"The bio mutagen capabilities of the hivemind (Or actually its partition) are not to be trifled with, records show that the two recorded times it had to defend itself from combat the "battlefields" have been left as dead zones, the first battlefield is being repaired by a contingency of Spirits and Druids but the second one is beyond saving and it was quarantined off by the Gods, in this manual we will begin teaching the in and outs of Biological warfare..."
Imperium combat manual for Centurions Volume 5.
Richard watched as the iron pillars Lucrezia had her special team place inside the fort that protected the castle rise up in the skies, taller than the fort towers they reached the heavens before crimson lighting began to strike them.
"Beautiful" Kaine spoke as he cast a number of wards around the castle "her control of electricity via magnetism is near its peak, she only needs to improve the mana consumption of her spells, optimization is the mark of a true wizard"
Arthur showed up beside them, the prince was decked out in the royal garb the Shatter-Spears were known to use in battle, and with him was a single Royal Knight and Hope, they all greeted each other before the prince spoke "Kaine, your ladyfriend told me she's nearly done with the outer perimeter wards but..." he stopped for a second before the Chronomancer spoke.
"They won't stop the Knights, just delay them, yes I know, we will have to deal with the godsdamned Mana-Ki converters first, at any rate, knowing mom she will want to charge ahead, it is her preferred method of combat and a source of headache to everyone" Arthur nodded and Richard let out a sigh of relief.
"I am sorry my friend, but you will have to hold the line" Arthur was genuinely sad as he patted Richard on the back "The Royals will push you to your utmost limit but I am sure you will rise up to their challenge"
A horn was blown from the left side of the party, Richard rubbed his eyes knowing the distinct sound a Grannarius Horn made as he turned to the coming party of Grannarius-dressed guerrillas, led by... an incredibly beautiful elven princess armed to the toe in Magi-Tech Vanguard gear.
"Gods preserve me, two royals under my command" Richard spoke out loud to smirks from the most infamous Grannarius Unit there was, Veronica now armored in her war gear grinned and even bared teeth like the animal she was when she got near him.
"Magenta Squad reporting for duty Lord Commander" she mocked a Vermilion salute, Richard caught Arthur's Knight spitting on the ground as she did it and he tensed up for a second before Veronica spoke again "With me here is Lady Emilya who for once in her royal life decided to pick up the spear" there was some hoot and hollering as the elven woman said that.
"Field Commander, I am no noble" Richard explained with a sigh "Have your mage and ranged specialists assist Kaine with the Arch-Mages and their troops, the rest can join up any front they wish" Grunts and nods from the Magenta Squad as they split up and went away "Lady Emilya I am guessing you will be with the Vanguard?"
"Yes Field Commander, My place is with Idun and his fellows" the elven princess spoke with a clear tone, Richard nodded and she went away, another sigh of relief "Does Orthus count as royalty I wonder? anyway, how about you?" He turned to Veronica who was still grinning while watching the horizon.
"Why dear I am staying with you, the troops our King deployed are already down there they need not my help to kill and make merry" she pointed to the Grannarius's special troops who all saluted the Princess as she made her way to the frontline, not a single sound came from their section, it was eerie.
"To the death then?" Richard couldn't help but crack a joke, the sight of those elven soldiers was spooking him.
"To the death" she smiled back, but there was no mirth in her voice, for a rare moment the woman in front of him was dead serious, Richard couldn't help but poke at the tiger and asked the question that had just formed in his head.
"Why?"
To Kaine's side, Richard saw the Magenta mage quickly turn in his direction, beneath her veil black-as-night eyes stared right at him before he heard Veronica speak again.
"She Killed my husband, and my son" it was a whisper, barely audible but still heavy as a ton of steel, "I told them to run I did but they wanted to..." Defending her they met their end, Richard felt the gaze of the Mage leave him.
