Free Web NovelChapter 307: Hunting the Heralds (3)
Hawl hauled Liam and Cole up the final flight of stone steps by the thick obsidian bands binding their torsos. Gulag followed right behind him to drag Maya and Jenna out of the dark aqueduct.
They stepped onto the ruined cobblestone plaza of Tarnstead. The midday sun cast glaring light over the conquered city courtyard.
Ethan, Olivia, Lucas, and Isabella sat chained to the pavement a few yards away. The four previous captives looked at their newly captured teammates. Ethan gripped his knees and stared at the ground.
Liam thrashed against his black stone bindings and tried to summon his silver broadsword. His magic merely flickered before fading entirely under the crushing grip of the obsidian constraints.
A fractured portal of absolute blackness ripped open near the peak of the courtyard. Glitch dropped from the void and landed gracefully on all six legs.
He immediately padded over to the new prisoners and opened its small jaws. A stream of glowing silver light tore away from Liam’s chest to vanish into the creature’s mouth.
Maya lost her burning yellow aura next. The bright energy funneled directly into the anomaly. Cole’s translucent defensive magic drained away into nothingness.
Jenna shrieked as the arcane spells tethered to her body were forcefully uprooted and swallowed whole.
Glitch chewed on the concentrated magic for a few seconds before gulping it down.
The four Earthlings gasped and slumped against the cobblestones. Liam stared at his bare hands and scratched at his knuckles. Maya rubbed her bruised wrists and looked around the courtyard with wide eyes. Their divine power was completely gone.
Hawl kicked Liam in the ribs to force him onto his side. He secured the new prisoners to the same rusted iron chain binding Ethan and his squad. The eight powerless humans huddled together in the dirt of the conquered capital.
Up in the sanctuary, Rubedo watched the extraction process on his primary monitor. Glitch tilted its head and purred down in the plaza to signal the end of the harvest. The stolen magic digested inside the anomaly to isolate the hijacked human essence from the arcane power.
Two brilliant streaks of pure white light launched from the courtyard below. The energy shot upward through the atmosphere and pierced the sanctuary hull. The light slammed directly into Rubedo’s chest. He gripped the armrests of his throne to ride out the impact.
[ SOUL INTEGRATION COMPLETE. FRAGMENTS RECLAIMED: 10 / 14 ]
[ HOST SYSTEM AUTHORITY ELEVATED. ]
[ ASSIMILATING RETAINED ELEMENTAL DATA FROM DEVOURED HERALDS... ]
[ NEW SYSTEM PATH UNLOCKED: ABSOLUTE RADIANT-WARD AUTHORITY (PASSIVE/ACTIVE). ]
[ DESCRIPTION: HOST CAN FREELY MANIPULATE HARD-LIGHT BARRIERS AND PROJECT TRANSLUCENT ENERGY DOMES WITHIN THE SOVEREIGN TERRITORY. ]
[ NEW SYSTEM PATH UNLOCKED: SOLAR ARTILLERY PROTOCOL (ACTIVE). ]
[ DESCRIPTION: HOST CAN INSTANTLY CONJURE AND REDIRECT CONCENTRATED BLASTS OF BURNING YELLOW MANA. ]
Rubedo flexed his fingers over the console. A spark of bright yellow fire arched across his knuckles and faded into a tiny translucent dome.
Rubedo leaned back against the dark stone of his throne and watched the eight broken humans shivering in the plaza.
"Now, let’s see how the final team is doing." Rubedo switched the screen to Iron-Scale.
Marcus waded through the ankle-deep sludge of the central aqueduct. Elena followed closely at his side while their squad of four fighters guarded the rear.
The dark tunnel curved sharply to reveal a rusted iron grate sealing the exit. Marcus raised his glowing broadsword to illuminate the path forward.
Novus stepped from the shadows directly in front of the barricade. He unslung the Centipede Shield from his back and slammed the bottom edge into the wet bricks.
A splash of dirty water washed across the corridor. He drew his weapon and braced his boots against the masonry.
"Clear the path." Marcus aimed his broadsword at the lone defender. The four fighters rushed forward with their hands radiating arcane fire and kinetic energy.
They unleashed a continuous volley of spells straight down the tunnel. Marcus gripped his hilt with both hands and swung a massive arc of radiant light to join the barrage.
The combined magical onslaught crashed violently into Novus. The Centipede Shield absorbed the brilliant explosion entirely.
The artifact immediately redirected the destructive force outward into the surrounding architecture. The brick walls on either side of Novus cracked and crumbled to dust while he stood completely unharmed behind his barricade.
At the same time, a rusted grate directly above the squad tore open.
Krax plummeted from the dark runoff pipe and landed squarely between Marcus and the trench. He gripped his greataxe with both hands, driving the broadside of the weapon directly into the wet cobblestones.
The violet Ley-Crystal embedded in the iron socket flared with a blinding flash.
The gravitational field inside the aqueduct inverted instantly. The four fighters stumbled as their boots lost contact with the ground, launching upward into the dark tunnel.
They smashed violently against the curved brick ceiling. Crumbling mortar rained down on Marcus and Elena while the fighters remained pinned against the masonry.
Krax twisted the haft of his weapon to sever the magical current. The sudden return of natural gravity sent the fighters plummeting back to the floor.
They crashed against the stone tiles in a tangle of limbs and ruined gear. Splintering armor pierced their skin as snapping ribs echoed across the narrow corridor.
Elena dropped to her knees beside the broken squad. She raised her hands over their crushed bodies.
A brilliant wave of pink light cascaded from her fingertips, washing over her fallen teammates. The restorative magic immediately began knitting their fractured bones back together.
Iron-Scale rode a current of emerald magic down the center of the aqueduct. He slipped past the recovering men to intercept the expanding wave of pink light. Gripping his scythe with both hands, Iron-Scale swept the curved blade in a tight circle to summon a localized cyclone.
The vortex completely enveloped Elena. Emerald winds stripped the restorative magic from her fingertips and scattered the pink energy against the wet bricks. Forced into the center of the storm, she raised her arms to cover her face as the swirling current cut her off from her injured teammates. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Novus stepped out from behind his shield and ignited his broadsword with explosive fire. He charged directly at the four wounded men while Krax followed close behind with his greataxe raised. Plunging into the disorganized cluster, they systematically dismantled the escorts. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Novus brought his burning blade down to melt a raised buckler and kicked the first man into the wall.
Krax swung his weapon to shatter a breastplate by driving the flat of his axe into another man’s ribs. Crushing the remaining swords, they pinned the broken escorts firmly against the masonry.
