– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 219, Season of the Rising Sun, Day 25 –

“Alright, I’m only going to ask this one more time.” Edmund was looking over the strangest defense setup he had ever worked with before glancing at their city’s Guardian. “You know the reports.”

“I’m sure,” said Terry. He did indeed know the reports, which was why he was worried. They had prepared what they could. He knew that there were plenty of cards prepared by others, but even so, he remained worried. When the last horde of undead hellspawn had attacked, he had not received any time to think. This time was different.

This time, Terry knew what was coming. Their mages had managed to booby-trap the shadows and their scouts had given early warning. They knew what was coming and that it was coming now.

On the flip side, their enemies also knew that they knew. Only a fool would believe that the disturbances in the shadows would remain unnoticed and Terry did not believe that he was dealing with fools. He doubted that he would be that lucky.

How to best deal with an enemy that knew you were prepared?

Terry did not want to leave it up to a simple confrontation. He did not trust himself to follow the Warlord’s Insights, but he understood enough that there should be better options. Options beyond preparation. Options characterized by correct utilization.

“The healers will be ready,” said Akemi with a frown. “We can’t risk them joining you. I wish we could have done more. Don’t forget that you’re still injured. Don’t overdo it.”

“See you when this is over.” Terry jumped down the wall and dropped his mana cloaking to display his mana signature for everyone to see. He walked to greet the incoming undead.

Slowly.

Steadily.

More confidently than his feelings justified.

Once upon a time, Terry had woken up in a dungeon where he had learned to be deeply wary of his own feelings and to deny them control over himself. He denied his despair. He refused his resignation. He suppressed his self-doubts. He persevered through all his lost hope.

Those feelings weren’t him.

That wasn’t the person he aimed to be.

In that dungeon, Terry had made a choice. He was not his emotions. He was the one that was choosing among them. He knew what he would face. He did not like their chances. He did not feel confident at all.

But he had made a choice.

Today, there was no one around to instruct or choose for him. He was not a child with a recently discovered aspect impairment in the Arcana Academy anymore. There would be no kind instructors to tell him what to do. There was no one he could trust and follow when he was expected to lead.

Terry did not stop flaring his mana and walking with his head held up high. His steps didn’t waver, no matter how much his mind was screaming at him. No matter how often his intrusive thoughts called him an idiot, he did not stop.

Step by step.

After a while, his steps were met with muddy ground and puddles of water.

Terry walked until he had reached a certain spot. He glanced around and circulated his external mana bubble. He noted the different sensations from his mana touch. A few cards to play that increased his confidence, but not by much.

Terry was not sure if they could win. He thought it was strange. Even if the enemy was more numerous and had more whisperers this time, he thought he should feel better than in the last battle. On the contrary. Somehow the prolonged anticipation made it feel worse. The longer he thought about it, the less confident he felt again.

No matter.

His feelings didn’t matter.

Actions.

Terry took a deep breath. He had an idea and he intended to follow through. He might not be a military scholar at the level of Thanatos, but he had an idea.

They knew that their enemies were coming.

Their enemies knew that they knew.

Terry refused to believe their enemies were fools and he hoped they would think similarly about the city defenders that had successfully repelled a horde and hunted down all instigating vampires so that they couldn’t report any intel. If his hopes were right, then their enemies – who weren’t fools – would never expect his level of foolishness.

Terry took a deep breath and circulated his mana. First into his still-strained channels to confirm his limits. Second into his equipment that had been repaired, replaced, and partly upgraded. Third into the things waiting for him at the edge of his range.

***

Terry’s mana sight flashed purple. Using the visible souls as a first filter for his attention, he guided his mana detection field to confirm the death whisperers behind the undead horde stampeding over the horizon.

Found you.

Terry knew where his real enemies were. Unfortunately, the vampires had already brought the horde to their doorstep. Even if they managed to take the whisperers out, the horde was bound to set its sights on the city bustling with life.

He had to admit that the Lich Kingdoms were playing a good hand. From the secret infiltration and debilitation of the city and its elite citizens to relying on undead hordes for their initial assault. They risked little with much to gain.

