Chương 527: BECMI Chapter 526 – Air Elementalists Brought Down to Earthquake

It was an elite bunch of spellcasters gathered under the pavilion tent that had been supplied for them. There were about a hundred of them, representing the elites of the Colonial Fleet and its citizens, sent out into the fringes to bring enlightenment to new worlds and forge a new pioneering tradition that would bring some life and energy into the jaded monolith that was the Delphan Empire.

Fifty of them were Overmagi, an unprecedented independent gathering of the Empire's Might, and none of them were below Thirty in strength. The Empire had been determined for this fleet to succeed, as its failure would likely mean that another might never be sent forth again. Finding themselves caught in such a deadly battlefield had been quite the shock, as the Empire hadn't faced any kind of organized opposition like this for, well, millennia.

Most such things historically were Elemental incursions from aggressive powers of Air or Fire, or occasionally some fool of a wizard trying to make a name for themselves went full vainglorious necromancer and started amassing an undead army, having to be put down. Other than that, it was little more than skirmishes between wizard rivals vying for the same prizes or goals, sometimes nobles clashing over territory boundaries or new resources that were discovered.

But the number of incidents that would have been able to daunt an airfleet of the size they had presented had been less than a handful in the last few centuries. But now their proud fleet had been almost annihilated… by static no-fly zones they had blundered into and hadn't been able to escape!

The combination of humiliation and embarrassment at such a colossal blunder was only compounded by the temerity of the natives here in actually blaming them for such idiocy, even while they had the audacity to save their lives! Audacious, yes. Terrifyingly dangerous audacity, enough that even Overmagi knew enough to shut their mouths and keep their complaints to a minimum. The mechanical and scientific technology on display here was like nothing they'd ever seen.

The lines between noble spellcaster and commoners seemed to be non-existent, and they'd seen at least six different intelligent races represented among the native forces. Even though humans not so different from themselves dominated, there seemed to be little if any racial biases among them. The plethora of non-magical achievements, new species, new cultures, and knowledge to be learned had the scholars among them salivating to learn more. It was just…

couldn't these folk be a little more polite and respectful when addressing them, especially the non-Casters among them? Even if those weapons that spat rays of light and those swords composed of sunfire that could cut a living twistwood creature with a trunk a foot thick right in two with one swing were terribly impressive, and basically every single warrior here carried examples of both cold steel and energy weapons of great power!

They were allowed to mingle and talk without much oversight, although the soldiers in their exotic armor, a form-fitting sheath of metal and crystal, were placed circumspectly around the tent to make sure they didn't wander or collectively get up to something. All of them had seen these people fighting, battling to save their friends, families, crew, and fellow colonists against a wave of attacks which likely only the most powerful among them could have managed to survive…

if they had fled in time to the great Wall, which none of them had. Instead, men and women wearing powerful armor and in war machines and vehicles the like of which none had ever seen had come racing to relieve them, defend them, and evacuate them to basic shelter with a rather humbling and fantastic display of lethal firepower and organized skill that literally stole the breath away of even the most jaded Overmagi among them.

It wasn't that the natives didn't know magic, because many of them definitely did, but that the displays of magic were simply overwhelmed by the carried firepower of the average soldiers! It made the spellcasters even more uncomfortable to consider, and seeing those weapons held at arms by non-Casters all around them did not help matters. The locals' near-tyrannical reactions to spellcasting outside the battlefield was also very upsetting.

To be fair, they had warned the Delphans repeatedly not to engage in random spellcasting, but, well, wizards will be wizards, and there were so many interesting things they just HAD to investigate… Lack of common sense had resulted in five dead wizards so far, ignoring the repeated warnings and the nigh-instant reactions to using magic to spy, to charm, to filch, to wander where one wasn't supposed to…

The Delphans were getting the idea very quickly that these people did not react well to unregulated magic at all, which was very discomfiting for noble spellcasters like themselves!

"The Emperor is coming!" one of the faceless guards shouted out, his voice amplified and overpowering all the casual conversations going on. They had only been provided with clear and cold ice water for this meeting, hardly the level of generosity expected of an emperor, but what could one expect of an unenlightened people?

A great arm came through the door, and the wizards all blinked as two massive brutes, over ten feet tall and massively muscled, clad in silver and bronze-chased armor thicker and heavier than any human could possible wear, stepped within. Eyes that were far too wise and knowing for the brutal faces they were in regarded the wizards silently as the two garls took up positions, very functional halberds of giant size coming down precisely to flank the door.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. A second later, another smaller figure, but one still towering over any of the Delphans, stepped inside. The whole Delphan delegation froze at the sight of the towering brute with the deep-set eyes, flat nose, and golden mane of hair, and only politeness kept a few from gasping out, A caveman?

