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Chapter 199 - Three Sides (Thank you for your support, MagicWafflez!)
🕑 Added 2024-11-17 14:10:06 +0000 UTCWhen night came, we began to move again. We didn’t find signs of the guys looking for us still in the area, but we couldn’t waste time worrying about that.
“There is a high chance that the dwarves will be ready for battle this time, so stay sharp.”
I nodded at those words. That would make things difficult for me since I didn’t have to kill any of them, nor did I want to do that. Still, those things should be pretty hard to make and they treated their creations with high regard, so I might already be their normal enemy.
When we reached the same area, but a bit further south, we confirmed that the dwarves had moved their towers a bit back in their territory. It looked like they could do that using some sort of control in the towers, since they only had five dwarves in each tower.
I had heard that dwarves were born with a bit more strength than humans and a lot more than elves, but even that should have limitations since they preferred to fight using their machines.
“It looks like they are underestimating your range… how far is it, actually?”
“The time I sniped that, commander, he was a bit closer than the nearest tower. My dexterity and strength have increased since then, so it should be possible to destroy it.”
“Still, I have the feeling that they got ready in some other ways aside from using the increased distance… their magic implements have a lot of uses, enough that we can’t even begin to count them.”
That only made me feel like trying to find a dwarven teacher even more… I had a lot of cards up my sleeve, but it wasn’t enough considering that I found myself pretty often in binds.
“They should have some extra layer of defenses… maybe we should head further south or north to look for towers where they won’t have those.”
“You think that this is a good idea? They will realize that we ran away from the challenge, but if we overcome it, then they will have another reason to avoid a war. They won’t know that I am not part of this land, so it will take a while until they realize that they don’t have to worry about me.”
“Hm… You might be right.”
Clarice held her chin while looking around. It looked like she didn’t know enough about the barriers to think of a better solution. I didn’t know much about them either, but I at least had some ideas.
“Do you guys always have trouble dealing with that kind of thing?”
“Those who can afford to use mithril Elven arrows and have some level of skill can easily destroy those towers, but archers of that level are rare even among us… perhaps my brother can do something with his skill alone. My grandpa certainly can. There are many stories about him defending the forest against invasions.”
Yet, someone that was useful was nowhere to be found… maybe they were taking advantage of that, but I was pretty sure that the situation was a bit more complex than just that. Putting that aside, with skill and raw power alone, I wasn’t on the level of those guys, but I could use other tricks and my tools could help with that as well.
“This will be a bit expensive, but it will probably work… I will need something in exchange for it, since your plans aren’t good enough.”
“You are finally showing your true colors… It is clear that someone of your age would only think about that… Well, if you are still dreaming about that quiver, you should give up. It is impossible.”
I furrowed my eyebrows since it seemed that the old Clarice was back, but soon her behavior returned to normal.
“I was talking about a dungeon that will let me obtain the blacksmithing class. That will help me save time from heading into their territory to get what I need.”
“Ah, that can be arranged… I am glad that my worst fears didn’t come to life.”
I knew that she was messing with me just like before in order to not let her tension show what she was truly thinking, but it was still annoying. In any case, I decided to put my plan into action and hope that it would be enough.
When it comes to dealing with barriers, the best option was to disable them, but I couldn’t find the runes, wards or glyphs that the dwarves should have created to defend the towers. With that in mind, my only option was one rough approach.
I summoned an arrow and then turned into a freezing one… it was an odd choice, for sure. It was all part of my plan. After that, I enchanted it with Shadow Smite. I didn’t know if that would change anything, but it was worth testing.
After that, I used the usual skills to power up the arrow… and aside from those, I also used Berserk and Adrenaline Surge. My muscles that have refused to grow until now finally began to bulge as the rage and the heat inside me began to increase. Finally, I released the Power Shot…
The dark-ice arrow flew through the air, a projectile covered in shadows that shimmered with ice. It struck the invisible barrier with a sound like shattering glass muffled by a winter storm. For a fleeting moment, the barrier became visible, outlined by the collision. A pale blue light, tinged with the eerie glow of magic, rippled outward from the impact point like a stone dropped into still water.
Frost spread rapidly across the barrier’s surface from the strike zone, forming an intricate web of jagged, crystalline ice patterns that gleamed faintly. The cold mist rolled off the ice, revealing the exact contours of the barrier as a solid, impenetrable dome. Despite the apparent ferocity of the impact, the barrier remained unscathed.
Moments later, the ice began to crackle, melting into darkened rivulets of water that hissed into vapor as the magic faded. The barrier returned to its invisible state, leaving behind only a chilling reminder of its unyielding strength.
“No good, huh?”
