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The elemental energies in the surroundings pulsed along with her heartbeat. Her own power was seeping into the earth, drawing in more and more mana. Her Aura was already on the border of pushing against the ninth rank, while her mana lagged behind a bit. She’d overextended herself a bit by utilizing her Domain, and she was now paying the price. Had she not done it, she could already be ranking up. She still might, as she didn’t need to rank up the two together. It simply produced the best results. Sometimes perfect was the enemy of good enough, as some of her friends and associates were so fond of telling her.
After her trick using the storm to attack the enemy, they hadn’t seen any sign of hostile ships. It was impossible to say if the enemy had pulled back entirely, or if they were simply biding their time at a safer distance. The net of detection they had set up didn’t extend far enough to be sure. Karna refused to believe they had given up so easily though. And she had an inkling of what the enemy had in mind. As the one who created the warp storm, she also knew best how to get around it, and the number of methods was limited.
The easiest method would be to use some sort of artifact from the Divine Planes that could help open the way. Those kinds of artifacts were rare even in the Divine Planes though and finding one here would be unlikely. The second method was to borrow power from the gods. Divine spells were bullshit and could accomplish basically anything if enough power was involved. In this case, the amount of power required to get an entire fleet through would require a True God to personally intervene, which was also somewhat unlikely, as that would be an act of hostility against Ysendra. That seemed unlikely. That didn’t mean divine power couldn’t be involved in a smaller capacity.
Getting a single ship through, packed filled with people at ranks nine and eight? That was doable. In fact, there were dozens of ways to accomplish that. That was what Karna expected to happen, eventually. The enemy had to wise-up sooner or later. Once they brought in their strongest people, Karna and her allies would have no choice but to meet them in battle in the skies above the world, leaving most of their defenses behind, because otherwise the enemy could just work on breaching the storm in peace, from the inside. Or at least, she hoped the enemy would think that. It would make things so much simpler. And if the enemy did go that route, things would be easier if she was also rank nine, even if only with her Aura. If they stalled long enough, she would be able to rank up her magic as well. She doubted they’d get the time though.
"We're detecting movement at the very edge of our detection range," Gem reported, as if reading her thoughts. She had joined forces with Zuellni, and with the combined powers of the two spirits, they had extended the magical and technological detection capabilities of her tower to the extreme. The two spirits might be occasional rivals and frenemies, but no one could argue with the results they produced.
“What kind of movement?” She asked.
“I believe the fleet is moving into position; however, the ships are all…disappearing somehow. They’re too far out to tell how though.” Gem sounded unsure. The spirit disliked being unsure.
“I believe I’m running out of time. Time to take the plunge.” Karna decided. She had some ideas about what might be happening.
Suddenly the elemental energies of earth started swarming around her, coalescing towards her. She had settled on the Awakening she was aiming for. She had several earth-aligned magical bloodlines in mind, but she finally settled on one. She had a very specific requirement, and two beings fulfilled them the best. She had entertained the idea of using the Gorgon, more often known as a Medusa, as the bloodline, but there was another bloodline that fulfilled her conditions even better and combined perfectly with her other bloodlines.
The biggest problem of having multiple powerful bloodlines was combining them effectively, especially in a single form. If some of those bloodlines resembled each other physically, then the process would be made much easier. She didn't, strictly speaking, need to take on the shape of the Vanagandr, for example, to use the forms powers, but taking even some of the features would make those powers more effective. And if some of the forms shared a similar shape? Well, that just made things simpler. She already had serpentine features from her Scylla and Kun-Peng forms, especially since the latter looked a lot like a Coatl, and her next Awakening would be as a dragon.
Her body was surrounded by an enormous egg for a brief time before the elemental energies in the surroundings were sucked into the egg, and a large serpentine creature burst out. A pair of golden eyes flashed with light that would bring death to anyone they gazed upon. The scales of this serpent were of the same white living metal as her skin as a Titan, and a mane of hair that seemed to burn with icy-blue flames ran down its back. Even without the peculiar metal, the scales of a Basilisk were famed for their anti-magic properties, and in the form of a world serpent or Jormungandr, the most evolved form of a Basilisk, those qualities had been taken to the extreme.
A deeply satisfied rumble came from her body as she swam through the earth as easily as she would in water, she thought about the implications of picking another beast of the apocalypse as her Awakening. She'd always enjoyed playing the part, but there would likely be some political implications in the future, especially among the magical beasts of the Divine Planes. The beasts of the apocalypse were called that for a reason. They were obscenely powerful, but they were also just as feared. And for a good reason. It was likely just by making this choice she had earned some new enemies. She didn’t make the choice randomly though.
The obvious power implications aside, there had been a very good reason to pick this bloodline. Her most important requirement had been the eyes of the basilisk. The same reason that had made the gorgon a viable choice as well. She had plenty of techniques, magical or otherwise, that she could use with her eyes. Sight-based powers had always been well regarded, and having a bloodline that enhanced those abilities made them a hundred times more effective. And what better bloodline for that than the mighty basilisk, taken to the natural extreme in the form of a Jormungandr?
