The armies of the Anti-Royal faction have now moved into sight, and Cain recognizes a familiar flag at the back. It matches the crest Earl Millsap was wearing on his chest when they met yesterday. It’s a bit of a shame they’re on opposite sides today, as he genuinely seemed like a good person. Cain even added him to his friend’s list to talk business later. Catching sight of each other through the crowd, the two lock eyes and Cain gives Millsap a disappointed frown.
[Duke Cain. Please understand that things aren’t always what they seem. When the attack starts, watch for the flags to switch.] Millsap does an excellent job of sending cryptic messages, but Cain can follow this one well enough. The hippo species Beastkin is going to turn on the Anti Royals.
Quite a few Beastkin that were expected to desert in favor of toppling the Monarchy honestly swore loyalty to the King today, thanks to his declaration that he would bring Beastkin into the Royal Harem and give them an equal chance at birthing the next Monarch.
“King James, I have a word of a loyalist among the Rebels; they say they will act when the time is right. With permission, I’ll send some forces to assist them when and if they do.”
James nods in agreement, but Duke Archibald snorts in derision. “Cold feet is nothing new for those glorified peasants and nouveau riche. Make sure they’ve made up their mind before you lose good men helping cowards.”
The Duke then turns to King James. “I have five thousand men from the outer territories coming to my Manor in the next ten minutes. Fear Not my King; the Capital shall not fall while it’s under my watch.”
[Such a noble sentiment. If only he cared about the entire country as he does in his hometown. He might be a decent Defense Minister then.] Evangeline replies in Cain’s mind with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
[Does anyone else thinks he’s only Loyal because the Royal Palace getting destroyed and the Monarchy falling would decrease his property values?] Nila jokes. Well, maybe it’s a joke. It seems pretty accurate for the pompous Duke.
While they traded barbed comments, Duke Chen noticed something odd among the defense force. “My liege, shouldn’t we order the Nobles with Tank role capable classes forward? Most are hiding behind the lines.”
Specifically, it is the Court Nobles that are hiding. They almost all picked warrior classes so they could participate in exhibition matches, but at heart, they’re far from being warriors. True to form, they’re hiding in the back, while the lower Nobles and war-minded local businessmen are upfront.
“Excellent point. Order all geared warriors to the front to take the impact. Spearman behind them. It’s no time to be afraid to rub shoulders with the common soldiers.”
The palace staff will gladly pass on that order, long since having gotten sick of the way the Court Nobles treat them. The actual fighters in the defense forces are simply happy to see more shields up front to take the charge before the spears drive it back.
Of course, for a battle like this, the first wave of attackers won’t be transfers but summons and spells. The casters at the palace will defend against magical attacks and place what barriers they can against arrows, the tanks just need to keep the first rank from opening a gap for the attackers to exploit.
As they had feared, just as the Rebels get in charge range, a horde of undead nearly a thousand strong appear along with six Legendary Bone Dragons. At that exact moment, a cluster of banners in the back of the army drop, and the National Flag is raised. That must be Millsap, but he hasn’t drawn the support he had hoped.
Only about three hundred troops went with him, and they’re immediately set upon by those around them, who seem to have been aware of their intentions.
“Duke Cain, we need to deal with those Dragons,” James commands, gritting his teeth as the two armies come together in a roar of clashing weapons, mixed with screams of bloodlust and agony.
They need numbers, so Cain shifts to the silver skinned Ancient Seraphim Form that Evangeline mocked as looking like an old man and Summons twelve Ancient Quality Seraphim to the air above them.
“Rescue the loyalists in the back and form a semi-circle on the right and rear flanks,” Cain calls, and they race away.
Duke Chen and some of the surrounding Nobles look confused until the sky fills with Seraphim Summoned by the Ancient ones, and Divine Host humans start charging from every side street and alley. Each Ancient Seraphim can Summon an entire dungeon full of them, and in seconds the defenders are no longer outnumbered.
Cain takes to the air, coordinating his summons and ensuring they leave the enemy a way out. A trapped enemy can’t break, only fight to the death, so leaving one side open will minimize casualties among the commoners.
