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Kernstalion - chapter 61: Howling defence
🕑 Added 2022-03-09 20:56:28 +0000 UTC"How do you suppose we stop those things?" I shouted as I ran after Bastian.
I'd asked him before and gotten no response.
"I don't know," he finally shouted back, looking at me across his shoulder.
"I was hoping you knew some way?" he asked, a slight hope in his eyes.
"Only if I have enough time to grow this tree big enough and make a statue," I shouted.
My reply seemed to surprise Bastian, and he slowed down and gaped at me. "How much time?"
I tried to imagine making a body big enough so Casiron could stop those moles, and my shoulders sank. With how fast the tree had grown before, I might be able to grow a big one within a minute, if my Karma was sufficient, but then crafting it?
"Weeks?"
Bastian just stared at me.
"Unless you know how to chop down and carve a hundred-foot tree into a statue within minutes," I snapped back.
Bastian kept staring at me, but slowly his eyes widened, and he stepped forward. "A hundred feet?" he muttered. "Can you grow that thing anywhere?"
For a moment, I gazed at him, confused. Then my mind caught up, and I realized what he was implying. I could block the holes with the tree! Better, if those moles dug down, that meant there weren't just stones there, but also dirt to grow a tree.
"Yes, but who will keep the army away until I get ready," I said as I thought of the massive gathering of Nailhounds and other troops beyond the wall.
Bastians face hardened. "Leave that to me," he said. "You just focus on the moment those moles leave. We won't have a lot of time."
I nodded and followed him as he ran forward again. Suddenly, another problem occurred to me. What if I ran out of Karma?
"You need to spread my title around," I shouted as we ran towards the loud explosions.
Karma looked at me with a confused look.
"I need the karma to grow the trees, remember?"
He grimaced, then nodded. "I'll take care of it," he said, making me worry if he could even get all of that done.
We ran into the main street as streams of frightened and panicking people ran past us, probably seeking safety deeper in the city. To the right, I got a clear sight of a square that must have looked similar to the one I'd entered the night before. Now it was ravished, with carts, cloth, and stone debris everywhere. Guards stood in a semi-circle around its edge; shields raised to block stone and debris as it rained down on them.
The wall ahead of them was obliterated, and the two demonic moles were busy breaking it apart like it was made of lego. Their limbs seemed partially clamped to their torsos by the narrow spot they had been thrown into, and they looked to be in a panic to get free.
The left one suddenly burst out, a thunderous barrage of wall parts tossed away as it raised its claws. The wall crumbled away from it until an almost thirty-foot-wide gap appeared. It shook like a dog, then bent down and began digging into the ground. The one beside it was still stuck, flailing around.
This close, I really got a chance to appreciate how large they were. Their front limbs were long and powerful, with thick cords of muscles running across the shoulders that were partially covered in a thick green carapace. Their faces were eyeless, but the long thin tendrils below their nose and around their maw were visible, slithering around and touching things. They reminded me of an octopus's limbs as it scanned around to find a way to escape.
As we closed upon the circle of guards, a few of them looked at us, wide-eyed and pale-faced. As soon as they saw Bastian, a look of relief flooded their faces.
"Bastian," one of them shouted. "Can you stop them?"
I ignored them as Bastian stepped forward and inspected the walls. It would have been useless even if he could. The holes were too big for normal means to plug. I still had good hopes, but that still left the problem that there would be two holes and only one of me.
"I knew I'd find you here," a soft, calm voice said from behind me, somehow managing to find a lull in the almost constant sounds of destruction.
I turned around, happy to see Libidi. Her pitch-black face and hair were immaculately done, showing she had found time to freshen up, and her armor seemed clean. The two daggers I'd crafted for her rested firmly in her hands as she gazed at me with her two cold blue eyes.
"Glad you could make it," I shouted as I turned back to the wall.
The first of the moles, Tonkarou, I reminded myself, was headfirst into the ground. Some space appeared around its massive body now as it dug, showing the line of soldiers on the other side.
"We need to flee," Libidi said as she stepped close to me.
"No," I said. "Not yet. First, we are going to try and plug those holes."
Libidi gazed at me coldly, almost as if I was insane. Which, I guessed, was a fair assumption.