Just as she burst out from under the ground, spreading the colorful wings of her Kun-Peng form to give herself speed, Gem’s agitated voice interrupted her luxuriating. “Master! They’ve managed to get through the storm, and not just with a single ship! They have an Astral Dragon leading the fleet through a portal.”
"Ah. I have to admit, that was not what I was expecting." Karna had to give the enemy credit. Their method was an ingenious one. Only really worked for a reincarnator though. Astral Dragons were not native to this universe, and neither was the usage of the Astral Plane in general. The Astral Plane was a grand sea of magic that connected all the other planes and even universes together, and it was also the only way to reach the original place where the Crossroads had been, aside from specifically crafted doorways. That spot had been a place in the Astral Plane where countless universes connected.
Getting to the Astral Plane wasn’t easy, and it was especially difficult to bring others. It took one of those serpentine dragons that called the plane home or a very skilled and powerful immortal in fact. The thing about the Astral Plane was that it didn't quite work like other planes. You didn't really move through the plane in a normal way, as your speed was not determined by your body, but by your intelligence and understanding of the plane. You could also easily get lost because moving the location of an exit portal from the plane a couple of centimeters could result in dumping you into a completely different world or plane. Distances didn't work logically. A person could spend eons lost in the faintly glowing sea of power and never find their destination, as there were no convenient road signs. That's why it required someone familiar with the plane to navigate. On the positive side, you didn't really go hungry or older while in the Astral Plane, but your magical items might behave in weird ways.
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“How many enemies did they bring through, and how big is the dragon?” She questioned, while at the same time sending magical warnings to her allies. Around the world, defensive systems were activating, and defenders were mustering.
“They only managed to bring a couple of hundred ships, and the dragon is a small one. Definitely not an immortal. I can sense it using Aura power to maintain the form. Likely a reincarnator with the specific bloodline.” Gem reported.
“Right. Have Zuellni retreat back to me. The others are on their way as well.” She turned her new form to ascend towards the skies. Her current body was impossible to miss. As a Jormungandr with the bloodlines of a Titan and a Kun-Peng, she was enormous even without counting her wingspan, and the wings of the Kun-Peng only added to her size. The timing of this assault was a little inconvenient, as she was stuck with the form for a time, as her Awakening had just happened. At least she wasn’t stuck in the form of a baby world serpent.
"You really don't do things halfway, do you Wrath?" Valor questioned as her allies all came up to meet the enemy above the world. Valor himself would likely go back to lead their armies if this turned into a ground battle, but for now, he was here as well. “You’re literally the size of a duchy! And not even a small one.”
“That’s not a nice thing to say to a lady.” Hope teased. Valor’s measurement unit also aroused some mirth from the others.
“Hah! Wait till you see her become a dragon! I bet that form will be even bigger.” Envy added her two cents, and to Karna’s slight surprise, the trio, along with the vampire reincarnator Tremere, decided to land to stand on her head. She wasn’t a mount! Even though it made sense since she was by far the fastest of the group, combining the bloodlines of a Phoenix and a Kun-Peng.
“The enemies are being directed by an Astral Dragon. That might be a problem. Few beings have a bloodline as powerful as that.” Tremere commented.
“Eh, we have a serpent of our own. And if I know Wrath, and I do, our serpent is going to be taking the win.” Envy waved the issue away. Karna couldn’t actually see her waving, as the Sin was standing on her head, but she assumed.
“Tsumi didn’t come with you?” She decided to change the topic.
“She’ll join us shortly. She stuck around to make sure the Academy’s defenses were fully operational. Even if the students were sent back, the facilities still need to be protected.” Hope reported as they came to a stop at a spot they had determined beforehand. The place wasn’t chosen at random, as it was the focal point of their defenses. The enemy ships would either have to go through them, or around them, and they had some surprises for any ships that chose the latter. Zuellni had already brought her tower to the spot as well.
The tower spirit popped out to give a report. “The enemy has noticed us and is advancing. Preliminary scans show 237 airships of various types, most packed full of troops ranging from rank five to seven. I also detect three other towers. At least someone is smart enough among the enemy to notice the superiority of towers. The whole group is led by a puny dragon of no significance. The first enemy ships will be running into our first line of gifts soon enough.”
They hadn't been idle for these months, which the front ships among the enemy forces noticed, as suddenly they seemed to unravel somehow. Karna and Hope had planted something akin to mines of spatial force on the most likely attack vectors. These mines were just spatial forces twisted and forced into a small space, and as soon as the enemies ran into them, the compressed and twisted space righted itself, usually tearing a hole into whatever occupied the space at the time. The damage wasn't exactly crippling unless they managed to hit something vital, but such 'mines' were easy to make, allowing for better coverage. A dozen of the enemy ships were already listing from damage, while one had the misfortune of hitting two mines at the same time, getting torn apart in the process. The people inside the ships likely had enough power to survive, but injuries and chaos could not be avoided.
