Mage Tank-Chapter 280: We Need Backup

The Hierophant stood amidst the storm of deadly avians, not moving an inch toward the city. There was no evidence that it was doing anything at all aside from empowering the mana monsters attacking Krimsim. The only motion that it made was to turn its head up slightly in our direction, and I felt a weight pass over my mind as it did so. I shrugged off the sensation easily enough, but it was disturbing all the same.

We were coming up on the living wall of avians on our way out of the city’s airspace, and I didn’t feel like testing our craft’s durability again. I sent a quick idea to Etja through Reveal, then I closed the Closet portal at the rear of the plane. I opened an entrance right in front of the four-armed mage, whose hands were already alight with golden energy, and I set the exit on the nose of our craft, just behind Guar’s Shield Wall. I knew the skill well enough to know that it would allow friendly projectiles to pass through.

Etja fired off Repulsion through the portal. The skill she’d earned from Deijin’s Descent released a wave of Divine force that erupted ahead of us, spreading out for more than a hundred feet. She channeled mana into the ability to sustain it as we made contact with the bird wall, and the avians were blasted aside by the spell, clearing a wide passage for our vessel to snake through on our way out.

The ride out was much smoother than the ride in, and Varrin had us sailing directly away from the birds, many of whom attempted to pursue but were too slow to keep up. I reopened the Closet portal at the back of the plane, revealing a somewhat distressed Lieutenant Augustin who made quick strides towards Sergeant Baltae and began discussing something with the Littan mage.

I turned to Cezil, finding her tense and perched on the edge of the pilot’s seat, her casual demeanor completely absent. She made eye contact with me, then turned to look back at Tavio, who’d moved to stand just behind us. His canines peeked through a grim look over what we’d just seen.

“Tell me about that beast, Specialist,” he said to Cezil.

“Our alpha candidate is a Grade 33 Whippomorph, increased from a Grade 32 in the time it took us to do our flyover,” she said. “It has a current health pool of 29,960, is resistant to all Physical damage, along with Psychic, but has no notable immunities. Its highest defense is Spiritual, and its lowest defense is Divine. Wisdom is its highest attribute, with a three-way tie between Strength, Agility, and Luck for lowest. It appears to be enhancing all the nearby avians, significantly increasing their Grade.

“I also spotted five Grade 24 Avian-Elemental hybrids hiding in the foliage along its back,” she continued. “These are potentially elite defenders for the alpha, but I did not have time to develop a full profile.”

“Sergeant Baltae,” said Tavio. “What in the hells is a Whippomorph?”

The mage looked over from his discussion with Lieutenant Augustin and delivered the man’s slate to Captain Pio. “It is a class of creature that exhibits amphibious or aquatic behaviors,” he said, “featuring a dense layer of subcutaneous fat, hairless bodies, and a predilection for forming symbiotic relationships with other lifeforms. It is actually an umbrella category for both the Cetacean and Hippopotamid subtypes.”

“Cetacean, meaning whales and dolphins?” I asked.

“Meaning placental mammals that reside in aquatic environments and must surface to breathe,” he said.

“Okay. That thing definitely wasn’t a whale, so you’re telling me it was a hippopotamus?”

“That would be my guess,” Baltae replied. “All Whippomorph monster types are resistant to Physical damage archetypes, as supported by Cezil’s analysis. Hippopotamids are primarily known for being fiercely territorial. They grow stronger when their enemies are numerous, which is believed to be due to an effect similar to Rage, although they are rarely observed with the Berserk status.” He tapped his chin in thought. “They are also universally hostile towards humanoids.”

“This one sure acts that way,” said Cezil. “The trees growing out of its eyes, all of the branches were weighed down with decapitated heads. There were hundreds of them, all from humanoid races.”

“Trophies?” asked Tavio. “That would be unusual for a monster.”

“But not unheard of,” added Baltae.

I thought back to the birds flying towards the Hierophant, carrying round burdens in their talons. “It may be using them for something,” I said. “It could relate to its Grade increasing.”

“More heads, higher grade?” asked Cezil.

“Maybe…”

“Major,” said Captain Pio, approaching with the slate. “Lieutenant Augustin established communications with Taras. They are asking for a report.”

Tavio folded his arms behind his back and studied the floor for a moment. “Cezil, did you get eyes on the count?”

“No,” she said. “I was focused on the Whippomorph.”

