Cultist of Cerebon

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Nasrith watched calmly as more than a dozen heavy boulders were launched through the air toward Fal’Ashar, courtesy of Tal’Qamar's trebuchets.

Each of them weighed at least 500 pounds, and the force they would strike the walls with would be equivalent to three times that due to their enchantments. Additionally, a Skill from the [Siege Officer] allowed the trebuchets to launch them with pinpoint accuracy, allowing the Second Army to focus its attacks.

Nasrith could see several mages on the defending city walls trying to redirect the incoming projectiles, but Tal’Qamari [War Mages] were too well trained to allow such a thing and immediately countered whatever spells the enemy was attempting to cast.

The cacophony of colliding magics echoed across the sands, the air crackling with the energy of mages struggling against each other to turn the tide. Above the din, Nasrith could hear the whistling of the massive stones as they tore through the air, their paths only marginally altered by the efforts of Fal’Ashar’s defenders. Despite the enemy’s best efforts, the boulders maintained their trajectory and reached their target. The ground shuddered with each impact as Fal’Ashar’s walls were struck with enough force to destroy almost any non-magical structure.

However… there was a good reason that Fal’Ashar was known as the City of Enchanters.

“General Nasrith, the Warmage Company have reported that the enemy is activating their Category 6 Anti-Siege Warding,” said Lieutenant Colonel Anaya from his side, dutifully performing her role of serving as an intermediary between him and his officers.

Nasrith grunted in acknowledgement. The siege on Fal’Ashard had been slow and meticulous over the past several months as they gradually wore down each of Fal’Ashar’s Anti-Siege Wards. While Nasrith could have ordered a more aggressive siege, doing so would have cost expensive resources and necessitated that the Second Army use immense force.

This would have been very unwise, given the difficulties that Tal’Qamar had been facing along its logistical routes and the ever present threat of the Conclave exploiting the Second Army suffering from Skill Exhaustion. All it would have taken was for the enemy to move a sizable force toward Fal’Ashar while Nasrith’s soldiers were at their most vulnerable, and he would have no choice but to abandon the siege lest he risk suffering a catastrophic defeat.

Nasrith had done everything possible to keep the front lines far from Fal’Ashar to minimize the risk of being caught between a raid from the besieged city and a relieving force from the Conclave. Nevertheless, there was always an outside possibility that the God of the Twilight Moon’s [Priests] could use their powers to obscure an approaching army during the night.

Clever positioning of [Scouts] with [Detect Threat] could mitigate this risk only so much.

If that were to happen, then Fal’Ashar would be able to recuperate on both supplies and morale, rendering months of effort useless. The additional fortifications which the Conclave would doubtlessly erect around Fal’Ashar would also drastically increase the number of casualties Nasrith would incur if he attempted to take the city again.

Such an outcome would obviously be intolerable.

True to the Warmage Company’s report, the walls of Fal’Ashar soon began to emit a deep, resonant hum, and the air around the city began to shimmer with a translucent energy. Nasrith expected that the incoming projectiles would either be destroyed or simply deflected by Fal’Ashar’s magical shield, so the actual result came at quite a surprise.

As the boulders approached the shimmering barrier around Fal’Ashar, they began to slow dramatically, as if sinking into quicksand, before coming to a complete stop mere inches from the city’s walls. Once halted, the rocks hovered in the air for several moments before suddenly reversing their course at great speed, hurtling toward the Tal’Qamari siege lines with even greater velocity than before.

Nasrith was startled, but was far too disciplined to panic and immediately burst into action.

[Unerring Accuracy]. [Bolster Unit: Warmage Company]. [Coordinated Counterattack].

At the same time that Nasrith threw his spear with Skill-enhanced accuracy and completely shattered one of the incoming boulders, his [War Mages] began casting their spells in unison. Tal’Qamari soldiers took cover under their shields as a myriad of spells obliterated the incoming projectiles and caused fragments of stone to rain down across the battlefield.

Nasrith trusted his soldiers to properly protect themselves, so he simply activated the enchantment on his spear to return it to his grip and turned his attention back to his Lieutenant Colonel.

A credit to her training, Anaya was already answering his question before Nasrith could give it voice. “Captain Talrasha has identified Fal’Ashar’s Ward as a variant of the [Greater Repulsion Ward].”

Nasrith was familiar with most of the standard warding spells, but that wasn’t one he recognized. Not to mention the fact that it was apparently a variant.

“Recommended course of action?” asked Nasrith, deciding to rely on his Captain’s expertise in this unusual situation.

“It’s… not good, sir. The Warmage Company believes that the standard countermeasures to [Greater Repulsion Ward] aren’t likely to work against this variant,” Lieutenant Colonel Anaya said with a trace of worry in her voice as she stared off into the distance, likely listening to a barrage of incoming messages. “The only guaranteed method to penetrate Fal’Ashar’s ward would be through overwhelming force.”

Nasrith hummed lightly and turned his gaze to the enemy city as he considered his options. If he only needed to worry about purely military considerations, Nasrith would prefer to continue his previous strategy of slowly sieging Fal’Ashar and exhausting the enemy’s resources. That would take a significant amount of time—given that the Conclave began preparations for war almost immediately after they were driven from Tal’Qamar—but it would be preferable to the risk and cost he was taking now.

