Chapter 41: Glory in Battle

Chapter 41: Glory in Battle

Nathan waved aside his concern for Stella. She was still conscious, but just exhausted. He turned his attention to the wave of metal bodies swarming up the slope to attack the Adventurers.

Finally, I get to do something useful. Wasnt much for me to do during the siege portion of the battle.

He evaluated the size of the swarm. It wasnt nearly as large as the one that had attacked them outside Tarren, though three dozen strike constructs and over a hundred scouts were nothing to sneeze at. Though that number was being reduced as the various adventurers with ranged weapons thinned the herd.

The standouts were Kozar and Sarah. Kozars arm blurred back and forth, with each motion resulting in a spray of shattered metal as a skill-conjured javelin tore through a construct at supersonic speeds.

Sarah meanwhile was laying down a slow metronome of fire with her rifle. The other Adventurers were glancing askance at her weapon, clearly confused as to its provenance. But nobody could argue with the results - her bullets were unerringly finding the eyes and exposed barrels of the approaching war machines, and the force that reached the gathered Adventurers contained only a few strike constructs.

Finally the melee Adventurers stepped forward, and Nathan joined them. He immediately had to skitter back as the third member of Kozars team uncoiled a pair of metallic whips. The weapons looked like they were made of the same stranded metal as Aarls new armor, and the man flicked them through the crowd of enemies. Metal limbs flew before the flexible weapons wrapped around a pair of the machines. Those scouts writhed for a moment before they were used like giant flails to smash apart the center of the advancing swarm.

Aarl and Nathan found themselves defending on the right side, while the Old Hands covered the left. With his new greatsword in one hand and the force-saber in the other Aarl cut a swath through the front lines, and Nathan bounded back and forth to deal with a few leakers.

He grabbed a lashing tail and used it to pull the construct into an stamina-empowered knee. He looked around for another target, bounding sideways to rip the limbs off another scout. That pattern repeated for a minute, and after a half-dozen kills the fight was over.

Kozar almost lazily flicked two more javelins at the final two emplacements on the cliff, which looked to be trying to reestablish the illusions that guarded the approach. Then he pulled another enchanted weapon from a pouch, and pointed it down the slope.

Advance.

Hold. Khachis voice was firm, as he held glowing palms over the arm of one of the Old Hands, who had suffered a deep wound from the fight. Nathan noticed Delric glaring murder at the unnamed third member of the Gleaming Fist, whose whips were coiling back into gauntlets.

Whats all that about?

Kozar visibly ground his teeth, and looked like he was about to kick Khachi and the woman he was healing down the slope. But before he could decide to do anything drastic Khachi finished the spell, giving the wounded fighter a nod and a clap on the shoulder.

The woman flexed her arm in wonder for a moment before Kozars demanding shout had them all running down the slope. Nathan could have sprinted ahead but stayed back with the Heirs. Stella staggered along, leaning on Aarls arm for a moment until he scooped her up, bounding down the slope in his armor.

Thats worrying. Better she stick with us instead of staying behind.

Argan froze bridges of ice across the trenches, and Nathan took a moment to appreciate the scale of the fortifications - each trench was deep and wide, and theyd been built in a multilayered pattern that would expose anybody who approached each layer to a vicious crossfire. Several of them were deep enough to disguise the spiders, and Nathan was thankful there hadnt been any present.

Honestly, these defenses could have held several times the force they did. But thats why we gave chase so quickly - we needed to prevent the Foundry from replenishing their numbers before we got here.

He also grew impressed with Argan - and the mage on Simlas team with similar ice and water magic. The two mages had conjured enough water to partially flood many of the trenches in only a few minutes. Additionally, Argan was able to raise bridges of ice wherever he needed to, and ensure that the surface wasnt too slick to trip up the running Adventurers.

Then they were approaching the cliff face, and Nathan looked up at the opening. It was huge, much larger than hed guessed from their previous vantage point.

I even had the big bricks for reference. And I knew that the giant siege-construct could squeeze through. Whatever. Were here now. In we go!

