After a week of non-stop fighting, Meera wanted a day of rest and recovery, but unfortunately, time was almost up. Brison had somehow kept tabs on the happenings of the real world while they all hacked each other to pieces, and the news was not good. Though, how he managed to do that was a mystery, and he wasn't very forthcoming with his sources. But it drove Meera up the wall. It was like Brison was their Swiss army pocketknife—a singular tool for whatever was needed.
They were back in the den of the Warden's hideout. It was just as they had left it, but the same could not be said about the city. The news was not good, as the whole city was on lockdown. Soldiers had been sent down en masse to safeguard the city. However, none of the soldiers were Phoenix Protectors or one of the Shadowsteel Warlord's armies. They were just regular soldiers.
"King Draros has arrived earlier than anticipated," Brison announced. "He led the host of the three neighboring kingdoms of Marith, Letus, and Khitha through the mist wall. The Mistblades gave them a good thrashing, but then he isn't called the Man O' War for nothing. As the soldiers tell it, he barely lost a tenth of their men."
"That's it?" Dirik asked with widened eyes.
"That's it." Brison turned to Meera. "I don't think help is coming from your friend."
Meera didn't think so, either. "But I can still give it a shot."
"I say, forget 'em," Tekton said. "We've gotten plenty strong. We can take this Heart and its undead army ourselves."
"Overconfidence will be our death," Pallas shot back.
"Really? Seven people over level 300…" Tekton’s eyes landed on Meera. "Six people over level 300 and one almost there. We can take on any challenges coming our way."
Meera ignored that insult as she remembered she still had to check her notifications. She had forgotten in all the congratulations and some deathly glares from Lexa and Zona.
Eyes swiveled to Melas, who was staring out the window. The decision was his to make.
Melas sighed as he turned to them. "Meera, contact your friend and see if he can lend us aid."
Meera nodded. "On it."
"The rest of you, get ready with whatever you need," Melas said. "Pallas, how long until you can brew us a fresh batch of potions?"
"A few hours, give me six hours, and I can have enough for us all," his brother replied.
"Get on it. Zona, go with Brison and get a feel of the city. The undead will have to be strong at night, so we will leave at dawn, which is about eight hours away."
Everyone nodded, and the group dispersed to prepare their way. Meera went to the other room and fished out the royal seal from her Dragon Hoard Belt. The seal was always cool to the touch, but now it felt freezing as if Meera was holding a block of ice.
"Narikas," she said.
The seal did its thing. It rose into the air and spun, forming a cone of darkness below it. Meera waited before stepping into the cone, and nothing happened for a few minutes. Then, someone finally answered. It was Hilnoa, and not the Warlord, who had gone back on his word.
"Where have you been?" She seethed. "We've been trying to reach out to you since yesterday."
Meera stepped into the cone, and Hilnoa was in a room that Meera had not seen before. But thanks to the cone, she only saw a desk with many papers and scrolls.
"I was busy training," Meera said.
"It looked like you had dropped off the face of the world," Hilnoa said. "I couldn't track you with the seal."
"It's a long story, so what's the emergency aside from the invasion."
Hilnoa's expression changed from steel to rock hard. "So, you've heard."
"How's…" Meera hesitated. She was still miffed at Narikas for going back on his word. "How's the dishonorable Warlord doing?"
Hilnoa raised an eyebrow. "He's fine."
"Is he really?"
Hilnoa sighed. "He's…fighting, but the half-brained oaf Rokibor won't allow him to transfer the armor to Heibor, even though he sees what it's doing to his brother. The pig enjoys watching his brother suffer."
"How long can he hold on?" Meera asked—a strange queasiness rising in her belly.
Hilnoa looked away. "Another day, maybe two at best. The reason I was trying to reach you is—"
"Rokibor wants his son to come home now," Meera finished for her.
"That's right, and to make matters worse, the enemy is on our doorstep, and still, my idiot nephew refuses to see sense."
"I'll be honest with you. I have no intention or the time to find Delkoris," Meera said. "We're moving on the Heart at dawn."
To Meera's surprise, Hilnoa was neither angry nor disappointed. She simply let out a deep sigh. "I know…Narikas wouldn't have given him the armor even if you did find the poor boy."
"Why not?"
"They…" Hilnoa looked unsure. She rubbed her temples and finally began. "They were always close, ever since Delkoris was young. The only one of Rokibor's children who wasn't afraid of Narikas on account of that cursed armor. He even trained with us when he grew up. Narikas oversaw his training himself, no matter how much pain he was in. Narikas was more of a father to Delkoris than his real father, so Rokibor is snatching away his birthright and giving it to Heibor."
Meera sighed. "Families are messy business, aren't they?"
"Indeed. But I wasn't calling you for that. The timeline has changed. King Draros' armies are marching through the countryside and headed towards us. Narikas is in no condition to ride out and meet them. So far, they haven't taken to burning and looting the common folk, but they soon will. We need the queen back as soon as possible. If we can get her to rescind the border to its original place or even get rid of the monstrosity altogether, then we might just survive this thing."
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
"On it. By any chance, can you still spare those Shades?"
Hilnoa shook her head. "No, not any longer. We're using them to destroy enemy supply lines and run counterintelligence."
Meera sighed. "Figured as much. Fine, and tell Narikas he better not go back on his word by giving in to his armor."