Even after Apostle Zareth had cleared a magical obstacle ruining supply lines in the Southern Theater, the enchanted ammunition being exhausted by the trebuchets was not simple to replace. It’d taken a significant amount of time and effort to burn through all of the wards previous to this one, and Nasrith’s intelligence officers couldn’t guarantee when it would end.

Especially since Fal’Ashar was rumored to possess a Category 7 Anti-Siege Ward, meaning that it would’ve required a level 70 spellcaster to construct or an equivalently powerful artifact to create. They really shouldn’t have access to such a thing, but the Conclave was well known for mysteriously producing magic and artifacts from unknown sources.

Such a ward would be… very troublesome to his plans if it was erected.

Unfortunately, political realities meant that he needed to take the risk. Nasrith initially intended to wait until the war was finished to take the first steps in his plan to curtail the power of the Great Houses, but several recent developments had made it… necessary to accelerate his timeline.

It was fortunate that Apostle Zareth had returned to Tal’Qamar several days ago and seemed to have already begun handling his part of their agreement.

While he had officers of sufficient competence and levels to take over command for most battles, none were as adept as Nasrith when it came to conducting a siege. Therefore, he had little choice but to ensure that Fal’Ashar was taken as quickly as possible so that Nasrith could safely leave the battlefield and resign himself to suffering through Tal’Qamar’s internal politics.

Nasrith clenched his jaw as he realized what he would need to do in order to secure victory before letting out a breath and resolving himself to take decisive action.

I swear that I will exact retribution against those who’ve forced my hand, Nasrith silently vowed as he turned his attention back to his subordinate and delivered his orders. “Lieutenant Colonel, direct all forces capable of long-range attacks to commence their assault on Fal’Ashar’s wards. Redirect all defensive units to protect against the enemy’s counterattacks.”

Lieutenant Colonel Anaya was silent for a moment before she hesitantly responded. “Sir… are you certain? Even if we make preparations, the [Greater Repulsion Ward] will cause us to suffer unnecessary casualties before we are able to overwhelm it.”

“You’re mistaken, Lieutenant Colonel. Those casualties are anything but unnecessary,” Nasrith said firmly, his tone leaving no room for doubt. “Moreover, they are unavoidable. If the Warmage Company claims that the only means of breaching the ward is through overwhelming force, then there’s little chance that we will be able to discover an alternative means. Fal’Ashar is too strategically important to ignore and we’ll never have a better moment than now to take it with all of our forces organized outside of their walls. So we shall seize the opportunity.”

What Nasrith didn’t say was Archmage Agnazir may have been able to find an alternative means of destroying the [Greater Repulsion Ward], but he wasn’t confident that he could convince the man to help. Agnazir was still currently in Jabal-Alma, engrossed in his research, and wouldn’t appreciate being pulled away from that to engage in a siege.

No matter that the Archmage could easily save the lives of Nasrith’s soldiers and shorten the siege drastically. Such a detail was obviously insignificant to someone like Agnazir, which was just another sign that Nasrith needed to prioritize gaining influence over the Great Houses.

“In addition, there’s a notable chance that Fal’Ashar will be caught off guard by us launching a full assault rather than slowly dismantling their ward, as we did previously,” Nasrith continued as he stared at the enemy city with a steely gaze. “It takes time to erect wards as powerful as this one, and the moment of surprise may give us the advantage we need to decisively seize control.”

Lieutenant Colonel Anaya seemed far from pleased but eventually succumbed to her training and his logic.

It didn’t take long for Nasrith’s orders to spread across the battlefield and for his well-disciplined troops to organize themselves. Bulwarks and [Shieldbearers] quickly placed themselves besides [Archers] and [War Mages], fully prepared to place themselves in the line of fire to protect their fellow soldiers.

Once everyone was in position, Lieutenant Colonel looked to him for the final order. Nasrith surveyed the scene before him one final time, his eyes sharp and focused. When he could find no reason to delay, Nasrith took a moment to activate a few Skills to enhance his soldiers.

[Victory for Recompense]. [Bolster Unit: Second Army]. [Amplify Agility: Second Army].

The first two of these Skills were similar in that they provided a general boost to the Stats of all soldiers they affected, though [Victory for Recompense] was much stronger and scaled in effectiveness with how much his soldiers stood to benefit from victory. Given that Fal’Ashar was a bastion of Conclave activity and its populace would remain highly loyal to Tal’Qamar’s enemies, Nasrith fully intended to loot it for every resource, magical artifact, and scrap of knowledge it possessed.

Thus, Nasrith could immediately sense [Victory for Recompense] surge in potency as it swept over the Second Army, filling his soldiers with power. He only hoped that when combined with [Amplify Agility], it would be enough to allow his soldiers to evade the majority of counterattacks from Fal’Ashar’s defenses.

With nothing left to do, Nasrith nodded to his Lieutenant Colonel and gave the order. “Initiate the assault.”

Within moments after he finished speaking, the full might of Tal’Qamar’s second army bore down on the City of Enchanters.

