[LitF] 47. Joint Command (Patreon)

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[A/N: This is last Saturday's chapter. Sorry for the delay.]

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Nora looked apologetic and embarrassed as she wrote something on her tablet. Arthur had expected the device to be capable of discrete communication. That confirmed it.

Instant long-distance communication had already changed the world, and evidently, what he had seen in North Lake was just the tip of the iceberg. If it wasn't for mana interference, the world would be much more advanced than it already was. Quicksilver was a great tool to deal with interference when you could physically connect things, but there was too much demand and too little supply, and it wasn't as easy to transport as other metals. Building wires using different elements, like copper or steel, was much cheaper and more manageable. Hence, the League used those when the distance the electric signal had to travel was small enough, like inside electronic equipment.

Wireless signals had no convenient substance to boost them. Making them stronger worked but required too much energy, and even magic had a limit. Therefore, after the signal strength reached a certain point, one could only multiply the routers so there would always be an access point nearby.

Mana didn't interfere with mechanical waves as it did with electromagnetic ones, so there had been an attempt to use them instead. Sadly, that was sound, and no matter how low, awakeners could hear it. The constant buzz in the background had supposedly been a horrid experience.

"I'm sorry," Nora muttered after sending her message, then led them down the elevator and out of the building.

Arthur had had to ditch the Bello a little after the fort's entrance. Only authorized vehicles could move inside the Institute, and you needed permission to drive. It wasn't much of an issue because cars were just convenient ways of getting around for any awakener, and indeed, unless in official business, people just walked around.

Even now, people strolled without a care despite the light rain falling from the cloudy sky. Some awakeners had enchanted items to keep themselves dry, others used simple umbrellas, some used their magic, and yet a few got wet and would deal with it later. Only an awakener with a deficient vitality would get a cold, and even then, there would be a biomancer nearby to treat them, anyway.

Everyone was an awakener in there. It felt like he was really back home, as unawakened were seldom seen in the palace.

Arthur let the rain fall on him as Nora led them to meet Joint Command. Making him walk instead of sending a vehicle was a sign of what Joint Command thought of him: he hadn't come to the dungeon in a way they approved of, and they wouldn't bend to his whims.

He hoped it meant they would stand in his way; he still wanted to have some fun.

Nora purposefully sauntered, unlike when they first arrived. She had likely been ordered to give Joint Command time. Arthur didn't mind as long as it was kept within reason and the meeting wasn't postponed.

There was ample space between the Institute's buildings. The ground was enchanted asphalt, and there were no sidewalks. Most buildings were seven floors tall and made of white metal and glass, except for the black metal hangars. They all also went deep underground, which was magically protected from geomancers and other kinds of subterranean invasion.

Whoever Nora had sent her message to was a lousy mouth because people started looking at Arthur on the "streets." There were only a few initially, but they had been looking for something when they got to the buildings' windows. Soon, almost everyone where he went by looked at the level 100 prince as he walked towards Joint Command. Entire crowds formed around him as people decided they had to see it up close to ensure they weren't being tricked.

Everyone had an opinion about his level, from it being an illusion to him coming to take over the League to him coming to save the world. Arthur didn't allow himself to get lost in the gossip.

It took them over ten minutes to reach the building where Joint Command would receive them. Arthur didn't recall the last time he walked so slowly. The building was a regular cubic one, completely nondescript at first glance.

However, to his senses, it was a very obvious trap.

The tubes with liquid mercury were made of voidsteel. The exterior of the automated turrets hiding in the walls was made of voidsteel. The guns and armor on the one hundred awakeners hundreds of yards underground were voidsteel. The building's central room was above vertical bars of voidsteel that could rise from the ground to swallow anyone who stood in the wrong place. The cage was connected to tubes of voidsteel ready to spit voidsteel dust onto its occupants. There were entire rooms in the building filled with dust, ready to throw it at whoever the Institute trapped.

On top of that, dozens of metal spikes waited atop the cage's position, pointing down. They were so heavily enchanted that looking at them with his Sage's Eyes gave Arthur a light headache. They were attached to railguns, ready to be thrown at incredible speed against any caged victim. If the League's external defenses were what Arthur would expect of a level 35 awakener, those enchantments were comparable to a level 60 one.

