Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 19

Chapter 19

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 18:20

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Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 18:21

The only logical thing to do was to silently baptize the entire capital and wish it to rest in peace. Even if you were a non-believer or had never heard of Christianity - it would still be about as much use as any other action. Even the most optimistic attitude, multiplied by an iron will to win, could easily give way before the sight of the revealed asshole.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 18:39

A huge, almost a dozen kilometers in diameter rift in the middle of the already abnormal sky was another portal. If individual beams manifested single devils or entire groups of them, there was no need for manifestation here. A pure rupture connecting two points of space, representing a textbook spatial gate, only of colossal size and incredible strength. Breaking such a structure, even if it is not protected, is a matter of a few minutes, at least. If there are appropriate specialists with high levels and powerful artifacts. Here there were not only minutes but even seconds. The opened breach was not just hanging but was fulfilling its main function - to let through.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 18:43

Until then, it had been mostly cultists and their summoned masters or compact groups of invaders. The breach brought out a real crowd. I could distinguish tens of thousands of lights, each of which was the heart of a gradually manifesting creature, sometimes quite weak and sometimes not so weak. I'd say the Eternal had been attacked by saboteurs and assault squads. And now regular units were on the move. I was tempted to think of this wave as the last reserves thrown in, when the slanted, the lame, and the sick are thrown into battle, but common sense and intuition said it was not the last resort of the devils but just another step of their plan. Something may have gone wrong, but they had little chance of taking the capital by sabotage alone... too much of a chance. Probably, there was a calculation for that, but it was one of those dreams that, if they happened to come true, would surprise most of all the dreamers who knew exactly how unrealistic they were.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 18:49

Hell's "line infantry" attack could still be considered a negotiable force, even if it would take a lot of optimism to do so. The combined pressure of a collective fleur, massed techniques backed by tormented souls. All of which can be stopped with their own trump cards. And the average fiend is not so unimaginably strong, as it was said before. There are not enough souls for everyone. The collective fleur can be reflected or leveled by mass auras, enemy magic can be met with their own, and their own champions can be used against the elite. In addition, the horde of creatures falling directly on the Palace was bound to lose in numbers, not jokingly killing their foreheads on the stones of the indestructible, even now stronghold. Under the protection of walls imbued with so much magic that they already consisted of magic, people had every chance to become the rock that would break the seemingly unstoppable wave.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:01

There were, pardon the bad pun, a hell of a lot of monsters falling from above, but only one object caught my attention. Its presence, it was causing my arsehole to shrink, the production of bricks by all the unfortunate people who were contemplating it, and probably some buttpain in the palace defenders. The latter had every chance to turn from figurative to real, given the type of creatures opposing the endowed ones.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:03

Even just looking at it made my eyes water and hurt. Not because of disgust or any combat effect but because this thing was emitting a power so powerful and intense that it was piercing even here, and my eyes couldn't stand the parade of energies that were flowing through the deceptively slow creature descending to the sinful earth.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:04

A mythical creature.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:04

I wouldn't have risked my board-stained brain to look more closely at this entity, but it was sticking out its very essence, using its image like another attack aura. Not the lord of the entire domain, not Lust incarnate, but rather a unique and incredibly complex robot powered by magical propulsion. Hundreds of thousands of souls, tens of thousands of individual devils, either captured or consigned to such a fate for some provinces - that's what it was. Without gender, without purpose, without form, without even the happiness familiar to every fiend. Only the will that bound it, only the armor molded of unknown material that became the basis of a cage for the deeply unhappy symbiosis of souls.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:07

News Bringer.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:08

One hundred and sixteenth level, and I could be wrong, as the heroic ability malfunctioned at that distance, blurring the system inscriptions every now and then. A willless tool used and awakened only for the worst slaughter, when even the fiends need not pleasure but victory and the death of those who get in the way. It was indeed the bringer of news, always the same news, the same message, and the same truth. And the truth was that a foreign will had come, and it had become the new law. There was no way to fight, no other outcome than to submit.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:10

It was awakened for the war between domains when one abomination proved its truth to another when one Vice rebelled against another. From here, it seemed like a small black ball. As if it were made up of many hexagonal segments, but just compare the scales... It was already transforming. The segments were already moving, allowing not a toy ball to transform into a huge, forgive me physics, mecha the height of a five-story minimum and width not much inferior to the height. No special techniques, but only the impossible strength of black stone and iron that formed the basis of the monstrous armor and an intolerable fleur, even for the Summoned, reaching such a concentration that its Lust became almost material. The elements of this construct sitting and howling inside the armor were both a source of energy and a conductor in case armor and strength alone were not enough if they had to strike with magic as well. And that magic, I could say with absolute certainty, would be as large and thorough as the Bringer's construction itself.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:30

