Chapter 608: Empire's Invasion [26]

'Not possible, it can't be,' good news of the baron's victory at Svein's hill caught the wind. Many doubtful individuals were lesser pleased, a few mishaps may occur during those long-pressed days. 

"You," shrouded in nothingness, "-give the unfaithful a rude awakening. The plan shall continue as is meant. Baron Igna, we'll find our victory, my close compatriots haven't died meaninglessly." Strangely silhouetted bodies froze into an open door. Architecture sprung of olden dwarven style.

A few days elapsed; the town subtly returned to somewhat peaceful air. News about the disastrous thunderstorm of last week affected trade tremendously. Paths were blocked from the floods, stumbled trees, and overall inaccessibility.

Apid Village; a place of poor harvest. A team of adventurers arrived to handle the run-of-the-mill monster clearing quest. Sadly, and not for the greatest of fate, a bizarre gate opened at the empty fortress.

"Hold on," said Leonard, "-the mana's ominous."

"Yeah, I can feel it," nodded Lampard.

"Two rodens (insect-like creatures of green complexion and the head of a mantis) near the entrance." 

"They're resistant to elemental attacks," added Rena, "-the guild gave Tier-9 ranking. What's the plan, leader," glanced upward, a bow and arrow perched onto foliage. The branches crackled, Leonard's visage – gleaming sweat, spoke volume. 

"Should be fine," the arrow pulled, one eye shut, '-now.' The tree buckled, a hiss and a hit. "-Two down, let's move in, Rena, Lampard, GO!" A perfectly normal operation turned sour. On a closer look, shy of the entrance – iron gates melted and solidified.

"Be on guard," ordered Jen. The team moved in a diamond formation at a snail's pace. Split in two and back to the mossy bricked arch, '-let's go,' she signaled. Drawn and ready, she leaped, Leonard followed. 

'The mana,' the eyes widened, '-a high-tier spell.' A moving beam of magma flung across. 

"Enchanted Ring of protection, grant us asylum," the gemstone cracked, a flash of greenish-blue marred to hold the glowing liquid. "GETAWAY, RIGHT NOW!" screamed Leonard.

Meanwhile, at Upen village, Anna's team completed the quest in a great effort. The produce safely made for Glenda. '-Why's the hill less ominous?' wondered she.

Between caring for the new addition and creation of the wall, days flew instantly. The scattered adventurers joined in Glenda where the guild master Haru proclaimed the reopening of the border. Those in lack of a home and work were free to leave for the Azure wall or the Dungeon tower of Plaustan. 

Date; Tuesday the 6th of May, *knock, knock.* 

'Who is it so early in the morning,' a yawn led the blurred vision, the door flung to blond hair and a heavily wounded person. "-Igna, I n-need h-h-help…" 

'Leonard?' he glanced over, '-why did he have to come now of all places…' A heavy sigh disrupted the slightly crowded bed. 

"Pops, too early…" sighed the boy, the girl's slumber remained untouched. 

"You're staining the floor," returned a crude remark. '-Burnt marks, a sword slash, and few projectile wounds. Didn't he go on a monster-slaying quest, they look more man-made...' *Mana Control: Healing Element Variant: Restoration.*

Blacked-out curtains and no alarm meant no sense of time. In when the mind thought to be 05:00, the truth spoke of 08:00. A greenish hue halted the bleeding, "-come on," a merciless kick toppled the man, "-have this," *Box of Alche.* 

Consciousness returned, "-a healing potion…"

"Welcome back to the land of the living," said Igna, "-Leonard, care to explain what brought said sudden visit?"

"I'm sorry," he coughed, a terrified expression froze the room, the shoulders slumped, any sort of bravado faded into despair.

"Speak up," *Smack,* "-don't give me the sad boy act. What happened, who did this to you?"

"W-w-we w-w-were ambushed on the way. I managed to escape; the others stayed to fight."

"Bandits?"

"No, t-they were strong and experienced in the art of war. The moment the guard lowered; a bullet narrowly missed my organs; I used a scroll to teleport into town."

