WIEDERGEBURT Read online

  The assault on the front gate of Hovebrann had been launched. Hreidmar stood at the head of his army, small though it was, and charged toward the massive portcullis with an unrelenting battle cry. Erica and Tungsten charged alongside him. Their longer legs allowed them to easily keep stride with the much stouter Dweorgs.

  Of course, the Sekbeists defending the gate had no intention of letting them charge right up to their front door. Arrows flew through the air and rained down on the charging army, but they were fortunately all blown away when Tungsten spun his battle-axe and generated a massive gust of wind. When the Sekbeists saw this, they attacked with something else—a weapon that looked like a large crossbow and a strange weapon that used a swinging arm-like extension to throw projectiles through the air. Everything from massive bolts made of iron to giant boulders were launched at the charging Dweorgs.

  It was fortunate the attacking group was so small. Had this been a large army, I was sure many Dweorgs would have been killed, their bodies crushed or impaled. Since the group was so small, barely numbering over two hundred or so, they were able to avoid the projectiles quite easily. But just as we had expected, even after reaching the gate, they could go no further and were forced entirely on the defensive.

  “We should begin moving,” I said to my partner.

  Kari stood beside me and watched the charge. The two of us were located several kilometers from where the battle was taking place. We weren’t wearing any camouflage to hide, but it wasn’t like there was anything we could use to hide in this rocky desert anyway. It was just a plain of dirt and rocks that stretched out as far as the eyes could see.

  “You’re right,” Kari said. “It looks like the Sekbeists are all gathering near the gate. Now is the perfect time to sneak in.”

  “It’s too bad that crimson sky makes doing a night raid impossible,” I sighed as we began moving. “This would have been so much easier under the cover of darkness.”

  “Well, we just have to work with what we’ve got,” Kari replied.

  I sighed again.

  The two of us used the Flash Step to close the distance with the massive rampart that kept Hovebrann isolated. Since the distance between us and the gate was so far, about two kilometers, it meant our figures would appear and disappear every time we took a step. Had anyone been looking in our direction, I was sure they would have assumed we were mirages. At least, that was my hope.

  Hope or not, it seemed no one noticed our approach. We soon reached the rampart, which I realized only now that I was standing under it that it was much larger than I’d initially suspected. I placed one hand against one of the massive bricks that made up the wall. Each one was about the size of my torso.

  “This must be at least forty meters tall,” I murmured.

  The average human was between 1.5 and 2 meters in height, which meant this wall was about twenty-six to thirty people tall. We could still climb it, but the stone surface was a bit smoother than I had anticipated, which meant there probably weren’t any footholds. That meant we would need to get creative.

  “Kari?” I turned to her.

  “Hm.” Kari hummed as she gazed up at the tops of the rampart, then shook her head. “I can’t climb this without gear, which we don’t have.”

  “I assumed as much. Then shall I take us up?”

  “Yes.”

  Having received her permission, I scooped Kari into my arms, carrying her as one might a princess. As she wrapped her arms around my neck, I channeled Spiritual Power into my feet. Pure energy changed into lightning. Arcs of electricity danced around my soles, spreading across the ground. Once the power had stabilized, I took a step forward…

  And then shot up the wall.

  One step. Two steps. Three. Four. Keeping my body bent, I used the Flash Step Version 3: Lightning Step to ascend the wall. This technique, which I had created after the battle at Jordiskger, merely combined the Flash Step with the lightning element. Doing so exponentially increased my speed at the price of increasing my consumption of Spiritual Power. Even I could only use it for about five minutes.

  Fortunately, it only took about two seconds to reach the top of the rampart. The walkway I now stood on was about five meters wide and who knew how long. It had a slight curve as it encircled Hovebrann. Setting Kari on the walkway, the two of us set off, keeping a wary eye out for any Sekbeists that might not be at the gate.

  It seemed like most of the Sekbeists were distracted by Hreidmar’s charge at the gate, but all that meant was we didn’t run into trouble until we got closer to our destination. Once we reached that point, the two of us hid behind one of the unused weapons—one that looked like a giant crossbow—and peeked out from around it.

