Devourer

Chapter 91: The Fall Part 3

I lowered my hands as the spell faded. I could see the shock of the mages on the wall. They just fired a full barrage at me and I blocked it like it was nothing. Each spell they fired was a ritual level spell constructed from six highly trained war mages. Each of those cursed fireballs could level several houses if the houses were close enough together. I’ll deal with them later, with any luck after that little display they will be dissuaded from doing that again. I rather not do too much damage to the city just yet, no sense destroying something that I can preserve. But once I get in there past that wall… oh someone is going to pay for that little stunt…

As impressive as that little piece of magic seemed, in truth magic at its inception was a stop gap measure. The power derived from magic was an artificial construction. The main benefit of using magic was its flexibility. The strongest powers come from natural abilities, since the body is specifically designed and optimised for that specific ability. The spell casting devourers of the past were only powerful because of this flexibility. But if they were caught out by a specialist devourer on unfavourable terms they would lose in short order.

As for what that spell I just used was, it was an old spell called the [Gaius Wall]. It's a rather low tier spell by the standard of the ancients. Its defining trait was its hexagonal shield structure that lent to its durability. The good thing is that it’s really hard, but the bad thing is that it’s brittle. In simple terms it’s good against area of effect spells but extremely weak against high penetration attacks like shield breaker spells, which were specific spells designed to shatter magic barriers.

I knew more powerful barrier spells but the problem was that if I used those it would be a big red flag if some kind of spy was looking. This was a rather low powered spell which would arouse just the right amount of suspicion. In truth a discerning eye should know that I can cast stronger spells so by casting such a weak spell they might be suspicious that I know about their presence which means they will be more cautious and not do anything too crazy.

I had a suspicion that there were hidden actors in the shadows but as of now I’m not sure who or where they are, so best to play it safe for now.

I shifted my gaze to see my army has surrounded this pocket of adventurers that have shifted from the ground to the roof tops. 

Legiana update on the roof situation

I said into the hive mind. With an operation as complex as this, it was impossible to micromanage everything that was going on. This was also why I gave the individual soldier more autonomy. They couldn’t just be mindless monsters in this battle, so I loosened the leash slightly.

It appears the adventurers have discovered our strategy

They have realised our soldiers only unburrow on the streets

Fear not my king they will be overcome in short order

Legiana replied through the hive mind. She was acting as an coordinator and was currently with Cecilia as they moved towards the people’s church. I heard there were some sporadic attacks on Cecilia from militia who were masquerading as civilians. But from what I can tell Cecilia is having fun blasting them apart with her newly learned spells.

No need, this choke point is stalling the advance

Azatherine…

I replied and I sensed Azatharine’s mind directing its attention to me.

Remove them…

I commanded and Azatherine responded immediately.

By your command…

I shifted my gaze and I saw Azatharine peel away from the wall with a blue fire phoenix and began heading for the pocket of resistance.

I changed course as well and headed right for the pocket of resistance. I looked down at the scene below me and I saw the adventurers fighting a mad battle as my hive crawled up the walls of the houses. 

I looked over and saw the elf archer from before shoot a Praetorian right off the roof. It wasn’t fatal, it looks like she used some kind of concussive enchantment on her arrow. The force from the strike ended up blasting the roof tiles loose, sending them careening in all directions.

The Praetorians were the largest of the common soldiers with a design focused on defence. They were coordinators and front line commanders so it is unlikely that the Praetorian was seriously injured. Sure enough I saw the Praetorian get up after hitting the ground and jumped right back onto the wall of the house.. It dug its claws into the stone carving deep gashes into the wall as it climbed up the wall.

That elf was particularly interesting, I’ve never seen a pure blood elf before. Even from this display I could clearly see the biological advantage. I heard the Elves were a matriarchy, which is certainly interesting as they are an outlier on that fact. Heck the Orc class of humanoids don’t even have females at all. They just impregnate the females of other humanoid species, a naturally parasitic species that was designed for a war. A species that was also cast aside by the Firstborn once they outlived their usefulness and left to slowly go extinct. 

