CHAPTER 48 - Showtime

Three days after the meeting - Center of Ferns

‘So that’s the castle they are building, huh... Quite the sight.’ I think as I look ahead.

Big foundations made of stone and already built, making it clear just how big it is going to be, stretching hundreds of meters in each direction.

On top of the foundations, hundreds of people are working, with ages varying from 16 or so to as far as 50 or 60 years old. Everyone is working, a lot of them keeping track of the vampire soldiers, so as not to get caught idling around.

‘I am sure they will punish those who don't work hard enough.’

I had been watching the prisoners for a while, but I have yet to see any physical reassurances that they will not escape, probably due to the number of soldiers patrolling around the place, keeping tabs.

Realizing that it’s been a while since the guys from Maria’s group left, I prepare myself.

“It’s time…” I say so as I look at my right hand.

There, a bright ball of energy floats on top of my palm. I look at it for a second and I even feel my heart beating loudly in my chest.

‘This is the result of these three days… No. Of all the time that has passed since the start of their invasion.’ I think to myself as I calm down and try to stay composed, the success of the plan fully depends on my control of this little ball.

‘Let’s go, one step at a time.’

----------------------------------------

I inch closer to the gates of their rising castle with Bruma on my shoulder. There, a dozen of those strengthened human guards from another planet defend the place.

From what I have been told, these guys are mostly at the same level as the first orcs I saw. Their lengthy lives under the rule of the vampires probably granted them with lots of fighting experience though.

The first hindrance to my plan is them, I need to avoid a direct confrontation with them and get directly inside if possible.

I see them move and shout something as I leave the cover of the buildings and enter the castle perimeter.

Slowly, I walk to them, keeping my sphere of qi and mana in check as I do so. The sphere is an accumulation of both qi and manna. The theory behind it is pretty much the same as the one I used before, but the size does differ from my previous exploits.

The one I used before against the moles was a hastily made one amidst a battle of life and death, resulting in a small sphere the size of one of my fingers. This one though…

I made sure to carefully make the qi barrier thick enough while Bruma poured all its mana into the thing once… twice… thrice…

Over the course of these three days, I got her help to create the biggest threatening attack we could weave together. Her big reserves of manna and my ability to extract qi from the ground indefinitely helped a fair amount to our success.

The sphere has a yellowish tone as It sits slightly levitating over my hand. Its size is about the same as a handball ball which fits the size of my hand just fine, even If I don't dare to touch it.

By the time I arrive at the front gate of the castle, which is halfway built, two of the soldiers come up to me.

I don't waste my time and I move my creation in front of me while shouting.

“Guide me to your king!” What better title than a king for the one who builds a castle, right?

Both guards look at me and then at one another.

And then they laugh.

“̷̨̻̬̦̗̬̦̜̪̹͑͐Ä̸̡̹̱̻̗͉͉̼͓́͒͐͐̐̑̔͘͝╟̵̫̲͗̀̄͊͑̚͠┴̶̧̛̗̘̭͓̭̻̫̈́̀ ̸̛̥̯̫͎̠͓̏̋̅̈́͒͌̄̕┴̸̺̈̅̈́͛͘̚͝o̵̡̢̜͕͒̍͗̒̋̂̅͌͘͝π̷̰̲͔̘͓̤̟̇̚͜͜͠ ̶̨̧̨̝̣͕̳̰̮̍́̅̀͠ͅh̶̤͇̣͉̙̮̱̥̬̿̒̈͗͒͐̍̌͝͠±̴̦̘̯̿͌͒̽̓̕͠⌘̵̢̼͓̝̣̯͓̒͆́̽̏͑̾¢̶̧͖̙̪͓͔͓̲̣̪͂̓́ỉ̶͔̤̭̺̀͑͆̃̿̾͋/̸̡͙̭̘̲͑͂̂̒͗̅͠&̷̛͌̍̂̀̒̔̒́̚ͅ ̷̦̭̭͆͆̋͑̿͊̈́̊̚͘h̶̺͆͌̇͛͗̓̾̚¿̴̧̛̙̣̣̭̯̃̎̍̈́̓̈́*̴̧̻̰̦͓͚̘͉̑͒̀̊̔̌̍̋͘͜͝ͅ?̵͈̞̙̂”̴̛̯̗͛͆̍͆̿̊͘͝

