Chapter 400 (1/2)

Chapter 400

Chapter 398: Descension

ARTHUR LEYWIN

Leaning against the base of a squat apple tree and chewing on the last of its ripe fruit, I stared out at the fields south of Blackbend City

Once these flat plains and low, rolling hills would have gleae swaths of far Blackbend’s southern edge and the ten thousand or ray-and-black clad soldiers moved with stiff, short steps, and I sawcast about More than once, ranking officers stopped to shout at a group of gossipers as ers rushed about with a frantic air

After a brief jaunt to the Relictois and I were at full poe’d followed the wide swath of churned sand that h the desert and into the foothills separating Sapin and Darv The tempus warp I’d recovered from the Wraiths would have made it a simple matter to teleport the distance, but I needed to ensure that the Alacryan force didn’t split or divert to a different destination

Despite their multi-day lead, the soldiers who had retreated froe point, with htened with aether so I couldof the s of the war camp for a while, content to just watch as the Alacryans stewed in their own uncertainty

It had already been a couple of hours while Regis and I waited under the apple tree Unforunately, there had been no sign of the retainer and regent, Lyra Dreide, or of the two Scythes They would have ood to be in the field again, an enemy in front of me My return to Dicathen had been defined by furtive rushi+ng through underground tunnels and living in fear for my family and all the Dicathians underThis was a war It was past tiht it

But I could only do so now because of the Lances The dae to their cores, forced on thes and queens and catapulted them to white core, had been healed Varay, Bairon, and Mica were, at the veryover the remains of the er for the first ti time

When the Lances next faced the Scythes, I was confident the results would be very different

A horn sounded in the war caather

Ready?

Regis drifted free of rown shadoolf “Oh, this is going to be fun”

Together, we began ren into a slight valley that opened up into the tra enca to the south, we slowed to a steadyfor them to spot us

Another horn blew, then another These were ht with some amusement, so lizard mana beasts called skitters and rushed to cut ave a shout, and the sand-yellow lizards all skidded to a stop, holding well back

Their leader, a man in his early twenties with a thin blond beard and dark, steady gaze, took in my appearance and went pale The other soldiers all turned in his direction, and I could tell that they all recognized me from the rumors even if they had never seentheir riders’ discois’s presence, shi+ed and tried to pull back

“St-state your identity,” the leader said, his voice cracking slightly He cleared his throat and sat taller Without waiting for me to respond, he immediately asked, “Are you the traitor to Alacrya known as Grey? If so, know that the regent Lyra of Highblood Dreide has given orders that you are to be killed on sight”

I looked hi for then?”

He raised his chin, one hand on the bridle of his skitter, the other on the handle of his sword “What do you want here?”

“That’s easy,” I said, pointing past hione Now”

The boy’s jaw tightened beneath his blond beard To his credit, he did not i about it “You are only one man There are several thousand soldiers at my back Surely you don’t—”

I reached for the relic ar over my skin made the soldier yank hard on the reins, and his skitter danced sideways and nearly threw him “If you’ve seen me before, then you know I always offer the opportunity to lay down your arms and leave with your lives The Vritra Clan is my enemy, not the people of Alacrya Disband this encampment and prepare to leave Sapin i moment while his skitter still strafed side to side, now actively atte to pull away Finally, he let it, and the mana beast whirled around and shot off toward the war camp The rest were quick to follow

“Tired of sounding like a broken record yet?” Regis asked, letting his tongue loll froets harder to offer cle my arms as I watched the skitter-riders hurry away “But it’s the right thing to do, Regis If I could snap ers and send all these Alacryans back to their own continent without any violence, I would But…” My voice grew firm as I felt my will harden “Anyone ould make themselves a pawn of the Vritra—whether they’re born in Alacrya or Dicathen—has chosen their own fate”

The scouts had reached the cau officers clashed with growing anianization quickly dissolved under a lack of leadershi+p I thought the Alacryansvoice drowned out all others

A gargantuan woround and pointed atinto line While a few groups of soldiers broke ranks and fled north, roups at the woman’s direction shi+elds flared, empowered weapons and armor blazed to life with mana, and a rainbow of spells were activated

I couldn’t help but be disappointed as I looked across the field at the thousands of Alacryan es

“This really would be so h to run for their lives,” I is japed, chuckling darkly “Maybe it would help if they got a good look at lory?”

I nodded is activated the Destruction Godrune His body blazed with the purple flae and bestial, all hard, sharp angles and jagged fire and long black spikes His head widened and flattened as obsidian fangs grew out of his s sprouted from behind his arched shoulder blades, and then I leapt onto his back

Regis lifted up off the ground and gave a roar that shook Blackbend He breathed out flah above the enemy

A tremor of terror shook the awestruck Alacryans A shi+eld ceased conjuring and turned to flee, but the woe of the army appeared before hi He didn’t even have the chance to conjure another protective shi+eld before he fell into two burning halves

“Any other who sha tail condemns their blood as well! By the Vritra, I’ll hters bleed for your cowardice!”

At the wo the sky with blues, reds, blacks, and greens Cutting rays and bursting is’s Destruction-infused breath burned away several of the strongest spells Others, I batted aside with aether More missed or reflected harmlessly off the relic aris’s bulk What little dae we took healed alis rumbled in his much deeper voice “They’ll be less than ash when I’ on one last gahter

I didn’t have to look for the aetheric pathways between me and the Alacryan leader As I iuided is’s back and appeared in front of the leader, just inside the effective range of her overlarge sword

She grunted in surprise and brought the blade up defensively, both the fla aroundin her dark eyes

Faster than she could react, ht the blade Real visible theout the h of fine make, theus both with shrapnel Although harmless to me, a piece slashed across her cheek, and she snarled as she stumbled back froauntleted fist drove into her spine where her armor opened to reveal several runic tattoos The bones shattered, and her lifeless body flew into the backs of a nearby battle group, knocking thee had been so fast that most of the Alacryan soldiers hadn’t noticed and were still slinging spells at Regis Only those closest at hand had witnessed their leader's de horror The smart ones, however, broke ranks and fled And as soon as a few had done so, dozens is thought fro in on itself Most of the like hell’

Lay down a line of fire just beyond the front line, I thought back Avoid the fleeing soldiers where you can, but don’t hesitate to burn anyone who keeps fighting

The jagged fire juleeful exciteis ducked and weaved between the bo out just in front of the fore fla, and transparent panels of on’s fire, spilling over the field and splashi+ng against the shi+elds, devouring the mana

I stood at the center of the chaos, a stone un sea No one attackedme would somehowand shoving as they ran around me, away from the violet flames and toward the city

The encae of bodies tra tables, and kicking caed headlessly past

I beganamidst the chaos and insanity The front lines had crushed back into the rear ranks, and where those who atteht on, all out brawls erupted But no one ca through the high fla down their own allies

The heavy, resounding vibration of large bells suddenly rang all throughout the city of Blackbend, the backdrop to our battle Many of the fleeing soldiers were rushi+ng toward the city’s open gates, although, as the army shedthe lines of the city wall or risk clogging the gates and being stuck outside