Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 61 - Death and misery - 1 of 6

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 61 - Death and misery - 1 of 6

Thunder boomed ominously in the distance and a sudden rush of wind howled through the broken doorway and windows.

Ushu’s bellowing roar drowned out the distant thunder and set the Werrians on edge.

<We need to leave!> Gric and Sebet’s thoughts crashed into my own with reckless intensity, leaving me momentarily stunned.

Numbly retreating outside, I ignored the swords of the Werrian soldiers and continued into the middle of the road.

The grey overcast sky had taken on a dark sickly bright emerald hue and I could sense an overwhelming concentration of mana to the far east.

With seemingly no regard for the Werrians whatsoever, Ushu landed just outside of the village limits, crushing a wide section of palisades with his tail as he fought to arrest his momentum. Eyeing us with one giant reptilian pupil, Ushu snarled impatiently, curling back his scaly lips and baring his huge teeth.

With little thought for how our sudden withdrawal would be interpreted, I hurriedly climbed up onto the platform and hooked the safety line through my harness.

The moment the final harness was secured, Ushu launched himself into a loping run, rapidly gaining speed before leaping up into the sky and becoming airborne. In stark contrast to his economical flying style that made extensive use of air currents and gliding to maintain his energy, Ushu was beating his wings hard, straining his wing muscles to their limits.

The difference in speed made it almost impossible to see anything without the special goggles. However, the view afforded from atop Ushu’s back made overlooking the source of imminent danger almost impossible.

A pillar of bright emerald light was flickering far off to the east and was so tall that it pierced the clouds.

Mournful howls and screams were carried on the wind, waxing and waning in intensity without rhyme or reason.

Within what must have been ten minutes or less since they departed from the Werrian Village, Ushu made a rushed and destructive landing upon the eastern mountain above the fortified pass. Deep claw marks were gouged into the mountainside which initiated several small rockslides.

Raising his horned head toward the sky, Ushu released a trumpeting roar while scanning the clouds.

After a few moments, a returning call came from Cooper in the southwest.

Dismounting the platform, I found the army in a state of manic activity. The entire force was on high alert. Runners were rushing to and fro, carrying written orders and field reports.

Untouched by the chaos, Wisp stood resolute atop the northernmost wall. Standing still as a statue, his focus was firmly fixed on the pillar of emerald light to the northeast.

As Cooper flew into view, she and Ushu exchanged several drawn-out exchanges before Cooper made a final chittering screech and began flying south.

Ushu had sent his daughter away from the coming danger, and I couldn’t blame him for it.

It was obvious that the pillar of emerald light was in some way related to the Liche. Furthermore, the sheer volume of mana being expended made it clear that our conflict was about to experience an escalation in a form that we might be prepared to face.

Cooper’s departure had an immediately observable effect on the soldiers’ morale. Fighting alongside, or more accurately, behind, the pair of giant Dragons was something they had taken for granted. The survival of the soldiers had not been dependent on the Dragons, but it was an indisputable fact that the Dragons had made massive contributions that the individual soldiers could only dream of making.

The morale of the special weapon teams responsible for the deployment of the siege engines was less affected than the regular soldiers. However, they were far fewer in number and comparatively isolated. Meaning they could not be relied upon to stabilise the morale of the army. At least, not until the enemy initiated an attack and the siege engines could be brought to bear.

With so few lesser undead remaining, I decided to end the Empowered Dirge of Undeath. Without the Empowered Dirge of Undeath enhancing their mobility, the lesser undead that remained were reduced to a near catatonic state as the Empowered Ward reasserted its dominance over the surrounding area.

I spent the better part of an hour slowly recharging the Empowered Ward while waiting for news of any sightings of the Liche or its forces.

Without Nila and Cooper, long-distance scouting fell to Ushu, Fesk and his team.

Clarice had wanted to take part in the scouting as well, but Dhizi had adamantly refused to stray far from the mountain pass. No matter how much Clarice begged or cajoled her, Dhizi simply ignored her.

Gric and Sebet’s projections still had mana left and were doing their best to shore up the soldiers' flagging morale from behind the scenes.

On my way to seek out Wisp’s opinion on further preparations, I was intercepted by Marco.

“I want to fight!” Marco demanded, his fists clenched so tightly at his sides that the leather over his knuckles split and revealed his pale skin.

“Are you sure?” I asked warily, giving Marco the chance to retract his request and walk away.

