Steel and Mana

Chapter 91 – Battle at Roria (2)

In the belly of the Justice, Nahl was thrown against the wall while the visions within the Imaginary were constantly flickering in and out of existence. It took him great effort to finally stand back up and find his footing, forcing the magic to stabilize and clear up the images so he could see what was happening. Sadly, he could no longer feel the cannons, so it was up to the crew to manually aim them and begin firing again.

"What is that thing?!" He gasped for air, feeling that multiple Shipwizards were already cut from the ship's magic system, probably dead. Their shields may be able to withstand another blast, but not a third... that weapon had to be destroyed right now. "I wanted to wait for more destruction, but... they truly made something nasty!"

With visible anger in his eyes, he pulled out a wand with a crooked, thorn-shaped CC on the top while holding its leather-bound bottom. His face slowly smoothed out when he began chanting, becoming emotionless and indifferent to their plight. The ship's rocking and the noises of wind, rain, and destruction gradually receded from Nahl's senses, leaving behind nothing, yet his words never faltered. They only got faster and louder as the seconds passed, while a green formation began manifesting behind him. It was filled with hundreds of tiny runes, placed in multiple circles, rotating in different directions, forming an array that would make anyone dizzy looking at it.

When his words stopped, his eyes snapped open and were glowing in green light as if he had become a different entity. After its final spin, the formation behind him stopped rotating, disappearing in a flash. It wasn't truly gone, but instead, it reappeared below the ship, growing in size and shooting down multiple jets of similarly colored light, aiming them at all those dead people down below.

No matter if it were soldiers killed in the currently raging battle or dead slaves, for the spell, it wasn't crucial whether they were from Ishillia or Scorc; the only thing that Nahl's will cared about was that they were dead. He was raising them back up and using them as puppets, giving them one order: Flood the weapon and bring it down, no matter what.

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"Watch out!" I shouted, wielding my sword, blocking a sudden attack behind one of Yuri's girls when one of the dead warriors stood up and began attacking. "What the fuck!?"

It wasn't just him. Just as we were about to move on, all the dead around us began climbing back up. It was horrifying to watch, and I knew this had to do something with the new formation appearing below the ship. I never expected necromancy to be something that I would meet... damn it.

"What are these abominations?!" Oleg roared as he cut a man in half and watched as its legs were still walking, spraying blood everywhere, beginning to run away while the rest of its torso was wriggling towards him.

"I don't know, but move!" I shouted, arming one of the mines, sticking it into one of the bodies as we hurriedly tried to escape this hellhole.

As we made a run for it, we constantly dropped the mines, armed and counting, not wanting the dead to follow us. But... they were not just behind us but everywhere. Soldiers, civilians, and bodies were getting back up from the dead everywhere, and we literally had to cut them apart to hinder them in any way. I watched as a burning woman was walking towards the city center as if everything was normal and her skin wasn't flaking off with every step... What the hell was this spell?

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"Keep the ship lower! If you go too high, I will lose control of my minions!" Nahl shouted, his words echoing in Kustov's mind as he was controlling the Justice to rise upwards.

"I have to! The navigation formation took a hit! The Shipwizards are already working on fixing it, but we have trouble turning!"

"The shields will hold; keep the ship steady! I am already controlling the dead to attack their weapon; they should be able to bring it down soon! That thing can't stay up, or even if we got our army here, it would be stuck in a stalemate!"

That was something Kustov couldn't argue against. The blast from that weapon was much stronger than before, but it also seemed they could not use it frequently. Still, if they aimed it at the army coming to siege, it would result in thousands dying.

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"My King, the auxiliarly crystals have been changed; we are ready to fire!" Reported Daito while his king was standing on a podium, holding a staff just as tall as he was with a skull-sized CC embedded into its top.

"Keep the monsters away; don't let them interrupt our chanting!" King Yano III ordered, beginning to focus while eight other wizards were doing the same, surrounding the finished obelisk, working together to call forth the same spell.

