Chương 9: 8. Boltbreaker

With ten Influence, Tavian lifted the spell module on his own, and carried it out to the Core.

"Vanal!" Tavian shouted.

"We need to find more Essence!" The man shot Tavian an annoyed glance. He knew that already.

"By Ishtoran," Tavian spat.

"Calli, what's your most optimistic outcome?"

"Forty or fifty Essence," she said.

"If it goes smoothly." Even that was too much. If the process only used forty Essence, the kingdom's Influence would drop to 4. 43. He wasn't sure the Stone Gate could handle much more battering, even at ten Influence. They needed another healthy source of Essence. And, nearby, Tavian saw one. So far they'd avoided sifting their own Verosians—these people deserved an honorable burial, not to have their bodies used as raw materials to feed a Kingdom Core. Tavian pursed his lips.

"Vanal, the bodies!" There were eight of them, lying near the western wall. Vanal locked eyes with Tavian as they picked up the first. It was a young woman, shot through the neck by an arrow.

"We'll have a proper memorial for them," Tavian said.

"We won't forget their service." A flurry of activity, and several near misses with projectiles later, and the Core was humming with power. Tavian felt like he was young again, like he could dive headlong from the fortress walls and land without injury. High Influence was a rush. ⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Core Essence Tiles Claimed Influence 134 7 19. 14 Calli lay behind the Core, and Tavian crouched over her with a shield, leaning one shoulder on the Core. The projectile module sat on the ground beside her.

"Come on, Calli," Tavian said.

"We're counting on you."

"Don't pressure me like that," Calli groaned.

"If I mess it up, we'll lose a lot of Essence."

"Don't remind me."

"Then shut it." Tavian watched his Kingdom Core Status screen anxiously as Calli worked, her hands pressed against the Core and the module as she linked them together. Light and energy thrummed in the air around them. Elemental darts whizzed past. Essence began draining from the Core. Tavian watched it drop, the knot tightening in his stomach. 130 Tavian's mouth was dry. 120 An elemental projectile clipped his shield, drawing his attention back toward the Life Gate.

105 The spell module glowed; a misty spray of rainbow light swirling around it. 90 Sweat was dripping down Calli's face, puddling on the ground. 60 Tavian's ears began to ring. 55 Tavian had to stop this. He raised his foot to kick the spell module away from Calli's hand, preventing the thing from leaking all the Core Essence away into the atmosphere. It stopped. Calli gasped. ⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Core Essence Tiles Claimed Influence 53 7 7. 57 Calli rolled onto her back and stared up into the sky.

Then she thrust her fists into the air.

"I'm the best!" she declared.

"You did it?"

"I did it!" ⬣ New Spell Available: [Projectile I] ⬣ ⬣ Spells can be added to classes. [Projectile I] requires 1 assigned magic point. ⬣ ⬣ Attention: This spell module is damaged. It will not operate at full capacity until it is repaired. Spells are currently limited to tier I. ⬣ Tavian laughed aloud. Two minutes later, as Vanal continued to sift everything he and the pages could drag to the Core, Tavian jogged up to the top of the wall, and granted Shona the first [Battlemage] class.

⬣ New Class Created: [Battlemage] ⬣ Class Tier Magic Constitution Strength Spells [Battlemage] I 0 1 0 [Projectile I] Shona cried out with joy.

"That'll save the boys runnin' up and down them steps for more ammo!" The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. A short time later, a half dozen [Battlemages] joined Shona atop the wall, firing darts down at the enemy. Watching the Anarvians scatter for shelter was an incredible feeling. Braun stepped up beside Tavian atop the wall.

"What can I help with now?" he asked. Tavian scratched the back of his head.

"Just stay safe, please." Braun shrugged.

"I don't feel like I'm helping. Erond—" He cut himself off mid sentence.

"What is that?" The Anarvians were rolling a large cart into the courtyard. It was heavily armored, and contained 6 narrow slots in the side. Tavian watched, eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" Braun asked again.

"It's a Boltbreaker" Tavian said.

"They fire explosive bolts. I saw them in Endara—Everyone find cover!" A man stood atop the armored cart, boldly waving to the people on the wall.

"Surrender!" he called.

"Give up, and save your own lives!"

"Mandros," Braun snarled.

"I should have known." The Karath Amon's dark tanned skin distinguished him from the Corinathi men that made up Anarvia's forces. His nose was bruised and swollen from Tavian's punch.

"You can't stand against us!" Mandros yelled again.

"Someone shoot him," Tavian ordered his mages. A low tier projectile fired by one of Tavian's battle mages hit the cart, rocking it slightly, closely followed by a half dozen more. Mandros ducked, then dropped down on the far side of the cart, out of sight. The Anarvians rolled it in close, perhaps ten meters from the wall.

"Look out! Look out!" Tavian shouted to the defenders below. Bolts began sailing out of the windows and exploding against the Verosian defenses. The cart rocked with each shot, as Anarvian pages braved the return fire and pounded metal stakes to anchor the vehicle. Tavian clapped his hands over his ears against the thunderclaps. All the Verosians at the breastwork ducked for cover as dirt and chunks of stone were thrown into the air. But they weren't aiming at the breastwork.

Tavian gasped as a bolt slammed into the Core, exploding in a flash of fire and smoke. He felt a pain in his chest, as though he'd been struck himself. The Core flashed and flared, expending Essence defending itself. ⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Core Essence Tiles Claimed Influence 44 7 6. 3"Attack the Boltbreaker!" Tavian shouted, directing the attention of his mages.

