Chapter 84 - Artillery

Notes : Chapters 89 and 90 have been written and added to the queue !

Probably gonna take a break now. I've gotten to the point that I've wanted. Those of you on discord probably have seen the teaser for chapter 90, so you know what I was driving for.

But hey, given the fact that there's a week and a half of chapters saved up, I might end the break before they even run out XD. We shall see !

Chapter 84

Starborn Mountains, Firmament Hills

Wilderness

Navigating out of the aberration field had put them a bit behind schedule, but not by much, and the snowpiercer quickly punched through the Terminus Wildlands and reached the hills that crowded the approaches to the valley.

Those were a bit tougher to get through however, and Sapphiria gritted her teeth as they started ascending yet another slope.

"We're going up and down so much you'd think it was the stock market." Joked Ramina, drawing a chuckle from Paul, and a glance from Sapphiria. "Oh, right, uh...Gods, how do I explain what the stock market is?"

Sapphiria opened her mouth, then closed it.

Right. They thought she was, like, from the bronze age. They certainly believed she was from the era during which the Eternal Empire was young, and the Hand's remaining troops used bronze.

She started a search query in the library core. There had to be early examples of this, right?

Ramina launched into a long winded, meandering explanation that she basically just fed into a recording as she searched into the archives. There was a bunch of stuff about London, and...oh! Venice! The city under the Adriatic Preservation Dome! Not open to the sky, for some definitions of sky anyway, but the dome created a credible illusion, and it was still very nice.

Dating back to the middle ages...bunch of debt related stuff...

Good enough. She interrupted the squishie, mainly to preserve her sanity, but also because she was mangling things so badly the AI was going to end up correcting her or just plow into an obstacle by mistake due to the distraction.

"So, like moneylanders selling loans to one another, except it's for companies and merchants?"

Ramina stuttered to a halt, looking surprised.

"I-It's...uh...I...Actually...I think so, yeah."

"Good. Then I get the idea. Value swings constantly depending on how bad the loans are perceived to be."

Ramina nodded.

"Yeah! Okay." She blinked. "What were we doing again?"

"Watching the road." Answered Paul. "As well as watching you embarrass yourself."

Ramina opened her mouth for a sharp retort, but Sapphiria interjected first.

"Why Paul, I thank you for your offer of explaining this concept further. Please, do tell me how a stock market works in depth, since you obviously have a greater master of the subject than Ramina here."

"I, err..."

Both the AI and the artificer laughed, and Sapphiria could swear she saw the corners of Paul's lips move upwards before he eased his expression back into neutrality.

Good. Perhaps their animosity would die down to more manageable levels over time. Though, to be entirely fair, they had done exceptionally well so far. She admired Ramina's restraint, working with your would-be-assassin in close confines must have been seriously draining.

Though, she supposed that there were assurances he wouldn't try anything. First because it had apparently been a while, second because Sapphiria would rip his head off.

That seemed extreme, but...

The Federation had a simple equation for squishies that killed other squishies. If they were allowed to kill others, even the possibility thereof, you would end up with a net loss compared to the potential positive of rehabilitating them.

Attempts would be made. But there was a point where the Federation would either put you in a cryopod until 'further medical advances' or you would have a very fair, very humane execution via neural pulse.

Unless you did something particularly horrific, at which point you would get removed from the ranks of humanity and given the short walk out of an airlock, in a ship on a collision course with a black hole. That way your atoms would never pollute the universe again. It didn't happen often, but when it did the biggest problem was to make sure the body would disappear into the event horizon and someone wouldn't try to nuke it out of spite before it did. That had happened a few times.

Also she liked Ramina, and anyone attacking her would have a very bad day.

If anybody tried to hurt Kalia...

She had a software glitch, and banished the depths of rage her mind conjured up in response to that particular hypothetical.

She wasn't overprotective to the point of psychosis like her aunt was, or hell, her mom. But she would protect her squishies. Period. And perhaps her girlfriend a bit more than others.

Sapphiria almost jumped as Cia pinged her.

"Yes?" She said on her comms, muting herself on her android.

"New message. Something's happening at the pass. Updates to follow."

Sapphiria swore. Couldn't the Bane just keep it down for a few days?

*****

"Well. I will give them credit, they continue to surprise." Muttered the Hand as they watched the light ballistae being rolled forward. Their bodyguards didn't react of course, but sometimes it was good to actually speak outside of giving orders. Even if they were effectively speaking to themselves.

To have gotten siege weapons up and ready this quickly...they had to have specialized siege engineers. Not soulless. Risen. Good ones too. Probably veterans.

It was flattering to be deserving of such attention, though they'd probably expected to turn their talents into taking over those fortifications and reinforcing them against the inevitable response. Not knocking them down because their comrades had failed so spectacularly in their assault.

Not that those engineers were manning them. Zombies were slowly pushing them along, making little speed due to their considerable bulk. The ballistae were each embedded in an accompanying mantlet, acting as a gigantic 'gun shield', as the rebels would call them. Retargeting them would be hell, but clearly, they intended to make them survive for as long as possible.

That, or...

They probably realized the only thing capable of returning fire against actual artillery would be mages.

Those mantlets, any Hand could blow through without problem. But adding them increased the amount of mana necessary to silence the weapons.

