Chapter 801: Taking Control

Chapter 801: Taking Control

Vihrogon was the first to predict it. While enemy battle movements had been slow since the last major encounter, they quickly picked up at an alarming pace. The closer everyone got to the vortexes appearance, the bolder the Azures became, targeting imperial cloud forts hourly. The attacks followed a hit-and-run tactic, aimed at testing strength and disrupting positions more than anything else. The local commanders were smart enough not to give in to provocations, but while they could fend off most of the attacks, now and again there would be a fort that would vanish completely.

It didnt take Dallion long to realize the obviousthere was a battle mage among the attackers. He could think of no one else capable of destroying a whole cloud fort in a single spell.

Theyre using nymph tactics, the armadil shield said. More annoying than efficient, but able to rattle people up.

I thought the nymphs were banished by the time you tried to take over the world, Dallion said.

Not against us. Against the copyettes. The nymphs were the ones who put up a fight. Everyone else just hid in their towns and cities, focusing on revealing the copyettes already among them.

Did it work?

The hiding and revealing part? Not particularly. It did give rise to lots of devices with questionable functionality.

Apparently, the Azure Federation remained true to their name. On the third day, as Dallions cloud fort was approaching the meeting point with Katkas group, things took a surprising turn for the better. Two imperial legions had managed to overwhelm the Azures defenses, taking several towns and even a whole city. According to reports, the ruling nobles were killed and the citys overseer assumed the role, vowing loyalty to the highest-ranking legionary officer until a full noble arrived from the empire to take over.

The success had raised spirits within the cloud fort, with mages praising the Moons and marking this as the start of the end for the Azures. The more tactically minded, such as the furies, saw this as a tit for tat. While it was undeniable that the enemys losses were significant, the empire had failed to make any headway when it came to the vortex region. If anything, its forces had retreated in an attempt to regroup before another push.

Eager for the fight? Diroh asked.

Dallion didnt budge. He had been spending so much time concentrating on the war map that his immediate surroundings were less relevant.

A month, even a week ago, he would have said yes without question, now he wasnt so sure. It was a fact that while Grym and his group still existed, thered be no end to the war. At the same time, he was back to following the Path of the Empath.

Eager for it to be over, he replied. Even as he said it, though, Dallion couldnt kick the feeling that something was not right.

Whats wrong?

Im not sure.

Youre just like the archmage. The fury tilted her head to the side. Hes also obsessed with failure.

That was probably one of the things Dallion and Alien saw eye to eye on. Neither of them could afford a loss, and achieving even a small victory against an opponent who had been kicking their ass filled them with paranoia.

What am I missing? Dallion wondered.

Ive learned how to remove my novice mark, Diroh said, in an attempt to attract his attention. I figured it out a while back, but there never was an opportunity to try it out. With all the lessons and attention back in the Learning Hall.

Thats nice, Dallion replied, clearly not into it.

If a few days ago he had been impressed by the success of his enemy, now he was astonished that the empire was still standing. Alien hadnt been exaggerating when he had described the shortcomings of his given army. Individually, everyone was doing exactly what they should. Each group of furies swept through part of the area, using air currents to slice up anything suspicious. The mages had also performed quite well, protecting their cloud forts. Even the misguided attackers had cast a rather intricate set of spells, transforming the area beneath them into a mile-wide pincushion. However, there wasnt even a semblance of overall coordination.

Now, Dallion understood what Vihrogon meant. The forces that had been sent to the front thought like guards and acted appropriately. For them, fighting an army was no different from fighting a hundred small skirmishes simultaneouslythe same thing they had done on multiple occasions. Border conflicts werent rare even before the latest events. However, an all-out war hadnt occurred for centuries. Even the war against the furies didnt count: back then, the furies were the ones attacking. The empire had held their ground and destroyed the enemy as they approached. Also, as it was painfully obvious now, the battle mages had gained more than enough practiceas shown by how they used it against Dallion just now.

The search continued for twenty minutes before Dallion ordered everyone back to the cloud forts. All that was found were the bodies of a few low-level mages lying on the ground.

According to Adzorg, their role must have been to create a portal for the real battle mages to cast their spell safely far away, then redirect it to their real targets.

At this point, one thing became painfully obvious. Someone had to take on the role of commander, and provide guidance and instructions to all the individual units. Sadly, that someone had to be Dallion.

I want a dozen scouts per cloud fort! he ordered in the war room. Eight of them five miles from the fort in every direction, including back! Fourright beneath at all times! If anyone sees anything suspicious, they are to let the cloud fort and me know. Also, I want all mages divided into two groups: attack and defense. If the fort is under attack, the defense group protects it, while the attack group counterattacks, only this time avoiding our own troops!

No one said a word. None of them knew that Dallion had become a noble, but subconsciously they were already accepting him as one. Not a single person dared argue or disagree. As far as they were concerned, the orders had come from the emperor himself.

Feels different being a noble, doesnt it? Vihrogon asked. Now you understand why so many of them order people about. Its childishly easy, and to manyincredibly addictive.

Im not a noble, Dallion replied mentally.

You dont have the time, but you are a domain ruler. You might like to believe differently, but since you passed through the gate,. from here on you are the Moons equal.

The Moons equal. It was a dangerous notion to consider, but also very much true. If he chose, he could create an area in which he had the same authority as the Moons. What he had considered to be arrogance in all the domain rulers hed seen was actually awareness of what they had become. The one thing he had to avoid was the temptation of viewing himself as the Moons rival.

Someone, give me a report on Katka. Dallion turned to the nearest white-haired fury.

Battle mage Katkas cloud fort is unharmed, the fury instantly replied. She welcomes you and is grateful

Tell her to come here at once. Also, inform the archmage that Ill be taking over the day-to-day planning. Not that Alien bothered with that stuff. So far, he had done nothing but remain locked in his fake room refusing to interact with reality.

Yes, battle mage! The fury flew off.

Um, battle mage? Diroh asked.

Dallions first instinct was to snap at her. It was only thanks to his high mind trait that he managed to keep himself from doing so.

Yes? he asked with the barest of smiles.

Awe and infatuation radiated from the ice fury. Youve given instructions to everyone else. How can I be useful?

Dallion looked at her intently for several seconds. She had grown a lot since her awakening, but unlike Jiroh, she wasnt an otherworlder. Her path to nobility was going to be a lot slower and more difficult, but there was a lot she could help with in the meantime.

Learn. He gently placed his hand on her cheek. For now, just watch and learn.