"Understood," the aura dropped, "-head to the guild, I'll take care of the little inconvenience." Light from the vexing stairs shut as he left, a loud echo boomed. Vanesa's dream broke, "p-pops?"

"He's in a bad mood," explained Draconis.

Kniq's uniform flung about the shoulders, sword and weapon readied, "-Draconis, Vanesa," paused at the desk, "-want to join?"

"Seriously?" the eyes shone, "-Pops… can we FIGHT?" 

"Yes," nodded he gently, "-we've slept on our laurels long enough."

Gunshot fired incessantly, "-this is bad," exclaimed Leonard, "-I don't know how long Leonard's make-shift bunker's going to last," a curved wall protected against direct fire. Dash for the forest. A good idea in thought - a deadly one in reality. The distance was too much for the already exhausted warriors. Rena's right shoulder bled, a bandage wrapped in attempts to stop the bleeding, "-go on ahead," said she, "-no use for us to die on my account."

"Not going to happen," said Leonard, "-I'd rather stay here than leave, you hear me?" 

"Idiot," she fell against his shoulder, "-I'm glad." 

'There's no way we can retreat. Lampard's injured from the earlier attack. Wait, is it possible the monster-slaying quest was a fake; it's possible, what if it was all a set-up,' using a mirror to peep, '-that crest, it's the Krestonian emblem. They've made it this far into the province… If only we had the power to fight, they've won, there's no way to win this. A perfectly executed ambush.' The barrage of gunfire halted, a strange form dazzled atop the long winding road.

"Here we are."

"Pops, can I go all out?" requested Draconis, "-I want to kill them a little."

"Sure, go on. Leave the leader alive, ok?"

"Awesome, thanks pops," a dark line dropped from the horns to the forehead, an ancient symbol danced its way into a menacing stop. "-Time for battle," three tiny steps and off he was, the resulted gust nearly suffocated the others.

"Too much energy," complained Vanesa, "-I'm going to sleep," an outline of curving dark veins wrapped around the chest, giving freedom of movement. She essentially became a backpack; her fatigued expression would frequently look over the shoulder and yawn.

'The wings…' they watched in awe, "-Igna…" gritted Rena, "-w-why a-are you here?"

"Be quiet," he returned coldly.

"You came?" gawked Jen.

"Here, healing potions."

"You'll be fine now," said Lampard, "-stay with me, Rena."

"Silence," ordered he, "-she's not mortally wounded. Tis mana exhaustion, what happened?"

"We were ambushed," said Jen, "-the quest was a trap," her gestures intensified, "-they bare the crest of the Empire… did you plan this?"

"Nonsense," an unimpressed side-glance swallowed the spurt of bravado, "-I'm a noble of the faction," he casually held out a hand, "-get up."

She fully expected to have a deluge of complaints and insults, '-w-what?'

"Get up already," he grabbed her wrist, "-staying in cover doesn't befit a student of the academy." 

"Igna…" they clambered; Rena's health deteriorated.

"Hey, hey," cried Lampard, "-don't give out on me now."

"She's cursed," remarked he. Another flask opened, "-pour this on the taint."

Over yonder, fiery punches evoked a festival motif, opposed to fireworks, bodies flew on to explode leaving a trail of organs. *Smack,* the last punch made contact; the massacre stopped, a body flew straight for them. The snotnosed Draconis could be seen smirking in the background. *Magical Barrier.* Bones cracked to instant death. 

"Did he just exterminate a whole squad?" 

"Correct. My children are very talented in the ways of war," a proud smile welcomed the hero. An exalted look of pride and confidence led the demon-child to charmingly skip.

"Pops, look, I did good," he leaped for a hug.

"Hold on," quick to grab his head, "-what condition did I make?"

"Oh…" feet off the ground, "-hmm," confusion run amok, "-I'm sorry?" 

"…" the eyes narrowed.

"Popsss," yawned Vanesa, "-look here," a puddle of black tentacles summoned, the stench of rotten flesh permeated, Jen hurled and so did Rena.

"Come on Vane, don't summon that thing here!" argued Draconis, "-you'll curse the whole land."

