Chapter 237: Tactics

Flashing back towards Elderfire, I stepped out onto the city's center. Gialgathens flew overhead, carrying clusters of wisps held in glass orbs. Several groups of gialgathens carried tail covers on their back. This allowed them to smash a Hybrid, get rid of a tail cover, then replace it with a new one. Considering how infectious the Hybrids where, that kind of defensive utility was invaluable. Walking past a few groups, they gave me a bow of respect. It weirded me out as always as I stepped up to Spear. I tapped the Sentinel's shoulder, "Hey, we're about to head out." The Sentinel's shoulders moved as he jostled back to life. Standing upright, Spear cracked his neck before turning to me, "Then let us go." We passed through Elderfire before meeting up with Torix. The ancient lich tapped his finger over a map as we paced up. Spear walked up, "We're ready to leave." Torix cackled, "Excellent. This battle will be different from the last, that much I know for certain." I raised an eyebrow, "So we're not just rushing in?" Torix lifted a map with the flick of his finger, hovering it against a wall, "This is a map of Astelle. With it, we can come in through the sewers like before. The goal is to overwhelm them with a direct assault that crushes their resistance to ash." I walked up, staring at the map. It showed a city surrounded by ancient woods, the kind of town from early civilization. As I inspected closer, I committed the routes to memory. Unlike in Polydra, we weren't forced into heading in blind. Instead, we had a choice to take our time and really wallop them from the get-go. Torix cupped his bony chin while staring up at me, "What are you pondering?" I pointed at a few places, "This city will have spires, won't it?" "I would assume so." "Then they'll probably be here, here, and here. The Adair Family likes to cluster the spires along the outskirts of the city, and those chokepoints let them keep the city contained. It also prevents anyone from burrowing out of the city. They have these root systems that extend outwards." I clasped a hand, channeling energy into a mana bomb, "We can run along the sewers of this town and plant bombs onto those roots to blow these connections points apart. After that, I'll use my Orbital Bombardment to make a splash as we rush in." Torix leaned back, "Huh...that sounds, ahem, well thought out." I turned to him, "I'm just using the information I have. It's like you said. They'll be more prepared this time. We'll need to finish this fast before Lehesion can show up and make a mess. We still aren't ready to take him down." Torix spread out his arms, "I didn't take you for much of a strategic asset, and perhaps I was correct in that regard. However, tactically speaking, this is quite the edge we've gained if you happen to be correct." Torix turned towards the map, "Considering the chokepoints you mentioned, perhaps we can design a route using the city's sewer structure? It should aid in speeding through this process." I nodded, "Yeah, that'll work. You can sketch that up in a few minutes and send us the coordinates, right?" Torix steepled his fingers and cackled, "If I couldn't, then I wouldn't be much of a mastermind than, would I?" "Good. We'll head out towards the landing zone when you can organize the soldiers." Torix sent a few messages using his status, "I've already sent the position for them to head to. We'll be traveling using our Sentinel's spears." Spear raised a, well, spear, "I am known as Spear now." Torix turned to him, looking him up and down, "Hmm...fitting. Spear can land us relatively close to the city. He's been stationed within a rift near the area fortunately for us." I received the meetup position in my status before rolling my shoulders, "Let's show them what we're made of." After stepping out of the temple, we rendezvoused with the troops. Near the outskirts of Elderfire, our legions assembled. They carried more confidence than before. We would need that if this was going to work. As I placed another mana bomb into my storage, soldiers lined up. Many carried fresh scars on their faces. Beside me, Krog landed with enough weight to quake the stony slabs over the sand. He gave me a bow before looking towards the troops. Kessiah rode on his back, her face exhausted yet determined. They faced the Hybrids in Polydra, yet they still went into battle. Many of the gialgathens here did the same. It took guts to stand up after seeing those monsters in person. As a hundred or so gialgathens amassed in front of me, a few butterflies flew up in my stomach. That nausea crept up into