Chapter 848 - Encroaching Storm (Patreon)

Everything went surprisingly well in the next few days. In the morning, the Harmony Guardians would check up on Randolf and see if he needed any help, which translated to seeing if there was anything Flint could do to help. Then, they would gather some food and go to the alliance center to help with the daily deliveries to the army. Things like toiletries, produce, and the occasional raw material. If Flint was going to stay behind, he would still make a carriage for the team to use, and when they were ready, they would go back to the central command of the army.

In there, Neria would stay almost exclusively in the command tent, and Skyler would assist with some of the battle plans for the smaller battalions since she had a background in military strategy. Vash would find a place where people gathered to play some music or help them relax and lift up everyone’s spirits. Roan would be helping train the more rowdy battalions, and Hera would just help with whatever she could find. At times, it was carrying boxes from place to place. It could also be making the beds or having Nimbus help with some repairs. On the first day after the delivery, the Empress talked with a few of the commanders and gave a loose explanation about her court, offering their help with anything the army might need.

Flint could also help here, but he was with Rudolf, creating a set of arms for the sides of the caravan. The idea was to make something that could not only help when the container tipped, but maybe even help with steep climbs and maybe even some defense. In the end, it was more of a robotics project than just engineering, which was the dwarf specialty. When it became clear he was in over his head, he left the caravan leader to come up with different designs and talk with his contacts to come up with better attachments. In hindsight, Randolf realized he could’ve tried to figure out that kind of thing a long time ago, but he was always too worried about the total weight of the container to think about putting more things on top.

Either way, after the second day, it became clear that Flint couldn’t help with all that, and he started coming with the rest of the team to help the army. This is how they spent four days after they arrived at the room. Neither army attempted any attack, nor were there any large explosions. Instead, everything was peaceful. Tense but peaceful. The morning of the third day was cloudy, and soon it started to rain. Even so, Neria insisted on going to the camp despite that. Since it wasn’t pouring down, everyone agreed to go. The army couldn’t hide from the rain, so it wasn’t fair that they did that.

The court was becoming famous among the soldiers. Especially when the details of what they were started to spread around. Going to see the legacy constructs became something everyone in the camp tried to do at least once a day. They even made a game out of it. They tried to prove the constructs were like robots and couldn’t think like actual people by asking random questions. Whoever was able to make the titled blades get stuck in a loop would ‘win.’ Nimbus and Lurize were fine with that; they were very patient with the questions. Even if Nimbus would occasionally prank people by repeating the same thing over and over again, pretending to be an NPC in a game to let someone win the bet. Very few tried to do that with Livy. The Leviathan’s size was enough to intimidate most people. She also got annoyed quickly and would start telling people to fuck off if they kept asking the same thing over and over again. Viper and Crimson had a different approach. They leaned towards Livy’s attitude, quickly getting annoyed with the questions. If they wanted it to stop, all they had to do was find an opening to hide and vanish from sight. In some situations, they had to use the [Hidden Frontal Screen], but more often than not, they were just able to disappear without any skills. There was a reason why they were the Spymasters of the court. Even Vulcan was walking around, but he was with the crafters and Flint fixing up armor and weapons and making arrows for the army.

Hera made sure to warn everyone who interacted with Forge that he had a link with a Daemon, so people shouldn’t be trying to push his buttons. That worked for some, but the curiosity of others was stronger than their respect for her wishes. Because of it, Vulcan ended up getting a high [Daemonic Influence] the previous day and had to use the skill. Killing a few monsters that lived on the path between the army and the city. His revival skill triggered, which allowed him to come back right away, but it was something they had to worry about.

Late afternoon, when the sun was already behind the army and the shadows grew longer despite the clouds in the sky, people noticed some mist rolling in. At first, it was a bit worrisome, but not to the point of it being an attack. Things like that could happen in the room. If this was something done by the humans, it would affect only a part of the battlefield, not the entire area. Or at least people would be able to tell that the mist wasn’t natural. There would be signs that it was a spell created by a group of people.

The Empress was among the first to suspect that there was something wrong with this. The mist wasn’t rolling in all at once; it would slow down and then continue, but its movement wasn’t following the air current. Not perfectly. Even when the winds kept blowing, the mist could be just there. Almost as if it was being held by something. She also heard a soldier mumbling something about seeing some movement in the sky. A harrowing thought crossed Hera’s mind as she looked beyond the rain.

She quickly touched the communicator and spoke, “I think we have a problem. We need to get together. Now!”

“Hera?” Skyler’s voice was full of worry.

“What is going on?” Vash asked.

“I think we are about to be attacked,” Hera explained, looking back at the mist and summoning the rest of her court.

“The commanders are on high alert, too. Even if some are saying this fog is natural.”

“I don’t think it is, but I can’t prove it,” the Empress replied.

“I agree with you, mum. There is something weird about that mist. It feels… kind of like the mist I can make,” Daskka added.

“Daskka agrees with me. I hope I’m wrong and you can complain about it later. But for now, we should-“

Before the Ophidianite could finish her sentence, a bolt of lightning came crashing down on top of one of the nearby tents. The thunder echoed across the camp. People rushed to help those who got injured, but Hera’s court noticed something else. In the distance, the mist started to pick up speed and become more and more solid. It was no longer just air with a lot of humidity, but it looked as if the very clouds had come down from the sky.

