"Well, damn," John shook his head and walked through the gate.
Apparently, after the main group of the hostile natives reached the view distance of the Bastion's walls, they decided to retreat and chose a different target—the Ulian'al's Shelter. To them, the decision might have seemed strategically sound, weakening the Aerilians by capturing the other Shelters first. Unfortunately, they didn't account for the gate system linking the sector together.
From what he has been told, the attempted assault on the allied prince's Shelter ended very poorly, but Knight-Protector Galan'il would be able to give him more precise information.
Hmm, a grey round building in the center of the Bastion. I guess that must be it. John pondered as he looked for the Command bunker where he was supposed to meet Galan'il.
Coming closer, one of the guards immediately stepped forward and grabbed his attention.
"Are you John Miles?" The tall Aerilian man in a decorated red robe asked.
"Yes, I…"
"Good, I was told to escort you inside. Follow me, if you don't mind. Prince Melis'ar wishes to speak with you."
"Sure, lead the way."
Inside, it was a stark contrast to the usually opulent System buildings. The dull-grey walls lining up the narrow hallway spoke of a defensible position and the small openings both above and on the sides showed how difficult an assault would be.
At the end of the hallway were two spiral staircases, one leading up and the other down.
"I am curious," John spoke out, "are there abilities that can shape this material?"
Tapping his knuckles on the wall before him, he felt no echo, as if it was absorbing the impact and protecting the structure from any potential damage.
"I don't believe there is," the guard stopped and also gently placed his palm over the same wall. "This grey material is only used by the System or by the Patrons themselves, and it is very resilient. It may not be a surprise for you, but the main walls around the Bastion are made from a similar, yet much weaker material."
John saw the man reach back and explode with power, delivering an open-handed blow into the wall.
"As you can see, not even a scratch."
"But how do you conquer an enemy Bastion then?" John asked, curious how to handle it in the future.
"The thing is, there are no doors inside. Sure, people can build their own, but those are only as durable as the people building them. On the other hand, the Command bunker itself is, for the likes of us, indestructible." He smiled, clearly enjoying the teaching opportunity. "But we should move, His Highness would be in the main command room below us.
After descending underground and doing a couple of turns, they arrived before an entrance to a large room with a round table.
"Sir John Miles," the guard announced and gestured for him to enter.
Passing through the entrance, he felt his ears pop and he realized that he could now both see and hear people inside the room.
"Welcome back, John," Melis'ar waved and pointed at the empty chair next to Galan'il. "Sit, I'll explain what has happened in the last ten hours."
There were only four Aerilians sitting around the table. Across him was the prince with his Knight-Protector on his right, and on the other side, with their backs to him, sat Dilah'ec and Galan'il.
Duraq'er leaned in and whispered something to Melis'ar who blinked and then placed his palm on a small purple crystal embedded into the table.
"This should do it," he mumbled and a moment later a System message popped up before John's eyes.
[You have been granted the rank of Special Operative of Silverstar Enclave]
Dismissing the notification, John blinked in surprise at the complex three-dimensional map tha t suddenly appeared on top of the table.
"Damn, is this…" he muttered as he observed what was the entire city plus at least a mile of city outskirts.
The real advantage wasn't just the map itself, but also the countless green dots spread throughout the winding streets and the couple of green encampments surrounding a single red one in the city's center.
"The green dots are your people." John guessed after having time to fully understand the situation before his eyes.
There were half a dozen clusters spread around the last hostile Shelter, but unless he was missing something, they were too far to be able to lay a siege. One other oddity was a large blue circle at the western edge of the map, embedded deep in the city outskirts.
"They are, and the blue spot you are looking at is another part of the reason we called you here. Before that, Galan'il will explain how we got into this situation." The prince gestured to the center of the map.
"It was… an unfortunate sequence of events," the younger Knight-Protector sighed and shook his head. "When the joined group of hostile natives spotted our Bastion's defenses, instead of trying a diplomatic resolution or surrender, they decided to mount an attack on His Highness Ulian'al's Shelter, the Brightmoon Retreat."
"Yes, that is what I've been told by the guards at the north gate, but other than the fact that they have failed at it I don't know anything else." John nodded and waited for Galan'il to continue.
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"We attempted to send a diplomatic envoy, but they refused a meeting, unleashing an attack on his group and killing three members out of the two squads escorting him before they were able to pull back."
Seeing Galan'il uncertainty and careful explanation gave John a hint of what was about to happen next.
"After that, I had to make a decision on how to deal with their assault. As you remember, the gates linking the Bastion with the allied Shelters work only in one way, forcing me to deal with their army then and there. If they were allowed to retreat, we would have to fight them inside the city which would lead to many more deaths on my side. That is why I gave the command to split our force and ambush the group's flanks the moment they committed to the siege."
That sounds reasonable, why do they seem so apprehensive?
"I had a duty to protect the lives of people under my leadership, so I did my best to uphold it," Galan'il spoke with a small shake in his voice. "Unfortunately for the hostile natives, the siege turned into a massacre."
Massacre?
