[Ashborn-B1] 80. Rook Takes Bishop (Patreon)

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Rook Takes Bishop

“In the nick of time, huh,” Duke sighed. “You can’t go two seconds without fighting in this place.”

“Get in formation if you have the time to complain,” Judith said despite agreeing with him.

He shrugged and headed towards the back.

“Should I join the frontline?” Leila eyed the army massing in the distance.

“That,” Judith said, “or strengthen the core of our formation. You choose as you wish.”

It was too late to introduce her to the proper members of their army to integrate her. A single disciple like her also wasn’t going to make a dent in the wave of onslaught that was coming, so it didn’t matter what she did. If she really wanted to, she could even sit the battle out and accept whatever fate followed.

Dorothy mentally slapped her on the head. Every hand counts!

Judith exhaled. A shield wall formed around her position and the core of their formation stepped up. Black, winged dots darkened the sky. On the ground, misshapen and towering figures slipped between the file of Immortals.

They truly were like a building tide. However, it was as she’d said: the shrines were opposite, but also a mirror of each other.

Warm energy coursed underneath her feet, shot into her soles and through her entire body. Light poured from her skin—so bright that it shined through her robe.

Around her, her Weapon Empire clan lit up like a star. In their centre, a bundle of light converged and coiled into the shape of a knight taller and broader than Garen.

[Holy Commander - ?]

Their armour was a pristine white, similar to that of the holy blade she’d seen in the temple. But the commander’s spirit dwarfed that of the regular knight.

Unlike their opponents, their side didn’t thrive on numbers. Which was why only three more knights shaped into existence besides the commander. These were the regular knight variant, though of a lower level.

[Holy Blade - lvl. 51]

[Holy Blade - lvl. 51]

[Holy Blade - lvl. 51]

Their lower level didn’t matter. The commander’s presence doubled the flow of power coming from underground.

Judith’s heart raced out of her chest. Her skin flushed red, and a cool sensation spread through her mind. Right now, she felt like she could wipe every Immortal from existence with a single stroke of her staff.

That same surge passed through her clan. Essence gyrated underneath their fingertips, begging for a release.

Another exhale. “Calm yourselves,” Judith said. She infused her voice with part of the energy to reach the whole army.

Beside her, Garen jerked, shook his head, and eyed the commander. “What a powerful art.”

One that was dangerous. Losing one’s mind was a great way to find oneself in an early grave.

“Prepare for combat,” she said.

Ahead of her, the first of the black horde advanced. The Immortals had chosen to remain back and sent only the scorn.

‘Around thirty beasts.’

Should be a quick and easy fight…her gaze drew to a squad of Immortals pulling away from the core of their army. She frowned. Aedan was among them. Where were they going? The missions, her mind answered before she could fully process the question. Their missions, while similar, wouldn’t be the exact same as theirs.

The Shrine of Kings was big, and the options for what quests the Immortals could have were practically endless.

Her lips tutted. “Garen, take a squad and monitor that pack of Immortals.”

He turned in the direction she was looking. “Monitor only, Milady?”

“Yes. Keep your distance for now.”

Even if the Immortals completed one of their mission first, the battle wouldn’t immediately be lost. It’d merely shift in their favour. As long as her army actively worked towards their own goals, they could tip the scales back the other way.

With Garen gone, Judith shifted further back and behind the other members of her frontline. Her staff pointed forwards as the wave of shadows closed in. “Fire!”

The volley of weapons was a lightshow. Sharper and more accurate then ever before, blades cut through the advancing wave. Those their missiles didn’t incapacitate slammed into the enchanted shields of their frontline. Judith raised her staff again.

Her Weapon Empire didn’t suffer the limits of regular ranged disciples. More blades formed and changed direction mid-flight, curved over their allies, and seasoned the scorn like pepper.

A wave of shouts roiled through her army at the successful rebuttal of the enemy.

Judith didn’t rejoice in the slightest. She kept her eyes on the horizon, where many more scorn crawled through the ranks of the Immortals. As professed, where their side focused on quality, the Arch-Fiend focused on numbers.