But Kozar had other ideas. I need a shot to the core. Gleaming Fist, with me! Everybody else, guard the entrance! We will vanquish this foe.

Simla protested. Uncle! I would follow inside the Foundry Fortress! Let me aid you!

Kozar banished the idea with a wave of his hand, glancing at Stellas slumped form. This glory is mine. The spaces inside will be tight and hazardous. Ensure no forces that are outside the fortress enter behind us. There is glory in that. Guard the entrance, for I will not be long.

Then he and his two companions charged into the colossal opening. The tunnel quickly angled down and they were out of sight in moments.

The remaining Adventurers looked around at one another. Delrics voice sounded out, gruff and commanding. We dont have enough bodies to guard anything but the entrance. Back into the opening.

Delric assigned one Adventurer from the Old Hands and one from Simlas team to watch their backs, then split the entrance into three sectors. The Old Hands took the right side, Simlas team took the left and the Heirs took the center.

Aarl set Stella down on the metallic floor inside the entrance and had a few quiet words with her before shoving a potion into her hands. She nodded grumpily as he let go, barely keeping herself sitting up as she took a few sips from the small bottle, grimacing at the taste.

Then they assembled to block the wide entrance, with Khachi and Aarls very different armored silhouettes on either side of Nathan, and Sarah crouched just in front of Stella.

There was a minute of silence as everybody caught their breaths, and Nathan looked around at the other Adventurers. This wasnt a great defensive position, but he didnt see any trace of anything coming at them - no traces of any constructs descending towards them out of the hills.

Maybe we just wait here until Kozar and the Gleaming Fists finish the job, then its back to Tarren for a celebration. Or maybe they die down there and we have to go in after them to finish the job. Retreating from an intact foundry that continues to spit out war machines is a bad option. And so is splitting the party. Dammit Kozar.

Another quiet moment caused the rest of the Adventurers to relax even more, though nobody sheathed their weapons. The tension was reestablished by an explosion echoing back up the metal corridor behind them, and the floor reverberated under their feet. L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

Was that it? Are we done?

Nathan didnt have time to follow that line of thought any further as the sound of squealing metal echoed through the trenches. The adventurers swung their eyes down from the hills to the fortifications in front of them, and Nathan caught a glimpse of an opening leading down into darkness.

That cant be good.

I guess Kozars done and on his way back.

That marked the turning point of the battle, as the Adventurers were more than capable of dealing with the remaining strike constructs now that the spiders werent leading them. But the last vestiges of the swarm didnt retreat as they had before, dashing themselves against the defending Adventurers.

Nathan found himself on the far side of the battlefield, aiding Simlas reduced team against the remaining enemies. As he drained the mana from the last one, his eyes landed on a sword lying on the ground.

Thats one of Simlas. Wait

Nathan let the immobile enemy clatter to the metal floor, stepping toward the sword. He looked around, finding a familiar breastplate on the ground not far away. Many of the engravings were gone, and the overall piece of armor looked thin, like something that had been partially corroded.

Its been partially disintegrated - probably with Simla in it. I didnt even notice because I was busy taking out the construct heading for Delric and Neta. Damn, just like that. I wonder if Kozar will hold it against me.

Nathan turned and looked down the long corridor extending down into the Earth. Kozar and his two teammates were far down the passage. They were stalking upwards, looking victorious and proud of it. Kozars eyes were scanning the gathered Adventurers, and his frown grew as he couldnt find Simla.

Uh oh.

You have leveled up to level 116! Your party has vanquished an Old Gemore Fortress Foundry and the associated guards!

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Magic Absorption 10

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 4

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 8

Class: Implacable Antimage level 116

Stamina: 3388/3780

Antimages Impassivity

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Improved Antimagic

Strenuous Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 4

High-tier Earnestness 9

Mid-tier Sprinting 10

High-tier Spellsense 8

High-tier Notice 4

High-tier Identify 4

High-tier Dodging Footwork 5

High-tier Enhanced Memory 7

Mid-tier Lecturing 8

High-tier Tumbling 2