“̸̢̣̖̙̳̺̤̗̹͋̄̀͛Ý̷͕̝̣̙̘͔͖̦̀̍̄̎̌̇̂̀̕δ̸̡̣̤̪̹̩̗̪̞̘͊͌̑͑̂̍╝̷̛͙̩̋̄̊̿͜,̸̢̗̣̞̠̰͉̝̩̈́̊̈͗͝͝ ̷͔̤̈́̑̅̈́̇̇s̷̟̼̀̇̉̀͋͠%̴̬͉̹͔̲̮͈̥̑͑̓̿̋̋̏̇͜͜☤̷̧̗̟͔̹̲̝̙͎͇͋̍͗̀̿͝Ɖ̷̩̫̥̞̈̆̀̑̚͠ ̴̣̳̳͔̪̰̥̀̍̈́͌̆^̴̧̱͙͔͉͕̠͂͐͠ ̷̖̱̽̀̎͠j̴̡̞̊̀͊̊͊͋̄͋@̶̨̡̩̩̬̼͛͐̍̂̿́̌̕;̸̨̺̜̳̤̉͂͜͝유̴̛̝̫̯͍̈́͑̎̋̈͛̔̓͝╠̴̡̘̹̤̪̲̦̝̀͋̈́͊͠͠ṟ̸̢͙̤̠̤̈́̐ ̷̥͚̯͎̪̘͖͚̳̓̿͌̐̚h̷̢͍͕͔̒╛̶̧̛͓̻̻̘͉̍́̀̊̅ ̵̺͙̗͉̗̞̘͖̒̃͜͝₧̴̢̢̱͚͕̪̲̜̍ÿ̷̡̡̠̺̭͓͖̒̇̄̐́̄͠!̷̧̢̢͔̉̈̔̎̋”̶̛̖̘̰̓̆͝

They both laugh at me, clearly not understanding my words, but they don't try to either. Well, it was worth a try.

“Your last chance! Let me meet with your king!” I shout again, my intentions as clear as day. Even Bruma shows her teeth at them as they stop laughing and pay attention to us.

One of them points his weapon at us with a clearly annoyed expression and shouts something.

I don't need to know their language to decipher the meaning of his words. He is yelling at us, demanding for us to leave this place and not come back.

‘That won't do.’

*whistle*

*crackle*

*RUMBLE*

Bruma shoots her lightning when I signal her to, taking both guards by surprise as a thin line of concentrated lighting ripples into existence in front of her and moves in a horizontal motion, beheading both of them.

Both corpses fall down at my feet. Their necks cauterized by the heat left after the clean cut of the attack delivered by my companion.

I can still hear the sizzling on the wounds as the other guards, the ones posted at the entrance, wake up from their stupor and jump into action, surrounding me.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

All of them draw their weapons at me and Bruma as they keep their distance, now on guard, scared of being killed the same way their partners were.

As they do so, I look at the wounds of the two bodies on the floor.

‘I told her to focus all her attacks on a single spot so that each strike packed more power, but it seems the speed improved too. I don't think I would have done any better than them if I were the one at the end of the attack. Maybe if I could predict it.'

Bruma’s power keeps surprising me, I will need to keep an eye on her to help her develop new ways of using it in the future. At this point, the small fox gives me as much hope as the strongest supporter mage I could ask for, as much as she gives me the shivers.

Just thinking about the implications that her power comes with scares me. She is just one of the lots of beasts all over the world. If each one wields their own element in the future the same way she wields lighting…

'Whatever, things to care for after surviving today.'

I look around at our enemies, who have no intention of giving me time to think about anything. Looking at their faces, I search for one of them who may seem a little bit more eager to talk than the others, but there is no luck. Every single one of them is keen on killing us.

I would love to take care of them myself, but I can’t let my focus slip for even one second if I don't want us to blow up with the yellowish orb that I carry on my right hand. Moreover, I am still tired from my absence of sleep these last three days.

