Chapter 477: Book 7-23.1: Challenge

While at the observation tower at the southern end of town, the inability to do anything grated at Yuriko’s sensibilities.

With the news a couple of hours ago, the Knights had rushed into their designated positions. Yuriko’s initial part in the defence plan was to safeguard the unawakened children if the attack happened during school hours.

She had rushed back to the school and escorted Rami, his friends, and the rest of the school kids towards the town centre. Afterwards, either their parents took them home, if their residence was within the central district, or they took shelter within the temple. That building was much bigger than its outward appearance suggested: like many important buildings in the Empire, it was dug into the earth and had quite a spacious underground space.

Afterwards, she headed straight for the observation tower, already anticipating fighting along the boundary walls. But when she jumped up the twenty-pace high tower, it was to the sight of…nothing. No fighting. She scanned the surroundings with Enhanced Sight and finally saw the Federation army.

They were bunched up along the road but had stopped a couple of longstrides east of the boundary wall. The three-thousand-man army had moved towards the east and blocked Faron’s Crossing’s access to the Rumiga Road. Another battalion had dug into the southwest, not quite at the direct point between the Watchtower and Faron’s Crossing, but close enough to intercept any who tried to cross. She couldn’t make an accurate count of the individual warriors, but the watchman did. His Facet allowed him to get a pretty accurate visual estimate of the numbers of any group.

“I check outgoing cargo,” the man said faintly, “and crosscheck the bill of lading. I’m usually accurate to a single digit. Those on the east number four thousand three hundred twenty-one, those on the south number one thousand and two. Those headed towards the Watchtower number an even thousand.”

“Why haven’t they attacked?” Yuriko wondered.

“They’re certainly taking their time,” he answered evenly. “But that’s good for us, too. The alarm has been raised and reinforcements will come.”

“But the battalion attacking the Watchtower matches their strength, if anything, it's the Watchtower that needs reinforcement,” Yuriko muttered.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, the Federation army built their camp and fortifications. Meanwhile, the central district had gone into fortress mode. The Shield has been adjusted and the perimeter houses were reinforced. The roads and streets at those junction points turned into walls. The cobblestones rose several paces up, and now, the only way to get to the central district was only through the main road that bisected the town east to west, the Rumiga Road.

Of course, for Knights and the Federation equivalent Adepts, jumping up and over the houses and walls was a simple matter, but how many such warriors were on the opposite side?

Just go attack them and wipe them out. Damien’s amused voice rang in her head. How many Knight-Captains do you think they have?

‘I don't know, which is why I’m not about to go charging in,’ Yuriko said dryly.

Good girl. Seems like you’ve learned a few things after all. But what you fail to think of is that you have powerful ranged abilities now, and you can use those to wipe out a fair chunk of their numbers.

‘That’s…a fair point actually.’

Still, Yuriko didn’t do anything quite yet. There was a languid air about the Federation army, and they were distinctly lacking in aggression and bloodthirst. Compared to the barbarian horde…well, they didn’t pale in comparison, but it seemed they didn't quite have the same resolve. If it were the Northern Barbarians across the field from Faron’s Crossing, they would have charged in already and begun the slaughter.

And that was why she was thankful that they were not. While she would be able to defend herself, what about the rest of the townsfolk? The adolescents and children? If she began a massacre she knew that they would respond in kind. Right now, there was a strange peace…and the town waited. What would happen next depended on what the Federation army did.

But, if they truly wanted a massacre, then Yuriko would respond in kind. And she wasn’t all that averse to fertilizing the fields with blood and bone.

However, idle thoughts remained idle thoughts. The Federation army did nothing but build up their camp for the rest of the day. However, towards the evening, Yuriko spotted another group, maybe a hundred or so, make an encampment atop a small hill some two longstrides southeast of the town. The darkening skies shrouded most of the group, but they gave her an unpleasant feeling.

The watchmen had long since switched out. She didn’t recall the new woman’s name, but she, too, was staring intently at that hill. Yuriko’s Enhanced Sight just wasn’t good enough to penetrate the shadows, and at that distance, there were little more than silhouettes.

“Oh, this doesn't look good,” the woman muttered.

“What do you see?” Yuriko asked.

“They look like…carronades, I think. Except the barrels are longer and they’re pointed up at an angle.”

Yuriko hissed in alarm.

They were setting up siege weapons! Memories of the Frozen Camp’s final days flashed through her mind. A constant bombardment of boulders had been so much trouble that it had spelled the camp’s destruction. If the Federation were allowed to continue as they were…

Now, images of broken homes, shattered bodies, and puddles of crimson flashed through her mind. She had to head this off! She was just about to leap over the observation tower to rush to the hill when she paused.

Why did she have to bodily rush there? Didn’t she have a way to fight at range? Something new?

There was a direct line of effect between her and the hilltop, and all she needed was to build up Radiant energy and channel it into a punishing beam of purifying light.

Mouth set in a grim line, sunk herself into Chaos Sight and sought out the ambient Chaos particles that held the Radiant within.

It didn’t take long for ambient Chaos particles to ignite. This was…actually the first time she tried something like this since she touched upon her Ennoia. The Radiant threatened to consume all of the ambient Chaos in the surroundings, but there wasn’t enough to truly create a powerful enough beam. She had to condense and contain it!

Wild Radiant energy didn’t bend easily to Will, but the lattice around her Essence created a resonant effect. The freshly ignited particles vibrated in tune with the one within her, and soon enough, little orbs of Radiant light gathered at her fingertips. How many motes did the orbs contain? She needed hundreds, thousands perhaps, to create a strong enough beam.

