Chapter 293: The siege of Saphigia (1/2)

I reached out my hands and clapped them together, releasing a dull thud. Getting myself amped up, I reminded myself what to do. I could make a massive difference during this siege, and that might ensure our victory. Those thoughts fueled my resolve as I stepped up to Mt. Verner. Walking towards a cleared out hillside, many of our members walked around in the open, using Omega Strains.

It was as Torix and I agreed; everybody already prepared for the battle. Others practiced working with my rings, some floating in the air already. That was good. Mobility kept our people away from the Hybrids. Stepping past one of my super golems, they'd do well there too. Surrounded by ten legion members apiece, the supergolems stood heads taller than the crowds around them. They'd protect everyone during the invasion.

Walking up the shortest of these golems, I found my most loyal member,

”How's it going, Alpha?”

The golem turned towards me, something about its thoughts unknowable, even if I made its mind,

”I am well. I thought about what you told me when we met last.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”What did you figure out?”

”I contemplated how limited we golems are. It left me feeling insignificant. This feeling, while inevitable for all living creatures, was...painful. It left me empty and afraid. In that darkness, I found purpose, however.”

I nodded, finding myself admiring Alpha's willingness to dwell on these kinds of topics. I couldn't tell if those kinds of reflections didn't bother me or if I was too scared to bring them up. I was better off than most considering my being a dimension, but I still paled compared to an Old One and the like.

It sounded like Alpha wrestled with those same concepts. The first golem raised a hand to me, ”But you gave me a reason to be. I use that to quell this apprehension...I wonder if all things that live must contemplate their existence like this?”

”I think they do.”

”Then, that is good. It will keep us humble despite the frames we wield. In that manner, we dwarf humans...I remember telling you it was a miracle that humans survived the last time we talked. I aim to enact that sentiment towards our enemies but in action instead of words.”

Alpha met my eye, ”I-I also wish to make you proud.”

I smiled at him, ”You already have.”

I gave him a pat on the shoulder, glad he was keeping a team safe. He wasn't alone in that effort. Our necromancer would join him, commanding our forces, so they operated in harmony. Torix stood with Chrona and Krog beside him, and they all wore some variation of my skin. It gave me an odd sensation looking at them. If that's what I looked like, then I dreaded seeing me in person.

Outside of those three, Hod, Amara, Kessiah, Althea, and Spear stood nearby. Florence and Helios wouldn't be participating in this siege. They studied on the third floor, remaining with noncombat personnel. Only those present would be joining in the attack, and we intended on making it count. What we lacked in numbers, we aimed to compensate for in quality.

In total, we amassed 250 super golems, 2,000 gialgathens, and 2,000 Omega Strain users. Outside of that, we had 1,000 supportive members. They'd help set up camp once we established a fortress. After walking up from the warp, I passed by these soldiers, and I dwarfed them. They gawked at me, the super golems bowing their heads.

My guildsmen followed suit. As they did, the talkative crowd across the mountainside quieted. Even my followers did so, the ritual feeling out of place for just me. It took all I had to accept this, er, reverence, I'll call it. I wanted to just make a joke and let everyone loosen up. However, part of being a symbol was being larger than life.

We needed everyone to feel like our victory was inevitable. This process was a crucial part of that. Still, discomfort ate at me even after I stood beside my core members. Lifting an arm, I raised a platform of earth generated beneath us from my mana. With a good view of our surroundings, I peered at the people here.

They drilled the combat requirements for today over the last two weeks, many veterans showing their faces in the mix. My followers and I already made the plan while I created the golems, and we'd make up for our numbers using quality. Knowing this, I kept our members in suspense until after Torix gave me his patented loudspeaker magic.

With everything in place, I expanded Rise of Eden while lifting my hands, ”Everyone, rise.”