They were in for the long haul.

Erri’s serpent melt through the ice and upturned the earth as it barrelled forwards. Ren and Jake clung to the construct’s back, while Erri stood proudly with her arms crossed as she stared down the imitation Divine Beast.

The six rhombus feathers on its forehead fluttered. Ice crystals pushed out of the frozen sphere suspended in the sky behind it like a sun.

I turned my gaze to the ground below. ‘There are less golems.’

A given, based on the number that’d assaulted the pillars. However, we couldn’t let our guards down just because there were less enemies for us to fight. More golems were but a single finger twitch away from forming. Moreover—

The air split with the beast’s cry.

I grimaced. The nearer we drew, the thicker its aura became. Its mere presence lowered the temperature of my body and made it harder to breathe.

Gaje at least looked like he wasn’t having trouble. The Nightmare leapt across the plane. Each of his leaps was so powerful he could surpass the height Ashwing was flying at.

‘That is concerning.’ It meant I wouldn’t be able to run from him unless I intended on staying in the sky for an indefinite period of time.

But that was a problem for later.

“We’ll leave blocking the volley to you!” I yelled over the whipping winds.

Aurille, hanging from Ashwing’s talons, nodded but added: “We won’t win a battle of resources against it.”

“I know,” I called back. Then I turned to my least favourite person in the world, though she was closely followed by another. “Erri, keep one of your serpents near Ren and Jake! We’ll be moving in together.”

“I don’t take orders from you,” she snarled.

I merely rolled my eyes. The moment this shrine was over…

A shadow darting in the side of my view made me turn. Gaje hovered beside us at the apex of his leap. “My trance won’t work. It’s not intelligent.”

He fell back down before I could respond. He also didn’t leap back up next to us, so he must not have anything else to report.

‘Well, that’s better for us.’ Unless the frost king was controlling the beast (unlikely, since its eyes were again closed and it only moved to summon golems), it would be easier to beat—

One of my chicks cried.

“Brace for impact!” I called and made myself smaller.

A frost shield formed at an angle to Ashwing’s flight path. Icicles shattered on the surface. Erri used her snakes to intercept the projectiles. Gaje…I didn’t quite catch how he avoided them, but he sported no wounds. He didn’t seem to have called on an active technique.

‘Damned beast,’ I cursed. Then I drew in a breath. “Second volley is on the way!”

I kept my centre low. In a long range battle like this, I was basically defenceless. I would’ve already been paste if not for Aurille. My dutiful guard blocked the second volley as gracefully as the last. The one after that as well. Four volleys had passed when we finally got in range of the beast.

‘Why isn’t it flying off?’ Like Aurille said, we wouldn’t win a resources war. If it flew off and simply kept peppering us, we’d lose. However, not only was the beast not running off now that we’d close the distance, it was no longer attacking either. Was it luring us in? Did it see us as so little a threat that running wasn’t worth it time?

The frozen orb was suspicious.

“Aurille, can you figure out what that is?” I asked. “What’s its purpose?”

She stared at the sphere. “I’ll do my best.”

I supposed I couldn’t ask for more.

Below, Erri ripped through a few remaining golems before whirling on the avian. Her hand struck out, and the same mass of coiling serpent she sent after me now flew at the beast. Jake lined up a shot. His arrows split into multiple that each hurled at the beast with enough force to punch a hole through a wall. Ren blasted into the sky himself and soared towards the beast.

“You can drop me,” Aurille said.

Ashwing let go, and the girl landed on a platform she formed in mid-air.

This is why I chose this group and forewent someone like Aedan (though I had more reasons to avoid her). All of us had a way of fighting a flying enemy. To be honest, I may be the person capable of dishing out the least hurt. I could manoeuvre well, but movement alone never won anyone a war.

‘…If I hadn’t learned my new abilities,’ I grinned.

Time to test my newfound tree powers worked against an over-sized bird.