Apocalypse Reborn [GameLit 4X] [Fantasy] [Strategy]

V11: Chapter 6

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Interlude: Rita

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The container for the prototype weapon in my hand was lighter than my bow, yet somehow I felt as though it was slipping from my grasp whenever I looked away from it.

One errant knock against a wall.

A single sudden drop.

One broken vial.

That was all it took.

One vial broken could mean my death, despite all my strength, power, and ability. It did not matter that I was a champion, that I had protective charms layered over me, and that even without invigorating my body with magic, my bare skin and flesh could turn aside steel. It was the most cunning and ferocious poison ever conceived.

The King of Wisdom guided the alchemists himself.

It is a poison that is always the perfect dosage for anyone or anything that lives.

It is a poison that can spread to others like a plague.

It was a poison that consumed flesh, replicated from that flesh, and consumed more and more until nothing was left but itself.

And, according to our king, it was incomplete.

Ilych wanted to make it herself and fight in it.

She ceased walking and turned to me.

"We're here, Rita." I stirred to consciousness. My feet had followed her and Serena to the staging area. The main camp was now two days away on foot for a normal mortal. This was our foremost fortress in this 'invasion point.' Much of the mountain range was deemed impassable until the Conqueror's lands, though we had outposts supplied by air keeping watch over those areas still. "The crews are ready to fire."

"Eminent?" I questioned, and Ilych pointed down onto the valley before. I focused, and I saw her. She met my gaze and smiled. A black figure surrounded by mounds and mounds of snow. Her mindless Undead creations had buried themselves into the snow all around her. Refocusing on our staging area, I hoped that the fear I felt did not show on my face. "The artillery officer?"

"There." Sirena pointed, and I followed her hand. She was a strange figure in the snow. Like a lustrous bronze figure with silver for hair and amethyst for eyes covered in links of gold and gems, she stood amidst snow, frost, and biting wind completely unperturbed. "Are the guns ready, commander?"

The soldiers in this expanse were covered in furs from head to toe. Their faces were obscured by wool masks, and they saw the world through goggles with wide lenses. For years now, they've kept a quiet vigil. Some called this positioning a punishment. Continuous labor to build into the mountainside, manning, maintaining, and testing weapons in the frost, and with no glory to be had.

Now, though, they were set to drown in glory.

"Aye, the guns are nice and heated. They're ready to rain fire upon those… monsters." The man's voice was gruff, and he tapped his goggles. A slight amount of magic graced it. A farsight enchantment. Very useful for scouting and observing the land. Rare for our people, too. There were stringent rules regarding reliance on magic to empower our tools; they were best used to heal others or provide an edge against foes, but these lands warranted the use of magic for something that a tool could achieve. Binoculars could frost over and would be difficult to use with goggles, after all. "The general said that you'll call in the strikes. Give the word, and we'll be ready to let loose."

"Very good. The explosives are ready, then?" Fifteen guns were assembled across the mountain. Many were hidden beneath snow tarps and could be pulled back into caves. They were specialized and purpose-built for these lands. The mass-produced guns being produced for the army cost a quarter for each mountain cannon. Crafted by artisans, mages, and alchemists rather than in factories by workers, they were made to defend this pass, to retreat and fire from multiple places, and to buy time for the fortress city to be built. It would be best if they did not need to be fired and revealed today. "We will begin shortly, if they are."

The officer gave an affirmative, and I neared one of the guns. The crew stared at me for a moment before Ilych stepped in to assuage them.

My focus was on the briefcase that I gingerly opened.

The ampules within were small and delicate. Carrying only a thimbleful of dull red liquid. They fit perfectly into the heads of the arrows that were provided to me. I took note of the arrowhead. It was made from a Citadel foundry, obviously too perfect to be created by mortal hands. Razor-sharp edges, but composed of glass, the arrow tips also unscrewed from the rest of the arrow. Only when the ampoule was added did the arrow become perfectly balanced and become fit to fly.

I finished loading the poison onto the arrows before looking at the marching army in the distance.

The reports and sketches created by Iterants on the expedition could do no justice to the Demons.

Red-skinned and with horns sprouting from their foreheads, each one was swathed with deep red flames. Floating wagons and chariots carried their officers and supplies through the frozen mountain valley. To each magical carrier, there were limbless and unclothed people interred in cages. Blood flowed from their wounds and into the vehicle. When one perished due to exposure or because they were expended, the body was seized and tossed to the back of a wagon, from which they took a living sacrifice and interred them with the same casualness as one would replace an arrow in the quiver.

Those used bodies were sometimes pried out by some of the marching soldiers. They cut it apart and divided it with weapons that easily cut through muscle and bone. They offered up the flesh to cast heating spells on themselves. However, I noticed that they put the heads and hearts aside, placing them into jars and giving them to figures in feathered robes with staffs. When I took a closer look at them, I saw glimpses of shriveled heads in the folds of their cloak… brimming with unused power.

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This was happening across a massive force.

Blood.

Flesh.

Souls.

The demons will truly take everything from other mortals.

With that in mind, I gave the order after finding the officers and mages of their land.

"Bring the mountainside upon them." I told the officer to wait for my word, then I turned to Ilych and Sirena. "Be ready to intercept anything coming our way."

The fortress came alive by my order, words were shared, and finally there it was.

The sound of distant thunder.

The sound of explosives dug into the mountainsides to create two avalanches at once.

I watched in silence as the King of Wisdom's first attack took its toll. The sound of explosives echoed, but the Demons did not know what to make of it. They did know, however, what to make of the rumbling and creaking of mountains thereafter. The sides of both mountains that bordered the valley were swift to crumble and come apart. Snow crashed into snow, which in turn crashed into more. A roiling cloud of white clouds formed at the first stage, but I realized that I underestimated our majesty's attack.