“They!... They took my life! Killed me! Made me a monster!” Marco hissed in anger and despair, “After the things I’ve done!... The things they made me do!... My family will never accept me...” Tears of blood flashed in his eyes and soaked into the thick scarf that concealed the lower half of his face. “Revenge! For what they did to me-to my brother! That's all I have left!”

I could tell that Marco was spiralling and had a suspicion that my promised reward was, at least, partially to blame. Unlike most of the Asrusians and adventurers living inside of my Demi-Plane, Marco did not see his conversion into a monster as something to be desired. It was an understandable position to take considering people would be far more accepting and inviting toward an Orc than a Vampyr.

Even the Thralls would be more popular than Marco once his true nature was discovered or revealed. So what did Marco have to look forward to?

After what had been done to his younger brother, Tobi, Marco no doubt expected their parents to reject him outright. He was terrified of guilt by association.

Rejoining his family had been something to keep him going while following my orders. However, without my orders to guide his actions and dictate his life, Marco had become responsible for his own decisions, and his own life, again. Hopes, and dreams for a future that could never be attained, fell apart. Leaving nothing, nothing but revenge and a desire for the termination of his existence.

“No doubt interpreting my silence as some form of refusal, Marco narrowed his eyes dangerously, “Consider this my request! Payment for using me as an expandable tool!” He snarled and stomped off toward the northern wall before I could make a reply.

“Should we do something?” Jayne asked quietly.

“No,” I shook my head and sighed, “Another specialist will be to our advantage when the time comes to fight the Liche directly. The anti-life aura alone makes fighting the Liche a race against attrition for anyone who lacks an abnormally high Toughness or inherent immunity.” I wasn’t against making the most of the situation, but a part of me was angry at myself for not even making a token effort to talk Marco out of it.

With Marco determinedly stalking in Wisp’s direction, I decided to Summon a projection of Wisp instead.

Wisp's suggestions on potential preparations essentially boiled down to determining what degree of personal risk I was willing to accept. Empowered Spells cost my HP, which left me more vulnerable with each casting. Which in turn required downtime to restore that HP to offset the risk of being caught in a relatively vulnerable state.

The slayer enchantment would theoretically work in tandem with an Empowered Bane Spell cast on a weapon, making its initial damage much higher while also applying the slayer Curse. Furthermore, there was a reasonably high chance that the slayer Curse wouldn’t work on the Liche, or that it might be far less effective. In such a scenario, having the Bane property would ensure that the attack still dealt damage that made the potential risks worthwhile.

To that end, I cast the Empowered Bane Spell seven times. Once for my weapon, and each of the three blessed weapons of my champions, once for Ophelia’s blessed sword held by wisp, and last of all on a shortsword that I had delivered to Marco.

Unwilling to risk lowering my Hp below four-fifths of its maximum value, I took a short break to recover my HP between each casting. Because of this, close to an hour had passed before I was ready to move on to my step in preparation.

Marco’s report from the Vampyr nest had revealed that more powerful undead could see through the Cloak of Undeath Spell. The spell was meant to conceal the target of the Spell from all the senses of the undead, including their passive sense that homed in on the living.

Wisp was not entirely sure what the Empowered version of the Cloak of Undeath Spell would accomplish. However, he expressed the opinion that he strongly suspected it would extend the Spell's benefits to other allies within a certain range.

With the benefits being entirely dependent on the effects of the Empowered element of the Spell, I cast an Empowered Cloak of Undeath Spell on a volunteer. Accompanied by other volunteers, the first soldier travelled south with orders to deliberately antagonise the undead and determine the limits of the Spell.

While reviewing my Grimoire of Flesh just to make sure I hadn’t overlooked a potentially useful Spell, I noticed that there were two new Spells in the qualified list. Spatial Breach and Dimensional Anchor.

I could only assume that the Spatial Breach Spell was what the Liche had used to attempt to rescue her Vampyr commander. Similarly, the Dimensional Anchor might suggest that the Spell was somehow less stable than the other forms of teleportation I was currently aware of. A breach certainly sounded more violent than a rift, but that also might just be a matter of semantics. It was also somewhat strange that Spatial Breach was a Spell and other means of teleportation weren’t.

“Well, this is to be expected of the Great One!” Sebet gushed unashamedly, “Such unique and powerful Spells are truly best suited to those that are uniquely powerful!”