"I've spoken with The Goddess of Prophecies we worship in my town" Veronica was speaking loud now, enough for the others to hear it "Me and you little one, together we will face her just beyond those plains, after all, and everyone has given their all, I will have a taste of my revenge, if only for a few seconds"
In his mind he was reminded of the words of the Goddess, he would charge 3 times, 3 times he would need to prevail and she would aid him in that, the 4 times would have no such aid, and should he prevail there he would meet his destiny, figure out her name and find out what she had in store for him.
"They are all very interested in this you know, the Divine is watching with keen eyes today" Veronica pointed to the skies "Ahh how I have missed those wing beats..." William then saw a huge formation in the air above him.
The Arch-Duke, his wife, and Knights had come.
"Thus the final piece of the puzzle locks itself in the jigsaw, and ye warriors now face the most honorable of rites, stand proud for no other will live to see such a unique army under his or her command" Veronica spoke softly to Richard as she held his hand "And when Death comes, we go together"
"Off we go into the wild pale yonder" Richard finished, squeezing the cold metal gauntlet.
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Kaede trembled inside her armor, the news was flying in the radio as the Queen breached the Academy with the largest host the country saw in peaceful times, the clock was ticking and she could sense the trepidation of her fellow classmates.
When the airships parked around the monster that Lucrezia called Nautilius to accommodate the Griffin riders from the Arch-Duke she saw many sighing in relief, this battle would push them to their absolute limits but they would not fight alone.
Her tail brushed into Kaine's leg who was looking perturbed by the second.
Kaede's mom would've said something to soothe his fears, the girl clicked her tongue annoyed when that thought came to her head, of course, she wasn't good enough to be the perfect courtesan because her mother and her grandmother, and the entire bloody family line had the gift of charisma while she was a stick in the mud who could only wield magic at a level few in the clan had seen.
"Kaede, how's your flashpoint offensive magic regimen?" Kaine spoke up and he snapped out of her internal rant.
"Top shape, zero delays after the chronomancy rune you had me inscribe finally kicked in, why?" Kaede looked at her...well she didn't know what to make of Kaine yet, the man was a total enigma to her even after training with him for as long as she did, sometimes he was aloof, then he was sharp as a blade...
"I had to pull one of the necromancers from Castra's special team" Kaine began talking "Together with the Zenos units we will be the very tip of the spear in this brawl, now pay attention to this diagram" with a snap of his finger a complex magical diagram popped up "See those lines? they are based on the fey folk that lives in the jungles of the Imperium, until today I and dad only worked on this as a way to pass the time..."
Kaede's Greater blessing of Magic snapped like a predator jumping into prey "Gods you were this close to cracking the barrier between Ki and Mana! But it would've taken years for you two to finish!" she paced around "Look the calculations around here and here they are the chokepoints for the Divine Sphere that govern that part of our powers, to bypass or punch through it, you would've needed years worth of experimentation"
"Smart as always Kaede" Kaine smiled, bearing teeth in a way she found out earlier from the prince that meant he was happy "which means Mother and Father worked with the one who blessed you to have those converters, Ki and Mana exist in a balance, one can counter the other in many many ways, Together with the troop they have we must destroy them as fast as possible"
"The Knights will be a pain in the ass as it is, but if mom and dad get to harass our backline or our special units it's gonna be much much worse" Kaine finished and looked to the side where Crimson 1 and the rest of the Zenos Units had just walked in, Kaede felt an unnatural cold to her side as one of the Vampires Castra-Cam was working with appeared, her face shielded with a veil and hood.
Once Crimson 1 linked up with them Kaine began explaining the plan "These converters will be masked with illusion magics but they will need to be operated by at least 5 mages in a star formation, following the war doctrine my mother drilled into them this will likely be how they will be positioned in the battlefield" He showed everyone involved how the Arch-Mage would be fighting and explained further "Kaede and I will take care of my parents, I need you and you" he pointed to the others "to break their backs while we peel off the Arch-Mages from the formation, beware that this is not just the mages from the Tower, but also personal troops we have been training for decades, they will not go down easy"
"Leave it to us little mage" the vampire spoke with a spooky giggle "I do want to see these metal monsters in proper combat too, a question, once we break their backs as you so elegantly put it, do we form up and push against the Knights?"
