Chapter 476: Book 7-22.3: Lightning Strikes

When Colin Gael Foster found out that his nephews had disappeared overnight, he only shook his head in regret.

“The fools. They’ll ruin everything.”

He briefly considered reporting the incident to the commander. If they had been identified then the Foster family would be in dire straits. However, with the coming of the dawn and no squadron of warriors surrounded the compound, he sighed in relief.

What could have possessed them to do this?

Anyway, he would have to cover up their absence. Those boys had duties to see to, and creating a reason for their absence would use up several favours and cost a pretty penny. Was it worth it to spend that much though?

Then again, if there was a slim chance the Empire could recover control over Rumiga, then having his nephews back on that side would be the key to the family’s continued existence. He would have to play this game as well as he could. He didn’t mind. Strategy and intrigue had always amused him.

________

The morning found Yuriko in a seated meditation pose with the arming sword bare and resting on her lap. The morning sun’s rays touched her face as Radiant light, both gathered and self-made, swirled around her. She’d barely used the weapon, and though she told herself to study how its runescript structures were made, she barely had the time the past few weeks.

Right now, her Anima perception suffused the weapon and she admired its exquisite craftsmanship. The runescript lines on the surface, along the crossguard, the hilt, and the pommel, were there to aid in siphoning the user’s Animus. The handle was just a bit longer than the breadth of her hand, and the blade was about thirty inches long, slightly longer than a side-blade.

Of course, the main difference between the two weapons was the crossguard. Wherein the side-blade had a circular guard that opened up to attach to the Plasma Caster’s muzzle, the arming sword was a simple bar. Runescript circuits within the circular hilt allowed the wielder’s Animus to channel easily down from the Caster to the blade during melee action, which helped prevent Animus leakage.

As for the arming sword, it had a function that converted the wielder’s Animus into an elemental arc that could strike at a distant target with the same lethality as an up-close strike. The effective range was longer than a Plasma Lancet’s, at about thirty paces or so. If she increased the Animus she put in, the range doubled. The arclight’s absolute range was at a hundred paces, but at that point, the arc’s trajectory wasn’t as steady. Also…given her present capabilities, it was more efficient and effective to just use her sunshards or sunblade. So maybe she should just give this away or sell it.

It was the first weapon she found in a ruin though, so she was reluctant to part with it just yet. Besides, carrying a physical weapon did have its uses.

An hour after dawn she got up to practice her Four Phases using the arming sword. After cycling through the forms once, she did another at speed, and curious at what effect the runescript lines would have, she activated the sword arcs in the midst of Resonance.

The result: the elemental sword arc changed depending on which Phase she resonated with. And: it didn’t cost her any Animus to do it! The sword took in the elementally changed ambient Chaos and funnelled it into the blade.

It was a high-speed jet of water that could change angles and directions depending on how she twisted the sword for Flowing Water. For Sweeping Gale, the sword released wind blades that extended as far as she could slash. The arcs continued in a straight line and she knew it would decimate multiple foes if they weren’t strong enough. Roaring Volcano extended a blade of fire more than ten paces and moved as the blade did. However, it only lasted for a couple of blinks. Afterwards, it exploded at the tip.

Er…she may have ignited some of the plants… Ehehehe.

As for Jade Mountain, the runescript didn’t work well with it. It coalesced a point of stone and flung it at her target, but was both slower and less accurate than her own kinesis throw.

Continued use of Radiant energy to fuel the arclight had its limits, too, ones she hadn’t considered when she first practised with the weapon. Simply put, the Radiant energy heated up the blade, and it took a while to shed it. Heat buildup would eventually ruin the blade and its runescript patterns. She could probably use Radiant arclight for half a dozen times or so before it neared the danger zone.

Once she stopped her practice, she readied herself for her day. She would be instructing the unawakened kids today. She wondered if Heron would join her later too.

What she didn’t quite expect, when she arrived at the school after lunch, was to see Finan, along with his friends, Draknon and Aerda, waiting in the school lobby.