Actions.

Terry swallowed his hesitation with a deep breath and he formed his finger runes remotely to appear right in front of the concealed whisperers. [I’ve heard that raising undead hellspawn is not an easy feat. You’ve already wasted one horde. Are you sure that your masters want to waste another?]

Another intended sign of confidence. Just like presenting his mana signature prominently for his enemies to see. Just like greeting the incoming horde alone.

Terry reasoned that there were two likely ways his display of confidence might be taken. A sign of arrogance that might serve to conceal his real foolishness. Or a sign of strength that should invite a stronger response to crush their spirits.

He admittedly didn’t know much about the Lich Kingdoms’ military tactics, but the use of magic narcotics, mana curses, and nightmarish monsters all hinted at a fondness of eroding morale before a fight.

If that was their goal, then it would help his foolish plan.

The undead adult juggernaut at the front of the undead horde rose up to its full height and banged its massive fists against its chest. The whole horde accelerated. At the same time, it contracted. While their previous approach had been reasonably spread out, they were now clearly focusing on Terry.

Together with the approach of the horde, Terry’s heartbeat was also accelerating. He had to remind himself to continue his controlled breathing exercises. He could not help but frown because the horde still seemed too spread out for his tastes. He could only hope that the metal pipe system they had set up above, would work to move everything to where it was needed most.

Terry clicked his tongue and slammed his king spear down while allowing it to pierce into the sky. He knew that this was a waste of mana, but with the horde in sight, he hoped that he could get it to contract further while also boosting the morale of the manaless he knew behind himself.

The heavens roared and furious lightning followed the blue-green spearhead all the way until the descending spear was pointing right forward – giving the appearance of a single man wielding an unreasonably long spear with perfect accuracy. A dense net of lightning exploded forth to tear at the juggernaut leader and the undead closest to it.

For a single moment, the roaring thunder drowned the rumbling from the undead stampede.

Waste of mana…

Terry could have waited longer or let the spear fall further, but with his initial tactics, damage wasn’t his primary goal. He could not suppress a smirk when he saw the horde at the back contract further, even more narrowly aiming for his position.

The lightning from the heaven’s fury ripped into the puddles of water and further into earth where it met the device prepared by the crafters that converted the electric energy into a short burst of magnetic repulsion along a wide half-ring. Countless pieces of iron jumped up from the ground at once to be caught perfectly by a wave of spellwork.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The charging wave of undead broke upon the wall of immovable iron shrapnel. In contrast to the orange pole from last time, the shrapnel left gaps. The undead injured themselves, thrashed around, only to collide with the next piece of immovable metal or force another undead into it. All while slipping on the muddy ground that had been drenched in water.

Last time, Terry had forced the horde to an abrupt halt. Now there was violent chaos with a trickle of undead squeezing through.

Terry circled his mana bubble to feel the progress above and behind. He nodded to himself and charged forward to greet the incoming undead. His feet firmly placed on layers of divine mana on top of the slippery ground. Right before the first clash, he pushed his mana into the sequence of his inscriptions along his new bracer.

A juggernaut punched at Terry, only to cut its own arm off against an immovable blade of ice.

Terry left the ice blade where it was and continued utilizing the combination of control water and freeze water. When the crafters had asked what they could do for him, he had hesitated, because there had been little time to get used to new equipment and asking for special items would take away time they could mass-produce basic items for the remaining defenders or fortifications.

However, aside from his destroyed Shape Metal imprint and armor pieces, there had been two forms of magic he felt he really needed for the battle.

One magic he had yearned for ever since learning about his spell: ice summoning or a form to replicate its effects. The inscription pair he was using now, was not powerful enough to condense ice from ice-aspected mana. It required water, but they had that in plentiful supply in the city and it was no coincidence that the ground around the city was currently drenched.

Just like it was no coincidence that after a thin layer of muddy earth, everything was solid rock.

One magic he had always lamented to lack: healing. Terry felt much better knowing the fundamental healing spells had been imprinted in his new septimum chestplate.

