Chapter 103: Frontline
Rainer fixed his collar as he walked towards the meeting place. It seemed like every night he was wearing something more ridiculous than the last. Elelaria was having far too much fun with Luna’s ability. At least he always had his enchanted long-coat to cover it up, at least partially.
His prior discussion with the Lamia Clan Head went well, and now he was meeting with all three Heads. While nothing overt was said, it was easy to guess this would be a conversation related to the dungeon.
Rainer’s foot froze mid-step as he felt a panicked message come from both his sister’s and Lilia’s soul mark. He vanished before his foot hit the ground.
A Divine radiance filled the room as a cloaked man ran towards Sarah. Gunthar rushed behind him, the man had been completely invisible to Gunthar’s detection skills, letting him get so close in the first place.
Yet before Sarah could take any action, Rainer appeared in the room. He grabbed the man and vanished in the same moment, as if neither had been there at all.
Over the night-sky of Neutral City, a ma.s.sive explosion of Divine force erupted and a serpent started cleaning up the remaining power.
Rainer floated in the sky, his [Arcane Awakening: Shield Mode] lacking even a single mark.
Too weak…
He thought, and then seethed in anger. The target wasn’t him. There was no way they’d believe him so weak, and they couldn’t have known he would arrive to defend his companions so quickly. They were the goal of this suicide mission. And clearly, this man had something that hid him from even [Soul Detection] or Gunthar would have long since stopped him before he even entered the building.
He paused for a moment, taking some of the leftover Divine power that tried to escape and encasing it in a Arcane Weave. He layered over the now spherical weave and then shoved it in his [Arcane Awakening: Spatial Storage], cutting off the power’s connection with its master. Jor sent him a dirty look, but Rainer promised the Serpent he could have it later.
Rainer no longer had any Void Will to calm himself down. And the Arcane Power racing through his body and blood in the form of [Arcane Awakening] only made things worse.
Was it time to declare war? Perhaps they’ve warred across the south unopposed for too long...
Let’s see how they stop me without their Divinity descending.
Rainer void-walked in front of the three Clan Heads, slightly surprising them. His Avatar went to stay with everyone else. Kara was in the far North with her tribe and mother, so it was only Sarah, Lilia, Tiamat, Elelaria, and Gunthar there.
“I need a favor. What’s the most important strategic point in the South for the Tarainien Empire?”
The three Heads were already standing, having felt the explosion of power in the sky. They had sent their guards out in a rush to get information and were even prepared to rush out themselves. But they clearly already found the target of it.
Both Moon Elf Clan Head and Dwarven Clan Head thought in silence, while Mala decided to take the lead. If this [Archon] wanted to interfere with the Tarainien Empire then she’d welcome it. Plus, if he truly angered the Tarainien Empire enough, Neutral City would become one of the few places willing to risk the presence of his Guild. It was a win-win for her. From there it’d be easy to maneuver their relationship from one of equals to something else.
“They recently took a mountain pa.s.s that leads into the Elven Country of Mistmyer, they had been trying to consecrate that pa.s.s for close to a century. It will open up the entire South to them more than anything else,” the Lamia spoke.
“Thank you,” Rainer spoke and vanished. He’d find a map and the place itself with Ele’s help easily enough.
Rainer switched places with his Avatar, who was now currently surpa.s.sing the speed of sound as it rushed to the place on the map. It was easy to find as it was near the highest mountain in the area.
“Rainer.. I really advise you don’t do this,” Elelaria said, again. The fuming [Archon] looked odd with a sour expression on his face while a Fairy happily sat on his head and played with his hair. But she wasn’t in the mood to laugh at him.
“Why. Clearly they’ve decided not to leave things alone, so why should I let them relax?”
Elelaria sighed, she was forbidden from sharing this information by her grandfather, but it seemed she needed to.
“Rainer… you are overestimating how much they hate you and underestimating the means of a Divinity.”