Siege weapons roared to life, and a relentless barrage of massive boulders rained down on Fal’Ashar’s magical barrier. Nasrith’s [Siege Officer] unleashed his strongest Skills, causing the siege weapons to fire twice as often, the projectiles to move nearly three times as fast, and even spontaneously multiply mid-air in a show of strength that would reduce most cities to rubble.

[Archers] and [War Mages] simultaneously launched a coordinated assault, attacking the same portion of the ward as the siege weapons. The air was split by the sound of arrows powerful enough to pierce through steel and spells that shook the earth in their intensity.

Even the Desharin and the ogre [Shamans] contributed by directing their sand elementals and spirits to throw themselves against the ward.

The scene was one that filled Nasrith with pride as Fal’Ashar was bombarded by the relentless onslaught, empowered by his Skills. The [Greater Repulsion Ward] flared to life with each attack, trying desperately and succeeding for some time in repelling the assault. Boulders, arrows, and bolts of lightning slowed as they approached the barrier before being reflected back at the forces of Tal’Qamar.

However, Nasrith’s Skills had drastically increased the Agility of his soldiers, allowing them to react swiftly to these projectiles.

[Archers] expertly moved to the side as arrows flew back towards them, not ceasing in their attacks for even a moment. [War Mages] were much less nimble in general, but the [Shieldbearers] compensated by placing themselves in between any returning spellfire. The most vulnerable portion of the attacks was the line of siege weapons, which was why Nasrith and several other high-level individuals dedicated themselves fully to intercepting any retaliatory strikes.

Despite this, the end result was a chaotic and almost ridiculous exchange of attacks that caused the battlefield to look like an absolute whirlwind of lethal projectiles. Even with their enhanced Agility, there were many soldiers who either couldn’t avoid the counterattack or simply got unlucky and were struck by some other debris or misaimed spell.

The casualties that the Second Army was suffering would likely be more than most battles. Nasrith would have called off the attack in order to avoid such an outcome, if not for the fact that he could see Fal’Ashar’s [Greater Repulsion Ward] beginning to show signs of weakening.

The continuous barrage was gradually taking its toll, causing cracks to spread like a spider web across the shimmering barrier, growing more pronounced by the moment.

“Do not falter!” Nasrith shouted as he hurled his spear to another boulder and activated [Commanding Voice] to ensure that he was heard over the cacophony of battle. “Fal’Ashar shall be ours!”

Nasrith’s bellow was reciprocated by a resounding roar from his soldiers and an intensification of their attacks. The spider web cracks all around Fal’Ashar grew evermore fractured, spreading across the barrier like wildfire.

“Sir, the Warmage Company believes that the enemy’s ward is close to collapsing,” Lieutenant Colonel Anaya urgently reported. “They also sense a massive swell of magic from within the city consistent with the activation of a potential Category 7 Anti-Siege Ward! Estimated time of both is 1 and 15 minutes respectively!”

Then that gives us 14 minutes to prevent its activation, Nasrith thought grimly as he considered his options and quickly reached a conclusion. This is the best opportunity to take Fal’Ashar. It would take several months to wear down such a powerful Anti-Siege Ward. Months that we don’t have before the Conclave has finished their preparations in Fal’Farakh…

“Do we know from where specifically this surge of magic is emanating?” asked Nasrith, hoping that it wouldn’t be from the deepest parts of Fal’Ashar. “The enemy must be using an artifact, as our best intelligence reports place Enchanter Lord Ghalid’s level as somewhere in the upper 50s or lower 60s at most. Even he wouldn’t be able to invoke such a powerful ward with his own power.”

More importantly, the [Enchanter Lord] would be at his most vulnerable while focusing on establishing the ward. This meant that now was the perfect time to deal with the troublesome old man.

The Lieutenant Colonel was silent for several moments as she communicated with Captain Talrasha, before finally responding. “The source of magic originates along Fal’Ashar’s northern ramparts. The Warmage Company claims that the enemy is using their city’s heavily enchanted walls as an anchor for the ward, meaning they can’t stray too far from it during the ritual.”

Nasrith felt a trace of relief. Dealing with Enchanter Lord Ghalid would’ve been nearly impossible if the old man had been isolated in some highly fortified hole somewhere in Fal’Ashar.

With his decision made, Nasrith tightening his grip on his spear and charged down the dune he had been surveying from. He left the eastern section where the Second Army was concentrating its attacks and headed straight to the northern section of Fal’Ashar.

Approximately a minute later, the Warmage Company unleashed a devastating [Siege Fireball] large enough to swallow entire buildings whole, causing the [Greater Repulsion Ward] to completely shatter in an ear splitting explosion of magic. The resulting shockwave was enough to knock several soldiers near Fal’Ashar directly off their feet, but Nasrith simply ignored it and scanned his gaze over the ramparts as he continued his charge.

He could already see several [Enchanters] and [Aegis Casters] frantically working in concert to protect the city’s walls against the Second Army’s onslaught. The speed at which their Anti-Siege Ward had been destroyed had obviously caught them severely off guard and they were scrambling to defend themselves.

Unfortunately for them, Nasrith had absolutely no intention of allowing this opportunity to slip through his grasp.

Once he was around 20 feet away from Fal’Ashar’s walls, Nasrith ceased his charge and took a single moment to coil his serpentine tail. Once every single muscle in his tail was tensed as tightly as possible he pointed himself toward the densest grouping of enemy forces on Fal’Ashar’s ramparts.