"I'm going to grow a tree in that hole and plug it," I said, pointing at the left one. "Bastian seems to have some idea on how to keep the army out of my hair, but it might be best if you stick close and guard me."
Libidi nodded. As she did, I suddenly got a ping and, a moment later, another. Within seconds my status info was going ballistic. I had an idea what was going on, but Bastian was pointing at me, shouting loudly. The guards had all turned to me, and I saw looks of awe. A moment later, a dozen of them dropped their gear and began tearing off their armor. Their expressions were part relief and part worry. When the first one got out of his armor, he sprinted away into the city. By then, the pings had stopped, and I guessed that meant all of those guards had likely spoken my title.
Bastian ran towards me, nodding to Libidi.
"They will spread your title," he said. "Get ready to plug the first hole. We won't be able to stop them for long."
I looked at him, then at the guards that hadn't moved.
"We?" I asked.
Bastian grimaced as he turned towards the city. A group of figures was running towards us. As soon as they came close enough, I recognized them. I'd not seen their gray, stone-like armor in a while. More were coming from other directions.
"What about the city's defenders?" I snapped as I turned around and looked at the guards.
"Don't even bother," Bastian said sadly. "These are just some city guards, and they would be cannon fodder out there. Most of the true fighters are at the south and west gates."
I frowned, wondering why they hadn't spread them more evenly. Then I looked at the relatively small number of Stonites and felt a pang.
"If you go out there with so few, it'll be a slaughter," I hissed as I turned to Bastian.
With how weak the other Stonite Primes would be, they wouldn't stand a chance. The regular soldiers would be even more hard-pressed against such overwhelming odds. Slaughter didn't even cover it. No. This would be suicide!
"If we fall, we go to The Stone's rea-" Bastian began almost automatically before stopping midword.
A flicker of realization came to his eyes, and his shoulders lowered a little. Then he grunted, squared his shoulders, and stared at me with an unwavering stare. "Work as fast as you can," he said.
I had no time to even respond as the first of the stonites arrived. It wouldn't help if I questioned things now, as they would need all the morals they could muster. The grey armored soldiers simply stood before us without speaking, no signs of being out of breath. Within seconds more appeared, and one was carrying another set of armor that he handed to Bastian.
"Brew," Libidi said, and it took me a second to realize she was looking at the gate. I turned to see the left Tonkarou was almost gone; only its massive hind legs were flailing above ground. Worse, the other one had also started digging.
"We need to move," I shouted as I turned to Bastian. He was hoisting the massive breastplate over his head, two soldiers rushing around to help him get it on. Two others held his leg armor. Bastian took a look at the wall and the mass of soldiers beyond and waved them away, only accepting a helmet.
"No time," he said.
I quickly rummaged in my small pouch, picking out the two Torpel tree seeds. They looked like shriveled-up Torpel heads, tiny enough for a dozen to fit in my hand. I stared at them for only a moment, wondering what type of problems they would create. They weren't native here, and I'd been surprised to find them at all, but with demons abound, the tree I needed to grow had to be impervious to demon blood. Torpel trees were the only ones that Antoni had.
"This will have to do," he shouted as he accepted an enormous shield and a long, heavy-looking sword.
"Readyyy!" Bastian roared as he turned and shut his helmet.
The stonites around him, almost a hundred now and more arriving every second, had formed in orderly lines. They loudly banged their swords against their shield as if in answer.
"Charge!" Bastian shouted, louder even than before.
Then he sprinted forward, his heavy frame moving lighter than it should.
The rows of stonites followed him across the debris-filled square and towards the almost calm first hole. The ground was still moving a bit, but it was quickly stopping. I followed instantly, watching the lines of enemy soldiers start to move.
Behind and slightly to the side of the charging stonites, I noticed some with different gear and weapons standing out. Besides this, I also noticed they seemed to be struggling to keep up.
The weaker primes? I thought, hoping I was wrong. If Bastian was the only Stonite Prime that could fight-
Massive debris slammed into the ground in front of me, disrupting my train of thought. The second Tonkarou was kicking up dirt and lose parts of the wall, tossing around like artillery both towards us and the other side. I swirled around the incoming projectiles and focused on the hole in the wall. The sides were cracking, dust and parts of it still falling down, but the soil below had stopped moving.