This wasn't just a battle of attrition on the troops, the Hand realized. It was also on their mana reserve.

They'd admire the cleverness more if it wasn't going to work. They had stockpiles and a variety of trinkets to pad their spells, including artifacts requiring no mana. But there was a limit.

Perhaps they should have contested the filling of the trench and the destruction of the abatis. Then again, it wasn't that much of an obstacle. Could have just thrown a few makeshift ramps.

Mmmhhh...Actually, maybe there were some options there. Clearly they considered the first defensive line as safe, conquered ground. If they weren't so busy trying to probe the defenses, they'd probably have started building their own fortifications there.

The Hand smiled, coolly. Overconfidence indeed.

The ballistae rolled over the filled in trench, and stopped about where the abatis had been. Then, they began reloading.

Not bolts. Stones. Mundane, interestingly enough. Not enchanted ammunition.

Probably saved that for later, since those were clearly sacrificial.

The Hand hesitated. Should they strike now? Or wait for the first volley? There were a lot of arguments for either side. Destroying them before they could shoot could communicate weakness, that they were afraid of the siege weapons.

But a lucky shot could deal a lot of damage to the still incomplete wall.

Actually, a bit more than that. Unless they were seriously mistaken, one was aiming straight at them.

The Hand looked at them...and smiled.

This was as much mind games as it was physical warfare. The other side was hesitant, still trying to figure out what they were dealing with.

Time to give them something to talk about then. The Hand turned towards one of their bodyguard, looking supremely unconcerned by the siege engine aimed square at them, and whispered a few orders. This would take some tight timing if it was going to work.

The bodyguard nodded, and leapt off the parapet right as the zombies finished reloading their weapons.

The mantlets jumped as the ballistae fired, the power of the released tension making the large wooden shields move despite their bulk.

Six stones went screaming across the gap.

Four smashed into the wall with little effect. One skipped on the parapet, narrowly missing an archer.

The last one the Hand caught as it passed right next to their head, not even looking at it.

They could see the sudden pause from the observers at the far end of the pass. No doubt they had divination and other means of seeing what was happening.

The Hand drew their hand back, whispering incantations as they began walking backward slowly. The sphere of stone they held began to glow and hiss with barely contained energy. It was an imperfect vessel for these enchantments, but it only needed to last a few seconds.

Finally, they threw.

The stone arced into the air...and accelerated, as if driven by an invisible giant.

Straight down the pass.

And towards the observers.

Their cavalry screen closed in, but the stone simply whistled above them.

There was a burst of flames, and a flash of energy as arcane fire met wards of energy.

Clearly the other side hadn't been so foolish as to not expect an attack.

Nevertheless, their nerves failed, and the observers hastily retreated, taking their cavalry screen with them.

Which left only the zombies behind the mantlets. There'd been a fair few, including some armed for close combat, so the second line couldn't just sally out and obliterate them. But the cavalry behind had been the real threat holding the Hand in check. Sallying out with a cavalry unit ready to ride you down was suicide.

Now? Not so much.

The Hand gestured, and one of their bodyguards relayed the order. Truth be told, they could have just barked it out themselves, but there was a time and place for theatrics, and this was it. The other side probably still had divination spells going, even as they pulled back their observers. Plus, screaming out orders was a bit below their office. Not something they usually cared about, but they had an audience whose stereotypes they needed to cater to.

The troops manning the second defensive line leapt over the barricade, and engaged.

It was a short fight. A few of the legionnaires fell, but not many.

The zombies were obliterated.

Then the Hand smiled, and ordered the remaining soulless workers forward.

Brandishing axes they came...and immediately took apart the mantlets, allowing the legionnaires to drag the ballistae back.

At that point, the other side realized what was going on, and a solid wall of zombified cavalry filled the other end of the pass.

But it was too late. They wouldn't be upon the legionnaires before they'd returned to the other side of the barricade with their prizes.

The Hand raised their skeletal digits into the sky, whispering a simple incantation to make them crackle with energy.

The challenge was clear.

The other side, no doubt rattled by what had just befallen them, declined to take it up. The cavalry filled the other side of the pass, even approached about halfway through, but stopped, a grim line of decaying flesh.

The Hand nodded in satisfaction.

This had gone far better than expected.

The soulless hadn't been able to recover the wood from the mantlets, but there was plenty available from the stockpiles, or the valley's slopes for that matter. The rebels were far too busy with the monsters to care about attacking the pass.

Hopefully that would last. With the ever worsening winter, it should. Though the Hand had little faith the monsters would obliterate them altogether now. These rebels were a different breed. Tough. Very tough. They...admired that. This stubbornness, the refusal to fall. The spirit to fight on, even when it was hopeless.

They could never be trusted as Risen, sadly. But perhaps the soulless made of their bodies could be put to some honorable purpose. Rebuilding their cities for the civilians, and maybe even serve as legionnaire auxiliaries for the soldiers.

The Hand watched as the ballistae were ushered through the gates within the wall, and hopped down.

They'd used far less magic doing that attack on the observers than they would have destroying the mantlets and the artillery. They'd even gained six siege engines of their own to boot. Only the most basic of ammo for them, but it was still an incredible prize.

And the enemy would grow even more cautious and paranoid.

Overall, an excellent day's work.