NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29: Send the Mages
Three days after Lance and his squad destroyed the factory, in the western empire.
Major General Levi Acroman and his backer Countess Emma of Washminster.
The duo knelt before the emperor, a young boy who was eleven years old.
He was dressed in long purple and gold attire, on his sandy brown hair sat a golden crown, and on his right hand was a golden ring.
His face was covered in white foundation, his top lip was bathed in purple, while the bottom was in gold.
His eyes were cold and Icy blue, yet his gaze was gentle as he looked upon Levi and Emma.
"Explain to me Uncle Levi," the emperor began, his tone soft with a hint of confusion. "How did you allow for an entire factory, along with 10,000 soldiers, to perish, and cease to exist."
The emperor shifted in his throne as he brought a fist to his chin, resting upon it.
Levi sighed as he moved to stand up.
As he did so, the guards surrounding the emperor's throne moved to aim their spears at Levi.
Levi stared them down as he continued to rise.
The emperor smiled as he waved for his royal guard to stand down.
Although hesitant, the guards obliged.
Levi then sighed as he adjusted his uniform. "Well, if we're being completely honest, what happened there was an absolute shit show."
The emperor smiled at his uncle's crude expression. "Is that right?"
Levi nodded as he extended his hands. "From what I could count, six assassins snuck into the facility, shot dozens of men and mages, then blew the place to high hell." Levi then sighed, "I didn't even see it coming, just boom, gone."
The emperor giggled. "I see." He replied as he looked upon his uncle with anticipation. "So six assassins snuck into the city, past fifty thousand infantrymen?"
Levi nodded. "Look, I know how it sounds kiddo–"
"You shall address His Majesty as Emperor!" A woman, who was the head protector of the Emperor and his retainer, shouted angrily at Levi.
Levi blinked in disbelief and annoyance. "Uhm, look in case you forgot he's my nephew, so uh…"
"His majesty is to be respected by all, especially by those of his family!" the woman replied.
Levi opened his mouth to respond, but the emperor moved before him. "Scarlett please, my uncle is allowed to be himself in my presence." He said softly, raising his hand to silence Scarlett.
Scarlett quickly bowed before the emperor. "My apologies, I have forgotten my place."
"It's fine." The emperor said as he turned back to Levi, his smile returning. "As you were saying."
Levi glared at Scarlett before continuing. "Anyway, as I was saying kiddo, I know how it sounds but that's what happened."
The emperor nodded as he turned his gaze to Emma who remained kneeling before him, her small frame trembling slightly. "And you, Emma of Washminster, how do you feel about the loss of one-fifth of your 3rd army?"
Emma's face paled as she stared at the carpet floor beneath her. "If it's in your great name, then I am willing to lose whatever is required." She answered, her voice trembling slightly.
The emperor sighed. "I see." He then looked back to Levi. "So uncle, after suffering such a defeat, are you still pressed to continue this pointless war?"
Levi gave the Emperor a confident grin. "Hey, this war isn't pointless, I told you, we need access to the Midland sea." He pointed towards the entrance of the grand throne room. "South of our empire is the demon continent and the island of Ambur, both will be major conflict zones in the future, we need to be prepared, with direct access to both."
The emperor grinned. "But what of our vast western coast, do the shipyards there not suffice?"
"Obviously not." Levi replied immediately, "The Ambur kingdom's naval supremacy is unrivaled," Levi then smirked, "But, if we take over the Fallen kingdom, even just half of it, we could have a wide coast that is a short distance from both the Ambur kingdom and the demon continent."
The emperor nodded as he began chuckling. "But uncle, how can you defeat the Fallen kingdom if you fail to protect a simple factory?" He said teasingly. "This war has been going on for six years, more than half my life, yet you continue to claim that victory is close."
"It is close, but I'll admit the lack of support from other nobles makes this war difficult." He said with a nod. "Emma's support is sufficient, but I'm fighting two kingdoms here."
"Mhm, so were her previous two armies not enough?" The emperor asked.
Levi sighed as he placed his hands on his hips. "No, her troops are sufficient, what I need is something to break their trenches." He explained. "Something to rip apart their defenses so that I can use Emma's armies effectivly."
"You had that uncle, eight high-class artillery cannons." The emperor then giggled, "But we both know what happened to those."
"Laugh it up kid, but I almost had this war in the palm of my hands." Levi then frowned. "Damn it!" He exclaimed in frustration, "So fucking close."
The emperor laughed at his uncle's frustration.
Levi looked to his nephew with a pout.
"Uncle!" The Emperor said between laughs, "You've said that for every setback you've faced, is there anything I could give to make this war progress faster?"
Levi raised an opportunistic eyebrow. "Are you serious?" He asked curiously, "because I can think of a few things."