Another range of pings came from my status, and I quickly pulled it up, ignoring the lines and only looking at my Karma.
> Karma 200/200
Filled up, I thought as more pings came. That meant all the excess Karma was going to Rathica. I hoped she had some use for it.
I reached the hole, noticing that the ground, although littered with debris, seemed more like dark mulled-over soil. An image of the Tonkarou, used to create fertile lands around Steadfast mountains, came to my mind, then I shoved the poorly timed ideas for landscaping away and dropped to my knees. With a last look at the incoming army, now roughly four-hundred feet away, I cast Sprout life on one of the seeds.
It shuddered, and a long, thin seedling burst out. It elongated while delicate red roots sprouted from the other side. I dug a hole with my bottom hands before gently placing the still growing seedling in, forcing myself to be calm. I couldn't risk ruining it. As soon as I'd put it down, I tried to force more energy into it. The tree grew to about knee height when I felt the drain increase exponentially. A second later, the drain vanished, and another set of pings came.
Like before, a bright flash erupted from my hand, blinding me. Startled screams came from behind me and from the army ahead.
Shit, I should have remembered that I thought.
Still, it might be a good one. The Stonites had their backs to me, while the Nailhounds and the other enemy troops hadn't. Hopefully, I'd blinded them, creating a distraction.
Below my hand, the small sapling was growing rapidly, and my hand was pushed back. Thick, rough bark appeared below my palm. I stepped back, along with the push as my vision very slowly returned. A soft, almost juvenile scream came from a few feet above me. It quickly increased in pitch, joined by more, until within moments, the insanely loud howling of the Torpels was drowning out any other sound.
I cringed, wanting nothing more than to put my hands over my ears. Keeping my hand on the tree, I kept inching back as the tree trunk before went from the thickness of my leg to that of my torso and more. A cacophony of pings seemed to war in my status window, and almost worriedly, I pulled it, making sure to keep my hand on the tree.
Line after line of status messages flowed past, almost too fast to read. Most said that I was losing Karma, but in between were those that said I'd gained some due to my title being used. Unable to keep track of the message, I looked at my Karma.
Holy shit, I thought as I stared at the rapidly changing number. It was dropping at an increasing pace, only sometimes bouncing back up. Still, I had only seventy-eight left. Worse was that the final message showed I was losing two Karma per tick instead of one.
Damnit, if I don't get more Karma, I can't make another one! I thought as I worriedly looked to the sides of the tree. Was it big enough yet? It was blocking my view now, but I couldn't see how wide it was.
A loud gong sounded, and to my shock, the spell stopped of its own accord. Immediately the pings slowed to a crawl. I staggered back, staring at the huge Torpel tree before me. It was bigger than any I'd seen in the mountains. For a moment, I hoped that it would suffice, then I backed up more and saw that the sides were nowhere near the edges of the wall, roughly ten feet on each side remaining.
High above, even higher than the wall, thousands of Torpel seeds hung from the tree, screaming so loud I could barely hear anything else. They were all staring at something beyond the wall, presumably the army.
"You need to make it bigger," Libidi shouted, barely getting over the howling.
"I can't," I screamed, and I knew I was right. These trees wouldn't just grow indefinitely, and I didn't think it stopped because my Karma was empty.
A quick glance showed that I had eighty-one Karma left, and it was steadily climbing. That meant I was right, which didn't surprise me. I'd not yet seen a tree that could grow indefinitely, although it wouldn't surprise me if Ulderion could grow some world tree.
"Then you need to put more beside them," she shouted, snapping me back to reality.
I cursed as I lifted the second seed. Besides not having enough seeds, I didn't have enough Karma to grow three trees per hole, which was what it would take to block these holes.
I need bushes, I suddenly thought as I dropped to my knees and scrambled through my pouch. Pulling out a hand of seeds and nuts, I searched for something that might spread wide instead of high, wondering why I hadn't thought of it before.
After a second, I found a single seed from something called a Glion Strangling Vine. Antoni had said these things were partially sentient and carnivorous. I'd taken them with the intent of using them offensively at some point.
This will work… but afterward, this will be a place to stay far from, I thought as I moved forward.
"Back up!" I shouted as I waved Libidi away, who had followed me. "Don't get anywhere near this thing!"