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"Good question, if we need backup I'll send a message via the radio, otherwise you are free to engage the enemy at your discretion or back off to the castle" Kaine spoke with a sigh "Everyone ready?"
"Aye" nods and words came from the group and then Kaede felt a chill like the winter spirits had just breached her house and heard Kaine speak "Good, they just crossed past the barrier to the fields, it's time"
Right on queue, Kaede saw those terrifying flying machines Lucrezia had, going so fast they broke the sound barrier. With a gesture, she prayed for good luck because the gods knew she would need it soon.
Below ground the Kitsune saw terrifying sea creatures and heard one of the Lucrezia knights scream a name "Hraax!" the man shouted and others joined as the mermen were led by a beautiful merwoman with a nasty-looking bone weapon, Dragonbone from the seas! the same Lucrezia had, so that's how the duchess got something so rare, the mermen army linked up with the frontline and then Kaede heard the hellish sound of the train engine barreling through dirt and stone.
Over at the bay, warships readied their cannons, and Kaede saw people running with what she came to learn was the long-range artillery Lucrezia used against the first prince. Looking again at the train she saw the Spirits working in tandem with the Ancient woman to create trenches as far as the eye could see, Kaede turned to Kaine and asked.
"Will she fight with us?" Kaede's tail was swinging wildly, a trait she was ashamed of since it was the tell when she was nervous
"Depends, she has no taste for combat as she told me, she was a researcher, not a fighter, I don't think their society even had Fighters at the later stages given they lived in what is essentially a utopic paradise, but who knows, anything can happen today"
Time went on slowly, the anxiety building up until Kaede felt her palms sweat, the Magi-Tech staff she had nearly escaping her death grip, she turned to Kaine again and saw the man in deep meditation, a pale blue light coming from his chest.
And then she felt the air tremble, something had come and she nearly fell to the ground "Gwennarius fights with us today" Kaine's voice was tinged with power, divine power as Kaede felt the same tremble all around the camp, Blessings flaring up, but only one person on the same level as Kaine's.
"Hope taught me the Avatar spell if you can believe it" Kaine smiled "She's powerful now, almost at my own level I'd say, look alive Kaede, the first bout is ours"
Over the horizon, great balls of fire went up, and the tunnel they had carved to reach the fields proper went up in smoke, a voice in the skies boomed announcing the arrival of the Royal Host.
"NEW CONTESTERS, THE ROYAL KNIGHTS OF VERMILION LED BY QUEEN MALPHAS AND KING JASON!"
"Richard, did the explosions work?" Kaine asked on the radio, Kaede saw Kaine shaking his head "Crimson, time to soften the enemy up, everyone else, with me" and Kaine flew up, his staff glowing blue and golden.
"May the river of time be under my command, the threads of fate at my call, and the destiny of all living and dead at my fingertips"
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Kaine saw the suits of armor rush toward his parent's personal army, the Ki-Mana converters nowhere in sight, and a familiar ping came from the formation, his sister was at his mother's side.
"Enthrall their minds" Kaine gave the order to the vampire elf who smiled and turned into mist, on the ground the Crimson squad claimed first blood as they tore into the Mages, spellfire, and steel rung across the plains.
"Left side, Knights, 2 detachments" Gwennariu's voice whispered in his ear, with 3 taps in his staff he placed a marker on their path, and within minutes the guns from the Nautilius sang their terrible music.
Kaine saw 2 of the Suits of the armor of Crimson Squad, one for close and long-range combat peel off and head to the blast zone, the guns had thinned out the detachment but in a show of vigor that befitted an army that held their own against many strong foes in the past, many Knights had survived the bombing via Ki or Magic.