Nasrith couldn’t explicitly make out Enchanter Lord Ghalid among the rabble, but it served to reason that he would be there.

With a burst of power that sent sand flying in all directions and caused a deafening tempest of wind, Nasrith surged upwards like a thunderbolt. He could feel the protective enchantments in Fal’Ashar’s walls respond to his intrusion, attempting to repel him as they would any unauthorized individual trying to jump or fly over the walls.

[Unimpeded Advance].

The enemy enchantment sputtered and failed under the brute force of Nasrith’s Skill. In less than a heartbeat, he found himself surging through the air and looking directly down at a cluster of Fal’Ashar soldiers who clearly didn’t have enough Agility to have tracked his immense speed.

Enchanter Lord Ghalid, a white haired human man with an abnormal long beard, was surrounded by some manner of magical barrier and a half-dozen [Enchanters] alongside a good number of his personal guard. Each of them was almost certainly equipped from head-to-toe in some of the best enchanted gear on the continent, and Nasrith could even see several of them beginning to react to his attack.

Not even I could handle such a force on my own, Nasrith observed dispassionately, his perception as if time had slowed as he turned his gaze to the soldier directly beneath him. I suppose that means that I should focus on reducing their numbers until reinforcements arrive.

So decided, Nasrith thrust his spear downward through the chest of a female human wearing robes, presumably an [Enchanter], until his weapon buried itself in Fal’Ashar’s rampants and arrested his movement. The sudden stop sent a powerful ripple of force through Nasrith’s scales, but he ignored this in favor of flicking his tail like a whip to snap the neck of a large lizardkin man and send him flying into the largest grouping of soldiers.

One of the Enchanter Lord’s guards broke formation further down the ramparts and charged at Nasrith, his eyes blazing with hatred as he swung a flaming scimitar.

“No! Jeshina! I’ll kill you!”

Nasrith realized that the name most likely belonged to the corpse skewered on his spear. The man was fast enough that he could’ve challenged many of Nasrith’s officers, which was actually somewhat impressive.

But only somewhat.

Nasrith swiftly pulled his spear out of the dead [Enchanter] and hurled it through the chest of the man in an explosion of gore and into the skull of an [Archer] who had been taking aim at him farther down the rampart.

A large warhammer smashed against the back of Nasrith’s head, but failed to do any real damage against his enchanted helmet and high Vitality. Nasrith rewarded the brave soldier who had struck him by whirling around and punching her so hard in the chest that the human’s armor crumpled in on itself and her ribs likely shattered completely.

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Feeling merciful, Nasrith quickly summoned his spear back to his grasp and finished the soldier off with a single thrust before charging in the direction opposite of the Enchanter Lord and his protective circle.

His strategy was simple; clear out an area of any enemy forces and secure a foothold for his own forces to make their way onto rampants. He’d already used [Commanding Edict] to order Captain Talrasha and Captain Serithal to gather a small group of their highest-leveled soldiers and join him at the rampants. Nasrith would have preferred to simply overwhelm the enemy with numbers, but much like most Commander Skills, [Unimpeded Advance] faced diminishing returns the more people it affected.

The enchantments on Fal’Ashar’s walls were powerful enough that Nasrith could only forcibly break through a few squads of soldiers.

Nasrith’s movements were a blur of steel and blood as he turned into a whirlwind of carnage, single-handedly slaughtering dozens of enemy soldiers in moments. Some of his enemies were higher-leveled and more skilled than average—while also wearing potent enchanted equipment that only the Great Houses could likely acquire in Tal’Qamar.

But against a level 63 [Warlord of Ambition], this only meant that they lasted for a few seconds longer than their companions.

It wasn’t long before Nasrith lost himself in the frenzy of battle.

Nasrith reacted instantly to the sound of a projectile cutting the air behind him, leveraging his naga anatomy to pull his upper body low to the ground. The arrow missed him and instead pierced the chest of an advancing Fal’Ashar soldier before promptly turning the soldier into solid stone.

Nasrith was respectful enough to slither around it, keeping himself far lower than the primarily lizardkin, human, and occasional ogre Fal’Ashar soldiers were accustomed to engaging. His spear easily severed legs with wide sweeps and pierced through vital spots with pinpoint thrusts as he undulated down the ramparts. At one point, an enemy [Aeromancer] attempted to attack Nasrith from above, but very fatally learned that naga were just as capable of lethal vertical strikes as they were on the ground.

By the time Nasrith landed back onto the ramparts with a crushed pile of meat caught within his coils, the Fal’Ashar defenders finally realized that they were outmatched and routed. Panic spread like wildfire and the undisciplined cowards scattered like insects, many of them even jumping down from the high walls and into Fal’Ashar proper.

But much to their misfortune, both Nasrith and his soldiers had been trained to exploit enemy vulnerabilities whenever possible.

[Unimpeded Advance].

Nasrith watched with satisfaction as more than a dozen of the Second Army’s finest soldiers leapt onto the ramparts as soon as his Skill washed over them.

The enemy’s frenzied retreat only grew more panicked as Captain Serithal cut them down with his sword and Captain Talrasha set them ablaze with spellfire. It only took a few moments before a good portion of the northern ramparts had been seized by Tal’Qamari forces.

