Chapter 213: Chapter 213
The group rearranged their formation and began their march down the hallway. Ruckanos saw nothing but a sunlit field of flowers beyond the end of the tunnel. Had this been a normal Tower, he might have thought it suspicious, or possibly a rest zone. With this Tower…he guessed the imposter just put a random field of flowers haphazardly, wasting an entire room choice on what was likely a useless decoration of a room.
But then, the captain stopped. Ruckanos only heard a light buzzing noise before the captain shouted.
The lead guards raised their shields just as five bees flew down in front of the entrance, larger than any bee Ruckanos had ever seen, as large as his hand even. They did not make their way inside the tunnels, but hovered in place and swung their abdomens forward. A cone of liquid shot from each bee.
Thanks to the captain’s quick reaction, most of the liquid splashed against the guards’ metal shields. However, some flew past and landed on one of the guard’s face. For a moment, he just dabbed at his face.
And then he started screaming. The captain motioned and the other guards pulled him off the line to the few mages who knew a bit of healing magic. One of the mages managed to retaliate with a quick fireball but the bees flew away from the entrance long before it arrived. As soon as the danger had passed, the bees returned and launched another spray. One guard lifted his shield high to protect his face and got his legs drenched. He lasted a moment longer before the poison sunk into his clothes, and then he started screaming too.
The captain motioned forward.
The guards began a brisk march forward while the mages tried to cover them. The bee monsters were too quick and too far away, but the spells at least bought them some time.
“We die if we leave, too! Do you think help is coming for us, commander? Do you think we’re going to find supplies and safe haven here? Do you think the Conclave will simply let us go even if we survive until they arrive? No, captain, our only options here are victory or death. The gods led us here, so there must be a way!”
The captain grimaced while Ruckanos glanced around.
“Why not the wyverns?”
The captain shook his head.
“The skies are full of them, they’ll never get aloft.”
Ruckanos rubbed his chin.
“What about the mages? We cast a grand fireball to punch a hole and then fly through.”
“…they clearly avoid danger so…it might actually work. If we can get the wyverns out of these tunnels and airborne.”
For a brief moment he turned and looked Ruckanos in the eye.
“We’re going to take casualties, though, and we’ll have an angry bee army on our tail. If we do this, we will not be able to retreat. There will be no going back.”
Ruckanos narrowed his gaze.
The captain nodded and began to bark his orders.
“You four, and you two mages, with me. Everyone else, saddle up and prepare your mounts as best you can. You will not have long.”
On the captain’s orders, one of the mages on the ground created a powerful gust of wind down the tunnel. The toxic spraying bees showed up once more but were blown off course when they tried to approach the entrance. Ruckanos and the others tried to climb onto their wyverns as best they could. He had to lay flat to avoid bumping his head on the roof of the tunnel, but he managed to strap in as securely as possible.
The captain then nodded and gave the order. He and the frontline guards with him rushed forward with their shields up while the two mages followed. The guards held their shields to ward off another dive attempt by the bees while the mages quickly cast their spell. A sphere of winds wrapped around the tunnel entrance, warding off the bees. The spraying ones attacked again but the toxic spray was blown away before it landed.
The wyverns then crawled out one by one, digging their claws into the dirt to push through the wind. The wyvern-mounted mages then assembled around Ruckanos. They all lifted their hands and spoke as one.
“God of Fire, hear our plea. Let your fires rage and light our path. Let our enemies burn in the blaze of your inferno, let nothing remain but ash and smoke.”
A magic circle of red light formed in the air above all of them. A massive ball of fire began to form in the air, flickering in the heavy winds around them. The captain nodded at the two mages with him and they dropped their wind spell. The bees began to dive immediately but they were too late. A grand fireball had formed and now shot into the sky. Sweat dripped down Ruckanos’s face from the heat, even at this distance, but he smiled as the fireball soared.
He grasped the reigns and dug into his saddle. In but a moment, the fireball would explode and the sky would turn from black and yellow to red and orange. They would have but a moment then to fly while the fire dissipated.