But, having started the process of ignition, it was now much easier to keep it going than to stop it. Keeping it contained with the orb was the key, otherwise, the energy would simply radiate away. The orb grew as more Radiant energy was created, and shrank as she forced it to condense.

“...what’s happening? Lady Davar? Please, say something!”

“...no, you fool! Don’t distract someone who’s casting a spell!”

“But…that’s…”

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She ignored the muttering.

Anima flared around her, coming into its full power. She needed it to keep the wild Radiant energy under control. Not enough yet. More. More.

Radiant light gathered, condensed, expanded, and shook. The orb, after reaching a certain density, started to destabilise. The Radiant just didn’t want to stay compressed, and it seeped out of whatever weakness it found. Yuriko hissed in annoyance. The amount of Radiant energy wasn’t enough. Not for more than two longstrides’ distance.

The light would disperse in the air, the ambient Chaos would steal the energy bit by bit, and as it were now, it would only blind the people on the hill, and wouldn’t be nearly enough to deal with their siege weapons.

What could she do?

She had already pushed the orb into itself as hard as she could. Ah! The Ennoia’s lattice! She extruded her Animus and wove it into threads, trying to copy the lattice’s structure around the orb. It was…much more difficult than she expected, but she was nothing if not persistent. And the fact that she could cross reference the pattern helped immensely.

That did it. The energy stopped leaking away. Now she could cram in more Radiant light ignited from the ambient Chaos.

She managed to double the amount already there, but then ran into another issue. Right now, she could already release it into a powerful beam that would be hot enough to turn stone into molten lava. But she didn’t know how much power she could successfully project. It may serve as nothing more than a warning shot when what she needed to do was…

What was it? Did she want to burn everyone on the hilltop to ashes?

A snippet of memory surfaced. That of a scared young man cradling a Federation weapon. A miniaturized steam cannon. That meant…that the normal version was much bigger, and she had the sneaking suspicion that it was the opposing army’s siege weapon. Carronade like things, that’s what the watchwoman said.

Would her Radiant beam be strong enough to melt the things? Even if she killed the men and women on that hilltop, as long as the devices were intact, then the threat to Faron’s Crossing remained.

Again, her time in the Frozen Camp surfaced. Days and weeks under siege. The hopelessness, the anger. The deprivation, and the eventual retreat.

Anger flowed into her Anima, and from there, seeped into the glowing orb. It spun on its axis and took on a reddish tinge. Anger was a powerful addition to the weapon, but it wasn’t enough. And, she knew that if she let wrath rule her, then the fate of the second incarnation would be her future.

Determination. She would not let Faron’s Crossing fall. She would not see her friends and their families bereft of hearth and home.

No!

She clenched her jaw and her Anima enveloped her burgeoning weapon. Her…spell. The Radiant Ennoia, coupled with Actualised level Anima, had allowed her to touch upon Sorcery.

She felt, within the depths of her Anima, something stirred. She ignored it, for now, because if her concentration lapsed, the orb of tumultuous Radiant light would burst and the tower and the surrounding buildings would catch fire. At least. The stones would probably melt instead, and turn any unprotected person to ashes.

However, she thought she heard Damien mutter, Misha, you sneaky kitty…

Sweat beaded on her forehead at the thought, and the orb, now more than ten inches across, wobbled.

One last contraction and it would be ready. She squeezed and spun, and applied even more pressure onto the orb until it shrank to about three inches wide. She held up a finger and the orb moved to the tip, spinning in place. She pointed at the distant hilltop, her Enhanced Sight at maximum strength…

But, it was too dark there, and the light from the orb interfered with her night vision.

“Watchman,” she called out, “come and direct me to the cannons.”

For a long moment, there was no answer, and then, a different voice came.

A slender hand reached out from behind her and touched her extended forearm.

Spellweaver Eilis Merill said, “Move a couple of degrees to the right. A couple lower…a bit too much.” Her hand nudged her arm, and Yuriko adjusted her aim. “Be careful now. I see the target straight ahead. You may release when ready.”

A slight shaking of her voice was the only thing that betrayed the Spellweaver’s nerves.

Yuriko took a deep breath and steadied her arm. She used her kinesis and perceptive aura to ensure that her aim was steady, and then…she opened a tiny hole at the opposite side of the orb.

Radiant light burst out in a cone, and only a hasty weaving on her part, a cylinder made out of her own Animus, prevented the light from burning the street beneath. A tight golden beam lanced out from the orb, and in the blink of an eye, crossed the two longstrides and struck across a silhouetted object.

A brilliant flare of light and flame plumed from the hillside as the orb depleted in a couple of seconds. A trail of light, an afterimage, remained, leaving a clear line across the air spanning from the observation tower and Yuriko’s target.

Now, the hilltop was on fire, and she could see the molten slag that remained of her target. There were dozens of silhouettes running around in panic. However, she could see at least several more cannons. She had only destroyed one.

A hand on her shoulder pulled her around, or tried to anyway. Yuriko resisted instinctively for a moment before she let herself turn. And, across the tower’s platform, the irate faces of her brother, Marron, the constable, and of course, Spellweaver Merill, greeted.

“Ehehehehe.” Yuriko chuckled nervously and stuck out the tip of her tongue.

Marron rolled his eyes and rapped her noggin.

“Why in the Abyss did you do that?” he growled.

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