Though as Nasrith looked back in the direction he came, it was clear that Enchanter Lord Ghalid and his retinue were made from sterner steel. Ghalid hadn’t ceased his spellcasting for a moment, single-mindedly focused on erecting the ward around Fal’Ashar while his guards had begun fortifying the area around their leader.

Nasrith could tell that several more layers of magical barriers were being rapidly constructed around Ghalid by his [Enchanters], meaning that it would be much more difficult to reach him.

“Your orders, sir?” asked Captain Talrasha, shouting over the roar of the Second Army attempting to break a hole through Fal’Ashar’s eastern walls. “I can sense Enchanter Lord Ghalid’s magic swelling with each passing moment. I estimate that we have less than 5 minutes to intervene before he erects the Category 7 ward.”

Nasrith’s mind immediately began racing with plans before settling on one that was rather straightforward. “We shall assault them directly. Captain Serithal, you and anyone else with Plaguebringer augmentations are to create a miasma of poisoned mist around the Enchanter Lord to confuse and weaken their defenses. Everyone else, fight at your discretion with the objective of distracting the Enchanter Lord’s retinue. I will need to focus on piercing Ghalid’s barriers.”

Captain Serithal nodded, his face set in grim determination. “Sir, what about those of us who aren’t immune to the poisonous effects of the miasma?”

“Even if much of my focus is dedicated to maintaining [Unimpeded Advance], I’m still able to sustain another Skill for a mere 5 minutes, Captain,” Nasrith explained to his fellow naga as he activated [Amplify Vitality] and spread it over the nearby troops. “This should prevent the miasma from affecting our own forces negatively. At least for the duration of this engagement.”

With no more questions and little time to waste, Captain Serithal immediately organized the troops and moved to execute Nasrith’s plan. The Plaguebringer soldiers initiated the assault by releasing toxic mist which Captain Talrasha propelled further along the ramparts with a powerful gust of wind. This cloud swiftly enveloped the Enchanter Lord and his retinue, cloaking them in a veil of poison.

“[Indomitable Charge]!” Nasrith called out as he led the spearhead, charging directly toward Ghalid and his defenders. He was intent on not allowing them time to counter the miasma.

Unfortunately, Enchanter Lord Ghalid’s retinue proved drastically more competent, organized, and equipped than the rest of the rabble that Nasrith had just finished putting down. The most heavily armored of them quickly formed a defensive line in front of Ghalid, thrusting their enchanted shields forward and projecting a series of shimmering barriers that rose high into the air.

Nasrith saw no way to maneuver around them and simply collided with them spear first. His natural Strength combined with [Indomitable Charge] resulted in an immense force that immediately shattered the barriers, but his charge had been successfully blunted.

“General! To your left!”

Nasrith sensed the incoming attack cutting through the air almost immediately after Captain Talrasha’s warning and recoiled back on his tail to avoid an invisible blade aimed at his neck. He then pivoted and thrust his spear forward faster than most people could process, anticipating that his attacker would become visible after he pierced through their heart.

They did indeed become visible—seeming to be a female lizardkin covered completely in gleaming armor that glowed brightly with magic—but Nasrith was more than a little surprised when his spear simply passed through them as if they were a ghost.

Nasrith couldn’t help but feel impressed. The Enchanter Lord had truly given his retinue some very powerful equipment. He would’ve genuinely found something like this difficult to deal with if he were a lesser General.

But Nasrith was one of the most feared men among the Qahtani City-States for a good reason.

“[Imposed Command]. Kill your allies,” Nasrith said calmly, his Skill immediately struggling against the lizardkin’s Willpower and very quickly overpowering her ability to resist.

Nasrith could feel the beginnings of Skill Exhaustion after using that Skill, but it was worth it. The only sign of the lizardkin warrior’s unwillingness was her terror-stricken eyes as she turned her invisible blade against her comrades, who seemed unprepared for the sudden betrayal. It was at this moment that Captains Talrasha and Serithal—along with the rest of the Tal’Qamari forces—finally caught up to Nasrith and crashed into the enemy’s ranks while under the influence of [Indomitable Charge].

The miasma of poison continued to spread, further weakening the resolve and physical capabilities of Ghalid’s defenders. It spoke to the enemy’s competency that they didn’t immediately collapse under the onslaught, but they were more than sufficiently distracted for Nasrith to slither through their defenses under the cover of the miasma.

Amid the chaos, Nasrith locked his sights onto Enchanter Lord Ghalid, who still stood well protected within a violet barrier of magic as he focused intently on a small object floating directly in front of him. Further observation revealed that the artifact was covered in runes and polyhedric in shape, indicating that it was most likely a Spell Repository designed to store spells.

Weaving his way through the crowd of enemy forces like a viper through grass, Nasrith exploited his superior speed and maneuverability to bypass the last of Ghalid’s defenders.

As he closed in on his target, Nasrith knew that Ghalid’s barriers would be the strongest that Fal’Ashar had to offer and that he needed to destroy them as quickly as possible if he wished to have any hope of succeeding in time. Nasrith was extremely powerful and was currently equipped with the greatest armaments that House Vhelan could provide, but such a feat would be difficult for even most combat-oriented level 60s.