Clarice clicked her tongue in annoyance. It looked like it looked in the wrong direction. In the next moment, I fired three arrows in quick succession. They flew in an arc toward my targets and didn’t do much aside from piercing the ground.
In the next moment, the barrier trembled and then it began to shatter like glass… while the ice was spreading, I saw exactly where it moved faster. At some spots on the ground… I concluded that the sources of the barrier were there. I didn’t know if only destroying one of them would be enough, so I went for all of them.
Once the barrier was shattered, I fired the next arrow loaded with magic scrolls of the great fireball. Even before it collided against them, the dwarves began to jump from the top of the tower. I grinned a bit, but soon Clarice grabbed me by the collar and made us jump from the tree.
Half a second later, while we were falling, I saw a giant arrow piercing the area where we had been… the giant arrow pierced through the tree with ease and the impact made the top explode like a massive bomb had fallen in the area. The impact made my ears ring, but at least we managed to land on our feet.
“The barriers weren’t to protect the towers… it was enough time for them to pinpoint our location.”
Before long, the hustling sound of countless flying in the air began to echo in the area… I used a magic smoke bomb to make us disappear and then countless arrows fell on the spot we had been half a second before.
Clarice opened her eyes widely when she saw the Elven arrows… something wrong was clearly going on right now. I quickly passed to her a Shadow Step amulet and then we began to dash away from the area.
“What the heck is going on, Clarice?”
“... I don’t know… but it looks like someone realized what we were going to do and planned an ambush.”
“Well, no shit.”
The question was why Elves would try to stop us… we were weakening the dwarves further, so that benefited the Aeloria Dominion. Unless a lot of them had joined the dwarves and decided to show their true allegiance, this wasn’t making any sense.
Clarice looked too confused to think clearly… she could only keep running with a complicated expression on her face. To make things worse, I soon realized that we were being chased, and the guys were pretty fast.
“We are being surrounded… It looks like they are members of the unseen arrow as well. There are more than thirty of them.”
“They are… damn. Sorry, Regulus… it looks like it isn’t just the dwarves and humans who want war.”
A war… a three-sided war. The elves’ desire for war in this situation defies logic because their land would become the only battlefield, placing them in a highly vulnerable position. Being surrounded by two powerful armies means they would face devastation from both sides, with battles likely to destroy their homes, resources, and sacred natural environments.
Even if victorious, the aftermath of war, scarred land, depleted resources, and civilian casualties would leave their society in ruins. Such destruction went against the typical Elven connection to their homeland and nature, making their willingness to jeopardize these values puzzling. Instead of achieving any tangible benefit, the war would result in irreparable losses for their people.
The Elves have more to gain from diplomacy or neutrality than from active participation in this conflict. War drains resources and weakens nations, leaving them vulnerable even if they survive the immediate threat.
‘I want to understand more of this, but it looks like we don’t have time for it.’
“A lot of people are ready to kill us, so I am not going to hold back. What are you going to do?”
“I…”
Clarice didn’t have an answer… she all could think right now was how she messed up by not reading the situation correctly. My sudden arrival put her plans in disarray and she didn’t have time to think things through.
“Get a grip!”
“... I will help you.”
Comments
j3t
as they finally began -> began
MagicWafflez
ouch... I don't want her to *die* I just want her to be up front with what she wants from him... ngl, her POV being afraid of the *very* few smiles regulus shows made her lose some points for me. that said, regulus doesn't have enough kind acquaintances to be throwing her away because she's using him. I can't wait until he finishes his circuit and settles down in talimor to find actual friends... but I understand why he's collecting all the Labyrinths of other countries right now. Each one makes him safer.
Joey McGowan
Also, I want this idiot clarice to die. I know she won't, but still. She's a shit friend and a complete idiot otherwise.
Joey McGowan
Yeah, I'm getting real tired of him jumping headfirst into every single war in the area, oh so mistakenly. Like I wouldn't even mind if he was actually fighting on one side, it could be fun. But this pussy-footing around where he gains minimal benefits and ends up with both/all 3 sides of the war hating and hunting him down? Bleh
MagicWafflez
you will help *him*!?!?! THIS WAS YOUR IDEA YOU DITZ! ugh. I just *know* he's going to be left holding the bag for this one. regulus, my dude, stop joining wars. you're *always* going to end up as the bad guy to both sides. It's ridiculous. Also clarice, you're a bad friend. you only make his life worse. stop trying to use him to further your agenda while telling him that it's *his* agenda. It went from finding out who drugged an old lady, to sabotaging war machines in order to*checks notes* impress the person who drugged the old lady. and now, we're going to fight for our lives to escape... well regulus is. you're a damn princess with no consequences. >:(