“Lady Yuriko.” Draknon nodded at her familiarly, while Aerda gave her a short bow.

“Hello, Yuri!” Finan said brightly.

“Finan. What are you doing here?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Ah, I’ve forgotten to tell you something.” He laughed. “Do you mind if we speak in private for a few minutes?”

Yuriko glanced at the sun and checked her time sense. She had half an hour before class, so, “Ten minutes, if you don’t mind. I’ve a class to teach.”

“I see, I don’t mind.” Finan gestured towards a gazebo in the school park. Draknon and Aerda kept their distance. As soon as she sat on the stone bench, Finan began, “The Implacable Jade is more than capable of reaching distant planes quickly and safely.”

“Alright…”

“What I mean is that, you’ve mentioned before that your father left on a mission two years ago, yet the event that prompted it has long passed. I’ve asked the Fateweaver Loom to locate him, and it has ascertained a heading and the fact that he is alive. I’m offering the Implacable Jade’s use to bring you to where he is,” he said simply.

For a long moment, Yuriko didn’t know what to say. The fact that her Da was missing for so long had always been a weight on her shoulders. Promises she made to herself back when she was weaker were now ready to be kept. She was strong enough now to go. But…

“I can’t leave Rumiga yet,” Yuriko said hesitantly, then she shook her head, “not while Faron’s Crossing is threatened. And…there is a Chaos Spring, well, a Chaos Fortress now, north of Rumiga City. I want to be certain it's safe…”

“How long would those take?” Finan asked rhetorically. “Whereas we can go look for your father and his team, and we can be back here long before the situation here has come to a conclusion. Even so, two Knight-Captains and three Knights are no small force.”

“Actually, Da and the others are the main force here,” Yuriko said faintly.

“Then, shouldn’t it make more sense to recover them?” Finan asked.

“I…well, yes. You’re right. But…” Yuriko sighed. “Something tells me that if I leave now, I’ll never return here.”

That premonition, fed by her three incarnations, had been sleeping within her mind for so long, but now that Finan brought it up, the sense of foreboding and fear rose up and strangled her. She felt her pupils dilate, her back break out in a sweat, and her hands trembled.

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What…?

“Yuri? Are you alright?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Something’s happening.”

Almost as soon as she said that, a piercing whistle followed by a patterned ringing of bells resounded in the air. For a brief moment, all was still, then everything erupted into a flurry of movement.

“The first alarm level,” Yuriko breathed. She got to her feet and rushed out, followed quickly by Finan. His face was composed, but from what her thin perception aura could tell, he was also quite nervous.

At the first alarm level, all Knights were to gather at the town square. Only at the third alarm would that have changed since it meant that the enemy was already attacking. The first indicated that a sizable force had been observed and on the way to Faron’s Crossing’s vicinity. The town may not be the target, as the Watchtower was less than a league away.

“I’ll return to my ship,” Finan said regretfully.

“Alright, take care, Fin.”

“Stay safe, Yuriko,” he said, then added, “Think of what I said.”

Yuriko shook her head. “After.”

As she sprinted towards the town centre, she briefly considered heading home to change into her forceweave outfit. Gwendith, Ryoko, and Saki had piled on her when she intended to wear that while teaching. They produced her current outfit that, while nice and fresh, wasn’t exactly combat-ready.

It was a white dress with short sleeves, a sweetheart neckline, and an asymmetric skirt that fell longer on the left. The shorter side was almost scandalously short if she hadn’t worn dark stockings underneath. Her legwear was particularly flimsy though, and she knew any vigorous movement was likely to rip and tear it to pieces, which, Gwendith pointed out, was “All the better to train your restraint.”

The Animus Armour should keep her from getting her clothes torn off in battle, and if that wasn’t enough, then her condensed Anima would suffice. She’d already undone her Resistance aura and was using her kinesis to aid her movements. Her footwear was sensible, at least, as they were a pair of ankle-height grey trainers. She would have worn a belt with the arming sword, but that got nixed too. So, instead, she was using her kinesis to hold the sword and sheath, which floated beside her. The Animus Armour jewellery was deemed good enough to wear with anything.