Fortunately, few things in the world could rival the lethality of a high-level Commander Class individual backed by a well-equipped army. Ceasing all of his ongoing Skills except [Unimpeded Advance] so that he wouldn’t suffer from debilitating Skill Exhaustion, Nasrith immediately used several different Skills at once.

[Unerring Accuracy: Siege Company]. [Extended Range: Siege Company]. [Instantaneous Barrage: Siege Company].

Nasrith almost wished that he was still at his command center so that he could hear the creaking sound of trebuchets releasing their payloads in rapid succession. However, watching more than a dozen heavy boulders fly above his head and land with pinpoint accuracy upon the barrier surrounding Enchanter Lord Ghalid was satisfying enough to put a smile on his face.

The enchanted and Skill-enhanced projectiles struck with force akin to the wrath of an [Archmage], shaking the ramparts and even causing cracks to form in Fal’Ashar’s famously impenetrable walls. By the time all of the boulders had landed, several layers of the barriers had been destroyed and the last remaining one was flickering uncertainly, making it easy for him to shatter it with a thrust of his spear.

Nasrith didn’t hesitate to lunge toward Enchanter Lord Ghalid spear first, though he didn’t allow his guard to fall for a moment. Even if Ghalid was an aristocrat who had no public history of combat experience, he was only slighter lower leveled than Nasrith and there were few Rulers who managed to live into old age without learning a trick or two.

That caution likely saved Nasrith’s life. As he advanced, Ghalid made a swift gesture towards him and activated an enchanted ring that unleashed a beam of bright energy directly at Nasrith. He instantly dodged to the side, but was caught off-guard when he found himself unbalanced and slightly weaker than expected.

It only took a moment for Nasrith to realize that all of the enchantments on his equipment had been made inert or destroyed in the past few seconds.

“The Butcher of Tal’Qamar, here to seize my city,” said Enchanter Lord Ghalid, his voice cold as he chased Nasrith with the beam of searing light from one hand while steadfastly extending the other toward the Spell Repository. “You don’t understand what you’re doing, or the peril you risk by allowing the invasive gods into our midst. Only the Conclave is fit to be custodian of these lands and what lies beneath it.”

Speaking during combat? How undisciplined, Nasrith thought as he scoffed dismissively and slowly began to approach the Enchanter Lord while weaving between arcs of plasma that the old man was throwing at him.

“The masters you serve are ignorant fools who will doom us all with their greed, naga!” Enchanter Lord Ghalid shouted as he ceased his attack and activated a different ring, this time creating a tempest so powerful that even Nasrith found it difficult to approach. “Surrender now and you may still be forgiven! Your actions will lead us all to nothing but—”

The Enchanter Lord’s impassioned plea was cut short as the old man finally spotted the several incoming boulders threatening to turn him into a smear on the ramparts.

Nasrith expected Ghalid to finally step away from the Spell Repository and use one of his many enchanted items to move out of the way. Instead, the Enchanter Lord extended a hand toward the incoming projectiles, somehow causing each of them to suddenly disappear into thin air as soon as they drew close.

It was an impressive display of what was most likely spatial magic. But unfortunately for Ghalid, it meant that he had stopped engaging directly with his opponent.

Nasrith immediately took advantage and closed the distance within a blink of an eye, swinging his spear at Ghalid with the intent to remove the old man’s limbs. Better to capture the Enchanter Lord alive for both political and intelligence gathering reasons.

Nasrith wasn't at all surprised when his weapon passed through Ghalid’s body as if it were nothing but mist, much like it had with the lizardkin from before. [Imposed Command] would doubtlessly fail against the Enchanter Lord, as his higher level and spellcaster Class meant that his Willpower would likely be higher than even Nasrith’s.

That being the case, he decided to simply turn his weapon toward the other priority target.

Ghalid must have realized his intention at the last moment, as he began shouting just as Nasrith’s spear passed through his body and arced toward the Spell Repository. “Wait! Stay your bla—”

The Enchanter Lord was interrupted as Nasrith cut through the Spell Repository, shattering it into a thousand shimmering pieces and releasing an intense explosion of uncontrolled magic. Nasrith’s high natural Vitality allowed him to withstand the magical backlash without too much issue, but Ghalid was clearly not as fortunate.

The blast knocked him off his feet, leaving him dazed and vulnerable on the ground. But most importantly, it meant that the Enchanter Lord wasn’t concentrating on keeping himself intangible.

Ghalid shouted in pain as Nasrith promptly removed both of his hands with two swift strokes of his spear, depriving him of his enchanted rings, before trapping the old man tightly within his coils. Nasrith glanced back at his soldiers to ensure that they were faring well against the remaining Fal’Ashari defenders—who seemed to be faltering after seeing their leader captured and the Spell Repository broken.

It wasn’t long before the Enchanter Lord’s retinue either surrendered or were cut down.

“Secure the ramparts! Make your way to the eastern gate and allow our forces into the city!” Nasrith barked out the order over the chaos, even as he began dispassionately stripping Enchanter Lord Ghalid of any item that could be dangerous.

Which was essentially everything, given that he was in fact an [Enchanter Lord].

