Quentin tried and failed to recall the aforementioned spell, giving voice to his curiosity.

“Lance of light?”

“Yep. Each shot deals seventy-five points of light damage which gets doubled since it’s being used against demons and the undead.”

“Sounds perfect for the job. So what’s the problem?”

“Try to lift it.”

Quentin hoisted up the weapon with a grunt only to put it back down a few seconds later.

“It’s a bit heavy. Not too heavy, but definitely a problem for anyone with a might under fifteen.”

“Exactly. We won’t be able to walk around on the battlefield while lugging this thing around. Anyone with the required strength will be too busy fighting.”

“Then just strap a set of wheels beneath it like you would under a canon.”

“I thought about that too but we would need someone to push and pull it close enough for it to work, which would paint a target on their backs.”

“What’s the range of this thing?

“Fifty meters at best. After that, the lances start to weaken and they just fade away after sixty meters.”

“That sounds like a problem,” the paladin nodded. “We would have to keep the enemy busy while someone rolled this thing close enough for firing. The moment the first shot lands, the archdemon would immediately change targets. I’d say we could put it on a cart, but that would make it an even bigger target.”

“Yeah.” Regis nodded along.

“What about putting one of those barrier things beside it?” Quentin brought up the idea, making the dark elf look at him with raised eyebrows.

“Barrier thing?”

“You know, the one you made to protect the mountain pass and the town.”

“A domain heart? That could work against smaller enemies but the archdemon could break it down with a swing or two. Even if I add in a reinforced light element barrier, it could only take five or so hits from it at best.”

“Not if we can keep it busy.”

“Even so, pushing a cart across the battlefield still be troublesome unless...”

“Unless what?” The paladin looked at his friend as a smirk spread along the dark elf’s lips.

“Hey, Osmond?” Regis activated his far-caller.

“I’m in the middle of holding a class, so make it quick.”

“Do you have any soul stones left?”

“I do, but not that many. Why?”

“I need them for a cow-sized spider golem.”

“A what now?” The bone puppeteer couldn’t help but ask back after hearing the absurd statement.

“Long story short, I’ve built an arcane Gatling gun and we need something to transport it while still having enough space for a domain heart to protect it with its barrier.”

“And you figured that you would make a huge ass spider golem to do the job? I hate to be that guy, but you really need to take some time off from your weird experiments. Your ideas are getting more and more absurd.”

“You think it wouldn’t work?”

“It could, but we don’t even know if we’re going to need it. Those Emil and Felix fellows might be able to solve the problem before it even appears.”

“You know the saying. It’s better to have it and not need it than...”

“Needing it and not having it. Yeah, yeah. I’ll bring over the stones after the class is finished.”

“Thanks.” He replied before focusing on another person in his mind.

“Fabien, you there?”

“A bit busy, but yes.” The answer came after a few seconds.

“Could you pass you far-caller over to Mary for a minute?”

“Sure.” the short answer came before a familiar feminine voice took over.

“Is this thing working? Regis?”

“I’m here, Mary. Sorry to bother you but I have a favour to ask.”

“Of course. What do you need?”

“I’d like you to come over to the manor when you’re free and craft me a cow-sized spider statue.”

“Excuse me?” The equally surprised and horrified voice of Mary asked back.

“I know it sounds strange, but I need you to create a large spider statue for me. It doesn’t have to be life-like or anything. Just the basic shape of eight legs, the body and the head. I need it to be balanced enough so that it can move properly once turned into a golem.”

“Is this about the archdemon problem?” Mary deduced the reason behind his request.

“Yes. I made a weapon, in case we need to fight the thing, but I need something to carry it.”

“Okay. But still. A spider?”

“I’m open to suggestions if you have a better idea for transport.”

“Maybe an actual cow? Okay... that sounds just as ridiculous. Forget I’d said anything.”

“Can’t make any promises,” Regis chuckled as the young woman’s antics lightened his mood. “But I’ll do my best. See you later then.”

“Looks like I’m not the only one who was surprised by your spider golem idea.” Quentin remarked as he took another look at the arcane weapon on the table.

“Do you have any other weapon ideas we could use?”

“Not really,” the loremaster sighed. “Guns and regular dragon powder canons are a no-go and I doubt that I could build a rocket launcher or two.”

“I’ll have to say no to both of those. We could bring along a ballista or two with exploding crystal bolts but that would leave us with the same problem we had with the Gatling gun. You know, it really sucks not to know what’s going on outside.”

“I know what you mean. I keep thinking about this whole mess and how it can blow into our face but I can’t come up with anything against it.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“We’ll have to solve the problems as they come then.” The paladin said in a sagely tone, making Regis roll his eyes.

“I wish it was that simple but you know it’s... what is it?” The dark elf switched his train of thought as his far-caller came to life with a man’s voice on the other end of the line.

“My apologies for the disturbance milord, but a messenger from the Vidal territory is waiting at the gate.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” he answered as the connection faded away. “Were you expecting any messengers from Zola?”

“Not that I know of. You?”

“None,” Regis replied as the two left the workshop, heading toward the sealed room where the gateway was. “I don’t like these sudden visits.”

“Can’t say I blame you. Most of them tend to end up pretty badly.”

As the runes of the gateway lit up, their light swallowed the two, only to spit them out in the secret room of the mountain pass’ guard post. Once outside, they found themselves looking at the same man who always delivered Zola’s messages.

“I bring urgent news, milord!” The man said loudly, prompting the dark elf to respond.

“Open the gates!” He ordered and as the guards began to open it, the horseman slowly rode forward.