The aura gave my command more weight, and they listened. Our people synchronized the stand up even without any planning. Torix's training made sure that was the case. It was my turn to do my part, so I met as many eyes as I could while starting my speech,

”Many of those here know the taste of war and the shedding of blood. To those veterans, I have nothing to say aside from congratulations on living on and building our guild. Without you, we'd never have made it this far. Our lives and current prosperity was built on your sacrifices.”

I raised a hand, ”For those that are new here, I'd like to remind you what we're fighting for. These people we fight today, Elysium, they've committed genocide. The gialgathens here know all too well what they're capable of, and these monsters will be coming for our planet next. Given our track record of kicking their asses, I'd say they hold a grudge against us too.”

A laugh radiated through the crowd, one filled with confidence. I smiled too, ”We'll return that favor, but we happen to speak louder with our actions than they will with their words. I promise you that.”

Many of our members raised a hand and let out a roar in agreement, gialgathens included. I turned and peered at many,

”We've evolved from a guild that struggled against Yawm to one where you fight beside golems strong enough to bring that monster to his knees. I used my sweat, tears, and blood to make these guardians for each of you. They are behemoths of might, and they'll tear anyone apart that would wish you harm. Their loyalty is also absolute, so treat them well.”

Taking out Yawm individually was a bit of a stretch, but our guildsmen believed me. It didn't hurt my argument when supergolems stomped in unison, and the mountain quaked as they telepathically shouted,

”As we live, your enemies shall die.”

Our guildsmen gave them wide-eyed looks, but before they felt out of place here, I widened my arms,

”Know that none of you are helpless even without these titans by your side. These Omega Strains were made with our enemies in mind, researched by our archmage Torix. He'll assist each of you, ensuring your fights matter and that your victories hold meaning. We'll gain ground with every passing second, and he'll guarantee our losses will be nonexistent.”

I wasn't rigorously honest about the Omega Strains either, but my exaggeration served its purpose. Looks of intention and resolve covered those present. That's exactly what we needed. I gripped my hands into fists,

”We will expand through Blegara, and it will be the first piece of our conquest. I will charge ahead of you all, and I will leave carnage and devastation in my wake. My new class has made me into a true Harbinger of Cataclysm. I no longer live in its namesake. I am it embodied, and I will aim my abilities towards those that defy us.”

I shook my hands, ”Believe me when I say that they fear me. I fought toe to toe with Lehesion before my class. Now, I will evoke biblical wrath onto our enemies, and when they sleep, they will remember what I've done. It will be etched into their memory, unable to be forgotten.”

I changed the Rise of Eden to Event Horizon, ”You all, you will be pivotal in this. I want our enemies to live in a nightmare. I want them to be terrified of their own shadow. I want them to regret ever having heard our names. We are legion, and we exist as a force of nature, an unstoppable torrent that will drown them in our endless march.”

The vibrance and fervor of Event Horizon infested those here, and they roared out in violence. It wasn't only useful for the draining effect, after all. Tapping into that primal instinct, I let out an inkling of ascendant mana to get them excited,

”We will conquer this world and then ours. We'll establish cities, routes of trade, and protection for our families. The eldritch will be rumors of a forgotten age, and the Hybrids will be stories we tell our children at night. With this battle, we establish ourselves as a galactic power, one worthy of fear and awe. This is our first step into a bright future, one where we are victorious.”

The crowd let out another shout before I raised a fist,

”Now, who will take that first step with me?”

The crowd let out a booming outcry of approval, one that echoed for miles around. Not too many miles, though, as Torix dampened the earth-shattering echo. We didn't want Elysium discovering us. With everyone inspired, I turned towards the others here,

”You all remember the plan, right?”

They each gave me nods, my followers, and generals preparing for the upcoming battle. Turning towards Spear, I grinned, ”You ready?”

The Sentinel shivered as my helmet collapsed over my face. A menacing grin appeared over it, its hunger endless. Spear waved his dimensional slicers with hesitation,

”I...am.”

He got his swinging in rhythm before ripping dimensions, and I jerked the spatial rends apart. I tore further than ever before, creating an enormous splice large enough for gialgathens to fly through. An ocean opened on the other side, my blood boiling at the sight of my next battle. It'd been too long.

