Chapter 199 - With All Our Will (Patreon)

The tier seven beasts continued to close the gap toward Jiran despite him moving away at the quickest speed that wouldn’t reveal his position. He pushed his obfuscation to its limits by bringing the elemental light as close to his body as possible while amplifying its bending properties at the expense of significantly more mana. Several of the heavier and stronger enforcer variants bounded overhead as they entered the valley, coming far too close for comfort.

I can’t keep this level of mana drain up. I need to preserve my energy as much as possible until I figure out a way to get out of here. I’m far from out of options, but at the moment, none of them feel like a winning strategy.

The real issue isn’t the tier sevens, it's the rooks. If I slow down to evade their attacks, I'll be caught by the slayers and bogged down in a never-ending melee. Digging seems equally bad, they would notice the change in the terrain right away and while I’m having to dig, they would only need to chase me through the hole I’d be making for them; they would catch me in seconds.

I only have five cubes that I didn’t deploy. That might be enough to keep them from catching me but it's a bit of a risk. The worst case is that they have several hundred more drained tier sevens waiting in reserve. I can’t locate them with Mana Omnis if they don’t have any mana and the framework sense is completely overloaded with how many of them are around me already.

I can detonate the weapon formations but I have no idea what absorbing that much challenger density all at once would do to me. If I don't make a move soon, them blowing up the ground while searching for me is going to make that decision for me. One wrong shot and the chain reaction will start…

Wait! If I run, they’ll obviously follow me, leaving the range of the weapon formations. Then, I won’t have any fall-back strategy in case they have some way to pin me down. Leaving the valleys directly around this mountain would be a huge mistake.

Just as he had the thought, nearly fifty more tier sevens with empty manapools came bounding over the mountain closest to the pass Jiran had been angling toward. With the reinforcements before him and the nearing explosions behind, his minds raced all the faster.

Since arriving, the upgraded Slayer commanding the rest of the beasts didn’t twitch a muscle, its entire being dedicated to watching the movement within the valley as if it knew for certain Jiran was there. Explosions continued to rattle the ground, sending chunks of filth and clouds of dirt high into the air. Each was a reminder of how little time he had to make a sound decision.

None of my usual strategies are going to work. I need to think of an entirely new method. What skills do I have and how can I use them to benefit me the most? No, first I need to adjust my objective. I’m no longer considering escaping. Instead, I need to think of a way to get them to leave!

Jiran glanced up at the leader, its gaze dancing back and forth across the valley with a disturbing attentiveness.

All I need to do, is give it something to chase. I can’t make a single mistake or I'll be forced to kill them all. I've got a plan now, but my biggest issue is that I can only convert mana to an element within five meters of my body. If I start the chase that close, they might hit me by accident and trigger one of the weapon formations I haven't deployed yet. That would be… bad. Don’t rush, slow down, focus.

Jiran took one of the cubes and Mana Confluence combined with Enthralling Touch, converting the elemental energy within it back into unaspected mana. He then recreated the entire formation in the shape of a small bird with multiple internal layers of graphene, each stuffed with intent, mana, and aura.

After taking a deep breath to psych himself up, he Teleported the decoy formation three hundred meters away. It immediately took off, hurtling through the air on a stream of ignited gases. Elemental light warped around it, causing it to look like a blurred, man-sized ball. The decoy followed the trajectory Jiran had given it in advance, flying toward the partially destroyed mountain where most of his weapon formations were buried.

As predicted, the rooks on the nearby peaks unleashed a barrage of nearly thirty rocks, each thrown fast enough to distort the air and shatter the bones of even higher-tier ascenders. But the tiny decoy formation was no easy target and only one of the attacks managed to strike it. The blow threw it off course and there was no way to control it remotely or pre-program it with the ability to correct its flight once its trajectory was altered so it ended up careening toward the filth-covered rocks below. The fact it survived an attack capable of injuring a tier seven showcased the incredible endurance of the materials it was made from.

The lead slayer and many of the other tier sevens noticed it immediately. With a pointed finger and a silent screech, the leader commanded the ones nearest him, who still had mana, and they Teleported, diving in pursuit. Just before they reached it, Jiran sent a single bead of mana zipping along the framework to intercept the decoy and it expended the remainder of its mana in an incredibly bright flash of light. By the time the beasts could see again, a new decoy formation was racing away from their position on a slightly different trajectory.

The second decoy expired in much the same way as the first after being swarmed by Slayers. The final one, Teleported to the maximum of Jiran’s one-kilometer range, zipped over the peak of the mountain, taking almost all of the Graymin with it. The clever leader remained where it was, its eyes squinting suspiciously at the blurry, flying object.

I need to take that bastard out. It’s way too smart, not to mention cautious. The last time, we didn’t get a chance to fight but the one it was with was fast enough to dodge my attacks even at point-blank range. I’m going to have to close the distance and seal its movements. Since slayers are resistant to aura, ice is probably my best bet.

