The changes to Bliz were more subtle. He still wore leather, but it looked hardened and well used. When he saw Ruwen he smiled and an instant later a bandball shot upward, arcing toward Ruwen from a hundred feet away.
Ruwen grinned under his hood, and not moving his arm, opened his Void Band six inches. The bandball dropped into the middle of the portal and Ruwen immediately fired it back.
Bliz increased the size of his Void Band to a foot, and Ruwen’s return shot disappeared into the Crew Chief’s band.
“Good shot,” Sift said.
“Are you two ever serious?” Lylan asked.
“Bandball is very serious,” Ruwen said.
It appeared Bliz had recovered from transporting the terium to the temple. Ruwen spoke to him using Chat. It’s good to see you smile.
Bliz responded right away. Even someone my age occasionally needs time to process life’s brutal realities. I’ve seen enough here to recognize the necessity of what happened.
I understand. I’m still dealing with it myself. We all are.
Ruwen and his group strode toward the old folk, and he hugged everyone when they met.
“That armor makes you look creepy,” Clarysa said. “Can you even see out of that hood?”
Colyn tapped the Overseer’s Tunic of Faith with a gauntleted hand. “That is nice scale.”
“Fitting armor for a day like today,” Tremine said.
“You’ve been practicing your bandball,” Bliz said approvingly.
Ruwen practiced whenever time allowed. Bliz had given Ruwen the quest, A Wasted Youth, to compete in a bandball competition with the Crew Chief, and Ruwen didn’t plan on losing. “I’ll be ready to play soon.”
Hamma looked up at the top of the wall. “I don’t want to be in the way, but I’d really like to see what’s coming.”
Lylan nodded in agreement.
“There’s room up there for all of us,” Ruwen said. “Let’s go see what we’re up against.”
Chapter 69
At a thousand feet, the Bands released their first volley at the approaching army. A hundred sixty-eight objects arced through the air: stones, hardened stakes the size of small trees, and metal bars. Mages in the Naktos army raised their arms, and the falling objects dissolved or were redirected to the sides. Not a single item struck the army. Ruwen became the Overlord and the fear of the approaching battle faded.
Bliz looked back and forth down the battlements. “It seems impossible that there are so many of us. The Bands back at the Dizzy Judge will never believe me.”
Tremine held out his arms and violet light flashed in his hands. A new one-hour Buff appeared.
Void Horizon: +5 Mana per second
“Wow,” Hamma whispered. “Thank you.”
The buff reminded Ruwen of the three Coiled Lightning Rings that sat in his Inventory. He turned to Bliz. “I can return three Coiled Lightning Rings the Deepwell Worker’s Lodge loaned me.”
Bliz looked at Ruwen. “You don’t need them?”
“Some better ones dropped into my lap,” Ruwen said.
Sift groaned, Lylan shook her head, and Xavier hissed a single word. “Inappropriate.”
Ruwen retrieved the three rings and handed them to Bliz. As he’d suspected, the Crew Chief replaced three of his current rings. The gear Ruwen had acquired far surpassed what even successful adventures had gained with decades of effort. It was easy to forget that most people didn’t come close to matching his gear.
The wall shook and Ruwen returned his focus to the oncoming army. Waves of stone traveled across the ground, striking the city wall as if crashing into a beach. Two hundred calvary separated from the main body, the horses galloping northwest, two riders on each.
Elder Vachyl’s voice echoed inside the walls of New Eiru, amplified by an Air Mage. “Sector three, inbound Mages on horseback.”
Thunder cracked above their heads, and Ruwen squinted at the harsh light above them. Lightning raced across a bubble of invisible Energy that New Eiru’s own Mages were generating. The walls shook again as the Naktos Mages on horseback struck the northern wall.
“We should head for the gate,” Colyn said.
Ruwen nodded, and they all rode the ropes down to the ground.
Elder Vachyl spoke to Ruwen using Chat. They’re using Mages on horseback to quickly look for any weakened areas of the wall. But they aren’t probing the defenses. They’re coming straight for the gate. Drivyd’s Scouts report frantic activity in the trap area of the depression. It looks like you were right.
Thank you for the update. Let’s hope so.
Ruwen’s Health dropped by one as steam jetted from the ground. The temperature plummeted as a nearby Ice Mage chilled the air and froze the ground. Icicles fell like snow, shattering against the ground, and Ruwen slowed his pace to avoid slipping.
The shadows around Ruwen lengthened as Fire Mages on the wall above cast giant orbs of super-heated air. The heat reminded him of the battle with Phoenix in the Spirit Realm. He’d considered asking the Cultivators to join everyone else inside the city, but didn’t want to leave his western flank unprotected. Even though they’d seen no enemy activity there, he knew better than to assume that meant safety.
Ruwen’s feet itched as the ground vibrated rapidly. A Worker fell from the wall, an arrow in his shoulder. An Air Mage slowed his fall, and a Surgeon healed him moments after impact. In seconds, the Worker had returned to his position.
Rocks, lightning, and magma struck the shield above them. Now Ruwen understood better why the Elders hadn’t wanted to use the Temple Guardians in the battle. With so much magical and physical forces unleashed, they would be easy targets without sufficient shielding.
Elder Vachyl gave Ruwen another update in Chat. Sixteen fatalities. Enemy deaths estimated at seven hundred. Our Mana consumption is approaching thirty percent. They will likely take another fifteen hundred casualties to make it a believable retreat.
The gates shook as the army smashed into it. Ruwen channeled twenty Energy into Scrub, getting prepared just in case they breached the defenses, and Quartermaster’s Yell lowered the cost to only ten Energy.
Elder Vachyl spoke again. Mana consumption fifty-five