“̸̧̜͓̭̯̤̹͋̽͐̉̊̔S̴̛̥̼͂̆̂͌̈*̴̨̩̖̙̯̭̈͊̊̎͆̈̇̈́͘͝╛̴̲̠̙̼̩̌̌̎̓͆▀̵͚̝̰̺͓̃̍͊̄̽̉͐̊̆n̸̛̼͕̖̱̝̣̻̻̏͒̊́̚͝͠╪̶͉̖͖̿͜¢̷̻̤͕͆r̴̜̈́ ̸̜̝̑͗̓͛̆̒̐̆̈́͂ṛ̵̢̡̧̨͕̱̻̋͊ͅΦ̷̣͙̰͆̄̃̀̋̔͝͠͠φ̵̛̘͌̏̌̆̄͋́́▓̸̧̝̼̻̦̟̬͚͎̃̇͘ͅΓ̷̪͕̪̞̼͌͘͠ͅ ̴͖͎̾̈́n̵̢͉̯̩̗̍͌͑̑͝π̵̟̋̄͆≢̛̤̎!̵̨̙̈̈͒͋̋͋”̶͈̖̠̘̦̹̜̱̬͑̍̆̓͝

“̶̫̲͕̯͙͚̤̝̈̀ͅḌ̵̏̉͘σ̴̰̬̂̿͒̐̚̕͝⌠̵̻̺̞̤̻̣̹̌͑̿͗̒̈̀̉⌠̷̼͙͔͓̝͎̩̟̜̯̽́̾̈̍ ̷̳̎̈́͆̏͊͜┌̴̳̳͈̫͈̳̼̖̜͇͛̀̚͘■̴͉͗̓¢̷̧̢͈͎̰̯̺̎͛́̇̑͗͌ŗ̵͈̙̦̦̯̞̌̓̈́̎̐͛̀͜ ̴̟͚̲̦̣͂͒̉̽̋̃̔͝w̴̧̛͙̦̲̥͉͓̪̱̜̋̈́ღ̶͇͈̼̙̤͆͝°̵͎̜̲͈̟̭̓̐͊͜Å̷̡̧̨̜̺̫̼̜̯̈n̴̨̪̹͓̬͔͎̝̜̑́̄̓͊͑̈́͘͝ͅ¥̶̖̳̭̊͑͘͝!̷͍̈͆̌́̊”̸̛̛̳͖̩̘̣̼̹̅́ͅͅ

“̵̖̮̟̪̮̻̰͕̺͆͂̌͂̈̂͝͝L̸̢̼̪̤͖̞̱̅̉͌̏̐Š̶̛̩̞̘̮̑͌̅̏̌̈͗̈́͛Œ̵̝̝̥̠͎͉́̋̏̆̿̄ͅŽ̸̢̫̮̙̥̰̠̣͈̋̓́͌͜è̴̢̖̽̇̎̔̋͊̓͘ ̵̨̞̥̩̠̺̰͍͇̥̓̌̂͛́̾͠b̴̧̃͒̏̎ø̷̨̠̟̻̯͖͈͖̯͛̀Ý̷̗̖̻̆͋̀͒̇͛̉̿̚¤̶̛͎̗̦͕͑́͐̈́̒͘̕Δ̸̘̜̞̬́̐́̅ ̸͎͈̪͉̔̓̄̊̽͠ͅẘ̴̮̲̱̥̫͊͛͋̃̈́͒̐̌͠}̴̹̳̦̽́́̍̐̋̕̕͝ ̵̧̣̭̦͓̺̎͂¯̶̡̣̗͖̤̰͖̲̺̿̈́̑̇̒̿±̷̧̧̤̰̩̫̙͊̑̎̌͝k̸͎̮͚͙̈́͗̍͑͜ ̸̖͔̯͌T̶͔̞̐̎̄͜Ë̵̡̜̍Ï̵̲͍̰̩̖̋̑̔͠ ̶͍̟̊̿̈́́̇̽͂l̸̟̳̦͓̱̬̃̄̑͝ͅ‡̸̰̉̈́͛¬̵͎̠̭̬̽̎͠å̷̡̢̱͕̦̘̒̀́͆̽͋͋̐́̕ͅ ̷̹͈̮̫̦͓̈̔̕±̵̦̱̗̐̓̈́̑Æ̵̨̯͙̼̲̟͓͚͚̪͐r̷̙͚͈̞̻̪̭̯̬̔̎̂ͅ ̷̢̘͈̼̗̖̖̣͖͌̿̾̃́͘͘h̶̨̰̞̬͈̲̑╙̵̮̫̪͖̼͇́͋ͅ╞̷͉̹̦͇̟̥̹̱͎͒̓̒̈̽p̸͈͒̒̽̿́̔͊̚͝!̵̛̠͉̮̅̐̏̇̂”̸̧̝̗͙͎͂̏́̓͛

Their loud shouts hurt my ears. Their language sounds weird as if they were using something in between guttural sounds and talking with broken vocal cords. It’s disturbing and confusing to say the least.

It feels as if they know their words will fall on deaf ears, but still talk to assure themselves of what they are doing, it's creepy.

