137 Battle of the Wild Mountains : Part 5

Whether it was those above the skies that suddenly shuddered in fear, worrying truly for their safety or those on the grounds, shivering after learning how strong their enemy was, both were equally surprised. Looking at the god that was reduced to the state that Aria was in, many retracted their vision from the planet under them, fearing that just this small contact could have unforeseen consequences.

Only the strongest of them all still had the guts to throw a glance at the situation, seeing the panic spreading amongst their believers. But right after this, when he wanted to look one more time into the underground base nearby, he felt a cold pressure on him. From the beginning, they hadn't been able to truly know what was going on inside the tomb, mainly because of the arrangements Leilade ordered Malakov to take.

First of all, it was not the first time those surviving demons had to deal with godly beings, and blinding them was the easiest part. But even then, just one soul could be eaten by them, all the information inside it revealed. Therefore, a massive net had been cast above the tomb, catching everything that had died in it. Using the very souls the gods sought as a fuel, they extended it for a short time to cover the human base, cutting directly the link between the gods and their Heroes.

Nonetheless, if it was a battle of attrition, Malakov would always end up in the losing side. Even with Leilade behind him, what he had couldn't amount to the vast reserves of the beings above the planet. However, with the almost non-existent intel the latter had, they will never be able to learn that weakness and as such, they preferred to not engage in that duel of mana. As the gods were screaming in panic and debating what to do, the humans were no better.

The Sword Saint of Massalia was still heavily wounded, but it was not deadly anymore. There was still some batches of lingering light, but they were quickly disappearing. The hope everyone had about the gods saving them was crushed in a way no one ever thought it could happen. It was only known that they realized why the legends talked about the Dark Gods, and used this specific term. Because who could beat a God if not another one?

"Gentlemen, miladys, we need to strike right now! Begin the next offensive." The stoic Lord Darkwater was still looking as calm as ever, but the ones that heard his words were not sharing the same state of mind. "But, general, how? Why? We will ... we will be slaughtered, even the gods can' ..."

"STOP!"

Raising his hand, the old general approached the panicked officer. From his uniform, it seemed he was from Avenio, but that wasn't a problem. All around him, he could see many falling into despair, dark ideas growing in their minds. But who could blame them? "Do you really think they can go against the Gods without paying the price? Whatever they used, if we pressure them enough, we can get rid of it. And at that time, Heroes will appear."

Unknowingly, what he ordered was the exact thing Malakov wanted. More souls to resupply his mana. If the humans had waited an entire week without attacking, the magic protection surrounding the base would have crumbled naturally, by lack of mana. And it would have taken at least half of a day to rebuild it since Leilade wouldn't have wasted anything just to maintain it a few additional hours.

"YES! DESTROY THEM ALL!" Appearing in the entrance of the tent, Avirus looked even more vigorous than before. The remnants of the godly light had all been absorbed by him, finally curing whatever poison he had in his hand. Seeing the Hero at full strength once more, the dark clouds that were beginning to obscure the minds of many were dissipated. Hearing the shouts around him, Lord Darkwater still took Arthar apart.

"Make those disciples participate by all means necessary. We need a victory now, hopefully, one less costly than the preceding." Nodding, the magus from Massalia left pensively while the others were encircling Avirus. Almost alone in the tent, Darkwater only realized that he had not seen the prince since the lights arrived. "Amdir, have you seen Ferrod?" Only then did the young man also remembered not seeing him before Avirus arrived.

"No, lord Darkwater. Do you want me to get him?"

"Maybe, but not for now. He is probably preparing a message for the king."

A few kilometers away from there, the prince they were talking about was finally reaching his destination. From what his bodyguards learned, it was a very open plain, with nothing around on hundreds of meters. No trees, no hills, just a plain. Descending from his horse, he gave it to his maid for the moment. Walking further away from those supposed to protect him, he extended his arms.

"Mighty Gods, hear the call of one of your believers. Without you, we will fall before the Dark Gods. You have also witnessed their strength, but they can't defy you everywhere. Here, in this place, nothing will prevent you, oh mighty Gods, to bless us." After saying this, he waited and waited, but nothing happened. Instead of getting impatient or mad, the second prince only smiled.

"My prince, it is too exposed here, we need to go back to the camp." One of his bodyguard, a knight from the 1st Legion was not reassured to be in the open like that. After he heard the theory of his prince, he reluctantly agreed because it was better than nothing. But since it had failed, it was not good to remain here.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing. Maybe it's the reason why they have not answered my call. All of you, get further away." Waving his hand, the prince dismissed all the knights, leaving only his maid and the leader still trying to argue. "My prince, please. We don't know if ..." "That's an order." Seeing the determined face of Ferrod, the knight could only augment the distance between them.