Why did they outlive their usefulness? 

Well I have the answer, the Eternal Mother did that. From her memories I found out that apparently the Hive Brood class of life form was simply a superior tool for the function that the Orcs were supposed to perform. So the Eternal Mother along with the rest of the Firstborn created their own broods and grew them by unleashing them onto the Orcs. Using the old Orcish hordes as fodder to fuel their new superior machine of war.

This was a good indicator of the Firstborn’s mindset, one that I share to an extent. I suspect the only reason I don’t completely follow this mindset is my past life as a human. Regardless I still have their tendency to view other forms of life as nothing but curiosities, toys and objects. Lesser life forms were unworthy of respect, they were resources to be used for my own ends. 

But yet I have the capacity and willingness to view the individual beneath it all and this little elf has caught my attention…

A fine specimen to examine… I wonder what her personality will be like…

Azatharine, leave the elf to me

As you wish my King

With that I flapped my wings and shot at the elf. I saw her do this impressive looking backflip as she shot four more of my common soldiers off the roof. It was plain to see her abilities were worth at least a whole other team of adventurers. I could see the small gold plaque around her neck and it looked quite new. From what I know adventurer ranks are given to teams not individuals, since an individual has no chance of being able to be an effective adventurer. The job necessitates teamwork. My best guess is she shifted teams, most likely due to her long life span. Well regardless, I can just ask her anyway.

I saw her look up and her eyes widened, I saw her stress levels spike as she shouted at her teammates to scatter. I wasn’t interested in her teammates, I was interested in her. I landed on the roof of a house and I felt it buckle under my weight. I increased the amount of power I was pouring into my [Gravitic Hover] ability to stop me from caving the building in. 

As to why I didn’t do that from the start, the simple reason is that I don’t like floating around like that. It just feels weird, it’s fine when I’m moving but when I’m staying still it just feels off. I guess I’m just a more grounded guy.

The elf raised her bow as she locked her aim on my head.

“Hi elfy, I told you to run…” I said with a grin and she immediately shot the arrow right at my head. The shot ended up nailing me in the teeth.

I could have easily dodged out of the way but I heard her mutter the enchantment beforehand. The spell was [Thunder Hammer] it’s an intermediate enchantment that can be applied to most weapons and arrows. Its main purpose was an anti monster spell that combined concussive force and electricity to stun and disorient.

It’s a rather clever spell if I do say myself. This is one of the things I like about humanoids, they can be quite creative. The [Thunder Hammer] enchant is usually used against the heads of heavily armoured creatures. The concussive force is designed to cause a concussion and the electricity is to shock the nerves in the head. Basically bring the big target down and then hit it with something stronger.

When the arrow hit me I felt the force but it didn’t even budge my head and the electricity did nothing. I adapted my body to cause the force to ripple along the armour rather than go through and potentially damage the internals. I did the same for electricity by turning my armour into something that acts like a lightning rod and dispersing the current throughout the rest of my armour. I can regenerate my armour easily, the internal organs on the other hand were far more expensive to heal. It also has the added benefit of my armour appearing to be fragile which might make my opponent over eager. They might think they are winning more than they actually are, which will give me room to attack.

Still… that hit did knock one of my teeth loose…

I reached into my mouth and pulled the tooth loose. I looked at the elf who was looking at me in confusion. I looked over to a warrior that was beating back a pair of my soldiers. He was being pressured but he was holding his own for now.

I extended my hand that was holding the tooth and flicked the sword sized fang at the warrior. The fang ended up impaling the warrior in the back, he fell forward onto the tiles and the two soldiers pounced on him. Their claws and fangs tearing into his flesh.

I turned back to the elf who was looking at the warrior, eyes wide in horror. 

“Now then, the next time you attack me I will do something like that again. So every attack, someone dies and it’s not going to be you…” I said as the elf turned to give me a wary gaze, I could sense her confusion.

