Leveling up the World

Chapter 878: The Puppeteer's Strings

Thick layers of water covered the hulls of the ships as they approached. Dallion had used one of his aether echoes to fly ahead and cast a ray of destruction before they came into view, but to little effect. Walls of water had risen up the moment the beam had emerged, decreasing its strength to such a degree that by the time it hit the flagship, it barely caused a mark.

In turn, the flagship had launched a wave of water projectiles at the echo. Defending against them proved simple, but it gave Dallion a taste of what was to come. No wonder the Alliance had lost: the Azures relied heavily on magic and after recent events, there wasnt a lot anyone could do to counter them. The only defense against a mage, other than overwhelming numbers, was another mage; that or a domain ruler.

A line of water rose up from the front ship, heading straight for Alliances wall. Aether barriers emerged only to be shattered like glass. Water mercilessly continued forward, piercing through, until it slammed into the reinforced granite wall. Thankfully, that was all it did.

Theyre testing you, Euryale said. They did the same before wiping us out.

Dallion nodded. Both sides had done their obligatory show of strength and neither had the upper hand. With that, the ante was raised.

Their hulls are covered in water golems, Gleam told Dallion in his realm.

The shardfly had flown up in the sky, using illusion to mask itself as a cloud. As vicious and powerful as it was, even it wouldnt be able to win the battle alone. After all, a dragon had already tried that and clearly failed.

When they get near, the golems will be the first to charge, Gleam added. Also, dont trust their numbers. Most of the fleet is hiding beneath illusion spells.

How many? Dallion asked.

Three-quarters. Maybe four fifths. Its difficult to tell from this distance.

Not good. According to the fury scouts, over a hundred ships had been spotted. If Gleam was to be believed, that put the total number at five hundred at least.

Good job, Gleam. Keep observing. At some point, I might tell you to join in.

You better.

Whats the matter? Several clusters of Euryales snakes turned to Dallion.

Theres a lot more of them than meets the eye, Dallion replied. Most of the fleet is invisible, and there are water golems hiding on the ships. How did you manage to fight them off last time?

We didnt. We caused most of their losses once they went inland. Everything on the coast was lost. The gorgon adjusted her sun gold armor. Despite Dallions treatment, the wounds still caused her a sizable amount of pain. Nymphs were leading the charge back then.

A wedge towards the empire, Dallion thought. As long as he dealt with the water golems and the mages aboard, victory was within reach. That didnt mean it would be easy.

Upon reaching the edge of the citys domain, the flagship stopped. The smaller ships followed. The number of magic threads throughout each of them was impressive, making them glow bright purple.

I still think I should inform the emperor, dear boy, Adzorg complained. Due to necessity, Dallion had removed his blocking ring, but also made the old mage give a Moon vow that he wouldnt share anything he knew of the situation to anyone. He could destroy the fleet in minutes.

And us along with it, Dallion thought.

The aether echo flew towards the ship, performing a series of line and point attacks with the aim of provoking the enemies into doing something. Lines of destruction split the massive wall of water that emerged, attempting to cut through. No matter the number, though, none of them was able to pass the middle.Vissit novelbin(.)c.om for updates

Harp? Dallion asked. Whats special about the water?

Normally, a line attack was capable of slicing through cliffs. To have it stopped, there had to be magic in play and more.

The harpsisword guardian didnt respond. The invaders, though, did. Cones of water emerged from the wall, darting at the echo. The aether-Dallion split into fifty instances as he pulled back. Using guard and attack skills, he slashed at several of the water cones, to no result. Upon getting hit, they splintered into thousands of water needles, flying in all directions. An aether sphere emerged, at which point the real goal of the attack became apparent.

Theyre symbols, Dallion said, although too late for his echo to take advantage.

Magic symbols formed around the aether sphere, connecting to one another with threads of water. A massive explosion followed. Water splashed in all directions. The Azure fleet was forced slightly back as the sea rippled beneath them. Meanwhile, several waves slammed into the outer wall of the city. When the tons of water fell back into the sea, the echo was gone.

Did they do that when you fought them? he turned to Eury.

No, she replied in a tone suggesting that they did far worse things.

There wont be a stalemate this time! The aura sword swooped in from behind, creating a trail of spell circles in its wake.

Meanwhile, Dallion pressed on with a multi-attack in each instance.

Entangle him! He othered the item guardians of his enemys clothes.

In two hundred and forty-seven of the instances, nothing happened. But in three, the items responded. The mans sleeves moved just enough to catch the hilt of the left blade he was holding. It was an innocent action, slowing him down fractions of a second, but in the world of high-level awakened that was more than enough.

Got you! Dallion forced that reality to become reality, piercing the back of his enemys hand. Blood erupted with incredible intensity.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 200%

A red rectangle emerged.

Huh? Dallion blinked. This wasnt supposed to appear in the real world.

Taking advantage of his hesitation, the Azure quickly retreated down the deck. Dallion was just about to follow when a blur emerged twenty feet away.

So, youve grown a bit, the blood took form. Once it did, a sensation of terror surrounded Dallion.

Grym, he said, summoning the aura blade. The weapon instantly returned to him, where it was grabbed in the air.

Using your famed healing firebird, the leader of the alliance continued. Dallion had expected their encounter ever since the battle within the personal realm of Gryms brother. He had perfectly expected it to be at least as challenging as his fight against the Star. What he couldnt have predicted was that the person who hated his guts would appear dressed in a common outfit that nobles used for fencing practice.

Grym wore no armor. He didnt have any protective spells, artifacts, familiars, or impressive weapons. He stood on the deck, in a simple shirt of gray pearl-thread, looking down at Dallion with a cold sense of superiority.

Wont your shardfly join in? he asked. Or are you using her to look at my fleet? Well, let me make it easy for you.

On cue, ships appeared in the sea. There were as many as Gleam had suggested, but even so, seeing them pop up in groups of three and four was highly intimidating.

Better? Grym smiled.

Youre not Grym, Dallion said. Who are you?

Finally catching on? Id compliment you, if you werent half a year too late.

Hes a puppet, boss! Lux chirped. Theres a nymph inside!

Dallion felt his blood run cold. He should have seen this. Someone should have seen it.

The Azures didnt summon you back from banishment, he said. You summoned yourself back.

Magic is the trait of exceptions. Grym smirked. Having the Purple Moon as patron of our race also helped.

So, who are you, really?

Who do you think?

Before Dallion could answer, the wave of sheer terror surrounding him erupted.

Im not going back! Harps scream ripped the air, making everyones ears in a one-mile radius hurt. The terror emanating from the weapon was so strong that it had become visible like a pillar of blue light.

MEMORY FRAGMENT

Nymph Capital Sorgente, Nymphs Era