  There were dozens, maybe even hundreds of Sekbeists clamoring together near the area by the gate, which was marked by a pair of massive watchtowers. Most were loading bolts into strange contraptions, but quite a few were also throwing rocks or shooting arrows over the rampart and into Hreidmar’s army. I even saw a few of them launching what looked like bolts of darkness. Thus far, it looked like they had been unsuccessful in actually hitting Hreidmar and his army, but it would only be a matter of time before all that running caused our allies to tire out. Then they would be sitting ducks.

  “How should we do this?” Kari wondered out loud.

  “I think I should charge in with my newest attack, and then I want you to pick off any stragglers before they can attack me. We’ll mow them down, move toward the gate, and open it,” I said. “There should be a lever or some kind of pulley system to open the gate inside of the watchtowers.”

  Kari thought for a moment, then nodded. “That works for me.”

  “Then let’s do this.”

  I stepped out from behind the massive weapon and channeled more Spiritual Power into my body, transforming it into lightning and charging it through my entire body. It was almost like I was activating Flash Step Version 3: Lightning Step, but I wasn’t channeling Spiritual Power to just my feet.

  Before long, an itchy feeling spread across my body as I changed into a being of pure lightning. This was the Third State of Spiritualism. Often considered the highest state a Spiritualist could reach, it allowed people who reached it to freely manipulate their element without the use of forms and movement. For me, it was just like having a power boost and increasingly powerful attacks.

  The Sekbeists had only noticed me just now, as pale arcs of blue lightning shot from my body, but it was already too late by then. Just as a loud squawking emerged from the throats of our enemies, I moved.

  It happened in an instant. One moment, I was standing before Kari, the next I was beside the nearest watchtower. I turned around to see the destruction I had wrought. The stone floor was scorched. Numerous Sekbeists were lying on the ground as lightning covered their bodies, writhing in agony as their insides were fried by my attack.

  All the Sekbeists that had been on the walkway, a total of probably fifty or so, were dead, but there were plenty that hadn’t been on the walkway. They were standing on a staircase behind it. While the Grunts squawked and shrieked, several Elites snarled.

  “What is his kind doing here?! Kill him!”

  As the Grunts and Elites charged up the stairs, Kari dashed out from behind the giant crossbow and raced forward. She spun her ranseur and twisted her body around in a dance. With each spin of her weapon, a sphere of pure light appeared, transforming into a lance of energy.

  Sixteen lances appeared in total before she sent them sailing into the crowd of enemies. These were made from the light element, so they didn’t just pierce Kari’s foes. They evaporated the areas they struck, blowing holes clean through the chests of Sekbeists and continuing on to kill more. Numerous Sekbeists, with massive holes in their chests, fell backward on the stairs or off the sides and onto the ground below. Only the Elites managed to survive. They had the sense of mind to avoid her Spiritual Light Techniques.

  However, just as they were about to attack again, I reache
d behind my back, my fingers curling around the Dragon’s Tail Ruler. This weapon had no sheathe. I was unsure of how it stuck to my back, but it remained there until I channeled my Spiritual Power through it.

  Once the weapon was unlocked, I swung it forward, the segments separating and shooting toward my enemies like the tail of a dragon. A chain of blue lightning kept the segments from flying off in random directions. I controlled the Dragon’s Tail Ruler with this lightning, impaling several of the Elites through the chest before they could dodge. A few did try, but they were on a staircase, which made it hard for them to move out of the way. The ones that escaped impalement were flung off the stairs when I made the Dragon's Tail Ruler swat them away like gnats.

  One did manage to escape by walking into the shadows. That one appeared behind Kari and attempted to kill her, but the blonde woman was already spinning around on the balls of her feet. The Sekbeist stumbled back as she sliced open his throat. Blood poured from his cut trachea. He tried to stem it, but he soon bled out, body falling to the ground, eyes glazed in death.