Terry dodged nimbly under the assault of hissing ghouls, shrieking widowmakers, roaring juggernauts. All while placing immovable blades of ice to let the undead mutilate themselves as well as helping along with divine hammers if they were at risk of missing their targets. All while maintaining the hundreds of immovable objects transfixed in the air and paying attention to the movements above, behind, and in front.

Whenever Terry saw a chance, he linked up different ice blades to save himself a spell to keep up and conserve mana. Little by little, he controlled the flow of undead according to his wishes. Their locations. The way they were spaced out.

Terry could only hope that his enemies would focus on his flashy performance in whittling down the horde instead of on the changing horde layout. That the undead monsters’ seemingly futile struggle would draw enough attention. That their desire to crush morale would inspire impatience. That they would recognize that the undead would not smarten up against his battle style without further whispers or intervention.

Terry felt oddly at peace in the middle of undead turmoil. This was not a question of strength. He honestly doubted that he was even the most powerful person in the city at the moment. There appeared to be plenty of monsters around. However, strength wasn’t everything.

Keeping track of the battlefield. Hunkering down behind immovable objects. Using immovable objects to control the flow of enemies. This was his forte.

At this moment, Terry felt that he was born to be a pestering splinter in some raging monster’s assault.

Terry involuntarily frowned when he sensed some of the undead hellspawn that constituted the horde’s vanguard move beyond the bounds of his plan. If he wanted to prevent those from reaching the city, he would have to progress the plan now…

Terry gritted his teeth and chose to hold on. He was not alone. They had prepared for this. He had to trust them to handle this much, or things could get only worse. The city wasn’t weak. They could handle it. He had to bide his time. His past success had largely been a matter of surprise. A one-time trick. He was aware that his current ideas were no better.

When Terry sensed two of the purple signatures move towards him, he grinned with vicious anticipation. He adjusted his controlled bottlenecks until the horde flowed around, with him at the center.

Terry emitted a short disruption pulse to cut off the spells aimed at him by the vampires. He shaped his finger runes to taunt them. [Pathetic.] He suppressed a smirk when he sensed them getting closer.

He decided to push them some more.

He recalled from his time in Syn City that vampires could be testy when it came to certain words. He summoned his best attempt at an impression of Apex: [Wimpy vampires, what are you hanging back for? Since when can undead be afraid? Soon enough, you’ll want to crawl back into your graves of your own accord! Did you lose all fight when you lost your life?!]

Terry sensed their mana flare with prepared spells and he set up a small disruption domain around himself to shred their spells and sneer loudly. “Lifeless losers!”

A part of his mind only sighed at the words he was spouting. He really hoped that none of his vampire acquaintances like Ying would ever hear what he had said. Even if he had a perfectly good explanation, he didn’t want them to ever believe he truly thought like that.

Another part of his mind was not sure he liked how much the martialists had rubbed off on him.

Terry’s thoughts snapped back into focus as soon as the two vampires were charging at him with frenzied expressions. He counted with bated breaths and then let go with a sharp exhalation of air.

It was done.

The next step was out of his hands. Or rather, out of his spells.

Terry grabbed the king spear in his right and his barrier spear in his left. He summoned the barrier and prepared to greet the vampires in close combat. He focused on his breathing. He could not afford any hesitation. He had to seem confident.

Meanwhile, his mind was counting down. He had felt the distance for the spell that had anchored everything. A tiny spell structure that was easy to miss but connected to a larger whole set up by his allies above.

Far above.

Beyond the range of even a skilled life sense user.

Behind the protective illusion and camouflage magic of his allies.

Terry still had trouble believing that Jasmine had volunteered for the group taking charge above. Even though she was not a trained combatant, the representative of the Flower House had shown strong nerves.

Terry knew that he had to make it count. He intensified his disruption domain to unprecedented levels. He could see the red-eyed faces grimacing but they quickly adjusted. Instead of trying to attack Terry with spells, they switched to empower themselves.

Then they charged.