"Kaine! Kaine you scum of a son! come down here and face the music, you ingrate! stop getting your dick wet and fight me!" He couldn't believe his ears as his mother shouted obscenities across the battlefield.
"I see your new pet you fucking degenerate, hey you! yes you,harlot Kitsune! get your paws off my son or I will personally send your soul straight to the fucking QUEUE!"
Arch-Mage Sophia Antewood had what many in the mercenary line of work called "A bard's tongue" this form of demoralization was used incredibly well by Sophia who was by all measures the best Offensive mage of the Kingdom.
"Kaede, Ritual spear, Lightning, and Lifeforce, draw it from the fallen Knights" Both mages began weaving and shaping the raw primal energies of mana and life force, a sigil went up in the skies and Kaine heard his mom scream another obscenity, this time a boom came crashing through his left side and he saw his sister, armed to the teeth in combat robes and protective spells.
Margareth didn't say anything, both were used to playing fighting and spars and so they went at it, what Margareth wasn't expecting was the backup from Crimson Squad, on the other hand, the suits of armor firing Magi-Tech shells and bullets at her.
The Ritual spear fell in the middle of the formation, only to be stopped by a freakish colorful Ki shield, ah he smiled, the converters were working. With a ping, he marked their probable locations and began hammering them with more Spears.
All hell broke loose as the fighting began in earnest, Kaede flew low and began lobbing spells at his father who was caught off guard by her ferocity but nevertheless fired back, early melting the woman with plasma rays and dimensional holes.
Crimson 1 saw an opportunity and hammered into the Arch-Mage like a devil possessed, the man neatly pushed the armor off and with a clap summoned a ghost version of himself, who flew towards Crimson 1, its hands blazing with the light of the sun.
Kaine began lobbing spells at his sister, who finally made a move and pulled wind walls to deflect his attacks, teleporting across the battlefield he saw the frontline troops already engaging with the first wave of charging Knights and felt awe at the sight, Kaine wasn't one who sought glory in the battlefield, but nevertheless, he was Vermilion born and raised and there was nothing that rose the spirits of her people like a good fight.
weaving quicker spells between his big hits, Kaine managed to ground his sister who was wide-eyed, in a straight-up fight she always came up first after all.
But this was no straight-up fight, armed to the teeth with gear that enhanced his abilities and under the Divine Avatar spell, Kaine was in the same realm as his parents, and his sister, as good as she was in the arcane, couldn't make it there on her own.
"Mine for the taking!" Kaine saw the afterimage of Lucrezia running her ax right into Margareth's belly and lifting her into the air, with a lighting fast hand gesture 3 iron stakes pierced her body and she was gone, Lucrezia turned to Kaine, her face red with the blood of his kin and for once he felt fear.
With a leap the woman was gone, Kaine turned to his parents who were being held off by Kaede and the Crimson squad, and saw his mother's face twisted in rage, she clapped her hands and he felt every detection and shield spell flare up as a thunderbolt the size of a giant slam into him.
"Chrono Leap" Kaine said and felt the river of time roar in the back of his head, the damage of the thunderbolt gone, its image breaking at the seams as the very laws that held the waking world together bent to his divine power, he heard his mom shout something foul but did not care. It was time for the cleanup.
Gwennarius shared her sight and he saw the river of time, always splitting and turning, a rat's maze of uncertainty and futility, with mathematical precision he triangulated the position of the Ki-Mana converters and signaled them to the artillery crews and the airships.
Warping to the ground he came face to face with the forces his parents had mustered, all accomplished mages and their own personal fighters, spells rained down on him but Chronomancy made sure nothing could touch him, with his sister finally off the battlefield he could let loose for once in his life.
"Andromeda's suit of armor has a hidden secret capable of besting your mother in single combat, you and Kaede must take down your father" Gwennarius's voice boomed in his mind again, he felt something deeper in those words of hers, there was...yearning, a thirst for combat she hadn't felt in millennia, a trepidation of something that was to come and her shell of hard-faced no nonsense Goddess was starting to fall.