As if that wasn't enough, the entire room was enchanted to make space firm, or so Arthur understood from looking at the magic runes. Any pocket enchanted to be bigger on the inside wouldn't collapse, but the prince guessed it would be impossible to access his spatial storage while there.

There were nine people in that room. The three humans and three high elves were livid and screaming at each other. Arthur couldn't hear anything but felt their lips with his life domain and understood the elves were against the place chosen for the meeting. The humans insisted the trap was just for protection. The elves yelled about disrespect and betrayal and demanded a change of venue, or they wouldn't attend. The humans said they wouldn't attend anywhere else, and Arthur had said this was the last chance for Joint Command to meet with him. The last three people present, all male dwarves, were the only ones in their seats, feeling amused at the discussion.

That room should be the reason the League thought they could deal with Graham. It was very likely to kill the grand knight. It did not, however, explain how Joint Command expected to deal with a level 100 awakener. It also didn't elucidate why they were so unconcerned about their lives.

The words from two Human Commanders explained their nonchalance.

"We're talking about a mere power-leveled boy," the only female human replied derisively. "He himself confirmed that the Traitor had a deal with the dungeon to get him to level up." He moved his hand around, which held a piece of paper, likely Arthur's letter. "That's how he got to level one hundred. It doesn't mean he knows how to use his stats or skills."

A male Human Commander added, "You people should understand it better than anyone. Didn't a level twenty elf beat a level forty dwarf in the last Union Tournament's finals? The real danger comes from the grand knight, and we can deal with him."

"Don't forget the maid," the last Human Commander interjected. "She's only level thirty, but she might destroy our minds if we let her."

The previous male scoffed. "As if. I want to see a level thirty biomancer from a time when they hadn't even discovered antibiotics try to mess with my brain."

He was level 50, so his words went against his earlier argument, but he didn't seem to realize or care. He was also a biomancer and evidently very proud of science's advances in the field, though antibiotics were not the novelty he claimed them to be.

"But, as I said, we just want a guarantee," the female continued. "Attacking Joint Command is a crime punishable by death. He just needs not to attack us. He can yell, cry, or leave, but not attack us. Or are you advocating for us to let him do whatever he wants? This is one of the most secure spots in the entire world. No one can just decide to get into the dungeon. I need at least a Commander from another race to agree to let me in, much less this spoiled aristocrat, the spawn from the Traitor who broke the whole damn world!"

The oldest high elf got very angry every time the woman offended Arthur, but she stood still and silent, looking intently at the Human Commander who had talked about Tamara. That man was even more amused than the dwarves. If Arthur had to guess, that was Commander Blaze Terrell.

The prince had a decision to make. Should he walk into that trap?

He didn't need to overthink about it. Yes, he should.

That trap would only work on a non-ascender or on an unaware ascender. He was neither. In fact, he almost hoped the League would give him the excuse he needed to shock and awe them with his power. He didn't even slow his pace as he kept following Nora.

As with most buildings, two level 5 plate armored awakeners in League clothes stood guard outside the entrance, and another level 5 in uniform stood behind a desk in the reception. All three didn't react beyond looking wide-eyed at Arthur's level.

Inside, Nora kept the elevator door open for them by holding her hand on a sensor. After they got in, she moved to enter, but Arthur raised his hand.

"This is enough," he said. "Fourth  floor, correct?" He pressed the button. "Thank you for your service."

Nora widened her eyes in surprise at being dismissed, then at him knowing the floor he was going, but didn't insist or try to stop them.

The doors closed, and Arthur gave Tamara a look. She got his meaning and took the privacy orb from her spatial storage. She kept everyone inside the magic sphere.

The prince quickly said, "I don't have time to explain details. Delaying would make them suspect we know something and think we're afraid. We're heading into a dangerous place. The League believes I'm a stupid puppet, though the high elves are at least trying to defend me to a point. The dwarves seem to just want to see the world burn as long as it doesn't concern them. If anything happens, do not move. I cannot guarantee your safety otherwise. Stay still until ordered otherwise, and I'll get us through."

