66 Victory? (1/2)

I watch in silence, as the beams of our energy weapons continue to lance out into all directions. Waiting for a battle to start is pure torment. During the battle you have no time to think about your actions.

It's just before and after the fight when you start to question your decisions.

”You have any idea how they will attack? Will they come from all sides or use a single direction?” I ask Lada, who is standing beside me with a complicated expression on her face.

”I am sorry. I just remembered Enyo's strategy because she used it in the last battle of the great war.   I am sorry for not being of any help. Maybe we should run? Can't this ship teleport away despite blocking someone from boarding with teleportation?” -Lada

”It's okay. I don't really want to run away. We might just have a crew of twenty five thousand, but we have the advantage of being the defenders. Nullifying any unauthorized teleportation is another great advantage to us.”

It should be a great advantage. We can use the fortresses system to teleport people from one location to another. The attacker will always face the optimal number of defenders, no matter from which direction they enter the fortress.

On the other side. As long as we can keep the forces of El Shaddai occupied, the Nomad can continue to search for a weak point in their city.

I push a button on my chair to activate a communication link to Nicosar, who is coordinating our forces. ”Tell me immediately if there are problems anywhere. I want to go there myself.”

”You can't! You are the king! What if something happens to your?” Nicosar's voice comes back with a shocked tone.

”I and Celes are the only ones who have a complete memory. Almost everyone else is just a novice in wielding their powers. So tell me if you spot an extraordinary strong foe!” I insist on this. We may be the defenders, but we are still fighting two on one.

”As you wish, I'll inform you.” Nicosar cuts the line.

Then I look at Lada. ”I suppose the god of love and harmony is a bad fighter?”

Lada nods with a pained expression, but suddenly she lightens up. ”But I could try to convert them to our side. I am a well known figure after all! If I beg them to stop, some will surely listen.”

I tilt my head while I think about it. ”And how will you talk to them?”

”She can use the fortress's speaker system.” -Officer

I nod. ”Okay. It wont hurt.”

Then we have to wait another five minutes until we receive the expected message from Nicosar. ”We are being boarded at multiple points. Somehow they managed to break some of our air locks!”

The voice out of the communicator sounds disturbed. I have to admit that I don't like it either. We designed the fortress with something like this in mind. The regular entrances should be very secure. To break the seals without much problems is disturbing.

A technician gives us a schematic of the fortress and I watch the tactical view. The enemy chose four points to enter the ship. One is close to the command centre. Another is near the engines. The other two are distributed evenly over the fortress.

”Set the energy weapons to fire on the entry points. Fire the plasma cannons too and set the trigger to the minimal range. All at once.” -Me

”But we will damage our own fortress!?” -Officer

”We can repair it and the hull should be able to take the blast. If we manage to take out a few of them it will still be a win for us. Don't forget the we are fighting a superior force.” To tell the truth, I don't care about losing this fortress.

If we manage to take out a good number of the enemy's fighters while keeping our own forces intact, it's a win for us.

The fortress is shaken by explosions and it feels like an earthquake. ”Maybe it's time to start your speech Lada.” I nod to her and a technician shows her a console.

Then I take a look at Celes, who is standing beside me. ”Why are you so silent? Something wrong?”

”The whole situation feels fishy! I am thinking about our position. Isn't it unreasonable for the Council to throw all their forces at one fortress and ignore the other one?” -Celes

”They operate under the assumption that their city is protected well enough by their shield. So there is no need to split their forces between both vessels.” -Me

The room is shaken another time.

”Nicosar requests aid at the breaking point close to our position.” -Officer

I grab my staff and stand up. ”It's reasonable. They sent their strongest force for the enemy command centre.”

Then I walk out of the room, followed by Celes and Lada. While I walk, I take a look back to Lada. ”Given up already?”

”They are too occupied with fighting! They don't listen at all. I have to be there myself!” Lada answers with an angry voice.

Shrugging my shoulders, I continue to walk down the corridor. Suddenly a wave of heat hits me. Any mortal being would have been charred to a nice black crisp. But the aura of energy, which is unique to an ascended being protects me.

I turn around a corner and witness some of our warriors in a tight situation with a few enemy soldiers.

My men wield weapons out of crystal and are clad in a similar black and white armour as me. The enemy's armour is white and they wield weapons of pure light.

Another stolen technology?

The effectiveness of their weapons is proven when one of my men gets impaled by a long spear. I don't stop walking and enter the fight with a wave of my staff. A flash of light sends the enemy soldiers flying.

One of the enemy soldiers is hit pinpoint by the energy and gets folded up like a sheet of paper. My men immediately use the chance to finish them off while I walk past the scene.

Farther backwards should be an observation platform. Probably the enemy entered through an air lock there. After a few metres, I arrive in a big room. Heavy fighting is taking place here.

Many of the combatants use close combat weapons. But others rely on magic. Spells are flying back and forth inside the big observation hall. Someone actually summoned an elemental, which is shooting icicles at everyone who gets too close.

Our forces are trying to keep the enemy from advancing. It's clear that we are too few. An enemy soldier, who just struck down one of our people, comes running into our direction.

But he suddenly goes limb and drops to the floor. A crystal hairpin is embedded between his eyes.

”Oh! Those work better than expected.” Celes skips to the dead body and retrieves her weapon.

The crystal weapons are able to penetrate almost every mana-based defence. They are a mass of highly concentrated mana after all.

I enter the fight and smash my staff at the next available enemy. The runes of my staff glow and the soldier is sent flying.

Another one tries to get me from the side, but suddenly Lada throws herself at him and clings to his feet. ”Nooo! Peace! Love each other! Stop the senseless fighting!”

The startled soldier is stunned by the mesmerizing beauty, who threw herself at him. I use the chance and give him a lesson in fighting. I wield my staff in an arc and hit his head.

The soldier goes down and I continue to my next target. With a short glance, I witness Celes victimizing a soldier with an acupuncture. She is using one of her hairpins very skilfully and gives extra care to his joints and vital areas.

Some of the enemies are already starting to retreat. They obviously fear to be her next target.

After a few minutes of fighting, we manage to establish something like a fortified position. After a while some reinforcements are teleported to our position. It looks good and we start to push them out of our fortress.

It feels like hours went by. But it should have been just minutes. Slowly the fight relocates to the surface of our fortress. Everyone is using shielding spells now.

The air is very thin and I have to cast a support spell to ease my breathing. The surface of the fortress is ravaged by our own attacks.

Cracks are running through the crystal surface of our once wonderful fortress and it seems like some structures broke off. The power outside must have been a little more than I imagined to cause such damage.

Immediately the fight evolves into a three dimensional battle with the defenders at the surface of our fortress and our enemies trying to get a foothold.

Suddenly a golden figure and an armoured woman enter the scene. El Shaddai and Enyo! My people are sent flying by them and they radiate an enormous power.