Chapter 129: Retaliations (1/2)
His castle! His beautiful castle!
As he flew high in the skies with Gorynych after him, Vainqueur’s heart was filled with concern. Concern for his beautiful, hard-won lair, the elite minions staffing it, and his marvelous hoard in the vaults. Not necessarily in that order.
Thankfully, as he passed over the mountain’s summit, he found his castle unscathed, shielded by a crimson barrier. The same protection which once safeguarded the Forgotten One from the dragon’s wrath, had now saved the hoard.
He couldn’t say the same for the rest of the mountain, though.
The explosion had caused an entire pan of it to collapse, letting lava fall off the mountain and towards the sea nearby. The ground glowed with a green light and molten powerstone shards, while the air was choked with dust that itched in the eyes. The weapon had left a glaring hole in the mountain where it hit, one big enough that it could have certainly covered all of Murmurin had it hit the city.
Even if the weapon had missed, it had unleashed tons of poisoned smoke in the atmosphere. “[Control Weather: Clear Skies],” Manling Victor cast while on Gorynych’s back, dispersing them harmlessly before a venomous cloud could consume Murmurin.
As his minion handled the weather, Vainqueur dived down, to see the devastation up close.
You are entering a [Tchernobyl] field. [Fire], [Nuclear], [Earth] and [Poison] attacks will be greatly strengthened.
Non-[Undead], [Eldritch], [Alien], [Insect], [Elemental] and [Artificial] types will lose 10 max HP per minute, unless they are protected against [Nuclear].
Vitality check successful. [Irradiated] ailment negated.
He would have to use his [Geomancy] to change this field, once his magic finally stabilized. However, the sheer destructive power of the blast left him speechless. This was no Wind Spear of Brandon Maure or even Wotan’s mighty [Ragnarok]. It would have taken Vainqueur at least a minute of uninterrupted carpet bombing to cause that much damage.
This falling star had done it in the blink of an eye.
“They have nukes,” Manling Victor whispered to himself while riding Gorynych, deeply afraid even with Knight Kia at his back. “The arrows of light.”
“They have missiles,” Knight Kia added with a frown. “Any idea from where they launched it?”
“They used powerstones to propel that missile,” Manling Victor said, pointing at the fragments littering the mountainscape. “Our spellcasters tracked the magic from its origin point. Prydain.”
Of course, the cowardly fairies had cheap-shot his castle while safe from retaliation. Not for long, Vainqueur promised himself, not for long.
“Some ICBMs can hit targets more than ten thousand kilometers away,” Knight Kia said, although Vainqueur didn’t fully understand everything. “Why didn’t they simply open a portal in Murmurin and drop the bomb?”
“Well, we invested in—” Manling Victor caught himself, as Vainqueur glanced at him, “I had the Agarthans and Happyland set-up anti-hostile teleportation defenses in the V&V Empire’s cities and their larger region. They zap any attempt to open a portal from unauthorized minions or V&V members. We also set-up anti-air defenses, but clearly the missile moved too fast for them to shoot it down.”
“Wise thinking, Manling Victor,” Vainqueur congratulated his chief of staff, before trying to figure out what happened.
Intelligence check successful.
“They were targeting me,” Vainqueur realized, making sense out of the chain of events. “But they missed.”
“Maybe they have the nukes, but not the infrastructures that allow them to hit targets with deadly precision,” Manling Victor said. “They don’t have GPS, maps, knowledge of the terrain…”
“You think that’s why they tried to scry on us?” Knight Kia muttered. “To pinpoint our location?”
“I believe they tried to scry His Majesty first because they wanted him dead, personally,” Friend Victor explained to his fellow manling. “Then they tried to target me since I’m always at Vainqueur’s side. When they couldn’t locate me, they attempted to locate you, Kia, and when that failed, they lost patience and launched the bomb at Murmurin’s rough location.”
“Why use powerstones though? If they have a nuke, they should have the whole rocket package.”
“Well, either they have ICBMs but didn’t realize how to use them, and so switched the warhead to a copy of Maure’s Wind Spears, or…”
“Or?”
“Or they’re trying to make their own nukes, and this was a test run.”
The [Paladin] marked a short silence, before finally speaking up. “I’m going to Gardemagne to request an invasion fleet and pull back my old party right now. If the fomors develop a nuclear arsenal, the entire continent is at risk. No country will be safe from a bombardment.”
“The castle’s shield managed to protect it from the blast,” Manling Victor said. “Maybe he could design a city-wide version?”
“Yes, find him,” Vainqueur finally spoke up, although he loathed to say these words.
His words shocked even his truest friend. “Your Majesty, did you agree to ask Furibon for help?”
“I hate it as much as you do, Manling Victor,” Vainqueur replied with grim seriousness. “But if he can protect my subjects from these arrows, then my minions’ safety takes precedent.”
His decision hammered it home to his best minion.
These were no ordinary times.
This was war, and anything went.
Even summoning the Forgotten One.
After the disaster, Murmurin’s population was most shaken. Vainqueur decided that he would calm them with a speech, but first, he summoned all his elite minions and allies to his hoard. His war council had gathered to discuss the threat, with guests such as Grandrake invited to offer their opinion.
“I understand now why you called for a Conclave, young Vainqueur,” the elder dragon said with a frown. It was rare to see him bothered by anything. “Never before have I seen such destructive power outside of a wyrm flight, and I was awake before those manling gods walked this dragon-made world.”
“Then you will support my cause?” Vainqueur asked. Many dragons respected Grandrake as a wise elder and the forerunner of princess hunting.
“I shall.” Grandrake nodded. “You can also count on my support in the war to come, young king.”
“We cannot wait for the Conclave,” Knight Kia spoke up. “We have to attack Prydain now.”
“The sooner we land on Prydain’s shores, the better,” Marbré the Dwarf agreed. “The fairies aren’t stupid enough to bomb their own home.”
Tasty Malfy cleared his own throat, dubious. “I am torn. On one hand, our assets are completely exposed to financial ruin, but on the other hand, I expect a market crash if we attack the shores without additional support.”
“I will call a class reunion,” Isabelle Maure suggested, standing next to an armored Manling Victor. “I am certain they will share in the conquest.”
“Yes, most of my class wants to rule the world, not burn it,” Manling Victor said. “Jaja and Goblina already agreed to help.”