“Captain Thalsara, stay behind and help me search for any hidden artifacts on the Enchanter Lord’s person,” Nasrith ordered, well aware that he needed someone with [Magic Perception] to ensure that he made no mistakes. He had no intention of allowing carelessness to undermine the success of their conquest.

“Are you satisfied, Butcher?” Ghalid gritted out through a pained expression, still trapped within Nasrith’s coils as his robes were unceremoniously ripped from his body. “Do you feel pride in taking this city? In marching us all one step further into the abyss?”

Nasrith generally wasn’t one to waste time on ‘banter’ during campaigns, but the battle had essentially been won with the destruction of the Spell Repository, and Fal’Ashar would soon be theirs. Oh, there was still much blood left to be spilled once they started dealing with the local garrison, but the Second Army was more than equipped to deal with them.

That being the case, Nasrith supposed that he could allow himself a moment to gather potentially useful information from the Enchanter Lord while the sting of defeat still loosened his tongue.

“Fal’Ashar’s enchantments and defenses may be impressive, but your city’s military acumen is too pathetic for me to feel any pride in your defeat,” Nasrith said honestly as he removed one of the old man’s earrings. “As for your claim that I am ‘marching us one step further into the abyss’, I hardly believe that the Great Houses are any more corrupt than your Conclave.”

“Not everything revolves around you and your fellow snakes, Butcher!” Enchanter Lord Ghalid all but spat as he glared at Nasrith. “It is the invasive gods and their servants who should warrant your concern. It is they, who will cause irreparable harm if allowed to accumulate power and supplant the Conclave from their rightful role!”

Nasrith paused briefly in genuine surprise and studied the old man wrapped in his coils to see if the old man actually believed the nonsense coming out of his mouth. Nasrith didn’t share the belief that his ‘fellow snakes’ had in the inherent superiority of naga—instead preferring the battle-tested superiority of steel and discipline. But even so, he found it ludicrous to consider a few paltry religious groups as larger threats than the Great Houses.

Despite this, Nasrith found nothing but unfettered confidence in Enchanter Lord Ghalid’s expression.

“And why exactly should I consider them to be a threat?” asked Nasrith, deciding to prod the Enchanter Lord for further information. Even if this was a transparent attempt by the Conclave to sow discord amongst their enemies, he may still gain insights from listening. “The Hierophant’s Council has shown no sign of disloyalty to Tal’Qamar, and they are too weak besides to pose a significant threat on their own.”

Enchanter Lord Ghalid let out a grim chuckle as his expression grew condescending. “Oh, it is truly amusing to witness how ignorant you snakes are of the divine machinations that surround you. It matters little how weak or loyal your ‘Hierophant’s Council’ may appear to be. It is their gods who control them in the end, and it is they who will inevitably collaborate to accumulate power and supplant the established order.”

Receiving such unhelpfully cryptic warnings, Nasrith was more confident than ever that Ghalid was merely equivocating in an attempt to sow discord. However, Nasrith had never been one to dismiss potentially useful intelligence without first giving it due consideration, so he took a moment to reflect on the information at hand and conduct a quick threat assessment.

Ghalid wasn’t incorrect that the Hierophant’s Council was showing signs of increasing collaboration, but that was completely within Nasrith’s expectations given the agreement he’d made with the Cult of Cerebon.

It had been approximately a week since Apostle Zareth had returned to Tal’Qamar, and the young human had reportedly spent a few days in his spire before starting to reach out more to his peers. High Command’s [Spies] had difficulty infiltrating the areas where each of the religious groups had ‘consecrated’ as their own—such as the spires or temples—but nothing particularly unexpected had been brought to Nasrith’s attention. No major agreements had been made; instead, Apostle Zareth appeared to be initiating diplomatic outreach by engaging other religious leaders and inviting them to exploratory discussions.

It would be ridiculous for him to consider that suspicious given that Apostle Zareth was acting as he should if he was truly seeking to sway his peers to support Nasrith against the Great Houses.

The Priesthood of Silvaris and the Way of Gendal were also acting as expected, continuing to focus primarily on their own peoples while making moderate contributions to the war effort. The Order of the Serene Path was… somewhat more complicated as intelligence reports claimed that they would soon be receiving foreign support from their primary temples in Great Mu, but that wasn’t necessarily a surprise either.

The Circle of Ghisara was the most unpredictable factor which Nasrith knew the least about, but it was generally fine to analyze them through their strong ties to House Khrysar. But given the escalating challenges Nasrith faced from every Great House—excluding House Vhelen—in his efforts to establish control over Tal’Qamar, that probably wasn’t particularly good news.

“I can see that you don’t believe me, Butcher,” said Enchanter Lord Ghalid, his voice almost pitying as he watched Nasrith with cold, calculating eyes. “But heed my warning. They will keep secrets from you and collaborate to advance their agenda. I suggest that when you return to Tal’Qamar with word of your failure here, that you monitor them very closely.”

The very moment that Enchanter Lord Ghalid uttered the word ‘failure’ with complete surety in his eyes, Nasrith felt a cold ripple down his scales and immediately moved to knock the old man unconscious to prevent whatever he might be plotting. Woefully, he was too late and an intense corrosive burning across his tail caused Nasrith to yell out in pain and release the Enchanter Lord.