Rainer frowned. The descended Divinity he fought made it quite clear their hatred was eternal.
“What do you mean?”
“Can you block out all sound? I mean layered magic. Not just a single spell.”
Rainer nodded. He activated his enchanted ring, covered the place in compressed Arcane-Earth while using [Arcane-Wind Manipulation] to lift himself and Elelaria so he could cover the floor. He then manipulated a small light at the top of the new box.
Elelaria took a moment to hide her surprise at how casually he manipulated so many elements of magic. She was sure it was manipulation because none of it seemed structured enough to be a regular spell other than the use of the enchanted ring.
“It is said a Divinity can only descend in their followers within consecrated ground, yes? Well… that’s true, but only technically. They can descend an Avatar anywhere they please, though at enormous cost. I’m talking about centuries of received faith kind of cost for the Divinities at the level of the Tarainien Empire. Plus, their time will be limited.”
“Why is this a secret…” Rainer asked, inwardly deciding to talk to Talvara about this.
“Because it is against Neutral’s City interests for people to be too cautious in dealing with the Tarainien Empire. So my clan has hidden the information from even the other Clan Heads. I only learned it by accident and had my grandfather not favored me, he might have killed me to keep it a secret.”
“I would think Neutral City or even the Southern Countries has p.i.s.sed them off enough to warrant such action…”
“In the grand scheme of things? No. After all, they only want Human faith for whatever reason. So the southern expansion only needs to keep up with population growth. Besides, the life of a mortal isn’t long enough to truly anger a Divinity beyond reason. At least, that’s what my clan records state.”
“So I should just let them continue a.s.saulting me and mine?” Rainer asked, not mentioning that his serpent had absorbed part of the Divinity’s power and that may have made it cautious in descending an Avatar for revenge. Nor that his t.i.tle and [Divine Resistance] were noticed and infuriated said Divinity.
Elelaria frowned as she thought over a solution.
“No… but do not sow irreversible hatred. Threaten those at the mountain pa.s.s, give them a day to leave or face your ‘wrath’ or whatever you wish to call it. But ignore any Elves or other southern delegates who may try to speak to you. Make it clear you are only getting personal revenge and have no plans to wage war. I think they’ll get the message.
“Especially since attacking your companions sounds like personal revenge. No one of any real intelligence would perform such a move that would serve only to make you act against them in full force if they succeeded. There is literally no benefit to killing those you care for. Capturing, maybe. But killing? That kind of moronic move can’t be sanctioned by their Emperor. There is a possibility they were trying to lure you to their consecrated territory, but the odds of that are low. You are a Magus of great power, you don’t need to be in their territory to cause harm to it.”
“But I’d still be helping the Elves retake the pa.s.s.”
“That is merely a consequence of your actions rather than intent.”
Unfortunately for her plan, Rainer was still furious.
“I’ll think about it.”
Rainer’s Avatar appeared above and away from the fort at the mountain. The sun was just rising over the horizon as a ma.s.sive power spread out over the land.
The world turned violet and an unspeakable presence pushed down on every Tarainien within the fort. Even the dozens of 2nd Tier Experts stationed there shivered in fear as they looked up in the sky. It reminded them far too much of something else. The hovering Magus appeared far more than he was.
Rainer looked all across the fort, up and down the wall and across the buildings. There was something he forgot to consider: innocents. Ordinary soldiers knowing nothing better. Far different than the specialized group sent after Elelaria months ago.
He grit his teeth in anger. Not at just them but at the Divinities behind them. What was the point of such pitiful people fighting in a war? They served little to no purpose. Were their followers lives so meaningless? He ignored that any other country of this world, or his own world, was no different. He was far too angry about last night’s events to care about that.
[Arcane Awakening] cycled faster through his body as he got angrier and angrier. Such G.o.ds had no place among men. They had interfered with him far too many times. Inadvertently he sunk into his Arcane Power just as he did with Void Will months ago.
