Chapter 92: The Fall Part 4

Chapter 92: The Fall Part 4

Eissa looked on at the scene below her through a pair of small binoculars. Being the future queen of Tralis she had a vested interest in the state of the capital that was soon to be hers. So far things seem to be going well, damage is minimal so the rebuilding costs will be minor. Well besides the southern slums and South Town that was now a blazing inferno. To be honest those two cesspits were filled with the filthy peasants anyway. They were an eyesore that only served to feed the debauchery of the lower classes.

The peasants in South Town and the filth in southern slums were the source of two unsavoury things that Eissa detested. The Glittering Road which was just a road filled with inns that doubled as brothels. Then there were the slum barons that lived as crime lords, profiting from the filth in the slums by peddling beautiful women and narcotics to the Lords of High Town.

The Elysians have taken most of the Capital Mile and she could see the Great Beast near the People’s Church that was south of Lower Gildton. The mages on the wall had foolishly tried to strike the Great Beast with their petty little spells. Even from here she could tell this was no mere beast. You see, Eissa had an interest in adventurers and beastiarians spent a good portion of her free time reading up on the sagas of the adventurers and the various creatures scattered about Terra. Perhaps their freedom to go to the far reaches of the world appealed to her. Afterall she was a woman that lived like a bird in a cage.

One thing she immediately noticed was the Great Beast’s smooth head, that was a sensor dome. It was the most powerful sensory organ that is known and it's also the most expensive sensory organ resource wise. In addition it also needs a powerful enough brain to process all the sensory information. So why would a creature retain such a trait when they could allocate those resources to armour or other offensive abilities? The answer was simple, it had strength to spare and it was used to fighting opponents far beyond what walks the world today.

The display so far has clearly shown that, a beast that commands a hive, can cast powerful spells and from the looks of it was also extremely durable. Eissa wouldn’t be surprised if the Great Beast had rapid regenerative abilities, apparently it was popular back then considering how many fights ended in brawling. Most of this was conjecture of course, information gleaned from ancient records that were missing entire sections of the text. Writing was a humanoid invention, their lifespans were simply too short and their memory too fleeting to rely on memory, oral tradition and experience to transfer knowledge.

Eissa smiled as she saw the Great Beast split itself into six clones, each body glowing with ether. Eissa had casted a spell that allowed her to see the Ether and each of the clones was glowing like a sun. If her suspicions were right, it looked like a variant of a Phoenix’s ability to clone itself to magnify offensive power. Dominant strategies changed from age to age but there were some which were popular and this cloning ability was rather common. Even some other species alive today use something similar.

Then she saw the six forms open their maws and then they shot forth six white beams at the wall. She saw the beams strike the wall barrier, at first nothing happened but then she noticed all the beams were concentrated on a single point. After that, her vision went white, then she heard an ear splitting bang. When she reopened her eyes she saw this wave of force carrying a wall of dust and it slammed against the castle’s barrier. She saw the barrier crackle as the force dispersed along it. She didn’t feel anything but she would wager if there was no barrier she would end up knocked over. She was rather close afterall and judging by how everyone in the plaza behind the beast has been knocked over... well it would be safe to assume a good portion of the city didn’t have glass windows anymore.

Eissa felt this almost feral joy rise up from within her as she saw what that blast did. The patch of wall was now just gone, all that left was this gaping hole rimmed with molten stone. These large bits of molten stone crackled with ether as they flew into the city. The boulder-sized pieces of molten stone rained into the inner city, destroying houses, noble estates and setting those structures caught in the aftermath ablaze. Some of the highly charged pieces of molten stone actually exploded on impact. It wasn’t that big of an explosion but it was powerful enough to spew ether charged molten fragments and magma in all directions. She heard the people below screaming, she could see some of the people caught in the blasts were running around while on fire.

Eissa laughed, harder than she ever had in her life. More than when she was just a girl getting a nice present. This was pure euphoria, she hated this place, hated the world. There was nothing she wanted more than for it to burn, and as she watched the corrupt people of this accursed city burn she couldn’t help but laugh.