He nodded to Tamara, who put the privacy orb away just before the elevator reached the third floor. The cameras would've seen his actions, but the artifact also blurred the image for anyone looking from the outside, so they couldn't read his lips.

A small antechamber was before double wooden doors leading to the trap room, which was circular and spacious, with walls, ceiling, and floor made of light brown wood. The fist-sized crystals embedded in the ceiling shone yellowish. The decor was delicate, only a few ceramic pots with plants on the perimeter and some golden lines on the walls, on top of the League's coat of arms on the two entrances, both with double doors. Thirteen black and silvery armchairs, clearly produced for comfort over design—and enchanted for even more comfort!—formed a cycle with four distinct groups. There was ample space in the middle of the room.

Joint Command had stopped arguing, though humans and elves were still upset with each other. Although unhappy, the elves had been convinced to play their part, likely because they didn't believe the others would spring the trap unprovoked.

It wasn't like the prince's level changed things too much for Joint Command. No one feared him. They thought Tamara and Graham were behind his latest exploits.

Also, if the elves were already there when they got the news, they had already expected to receive him there. They had only tried to use his level to gain leverage, but it hadn't worked. They wanted to protect him, but to be fair, they were still part of Joint Command. They had to abide by the rules until Arthur was tested and took control over them as the Pharyl Sha'vatör.

All nine people were sitting down, ready to receive the four awakeners from the past. The humans wore dark suits, the elves white and golden robes, and the dwarves leather with metal plates. Their garments had the best defensive enchantments Arthur had seen since he left the dungeon. It was only a few notches below Graham's grand knight armor.

Arthur hoped there would be a fight with these arrogant bastards. He felt like a trained wild animal. He had been raised in the wild, killing to survive, but had been taught how to control his instincts. Still, he only needed an excuse.

Unfortunately, as the humans had kept calming the elves, he "heard" the trap would only activate automatically if anyone inside its perimeter attacked anyone outside. If the League wanted to preemptively activate the enchantments, at least two races had to agree.

Fortunately, he knew how to get a chance to flex his muscles a little and make a point.

Arthur walked until he was in front of one of the empty seats, right in the middle of the trap. The Commanders' seats, on the other hand, were far outside the range of the voidsteel cage that could rise from the ground at any time. Almost no one looked at him after seeing his level. Instead, they mainly checked Graham or Tamara, though one dwarf didn't hide his lust as he stared at Sophie.

That was Sophie's level of beauty: even the dwarves, who liked ugly hags, couldn't deny her looks.

The prince was supposed to introduce himself before such an esteemed assembly. Instead, he stared at the two human males and demanded, "Which of you is Blaze Terrell?"

The prince had been correct when he guessed the amused human was Terrell. The black-eyed, red-haired man in his late twenties didn't answer his question. Instead, he said, "Black Aegies. Full power. Activate."

The rude dwarf echoed his words. "Black Aegies. Full power. Activate."

Everyone except the two speakers widened their eyes in surprise. The oldest elf quickly rose from her seat and tried to rush into the cage area, but she was too slow.

At the activation words, voidsteel bars promptly rose from the ground around Arthur and his people. Under the floor was a firm voidsteel plate, and above the ceiling was a grated cover. Since the trap's activation had been at full power, the dozens of railguns on the floor above shot their enchanted spikes into the cage. Arthur could prevent that but decided not to so as to make his victory more impressive. The last projectile was past the ceiling just before four lids opened on the wood above to reveal the tubes that would throw voidsteel dust inside with a lot of pressure.

The spikes were a devious trap. Touching them would trigger a mighty electric discharge right before they exploded. Most would use skills or spells to deal with them; there was no dodging, no matter how fast one was. Only very trained troops would be prepared for the upcoming anti-magic dust.

Firemancers would have an edge here if it weren't for the awakeners outside. Terrell was an aquamancer, and his dwarf colleague was an aeromancer. The former could prehend the tiny water droplets that moistened the air, while the latter could prehend the air itself. They could then pour all their mana into lowering the temperature inside the cage. They were level 50, so Arthur was sure the air temperature could instantly reach much below zero.