His [Arcane Presence] reached beyond this world, it’s pressure becoming chaotic and knocking anyone too weak to resist it unconscious. Months of practice finally produced a tangible result as he took the final step.
[Arcane Presence has reached level 10]
[Experience Gained: 1.31%]
[Arcane Presence has reached its maximum level. 7 skill points have been rewarded.]
[Arcane Presence has unlocked Arcanium Descent lvl 1/10]
A wave of violet extended for miles. The chaotic energies swirled and lashed out against anyone who was still conscious, sending their minds and energy into disorder. To the [Priest]s within the fort it reminded them far too much of what it was like facing the power of their Divinties. Though they avoided directly thinking of such a blasphemous thought.
“You have a single day to retreat. Any who remain will be slaughtered. ” The pressure suddenly vanished, leaving only a single figure floating in the air with his eyes closed.
“What do you think,” a blonde-haired Elf asked the room. Currently seated in a tent, all the commanders of the nearby southern forces were gathered. They had been preparing an a.s.sault on the mountain pa.s.s, knowing the consequences of losing it.
“He fits the profile of one [Archon] Nvos. It isn’t confirmed, but the Netural City leadership seems to believe that is his cla.s.s. My spy in Neutral City informed me of his presence there months ago. As of last night I received a message of a Divine attack in the city, a Divine Death-Bringer from the appearance of it, though it seems the [Archon] teleported him to above the city before any damage was done.”
Their faces hardened at the mention of that. While such suicide attacks were useless against those of true power in the 2nd Tier, they were effective on pretty much everyone else. And they were masters of stealth. Only when the Divine power in their bodies was ready to explode would they be revealed.
“So he’s just here for revenge or as a warning?” one Elf sighed in disappointment but found it hard to be unhappy given that they’d be regaining such a strategic position. The Mage Guilds of the North occasionally interfered in the war, but only because they were unhappy with a trade deal or because the Tarainien Empire went too far with their actions. They never did anything more than token resistance. The trade with the Tarainien Empire was far too profitable for both sides for them to ever truly fight against one another.
“We can send a delegate to be sure.”
“Some fancy Elf is flying up to speak to me, what should I do?” Rainer’s true body asked Elelaria, who had been staying up with him. Sarah and Lilia fell asleep next to each other on a nearby couch while Gunthar was glaring at the Arcane Weave covered orb of Divinity as he tried to learn how to detect it alongside Rainer. Feeling the power when it was activated was one thing, detecting it was another.
“Ignore him completely. No doubt you are being watched,” Elelaria said, happy he went with her plan. What she didn’t mention was that if he truly went too far, he’d lose a lot of standing in Neutral City and in the negotiations related to his Enchanter’s Guild. She felt he wouldn’t care about that so she didn’t bother. Or even worse he’d simply chose to leave the city and delay his plan until he was stronger. Anyone who wasn’t blind could tell how much he hated political maneuvering.
“Lord [Archon], the King of Mistmyer sends his greetings.”
Rainer’s Avatar just remained floating with his eyes closed.
The delegate showed no surprise, and simply bowed after a few moments before flying away. It seemed luck wasn’t on their side.
Rainer glanced at the fleeing figure before staring back at the fort with its rapidly retreating soldiers. It should be common knowledge amongst the higher ups that he had won against a descended Divinity, so there was little point of fighting him on ground that wasn’t even consecrated.
He didn’t feel too bad about not helping the South or accepting their greetings. The moment he reached the Third Tier was the moment the Tarainien Empire began their fall. Such meddling and magic-hating Divinites had no place in his future goals. There was no need to worry about ordinary believers as no doubt seeing their G.o.ds helpless to stop him would be enough to break any faith. And without 2nd Tier Experts the Empire couldn’t fight any wars anyways. So his conscience would be clear.
And that was ignoring the plans of Talvara, who no doubt wished to milk this Empire for all it was worth in terms of Divine power.
It was now a dying faith.