Chapter 11 Part 3 of 4 (Patreon)

The team fired up at the beast, it roared in sudden pain as its wings threw dust clear and it climbed again.

Rugrat fired The Beast , nearly being knocked off his feet if not for Davos catching him.

The Dragon roared with the hit, his tail gathering lighting as it struck out with a clap.

Lightning like a scythe cut through several houses, filling the street with more dust. They weathered the hits from the collapsing building and broke through.

“Its coming around!” Tully’s rising voice made Erik turn, seeing the Dragon coming up right behind them.

“Rugrat, do it!” Roska yelled.

Rugrat wrapped the sling along his arm, as Davos braced him against a building.

“Don’t get too excited,” Rugrat muttered.

Lightning shot out of the Dragon’s mouth, tearing down the street, tearing it apart and sending stone in every direction.

Rugrat fired.

The elements and the little mana in the area was sucked in the force, clearing an area around him of dust.

The round struck the Dragon in the mouth and exploded somewhere in its head, whipping it around to the side.

Half of it’s jaw blown off the Dragon flapped its wings and dove away as piercers fell from above, trying to reclaim the skies as their hunting ground.

The badly wounded dragon could no longer use its breath as it lashed out with claws and its tail as if half-blind.

Erik noticed Rugrat sneak a healing and stamina pill, the force on his weakened body was too much for it to handle. Adding in how little sleep and the constant fighting, it was surprising he was on his feet.

“Lets keep going.” Edmond said.

They agreed, and pushed on. Being in the Under-City for so long they had adapted to the regular stresses and looked for constant places to rest, reading the Under-City with elemental senses.

It took them several hours before they could find another place to rest.

“Well I guess that Dragons aren’t morning creatures,” Davos said.

Erik groaned in pain as the others let out notes of complain with a collective eye roll.

“Come on, that was a good one!”

Erik found a section of wall, falling against it and sitting down.

He couldn’t help but think of the Dragon’s breath, there had been no casting time, no spell, just flame. The attack didn’t hold any of the mana that spells might. A true insta-cast. Many people looked how they could decrease the time that it took to cast a spell. There were many tricks, but it always required time to cast a spell, but this had been nearly immediate.

Erik thought of the Dragon’s actions, how it had projected lighting through its surroundings.

The lightning came from inside and it breathed out with every attack.

For some reason he couldn’t help but think of the fire element moving through Lee’s body when he punched.

He remembered the sensation of having the elements drawn towards the Dragon, then its projection out.

It was spitting. Erik’s eyes opened.

“He was drawing in the elements to his lungs, he didn’t pull the metal element into his body, he was using it as fuel. He sparked the lightning in his body, it raced through his body, his body contracting to explosively release his breath of lightning. Then what was he doing with his tail?”

Maybe he used his elemental domain, draw in the metal element, then when he snapped out his tail, the lightning gaining a direction followed the path of the tail?

“No, it was almost as if he was throwing lightning, he could manifest lightning in his tail and on it, but when he sent it out as a ranged attack he had to build up the lightning again.” Erik bit the inside of his lip, falling into thought, connecting what the Dragon had done with Lee’s lesson.

***

Anjea Gerard shifted in her seat as the carriage passed through the King’s Hill guards.

Pieter Velten smirked, looking out at the passing city with mild interest.

“Are they armed that well?” He asked.

Anjea checked the formations on the carriage were active.

“If the reports from the fighting are anything to go on, yes.”

“I do not understsnad why the elders of our clan are so worried, they are just  a group in the first realm. They haven’t even reclaimed their city in the fourth realm and merely recruit in the higher realms.” He snorted.

“Pieter,” Anjea’s voice commanded his attention. “It would be wise to not look at the Alvans in simple terms. They have hundreds of thousands of sect fighters from the fourth to the seventh realm working under their command while they have an army that should be around two hundred thousand strong. Have you read the reports on the Black Phoenix Clan?”