“Please, no,” Hera uttered a whispered prayer.

Arrows started flying by, forcing the Empress to duck down. She used her stone shape to create a small barricade where people could take cover. Her titled blades turned back to their weapon form to avoid being hit, but the entire court was close by. A good amount of people got hit by the projectiles, and a few even died on the spot. Being unlucky enough to be hit in the eye or having an arrow that exploded in thorns lodged in their throats. Only after that initial attack struck that the warning bells started to ring.

“Humans! It’s an attack!” some people yelled.

“Roan, Flint! Go to Neria. Vash, look for Skyler, then go towards everyone else. Watch each other’s backs. And don’t try to be heroes,” Hera commanded through the communicator.

“What about you?” Neria asked.

“I’m never alone. My court is here. I’ll meet you as soon as I can, just say where,” there was another reason why Hera didn’t want to go back. She had a suspicion about this attack. One that she had to confirm, one way or the other.

Robin started to fire arrows back at the attacking archers, but they were all hidden by the cloud of mist. Even the bowblade struggled to hit his target while they were obscured like that. More humans came out, shouting in a charge and brandishing their weapons. Despite everything, the assault didn’t look organized. The people were not running in formations or in actual groups. Instead, they were just rushing ahead. Not to say the humans were stupidly dashing to their deaths. Blocking some of the defensive attacks and dodging from the area of effect defenses they had available.

With a quick glance, the Empress could confirm that the human level ranged from 24 to 41. But none of them looked like a commander or someone with a significant rank in their army. A couple of the attackers noticed the Ophidianite and rushed at her. She was close to the edge of the camp and by the only destroyed tent so far. In addition, being a member of a species that was not well known might have made them more keen on killing her. She knew that she would find it easier to attack someone who she believed to be a monster and not a person.

The Ophidianite didn’t have to move to defend herself. As three humans approached, empowering their weapons with spells or skills, the court sprung into action. Sun flew towards the man in the center and was able to hit his shoulder. Taking advantage of that, Pyro flew like an arrow piercing the neck of the same man. Due to his superheated form, the human wouldn’t bleed out, but with a side swing, the tail spike decapitated the man. On the left, Glacia and Livy flew out and cut a woman with two crossed slashes. Making a large X on her torso. Livy also finished the job by crushing her skull with the side of her war axe form. Shadow suddenly appeared behind the third human, who had their face hidden under a cloak. The Scythe swung at his back as Viper and Crimson both embedded themselves in the human’s chest. When they fell to the ground, the only thing Hera was able to see was a lock of blue hair slamming against the rocks.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” the Empress rushed over. Terrified by the possibility of this being her friend. She carefully pulled the hood back, her hands trembling. Daskka and Nimbus, who returned to their bipedal form, were by her side, both equally worried. After taking a deep breath, Hera pulled the hood back and let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Blue. It was just a girl with black hair and a single blue lock in her bangs.

“Thank the system,” Nimbus sighed.

“Yeah,” Hera nodded and thought of an order, ‘Everyone. Be careful when you attack. Do not kill Blue if you can. Don’t even attack her. And if you are not sure whether a person is Blue or not, you need to clear that doubt before trying to hurt them. This is an order. Understood?’

‘Yes, Empress,’ they all replied in unison. It was very uncomfortable to hear that, but despite everything, Hera still didn’t like the idea of killing people. There would be no recovery if she killed one of her best friends, even by accident.

More humans started to come after her. Not wanting to be caught in the middle of this, even if she already was, the Ophidianite turned away and started heading deeper into the camp, letting the Alliance army face the attackers again. Still, she didn’t want to be that far away. The way those clouds moved reminded her of Blue and her legacy. If her friend was around, she had to know.

Because of her proximity to the actual battle, some of the enemies took the chance to go after her. After all, she was alone in an open area and should be an easy target. That’s when the titled blades stopped hiding. They all returned to their bipedal shapes and fought off the humans.

A couple of minutes went by, and Hera was confused as to why those people were trying so hard to attack her. She was clearly at a higher level than any of them. It didn’t make sense for them to go after the strongest person they could see. At one point, a group got closer, which allowed the Ophidianite to look at them properly. There was something about them, something in their eyes. It’s not a color or a weird marking. But fear. And it wasn’t fear of her. They were scared. Something made them so terrified that they reached the point of being willing to launch themselves into danger. Before she could even try to understand the situation better, a blue flash caught her eye. There was a woman with heavy armor and blue hair moving around, and the cloud seemed to follow her.

“Blue!” Hera yelled as she punched a man in the stomach, knocking him out in the process. The Empress rushed towards the blue-haired woman, hoping she was wrong and that she wasn’t her friend.

She ran for about 30 meters to the left, reaching a less crowded area of the camp, when she saw a redheaded elf flying past her and slamming against the ground. It was the same woman that complained to her about the court. And the being who flung her like a doll was walking closer. A hulking figure with red skin wearing nothing but a pair of stretchy pants.

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Delta - Level 43 - Strength
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