How?! He’s been stripped of all his enchanted items and Captain Talrasha should have warned me if he sensed any magic! Nasrith frantically wondered as he attempted to fight through the pain and looked down at his tail. It became clear that the damage was significant when he saw that chunks of it had been completely corroded.

Taken by surprise and uncertain of the immediate danger, Nasrith seized Captain Talrasha by the shoulder and propelled them both backward with a powerful leap, creating distance between them and the Enchanter Lord. This decision proved wise, as a surge of dark red energy struck the spot they had just vacated, rapidly corroding the stones below.

No… not corroding. Degrading.

“Sir! He’s not using magic! It’s Divine Essence!” Captain Talrasha shouted, immediately confirming Nasrith’s horrible suspicion. Because if Enchanter Lord Ghalid was favored enough by Amareal, God of Degradation, to call upon his power, then it was highly likely that he could also call upon the other half of the Twin Gods.

The two gods had separate priesthoods, but the Twin Gods were well known for being unusually willing to share power amongst their followers.

Sure enough, when Nasrith turned his gaze back to Ghalid, he saw the old man dashing toward the broken remnants of the Spell Repository with hands that had been completely regrown. A multitude of different plans raced through Nasrith’s mind as he considered how to respond, but he knew that he had few options when he saw Ghalid touch a remnant of the Spell Repository.

The Enchanter Lord invoked the power of Nuriel, God of Restoration, and in an instant, the shattered pieces of the artifact seamlessly reassembled into their original, unblemished form.

“General, the Spell Repository feels as if it's ready to be activated!” Captain Talrasha warned urgently. The Captain had the good sense to throw a stream of fire toward Ghalid, but a shield of dark red energy rose around the old man and quenched the flames, degrading them into nonexistence.

Cursed, capricious gods!

It was usually only religious Classes like [Priest] or [Paladins] who were allowed to wield the power of their gods. Oh, Nasrith was well aware that this rule wasn’t universal—as had been amply demonstrated by the [Ambassador] who had been infused with Suhail’s power and started this war. However, this not only required intense devotion from the mortal receiving the deity’s power, but also heavily deteriorated a person if they lacked a Class designed to channel Divine Essence.

Even now, the Enchanter Lord’s body was beginning to collapse and erode under the divine power that he was channeling, his flesh falling away in pieces as the energy consumed him.

Nasrith had received absolutely no intelligence reports that implied Ghalid possessed the devotion or resolve to be such a person, which was why he had failed to consider the Enchanter Lord to still be a threat. Without his equipment, an aristocrat with a non-combat Class shouldn’t have been able to injure someone of Nasrith’s caliber more heavily than he had been in years, yet that was exactly what happened.

Faced with an enemy with unknown capabilities, equipment that had been entirely stripped of their enchantments, and by now suffering increasingly heavy symptoms of Skill Exhaustion, Nasrith did the only thing that he could. He glared at the Enchanter Lord with a steely gaze and promised himself that he would repay this humiliation in blood before throwing both himself and Captain Talrasha off the rampants away from Fal’Ashar.

He couldn’t risk being trapped within an enemy city once the ward activated. Not even he would be able to survive against the Fal’Ashari garrison, which likely numbered in the thousands.

Moments after the two of them landed in the sands, Ghalid finished activating the Spell Repository and the Category 7 Anti-Siege Ward fell over Fal’Ashar.

It didn’t take long to realize how it worked when Nasrith saw projectiles from the Second Army completely disappearing as they approached Fal’Ashar, similar to how the Enchanter Lord had protected himself from the trebuchet-launched boulders. While it lacked the retaliatory element of the [Greater Repulsion Ward], his instincts told Nasrith that overwhelming force would be far less effective against this one than the previous.

It took everything Nasrith had to stop himself from hissing at the city like an angry hatchling.

“Sir, what should we do now?” asked Captain Talrasha, pulling Nasrith’s attention back to reality.

As much as he might want to spend his time glaring at the city which would now take several more months to capture, he had responsibilities which needed to be addressed.

“We shall return to the rest of the Second Army, Captain and conduct a review of everything that went poorly,” General Nasrith said firmly as he began making his way to the eastern side of Fal’Ashar.

The Captain began following him after only a moment of silent hesitation, and Nasrith turned his attention to picking apart every mistake that led to him suffering one of the worst strategic blunders that he had made since he was a Colonel.

The most obvious of them was allowing Ghalid time to speak with the intention of gathering information rather than knocking the old man unconscious immediately then interrogating him later. Although, that entire conversation now seemed… quite strange with the added context that Ghalid could have escaped Nasrith hold whenever he wanted and put up a much stronger fight from the beginning.

Had the Conclave truly gone to such great lengths just to sow a few seeds of doubt in Nasrith’s mind? It seemed illogical, unless the Conclave truly knew something about the situation that he didn’t…

Nasrith forced these thoughts out his mind, deeming them to be unhelpfully speculative. With his… failure to capture Fal’Ashar quickly, there was little preventing him from returning to Tal’Qamar as planned to deal with the city’s internal politics.

That being the case, Nasrith would have ample time to evaluate matters himself and reach a conclusion.

The truth would reveal itself in time.