Any firemancer would have to fight against that to use magic. Even Arthur's enchanted sword would have trouble despite being such a good piece of equipment. Enchantments helped, but the best defense against monsters or other awakeners was still an awakener.

Well, at least, Arthur bet that was the plan.

He would never be sure because he had decided to make a repulsive example out of his attackers.

He doubted anyone would dare to attempt anything like that against him ever again.

Every Commander's clothing protected them against intent strings but not against Arthur's domains. As soon as the Dwarf Commander finished talking, the prince pulled Terrell and the dwarf's innards through their apertures as if drawing from straws.

The trap's enchantments reacted fast, but not as quickly as him. The two people's defensive equipment did nothing to stop Arthur's domain or their flesh and bones from leaving their skin. The horrible gore was between him and the ceiling before the first spike had entered the cage. He pushed the mass into the four voidsteel tubes.

Let their ugly innards counter their own sneak attack, a fitting end for the two bastards.

Simultaneously, Arthur also collected a tithe of incompetence from the other Commanders. They were at fault for failing to stop this situation. All their iron came from their bodies, two people at a time. Almost immediately, a few dozen grams were above Arthur, and he split the mass into eleven needles. Only those eleven might hit him and his people if they didn't move. He prehended the needles six at a time and cast spells. They became highly stable, resistant, sharp projectiles that met the incoming metal spikes head-on.

Arthur's counterattack was much faster than the spikes shot by railguns, and his spells were incomparably superior to their enchantments. The eleven spikes exploded as the thin needles went through them.

The prince wasn't done. He had used the needles because he wouldn't risk his people's lives on his arrogance. For that same reason, he didn't let the other spikes fall. He prehended the broken remains of the destroyed spikes and used them to crush all others. Then, he used the entire metal mass to form four corks that he pushed into the tubes. He used his domain to ensure the corks were more than a perfect fit. The League would require a lot more than air to force the blockades to give way.

Ultimately, only the two attackers were affected by their attacks, and the useless people around helped Arthur protect himself and his people.

Everything happened too fast for most people present to understand what transpired, much less react to it. For them, the two conspirators had acted, the high elf had failed to reach the trapped area, then there were blurs, and the four people inside the raised bars had yet to move.

Then, they heard the sound of the objects moving at supersonic speed and noticed the voidsteel tubes were sealed. A moment later, the two people who had triggered the trap fell on the ground, though they were mere skin husks with not a single drop of blood remaining on them.

At last, they felt the pain from having all their iron removed from them without finesse. Arthur had thorn flesh and broken bone as he had pulled. They deserved it.

Lucky them, they were level 50 awakeners and would survive. Just as they didn't need to eat to survive, mana would supply them with any lacking nutrients. The few seconds until that happened wouldn't be pleasant, though, especially for those now with internal injuries. They would die if Arthur did it enough times in a row, so it wasn't a cheat for infinite iron.

Most of them, including an elf, got away from the cage in a panic. The old elf was as awestruck by what happened as she was pained by her lack of iron; the prince had been a little more careful with her insides. And one elf just stood up and looked conflicted at the old lady, wanting to retreat but not daring to do so without her.

"Attack!" the retreating elf screamed.

All of the League's defenses that should get activated, didn't.

Arthur had already cut off all non-voidsteel wiring in every magitech object around him. No electronics could hear them to trigger an alarm. Some enchantments were triggered by her voice, but they sent electric signals through the mercury wire. Arthur was parting the quicksilver inside the two main junctures, and the warning couldn't move forth.

Silence met the elven woman's declaration. Her immediate reaction had been very curious. She had been the most vocal one when defending Arthur.

She tried to scream again, the male human took his weapons out, two dwarves turned to run, and another dwarf produced a spherical device with a button. Arthur pulled the metal objects with his metal domain and stopped the two cowards with his life domain.

Then, he let the silence blanket the room. The soundless tension increased to the terror growing in everyone's hearts.

A few still hoped for the best. From the moment he stepped into the room, the one hundred people in voidsteel deep underground had started moving up, running through stairs, but they were still too far to make a difference. Still, if the prince gave them time, it might be enough.