my chest as I got nervous. There was expectation in the crowd. They needed a leader, and I was the best we had. No matter how many times I did this, it never got more comfortable. The thing is, they showed guts coming to fight again. It was my duty to show some guts too. I lifted my hands, "Everyone here saw the battle for Polydra?" Almost everyone nodded. "Then you understand what's at stake. The Adair Family is going to turn each and every one of you into mindless husks. In a way, your backs are against a wall, and there's nowhere to run. It's death one way or the other." I banged my fists, "How do you want to die? Strung up by butchers, or would you rather burn in a blaze of glory, a fire to be remembered?" They gave me cacophony of roars, deafening like thunder in your eardrums. I gripped my hands into fists, giving them a look of absolute confidence. I spread The Rise of Eden over as many soldiers as I could, "That's good, because we won't be dying here. We know the enemy, and they lack grit. They fight with surrogates instead of fighting in person. They can never understand our resolve because they would never do the same." I banged my chest, the sound of metal on metal echoing across the desert, "Let's show them the might of those that fight for survival." As the crowd boomed, I pressed my palm together for anther mana bomb. I turned to Krog, "You know the plan?" Krog nodded, "Of course. According to Torix, you and I will be planting bombs before I rush in with the soldiers. You'll be creating chaos elsewhere." I grinned, "Good. Let's go." As Krog explained the plan to the troops, I created more mana crystals. As I did so, I experimented. Instead of creating pure quintessence bombs, I injected a bit of ascendant mana into them as well. This created white crystals that carried flowing red streaks in them. The idea was simple. Instead of making mindless elemental flows, I intended on giving the elements a bit of sentience. Nothing too complicated, but just enough that ascendant mana would affect them. This provided the elemental bombardments with a targeting system of sorts. It would be like detonating a grenade and having the shrapnel seek out enemies. The idea seemed sound as I progressed through the various mana bombs I created. Breakthrough achieved! Mana Crystallization(lvl 13) --->(lvl 38) The bonus enhanced my fluidity and control, letting me give a firmer intent to the mana crystals. By the time everyone was up to date, and Spear ripped open a portal, I created twenty crystals. Stepping up to the portal, I ripped it open, letting the troops walk through. As the last one through the warp, we ended up beside an eldritch's nest. A hive of spacial ants warped around in a colony made of chewed wood. This anthill stood taller than a small building, piled on top of what used to be a dungeon entrance. The situation lacked any real urgency, however. Many of Giess's flaming anteaters feasted on the eldritch. Literal herds congregated around the anthill, their tongues lashing like flaming chains at the ants. This natural wildlife made Giess safe even without the espens clearing dungeons. It's crazy to think that ended up being more of a problem than a boon. It led to the reliance on natural mana, the silvers spreading, and even the espens lack of initiative. It was too late to solve that problem now. With our routes set, we traversed through a familiar ancient wood. As we passed trees that dwarfed even redwoods, Krog spoke with a mystic reverence, "This is where the world began on Giess. This is one of the most ancient woods and the first place where our species crawled up from the oceans. Our connection with life is greatest here, and this is also where Lehesion was born." Krog grimaced, "And now it will be the place where our kind was slaughtered and used as cattle." I shook my head, "It will be the place where the gialgathens fought back. That is how it will be remembered." Krog peered ahead, "Yes...It will be." As we navigated through the dense forests, mana crystals stayed exposed on the surface. Here the wildlife effused mana, ancient and powerful beings staying here. Ice hydras, island sized turtles, even aetherial wisps stayed here. As we closed in on Astelle, the wildlife changed. A few of the natural creatures showed scars or signs of hybridization. The mana here carried the Hybrid's blight, infected with their ilk. Their stench tainted the wind, and their poison effused the ground. It showed that while the wildlife stopped silvers, they couldn't stop the Hybrids. That task fell to us. After a half-hour of traveling, we reached