Terry rapidly cycled burst techniques to keep up. He knew that Akemi and the other healers would curse him out, but he was forced to burst beyond reasonable limits once more. One of those vampires he might have defeated in his injured state with well-placed combinations of divine hammers and his king spear, but both of them together appeared beyond his regular means.

Terry gritted his teeth and gave it his all. He did not have to defeat them. He only had to buy time. Time for the singular force of nature they could count as their ally today.

The vampires realized that something was off when unexpected shadows descended. Usually, it was them who summoned darkness in battle, but those shadows hadn’t been invited by them. When they saw the wide grid of large boulders and rocks of all sizes that were dropping fast towards them, their red eyes opened wide before staring at Terry with shock.

What kind of madman would drop something like that on himself?

Water rose up the vampires’ ankles and turned to ice before they could turn to flee the area of impact.

“Here I thought you two had discovered a spine, what’s the rush?” Terry taunted before frowning at himself. The taunt had escaped his lips involuntarily. He was apparently still in his martialist character even though the bait part of his role was over.

One vampire used his own magic to destroy the ice. The other sacrificed her legs to escape the icy grasp and flee. Both of them found themselves blocked by sturdy barriers of divine mana.

Terry let loose. He charged at them with all he had. He unleashed the lightning combination from his king spear. He pummeled them with divine hammers paired with perfectly placed immovable needles. He burst his mana and refused to let them go.

“Are you insane?!” yelled the vampiress.

“You’ll die with us,” growled the vampire.

Terry continued his relentless assault and obstruction.

“Damn it,” cursed the vampire and he crushed a sphere. “You don’t believe me? I’ve locked down space. That’s what you’re counting on, isn’t it? Transfer through this, you worm!”

“There were not supposed to be any dimensional mages here,” cursed the vampiress.

“It doesn’t matter now,” said the vampire and he glowered at Terry. “Are you really prepared to sacrifice your life?”

Terry charged at them and burst his mana once more. He could hear a shattering sound and inwardly shrugged. Those vampires really had the wrong idea. That was a pitiful waste of a very expensive magic item.

Under the suppressive effect of his disruption domain, Terry clung to the two vampires with every skill he could muster. He blocked them with divine barriers and immovable objects. He pulled at them with his bidirectional attraction glove. He pushed them back with divine hammers. He abruptly accelerated with bursts or leaped over them on divine mana to obstruct their path and entangle them in close combat.

With only self-target spells at their disposal, the two vampires were hard-pressed to flee while the wide carpet of looming boulders was descending mercilessly with every passing second.

Shortly before the anticipated impact, Terry allowed the vampires to distance themselves from him. He had to remind himself not to jump back himself, because that might tip them off. He made sure to give them just the right nudge to be boxed into the path of the dropping projectiles.

The first wave of boulders crashed into the earth with many unfortunate undead in their way.

The boulder above Terry transfixed at the last second. He did not immediately dart forward and instead guided his mana into his new inscribed bracer. The stone projectiles were achieving more than just crushing enemies and rocking the earth. Their impacts splashed the water on the ground and he used the chance to place immovable ice shards all around the injured death whisperers.

Terry charged forward to finish off the two vampires in his vicinity. He knew that this had just been the first of multiple waves to descend and he hoped to kill as many enemy whisperers as possible before the last boulder dropped.

All around Terry, his mana was feeling for gaps among the stone rain. With only a minimal touch of deflecting divine barriers and transfixed rock, he arrived in front of his targets to make sure that their circulatory system would not get any chance for a vampiric recovery.

Between the waves of carpet boulders, a few well-placed long-range spells were fired from their defensive fortifications. The defenders knew to focus on the horde vanguard and avoid Terry’s obstructing disruption domain.

The entirely unfamiliar sensation of so many Immovable Object spells ignited by others announced the changes in their defenses.

Already, Terry could sense those that would join him at the frontline during the second phase of their plan. Cultivation signatures of martialists soaring into the sky with heavy bodies. Ethereal creatures under the influence of death whispers. A few familiar signatures of individual volunteers – confidence or madness shining in their eyes.

The city’s trailbreakers were rolling out.

***