Leveling up the World

Chapter 804: One Step Behind

Armies popped up like daisies. It wasnt only the few thousand whose realm Dallion had destroyed, but many, many more. In one instant, the entire vortex area transformed into a gathering of armies. Each group was the size of an imperial legion, led by a small cadre of nobles and mages. All that were missing were a few more flags and banners, and this would look like a real medieval battle. Unlike the fashion in which such things were portrayed in most games and movies back on Earth, there was nothing shiny or romantic about it.

Dallion cast a quick spell, sending a beam of light straight above. The enemy forces nearest to them took defensive positions, covering as much of themselves as they could with their shields.

Wrong direction, Dallion said, then split into a hundred instances.

Seconds later, aether projectiles and fireballs rained from the sky.

I bet Katka had been waiting for this, Adzorg said. Youve made her week, thats for sure.

Waves of terrors swept through the battlefield, causing Dallion to step back. As a noble and commander, he knew that the attack was necessaryif his side didnt defeat the Azures, the Azures would show no mercy. As an empath, though, he felt the pain like thousands of ants crawling into his heart. Vihrogon had assured him that while a person never got fully used to the sensation, they gradually matured enough to accept and endure it.

Soldiers died by the hundreds. The more experienced ones quickly resorted to combat splitting, but even they had a tough time due to their overall density. By the looks of it, they had relied so much on their cunning plan that they never expected there to be any serious fight. If Dallion hadnt tipped their hand, they wouldnt have lost control of the battlefield and would have been able to choose where to appear and how.

Without wasting no time, Dallion looked about with all of his instances, searching for the battle mage. It didnt take long for him to find the logic by which the troops were arranged. The mages and nobles had appeared at the spots where the vortexes were expected to emerge. All less significant awakened were further away, filling in the surrounding space.

Wheres the strongest vortex expected? Dallion wondered.

Casting a quick flight spell, he rose into the air. The magic bombardment had largely diminished, as thousands of crimson furies descended from the skies on the armies below. By all accounts it looked like it would be a one-sided massacre, when suddenly it happeneda beam of flame shot up, causing a cloud fort to burst like a ball of water thrown on a red-hot sheet of metal.

Dallion quickly turned to find the source of the spell. As he did, two more spells of similar intensity followed, destroying another cloud fort and severely singing three more.

There you are, Dallion gripped his weapons tightly. Water covered the harpsisword, while magic threads filled the aura sword, rendering it combat ready.

Do you plan on using the Moonstones? Adzorg asked from Dallions domain?

Not if I can help it! Dallion darted forward.

Suddenly a tower vortex shut up from the ground. Like a destructive way of light, it burned through Azure and imperial troops as it aimed for the sky. A momentary pause followed. Everyone braces, waiting to see whether that was a single event or the wave had really begun. When a second vortex emerged, swallowing its fill, the intensity of the fight exploded. Millions of instances moved about as a veil of miasma throughout the battlefield, making it next to impossible to follow exactly what was going on. Dallion, however, remained fixed on his target. Vortexes rose from the ground all around him, yet he kept on going. All that mattered was for him to end up in the same place as his enemy.

Such a sight, Adzorg sighed. I bet all the mages in the sky are cursing not being able to take advantage of the situation. Most of them would have ended up consumed, of course, but the presence of so many vortexes is beyond dreams. And to think that all of this was caused by our fight.

You say it as if its a good thing. Dallion gritted his teeth, boosting his speed further with a wave of his aura sword.

It all depends on the outcome, dear boy. If you end up victorious, it would have been a good thing. How else would you have gathered such a large part of the Azures forces in one spot? And far from any imperial settlements, I might add.

The old mages point was lost in the heat of battle. Just as one could argue that no settlements would be harmed, it was just as reasonable to assume that there would be a lot less direct clashes if a city wall were present.

Argus! Dallion shouted a few hundred feet from his target.

The only thing that could save the former Academy instructor was the vortex enveloping him before Dallion could reach it.

A massive circle of purple emerged on the ground. Thanks to his traits, Dallion could see it crawling up for fragments of the second.

No!

Even with all his spell boost, at his current speed, he wouldnt manage to get into the vortex on time. It seemed that the battle mage had managed to succeed or had he? Thinking back, Dallion remembered that Adzorg had used a rather particular spell to enter the double vortex back in the dwarf capital.

Show me how to cast that! Dallion ordered in his realm.

Are you sure, dear boy? Its a bit more complicated than most of your usual spells, even those that Katka taught you.

Just do it! Dallion entered his personal realm.

If thats what you want, the echo sighed.