"It's fine," said she listlessly, "-my powers are strong…" the carcass of human flesh sunk and dissolved. "I seeeee…"

"Care to explain?" 

"I know their intent… let big brother go…"

"Fine," the grip eased, "-get rid of the pit already." 

"I'm tired… later pops, good night." The suffocating odor eased.

"I can breathe," squealed Rena, "-fresh air," she panted.

*Stuck in limbo unfaithful wretches, may the gods divvy judgment, may the devil claw thine soul, and may thy body be subject to an eternity of torment. Per the contracted oath of Rethal, I, humble sacrifice to the lord, surrender my soul for the entrapment of a vile being, summon forth, eternal realm of torment, prison of heathen, Klonsia.* 

'The mana,' glared Igna, '-too late.' A crazed individual smirked and killed himself, a horrifying presence howled into reality, large claws moved to cup the targets. Chains of symbols spun to seal their area. 

"I forgot to mention," babbled Vanesa, "-the ambush is a trap, the t-target i-is G-Glenda." 

'I was right,' scanning the barrier, '-we did have a traitor. The adventurers were bait. Else why would they hire students for what the province has in store? Contacting the other guilds would have been simpler… it was said the independent factions refused. Quite the convenient lie, I believed Haru and this is the result. Did she change sides or be forced into the current situation. There's the matter of this party's expedition. I briefly sensed an overwhelming presence from the abandoned castle.'

"Igna, what's happening?" inquired Lampard, "-the barrier is potent, my mana's being sucked away."

"An ancient binding spell… Klonsia, originating from Rethal, the angel and acolyte of Tharis." 

"… how is it yo-?"

"Simple really," the hand stretched out, "-I've studied a lot." *Ancient Magic; Spatial-Arts: Disruption,* '-no matter the potency, the moment the base is ruptured, there's no going back."

A pillar of smoke rose, a portal opened at the riverbank, countless soldiers marched to stand in formation. "-this is bad," cried a guard, "-grandfather's inside."

"THE KRESTONIAN CREST," exclaimed the other, "-BRING DOWN THE GATES, WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" The alarm for battle rang, panic raged. 

A lonesome guard pelted from inside, "-DON'T SHUT THE GATES!" he screamed, "-WE'VE BEEN BREACHED," a torn impaled the heart, the last cough, the vision blurred, '-g-get a-away,' momentum carried into a nearby fence.

"How very unpleasant. These guards are so weak, and so few in numbers," thigh-high socks led to a personalized magical robe, the buttons shimmered in a golden hue. 

"Don't overdo it," said a smaller girl in leather armor, "-our master might get impatient."

"Oh, I'm sure he's doing fine," said the elegantly dressed lady, "-he's marching from the south, Glenda's all but ours."

"Hero Kion riding on a white steed, I can't wait for him to get here."

"My lady, we've apprehended the guild and the adventurers, what should we do about the populous?" reported a messenger.

"Leave them for now," a long-bejeweled pipe shyly caught the sun's reflection, "-this town is weak. Here I thought we'd have more of a resistance." 

'G-grandfather…' an image of cruelty spawned in the distance. Those at the taverns were dragged out mercilessly, some were given curb stomps others had tails cut without reserve. 

"Our fighters sure are confident," said the little one, "-too bad the guards are weak to protect the people."

Strength or courage, it didn't matter. Pillars of smoke soon rose, the town's presiding flag swapped to that of the empire. The gates reopened, a force of two thousand ransacked supplies, looted the armory and treasury. An additional force of five thousand snuck past the border. Courtesy of insider information, they were a few meters away.

"Tell me," knelt with hands around the hairy neck, "-why is it the people look unbothered. We're pillaging and capturing your kind for our kingdom, why is it they remain silent and unyielding?" 

"Ha-ha-ha-ha," he laughed, "-you've encroached onto the devil's territory. Ha-ha-ha-ha, we have faith in our lord. Death will come, and it will repay our sufferance ten-fold, believe me." *crack,* the neck snapped.

"-weakling."