“There are several clans using the opportunity with their ships away to attack their positions.”

“All are looking to gain the attention and favor of Alva. The worst thing you could do is underestimate them. We can shoot once every four seconds if we have our rifles reloaded. They can shoot multiple rounds in a second and reload as long as it takes us to change rifles.” Anjea looked out at the city beyond.

“They don’t have any airships though.”

“That we know of.” Her soft words lay heavy in the carriage.

“But why would they only keep one city, Vuzgal in the fourth Realm was a trade hub for the entire realm.”

“They would have to break up their force into two groups instead of concentrate them in one area and develop them there? Also they can go to anywhere in the ten realms through their totems.”

Pieter bit his lower lip in thought.

I hope that the clan leader was right about this. She had spent several weeks reading every piece of information related to the Alvans.

“Is it true what people say about their manufacturing capability?”

Pieter ran his jeweled fingers through his hair.

“They have built these factories, places that will churn out items constantly as long as they are fed resources. It allows unskilled workers to create items of the Journeyman grade.”

“And this is what is supplying our gunpowder.”

“Yes, the Alvan traders, while they are a small group, they have a great reach and contracts with people across the realms. Getting access to those routes and their agreements,” Pieter’s mouth curled upwards.

“That is all dependent on how they react,” Anjea said.

“When they find out that their lords have died, they will be seeking out another force that can protect them. We have seen it happen countless times. If they do not have strong leaders they will collapse.”

“I don’t think that it will go that smoothly.” Anjea watched outside the carriage as they moved through King’s Hill.

Police were out walking the street, Alvan military marched to and from their camps and the city defenses.

It feels like we’re in a city from the foruth realm, not the first.

They drove up the maintained and planned streets to the Lord’s castle.

They went through two more inspections before they reached the actual ‘castle’.

Anjea frowned as they walked out. There had been outer walls around the castle district hosting military and administration offices, but the buildings while strong were built out in the open.

They have half windows at the base. Anjea looked at the shin high windows at the base of the buildings a shiver running down her spine as she stepped out of the carriage.

“Well this is rather nice.” Pieter said, admiring the flower beds and trees that grew alongside the buildings. People were sitting on benches for their breaks or hurrying between buildings or out of the castle’s gates to head into the city.

“Please come in, Lord Aditya is waiting for you,” A man said, standing ready next to the carriage.

He guided Anjea and Pieter with four guards through the castle.

The temperature warmed up against the spring temperatures. Formations.

They walked through the ‘castle’ passing offices, it was a hive of activity.

The man guided them to a door flanked by two guards, they nodded to the guide.

“There is a seating area for your guards to wait,” The man gestured to a side room.

“Thank you,” Anjea said, she shot a look to the guards who moved to the alcove.

The guards opened the door for her and Pieter.

“I don’t care how much they are willing to buy the land for, it is a flood plain. Were you able to get the plans for the new river,” A man’s voice exited the room.

Anjea found chairs facing a fireplace infront of her, to her left was a wall of books, a large desk with chairs and a smaller desk to it’s left. A map table lay behind the couches and the chairs facing the desk, a glance showed Anjea it was a map of the Alvan Empire. Beside it a bulky man an ex-fighter by his stature was leaning on the map table.

“We have guests,” The other occupant, his secretary said.

Lord Aditya nodded and she headed to the smaller desk, jotting down notes as he turned to Pieter and Anjea.

“Ah, sorry about that, try to squeeze out every minute of every day,” Aditya grinned and held out his hand, shaking theirs.

Anjea bowed when taking his hand but Pieter simply smiled.

“Shall we take a seat.” Aditya gestured to the couches.

He sat in one of the armchairs near the fireplace while they sat on the couch.

“So, I hear that you want to increase the amount of gunpowder we supply and you’re interested in purchasing weapons from us?”

“That is correct,” Pieter sat forward.