began to whistle and jostle at one another, at first annoyed to be distracted from their tasks, the little bearded men"s eyes brightened at the masterwork of the King"s displayed before them. The Harlequins similarly seemed excited and pointed out various parts of the magical circuitry to one another, the magical weaponry most of all.
One of the Wyvern Knights took off with his mount to land on the walls beside Jack. Sliding from the saddle while the huge dragonic lizard behind him hissed at his departure and curled its tail closer to the creature"s rider.
"Apologies, she doesn"t like being separated for long. Here is your orders Templar," the rider said, and handed Jack a letter. Cracking the Royale seal. Scanning it quickly, he barked, "Scribing tools!"
A servant pulled out paper and quil, then presented his back. Slapping the paper against the frail man"s spine, Jack wrote a rough collection of answers then promptly pa.s.sed the scroll to the Wyvern Knight.
"If that"s all, we"ll be going," the Wveryn Knight said, bowed, and hoisted himself back upon his stead. The Wyvern howled victoriously and hissed in Jack"s direction.
Jack snarled with a sound like shattering gla.s.s at an inhuman pitch, the rims of his eyes becoming dark and his pupils sharpening to points. The power of his aura flooded the area, the Wyvern pulling away in fear took off and into the sky, great wings flapping as hard as they could.
"Apologies, that was unprofessional," Jack muttered and restrained the burning power within that filled him with strength beyond G.o.ds. This was real power, enough he could shatter that golem with his fist if fully unleashed, that could see him asking, that could- Jack breathed in, and out. Slower. Allowing the thoughts to wash through him and somewhere else.
When he was calm, the power was his to control again, and he pushed it back into its cage.
When Jack turned back to the Captain he found their backs at rigid attention and shining awe in their eyes.
"Captain?"
"YES, Templar!" Roared the Captain with a stamp as if this was a military drill.
"You have been ordered to bolster the defences of this fortress. Three Constructor Golems, one Fabricator Golem and one thousand additional servants of Alandria are being a.s.signed to this fortress. I would guess the same is being done to every other fortress in the Southern Army. Meanwhile, it is the best time I and my forces get to work."
"Would you require a.s.sistance, Templar? At Least take our garrison Paladins with you, we have Paladins from each of the Three"s churches present with us. Crusaders as well!" Behind the Captain, several sacred warriors sporting only one holy ring apiece stood tall and proud.
"This is the business of the Inquisition, your men are best spent serving here. I and my Elites will take care of this matter," descending pa.s.sed disappointed members of this garrison, Jack rejoined his own forces. A hundred members of the Nameless Legion"s Anti-demon division, twenty priests of the Red Cloth, and a woman beneath an enormous mound of dark fibre.
Then there was the Floer Knight, as carefree as ever as she seemed to be playing some knives thriving game with a pair of Harlequins. The rules seemed to indicate that whoever managed to score a hit on the other first won, the trio now locked in a fierce bladed battle. Naturally, the Flower Knight emerged unscathed.
"Are you ready, warriors of the Three?" Jack roared, all saluting with their left hand to their holy symbols at their chests and their right hand to whatever weapon they favoured. Phillip wasn"t here, however, as a trusted Inquisitor of the One he had far too many responsibilities to waste time attending minor exterminations at the Crimson line.
Although this was no minor Extermination, a full-fledged Demonic Incursion they were halting. Usually, that would require the whole Nameless Legion to muster, and several Templar as well. In this case, they needed only Jack, and the woman beneath all that cloth.
"Let"s go you b.i.t.c.h," Jack muttered, tasting something foul in his mouth being even this close to her.
"Yes Lord Templar, may the Three watch our every step," the Corrupt Saint replied.
Activating the customised War Golem, a great golden shield filled with holy magic projected like a bubble a hundred feet in every direction. Forming a formation within, and with enough supplies already hanging off the War Golem"s arms and belt enough for the entire journey, the expedition got under way.
"Open the Gates!" Jack roared, the chains snapping to attention as they hoisted the hard iron up.
"Demon Extermination Expedition 038.... move out!"