As Eissa struggled to get her laughter under control she turned to her right to see Lyra calmly sitting there sipping wine as she watched the show below.Discover new chapters at novelhall.com

“You’ve seen this before haven’t you?” Eissa asked as she felt a wide smile tear across her face like a scar.

“You could say that, not this exactly but something close enough.” Lyra replied softly as she swirled her wine glass.

“The new can only be born from the ashes of the old. Especially something as old and rotten as this nation.” Lyra muttered before then taking another sip of wine.

“Then let it burn, root and stem. The empress has little need of the support of the nobility. They are toothless without anyone to listen to their commands.” Eissa said with another laugh.

The Empress was so similar to her, both of them locked away in a cage. Now Eissa will be free and she will help Eissa mould the world in a far better image. Anything is better than what Tralis is...

Even a pile of ash is better...

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.♚.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

Mother Justina felt the blood drain from her face as she watched the beast release six beams of energy right at the wall. She had casted a spell to see exactly what was happening in terms of the ether. What she saw made her feel fear unlike any other. As a mother of the Church of Mercy she was well versed in magic. It was necessary for her to understand how much damage something would do so that she could allocate enough resources to address the clean up. Not all magic based wounds were the same, she could be treating burns, electrocution, acid burns, collapsed lungs from vacuum decompression and even cursed wounds.

“Now would all of you be so kind as to drop your weapons. There has been enough death today.” Gabrion said in a low town as gazed at the shivering band of militia.

“This battle is lost, it was over before it even began, we just needed you all to accept that fact.” Gabrion said and the militia looked at each other fearfully but they still held their weapons.

In the corner of his eye Gabrion then spotted the Great Beast split itself into six clones. He instinctively stopped speaking and turned to look at the Great Beast.

“I wonder what my dear friend is doing...” Garbion suddenly heard his Empress’s voice from behind him.

“Empress...” Gabrion began but was cut off.

“Shhh... Lord Warden. Look, all of you, you are going to miss the show...” Cecilia said as she nodded in the direction of the Great Beast.

Gabrion turned just in time to see a while flash of light, then he heard the bang, then a shock wave that rattled his bones and finally the sound of shattering glass. Gabrion looked on in mute shock as he saw the tall wall that was built by the ancients now had a section of it just carved out. He could see the rim of breach was glowing red hot with magma. Whatever the Great Beast did had melted the ancient stone into magma.

One thought perplexed him however. Wanton destruction was not what the Great Beast usually used. Destroying that wall was akin to destroying his own wall.

“Confused Lord Warden?” Cecilia asked.

“I am Empress.” Gabrion admitted as he gazed at the gaping hole in the wall.

“The Volerians simply needed a more heavy handed persuasion.” Cecilia said with mirth in her voice.

“We wanted to see if they would listen to reason, we made a deal with the Church you see. We gave the Volerians every opportunity, but I suppose they have run out of chances. If they want to behave like mad dogs then the only thing they will understand is the fist and boot.” Cecilia said and Gabrion turned to look back at the militia.

They were looking at the walls and one by one their spears and clubs dropped to the floor. Even the professional soldiers dropped their swords. All except for one...

The knight captain looked around in shock and started screaming at the rest of the soldiers to pick up their weapons. But no one cared, they just looked mutely at the molten gash in the inner wall. Whether what came next was from rage or madness Gabrion did not know but regardless the knight captain raised his sword intent on hacking into his own soldiers.

Gabrion was about to intervene but he spotted an arrow fly in and hit the captain in the neck. Gabrion turned to see one of the special unit archers lower their empty bow. Adventurers were known for their precision and speed, so such a feat was not a surprise. It seems using them as members of the special unit was a good choice.

Then Gabrion heard the Great Beast let out a booming laugh that echoed out across the city. Its head was raised, its laughter boomed, rattling the bodies of everyone in earshot.

Gabrion sensed Cecilia walk up next to him as the two of them watched the Great Beast laugh and he heard his empress let out a soft musing comment.

A little fun never hurts...