"We can't let them hit the Core!" A wave of low tier [Darts] splashed against the armor of the Boltbreaker, landing unnoticed. Tavian winced as more bolts cracked past the Kingdom Core. Every bolt that missed the Core landed in or near the Stone Gate and detonated with enthusiasm.

"Tavian," a soft but urgent voice said. He turned to find Lea standing on the wall beside him.

"I don't know what you think you're doing to my Core," she snapped, "But you'd better stop it right away."

"Doing my best," Tavian hissed back at her.

"Any chance you can help me claim some tiles?"

"We had a near miss back there," Lea said.

"You should have warned me you were going to let an imbecile try to install a spell module." Tavian cringed, making a mental note to not pass that on to Calli. Lea continued harshly.

"And you definitely shouldn't have tried to do it while I was—never mind. It's just a good thing I'm your Administrator, because I dealt with it for you."

"Tile claiming," Tavian said.

"We need to claim tiles so we can get this gate closed!"

"I'm doing my best," Lea said. She coughed.

"If you can do something about the bombs hitting my Core I might be able to go faster."

"Lea, we're trying. Just get the tile claim system online or things are going to get a lot worse!"

"I'm on it. There's just something strange about this place…" She disappeared. Tavian ran down the stairs, Braun following. They found Uncle Erond. He was red in the face, his voice raspy from screaming. Blood stained his beard, but it wasn't his.

"We need to do something about that boltbreaker now!" Erond shouted. The Stone Gate had caught fire, as more bolts sailed past the Kingdom Core and impacted the heavy wooden door which sealed the portal. The persistent thumping of the battering ram had ceased, likely because the Anarvians on the other side were at risk of being skewered by bolts penetrating the gate. Clouds of smoke were billowing up over the face of the keep wall now.

It was only a matter of minutes before the gate totally collapsed, allowing the waiting Anarvians to pour in.

"We have to close the Life Gate," Tavian shouted, trying to make himself heard over the detonations of the bolts.

"It's the only way." The Life Gate, a massive structure of wood and bronze, was situated at the end of the corridor through the wall, nearly in the middle of the Anarvian claimed tile. Split down the middle, the two sides of it pivoted on massive hinges.

"We'll barely be able to move it," Erond said.

"Anarvian Influence will work against us."

"I'm working on that," Tavian said.

"But it's our only option. We need to close that gate before the Stone Gate collapses. We can hold one choke, not two."

"If we go through the guardhouses, we won't have to run straight down their line of fire," Braun said. A path cut through the center of the wall, leading from guardhouses on either end into the middle of the Life Gate corridor.

"We'd have to open the Water or the Air gates," Erond said, shaking his head.

"No, it's not a bad idea," Tavian said.

"Two teams, one in each direction. Air, Water. If both make it through to Life, then we have more men to close the gate. If one gets bogged down, the other can do it." Erond nodded approvingly.

"Desperate, but could work. If we close the Life Gate then they won't be able to shoot us in the back as we defend the Stone Gate." Another bolt struck true, exploding on the Kingdom Core. Tavian winced with the pain of the blow. ⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Core Essence Tiles Claimed Influence 40 7 5. 71"Erond," Tavian said.

"Take half our forces through the Air Gate. I'll take the other half through the Water Gate. But leave the mages atop the wall." Erond nodded gravely.

"We're not leaving anyone to defend?" Braun exclaimed. Tavian shook his head without explaining. If this gambit failed, all was lost anyway. With a splintering Ka-boom, the Stone Gate gave way. An explosion of elemental magic knocked the burning fragments out of the frame, and Anarvian soldiers began running in through the smoke. Erond was running across the courtyard before Tavian even realized what happened.

Men rallied to Erond's call, and Tavian began trying to organize the defenses to hold against the inevitable flood of Anarvians through the Life Gate. But the Boltbreaker did not stop firing; bolts ripped through the air, some just missing the Core, others impacting it. Bolts rocketed through the now open Stone Gate, striking their own men and exploding in the corridor beyond. Anarvians stopped coming through that burning maw. Erond waved his men out of the firing line, running for cover.

As he crossed the courtyard, a bolt struck him in the thigh. He flipped, head over heels, and the bolt exploded. Tavian stared in shock. His stomach churned. He searched the scene for Calli.

"Braun!" he shouted, spotting Calli cowering against the north wall.

"Take Calli and run!" They might still be able to get out. The Core was lost, but they could still escape. He could protect what remained of his family. But Braun was no longer beside him. His brother had seen Erond go down, and had sprung into action. Men and women rallied around Braun, as he drew their attention back toward the Life Gate, where the next attack would likely emerge. Where Tavian had only seen a boy before, he now saw a man.

He ran to take command of the chaos around the shattered embers of the Stone Gate. Another bolt struck the Core. ⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Core Essence Tiles Claimed Influence 26 7 3. 71 Tavian ran to Erond, dragging him away from the fighting. The man's left leg was mangled, but he was still breathing. A quick assignment to the [Fortify] class was all Tavian could do for him right now. The boltbreaker had stopped firing. That meant only one thing: A charge was coming.

"Tavian, I have good news," Lea said.

"I've got things ironed out. You can start claiming tiles now." A horn sounded beyond the wall; Mandros gathering his men for a charge. Tavian didn't know if he had the Influence he needed anymore.