As the messenger reached within five meters of the gate, his horse trotted forward while the man got pushed off by some invisible force. He fell back onto the ground with a scream as he began to roll on the ground, writhing in pain.

“I thought that the domain hearts barrier was inactive.” Quentin remarked as he watched the man scream and roll about.

“It is,” Regis confirmed as his gaze turned toward the forest not far ahead. “Only its passive part would react if it felt threatened. Close the gates! We have demons inbound.”

Just as the words left his mouth, the forest not far ahead came to life as a literal army of demons began to rush through the thick foliage after the veil of the spell that kept them hidden fell. Even from that distance, it was easy to see that they numbered in the hundreds or maybe over a thousand. Most of them were either lesser or greater imps, but the dark elf could see several fully grown demons as well, towering over the rest of the hellish flood.

“By the Seven!” One of the guards yelled as they all watched the tide that came their way in horror while the paladin activated his own far-caller, informing the others of the demon attack.

Regis didn’t spend more than a second thinking before he reached into his satchel and pulled out a wand he hoped to never use. Quentin’s eyes widened as he recognised the detonator wand, but he gave his friend an affirming nod.

“Wait... wait... now!” The paladin yelled and Regis channelled his arcana and will into the wand.

A moment later thunderous explosions shook the air and ground as over two hundred arcane landmines exploded in rapid succession, turning the incoming army into a bloody firework show. The sound of the explosions temporarily deafened everyone present although it was a small price to pay for the devastation they caused.

As the blood-mist settled, the sight of broken bodies and small craters filled their visions. The lesser imps got completely wiped out and their greater brethren lay on the ground in torn heaps of bone and flesh as well. The demons that once towered over them now crawled along with destroyed legs and waists, their upper bodies and arms burnt and deformed by the explosion.

‘Well, shit. I didn’t expect this.’ Regis thought to himself as he watched the result of his weeks-long preparation. From the corner of his eyes, he saw movement at the edge of the forest, his heightened senses picking up shapes that reminded him of humanoid creatures.

“Aim at the edge of the tree line,” he ordered the still-shocked guards who immediately manned the ballistas. “Fire!”

Several crystal-tipped bolts cut through the air, bringing another set of explosions as they destroyed whatever life tried to hide behind the dense undergrowth, death screams filling the air yet again.

“The shapeshifter is still alive.” Quentin said, forcing the dark elf to look downward, noticing that the hooded figure in front of the gates was indeed alive. If barely.

“What do you think the chances of him talking are?” Regis asked, earning a sigh from his companion.

“It’s more likely that he will explode in our faces like all the others before, but it’s worth a shot.”

The dark elf cast ‘feather-fall’ on both of them before leaping off the battlements. Once down on the ground, he stepped closer to the hooded figure, noticing that it was a human and not a dark elf like he expected.

“Who are you?” Quentin asked after his truth-seeker domain covered the ground around them and the injured man.

“Dam... Dylan.” The man answered after choking on his first word, coughing up black smoke.

“Who sent you?”

“I work f... aargh!” Dylan tried to resist in vain as Regis bent down to grab his neck, using a spell he learned a few weeks past to erode the man’s demonic leash to prevent it from exploding.

“Lord Gervais sent us.”

“Fuck.” Regis blurted out as he heard the name.

“Who’s that?” His friend asked, surprised by his reaction.

“Natalie’s father, if I remember correctly.”

“Oh.” Quentin hummed as things cleared up a bit for him.

“Why did you attack us?” The paladin kept interrogating the injured man as the dark elf hissed in pain under the heat of the demonic leash he tried to hold back from killing the man.

“Our spies followed the trail of the traitors and it led here.”

“And it prompted Gervais to send an army to attack us? Isn’t it a bit of an overreaction?”

“He didn’t... he can’t let you interfere!” Dylan choked as the runic markings around his neck flared up, prompting Regis to let go as his fingertips got scalded.

“Shit! Quentin yelled as they threw themselves to the side, Dylan exploding into blood and gore a second later.

“I fucking hate it when they do that.” The paladin remarked as the two stood up.

“Something doesn’t add up,” Regis replied after casting a ‘lance of light’ spell at the nearest still-living demon that didn’t give up on crawling toward them. “It’s like we’re missing something crucial even if we supposedly know everything already.”

“Bloody hell,” they heard a familiar voice from above them, Amanda and the others appearing beside the guards. “What the hell did you guys do? I was expecting an army, not a cemetery.”

“The big ones are still alive if you want to smash in a few heads.” Regis stated while pointing toward the legless creatures that were snarling and crawling toward them.

“Did you at least manage to interrogate whoever that pile of bloody goo originally was?” Osmond asked as the rest of the team made their way down, most of them taking on the role of cleaning up any surviving demons.

“His name was Dylan and Gervais sent him and... this army.” The dark elf looked back at his handiwork.

“Gervais,” both Osmond and Valerie repeated the name with an obvious distaste. “Damn.”

“An Argent?” Sophie asked after putting an arrow through a demon’s skull.

“Natalie’s father and the second strongest of their family. Right after Aristide, the current head of the family.”

“If they were willing to send over a thousand imps and demons to attack us,” Osmond prodded one of the larger corpses. “That means they really don’t want us to interfere with their plans.”

“Agreed,” Regis nodded. “They did their best to work unnoticed so far, yet they sent a literal army to attack us.”

“They’re either desperate or they’re far too close to succeed to care about being found out.”

“It is more likely to be the first one,” Valerie shared her thoughts. “Natalie and her lackeys had maybe a day or two of a head start, which wasn’t much. That old bastard most likely thought that we were still mulling over any information she gave us.”

“Or that they came here to seek refuge.” Amanda remarked.