Gric narrowed his eyes at Sebet and grunted with displeasure, “If you know their purpose, you are required to tell the Tyrant!” He commanded coldly.

“Of course!” Sebet agreed innocently, “I would never dare to fail in my assigned responsibilities!”

Gric snorted derisively and rolled his eyes.

“Enough,” I ordered firmly and motioned for Sebet to continue, “What do they do? And do you know how they would be affected by being Empowered?”

“I know a little,” Sebet admitted readily, “However, I would strongly urge caution in taking this information as the complete truth...” She shrugged helplessly and scratched behind her right ear, “My former master’s servants were in the habit of making grandiose boasts to inflate other opinions on their prowess...”

That seemed true enough based on what I had observed of Sebet’s behaviour. Sucking up to your superiors, and boasting to your peers, all while gaslighting or demeaning your subordinates seemed like Devil-like behaviour as well.

Sebet’s right eyebrow twitched. “Great One, you were correct in your assumption that the Spatial Breach Spell is a more violent means of translocation. Extremities that are not fully contained within the dimensions of the Spell are said to be left behind when the Spell terminates. Of course, the extremities of potential pursuers could just as easily be taken along for a ride.” She indulged in a long pause while making a show of gathering her thoughts, “In fact, I overheard several boasts involving the use of this Spell as a weapon. Maiming or slaying their enemies through the careful or fortuitous placement of the breach.” Sebet nodded with a satisfied smile on her lips, “Assuming the Spell works as described, such an outcome would be more than possible.”

“Wait a sec,” I interjected and held up my hand, “How big, exactly, can a breach be?”

In her natural form, Sebet was far taller than an average Human  Like just about every Species, the higher Sebet Evolved, the larger she became. So it stood to reason that her former superiors would have been anywhere between two to nine feet tall and sporting who knew what appendages.

“Uh, I am not sure,” Sebet replied while smiling apologetically, “Perhaps it is determined by the amount of mana? Some Spells are like that,” she suggested helpfully.

“Can this Spell pierce the effects of a Nascent Demi-Plane?” Gric asked warily, catching me somewhat off guard with the unexpected question.

“Probably,” Sebet replied with middling confidence, “It is a Spell specifically designed for intruding into places the caster is not meant to be. Naturally, those places would have some form of protection that would need to be overcome.”

“You’re saying that this could have provided the means for the Liche to invade Sanctuary?” My skin grew cold as I realised I had asked the wrong question. “Was this Spell how the Liche invaded Sanctuary,” I corrected stiffly.

Sebet was quiet for a few moments and then nodded, “It seems quite likely. However, I don’t think the Liche could invade again without significantly increasing its mana reserves and spending a considerable amount of time.”

“Why?” I demanded impatiently, agitated by the potentially renewed risk to the safety of my family and subjects.

“The invasion of a Plane, which includes Demi-Planes such as your own, Great one, is no easy feat,” Sebet stated with absolute confidence, “In the simplest of terms, and to the best of my somewhat limited scope of knowledge, the larger Plane, the more powerful its authority becomes. Circumventing Planar authority is like defying gravity. It’s doable, but requires a certain degree of strength and expenditure of energy.”

“Which means our expansion is probably one of the primary reasons why the Liche was unable to initiate another invasion,” I commented bitterly. I had been hoping that the Demi-Plane would provide some form of absolute protection from external threats. Learning that was not the case was a bitter pill to swallow.

“We will need to increase our rate of annexation!” Gric declared angrily, earning ready agreement from everyone present.

“Indeed!” Sebet agreed wholeheartedly, “And I believe that our enemy has provided us with a powerful tool to be turned toward such an endeavour!” Sebet’s already wide smile grew wider still, “A champion would need only to visit a location once for the Great One to then send his legions to enact glorious conquest!”

“I...I’m sorry I don’t understand,” Randle admitted bluntly, “How is that any better than our current plans?” He looked to his cousins for answers.

“It differs in one key respect,” Jayne replied with a smirk, “His Majesty will be able to send through the banners to wherever we have been, without the need to leave Sanctuary. Then, when we are done, we can return the exact same way!”

“We could seize multiple floors from the same Labyrinth at the same time!” Faine added with an approving nod.

“We just need to destroy this Liche first...” Randle commented dourly but with stubborn determination.

Randle’s comment summed up our position rather well. I could make all the plans for the future I wanted. However, none of them would mean anything unless I was able to destroy the Liche once and for all.