"Incoming!" the mages screamed as Lucrezia's cannons sang their song once again, the shields that made the converters invisible falling under the sheer output of both physical and magical damage. The mage army formed up and Kaine felt the wrath of Vermilion's best in the arcane arts crash down on him, it took all his control on Chronomancy to avoid such a concentrated attack, nothing like their first salvo.
They were testing him.
Looking closer he saw that many were smiling, some with wide grins that bespoke their true intent, Ah Kaine thought with a smile, but of course! he knew these people like family and was somewhat angry at himself for forgetting one thing these masters of the arcane loved to do.
"My friends, let's give them one hell of a show!" Kaine spoke out loud to the cheers of his enemies, flying up in the air he was pelted by a rainbow worth of spells, all elements on display as they began to clash. Kaine taking a page from Lucrezia's repertoire slammed down with a mix of Wood, Water, and Lava spell taking a good chunk of the slower mages into the grave.
A flash to his left side made him turn his head, Kaede teleported to him bloodied and battered as his father came right after her, the woman was trying her hardest and the Arch-Mage wasn't letting her go, Kaine called another artillery strike and the converters went down, the Knights all the way in the frontlines screaming as their faux mana shields went down and Lucrezia's weapons tore into the weaker links, he heard war horns and screaming for a charge, with a fraction of a second he willed his divine powers to show what was happening and saw Richard ordering the Academy students like a war general.
Suppose he was one now huh, but Kaine had no time to ponder, his father had already started casting more spells at him!
With a lighting-powered leap, Kaine closed the gap dodging the spellfire, its impact shockwave crashing against his Father's aegis spells. It would be a tough shield to crack but he was more than ready for it.
Kaede linked up with him, and both began preparing the ritual for the spell Lucrezia had devised for such an occasion, fusing the air with that hellish mineral that was the bane of magic users, a nasty spell made by someone whose method to defeat mages was one of speed rather than honorable duel.
It was and Kaine couldn't help but be in awe, an ingenious design, casing the mineral around two layers of magically conductive material, these experimental anti-magic bullets Lucrezia had made together with the ritual were tailored to Kaine's advanced control of the arcane, together with Kaede's Greater Blessing it made sure not even the Arch-Mage would be able to handle it.
When the Aegis fell, the battlefield went quiet, Kaine saw the sheer surprise on his father's face as he began muttering another aegis into existence, but another thing happened that took Kaine out of his battle high.
"I WILL DESTROY YOU" his mother warped right in front of him, arm held high as a blade of pure wind came crashing down on him, in that split second Kaede screamed and threw herself in front of the spell.
"AHHH" the Kitsune screamed, a torrent of mana flying off and blocking the spell in a light show so impressive Kaine sighed, his mother was blown back to the side as the Crimson 1 armor came crashing down on top of her, Kaine not missing the window of opportunity charged forward and with a smooth motion of his Magi-Tech staff, impaled his Father with a spear of blackened ice.
Valtas smiled, pride on his face as he said "Damn my son is good" and then he vanished.
Kaine stopped as the battlefield around him grew silent, his mother now backs up and trying to keep the crimson armor off her stared him dead in the eye, fury as blinding as the sun in her eyes.
A loud boom from his right side spooked him, his mother now grinning like a mad woman as Kaine's vision picked up a blur going up in the skies, he sucked in air. Lucrezia was right once again.
The Red Dragon had entered the field, its size nearly matching Lucrezia's main airship as a terrible roar echoed across the Fields, the Knights screamed together with the lizard and charged with renewed vigor as Dragonfire came from the skies.
Yet Lucrezia and Richard's forces held on, with massive losses but they held the line, a white flare went up as Lucrezia's voice boomed across the battlefield.
"KALLISTA!"