2038 Hidden Blade (Part 2)
The Sekhmet used darkness fusion to ignore the pain, earth fusion to limit the damage, and light fusion to regenerate her flesh the moment it burned. Life Maelstrom coursing through her body allowed her to survive, but by the time Final Eclipse finally wore off, she had consumed half of the silver lightning.
Soon she would need a third charge and after that, her reserves would be dangerously low, putting the success of the mission at risk. Yet Iata knew that her defeat would have had even worse consequences so she gritted her teeth and aimed at the Tiamat's heart.
'Are we getting desperate, aren't we?' Lith thought with a smug grin hidden by the scales covering his mouth. 'Now that I've put enough distance between us, I can dodge whatever you throw at me. Our situation is the same as before, but now it's you can't afford to wait.'
He avoided Iata's charge by a hair's breadth and she conjured the hard-light spikes again to at least return some of the damage. The Tiamat didn't move, letting them pierce through his body as he released Plague Tempest.
The bolts of darkness came out of his very wounds, using the spikes as a conduit to get inside the construct while countless others erupted from his scales. The darkness element was slow and would never catch up with the Sekhmet's speed, but that wasn't a problem.
The Plague Arrows that had gotten inside the spearhead were carried by the construct and struck Iata with ease, sapping more of her strength. At the same time, more bolts of darkness amassed around Lith like a school of hungry piranhas waiting for their prey.
'That cunning son of a bastard let me hit him on purpose.' Iata thought. 'That damn sword is still stuck in my construct and if I keep attacking, I'd be the one taking the most damage.'
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Solus and the Demon army were retreating at breakneck speed. The short exchange with the Thunderborne had exhausted her limited reserves of mana while the Demons were starting to run on fumes.
Using the Void Flames consumed a lot of energy and many of them had been injured by Stormlight's plasma arcs. Without Lith giving them new strength, they had to rely on the Golems whose charges were limited as well.
'No matter how much damage we dealt, Thrud's army is still advancing. The first battalion is almost gone, the second is decimated, and the third is halved, but they are still coming.' She thought.
'They have quickly regrouped into a new battalion, using their breathing technique to restore even those on the brink of death. To make matters worse, I've lost the element of surprise and their mages have finished conjuring their arrays.
'If we hold our position, we'd be sitting ducks.' Solus could see the various spells that the enemy army had prepared with the Eyes of Menadion.
They were the perfect counter to the strategies that the Demons had employed until that moment. She needed time to use her breathing technique and to keep her forces away from Thrud's.
Solus was losing ground, but keeping an array at the ready was a burdensome task. She only had to wait for the mages to lose focus and then she would have to face mere yellow cored soldiers and their wands.
Leari knew it as well so she furiously flapped her wings to reach Solus before the worst happened. The Thunderborne had healed from her wounds, but she was still wary of the Fury.
'If that thing was big instead of pint sized, I'd be dead already.' She thought in anger as she released a burst of Stormlight that burned down several small magical formations that Solus had left to cover her retreat.
Varegrave still had no idea of who Solus was and how Lith could be in two places at the same time, but he didn't let such idle thoughts distract him.
"Start chanting." He ordered the mages. "The moment that big bird is within range, I want you to shoot it down. We can't let them reach the first line."
***
City of Valeron, at the same time.
Lith was right about the fight being recorded and broadcasted by mages hidden in the area. The Royals, Berion, Vorgh, and all the Generals in the Kingdom were following the battle of Belius in real time.
Vesta and Prode had yet to be attacked so they still had the time to adjust their strategy. As for Belius, the best minds of the Kingdom were working to increase its thin chances of survival.
"The Mad Queen outplayed us big time." Jirni said. "If that storm front reaches the city, it's over. It must have taken days to gather clouds and turn them into a winter blizzard.
"The cold will siege the city better than any army, weakening our soldiers and making it hard for our patrols to see."
"It's much worse than that." Jiza Gernoff said.
The blonde Awakened made everyone feel uneasy, especially Jirni. The woman bore a striking resemblance to her and despite being much older, Jiza looked like Jirni's younger sister.
"It actually takes weeks to conjure a storm that strong and we can't dispel it without spending the same time. Even if we could, Thrud has waited for the moment when the hot winds of springs would reach Belius.
"When they met the clouds, we won't have to deal with just magic, but the fury of nature. We have to prepare for a tornado as well."
"But we can't do that with the enemy already knocking at our doorstep!" King Meron hid his face behind his hands, uncaring if he appeared weak.
"I meant Prode and Vesta." Jiza took her communication amulet and contacted the weather mages in the area, confirming her suspicions.
The three cities were experiencing a particularly hot breeze that would react with the unnaturally cold air with tremendous consequences. The mages stationed there immediately started to conjure arrays that would disperse the warm air and protect the cities in the case of a storm.
"Not all is lost, Your Majesty." Jirni said. "Your plan of sending Lith so far away from the Belius has created an opportunity for us. If we move all the troops forward and intercept Thrud's army before they reach the city, we still have a chance.
"Agreed." Jiza nodded with pride. "Without the Divine Beasts keeping the thunderclouds compact, the storm will disperse. We just need to disrupt their formation long enough to scatter their spell so that when it reaches Belius, it will just make rain."
"Wait." Jirni was listening to a weather mage who was explaining to her how a tornado was formed. "We have an opportunity to counterattack and turn the tables. As you said, Belius is filled with hot air, correct?"
Jiza nodded for her to continue.
"If we push the spring winds toward the storm front, they'll meet away from the city and right above Thrud's army."
"Brilliant idea!" Meron said. "Turning the enemy's weapon against them. This way Belius' arrays would protect the city from what little of the storm reaches it whereas our enemies would be exposed to its fury."
"The problem is that we are short on time." Jiza said.