"How many have died?"
"From our side, five Aerilians of Ulian'al's Shelter and nine under my command have suffered fatal injuries. From theirs, out of the roughly seven hundred natives, less than a hundred made it out alive."
"Damn," John cursed, feeling an odd mixture of feelings.
On one hand, he was appalled, hearing about the horrible losses in lives, and wondered if it could have been prevented. On the other hand, at least some of them were part of the New Order, a fanatic group who pillaged and murdered during the time humanity needed to be unified the most, and he was glad they suffered the same fate.
"I should have been there, I…" John was about to continue speaking but stopped after feeling Galan'il's hand on his shoulder.
"John, for what it is worth, I am glad I was able to spare you of that burden," he shook his head and sighed. "We grew up with the System and were taught to fight from a very young age, and even then, being forced to end so many lives was not a pleasant thing to do."
"Mhm," John nodded, unsure what to think about all this.
"After their crushing defeat, the hostile Shelters with the exception of the one in the center surrendered, and following my agreement with you, I made sure to give them the opportunity to prosper without any fear of further retaliation," Melis'ar took over with the explanation. "Sadly according to our intel, the New Order is led by a charismatic university professor who used the Apocalypse to fanaticize the population and they are now refusing to surrender and fall under my rule."
Sitting there in silence, John did not know what to say. He wanted to blame them for the deaths, but he had to agree, they were at least partly right and he had no illusions of being able to reach a better resolution.
They did warn me that they would put their people before everything else. I just hope they will protect the allied humans with a similar vehemence.
To move his thoughts to something else, John asked about the circle on the western edge of the map.
"What about that blue spot?" He spoke out, pointing at it with his right hand.
"That is a Sector trial. It offers a challenge for a group of ten and grants month-long bonuses for everyone inside the Sector. In return for your help and also as a token of our appreciation for everything you have done for us thus far, Lady Dilah'ec and I have made a special purchase at Al'drul's emporium for a specific card we believe you would find very useful."
That perked his mood up.
"What would that trial entail?"
"Waves of undead enemies with ever-increasing difficulty until the group gets overwhelmed. However, it is not in a real space, and any injuries, death included, are erased after each successful wave and the trial lasts until a full wipeout, granting rewards according to the number of waves we manage to overcome."
Hmm, that sounds like something similar to the trial of the Sacred Six.
"Ok, that sounds interesting," John agreed, liking the possibility of testing his might without the risks of permanent injuries. "What about the card?"
Failing to hide a giggle, Dilah'ec pulled out a card glinting with a yellow border and passed it through Galan'il to John's hand.
"Here you go. It was one of the remaining sixteen special cards available from the upgraded Al'drul's emporium built inside Bastions under invading forces' control." She explained. "Because of your invaluable help, we have decided to save up for it and offer it to you as a sign of our appreciation."
[Sealed Purifying Flameling (R)
Summons a minor elemental of sacred flames to fight by your side.
Tags: Minion, AoE, Affinity
Note: Card can be unsealed to its Epic rarity at Al'drul's emporium after its second upgrade]
"Woah," John exclaimed, his eyes going wide. "I… Thank you, I will put it to great use."
Opening his deck, he placed it into the freshly opened fourth ability slot.
"Can I…"
"No!"
"Don't! Not here!"
His ears were assaulted by a chorus of panicked voices.
"Please, leave the summoning for when you get outside." Melis'ar chuckled. "I don't want to start a fire inside the bunker."
"Oh, right. Sorry about that," John sheepishly smiled, releasing the intent to rip open the portal to its home domain. "By the way, what are the sacred flames?"
"It is a combination of fire and life affinities. It should work especially well with your current battle tactics and… if my hunch is correct, you will be able to figure out a fairly unique use for it." Duraq'er spoke out for the first time since John came in there. "Also, congratulations for your D-grade evolution. Your progress is impressive."
"Let's get back to the topic at hand, can we head out to the trial in two hours?" Melis'ar asked, and after seeing the three nods, he placed his palm on the purple crystal and soon after, John noticed the same Aerilian guard approach and make a simple salute.
"Send out a messenger to the Brightmoon Retreat asking His Highness to join us in two hours. We are going to challenge the Sector trial," Melis'ar commanded.
"It will be done," the guard offered a second salute and walked out at a brisk pace.
"If you don't have anything to add," the prince paused, giving them a chance to speak, "then it will be all. We will meet at the Desperate Fool's Inn in two hours."
Taking that as a dismissal, John retraced his steps back outside and after finding an open ground behind the Al'drul's emporium, he focused on his new card.
Purifying Flameling!
A bright-blue spot the size of his thumb appeared before him, and over the next couple of seconds stretched into the size of a large frying pan and through it squeezed a basketball-sized mass of azure flames.
Its arrival was heralded by a small explosion of azure flames, but luckily there was no one too close to be hurt and the back wall of the emporium remained untouched by the small inferno. After that, the hole closed up and his new minion remained calmly floating roughly eight feet above ground.
Well hello there, John smiled. Let's see what you are capable of.