“The strongest Delvers in the city are Level 12,” I said. “There are no souls down there powerful enough to be Count Starion or his party.”

“So they are either dead or missing,” said Tavio. “Captain Pio, tell the capital that Krimsim’s defenses are overwhelmed and her defenders outnumbered by a minimum of one hundred to one. The city will fall without intervention. Cezil, give Captain Pio the details you observed. Stress the quantity and Grade of our foes. Let the capital know that this would be an excellent time to direct General Connatis to our location.”

Tavio blew out a breath. “Barring the general making a personal appearance, my recommendation is to have Silver response teams immediately establish a defensive perimeter one hundred miles outside of Krimsim, with Coppers leading evacuation efforts beyond that line using normal legionnaires. Request as many emergency Gold squads as Taras has available for disaster mitigation inside that perimeter, then tell them we need ten times as many as they are willing to give us.”

Pio nodded, then stepped away with Cezil towards Lieutenant Augustin. Tavio turned back to me. “Can your party contest that creature?” he asked. “It will take time for whatever backup Taras can send to get here. I fear that Krimsim does not have that much time to spare.”

“Antagonizing the Hierophant may escalate the situation,” I said. “Right now, it isn’t getting involved.”

“It is already involved by augmenting the other hundred thousand beasts that serve it.”

“Fair enough,” I said. “But we don’t know what else it can do or how destructive it will become if we press it. I feel confident that we can distract and hinder a single Grade 33 without getting killed out of hand, assuming its Grade doesn’t continue to increase. But if those five elemental birds get involved, I think that’s pushing it, even for us.”

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“Captain Pio’s team can occupy the elites,” said Tavio. “I can swap between groups to assist whoever is being pressured the most.”

“You fill the tank position in your party, right?” I asked.

“Yes, but I no longer have a party,” said Tavio. “You killed Yaretzi and exposed Gharifon for being an avatar’s divine spawn. Nasira is under investigation for her unsanctioned activities in Hiward, and the duchess is busy managing Seqaria and the jointly owned lands north of the Eschen Gap.”

“Ah, sorry to hear that.”

“It is of no consequence,” he said. “And it is immaterial to the current problem.”

“Well, I haven’t ever seen you fight seriously,” I said, glancing at the absurd number of violet striations in his soul. “Even so, I think that with you in the mix, we’d stand a much better chance, but you’d be spreading yourself thin trying to help everyone. It might be better if you and Team Pio crush the elites as fast as possible, then join up with us against the Hierophant.”

“I think the situation will be too fluid to count on such a thing,” he said. “I will adjust accordingly.”

“Fine, but before we decide to go in guns blazing, I can bring any reinforcements you need from Fort Ruiz directly through a Checkpoint portal. I can only do it once per day and it lasts for one hour.”

“That… would be helpful. We will coordinate with the capital when they next respond.”

“All right, how do you want to approach our target?”

“We can fly in and leap from the craft, no?”

“What happens to our vessel?” I asked.

Tavio shrugged. “It crashes. It is no big loss.”

I opened my mouth to speak, closed it when an idea struck me, then opened it to speak again. “Maybe we can do more with this tin can than simply let it crash.”

I started running through all the skills and abilities arrayed before me. With eleven Delvers, there was plenty to work with, and I knew what most of the Littans could do. Tavio was a wildcard, but the man could fill in the gaps for me as I explained my idea.

While I explored options and began formulating a strategy that was equal parts stupid and fucking awesome, Captain Pio returned.

“Major,” she said. “General Connatis and his party are out of the country. Taras is keeping the details of his deployment to themselves, but say that we should not expect any Platinum reinforcements for at least twenty-four hours. It sounds to me like they are locked in a Delve.”

“Very well,” said Tavio. “What else?”

“Taras has acknowledged your recommendations and are working on getting the response teams mobilized. Otherwise, these are the orders that came down.”

Pio handed Tavio the slate, and the well-muscled Littan’s eyes narrowed as he scanned its contents.

“Hmph,” he grunted, handing the slate back to her. “Let them know that their orders are received and that our guest Master Xor’Drel can open a portal directly from Fort Ruiz to Krimsim. He can maintain it for one hour, so any Gold teams that are near the fort should gather and be ready to jump directly into a shitstorm.”

