Chapter 568: Hole Where the Heart Was

Everyone, including Argrave, had seen Anneliese descend down from the wyvern into the field of grass between the two armies. He had watched it with a heavier heart than anyone else, but he knew that she was the only one who could reliably pursue the most important goal—cutting off the head of the ugly beast that had wormed itself around the Great Chu.

Perhaps, however, it would be more accurate to say this Dimocles was a mere hand of the beast—the true beast was above, raining hellfire upon the countryside of the Great Chu. While Anneliese did battle on the ground, Argrave’s battle would be altogether different... while she fought on the front, he was to swat away the gnats: Erlebnis’ emissaries.

Their scouting capabilities were robust, fortunately, and they noticed the monstrosities lurking throughout the surrounding countryside long before they could ambush and destroy vast amounts of people by channeling Erlebnis’ power as pure magic. Dimocles must’ve called in Erlebnis to ensure victory. These creatures, while possessing the Blessing of Supersession the same as Dimocles, lacked the capacity to use shamanic magic. This made them vulnerable to spells like [Requite], whereas a mortal like Dimocles would be capable of neutralizing any such spell.

And standing with him on the battlefield for the first time Argrave could recall... the Alchemist rose dozens of feet above the army, clad in chitinous armor made of his own flesh and blood and still brimming with magic even after the procedure on Argrave and Ji Meng. With him on his right, and Orion on his left... Argrave felt infinitely reassured.

“Such tedium,” complained the Alchemist. “I have better things to do with my day.”

Argrave’s royal guard eyed the giant figure warily. The perceptive few were vaguely aware that this person existed, but now he stood openly on Argrave’s side. It was a marked change.

“If you do your best, we might be able to go home early,” he tapped the Alchemist on the wrist. “For now... let’s keep the nosy pedestrians off Anneliese’s stage.”

Forward they marched, seeking to cut off the grasping hands of the Qircassian Coalition. The gods watched the skies close at hand, ready to intercept any interference.

#####

After Anneliese landed in between the two armies, she stayed still as both continued to advance. Dimocles, sensing something was wrong, let his army advance somewhat ahead as he hung back. Perhaps he wanted to retreat, but Anneliese’s weapon would surely be preventing him from acting on these thoughts. As the two armies ahead and behind folded in on each other, probing attacks flew her way. Magic-imbued arrows, spells... yet she patiently blocked them all with humble wards, staying firm.

Though it was the most dangerous, there was something Anneliese had long ago embraced. It was in the heart of the battlefield, caught in waves of chaos, that she was most potent.

Yet as Anneliese watched ahead, she felt that problem was soon about to be remedied. Dimocles glowed with power unimaginable, the Blessing of Supersession pouring oceans of magic all throughout his body. The Blue Emperor’s body twisted, and the front of his body erupted past his armor into dozens of arms with dozens of hands, each and all casting spell matrixes.

“Just die, freakish thing!” she barely heard above the din.

Five minutes, Anneliese knew. Five more minutes, and he would be nothing more than another like the countless she’d passed by before. But Dimocles fell to the ground, each of his innumerable hands touching the earth. Rather than attack her, it would seem, he changed his targets to something without defenses.

The earth itself, battered and broken from the unending volleys of power... it split in two, cracking. She felt gravity claim the earth beneath, and began to fall.

#####

The pit in the earth that arose following Anneliese’s advance to Dimocles’ position was dwarfed only by the pit in Argrave’s stomach when he lost sight of her as she fell into the unending abyss beneath the earth. Vast stretches of the ground had simply parted in an unprecedented display that demonstrated the full might of Erlebnis’ Blessing of Supersession. That display of power wasn’t ordinary, elsewise Argrave and the Alchemist might’ve struggled with these emissaries a great deal more than they had.

The crater resulting from Dimocles’ move was large enough to swallow a city... and it had indeed swallowed part of one, its buildings lurching treacherously on the fringe. Canals had been interrupted, nearby farmhouses had been entirely swallowed, and vast amounts of water from a disturbed river spawned a gargantuan waterfall into this new pit. The chaos in the skies above prevented ample light from filtering down, so it appeared as though nothing more than an abyss waited down below.

Dimocles’ entire army had vanished... but then, so too had much of the forces that Ji Meng had been leading. Great Chu forces were most heavily hit, while the Veidimen had been flanking from the side so avoided any significant damage. The emperor himself had been spared this result, and Argrave even saw Ji Meng peering out into the crater from a distant hill.

“Can you see her?” Argrave asked the Alchemist anxiously. “Can you see anything at all?”

“I see Dimocles, burning brightly. He’s using the earth as his weapon, rather than magic. He seeks to bury all. As for Anneliese...”

Argrave closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. He opened his eyes, staring into the pit. “She’ll be fine. She’ll win. I trust she’ll win.”