Perhaps such a shell, falling from above on the palace ahead of the rest of the wave, covering it from the return fire of the defenders, really has all the chances of bluntly pushing any defense, not just breaking inside the palace, but also breaking through the gap for the rest of the unholy army. After the fall of the Palace, the defense of the city will fall. It is there the keys to the magical defenses are concentrated, and it is there the defenders themselves are concentrated. Once the Palace falls, the people will not be able to gather into a united fist, even if there are still capable troops left.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 05:32

The only thing left to do was to admit that the News had indeed been delivered, and those who saw the message had only to accept the doom broadcast by the creatures and prepare their asses for a horrifying gangbang as eternal as the blood of the rulers of the Empire of Ages. You can't fend it off, you can't overpower it, you can't break it - only accept the vice and enjoy it to the fullest whether you want to or not.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 05:34

The Emperor and he had clearly survived the first stages of the battle, saw the spectacle, perceived it, realized it, and then expressed his truly imperial disagreement, backing it up with more than just imperial conceit. If his renewal buff was cool, then the new trick was not just cool, but as ass-breaking as the Devils imagined the Bringer to be. I was also glad I hadn't decided to kidnap the Emperor to get Yoke's secrets out of him.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 05:37

From the palace, invisible from our location, an indistinguishable and colorless wave went upward, spreading out in a cone that covered both the invasion armada and the breach itself. This phenomenon could not be recognized by sensors or even clairvoyance, but it was easy to see the results of its application. The entire cone of the skill's activation zone simply froze, like a crappy-quality image frozen when a TV show was freezing. The Eternal Ruler asked Eternity for help, and his blood responded, boiled, took its toll, and then fulfilled the request. Time shuddered, creaked, and changed its course, changing the conditions of the immutable Law in one part of space for a certain period.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 05:42

The army froze.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:11

The portal, which had just transported the first batch and was about to work again, was blocked by the same army, which would smear new reinforcements against the surface of the timeless section if they tried to be transported. Even though the creatures inside the altered time stream could not attack, they could not be caught. However, this exchange is beneficial to humans in the first place because such a huge elephant can be eaten in pieces before the pieces are reassembled back into an elephant.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 05:44

There was only one problem - the said News Bringer, who was slowed down by the Emperor's will and forced to move like a fly in a flowing syrup, but certainly not frozen together with the rest of the army. Those remained completely motionless, but the mythical spawn of the devils' sick fantasy not only continued to fall but also gradually accelerated again, threatening to break out of the freezing zone in a few seconds. Moreover, it did exactly that... only to be overtaken a moment later by a second attack of the tired Emperor, or maybe by one of his relatives, who took up the task instead of the representative of their family who had already done his share of work. I didn't even hope to be able to recognize the Bringer with clairvoyance under such interference from the Bringer's fleur, and I didn't even try, honestly.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 05:46

The creature broke free and immediately froze again, securely. This time, they only had to work on one target, even if it was a very strong one. And the volume of space affected by the Eternal Dynasty's will was much smaller. Not a cone, locking the huge volumes of the real world in a box, but only a relatively modest octahedron (or another figure, which I took for an octahedron) with an edge of five hundred meters, in the center of which was a creature that had not yet had time to come to its senses after the breakthrough of the previous barrier. It even twisted, almost completing the transformation into a huge golem, not resembling the original spherical design, and from the area where the flattened helmet of the cursed armor had been, a long tentacle flew out, glowing with the sheer amount of power and souls that the Bringer had put into it.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 05:49

He froze, his tongue almost reaching the inside of the octahedron with its tip as if trying to lick it. It would have been funny if my perception didn't allow me to notice an increasing glow just near the edge of the barrier. Something told me this trap would last far less than the Imperials had planned.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 05:51

For me, despite the barely functioning third eye - no other way, it had shrunk to a point along with the ass that sensed something wrong - what happened reminded me of a short exchange of moves in a chess game. The portal seemed to open up, forcing the defenders to spend their trump cards, but then the Devils, clearly waiting for the Eternals to make such an obvious move, made their move. The Bringer was protected from manipulation of the Law on a very serious level, and it's not even elimination, but only a delay, an attempt to gain more time, required a very terrible strain of forces. And people seem to be winning, successfully dividing the enemy army, but the parts of the whole haven't gone anywhere, and it's hardly possible to keep them in these barriers for a week or two to gather forces for each enemy and quietly nail them immediately after leaving the timelessness.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 05:54