But before that, I pulled out a bit of my molten fabric. Creating two struts for the dimensional portal, I pried them into the warp before Spear gawked at me. I turned to him, ”Eh, just trying out something new.”

He glared, ”You realize that this dimension isn't something to play around with, don't you?”

I tilted my head, ”Does Schema?”

Spear leaned back, but I waved my hands, ”Spear, that's a rhetorical question.”

Spear looked like he wanted to retort, but he chose to stay silent.

I turned towards Blegara, ”Come on, let's go.”

I jumped forward through the engorged veil. Water appeared beneath me, the wind of Blegara humid and heavy. As I sliced through the water, no one followed just yet. They were to witness my initial assault and handle the aftermath. Knowing this, I floated down towards the epicenter of Saphigia, Blegara's capital.

Below me, many Vagni, Hybrids, and Elysium people stared from above. I drifted downwards, an omen of what was to come. As I did, alarm systems went off throughout the city, their detection magic discovering our tear in space-time. It was irrelevant. Their defensive artillery, Hybrids, and mind mages turned their jaws towards me. They clamped down with fury, violence, and competence.

Against my skin, sharpened fangs shattered. Under my gaze, their fury turned to frailty. In my shadow, they turned into ants under a child's heel. I loomed over their vessels, and my mana charged. It permeated the water around me, the entire landscape deforming under its presence. I warped the space around me, the void screaming out.

And they heard my name.

I reached out my hands, gravitational wells exploding outwards in a plume of darkness and radiation. These growing blots of black consumed the vessels, ripping the hulls apart like cold glass under boiling water. Within seconds, little remained of their vast fleet under me. I used more mana, my skin heating until the water boiled around me.

Glowing and visible, I separated my mind into three parts. One attacked the most apparent clusters of foes using my singularities. This fractured their line and spread chaos throughout their ranks. Another logic strain retaliated at the telepathic links formed against me, and this prevented mental fatigue and damage from culminating over this battle.

My final mind wielded my magic and auras like vast whips of carnage. Event Horizon sculpted the city beneath me, eliminating the espens present. Beyond those members, I melted the sand beneath every Hybrid's feet, and a second sea of glass formed, the ocean boiling around them.

I splashed this glass over Hybrids before flash freezing it. Catching them in the trap, I pulled my hands apart and slammed them together. A kinetic wave snapped these frozen monsters, and a wave of gravitation followed. This all happened as I bombarded their lines with singularity after singularity, leaving a wasteland where my enemies once stood.

Gravitation followed, swarming the few remaining survivors collapsing from compressive snaps. These tiny pulses of gravity crushed individuals, immobilizing them. Event Horizon washed over these remains, eliminating the corpses and those left alive. It sapped these remains, leaving the seafloor abandoned as it passed.

My relentless assault continued. I froze the blood in their bodies, and I crushed their skulls under gravity wells. I pulped individuals with telekinetic flicks of my finger, their bodies more fragile than glass. Within minutes, I devastated a several mile wide area beneath me, which left little for Elysium to defend.

But they were a galactic power for a reason. Elysium's defense systems activated, and reinforcements arrived. From portals, Hybrids from other cities on Blegara came in mass. Ships, dreadnoughts, and submersibles swarmed into the sea, and they brought the blighted with them. These twisted leviathans carried improved Hybrids, Version 2.0s riding them.

This swarm appeared before me, yet I remained steady. No fear ran up my spine. I stared them down and left them stricken in terror. They would gaze upon what I wrought, and they'd tremble. I was built for this. This was within my means, and they needed more than fodder to handle me now.

From behind me, my guild invaded as I lifted my hands at the incoming forces. I lobbed simultaneous gravitational singularities, having saturated my frame with mana. They triturated under the might of gravitation, and swaths of water disintegrated, swallowed by the gravitational holes. Waves erupted upwards, turning the steady sea into a stormy puddle.