Daito didn't need to be ordered as his soldiers were pouring out from below, engaging in fights, cutting down the dead who began walking again. What was worse was that by now, there were reports that the mass graves outside of the city were also disturbed, and a hoard of rotting abominations was attacking the walls, resulting in complete chaos.

"To send the Herald of Death... Those Ishillian bastards!" Dorian cursed, realizing who was on the ship.

He never met the man before, but he knew about him, the monster who had appeared on multiple battlefields in the past 40 years, raising the fallen on both sides, resulting in wanton destruction and massacre, leaving behind no survivors.

"Don't let anything come through! You will stand your ground; whatever is coming, you hear?!" He yelled, shouting over the pouring rain as his most elite men guarded the streets and entrances, holding back the undead trying to get to his king.

When the spell was finally completed, he looked back, watching the golden formation rotate above them, expecting the blinding flash and the destruction of the Ishillian warship... but something different happened. A second circle materialized out of nowhere, surprising him and his king, who didn't understand what was happening.

"Are the gods helping us?" King Yano whispered because even though that was not his doing, he knew... whoever was intervening was doubling the output of their weapon.

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"Merlin!" I shouted as we were up on the walls, half of our men already on their way down on the other end, when he grunted, almost collapsing.

I quickly learned why as the blinding formation appeared in the distance once again, and this time, even if he wanted, he couldn't really keep his own powers in check. Holding him up, I heard him whisper, chanting especially fast. I watched as a second formation materialized, and the moment Merlin's lips stopped moving, he fainted, while a violent flash made us all turn away, trying to shield our vision.

There was a loud crack and explosion this time, not from the spell but from the Justice. When the white, flashbang-like light finally receded, I looked up, squinting, watching the shields around the ship being torn apart. The massive vessel was hundreds of meters in the air, spinning and whirling uncontrollably, being pushed away. At the same time, its shields tried to hold out but eventually flickered off, letting the attack connect.

"Holy... fuck..." I gulped as I watched the giant war machine soar through the air, burning and finally crashland amongst the trees in the distance, followed by another explosion.

There was no time to ogle, so with Merlin on my shoulders, I hurriedly descended down, hearing the mines we had left behind go off, causing more explosions and destruction, covering our tracks. Trekking through the land was exhausting because the mud was like quicksand, draining our energy, but adrenaline is a hell of a drug, helping us push forward.

"Sovereign!" The rest of our soldiers shouted after we reached the treeline.

"I'm fine! Oleg!"

"Yes, My Lord!" He hurried over, taking Merlin off me, looking at him nervously.

"His breathing is a stable, but he has a fever and is completely out! Carry him carefully!"

"Yes!" He saluted, quickly holding his body with one arm.

"What should we do next?" Yuri asked, hastily collecting her breath. It was the first time I saw her look tired.

"We move on! But some of you will come with me! I will take a little detour," I added while pointing at one of my men with the Dragonfire to follow us, "I want to see where that ship landed... It is along the route of our retreat."

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When the second spell hit the Justice, it immediately killed more than half of the remaining Shipwizards, frying multiple magic systems and the poor wizard-slaves' brains through their connections. Those who remained alive managed to keep the shields up for long enough that they wouldn't be instantly destroyed. In the end, it was still futile as when they also perished, the shields broke apart, and the beam of energy ripped through the Justice like it was made out of paper. Dozens of crewmembers were incinerated at once while the ship was flung away from the raw force behind the spell.

By the time Nahl managed to regain his senses, breaking his concentration on his spell, they were spinning uncontrollably, crashing into the dark forest. He wanted to curse and shout, but the impact launched him into the air, slamming his head against the ceiling and knocking him out cold as the Imaginary crumpled up like a paper ball.

"My king!" Daito shouted while many others also watched the flying ship, one of the most terrifying weapons of the Empire, burn and fall from the sky. The moment it happened, the undead stopped moving, collapsing back to the ground, finally giving them enough respite to catch their breath.