Tavio turned to address everyone in the cabin. “We’ve been ordered to prevent the beast horde from advancing deeper into Littan territory by any means necessary, and the Empire has formally requested the aid of Fortune’s Folly in accomplishing that task,” he said. “I am also now personally in charge of the defense of Krimsim during the count’s absence, but the city’s survival has been assigned as a secondary objective.”

Several of the Littans looked troubled over the decree, but kept their silence.

“What’s the problem?” asked Guar. “We just kill everything. That stops the horde and keeps Krimsim in one piece.”

“The quickest road to victory against the mana monsters is to eliminate the safety measures on the city’s cannons,” said Tavio. “Even in an emergency, they are limited to less than half of their potential output.”

“Is that why so many of them were idle?” I asked.

“Correct,” said Tavio. “The problem with loosening those restrictions is that the cannons will cause a rapid rise in ambient mana levels. I expect the mundane population of Krimsim is already suffering from low grades of mana toxicity between the current cadence of cannon fire, the unchecked use of Delver skills, and the raw number of magical creatures present. More than doubling the contamination coming from the cannons will be lethal to most of Krimsim’s population.”

“I can evacuate people,” I said. “They can return through the Checkpoint to Fort Ruiz once reinforcements are through, and we have plenty of room in the Closet if that’s not enough time. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but we can create areas with low mana concentrations and provide basic necessities.”

“It is a good thought, but Krimsim’s defenders may not even last the hour,” said Tavio. “Unless you have a way to gather a hundred thousand people who are hiding throughout the entire city in a few minutes, I fear that would take too long. In this situation, you and your party are better deployed to counter the Hierophant.”

I started to rack my brain for another solution, but was interrupted by a message from Grotto. It seemed the Littans were about to have their reinforcement options expanded.

“Tavio,” I said, making sure I had the man’s attention. “Princess Ishi of the Silver Lounge is requesting permission to enter the Littan province of Nohrrin and speak to the ranking official in charge of Krimsim.”

“How convenient that only moments ago I was appointed to such a position,” Tavio replied, sounding a touch suspicious. “I am not familiar with this princess. I assume you would not relay this request if you thought it a waste of what little time we have.”

“I think you should talk to her,” I said.

“Will you magically summon her with one of your portals?”

“But of course.”

“Then please do,” he said. I coordinated with Grotto, letting Ishi know we were good to go on our end. Tavio turned back to Pio. “Captain, you are more adept at diplomacy; perhaps you should handle this meeting.”

“Me?” said Pio. “Major, my station is much too low for any formal diplomatic discussion with a foreign princess. She might consider it an insult if–”

Pio saw me gesture and immediately cut herself off as I opened a new Closet portal. The captain straightened her posture and pivoted into the picture of a well-composed official. Her expression slid into that of a highly competent professional dealing with a serious emergency, albeit one that she had well in hand.

Ishi stepped through the portal, dressed in armor that was similar to her woodworked combat set, but with a more formal flair and an emphasis on her natural curves. She had no helm, but she was crowned by a diadem with a single jewel sitting against her forehead. It glowed with potent mana weaves, and its ocean-blue radiance matched the woman’s eyes. Her midnight hair was pulled back into a single braid that disappeared under her collar.

“Presenting Princess Ishi of the Silver Lounge,” I said. “Princess Ishi, allow me to introduce Major Tavio of Seqaria and Captain Pio of Litta, representatives for the Littan Empire.”

A hint of a smile played across Ishi’s lips, and she gave me a slight bow. “Thank you for the introductions, Your Majesty,” she said.

“My pleasure, Your Highness.”

Tavio tilted his head to the side upon hearing the exchange of honorifics. I’d decided not to bring up the matter of Closetland with the empire as of yet.

Ishi held my gaze for a beat longer, then schooled her expression and turned to the Littans. “Well met, Major Tavio and Captain Pio,” she said, inclining her head towards each of them. “I understand the urgency of your situation, so I will forgo the usual formalities. Although you may not be aware of our existence, I am a representative for the Rulers of all Dragon flights upon Arzia and a sizable coalition of sapient magical creatures. I have come at the behest of His Scarlet Majesty with an offer of support to assist you in the defense of your city.”

It was a good thing we’d given Captain Pio plenty of practice dealing with the unexpected arrival of outrageous facts, because the woman took that news like a champ. She didn’t waste a second before diving into rapid-fire negotiations.