near Astelle. The city laid at the center of an island lake and along its shores. Ancient as time itself, the stones carried the deep scars of wind and rain. The new scars carved into these old buildings from the Hybrids above. They swarmed from dreadnoughts above the city. They reminded me of an anthill that was stepped on, their numbers changing the color of the landscape. The same horrors blotted the area, and the spires wriggled above the horizon, enclosing the skies. Hybrids corrupted the skin and flesh of gialgathens, many robbed of their lives as they were harvested. Unlike Polydra, Astelle lacked a prison that protected them. They took the full brunt of the Adair Family's power. In the face of their might, the gialgathens fizzled like cinders under a rainstorm. We were ready for this, however. Most of the forces stayed back, hiding along the forest's wall. Krog and I snuck out towards the eastern edge of the city. There we found the entrance to the sewers. Guarding it, two Hybrids cackled like deformed insects. Signalling Krog, I sprinted forward and lifted up my hands. As I did, walls of rock compressed over the Hybrids. I heated the rock with Star Forger, melting it within a second. They still moved even when covered in lava. To stop them, I flash froze the rock. As the lava hardened, the Hybrids stalled in glassy obsidian. Running up, I smashed them with telekinetic bullets. Shattering like ice sculptures, I turned towards Krog. The old general's eyes opened wide as he whispered, "You might've discovered their weakness." I rolled my fingers, "Let's hope. Come on." After wrenching open the gate, we ran through the sewers. The map Torix obtained was up to date, and the routes held up. We tore the Hybrids apart using the flash freeze method I stumbled upon earlier. It made killing them far quieter, which worked in our favor. We passed through a ten-mile circle of the city. I planted all twenty mana crystals near the roots of the spires and at critical locations. It took a bit of rerouting since my predictions weren't perfect, but they were close enough. Along the way, we decimated the underground forces planted here, giving our forces routes to escape and move through. Within thirty minutes, we completed the operation. With the sewers cleared, we regrouped with our troops. They still hid within the dense underbrush of the ancient woods. After Krog assumed control of the soldiers, Spear and I made a mad dash through the sewers once more. As we searched, we uncovered more tactical information. Near the bay of the lake, we discovered new piping leading to the island at Astelle's center. These routes proved valuable as the lake teemed with Hybrids. Their metal frames let them run across the lake's bottom. This gave the monsters fantastic aquatic maneuverability when you'd think they could hardly move. The massive pipelines gave us dozens of routes towards the island, evading our enemies when they enjoyed an advantage. We also avoided their aerial support which was a nice bonus. Here at the center of Astelle, many of the Adair Family's forces clustered together. With a bit of scouting, we found the majority of the captured gialgathens stuck in pits. There they hybridized in an orange soup. Between several pits, we pinpointed the perfect place for unloading the Orbital Bombardment. With our mission complete, Spear warped us out. After informing Krog and the soldiers of the new routes, we adjusted our obelisk's maps. The preparation emboldened our troops, instilling confidence where there was none. In a way, all the pieces we needed fell in place. Compared with the last assault, this one would make it look like child's play. With time on our side, Spear warped us out into the Rak'Sha desert. We took the next few minutes prepping the final details - more mana bombs, more molten dimensional fabric in my storage, and enough mana for a singularity in my blood. Like clockwork, I rose into the atmosphere over the next ten minutes. A comet coming from the sky, I raced down with enough force to level a city. Around me, the violet hues of heat coursed over my skin. The portal expanded in my vision, a spot of sewer floor in the middle of the sandy dunes. I sent a mental message towards the troops to rush in. They ran down the preplanned routes, ready to detonate the mana bombs with a telepathic wave. With seconds before I landed onto the ground, I issued the final command. The Living Multiverse(Lvl 10,250 | Guildmaster: The Harbinger's Legion(S-) | Titles: The Harbinger of Cataclysm, The Cleanser of Polydra | Cities: Mt. Verner, Elderfire) - Let's go.