All seven survivors looked shocked at Arthur, not daring to move or make a sound. The hopeful few grew happier the longer the silence persisted.

Arthur waited in silence.

The voidsteel armor the incoming troops wore should be padded because they moved as fast as only awakeners could. They grew quieter as they approached the fourth floor, then sneaked to the sides of the two entrances, waiting for a signal.

The prince still said nothing.

Who would dare to call for help? Who would be stupid enough not to realize he had killed two people through voidsteel bars while the two were protected by their equipment?

It turned out to be the young elf again. "Attack!" she screamed, though she grunted in pain almost instantly.

It was as if she could tell her mistake had just cost her her life. She couldn't have groaned from pain, though. Arthur made sure of it. There was no sense in torturing her. He instantly turned her brain into juice.

The voidsteel-armored troops stormed the room, their rifles held horizontally. They preemptively aimed at the cage and shot as soon as they saw their targets.

"You're following orders," Arthur said over the noise of moving plates and firing guns. It didn't matter. The awakeners would hear him anyway. "So I'll give you a chance. One eye will be enough to pay for the offense. Don't try anything after I prove to you that you're vulnerable. I won't force myself to miss your brain the next time."

Arthur had two metal authority chains. Each grabbed one of the metal orbs he kept hidden amid the seams of his clothes. He kept one for defense, moving it around him quickly, deflecting the bullets uncaring of where they ricocheted as long as it wasn't toward his people. The other sphere was used offensively. He turned it into an impossibly sharp dart that zipped through the air, pierced voidsteel helmets as if they were paper, hit every soldier in the right eye, and took a sharp turn to leave their skulls and helmets sideways.

It looked effortless, but Arthur was using everything he got to break the thin voidsteel plates with his metal domain alone. Voidsteel was very resistant.

Screams followed the tiny blur, and seconds later, the prince didn't have to defend himself anymore because everyone had stopped shooting.

"I didn't give you permission to leave," the prince said to a dwarf trying to slip away in the chaos.

Arthur pulled the Dwarf Commander's body until it hit the voidsteel bars of his cage. The man's equipment's defenses shattered, and his skin touched the metal, causing his stats to halve. He yelped, and the prince kept the little one pressed against the anti-mana alloy.

The prince was amazed that none of the newly arrived troops tried anything after they lost an eye. Well, a few wanted to, especially the ones who hadn't had the chance to get in the room before they lost their eye. But others talked sense to them, and the leaders ordered everyone to stand down.

"How refreshing," Arthur said jovially. "Imagine accepting another awakener's superiority, as you have been doing for centuries while losing track of the very purpose the League was created for. How curious that you rose to resist me as if I were a monster but merely accepted your previous fall into debauchery. Imagine competence and wisdom at the highest levels of the League." To make a point, the prince pulled the dwarf back a little and made his body hit the bars again. "Now, you all in black. If you were curious about this meeting, you only needed to ask for a seat. Come on in, all of you. Form a circle on the walls. Leave your weapons by the doors; we don't want any accidents. If you want me to grow your eye back, bow to me once—then, of course, don't prehend your head if you're a biomancer."

Healing them through the narrow openings formed by his dart's passage, which was too small for an intent string to go through, would be another show of force and a warning: he hadn't gotten lucky in his previous attack.

There was another moment of silence before two armored people looked at each other, then one shook his head, and the other turned to Arthur.

"Sir, if I may?" the woman said. To her credit, her voice only shook a little, and she even sounded almost respectful. Arthur nodded, and she gulped. "Sir, holding us hostage won't help you. You're powerful, I admit, but you cannot stand against the entire League. Damn, you can't get out of the Institute alive. No one has enough mana for that. And that's assuming you can even leave the voidsteel cage. Please, willingly submit to avoid bloodshed that will only delay the inevitable."

As if on cue, loud sirens started sounding all over the fortress. It had been only a matter of time.

The prince raised an eyebrow at her words. "Didn't you hear what I just said? You would submit to people telling you to forgo your core tenants about dealing with dungeons but throw everything you have against me, who merely killed two people who unlawfully sneak-attacked me first?" He gestured at Joint Command's survivors. "You can ask them if you want."