Her confusion is warranted of course but I have my reasons. You see the whole cult thing I am working on has been going quite well. I have the human stuff down pat quite well and I found a partially successful work around for the willing participant thing. However, I am lacking test subjec… willing volunteers of the other races. So the moment I saw this elf the light bulb went off in my head. As far as Terra goes, elves are one of the most powerful of the humanoid races. Furthermore an elf spokesperson would be useful when I eventually run into the elves in their forest. But then again these two objectives are kind of mutually exclusive… to an extent… 

“I have a proposition, you seem like a veteran adventurer, you fight differently as compared to the rest. If you agree I’ll spare the other adventurers fighting here.” I said and the elf lowered her bow slightly as if she was willing to talk but I saw her leg muscles tense.

Then I saw her leap backwards as if to run. Maybe she wanted to draw me away from the rest of her fellows, I mean I obviously have an interest in her.

Oh well, fine…

I shot forward at her, she got across one roof before I snatched her up with one hand. I am a lot faster than I look…

[Immaterial] the elf shouted instinctively, I could sense the fear but no panic. The reaction was instantaneous, no hesitation, just a clear mind knowing exactly what to do. Or at least what she thinks she needs to do.

“AHHHHH!” the elf screamed as her spell was jammed and the ether discharged violently.

That was a rather strong spell, [Immaterial] causes the caster’s body to become well… immaterial. It basically made it so that the body can phase through objects, it isn’t an easy spell to cast. You apparently need to be decently powerful to use it which means when this spell gets shorted out by Ether jamming the discharge is much worse.

I looked down and saw the elf was now passed out in the palm of my hand. It looks like the shock actually singed her eyebrows off. It’s kind of funny to look at actually. Now I have two options on the table. I could toss her to one of my soldiers and have her brought to the black box for brainwashing but that would be a problem for one part of the plan. I could afterall go with the nicer plan first and kidnap her later if I need to… alright nice plan it is then. I should at least try to talk to her first, which means I need to get her somewhere safe.

Now where is the nearest safe zone?

Ah over there that church, the people’s church I believe it was called. 

I sent a mental command to my soldiers to try not to kill the adventurers and take them alive if possible. With that I flew over to the church and of course the people below screamed. I ignored them and landed right in front of the edge of the safe zone. This safezone was close to the inner wall so it was a little risky but it was also the closest to where I was and I have other things to handle.

I looked down at the group of adventurers who were staring at me pale in the face. I knew why they were afraid, even if they could beat me, if we fought then there won’t be a church anymore in the aftermath.

I extended my hand and showed them the unconscious elf.

“She might need some help.” I said calmly.

“What?” one of the adventurers sputtered in response.

“She fought, she lost, she fought well so I would rather she stick around.” I explained as I gently tossed her right at a nearby warrior. His eyes widened as he dropped his sword and rushed to catch her.

“You will not be harmed as per the…” I began but then I sensed a magic signature on the wall above me.

I looked up and saw the mages there charging spells and from what I can tell it was aimed right at me and the safezone. Oh not this shit again…

“Oh for fucks sake…” I growled as I bared my teeth and I sensed the humans around me all shrink in fear at the sound.

I flapped my wings and shot up into the sky and moved into position to block the spells. 

“If you fire that you are going to regret it.” I said and I saw the mages flinch slightly. I know they can hear me. I'm so close to the wall now. If they fire that and I dodge out of the way, those spells are going to slam right into the church behind me. So if they fire those spells it's obvious they don’t care about the real estate value.

Then the spells flew out and they were easily blocked by a shield spell.

Fine, I had hoped blocking the spell from before would dissuade them from trying this shit again. Well I wanted to try this anyway, Azatharine will be flattered…

I used [Solarite Decoy] which split myself into six decoys. I planned to do the same thing that Azatherine did to melt off two of my arms. Only this time I’m still super charged from draining the wall from before.

Azatherine, Legiana get ready to suppress and secure the breach

I sensed their minds shift their attention to me and I could sense the slight confusion.

Breach?

At those words I smiled as I felt that old feral excitement grow inside me. I have wanted to do this for a while… I wonder how much damage this will do…

Oh you’ll see…

I’m about to do some damage…