Fighting against transfers is a whole different experience than monsters, and within a few seconds, they’ve discovered that the hovering form of Cain is the real threat.
“Dragons, kill the Flesh Crafter.” He hears one of the Necromancers shout, sending not only all six Legendary Bone Dragons, but a wave of spells and arrows his way.
Cain fills the air with Ice Fog Breath courtesy of his Merger with Laura, weighing down and slowing the arrows and letting him dodge the flying spells without the casters being able to easily adjust their aim. The Bone Dragons prove undeterred, simply taking the damage and surrounding Cain.
The Dragon below him snaps at his feet, and Cain uses the mighty wings of his Seraphim Form to spin on the spot, driving his spear into the Dragon’s snout. With Might of Many stacked up to a level Cain isn’t sure he’s ever seen before; the spear shatters the Dragon’s Skull, sending bones collapsing to the ground.
The rest attack in a well-trained pattern, one after another, forcing him to dodge constantly and preventing Cain from launching an attack. He can see that two of his Seraphim are already down, and more are injured, so the enemy understands the target priorities and are doing a decent job of taking out the biggest threats.
As Cain moves to his left and under the belly of a bone dragon to dodge an attack from above, two opportunities present themselves at once. The first one is a solid strike upwards, battering another Bone Dragon.
The second is a glimpse of the Necromancers physical location. They’re standing together in a circle of undead, creating themselves a safe spot near the middle of the battle. Cain calls for Wrath Bringers to appear in their midst and then summons a dozen copies of Kone close to himself.
That was a bit too long of a distraction, and Cain feels agony shoot up his leg as a Dragon claw rakes down it, pulling his attention back to the imminent threat, narrowly avoiding jaws intent on biting him in half.
The clones of Su that come with the clones of Kone twist to fly underneath the falling Spirit Folk Girls, letting them mount and calling for their Drakes, while Kone follows Cain’s mental directions and calls the Snapping Turtles into the Enemy Army.
Facing Ancient Seraphim didn’t break their will, and the Rebels are gleefully attacking the Dragons as well as all the other summons that have been sent from the loyalist forces. However, the Legendary Beastkin are visibly affecting morale. Many traitors joined this attack because they felt that their kin were treated as second-class Nobles, and a battle against the Legendary Beastkin was not what they expected to find here.
Still, with the higher level Transfers, even those walking tanks are slowly falling to the mass of attacks they’re facing. The situation is frustrating Cain, who hasn’t faced a stalemate or truly drawn out battle in a long time, but today, all he can do is avoid being eaten. It’s hard even to get a chance to call a fresh batch of Seraphim to keep up their numbers.
On the bright side, he’s got the attention of the enemy’s most dangerous forces on him instead of on the King.
The attackers have begun to cluster in the large park outside the west palace walls, moving closer to stay within the range of their healers and auras. The Guards around the Necromancers have finally taken care of the Wrath Bringers, letting them recover mana and call the undead to encircle their army as a shield, closing with the forces of the Seraphim.
Speaking of mana, even with his Mana Flood Totem up, Cain is starting to run low. That accursed spell to Summon Legendary base Quality beings is charging him per Seraphim and it is not cheap. Without anything in Merger, he might only be able to call them one at a time.
We would spare a breath to insult the system’s sense of humor, but the defeated Bone Dragons are back, and he’s back to an avoidance only fighting style while trying to turn a parry into a strike or two.
The situation on the battlefield can change in the blink of an eye though, and today it does, as half the Bone Dragons suddenly disappear.
Duke Chen has left the wall and made his way through the fray to kill one of the Necromancers. He’s currently hard-pressed to stay alive in the middle of an enemy army, and both of the students who followed him in appear to be dead already, so Cain calls the next Seraphim plus the Wrath Bringers to the Duke’s location, flatlining his own mana, but giving Chen an army to work with in the center of the enemy force.
A flash of holy light strikes their location, forcing the other Necromancer back as the Ancient Seraphim Appears, killing much of the undead guard force and resurrecting the two fallen students of Duke Chen.
The loss of half their Summoned undead barrier has been a massive blow to the rebel army, and the weakest willed begin to flee, surging out of the open gap deliberately left by the Seraphim armies.
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