Jiran pulled one of the two remaining weapon formations from his pocket and almost completely drained its mana-barrier. The highly destructive forces trapped inside pushed against their weakened constraints, eager to explode outward. With a flicker of intent, the cube was sucked into a synapse and appeared right beside the leader. The thumbnail-sized gravity bomb tucked inside the cube had been crammed full of elemental ice during its creation. The only thing keeping the gravity ball from releasing that trapped and compressed mass was the formations within the walls of the cube. When the depleted mana faltered, an enormous rush of frigid mana exploded outward.

The beast responded instantly and Teleported away. Unfortunately for it, the range of its skill was only a few hundred meters. The air turned solid, easily encompassing several times that distance and the clever monster found itself encased in a massive ball of ice that began its inexorable descent toward the ground.

Jiran was far enough to the side that the massive crashing object wouldn't hit him, allowing his focus to remain unwavering. Every one of his minds was dedicated to the task of rotating a separate chakram of plasma. The highly compressed energy within them spun at an incredible speed, releasing a series of high-pitched buzzing whines. For the single second required to charge up his attacks, the only thing he thought about was whether or not they would have the power to pierce through his own ice to kill the trapped leader.

Due to the vast disparity between the tiers, a single second on Madra could feel no longer than a fleeting moment within a dream, or a lifetime. Within that all-important, single second, Jiran had no means to perceive the sequence of events that transpired.

As his chakrams were only beginning to heat up, compress, and spin, a powerful aura was sliding its way across the valley. The moment it passed over him, an individual far beyond his strength Teleported behind him. As the energies of Jiran’s chakrams reached their zenith, a cold, hard object snapped in place around his neck. Suddenly, the world as he typically perceived it, came crashing to a halt.

Not only was he cut off from all of his external mana manipulations, but something also tore at his exposed aura with the might of an emperor. Luckily, most of his aura had already been pulled inside his body but that didn’t stop nearly a quarter of it from being torn to shreds in a fraction of a heartbeat. Before he could open his mouth to scream, his now uncontrolled chakrams released their energy wildly, firing several beams of plasma in random directions to wreak unholy havoc upon the surroundings. And one of them released its payload directly at Jiran, who was powerless to stop it.

One of the Sanctum

“Three has successfully made contact with Jiran of Feylon. How fare the emperors?” Eight's feminine voice purred as she caught up with the rest of the Templari.

“Far better than anticipated,” Six snarled, a formation scope held to his eyes revealed the intense battle several dozen kilometers to the north. “Not only are all three of them alive, they're even counter-attacking the King. Though they seem unable to pierce the barrier of clouds around it. Likely, it is only a matter of time until they are victorious.”

Eight’s mouth fell open in complete shock and she finally understood the solemn expressions of her companions. If the emperors weren’t losing, then her brothers and sisters, and herself, would be called upon to act, “What?! That cannot be! The records clearly state that even with the aid of the Apostles, the King was an invincible being. How could those three unfaithful failures possibly prevail?”

Twelve scratched at the burnt skin of his arms, thankfully hidden from sight by his voluminous robes, “That's not all. The rankers are still alive and holding strong despite being heavily outnumbered. Their mana isn't even approaching fifty percent. Additionally, there are signatures of fifteen tier ten Gray that have been extinguished.”

Eight shook her head in denial, floating backward as if to distance herself from the unimaginable truth, “This is too much to be a coincidence. Something beyond our expectations has influenced every facet of this battle.”

“Perhaps Jiran found a powerful master in the new lands?” The usually quiet and reserved Seventeen spoke up for the first time in weeks.

One silenced their discussion with a crack of his aura. The time for thought and discussion was over. There was only one path remaining before them and their time was growing short, “It does not matter. The situation is dire and our orders are clear. We will deploy the Holy Reterer. Four and Seven will protect me while I deliver the artifact. The rest of you will assault the rankers from their flanks. You are only required to distract them long enough for me to complete my mission.”

Hearing the finality in his tone, and knowing he would not be returning, the other Templari bowed in silent reverence for his selfless sacrifice. One felt the weight of the world on his shoulders as he faced his companions for the last time, “There will be no possibility of hiding the Voice’s stance against the empire once the battle begins. Do not waste your lives frivolously. Complete your mission and withdraw. You must return to the Cardinal so you may serve the Voice.” With one hand over his heart and the other sliding up his throat, he saluted them, “With all your will!”

Each of the eight Templari heard the unspoken desire that they live on while he could not. They responded with all the fervor that consumed their very beings, “With all our will!”

With a satisfied nod, One removed the holy artifact and the apostles’ blood from their respective protective cases. He dripped a single dollop of the stored blood from each vial onto opposite sides of the artifact’s pristinely smooth surface. The liquids sank through and swam into the thick mana within. The moment they met at the center, they combined and the egg-shaped object began to emit a threatening energy that stood their hairs on end and vibrated their teeth painfully.

The energy continued to oscillate, quickly growing so fierce that the air quaked and the ground far below trembled. A mountain soon collapsed as though it were no more than a child's toy; crushed without mercy or thought. A fissure split the land from east to west, swallowing millions of tons of rocky terrain. One, enraptured by the power of the apostles, stared into the egg’s depths, utterly unable to perceive their vastness.

Looking up, One met the eyes of his companions for the last time before vanishing with the most holy of artifacts held firmly in his arms.