Chapter 262 – The Siege of Lothlia (6)

Chapter 262 – The Siege of Lothlia (6)

Otto stood on the bridge of the Lawbringer, overlooking Lothlia and his own army. His sharp eyes were narrowed in focus as the biting, cold winter wind cut against his flesh and through the camp below the ship. His subordinates were already working on their part of the formation, and soon, he would have to start chanting his incantation and start bringing their work into a balanced state. They would be the anchors of his spell, lessening the stress on his mind and allowing him to focus on destruction more than on maintaining the expert-level spell.

Each of his disciples knew the weight of their task. They were trained to be their master's perfect companion for it, as their coordinated effort would allow Otto to unleash the full fury of this ancient magic. This devastating formation was once used against the Vasas thousands of years ago in a similar fashion, attacking their strongholds. If it was executed perfectly, the formation would bring a storm of ruin against the city, turning the clouds above the land into their worst enemy. No wonder it was deemed an expert-level formation, as it was complex, delicate, and required flawless synchronization.

"For the Eternal Emperor and for Ishillia!" Otto yelled, his mind surging with conviction and burning zeal, something that he could no longer distinguish from being his own or something that someone had planted in him. Not that it mattered... He knew this was what was required of him and that he would turn out as the victor in this battle. It was preordained.

While his mages sat at different spots on the deck of the Lawbringer, meditating and sitting in the middle of faintly glowing formations, Otto remained at the bow, preparing the primary spell. This ancient storm formation would harness his mind's focus, taking over nature's powers. Through it, he would channel his will into the sky itself, calling down lightning strikes with precision, like the hand of the Six Gods.

"Watch over me, my Eternal Emperor..." he whispered, closing his eyes, and the ritual began in earnest.

The ground beneath his feet hummed with latent power as he extended his mind, touching the mages connected to his. All of their parts were eventually connected, becoming one through his lead. Each mage focused on a different part of the formation—one of them was nothing more than the lynchpin between the ship and Otto's spell, using the Lawbringer as a booster catalyst. The other two were reinforcing the vertical and horizontal axes to stabilize the immense flow of energy, rushing forward to be controlled by Otto. The air buzzed as tendrils of glowing light streamed from their formations, rising into the sky, connecting to the thick clouds above them as if they were throwing invisible hooks of power up into the clouds themselves.

To the untrained eye from below, it appeared as though nothing had changed. But to Otto, who could feel the pulse of magic beneath the surface, it was like he was becoming the reason for the birth of a storm. The magical lines they were creating expanded outward, each one a part of his formation and requiring the utmost concentration to maintain balance. The air around him buzzed with electricity, charged with the formation's unnatural tension.

"I'll show you all what real power is." Otto whispered, his lips curling into a smile. He could sense the strain on his mages as the formation's complexity began to take its toll on their mental and physical endurance. "Focus!" He called out to them both audibly and mentally. Their own lines they produced were delicate and fragile under the increasing pressure of the magic that flowed through them. A single mistake could cause a backlash that would annihilate their mind and body, possibly harming Otto as well.

Yet, their strain was nothing like what Otto was facing. His mind was already slipping into a different state, lingering between consciousness and subconsciousness, becoming the central conduit, the heart of the storm he was about to summon. He raised his hands slowly, palms up toward the sky, as the energies from his subordinates began to coalesce around him. He felt the connection deep within him, where his mind was tethered to the formation, becoming visible on the ship's deck. The air crackled and sparked as the threads of magic from each mage snaked their way toward Otto's post, joining together into a single, pulsating network.

Below the Lawbringer, the army of conscripts and mercenaries began moving the moment morning came. On Otto's command, spreading before dawn, the entire assault on Lothlia started in earnest. The trebuchets hurled their remaining stones at the city walls while the infantry pressed forward in waves, shields raised against the rain of arrows. Yet they proved little to no use when a magical cannonshot landed between their ranks, vaporizing them in the dozens. Still, with the number of invaders, they were poised to arrive at the wall sooner or later. Not even their machines could be at every point at once.

From his vantage point, Otto could hear the clash of steel and the thunderous impacts of siege weapons, but he did not allow himself to be distracted. His role was far more critical than that of the soldiers below. He was about to deliver the decisive blow. A sudden gust of wind swept across the snow-covered fields, and the dark clouds above began to churn. The sky, once a dark gray blanket, now twisted and writhed as though reacting to the magic being summoned below it. The formation was almost complete.

"Brace for impact!" Merlin yelled and began to cast a spell...

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On the northern-east side of the battlefield, hundreds of mercenaries were ready to be the second wave to reach the walls, becoming more spaced out than the first one. They finally began learning that the enemy's cannons were something they had no defense against, watching multiple groups being annihilated by a single blast. They must provide multiple, smaller targets and pray they won't be the ones to get hit. The order to charge had already been given, but they heard another whistle beside their commanding officer's. It was coming from behind them... along with an unnatural rattling noise.

Thanks to the cold and thick snow below their armored boots, they failed to see that they were standing on the tracks in the way of a speeding train heading straight in their direction. Not that they could do anything about it. The metal monster plowed into them without slowing down or stopping, throwing torn-apart bodies and screaming soldiers to the sides.

It was not all. As it sped through them, Merlin's spell was finished at the right moment. It appeared above the train's chimney, turning the steam their train had spewed out into green rain, falling down around the mercenaries as a hot, acid drizzle, melting metal and flesh alike, turning up their screams tenfold in just under a second. By the time their train was away, leaving the army behind and heading towards the train station, a screaming and melting opening was left in Otto's army, one that would be the first visible crack in his army.

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"We are getting overwhelmed!" Pion shouted, directing their howitzers and cannons to fire, trying to hit the Lawbringer in the distance, knowing that it was the source of this magical thunderstorm.

"I can take it!" Yuri roared, standing in a spot where the wall was completely gone, holding back thousands by herself. She was periodically bombarded with lightning, weakening her shield spell with every blast.

"Leave, and you will become its focus and die!" Oleg countered, not letting her stride out alone.

Polo was not in better shape either, as his cannons were constantly firing, straining his machine and his mind and body alike. But there was no time to think or pause; he was doing his best to cover as many sides of the city as possible. They tried using their trojan spell, but the formation was either too strong or the ship was simply too far away for it to work as intended. The best they managed so far was redirecting some of the bolts to destroy an empty house instead of another part of the wall.

"Reinforcements!"

It was the shout of one of the soldiers, and his words were followed by the whistle of a train, but that part was only heard by the two mechs because of their heightened senses. They didn't know who had arrived, but whoever it was, they better be bringing over a counter for this overwhelming spell...