Behind him trailed two great apes, furred hides black as night, gleaming silver Armor banding their limbs and torsos as they ambled along in perfect pacing behind the brutal figure in a suit of blue-black adamantine Armor of the finest style any wizard present had ever seen, the Runecraft swirling over it with indomitable strength, eternal resilience, and endless defiance. Then the Aura hit them. ============== I wish it could hit these guys. Novel Bind and other sites are scraping my stories (and others!) without permission again. If you're not reading (or hearing) this on Royal Road, you're helping pay a thief. Please read it in its original home, it's still free! You get the foreword and afterword, author comments, and answers to people with questions! I have not given permission for this story to be copied by a bot and posted ANYWHERE ELSE. ============= They had no idea what it was, but it felt like a sun had risen behind the man and swept over and past them.

Magic itself bowed, bent, and seemed to burn away under a warm wash of inexorable strength, and with it went all of their power. All of it! Every active magical effect from Cast spells evaporated. Every Contingency flared and was gone. Every Permanent spell struggled and vanished entirely, while magic items dimmed and went warm and inert under the utterly domineering power of the Emperor's Presence, and then it weighed down on them.

Knees shook, and these powerful men and women, elites of the Delphan Empire, found their knees folding underneath them as they went to the ground, unable to deny his power. The Eternal Emperor of Brightmoor strode through their numbers along the carpet laid down for him. He didn't bother with a podium, and now they all finally realized why. None of them came up much further than his shoulders, why did he need a podium to look down upon them?

The great apes split to either side and behind him, spinning with clockwork precision to take up positions to his flanks, their dark eyes meeting those of the wizards without fear.

"You may rise." His voice rumbled through the floor and their bones, helping lift everyone off the ground, such that they almost thought they were going to levitate as they stood back up. Swallowing, feeling the force of the Emperor's Aura pushing past them like unseen sunshine, all of the Delphans instinctively straightened themselves up as properly as they could and put on their best faces, trying not to shiver at the realization of how horribly vulnerable they were.

Also that Laidrissa Bissmacht had obviously been using Morphing magic to look younger than her years, having gone totally gray and wrinkled right now, among others who also suddenly didn't look quite so dashing and attractive as they had moments before.

"I am Thor, Emperor of the Brightmoor Empire and Warlord of its forces, master and protector of its lands, upon which you now stand uninvited and unbidden." The deep voice was magnificent. True Archmagas thought they might swoon upon hearing it. The solemn power in it was almost overwhelming. This was nothing like the Emperor of Delpha, who was almost a ceremonial position at this point, much of his power curtailed by tradition and the Grand Council of Delpha.

"Who speaks for the people of Delpha here?" There was a moment of confusion among those listening, as that sounded very much like he knew who they were. Admiral Krikhel finally stepped forward. He was a sternly handsome and disciplined fellow, given overall control of the Colonial Fleet on merit and skill, not merely favoritism from a Councilman or Senator.

He was also an Overmagi, his uniform fit perfectly and tidily, and he had acquitted himself quite well during the inadvertent crashing of his ship Endless Horizons and the fighting that had immediately followed. The Admiral clicked his heels and saluted the Emperor of Brightmoor perfectly.

"Your Imperial Majesty, I am Admiral Ahms Krikhel of the Delphan Imperial Navy, commander of the First Delphan Colonial Fleet, and formerly of the sky carrier Endless Horizons, whose remains now burn beyond your Wall.

"On behalf of my fellow captains, crew, and the pioneers we carried, we thank you for your rescue and aid following our inadvertent arrival in your space, and ask your forgiveness for our sudden appearance and intrusion into your affairs." The Emperor didn't have to loom to loom, clearly the center of everyone's attention and quite overwhelming the somehow shrunken figure of the Overmagus in front of him.

"Well spoken, Admiral. You may consider the issue of trespassing into a blue to violet-grade militarized zone a non-issue on our end, as it is obvious who paid the price for doing so." The Delphans present all flushed deeply at that. Seven ships left, and those the smallest out of a fleet of near thirty!

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the Admiral bowed slightly.

"May we ask what intentions we have for us and our people?" he asked for all of them. The Emperor visibly took a deep breath, nostrils flaring as his startlingly blue eyes lifted to look over and meet the eyes of each of them, one by one.

"Admiral," he answered at last, returning his gaze to the man in front of them, "it is plain that you do not know where you are, the situation you are in, and how very, very perilous matters are for you. This danger does not come from me or the Empire I stand for. No.

"It comes from those we have been at war with for over two thousand years now." Breaths sucked in wildly as the Delphan archmagi all digested that number, and the implications of it. This… brute, and the brutes guarding him, and that incredibly lethal armored force, had been at war with something for two thousand years?

"Tell me, Admiral, Archmages, do you know anything of the species called the Carnifex?" The word seemed to hang in the area as he looked up and around at them. Portly Gnost, a businessman and entrepreneur keen to find and tap new raw materials for trade and wealth, stepped forward, drawing the Emperor's eyes and a nod that was as direct as pointing a finger at him.

"Your Majesty, I had heard that name bandied about once before in my contacts with the genies. They remarked that one of their trading partners with the wares I sought had fallen to the Carnifex some time ago, then seemed to avoid the word like it was bad luck. That is all I've ever heard of them."