The emperor smiled upon his uncle. "Of course, I've allowed this war for six years, the least I could do is offer my proper support."
"225 Royal Grand Mages."
The emperor burst into laughter, tears of joy streaming down the sides of his cheeks. "Two hundred and twenty five he says!" The emperor then pointed a finger toward his uncle, "I'll give you fifty!"
"Eighty!" Levi replied.
"Seventy-five!"
"Do I hear a ninety?" Levi said with a grin.
The emperor stood to his feet and pointed both fingers to his uncle. "I'll give you a hundred!"
"I'll take that deal!" Levi said with a grin.
"Then it's settled uncle!" The emperor exclaimed. "You shall have your Grand Mages by the week's end."
"Yes!" Levi replied.
"Under one condition." The emperor added with a smile.
"Whatever could that be your majesty?" Levi said with a bow.
"Three weeks." The emperor replied.
"Huh?"
"Starting now, you have three weeks to end this war, or I'll have you demoted from general to become my personal jester."
Levi straightened up as his eyes widened. "Wait are… are you joking kid?" He said in a slightly concerned voice.
The emperor shook his head no, "I'm serious uncle, you have three weeks to end this war."
Levi's face paled as he gulped audibly.
The prospect of ending a war in three weeks, especially when he wouldn't get the crucial support of grand mages until the second week, seemed ludicrous, no, it was impossible.
"Wait, kid…" Levi said as he took a step closer toward the now-seated emperor. "Did you mean I could only use the mages for three weeks?"
The emperor, his expression somewhat serious, shook his head. "No uncle, I mean the war in its entirety. This farce has gone on long enough, and our forces need to prepare for the northern crusades."
"The northern crusade?" Levi said in confusion, "We can't fight those brutes, especially not in the cold north, our ancestors have been running from them for the past thousand years for a reason!"
The emperor simply smiled. "But now we have guns uncle, and my armed forces have you, an experienced wartime general."
"But–"
"That will be all uncle, I expect this to end soon, and for you to prepare for the northern crusades." The emperor then stood from his throne. "You have my eye uncle." He said teasingly, before following Scarlett out of the throne room.
Levi stood before the empty throne chair with a panicked expression. "Shit…"
Levi and Emma walked out of the emperor's throne room with equally concerned expressions.
"So." Emma said softly, "what are you going to do?"
Levi sighed as he scratched behind his head. "Well, the only viable option is to use the Grand Mages as a spearhead and make a mad dash for whatever territory I can grab." He said frustratedly, "I'll be lucky if I can even get a third of their territory."
Emma sighed. "But Grand Mages are extremely powerful, ten times stronger than normal mages, surely–"
"Are you stupid woman?" Levi asked angrily. "It doesn't matter how powerful they are, a hundred mages can't occupy large amounts of land, you need infantry to do that, and trust me, our infantry isn't going to be able to keep up with those Grand Mages."
Emma fell silent.
"Fuck." Levi hissed under his breath. "The northern crusades, that's the same mess that broke the eastern empire."
— — —
Meanwhile, back in the present, one of those very Grand Mages stood before Alexander and the others.
His hands are charged with world energy.
He launched the spheres of energy in his hands forward with a powerful thrust.
Lance, without wasting a second, immediately moved to shield Marcia and Alexander with his body.
Meanwhile Ben, Camilla, and Napoleon all moved to avoid the strike zone whilst returning fire towards the Grand Mage.
As the Energy crashed against the ground, mud, blood, and world energy spilled over the surrounding area.
Lance, with both Marcia and Alexander in his arms, was flung back, smacking into the dirt with a hard thud.
"Gah!" Lance shouted in pain as he gritted his teeth, blood spilled from his lips as he placed his feet on the ground.
While Lance steadied himself, Alexander was struggling to breathe.
He was hyperventilating as his eyes and body trembled with fear.
Where am I? What's happening… how?!?!
His mind struggled to find answers, and his panicked state of being wasn't helping.
Lance looked over to his son, his gaze softened as he studied Alexander's panicked hysteria.
He then looked over to Marcia, who, unlike Alexander, was staring down the Grand Mage as he battled with Ben, Napoleon, and Camilla.
Lance frowned as he thought of what to do.
He had an important decision to make, choosing between saving the kids or fighting the Grand Mage.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't have to think about it.
A squad of three more Grand Mages rolled onto the scene with sick grins and glowing eyes.
one of the Mages said as he broke off from the group headed towards the battle with Napoleon and the others.
Lance, spotting the mage sprinting towards him with hands charged with world energy, grimaced.
He quickly dropped Alexander and Marcia as he quickly rose to his feet. "Go find cover!" Lance shouted to the kids as he took a defensive stance.