"And you, are you also doubting me?" Questioning the slightly tan maid, he could see her smiling back. "I will never doubt your highness. If your highness believes it will work, then it will work." Feeling happy with that, he still had his eyes turning slightly cold when he heard a specific word. "I told you, you can call me by name when we are in private. Well, I guess they may still hear it."

At this moment, what they were both waiting for finally arrived. A column of light dropped from the sky, not obstructed by anything. Laughing as he could feel the power inside him rising, Ferrod knew he had made the smartest choice. And with this, all he had planned will finally happen. Because they were still relatively close to where the tomb was, this was seen by many scouts patrolling the surrounding.

When he heard the news, the first reaction of Lord Darkwater was to calmly acknowledge it and focus on what was important. But for the young man behind him, it was like thunder had struck him. Maybe it wasn't known by the old general, but the first prince had already been decided to become king after the death of the current one. If not for his calm nature and the fact he was not interested in actively looking to invade the neighboring nations, Forchon Minalcar Teldil wouldn't have any adversaries. Especially since his wife was a princess from Genablum, assuring the long-lasting alliance between the two kingdoms.

However, Ferrod was definitely not happy with that. In recent years, he had begun to move a lot, forming a faction preaching a more ... violent approach. Even if they were now just a minority, his new status as a Hero could dangerously change the inner politics inside Massalia. And with the fact that the second prince was at odd with Muirnë for obscure reasons, his potential crowning was something neither he nor his father wanted.

The news of a second Hero spread quickly amongst the soldiers, with many cheering. Only the foreign officers were not happy after hearing it, especially those from the Synnada Empire. There was still no Heroes in sight for them, tilting dangerously the balance of power away from them. Even if right now, cooperation was more important, the aftermath of the way will be dreadful if any Hero survived.

For the moment, only Leilade and her subordinates knew that in fact, another Hero had been blessed, only further away than the rest. They had no idea who it was, but Ronta had definitely been under the light from the heavens for too long to only be nothing at the end. Raising her head to look at the fissured skull floating above her, she saw a part of the jaw missing. The body of the lich was still too crude to handle spells of that power.

"Fix yourself Malakov. We can't exclude they won't try another thing."

"Yes, Empress." Gritting his teeth, the Envoy of Leilade called a few liches, turning them into dust as their power entered his body. The fissures that were spreading on his skeleton began to disappear, and even new teeth were formed. However, before he could repair the hidden injuries that were inside his marrow, he saw the Hero leading troops to attack once more.

"If he dares to go like that, he must be sure that Kardel can't harm him. Davion, take care of him, once and for all."

"It will be done, Empress." Picking up his helmet, his longsword, and his shield, he left the room under the worried stare of Meridiana. The succubus was thinking about the future, where she will have to fight. Cheering internally for the duvodiad and the orodil, she hoped that they will never need her help since it would mean something went horribly wrong.

"You know no one will escape this unscathed." The tone in the voice of Leilade made sure that it was not a question. Feeling the gaze of the little girl near her, Meridiana nodded. Leilade will only move when no one else could, that was the truth that everyone knew. They could only rely on themselves to fend off the humans, except if the threat is so big that the Empress of the Underworld needed to fight. The only reason she would do that would be the Archmage, now that Kardel couldn't move as he wished.

"Prepare yourself, you will be the diversion when the second Hero will arrive."

"Yes, Empress." Letting the girl and the lich alone, she approached the portal nearby. The undead were still around it, but their numbers were just enough for one travel. Trying to remember what Davion said last night, she repeated everything in her head in the meantime. Whatever will happen afterward, she will have to find that hole and take the hidden tunnels.

"She will try to hide as soon as possible." Malakov only commented after the silhouette of the beautiful succubus was gone. But what he said fell into the ear of a deaf, since the girl had no reaction. But he did not take it badly since it was obvious what she would do. However, because he looked like he was still thinking about Meridiana, Leilade was forced to explain everything to him.

"She will. But she knows she can't run away from a Hero, Kardel proved it. Therefore, she will try everything to return to the tomb and use the tunnels of the duvodiad. While doing this, she will have to fight, driving many humans away. Or she could die lamentably while trying to do that. But that would be a surprise."

To not be as strong as Ymir or Davion was a fact, but to be as weak as dying to mere humans would be a shame for someone like Meridiana. After all, Leilade did not want any of them to die so soon, especially when it was unsure how many Heroes could suddenly appear out of nowhere. Only after everything at her disposal was used would she personally act, for it would mean she was to die at the hand of the Saksa or survive.

(That creature still hasn't shown any sign of life. Would it be fun for you, Outlander, so powerful, to be restrained by a mirage? Even when it is the best choice.)

Not bothering to answer the Viscount, she still felt the same. If only she could be freed from doing everything she wanted, they wouldn't even have this conversation nor have humans trying to kill them. But nothing could survive the grip of a Saksa, neither a soul nor a god. And even less the Hero that was valiantly charging forward in the sea of skeletons.