  With a swing of my arms, the Sekbeists impaled upon the Dragon’s Tail Ruler were flung off. They hit the stairs, the ground, and the roofs of buildings below, their smoking bodies twitching. The lightning flowing through my weapon not only kept the segments linked together but also electrocuted my enemies.

  “Let’s move!” Kari shouted as she raced down the stairs.

  “I’m right behind you!” I shouted back.

  I ran up to the ledge of the rampart and jumped onto the staircase below, following Kari as she continued to run. We reached the bottom of the stairs. The massive gate, a gleaming thing made from a material that looked like obsidian, loomed over us. We glanced around and discovered chains traveling from top to bottom on either side of the gate.

  “There must be a pulley system inside of the watchtowers,” I said.

  “And judging from the two chains, it probably requires two people to open,” Kari added.

  She and I glanced at each other, our minds as one, and then we nodded, and each went into a separate watchtower. Kari entered the one on this side, while I entered the one on the other side.

  The one I entered had more enemies. They swarmed down the stairs and tried to attack me, but I swung my weapon and sent arcs of lightning shooting everywhere, blasting Sekbeists off their feet. A quick glance around revealed this spiral staircase had two directions, up and down. Given what I’d seen of the pulley from the outside, I could only assume the lever was located beneath me.

  I went down, fighting my way as I descended. The narrow space meant I couldn’t use the Dragon’s Tail Ruler. I placed it on my back again and used my bare fists and elemental powers. I created a blade of lightning in one hand and a water blade in the other, swinging them with controlled, yet reckless actions.

  A rusted sword was cleaved in two when I swung my blade of lightning. The Sekbeist didn’t have time to be surprised before I carved him open from his left shoulder to his right hip, blood spurting from the wound and covering the stairs. I hopped over the slick substance and threw my lightning blade at the next enemy, impaling them through the throat. As they died, I kicked them in the face, sending them into the group of Sekbeists behind them. My enemies tumbled down the stairs and I picked them off one by one.

  This continued until I reached the bottom.

  The bottom floor was wider than I expected, explaining why there were so many Sekbeists. A vast and empty space spread out before me. As I looked around, I found a wheel-rod axis, a lever in which a wheel acted as the force-arm, and a rod-axis as the load-arm. It stood embedded into the ground, chains wrapped around the thick rod.

  I went up to it and began turning the lever. As I did, a loud grating noise echoed inside of the room as the chains wound tightly around the rod began easing. A cranking sound followed the noise. I continued turning the lever until it refused to turn anymore, then climbed back up the stairs and emerged from the watchtower.

  Kari exited from the other tower at about the same time I did. She glanced at me, and then we both looked at the gate—a gate that was no longer closed. A closer glance revealed that the gate appeared to be located underneath the floor; I guessed that meant the levers pulled the gate into the ground rather than lowering it like a drawbridge or raising it.

  More importantly, with the gate now open, the Dweorg army began pouring in. Hreidmar, Erica, and Tungsten were at the front of the group. They all stopped near me. Hreidmar was grinning beneath his beard.

  “Ye did good.” He slammed a hand into our backs, causing us to stumble. These Dweorgs were small, but they had a fierce strength. “Now the real battle begins.”

  As if his words were prophetic, a loud horn echoed from somewhere deeper in the city. I couldn’t tell where it came from. As this happened, Sekbeists appeared in droves from between the buildings that surrounded the mountain. They came out from behind buildings, hopped over roofs, and walked down the streets. There were so many that I couldn’t even begin to count them all.

  “Dolug, Brulor, and Jadouc! Split up yer forces and lead these foul creatures on a grand chase! Bezet, Safrud, and Throrgouck! Head over to where our fellow Dweorgs are being imprisoned and rescue them! When yer all finished here, meet up at the gates to the palace!”

  The six Dweorg commanders who had been present during the war council unleashed a ferocious battle cry as they took their men and charged into the Sekbeists’ ranks. Given how outnumbered they were, I thought their actions were foolish. They weren’t Spiritualists. However, just as this thought crossed my mind, the runes on their weapons and armor began to glow.