"Hahahaha!" Laughed King Yano, letting loose of the frustration he and many of his people felt. His grandfather began this plan by envisioning this device, and it was he who finally completed it and managed to use it. More than that... it killed the ship that had terrorized the land for centuries upon centuries. "Ishillia is not unbeatable! We defend our city, and we will hold it against them!"

His words were followed by all the soldiers around them roaring, and even though their King felt tired and his energy sapped from him, he couldn't help but feel incredibly proud.

"Prepare a group that will head out and check the wreckage! Bring back anything that seems valuable, especially the CC that controlled it! With that, we will be able to do so much more!"

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It wasn't hard to find the wreckage as the fire was visible from far away. I approached it with Yuri and a dozen soldiers following us, and the scenery was devastating. Trees were twisted and torn out from their place, set ablaze even in the heavy rain, while mutilated bodies were littering the ground, wherever you looked. Some were still alive, groaning and writhing in pain, dying slowly, so I ordered the others to give them a quick death.

Watching the ship, it broke into multiple parts, wrecked beyond recognition. My goal was simple: I wanted to find and bring the primary controlling CC away. While searching for it, trying to get close to the burning wreck, I almost had a heart attack as one of the bodies suddenly came to life, grabbing towards me, groaning.

"FUCK!" I cried out, jumping back, and Yuri was already by me, ready to strike, but before she could stab at the half-conscious man, her hand trembled, stopping in mid-air. "Yuri? What is it?"

"It's him..."

"Who?" I whispered, looking at the man before noticing a broken staff beside him. The necklace he was wearing also had a small CC embedded into it, which was enough clues to guess. "A mage?" I whispered, taking it off him for good measure. Not that he was in any shape to resist.

"You... bastard..." He groaned, trying to stop me, but his legs were mangled, and his abdomen was pierced by a sharp, wooden stake. Without help, he will die soon enough.

"Do you remember when I told you as a kid I ran into a mage who blew my friend up?" Yuri murmured, her voice surprisingly low.

"Was it him?" I asked, astounded, standing over the dying wizard. What a small world...

"I won't forget his eyes. Yes. It is him."

"Well... Someone would call this a coincidence. Or karma. Do what you want..." I whispered, kissing her cheek before turning away. I no longer cared about the man and continued trying to find the main engine room instead. I only took a few steps when I heard a grunt and a squelching sound, followed by gurgles and something being cut off. I didn't need to turn around to know someone was being beheaded right now. "Where are you..."

"Help...!"

"What the fuck...?" I sighed, hearing another moan as a second hand grabbed my ankle a few meters away.

This time, I wasn't scared, and after I lifted the wooden planks, I saw another man lying there. This one also looked horrible; one of his legs was twisted in the wrong direction, and who knows what kind of internal injuries he had suffered.

"Another mercy kill..." I shrugged, going for my sword, and when he heard me, he began pleading.

"I am a Marquess... I have... connec...tions...! Help... Please..." It was clear that speaking was already difficult for him, but what he said gave me an idea, making me hesitate.

"Want me to do it?" Asked Yuri, who appeared next to me, her hands bloody, but her expression was in stark contrast, showing an otherworldy serenity.

"No. I got a sudden idea... We will bring him with us!"

"Really? He looks half-dead."

"As I said, my dear wife... I had a sudden idea!"

"Sovereign!" Shouted another soldier of mine, "I think we found what you are looking for, but..."

"But?" I turned towards him and watched as he pointed toward where the fire was the strongest. "It's in there... huh... Tsk..."

If Sasha would be here, that wouldn't be a problem. Haaah... too bad. I couldn't wait for the fire to die down; I was sure that the Kingdom would come out and search the wreckage soon enough. We had to leave. This one was a no-go, and I won't risk being caught by anyone, even if the prize is enticing. I will have other opportunities in the future... I am sure of it.

"Let's go! We leave; it is a long way back home!" I shouted, whistling to give a signal to my soldiers searching the wreckages. "I will have to do with our Marquess here! I hope when Merlin wakes up, he will feel fine because I will need him for what I have in mind..."