"Listen to him—" the dwarf pressed against the bars started saying, but Arthur shut him up.

"Not him," the prince said. "He's touching voidsteel, which is not pleasant, let me assure you. He's only in this situation in the first place because he's a fleeing coward. He'll say anything to make me stop. The others are hostages, which isn't much better, but they are mostly unharmed. If an eyeless soldier like you can rise to the situation and face death in the eye, so should your brave superiors. Unless, of course, their cause was never just to begin with."

"Sir, I cannot accept the decision of any superior being held hostage," the female soldier insisted. "The only course of action for you is to let us arrest you. Please, I swear this is the best way out for you."

She believed her words, too. What an outstanding negotiator! And she wasn't even a biomancer!

Before Arthur could reply, the old elf stood straighter and sighed. The prince knew she was old, but her face looked barely older than thirty, while he body was like that of an unawakened human in her mid-twenties. Her long hair was silver, and her eyes sky blue.

"You know my stance on this, fellow Commanders," she said, not to Arthur but the other Commanders. "I never meant for this to happen." She clenched her fists to give herself courage, then looked at Arthur. "Alas, High Lord Boria, you are incorrect. Two Joint Commanders from different races agreed to this attack during an official meeting with all Commanders present. No one from their races disagreed. That means they had an official majority in Joint Command. The attack was theoretically legal. At least one race must step back and admit their action was wrong, or else you had no right to resist the will of the League. One human or dwarf must vote against the motion to attack High Lord Boria, and the other member of the same race must at least remain neutral. The race's votes will tie, and their support will be withdrawn."

The prince frowned. "That is absurd. There was no vote. Two people decided it for themselves and acted on it before anyone could interfere. What does it matter for it to be an official meeting with every Commander if only two will have a voice, then it's too late to say or do anything?"

The high elf glanced at Terrell's husk before replying weakly, "Former Human Commander Terrell proposed such rules because the races have only voted as one for decades. There had been recent talks of having a single High Commander in each race responsible for votes and the others only commanding troops when necessary."

Arthur understood it then. The scheme was obvious, but not all ploys had to be furtive to work. The FFM, sympathizers, and racists had been dividing the three races for centuries. Eventually, each race felt obligated to vote together, as Howard had said the Human Commanders were forced to do when Terrell wanted.

Maybe the two Human Commanders hadn't even wanted to meet with Arthur in this place despite their previous avid arguing. However, they had felt compelled to do it because the elves also disliked the idea, which had been proposed by a human, Terrell. And so, they were led by the nose.

The next step, removing six Commanders who might interfere, would've made it even easier to take control of the League. It wasn't lost to Arthur that precisely one person of each race had been keen on getting rid of him.

The prince turned to the humans. "I'm human. You're human. I understand that was enough for your pathetic selves to vote with the mastermind behind Howard." They didn't reply. "Well, what are you waiting for? I don't want to kill everyone in the Institute, but I will if I have to."

"Sir, I cannot obey any order from—" the female voidsteel-clad warrior spoke again.

"From a hostage, I know," Arthur interrupted. "It doesn't matter; I'm not telling them to give you orders. I'm telling them to vote. This is Joint Command business, which you have no right to interfere with. After their vote, it'll be illegal for you or the Institute to attack me because what is currently perceived as murder will magically become legal self-defense. Now, shush while I try to save your life. You were wrong; I can destroy the entire Institute."

"Me vote 'gainst 'ttacking High Lor' Boria," the free dwarf suddenly said with the weirdest accent Arthur had ever heard.

The prince looked surprised at the little one. The Dwarf Commander had green eyes, a long brown beard that met in a braid under his shin, a crooked nose, lacked an upper front tooth, and was the most muscular of the three dwarves. Well, one of them was out of the competition, but still. The leather of his garment was dark gray, and the metal plates were mythril.

"But ya sti' 'ttack'd mesel' for nothin'," the dwarf added, rubbing his biceps. "It hurt, asshole, ay? Ya bett'r 'pologize or I'mma not payin' me damn debt to ya damn Boria House."

Of all the things Arthur expected to find in that place, a dwarf who owed him money was not one of them.

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