Two days had passed since Orionâs wedding. These days were moments of respite, even amidst the bombardment from the sky tower above. Elenore had taken further measures behind the scenes to ensure the governor would be punished if he stepped out of line, but for now, they had contented him. The emperor was again drinking Ebonice tea, and Zen took this as a sign that they had neutered him. It was enough to earn his cooperation. But he wouldnât be content to keep Ji Meng alive forever, and that was certainly something to consider.
Now, two matters loomed above this day while Orion brought Sun Li back to their homeland. The first was the strategy discussion for the taking of the Palace of Heaven. They had all but confirmed Governor Zen was working with Sataistador. Without proof, they werenât yet ready to take this suspicion to the gods of the Blackgard Union, so for now they operated under the radar. As for the other matter⊠the alleged meeting with Traugott was intended to take place today.
Elenoreâs investigation of the fake Normanâs rapid arrival in the opera house had reached a dead end. It had ended because all the members of the travelling troupe that Xueyan had been sourced from had been slain to the last man. Traugott hadnât been subtle with them. They were burnt to crisps in the middle of the night, and with them, any further insights into his methods or network died. They investigated peripheral people, but garnered little information from them. Anyone who mightâve had more information either vanished or died mysteriously.
This whole ordeal reeked of Traugottâs meddlingâand worse yet, someone powerful behind him. Argrave suspected Erlebnis. The methodology tracked. Despite all of that, Argrave intended to go through with the meeting. If Anneliese could lock Traugott in battle, it would be the end of him. That alone was worth the risk of whatever design the conniving spellcaster concocted.
For now, however, they stood within the wing of war in the imperial palace. Argrave, Anneliese, Galamon, and Elenore were having a discussion with the governor over a large map painted into a table. They had consulted Ji Meng before this conversation, but Zen offered surprising insight.
âThe Palace of Heaven is located on the top of a fairly tall mountain range,â Zen explained to Argrave, leaning deep over the painted table. âThis mountain range is near the perfect center of the nation, and marks the boundaries between what can be considered north and south, or east and west. There are two pathways to reach it, one from the north, the other from the southâtheyâre incredibly narrow, and both pathways are too steep for horses to traverse. They wind through the mountain in an ungainly fashion, and theyâre defended by small outposts all along the way with weapons imbued with vital force. This is just the pathway to reach the fortress.â Zenâs finger traced a snaking road up the mountainside.
âItâd be hard to resupply. But then with Erlebnis as the garrison, supply wouldnât matter⊠they donât eat.â Argrave shook his head. He hoped Galamon might contribute, but the snow elf stared at the painted table in silence. âWe have wyverns. They can be some edge for us in the ascent.â
Governor Zen stroked his sharp beard. âDo you think the fortress hasnât dealt with fliers before, or dealt with supply constraints? Thereâs a vast food store beneath the castle: edible cave fungus. Unglamorous fare, but it never rots, grows slowly year by year⊠they could last for decades, eating that. As for your wyverns, the same person that built the divine-warding array beneath the imperial palace built something else up here.â The governor looked at them. âThe Stormfield.â
Anneliese perked up, asking, âWhat might that be?â
âIngenuity,â Governor Zen said simply. âIt took me nearly a decade to mimic the array beneath the imperial palace. But no matter how much I studied the Stormfield, its secrets never revealed themselves to me. A shame, too, considering how useful replication of such a feat would be.â The governor calmed his enthusiasm, then explained, âThe Stormfield personifies the Great Chu style of utilizing vital force. It calls upon the sky itself to rain the elements down infinitely wherever the arrayâs director wills it. Lightning, fire, ice, waterâevery second, any approaching army must contend with constant barrages. Each has the force of an S-rank spell.â
Argrave looked to Anneliese. âYou heard what she did, didnât you? Sheâs well used to assaults like that.â
âWerenât you listening?â Elenore chided. âThe man never said it created elements. He said it called upon them.â
Anneliese nodded in agreement. âMeaning⊠my [Life Cycle] may not be able to sap power from any spells that strike my wards.â She looked at the governor. âYou studied this arrayâare the attacks that assail assaulting armies imbued with magicâexcuse me, vital force?â she corrected her terminology for the present company.
Galamon continued to stare at the map in silence as Governor Zen thought of his answer.
âNo. The Stormfield calls upon the environmentâit never creates any spells.â The governor shook his head. âIf you need the presence of vital force to use your A-rank ascension, itâll be useless here.â
âThere are other ways to utilize my powerâŠâ Anneliese bit her nails, thinking hard.
âImpractical, janky ways,â Argrave supplied. âBut you said it uses fire, iceâif this comes from the environment, there has to be limits to what it can do, how long it can last.â
âIt comes in waves.â The governor walked around the table, explaining. âLightning is constant, and remains the deadliest of the attacks. First, it isolates and extracts heat from the air and whips up ice storms from the skies and snow dotting the peak. Deadly shards of ice move fast enough to pierce hardened steel. When no more ice shards exist, the heat is manipulated until the air itself catches fire.â
âAir canât catch fire,â Argrave interrupted.