The exchange of strategic charms between the warring parties, both of which are hostile to me personally, left behind a slight sensory overload, a twitching eye, and a wounded sense of grandeur, which, after watching the master class, crawled away to die in the darkest corner of my internet- and porn-site-corrupted mind. Because it hurts to realize that you are all so cool, killing legends and tearing elite creatures with bare paws, suddenly, not the coolest bastard in the foreseeable space. Far from it.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 06:00

"Let's go the other way." I squeezed out of my parched throat about ten seconds after the riotous flurry of fleur now bound in the chains of Time had subsided. "I don't like it over there."

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 06:03

No one commented though I could sense that Taria wanted to. She always gets a kick out of being funny when she's nervous. Just like me, but not me.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 06:07

We really did not go to the center, as we had planned a little earlier. We did not turn back, however, and began to make a wide circle, avoiding the central districts. First, we wanted to be far away from the mythic and the accompanying army, which had every chance to escape in the next couple of hours. Second, it was in these districts, equidistant from the outer walls and the center. There were most of the ritual's strongholds. The Imperials would not reach them soon because they were defending the palace, and even if they understood (and they would understand, they were not stupid!) the necessity of attacking the ritual's strongholds, it would not be possible to gather forces quickly anyway.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 06:11

But we're here now. The fact I am planning an attack on the third ritual focus point, having survived the first two while successfully accomplishing the mission, speaks for our effectiveness. If we survive, the Emperor will give orders and titles not to us but to the rest of the gang, who are barely able to save their skins now. I can feel by my guts things have not gone smoothly for the devils, much more difficult than they originally wished, but all these burdens are still within their capabilities. At the same time, the defenders of the capital, though they are fighting back, are still unable to seize the initiative, lacking the organization that was damaged by the treachery of high-ranking cultists and the swift attacks of the first assault groups.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 06:26

Those corrupted by the cult often attacked with no hope of survival, with only a frantic desire to serve their masters, and that was what they did. Even if they were killed, their blows if not fatally damaging, could at least cause confusion and time, and there was nothing more valuable than time for endowed.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 06:28

Another group of cultists, not attacking for the sake of variety but retreating back to regroup, was badly battered and thinned out. Even without intuitive flashes of understanding, it was easy to discern that the previously well-functioning groups of fighters were now rather dumbed down due to the absence of some of the companions that had previously taken on some roles in their ranks. These cultists mostly looked like simple dogs of war, and only a few of them had clear traces of Vicious influence. Most likely, they were mercenaries who had been drawn too deep into the blackness to turn back.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 06:30

We destroyed them on the fly, killing the strongest of the mages with a shot of Valerium, mixing up their orders with Trails, covering them with a throw of explosive potion, and crushing them with a dozen shadow blades that mangled the bodies of the survivors. We didn't even slow down, but the brief skirmish allowed me to come to my senses and come away from seeing the first mythical creature of my life. And not only in my life, to be honest. Everyone was affected and crushed morally, even Tia, though she could see other creatures of comparable class in her long life. Also, of course, from afar.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:04

We stopped at the same cabin where the cultists had broken in, and I even continued the sleeping spell on the family living there, but it was based on Dream instead of Vice. The mood was far from combative, but I wouldn't call it defeatist. We were all visibly tired morally and did not want to fight in this madhouse, but not more than that.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:05

"We need to knock out at least one more point." My own voice seems somehow strangled as if I were speaking from under a pillow. So thick the Hell-soaked air had become. "Then we can try breaking through the barrier, especially if we run right at the moment the point is broken."

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:07

"Risk." That's all Tia asserts, not even trying to change my mind or at least convey an image or two through the visions.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:07

I even understand her and sympathize with her a little. My idea can't even be called risky, even against the backdrop of my usual antics. Trying to break through a crack provoked by the breaking of such a massive structure should be called only terminal retardation but not the miserable word "risk." It's even sadder when I realize Tia's silence and almost complete humility only means she has no comparable alternatives other than "lie down and die." If she had those alternatives, she wouldn't have limited herself to symbolic resistance by trying to drive some of my self-preservation instinct right into my skull. Probably deliver it through my ass.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:11

"Why don't we try to make our way to some temple?" Losius doesn't have any work plans either, but that doesn't stop him from spouting ideas. "I hear the Heavens singing, and even if I've never heard such a thing before, I'm willing to bet that the Servants of God are being summoned there. They're probably capable of organizing a refugee corridor, after all."