The Astral Dragon moved to the front of the formation and used its breath to detonate the traps directly in front of the formation, while mages on board started sending waves of spatial power to do the same. "Open fire," Karna commanded.
Suddenly the turrets dotting her tower’s hull opened fire, sending both magical and mechanical destruction at the enemy. While most of the fire was deflected by magical barriers, the benefit of the turrets was their relatively high rate of fire, and the barriers wouldn’t last forever. The turrets were also mainly just buying time for the main gun to fire. A dozen focusing lenses lined up in groups of three, each group sending out a stream known as a super gravity cannon. Those were much more effective. The enemy responded by sending the three towers they had brought along to intercept Zuellni.
At the same time, the Astral Dragon rushed towards Karna’s own enormous serpentine form with a small group of beings at the ninth rank as support, clearly aiming for their little group. “We’re outnumbered.” Valor commented.
“Should make this more interesting at least.” Envy boasted. Even if the enemy had powerful reincarnators among their number, she was quite confident in her chances. There were only a handful of reincarnators she was wary of, and the biggest one of them all was under her feet right this very moment. The rest of the enemy ships continued pressing towards the world below. Apparently, the commanders of the fleet had decided to take the brutal option and every spirit summoner was also calling out their spirit to help clear the path, with their bodies if necessary.
Zuellni squared off against the three other towers, supported by Gem. Even she wasn't cocky enough to take on three other tower spirits alone, even if she was confident of achieving ultimate victory. She didn't want to damage the tower after all. The four towers all stopped a short distance from each other, and all five of the spirits materialized for what could be called posturing and a standoff. Zuellni was in her usual form, while Gem had unexpectedly taken Karna's form for now. The other three spirits had taken a more animalistic appearance.
The spirit of a traditional-looking wizard's tower looked like a small bird with blue and gold feathers. That spirit blanched as soon as it spotted Zuellni for some reason. The second tower looked like a temple dedicated to the gods with marble columns and walls. The spirit of the tower took the form of a ram with a golden fleece, and it could easily be detected that this tower was focused on channeling power from the gods. The third and last tower was the largest and looked like a small city carried by spider-like legs, and protected by a crystalline dome. The spirit looked like an Arachne with black chitin and a blood-red hair contrasting against her grey-ish white skin.
“Z-Zuellni?! O-oh, this isn’t good.” The bird-like spirit seemed to be panicking.
“You know this little bitch?” The Arachne demanded with an angry voice.
"S-she's the tower s-spirit of Wrath." The bird revealed and caused Zuellni to preen a bit.
“Our mission remains the same. Our masters will deal with her master.” The ram said with a solemn voice.
"I'm not sure if I should feel insulted for being ignored," Gem muttered.
Nearby, the masters were also squaring off, picking their opponents, though in this case there was less talking. Envy sent a huge arrow of Qi at the strongest-looking man with brown skin and a pair of curling horns on his head. The man swatted the arrow aside and the two clashed heatedly soon after. Valor didn't launch a pre-emptive attack, but somehow it seemed obvious that the most knightly-looking woman in the group of enemies became his opponent. Hope, once again covered in heavy illusions was already exchanging spells with the most obvious mage in the enemy group. Tremere drew the short straw, but for an obvious reason as two elder vampires became his enemies.
The Astral Dragon stared at Karna with an imperious look, trying to exert dominance over her just with his bloodline. Dragons were theoretically the peak of evolution for serpent and lizard-type magical beasts, and Astral Dragons were among the most powerful bloodlines among the dragonkind, so his attempt wasn't made just out of vanity. Against most serpents, it would've reduced her power significantly. The attempt was made a little comical by the fact that the dragon was so much smaller than her own gigantic form. “It seems our associates were rather eager for battle. How very uncivilized.”
"Well, the quicker we deal with you lot, the quicker we can get back to destroying your fleet," Karna stated confidently, though she had a feeling there were more enemies that she was simply not able to detect for some reason.
“Quaint. Surely even a mongrel like you should feel the difference between our bloodlines. A simple worm, no matter how powerful, raising its head in a futile attempt to bite at the moon. Size isn’t everything little wormling.” The dragon didn’t seem impressed by the size difference.
“Ah, the pride of dragons. So very reliable. And you’ve ignored something rather important. For world serpents, a moon is just a snack.” Suddenly the surroundings were heavy with her thick and powerful Aura, before it was channeled to her eyes as she channeled the fearsome ability of the Basilisks to bring death to those that met its gaze.
A glowing glyph appeared on the Astral Dragon's head and the majestic Aura of a dragon protected it from its effects, for the most part. "Was that it?" The dragon asked in a mocking tone, although it had become wary after almost being gravely affected by the attack.
"It's cute that you think the attack was directed at you. I would've been so disappointed if you'd died that easily. Your friends, however..:" Karna bared her new teeth as the bodies of several assassins suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere. At the same time, many of the ships that had been getting close were tilting as their crews had been within range to be affected. She had not wasted her power in trying to attack the enemies her group was already engaged with, but anything else in the area had been fair game. And it was rather difficult to avoid her gaze with her current size. "Now, we can begin properly."