âIâve seen otherwise,â Zen dismissed him in turn. As Argrave considered the implicationsâperhaps the fungal cave beneath and some gases within had something to do with thisâthe governor continued. âThe fire generally turns all the ice into steam. And from the steam comes deadly assaults from condensed water from everywhere all at once. Mysteriously, all of the heat drains away, and the ice recrystallizes. From there, this cycle persists. Meanwhile, those within the Palace of Heaven exist in a temperate, pleasant climate, caked in wards of the highest caliber and with stone unbroken since their placement. There are countless other measures to prevent approachâleast of all, a constant pressure the walls exert the closer one walks.â
Argrave couldnât begin to imagine what that would be likeâa constant cycle of hot and cold, lightning raining down all the while. But there had to be a source, a limit, a fuel. Power, especially not power of that magnitude, didnât come without an end. It might be ridiculously efficient, but it had to end. And there had to be some trick to it, some method that might be exploited. If these processes of transformation could be interruptedâŠ
âHas the Stormfield ever stopped?â Anneliese asked, giving voice to his thoughts. âDuring a siege, I mean.â
âMagic is its fuel. Itâll cease only briefly, when the director of the array runs out of magic.â Zen shook his head grimly. âBut considering who mans it now, I doubt thatâll be a problem. Even if the Stormfield didnât exist, Erlebnis and all of his divine servants remain within that fortress. Itâs resisted the siege of gods with far lesser occupants. Once, an emperor protected it alone against an ancient god until reinforcements arrived.â
Argrave looked at Anneliese. âEven if we do disarm the Stormfield somehow, Erlebnis has seen you fight without a doubt. He wonât have his emissaries attack our armies. Heâll do it himself, with his own power, so you canât stand at the front and absorb it harmlessly.âf(r)eewebn(o)vel.com
âIâm no strategist. But it sounds like you and your blood echoes will be pivotal for this, Argrave.â Elenore crossed her arms, leaning up against the painted table. âNo one else can attack so safely into the heart of enemy defenses from afar.â
Galamon finally moved, drawing two blue daggers from their sheathes and placing them atop the table. Argrave recognized them quicklyâthe Giantkillers. Theyâd taken those two daggers from a location that might be deemed somewhat similar to the Palace of Heaven. Atop a mountain fortress, these daggers had actually been the spearheads of giant golems.fre(e)webnov(l).com
And they could catch lightning, storing it for one devastating attack.
Argrave walked up to the daggers and looked at them. âI guess these would make the best of a bad situationâŠâ
âIs the fortress vulnerable to tunneling?â Galamon questioned.
âThe Stormfield collapses any tunnels that draw close enough. It keeps the whole mountain stable.â Zen waited expectantly for further questions.
âWyverns are useless here.â Galamon leaned in. âTwo armies, on foot, will take both passes. Veid and I shall lead one. Law and Argrave shall lead another. A straightforward assault.â
Argrave didnât exactly drop his jaw in surprise. They had received some information about the Palace of Heaven, and knew there were two paths. Dividing forces might seem imprudent⊠but then, that was what they wanted it to be. Sataistador might be enticed to betray if their forces were divided, one coming from the north and the other from the south.
âOnly on foot? And an assault, no lessânot a siege?â Argrave had to ask, unsure of the reasoning behind his old friendâs plan.
âPlace was designed for attrition. We fight that way, we play their game,â he declared, voice chillingly low.
âAssaulting seems like weâre playing their game, too,â Governor Zen argued. âNo matter how skilled our spellcasters areââ
âSpellcasters believe theyâre the only ones suited to use spirits. In most cases, I wouldnât argue the point.â He looked at Argrave. âBut the dwarves have their ways. Iâve experienced that firsthand.â
Argraveâs eyes widened. âYou want to empower warriors with spirits?â
âMmm.â Galamon nodded, then planted his finger atop the Palace of Heaven on the map. âSmall squad. Veidimen, maybe Orion, too. Iâve never considered it because itâs wasteful. But here⊠could be useful. Weâd be strong enough to break steel with our fingers alone.â
âCould be the edge we need,â Elenore nodded, impressed. âHow does this work, exactly?â
âDonât know how, but I know what it does. When I returned to Veiden to help Dras, there was an ice wraith. Tough creatures. Rowe was occupied with another matter, and two other S-rank spellcasters couldnât hunt it.â Galamon closed his eyes, recalling things. âWent underground, trying to set traps in its lair. Met a dwarf. Anestis. Showed me a strange constructionâwe have some.â
âThe dwarven spirit collectors,â Argrave filled in for him.
âRight,â Galamon nodded. âDwarves arenât magically talented, by and large, but they learned how to implant spirits into the flesh. Bestows incredible strengthâsurpassing Orionâs, even. I broke down a giant wall with nothing but my own body.â
âIt also generally kills those who consume as many spirits as you did.â Argrave looked at him. âDid you forget that detail? Did you forget that you of all people were rendered bedridden after using it? You can take arrows to the chest and be fine by nightfall, but doing that knocked you out cold for days. You nearly died.â
Galamon straightened, standing to his imposing height. âVeid is with us. Her presence blesses us all with indefatigability and total unity in battle.â
âDoes that mean they wonât die?â Argrave asked.
Galamon shook his head. âItâs doubtful. But the Veidimen are warriors, and this is war.â
âFair enough,â Argrave conceded with a shake of his head. âBut that doesnât change the fact that Erlebnis is still there.â
âAnd powerful gods have thrown themselves against the walls of the palace before.â Zen scrutinized the table closely. âNo matter how powerful they were⊠fist and metal, bows and arrows, wind and sand, and still it stands.â
Galamon stared at the painting of the Palace of Heaven, not even deigning to look up as he declared, âThey were not Veidimen.â
Baiting Sataistador wasnât something that they could rush, but Argrave felt they had a very solid start to it. Whatever requests or alterations Zen brought, theyâd be able to view that through the lens of the god of war influencing the words of the governor. Still, they had a solid foundation; a juicy bait, as it were. They were dividing their armies in two. The words âdivide and conquerâ were famous for a reason. Argrave hoped Sataistador agreed.
But now, it was time for them to confront the second matter on todayâs agenda. The meeting with Traugott. The location heâd requested was incredibly strange. It was a crematorium. But the crematoriums of the Great Chu were different than the one Argrave remembered, from back home.
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