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:12

"I don't believe the creatures didn't take care of that." Hans, as if he had to, lay down against the wall and seemed to doze off, waking only for a comment and to close his eyes again.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:13

It's hard to say in detail, but in basic terms, the tracker's damn right. The devils have blocked all approaches, and they've been working on blocking the temples first and foremost. If there were some cool priest among us, we could try to help, join the clerics looking for a loophole out of the stalemate, and try to break through the wall with our heads. But there are no clerics among us, and using planar power alone won't help the cause, as we all know very well.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:15

"Moving on, then." Hestia summarizes, turning her palm to mist for a second, pulling out another vial of explosive potion, the supply of which is not endless either.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:15

On that note, our brief smoke-free smoke break was over.
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Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:36

It took me a while to realize why I was so attracted to this point. I suspected it was some kind of tricky decoy trap designed for sneaky visionaries, but the reality was simple. It wasn't until I got close enough to the once chic mansion for the shadow sphere to probe the inside of the building. Then I realized what kind of company was gathered there. The unobtrusive but insistent pressure pulling me here was the effect of the Soul of Mocker at work.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 06:38

The manor had recently undergone a furious assault. Judging by the several decomposing carcasses of mold and lime honey, the attackers had washed with blood. In addition to the possessed, there were at least three dozen corpses under the windows, in the gateway, and in the places where the stone walls had been breached, with energy characteristic even after death, easily picked up through the sphere. The cult had won confidently and swiftly, but not bloodlessly, even if the defenders were not much more numerous than the attackers.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:40

The bodies of the defenders belonged, for the most part, to beastfolk of the wolf subspecies, wearing armor made to the same patterns and by the same craftsman. The light leathers and chainmail of the archers and agility men, the clean leather of the lurker who had been torn in half, the heavy blackened metal of a pair of heavy fighters - the equipment spoke at least of the wealth of the defenders. However, in addition to the beastfolk, who were probably mercenaries, there were several humans among the dead (they had asked to go under the roof of a well-protected building, I guess) and halflings. There were few short people among the guard bodies, but they didn't like to choose combat classes, traditionally preferring to go into trade, farming, or administration. Completing the picture were the remains of a single man dressed in the easily recognizable uniform of the Eyes. Well, among the bodies visible outside, only one, and it was harder to tell how many.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:44

The mansion clearly belonged to Halflings and not just ordinary ones but very high-ranking ones. And in this mansion, before the invasion, had gathered an interesting company of halflings hired guards, visiting Eyes, and representatives of the administrative apparatus of the... Eternal Library? The Eternal Library? Without even trying to peer into the stolen memory of an old Pypyshch, locked away in isolated pieces of mirror, I had already guessed who the house belonged to, why the Eyes had come here, why the librarians were here, and, of course, what the fuck the cultists were doing here

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:51

I even knew, even before the sphere had finally broken through the interference produced by the remnants of the superior defenses, scanning the interior of the house and its guests, who I would meet among the attackers. It was enough to look at a dozen bodies of the defenders, literally torn by streams of aggressive essence and blows of the seven-tailed whip.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:53

Well, even if the situation is far from cheerful, I can still give my old acquaintance ten minutes because I'm going to have a lot of fun now. I need to change my appearance a little bit. Otherwise, I will not be able to squeeze the maximum possible out of this clowning. It is not for nothing that all my childhood, youth, adolescence, and maturity, I was called a clown? I'd better live up to it.

Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:55

"Tin, I don't like your smile." Taria was the first to notice something wrong, but nothing could stop me, for there is no cutoff for inadequacy. "Ah, whatever, though."

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:37

The rest of the company probably had something to say, too, especially Tia and Hestia, as the loudest voices of reason in the realm of idiocy, but I tyrannically and despotically prevented them from expressing their opinions, starting to give orders right away.

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:37

" I'm going in." At the same time as words, I'm trying to transmit bits of images, but I'm not getting it right. "I can't figure out why, but I feel it's the right thing to do. Call it intuition."

Camrad_RIP 31.08.23 в 19:38

It would have sounded more convincing if it hadn't been for the wicked smile on my face, but I really felt that now I could not only get some lulz but also realize something, something hidden from me so far. So I closed my eyes and, guided by the data the sphere was transmitting, stepped through the Shadow and straight into the captured building.
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Camrad_RIP 01.09.23 в 09:56