Godfather's System

206. Augmentation - 46

The realization that Calamity's deadline moving forward was an unwelcome realization, as much as the undead army that was attacking the new city. Still, not wanting to be distracted under a live-fire situation. I shook my head and ignored both facts as I focused on my approach.

As for the undead, I trusted Takis and Mahruss to handle the mess by using our army. The princess and her ducal army was there as well, so it should be achievable particularly with the other team delaying the monster wave, ruining the deadly combined pincer attack of the corrupted beasts and the undead.

Instead, I approached the castle slowly, wondering whether I should attack the cultists first or the beasts. Unfortunately, it was not an easy question. On one hand, cultists were responsible for a veritable army of corrupted beasts, which were threatening the city under construction. It would be a boon if that was the limit of their forces, but I doubted it. It was what they were able to send out while being interrupted by the attack of the King Beast, their elites tied down with the task of defending the castle.

The beasts would have been far more dangerous with ranged elite assistance.

However, helping the King Beast had its risks as well. The King Beast in the sea had chased me for half a day, and all that time, it gave me a sense of slumber. This snake that was constantly bashing itself against the corrupted walls of the castle didn't feel like it wanted to go back to sleep.

The Wall might have been leveraged to stop the beast but it would mean surrendering the city, which would waste all our previous preparations. Worse, it would leave the city defenseless if Somaton decided to return.

Not exactly a situation that was easy to deal with.

"No, it's for the best to watch for now," I muttered to myself as I pulled back, watching the situation. That way, I could help the weaker party to keep it balanced until the victorious party ended with a pyrrhic one.

I didn't want to lose such an incredible opportunity.

As I observed the battle, I kept communicating with Zolast and Takis, making sure everything was progressing well in their situation. They both confirmed that their situation was dangerous but within their limits of control. Still, Zolast was steadily pulling back, while Takis was trying to defend against the undead spilling from the tunnels surrounding the city.

Either of them could collapse easily. Sitting on my ass, not doing anything while they fought for their lives was not something I enjoyed, but I had to stay and watch. The battle in front of me might have been at a stalemate, but once one side started to show signs of defeat, it would collapse rapidly, meaning I couldn't go and support them.

So, I waited, watching the battle. The more I watched the performance of the King Beast snake, the more glad I was trying not to tangle with it. It was not something I could deal with alone, possibly even if I reached level two hundred.

Well, unless I discovered other secrets. There had to be a reason why the idea of a Domain startled the Marquis that much back then. But, dreams of another multiplier had to wait. Three hours passed while I stayed in place, watching the stalemate continue.

Though, one beneficial thing was to realize undead also granted Authority when destroyed, which meant it was accumulating faster than I had expected.

[Authority: 891,333]

I watched the battle, the breeze picking up to make me shiver which was supposed to be impossible. My increased Vitality meant the common cold shouldn't affect me, yet it did.

The reason, I saw soon after. A sudden explosion of red covering one side of the fortress, far larger than any other summoning circle I had ever seen.

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And a monster stepped out.

The monster I could best describe as a nightmarish version of a bear, one that was as tall as a two-story house, with a jaw that was large enough to bite down on an elephant completely. The crackling red energy around it was enough to be devastating.

Worse, the red portal stayed open, pouring destruction mana out. I could see that the world itself was changing around the portal, gaining a threatening quality. It was hard to pin what that change was, but the world around it felt somewhat harsher, more unforgiving.

I pulled back, wondering why they cultists hadn't used such a method if it was available for them. The corrupted monster looked strong enough to deal with the King Beast. The snake seemed to agree, as it retreated along with its beast army.

Not good, I realized as I prepared to give a warning to Zolast to retreat behind the wall, hoping that the advanced defensive works would allow us to deal with such a beast. At the same time, I was cursing these developments.

Things were supposed to be calmer once we took over the city. Why was everything getting harder and harder to deal with instead?

I hated playing a game without knowing the rules.

However, I delayed informing Zolast once I saw the snake pull back a mile before stopping, and letting out a challenging hiss. The reason became clear soon after. The corrupted bear monster moved forward, but a line maintained contact between him and the portal.

The bear couldn't get more than half a mile away from the portal.

It created a standoff. The bear stayed between the snake and the fortress, defending the fortress though its maddened cries suggested it was merely a side effect rather than a desired effect. The bear was not in control.

As I watched the restriction the bear operated under, I understood why the cultists hadn't summoned it before. The process required a lot of time to, and while the summoned creature was strong, the fact that it was linked to the open portal was too much of a weakness.

Destroying the portal would either banish it, or weaken it significantly to make the summoning worthless. That was the only logical reason why the cultists hadn't used it before. Things might have been different if the world had more destruction mana, but that was a question that didn't need to be answered.

I was more interested in three flying carts that departed the fortress once the snake stopped attacking. Two of them had been flying toward Zolast, and one of them was flying toward the city.

Reinforcements, no doubt trying to reverse the situation. I mixed with the beast wave once more, following them until they were five miles away from the fortress. Concealment might not work against the beasts, but it worked against the cultists, particularly when I was just another dark figure mixed with beasts of various sizes and shapes.

The safest way to deal with them was to follow them until they arrived near Zolast, and ambush them while they were disembarking. Unfortunately, that would bring me too far away from the castle. And, I didn't want to leave dealing with them to Zolast. They had been fighting nonstop for hours already, meaning they would be tired.

Tired people made mistakes.

Instead, I waited until the carts were flying over a small hill before I attacked without warning. I raised my hands, and mana bolts rained toward the carts, their fragility once again costing them.

[-245 Mana]

I probably could have achieved the same effect with less mana, but trying to be frugal in the battlefield wasn't a smart strategy. Instead, I watched the reaction of the elites. Fourteen cultists, though one cart only had four, and the other ten. Five of them floated while the other nine fell down.

I jumped up, using mana to fly. Not an ideal technique, as it ruined any chance to continue hiding, but I wanted to reach the floating mages before they could reach me themselves. Mages were the ones with dangerous tricks.

Two of them reacted faster than others, and responded with bursts of destruction mana. I created a shield with many layers, as strong as I could manage, my familiarity with Destruction mana giving me the edge I needed.

[-392 Mana]

Before they could react to my presence, I was already among their mages, darting between them with ease. They were strong, that much, I had no doubt about. Unfortunately for them, the loss of the flying cart left them without the initiative. As a consequence, I was able to deal with them with a sequence that ran the exact opposite of their strength.

As a result, what was supposed to be a grueling battle ended in seconds.

"It's not as fun when you're the one being ambushed, is it?" I said grimly even as I dealt with them. I was about to make a move toward the third cart at the horizon, when a flare of mana from the fortress caught my attention, followed by a furious cry from the King Beast snake. Then, it charged against the corrupted bear.

I didn't know what they did, but whatever it was, it was more important than a few cultists.

I went back to the castle.

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