Libidi looked around the tree, her cold eyes flickering around as if she saw things. Then she nodded and moved almost twenty feet back, out of the hole. As soon as she was gone, I rushed to the opening left of the Torpel Tree, and my hair stood on end.
A double line of Stonites stood before the opening, those in the front ones with interlocked shields like a phalanx, while those behind were wiring slings above their heads and throwing glowing gray rocks at a swirling mass of bodies beyond. Bastian stood in the middle, a massive sword in each hand, his helmet dented, as he was flailing around so fast the swords seemed a blur at times. A shimmering forcefield wrapped around him, and each time something attacked him, the blade or arrow bounced off. Only a few attacks, mostly from those close and with larger weapons, seemed to penetrate the glowing silvery forcefield. Around him stood others, Prime's from the looks of them, desperately trying to keep the massive army at bay. They too had forcefields, but theirs were flicking on and off, and they had countless wounds and scrapes.
They won't last much longer, I thought as I fell down, jammed the seed and my hand in the loose soil, and cast Sprout Life.
A small black sapling surged up and instantly began branching out. The tiny tendrils touched my arm and, to my surprise, began climbing up with tiny barbs. I quickly used my other hands to pull them off, letting them sway in the air, searching. I kept one of the long tendrils in my hand as I began backing up when the energy drain intensified. This time I closed my eyes and averted my head when the burst of light glowed behind my eyelids.
The rapid pings from my status window returned with a vengeance, and I turned my gaze back to the plant. Just in time to, as the branches suddenly surged outward. Sharp, triangular barbs grew from them as they began supporting each other. Some on the ground, others reaching outwards. Seeing them sway and grab at me, I dragged the branch away and jumped back, one, two, then a dozen steps as a massive plant rapidly grew into the remaining hole.
I'd not been sure if it would be enough, but I knew I'd worried for nothing. Without the need to grow up, this thing was widening almost too fast for me to keep out of its reach.
As soon as the plant reached the edges and the Torpel Tree, it began doubling back on itself, using its own older, sturdier branches support. Within seconds I couldn't even see the land beyond. I stopped as soon and released the now flailing branch, letting it snap back to the other side.
To my surprise, I saw the plant continue to grow even without me feeding it. It wrapped around the Torpel tree and climbed up a bit before the growth stopped.
"That looks dangerous," Libidi shouted beside me.
I agreed. The thorn-covered plant was dark brown with blackish green stuff oozing from the barbs that slowly covered the branches around. The outside vines moved like snakes, swaying slowly, while those in the middle looked rigid, more like support.
"Go to Bastian and tell him to come back and close in on the second hole," I shouted as I grabbed another seed.
I noticed a rapidly growing army on the square behind me, well-armored soldiers staring at us with wide-open eyes. They seemed to be pouring in from the main roads but remained on the square instead of running out.
The hell aren't they helping the Stonites? I thought.
I roared loudly, beckoning them over, but there was no reaction.
Damnit, I thought as I turned and ran to the other side of the tree. Libidi ran past me as I began growing a second Glion Strangling Vine.
The process repeated itself, with one difference. The two vines seemed to vie for dominance around the trunk of the Torpel tree. For a moment, the plant's outer vines slapped and entwined around each other before finally backing up. They remained poised for attack, almost seeming warry.
Two more, I thought as I ran around the mess of broken wall, stone, bricks, and wood that littered the ground. When I reached the next large hole in the wall, I cursed as I looked beyond it.
Only half of the stonites still stood, backing up rapidly as the mass of enemy soldiers surged around them. Bastian stood like a lone beacon in the center of the swirling mass, his forcefield winking in and out of existence as it barely seemed able to keep up with the onslaught directed at him. The amount of fire he was drawing was likely the only reason the army hadn't swarmed through yet. Bastian's armor looked as if it had been mauled by some beast, and there was no sight of the other primes.
I quickly took another look at my Karma and was surprised to see it was at 129, rapidly ticking up.
I can't put the tree in the middle again, I thought as I worried how wide the Glion Strangling Vine could grow. I needed a path for the Stonites to retreat through. I moved a bit to the side and slammed my final Torpel tree seed in the ground.
If we survive this, I've got words with those commands, I thought angrily, as I recalled the army behind us.