I once more show them my weapon, raising the sphere in the air for all of them to see and signaling the one of them still blocking the entrance to move away, to let me go through.

I wait for a while to see their response, but seeing that each second it passes they grab tighter their weapons, I give up.

‘I wasn’t expecting an easy passage anyways.’

*whistle*

Lighting manifests all around us as Bruma calls forth her mana to do its bidding, spreading it in dozens of bolts that shoot all around, scorching the ground when they crash into the dirt.

This time, however, our foes were ready to dodge the second I gave her the signal.

I would love to send her the signal through her link, but I can’t be linked to her while I take care of controlling the orb from blasting us into oblivion.

Once Bruma’s attacks stop raining down on the battlefield, only two guards remain standing. One of them has a hole in his abdomen but somehow survived, probably due to their improved bodies. The other one though, is not as lucky. He had been struck by a lightning bolt in his chest, meaning his chance of survival is highly unlikely. His internal organs should be all charred by the signs of it, yet he hangs to dear life somehow.

I would love to rush inside or get some information from these guys, but I don’t understand a thing of what they say, and I can’t boost my speed or I will lose focus on the orb.

Not long after dispatching of the guards, a bell starts to toll in the distance, warning everyone in the place of my arrival.

‘I would have loved to avoid getting this much attention from the start, but I have no other choice but to play my cards before we get overwhelmed by these guys. I don’t think Bruma would be enough to take care of too many of them, there are just too many for that, and they are not as weak as she makes it seem.

Guards start appearing in the distance by the second, flocking to us like moths to a flame. Just from my current location, I can see more than thirty or so, and the bell has barely started to sound.

With no other choice, I focus on the orb, ready to mold the exterior barrier and scare these guys a bit.

I look at the flow of energy on the sphere. For the last three days, I have been feeding this lump of energy and making it into a monster with the help of Bruma.

It's the biggest amount of energy I have seen to date in one place, I even start sweating the moment I use my will to move the energies inside. Carefully not to trigger a chain of explosions that will send us all to the afterlife, I start compressing the outer qi barrier that surrounds the manna inside.

The yellowish hue of the orb intensifies as I compress it and mold it into a thinner, yet stronger barrier. Then, for the next step of the plan, I push the barrier to bend inward a little, just enough to start forcing the manna inside to move, trying to escape the clutches of the barrier and exerting great pressure on the barrier which I continue to feed with qi from my reserves to keep the balance.

I wait with bated breath as I slowly push and compress the orb bit by bit, stopping only when I feel the pressure of my own creation.

I feel its weight on my body, the barrier is not enough to erase the presence it exudes with each try to escape its prison. Like a beating heart, the manna clashes against the barrier in waves, scraping against the only wall that blocks its path.

Once I feel like it's enough, I use my left arm to wipe my sweat as I look again at the oncoming threats.

All around, there are dozens, no … hundreds of the vampire’s soldiers surrounding us.

But I can see it.

The fear in their eyes.

Every single one of them stays unmoving, scared that if they are the first to move I will explode this thing. Even my small companion trembles in fear as she senses the enormous pressure coming from this thing in my hand.

I would love to reassure her that everything would be alright, but I would be lying, and I need every bit of energy I can get to maintain the clash of energies as a draw, if one of them were to win over the other...

The second I lost hold of the orb, not only the two of us, but most likely the whole castle, and even a couple more blocks will cease to exist.

So I walk, and I start making my way to the back of the castle, the only place where the construction seems to have some rooms finished. Everywhere else is pretty much barren, so I don't need to think too hard about it.

The crowd of the vampire’s lackeys part ways as I move, not daring to get closer.

By the time I finally arrive at the entrance of the biggest room that’s been built, I notice that the door is already open.

I walk up the stairs in the entrance and make my way inside the room, a HUGE one. It has a similar layout to what one would think it would look like to step into a throne room of the medieval era. At least one similar to the ones portrayed in the films inspired by that era.

I look up, at the far end of the vast chamber, where a majestic throne rises on top of some more stairs. Clearly intentional to keep the ruler of the place on a higher height than any other in the chamber.

There, seated on the throne, a man in his forties keeps a straight face as he looks at me. To his right, is the vampire kid I saw before, and another one, a female one that seems a bit older.

To his left, a woman who seems to be the wife of the man, keeps her composure as her too, eyes my floating orb with caution.

‘Nice, the whole family is here!’