"He won't."
With that, Hilnoa shut off the connection, and the seal fell, but Meera caught it this time. She put it in her Belt and left the room to join the others. Melas looked at her, and she just shook her head. He nodded in understanding. He didn't say anything to the others.
Tekton was busy polishing his blades at super speed. However, Meera found no fault with them. Pallas was nowhere to be found. She figured he was busy in another room, making his potions. Lexa was sound asleep. Dirik looked outside, clutching his Shadowsteel sword. Meera found this odd as he never had his sword out, aside from battle.
He must be nervous about the coming fight.
Meera would be lying if she said she wasn't. It would be her hardest one yet. She plopped down on a couch and wanted to follow Lexa's example, but sleep wouldn't come that easily, so she pulled up her notifications.
*ding!*
[You have killed Stormweaver Warden – Level 335. For killing an opponent fifty levels higher than your own, you have gained bonus experience.]
*ding!*
[Your party has killed Colossus Warden – Level 321. You have gained partial experience. For killing an opponent forty levels higher than your own, you have gained bonus experience.]
*ding!*
[Your party has killed Archer Warden – Level 332. You have gained partial experience. For killing an opponent fifty levels higher than your own, you have gained bonus experience.]
*ding!*
[Your party has killed Shade – Level 304. You have gained partial experience. For killing an opponent fifty levels higher than your own, you have gained bonus experience.]
*ding!*
[Congratulation. The Shadow Image has gained 12 levels and reached Level 290. You have been awarded 36 stat points]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Chakram of Echoes effect activated. Upon reaching Level 280 & Level 290 in your main class, you have earned two more Chakrams.]
Two more chakrams appeared on her arm, bringing her total to twenty-one—thirteen regular and eight level 2 chakrams.
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror's Affinity has gained 7 levels and reached Level 211. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 215% boost.]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Armor of Mirrors has gained 6 levels and reached Level 112]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shroud of Shadows has reached Level 98]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Vampiric Chains has gained 2 levels and reached Level 94]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Step has reached Level 103]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirrorstrike Vision has gained 3 levels and reached Level 108]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Tower Shield has gained 2 levels and reached 108]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Vitalize has reached Level 109]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Wing has gained 3 levels and reached Level 107]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shadow Coating has gained 2 levels and reached Level 74]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Heaven's Wrath has gained 7 levels and reached Level 16]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shadow Affinity has gained 3 levels and reached Level 87. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 89% boost.]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Ambush Tactics has reached Level 99]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Tactician's Gaze has gained 3 levels and reached Level 85]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Eyes of a Phoenix has gained 4 levels and reached Level 27]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Spectral Resilience has gained 5 levels and reached Level 105]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Iron Skin has gained 6 levels and reached Level 76]
She allocated her stat points to Constitution, Focus, and Perception. She would need the latter a lot in the coming fight as they would be fighting in the forest, and she didn't want to be ambushed by some hidden undead.
[Name: Meera Singh]
[Age: 24]
[Race: Unnatural Human]
[Class: The Shadow Image – Level 290]
[Class Ability: Hoarder – Level 26]
Stats
[Health: 2270]
[Stamina: 2350]
[Mana: 2610]
Attributes
[Constitution: 227]
[Power: 50]
[Dexterity: 200]
[Endurance: 235]
[Focus: 261]
[Agility: 170]
[Perception: 155]
Skills
[Ambush Tactics – Level 99]
[Shroud of Shadows - Level 98]
[Vampiric Chains - Level 94]
[Mirror Step - Level 103]
[Druvis Power - Level 79]
[Mirrorstrike Vision - Level 108]
[Mirror Tower Shield - Level 108]
[Mirror Blast - Level 103]
[Mirror Shard Barrage - Level 99]
[Vitalize - Level 109]
[Mirror Wing - Level 107]
[Petrifying Surge - Level 52]
[Shadow Coating - Level 74]
[Mirror Phantom - Level 58]
[Mist Concealment - Level 42]
Shadow Skills
[Decay Bite - Level 9]
[Death Mark – Level 51]
[Inferno Storm – Level 42]
[Bastian's Strength – Level 55]
[Heaven's Wrath – Level 16]
General Skills
[Identify – Level 9]
[Mirror Affinity – Level 211]
[Climbing – Level 20]
[Tree Walker - Level 15]
[Potion Making - Level 1]
[Alpha Aura - Level 22]
[Wild Instincts - Level 57]
[Charred Body - Level 15]
[Shadow Affinity - Level 87]
[Tactician's Gaze – Level 85]
[Prismatic Distortion - Level 29]
[Absorption - Level 68]
[Haunting Presence - Level 24]
[Spectral Resilience - Level 105]
[Blood Magic – Level 1]
[Soul Bond - Onyx the Stallion – Level 18]
[Negotiation Expertise – Level 1]
[Alcohol Tolerance – Level 1]
[Eyes of a Phoenix – Level 27]
[Iron Skin – Level 76]
[Gladiator's Last Breath – Level 25]
Armor
[Armor of Mirrors - Level 112]
Once she finished, she just sat there, thinking of the coming fight and what strategies she could employ. She didn't realize when sleep took her. The next thing she knew, Dirik was shaking her awake.
"It's time."