She arrived at the town centre quickly and she entered the town hall, heading straight for the conference room. All of the Knights living in Faron’s Crossing should assemble here. The people inside turned to look at her as soon as she entered, and her gaze swept through them.

There were a dozen men and women already there, and fully three-quarters of them were elderly. She recognised Alderman Rivos, of course, the administrative leader of the town. There was the Celebrant, elder Ramus, whose white beard was tucked neatly into his belt buckle. The town’s constable, Tara Andersen, was a woman in her prime, as was Spellweaver Merill, who raised a hand in greeting. Her brother, Marron, was also on the council. As for the rest, they were neighbours and retirees, and she wasn’t sure if their Facets and Heritages were combat-focused. The Alderman and Celebrant were certainly not warriors, and from the general air, only a couple of other Knights could boast any kind of physical prowess.

Of course, Spellweaver Merill was no warrior. She was well versed in creating and utilising runescript formations though, and the town’s Animus Shield fell under her purview.

Another couple of people entered the room as Yuriko settled down beside Marron. He was frowning and was lost in thought.

“Attention,” Alderman Rivos began, “I give the floor to Constable Andersen. Please relay the situation.”

“Thank you, Alderman,” Tara Andersen said, her eyes shifted to meet each of the Knight’s gazes. “Early this morning, we received word from the Watchtower of a couple of refugees from Cierra Village. They carried intelligence reports and had relayed them to Commander Stuart. The Federation forces amassed in Cierra Village consist of two distinct forces, one from Haveena, a full legion’s worth, and three thousand rangers from Kadrac. There are also detachments from Ekelus City and Garamus City, but our informants were unable to learn their details. Unfortunately, their flight also prompted them to begin their campaign…”

Tara coughed. “Ah, that was conjecture on my part. For all we know, they were ready to conduct their campaign before the Celestial Refraction. Nevertheless, observation towers have found that they’ve sent a heavy detachment up north. They’re heading north as we speak and will be within striking range of Faron’s Crossing or the Watchtower in three hours.”

“All eight thousand of them?” Marron asked sharply.

“Unknown. Several battalions were seen moving.”

“Then what’s the battle plan?”

At his words, the room visibly wilted. Tara Anderson sighed.

“They have an overwhelming advantage. At most, we have five hundred militiamen, and that’s far from enough to cover the walls. Our biggest bet is to gather everyone in the town centre, activate the Shield and wait for reinforcements from the Watchtower.”

“There are only a thousand militia there,” Marron pointed out, “and the Watchtower's weapons are more effective against Wyldlings. Hmmm, ah, there is a Swordmaster attached to a visiting noble. Perhaps they would help.” He glanced at Yuriko.

The town’s leadership glanced at each other. The Alderman and the Celebrant frowned but didn’t say anything.

“I doubt that the town would be their primary target,” Tara continued, “but as we cannot be certain, we will begin the siege preparations now. The Foreign District has also been notified, and all those who wish to evacuate the town will do so.”

“Very well, thank you, Constable Andersen,” Alderman Rivos said. “Knights of Faron’s Crossing, I ask that you contribute your Animus to activate the town centre’s emergency defences. Three hours is scant time, but after all of the drills we’ve put our residents through, I’m confident we can weather this storm. May the Empress’ mercy shine down upon us.”

A messenger crane fluttered into the room, and once the Constable opened it, her frown deepened.

“The Federation forces have split. Three thousand are headed towards the central area, another two thousand are across the river and will block the Rumiga Road. There is another force of one thousand heading towards the Watchtower. It seems we are the prize the Federation seeks.”

Yuriko’s hand clenched on the hilt of her arming sword.

“It is a prize they will pay with blood,” she said fiercely.

The rest of the room nodded grimly.

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