Ch81 The World Ender

Author's Preface

"March to the walls!" Hidan commanded the army behind him. "Whoever stands in your way... cut them down!"

"No!" The Wanderer’s voice cut through the rising chaos.

Hidan spurred his horse forward anyway. In haste, the Wanderer threw himself off his mount and planted his legs in Hidan’s path. "I said we shed no blood, unless necessary."

"This is necessary!" Hidan roared, pulling his horse to stop.

He leapt down, grabbing the Wanderer's collar. "Victory has a price! You need to understand that!"

The Wanderer shoved Hidan’s hands away. "Blood only breeds more blood!"

A shriek tore through the air behind them.

The Wanderer snapped his head toward the ramparts just in time to see the crimson point of Altharion’s blade run straight through a woman's back. The blind king kicked her limp body off the steel, letting her fall to the dirt below.

Altharion grinned at the Wanderer. "Time is up, boy."

Hidan turned around, shouting to the hesitating lines of mages, "What are you waiting for?! He’s going to slaughter them all regardless!"

The mages shifted uncomfortably, looking between their leaders in growing confusion.

Seth rode up, his face grim as he dismounted. He looked at the Wanderer. "I side with Hidan. If we turn back today, we won't get another chance at these walls for a hundred years."

The Wanderer stared at the two of them in disbelief.

"Perhaps another corpse will hasten your decision," Altharion called out, hauling a terrified young man to the edge of the stone.

"Stop!" the Wanderer screamed.

He paused for a moment, lowering his head. "I yield."

Hidan and Seth instantly grabbed his arms, trying to pull him back.

"You fool!" Hidan spat. "We didn't march to the gates just to surrender!"

"He'll execute you where you stand to crush the rebellion before it starts!" Seth said.

The Wanderer flared a burst of mana, sending both men stumbling backward. He began walking toward the city gates. "I won't have any more blood on my hands."

He looked up at the ramparts, raising his single hand into the air. "I'm surrendering myself! Let them go!"

Altharion shoved the hostage away from the edge, a smile spreading across his lips. "A wise decision, indeed."

A squad of Valorian guards swarmed through the gates, shoving the Wanderer to his knees and wrapped iron chains around his body.

They pulled him up, dragging him across the threshold into the archway.

As he crossed the boundary, Altharion leaned over the inner railing, looking down at him. "Aren't you going to tell your army to stand down?"

The Wanderer looked up at the king bitterly for a moment, before slowly nodding, then turned back toward the open plains to dismiss his soldiers.

As the Wanderer looked out at his army in the distance, he forced out the words reluctantly. "This isn't the end, but for now, you must-"

"Fire," Altharion commanded coldly from above.

The Wanderer snapped his head up toward the king, who stood tall on the ramparts with a victorious sneer.

Suddenly, screaming arcs of condensed mana shot over his head. A barrage that bombarded the ranks of the alliance army.

"Shields up!" Seth roared in the distance.

The mages scrambled to form defensive barriers, but the incoming artillery was too fast and too concentrated for their hasty casts to hold.

The shock broke, and the Wanderer snapped into motion. Grunting against the strain, he flooded his body with mana, shattering the chains.

Altharion chuckled above him. "Too late. Watch them burn."

Ignoring the king, the Wanderer launched himself past the gatehouse toward the storm of magic. Flying into the open plain, he hurled his own blasts into the air, intercepting the incoming shells mid-flight in a shower of sparks and blinding flash.

"Fall back! Retreat!" a mage screamed, staggering away from the impact zones.

Hidan seized the retreating soldier by his collar, pulling him backward. "You can't outrun the range of mortal cannons! Fight! Fight with everything you have!"

A stray blast clipped the Wanderer, throwing him to the scorched earth. He pushed himself onto his palm, struggling to rise, but his bosy was already at its limit after tearing apart the city's leylines.

Seth dashed through the smoke, hauling the Wanderer by his shoulder into the cover of the tree line.

The Wanderer coughed up blood, his right hand trembling from the blasts he had deflected.

Seth ducked as another explosion rocked the earth nearby. "I thought you destroyed all the Nullstones! How is he charging artillery?!"

The Wanderer wiped the blood from his lips. "I only shattered the ones anchored to the outer wall... He must have hidden reserve arrays within the city."

Suddenly, the deafening barrage fell silent.

Seth peered through the haze. "The cannons need time to recharge. We have to move now." He helped the Wanderer to his feet, pulling him toward the scattered remnants of their forces.

"Our allies did not die in vain!"

They both turned at the sound. Hidan stood atop a pile of rubble, drenched in blood, his blade raised high.

"Valoria falls today!" Hidan screamed. "Charge!"

Seth stared in disbelief. "Have you lost your damned mind?! We’ll be slaughtered!"

Hidan turned his gaze to the wounded mages. "Don't listen to these cowards! They surrendered, and it got your comrades killed! Follow me!"

Clutching his hand together, Hidan conjured pillars of stone from the ground, launching them into the ramparts.

Inspired by the sudden push, the surviving mages rallied, unleashing a volley of fireballs and lightning bolts against the fortifications.

Under the assault, the walls of Valoria began to fracture.

Altharion raised his arm, shielding his face from the falling debris, before turning to his general. "Wulfric! How long until the cannons are charged?!"

Wulfric remained transfixed by assault against the front gate. "They won't be ready in time, my Lord!"

Altharion gritted his teeth, shifting his head to a nearby captain. "Deploy the Blue Vanguard."

The heavy main gates groaned open.

Hundreds of armored soldiers poured out into the open field, their plate mail forged from refined Nullstones, same as the armor Zeek once wore.

The Wanderer froze as he watched the Blue Vanguard and the mages collide in a chaotic clash.

Steel met spellcraft in brutal chaos. The Blue Vanguard could not withstand an endless barrage of magic, while the mages struggled to keep Valorian steel at a distance. Between them, the chained hostages were caught in the crossfire.

Seth fell to his knees, clutching his head. "This is madness..."

The Wanderer's eye widened as he took in the carnage. "What have I done...?"

Seth grabbed his arm, pulling with all his strength. "We have to get out of here!" He tried to haul him back, but the Wanderer shoved him aside.

"No."

Freeing himself, the Wanderer began limping back toward the chaotic battlefield.

"What are you doing?!" Seth screamed after him.

"What I should have done from the very beginning," the Wanderer muttered.

He stopped in the middle of the raging storm, placing his hand over his chest.

*You've been starving for too long, Spiral. Now... feed.*

[Assessing the situation...]

[Searching for nearby sources of mana...]

[Found multiple suitable sources within a hundred kilometers]