Within Dallions realm, spell patterns were drawn, showing him how to create a spell that had taken decades to be perfected. Copying it was by no means easyeven a magic trait of eighty barely made it possible for him to follow, but even days in an awakened realm were not noticed in the real world.

The return to the battlefield was brief and brutal. Unlike before, he couldnt afford to spend seconds getting accustomed. The first thing he did was start casting the vortex breach spell. To his surprise, a second later, it turned out there was no need.

Acting even faster than Dallion himself, Argus Tisaku cast a teleportation spell, vanishing from his current position and reappearing fifty feet away just outside the pillar of purple light.

What the heck? Dallion waved his aura sword, canceling the breach spell mid-way.

Surprised? The other asked, no emotion visible on his face. Youre one step behind, novice. Just as before.

Im not a novice anymore. Dallion frowned.

Just because youve bumped up your magic trait? The other laughed. Of because youve reached level eighty? Thats the thing about you otherworlders. You think that because your thinking is unorthodox that youre superior to everyone else.

You should know. Youre following the advice of one, Dallion said, using his magic skills to fill the words with despair. Using nobles to transport your troops isnt something you could have thought of.

Its been present in historical records for millennia. True, using it to travel through the wilderness is a new touch, but

Another ray of flame erupted from the ground, destroying a cloud fort. The mage glanced at it casually, then back at Dallion.

Katka must have told you that Im not alone. Theres three of us here, which is more than enough to deal with your army of incompetence.

Three cannot win a war.

Oh, but they can. Confidence emanated from the mage. Three are more than enough to set things in motion. Take the fall of the Academy. How many did that take? Now, the bloated club of incompetents will never recover.

Dallion waved his sword, casting twenty projectile spells. Meanwhile, he also performed a point strike right at the mage. A thin line of water shot out from the haprsisword along with the destructive force. However, instead of striking Nisakus body, all attacks slid around it, continuing into the vortex where they were instantly consumed.

Thats a new one, Adzorg said. A protective spell in the threads of his clothes. Who knew that a battle mage could come up with something original?

Its not original, Harp corrected. Its nymph magic.

I believe you still have something that belongs to me, the battle mage continued, slowly floating towards Dallion. I sense that you have it. No, I sense that you have more than one.

Instinctively, Dallion waved his sword to cast a dozen protective barriers in front of him.

Not that it matters. The vortexes have already provided me with everything I need. Still, some Moonstones would be a welcome bonus. You dont plan on wasting them on combat again, I hope?

Dallion said nothing.

I guess you would.

Why are you so confident? Dallion asked. Back at the Academy, you were always right to the point.

I thought the answer was obvious. After all, youre doing the same.

The last comment made Dallion split into a new set of hundred instances and look around. The overall fight was going as he expected it to be. Both sides had suffered lossesall the more because of the many vortexes that had drilled the battlefieldbut the empire was winning. No one could say that it was even close. And yet all emotions coming from Nisaku were as if he was the one who had won.

Youre trying to use your music skills on me, while Im providing a distraction while others do what they were supposed to all along.

You dont have enough mages to take advantage of the vortexes.

And thats why I said youre still a step behind. The plan never was for my mages to absorb the vortexes. They only needed to siphon enough power for something completely different.

A spot on the ground exploded. With a chilling cry, a creature emerged. As large as an adult wyvern, it rose up into the air, ignoring mages and crimson furies as if they were flies. Seeing it reminded Dallion of the hatchling nests that had emerged in the empire not too long ago. With more pressing issues at hand, no one had given the matter much thought. Hunters had been hired to eliminate the danger, but no real investigation had been conducted regarding the reason.

More creatures emerged, killing friend and foe as they made their way through the ground. Each of them was as big as the first, the magic thread within them glowing with the light of the vortexes.

Damn it! Dallion thought.

Why didnt he think of this earlier? Domain rulers could do more than transport armies, they could transport creatures as well; or, in this case, eggs. The nest filled ruins were nothing but farmsthe means to acquire an instant army. All that was necessary to have it appear was magic, which the vortexes had in abundance.

The shardflies were only a trial run, the battle mage said. This is how the Azure federation wins the skies.

You still havent won yet. Dallion spun his aura sword around. Magic lines and symbols formed around him, composing an intricate sphere-spell. Using his reaction speed to its fullest, hundreds of elements were created in less than a second. Once they were, the sphere collapsed, releasing a beam of fire towards a group of wyverns.

Pasing through them like a hot needle through butter, the flame killed off several of the creatures, continuing on until it hit the ground, creating a large crater of glass.

I see Katkas style, Tisaku said, not seeming in the least bit impressed. She always lacked power. One of the many reasons she was never accepted as one of us.

Im not Katka. Dallion darted right at the mage.