As Ruwen thought the situation through, only one approach made any sense. He needed to gain access to the city, stop whatever attacked the temple, retake the city, and then figure out how to move the temple.
Ruwen cast Shed, not making a door for the structure. Light from Glow filled the cube. He took off his hood and removed the Sublime Centipede of Solace from Inventory. His Mana bar increased by five thousand to five thousand six hundred fifty-four.
Ruwen spoke to Rami. Can you watch and make sure my Scarecrow Aspect doesn’t appear. This totem says it powers divine abilities with the Mana I’ve banked in it, but that might just mean the Architect Role.
Actually thinking ahead. You’ve come so far.
Very funny. Here goes.
When Ruwen was in the Spirit Realm he’d created different sized mental rods that he dipped into his essence pools and combined to create spells. The smallest rod he’d called a one, and it affected an area of about half an inch. The largest, a one hundred, affected one hundred thousand feet.
Since Mana was a perfect balance of all twelve essences, Ruwen should be able to use any of the recipes he’d learned. He created a size one Mana rod, touched it mentally to the centipede totem, and then visualized the essence recipe for his favorite spell: two parts Fire, one part Chaos, and one part Air.
The Mana in the Sublime Centipede of Solace dropped by one, but no Fireball appeared. Ruwen tried a size five Mana rod and then a ten with the same results. Frustrated, and almost out of time, he used a size fifty and a tiny spark appeared. Seeing the pattern, he created a size one hundred Mana rod, something unthinkable with essence, and a candle flame appeared in his hand.
Using Mana appeared to be a hundred times less potent than essence. Probably from the interference of all the essence he wasn’t using in the Mana. He wondered if a more complicated spell that used more of the twelve essences would result in a more powerful spell. He would need to experiment when time allowed.
Did my Scarecrow Aspect appear? Ruwen asked.
Nope.
Great. That totem really gives me options.
Funny, that. Just like finding near perfect crystals for coherent light.
What is coherent light? Do you mean the Crazor?
Close enough.
That made Ruwen pause. Everything Blapy had done had a good reason other than helping him. But the logic to discover the Crazor took items and people that Blapy had provided. It reminded him that Uru and Naktos weren’t the only ones who could see possible futures. Had Blapy’s desire to place the Shattered Sun portal near New Eiru been for the very purpose of creating the Crazor?
Rami returned to her perch behind Ruwen’s ear, and he pulled on his Overseer’s Hood.
Ruwen had thought of something more potent than Glow to power his Crazor and removed a small silver insignia of two clasping hands from his Inventory. He carefully attached it to the bottom of his crystal with fifty Mana. He’d gotten this Worker Class Symbol of Radiance from Big D after they’d toured the mine during their camping trip. It attached to things with Mana and the more Energy you channeled to it, the brighter it got. It would get a lot brighter than Glow.
Ruwen used Mend Tool to attach the Crazor to his right forearm. He would constantly channel Harden to his right hand, and Energy to the Class insignia that powered his Crazor. That would give him a constant beam of condensed light, that he could accelerate into a lethal beam whenever he aimed it into his Void Band.
They’re ready, Tremine said in Chat.
Ruwen dismissed the Shed. His team stood around him, and to his surprise, so did several hundred Cultivators.
“I’ve returned with help,” Phoenix said. “We won’t participate in taking the city, but we’ll shield and heal your troops for as long as possible.”
Even though the Cultivators wouldn’t help in liberating the city, their aid in getting to the walls, and surviving long enough to breach them, might make the difference.
“Thank you,” Ruwen said.
In Chat he spoke to his Commanders. Commence attack.
Thirty-one minutes remained.
“I’m coming, Hamma,” Ruwen whispered, and sprinted forward.
Chapter 79
As Ruwen ran toward New Eiru, he used Whiskers to view what had happened in the city over the last hour and a half. He couldn’t see enough to get an accurate count, but he estimated there were over twenty thousand Naktos troops, maybe even thirty. Ruwen only had around twelve thousand.
Troops no longer exited from the lake where the temple had been, and at least a hundred mobile revival baths now sat on the western edge of the water. Half the troops stood on the battlements, and the remaining fighters sat in organized lines.
Fear and panic surfaced at the vast numbers, but the Overlord kept the emotions away from Ruwen’s thoughts.
Tremine, Xavier, and Bliz had experimented on different items from Bliz’s Inventory. Ruwen had even let them borrow the terium coin he’d manufactured in Fractal with his Spirit. The Crazor had burned a hole in everything they had except the pure terium coin. Tremine guessed that even the terium would suffer if they increased the Energy used.
That meant breaching the enhanced steel gate was possible but left the terium alloy bars of the portcullis an unknown.
Because Ruwen didn’t know if they had the energy to cut quickly through the bars, he didn’t want his army directly under the walls while he figured out a solution. So they’d formed a breach team that would