The sides of the mountains moved at speeds I never imagined possible. The low rumble turned into a roar that resounded through the whole valley. The ground shook beneath our feet. A simple landslide, but composed of snow, it was not. It was like the whole mountain was falling onto the marching army of demons. The numbers and estimates of the military expedition were in the tens of thousands, and it had snaked through the valley barely affected by the rough terrain and the cold. Such a force in our lands would wreak havoc and do immense amounts of harm, ravaging multiple regions, even before our forces could be mustered and respond.

That immense force could do nothing against the calamity the King of Wisdom unleashed.

Some tried to run.

Mages tried to make barriers of fire.

Others tried to erect barriers with as many hands as they were able to gather, as well as the sacrifice of many slaves.

Nothing could oppose the two earthshaking avalanches unleashed by the King of Wisdom.

The weight of two mountainsides of frost and snow speeding at them faster than any champion could run put the demons to the test.

They failed.

Barriers of fire were overwhelmed in an instant by mass and speed alone. Not even a firestorm turned into a wall could've hoped to stop the deluge. Those who tried to run were swiftly overtaken and crushed as well. Those who tried to make shelter saw their refuge succeed for a moment. Rocks and walls made of magic through sacrifice and brutality held against the initial impact for a moment before breaking apart, and then everything was overwhelmed and subsumed.

The two avalanches crashed into one another, crushing the army of demons between them, and after a few minutes the roar of the avalanches ceased alongside the rumbling of the mountain beneath our feet.

Fifteen cannons were ready to fire with deadly shells and pinpoint accuracy while defended by many rifles.

Three champions, one armed with the most terrifying weapon ever created, were ready to act.

A goddess of death was ready to charge in first.

Then, there was an army waiting at the end of the valley.

Yet, in the end, the demons broke beneath the weight of the King of Wisdom's first strike.

A first strike meticulously prepared for years with the aid of many scholars… I couldn't help but wonder if it was wasted.

What if we used this after luring more in?

What if this was done after an army was trapped on our side?

Those thoughts and doubts resounded in my mind, but I came to a simple realization.

He intended for this to be a disaster that any survivors would fear; thus, it would not only buy us much-needed time… but also keep our strength concealed.

"Tell Eminent to move in and find survivors and prisoners. Only from those closest to us. Ilych and Sirena, please go there and assist her. I will remain here with arrows at the ready." I made sure that they saw the arrows I intended to use. The ones meant to deliver poison. I didn't wish for them to be harmed by it. It felt strange. My weapons were now capable of harming more than one target at a time. "Keep your distance from any strong ones. I will keep watch."

They both nodded at my instruction, and I cast my gaze towards the valley once occupied by an army. It was gone. Filled in by snow and frost. A wave of snow blown out by the avalanche snaked through the rest of the valley still. It resembled clouds coursing through the mountains, thus enrobing everything in fine powder and obscuring vision… but it was already settling down.

I watched and waited to see if anything survived the two avalanches with arrow and bow at the ready.

Then, through it all, I saw movement.

First there was one figure, then two, and finally dozens upon dozens. They were all in different uniforms. Some were of normal soldiers, others of the mages, but their strength was obvious. Snow melted in their presence. Flames clung to their bodies like a second skin; their uniforms were burnt, but it revealed more. Scales on their bodies, wings on their backs, and mounting power. They cast their gazes around themselves.

Some went to leave and took flight together.

The others congregated at the front end of the avalanche.

"My lady, should we fire?"

"No. The ones who are fleeing will hear." I took up my bow and readied myself. "Wait until I give the word."

Even though they were a different people, they had similar habits to us. We all came from the same lineage long ago. As different as we were from them now, they still looked at the leader of their group. They still aimed their questions at one singular individual.

The chain of command in the grouping of eight was obvious.

So, my target was obvious.

I let the arrow loose, it flew, and it struck the one that the rest gathered around.

The poison started its work instantly, while I drew the next arrow.

Flesh was pierced, and the glass arrow and ampule broke apart due to the force of the contact. The strength of the creature's skin was evident. Though I hadn't imbued my bow with magic, nor did I strengthen the arrow, my shot had barely gotten through the demon's skin. Most of the shards that burst apart at contact found no purchase against him. In fact, the poison was released upon his chest and torso, rather than within his body.

But I still watched that demon die.

Starting on his chest, on his red skin, the poison began to feast and multiply. The dark splotch of red on him went from a thimbleful to a handful within moments. As I nocked the next arrow, the demon realized that the attack wasn't just a blow to his chest, but something else entirely. His hands went to his chest, a grave error, as both appendages were infected instantly. He cried out, and others went to his aid, while the dark-red liquid multiplied by eating his flesh. In the span of four heartbeats, it went from a small splotch on his chest to eating his torso and his hands while going for his neck.

Those who were trying to help him tried to use magic to heal him, but the rebuilding of flesh only gave more food for the poison to consume and use. It grew, it ate, and my target screamed.

The others turned and searched for the source, while some tried to help their leader.

I ceased focusing on him and focused on striking them.

In quick succession, I expended the rest of the arrows, and each one of them started to come apart and become consumed by the poison.

They were resisting it frighteningly well for seconds at a time, but as time passed, there was more of the poison to consume more flesh and multiply.

By the time I loosed my last arrow, the leader of the survivors had the poison crawling up his neck and reaching his mouth. He tried to keep it closed, but I watched as his lips turned into poison, as his screams were stifled by his tongue being consumed, and as the poison slipped into him as it consumed and generated more of itself at the same time.

Were these their strongest soldiers?

Their equivalent to elites?

Or, I dared to hope, were these their champions?

If such was the case, then we had a means of killing their greatest warriors with little risk to ourselves.