  “That’s—!”

  My eyes widened as the Dweorgs crashed into the Sekbeists, their weapons cleaving through their foes with ease. One Dweorg swung his battle-axe, severing a Sekbeist’s legs from his torso. As the two halves slid apart, he kicked the dead creature in the chest with enough power to send it crashing into several more Sekbeists. Another Dweorg attacked with a warhammer, slamming it into the ground with so much force that the stone road collapsed. The Sekbeists unfortunate enough to be struck were turned into bloody pulps of flesh. Meanwhile, the surrounding enemies were sent flying away. Most of them crashed into walls or their fellow Sekbeist. A few landed in such a way that I could tell they were dead at a single glance.

  The Dweorg forces smashed straight through the Sekbeists and split up. Their enraged enemies howled and gave chase, also splitting their forces apart.

  “Come on.” Hreidmar gestured for us to follow him.

  Still shocked by what we had just witnessed, we followed behind as the Dweorg King led us toward the secret passage that would grant access to the mountain palace.

  Everyone packed up their tents the next day and headed out at Catalyna’s instructions.

  Our formation was the same as last time, with Catalyna and Marko in front, the water affinity Spiritualists surrounded by guards in the middle, and my group taking up the rear. There were only two Spiritualists aside from myself who had a water affinity. One of them was a young man who looked to be about twenty-four. The other was a woman in her late twenties or early thirties.

  This valley was mostly an open plain consisting of grass. The grass only came up to our shins, so it wasn’t high enough to offer any cover from flying Demon Beasts. A few boulders were strewn along the path. There were also several copses interspersed amongst the grassy plain, such as the area we’d camped out in the previous night. Perhaps the most outstanding features of this valley were the river running through the center and the giant mountains on either side.

  I glanced at the mountains separating this valley from the rest of the Demon Beast Mountain Range, gazing as far up as my eyes could see. I had no idea how high the peaks were. The low-hanging clouds hovering around them kept me from seeing the top.

  “We’ll have to be careful of flying Demon Beasts,” I said.

  Kari nodded. “I heard these two mountains are home to Pteranodons. The
y’re C-Rank Demon Beasts of the wiverian variety. They have a two-meter-long wingspan and attack from the sky, swooping down to nab their prey. Their feet are covered in sharp claws that can tear through even steel. While they are listed as C-Rank Demon Beasts, they often hunt in packs, which increases their threat level to B-Rank. Sometimes, they might have a Greater Pteranodon leading them, further increasing them to an A-Rank threat.”

  “You certainly know a lot about these Demon Beasts.” Lin was staring at Kari in admiration. “This princess is impressed by your knowledge.”

  Giving the other girl a beaming smile, Kari said, “Thanks. I’ve done a lot of studying about the Demon Beasts living in the Demon Beast Mountain Range to prepare for when I went on an expedition one day. I’m glad all that studying has finally paid off.”

  “How does one fight a Pteranodon?”

  “Well, the best way to fight them is to...”

  While Kari and Lin spoke about Pteranodons and how to combat them, Fay wandered up to me with a wary look.

  “Is it really safe for us to be wandering through the valley like this? Shouldn’t we attempt to find more cover?” she asked.

  Not turning my head to look at the girl, who I could see out of my peripheral vision, I said, “It’s fine. While it might seem dangerous to wander through here, this valley doesn’t have that many Demon Beasts living in it. The Pteranodons make their homes in the mountains on either side. Granted, if they appeared before us, we might be in trouble, but they only hunt at night.”

  Fay’s eyes widened in acknowledgment and realization. “Which is why we camped near the valley mouth instead of traveling further in.”

  “Yes.” I nodded toward the front, where Catalyna was leading our formation. “The Pteranodons tend to stick near the center of the valley, which meant the chances of us being discovered last night were minimal. She obviously knew we’d run afoul of Pteranodons if we journeyed into the valley itself and camped closer to its center, so she had us camp just outside of their hunting grounds.”