- - -

- - -

Arc 2: The Power of Knowledge

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『』= Info

《》= Attribute

『』= Skill

【】= Sub-Skill

〘〙= Status, Combat Arts & Magical Spells

〚〛= Internal Thoughts

「」= Other

Author’s Note:

It’s been a while since I Updated Realm Eternal; sorry about that I’ve been buried under mountains of work.

The end of the commodity super-cycle has had a drastic effect on the Major clients of the Company I work for, and thanks to that my boss pushed 3 of his assigned client businesses onto me. It’s been nothing but 11hour days for over 2 months, and I’ve been fatigued; too tired to even read books let alone look at a keyboard outside work.

- - -

Chapter 17: Designing Advantageous Circumstances

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Part 1

- - -

Elrick stood alone in a cave illuminated by his Light-Elf natural glow conscious that at any moment Nova Horizon would go to war with Calimado; nothing could ease his mind, and his nervousness was pervasive. Elrick knew that even the best laid plans can go awry, in battle nothing is certain, and even victory has its consequences. The people they kill will suffer temporary deaths; however they’ll undoubtedly hold a grudge.

Elrick was aware that the person you look in the eyes and then shoot in the face will remember you; they would remember the pain you caused them. No matter the circumstances or your reasons hatred is often born from pain; reason has nothing to do with it. Nova Horizon had deliberately walked into a scenario where there would be no victory in strength.

Elrick forced himself to remember the reasons he had ventured into Realm Eternal. It wasn’t to earn a living, and it wasn’t even the money he had gained through his activities; it is the power that money buys. After the debacle with Elise and he was thrown out on his ass he understood that he was powerless. Elrick’s intellect which was always a source of pride for Elrick was proven to be completely replaceable. Elrick understood that he did not have a monopoly on intellect; nothing is so unique that it can’t be reproduced.

And so when Elrick recovered from his morose power became his objective.

- - -

War is not a sport; there are no rules restricting the movements of your opponents. War is not a game of chess where the grid is laid-out for everyone to see and interpret. War is death, and as the saying goes; war is hell. The only thing that is of consequence in a war are the bodies and their capability multiples; weather it be warm bodies or cold bodies depends on which side of the line you stand.

In modern warfare predicting the movements of the enemy is largely dependent on the capability gap; restricting the movements of a weaker enemy is relatively easy, however restricting the movements of an enemy that is a near-peer is impossible without risking a frontal confrontation. Military confrontations between near-peers are rare and the last ones of major global powers are WWI, WWII, and Korea.

There have been Military Confrontations between near-peers on a smaller scale in the case of the Arab-Israeli wars and the India-Pakistan wars. The Namibian border war where Cuban air power supported the Angolan forces against the NATO supported South African Military is a classic proxy war of near-peers. With the later Arab-Israeli wars the Arab armies had not professionalized and modernized their tactics. The India-Pakistani Kargil War of 1999 evidenced a confrontation between near-peer professional nuclear armed militaries.

Elrick liked to use the Kargil War as a case study because it involves Tactical Positioning of military, economic, political and media assets between near-peer Nuclear Powers. The Indians did masterfully what the Americans could not do with the later Afghanistan, 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Global JSOC War on Terror. The US failed spectacularly in the JSOC War on Terror because they never had clear strategic goals.

Therefore instead of decreasing Islamic Terrorism the Global JSOC War on Terror actually fermented insurgency around the world. To most War on Terror sounded a bit self-righteous coming from the US which had been a destabilizing force for over 50 years in its contest for supremacy with the USSR. In South America, Africa and parts of Asia US policies had brought untold suffering upon the people.

Trust in the US had vanished in the decade after the End of the cold war, but after the 9/11 Horror the goodwill of the peoples of the world flowed to the US. Even Russia’s strong man Putin walked over to the other side and stood alongside the American President, but that gesture was repaid with the expansion of NATO and the invasion of Iraq. The US had squandered its political capital; they didn’t learn anything from the Indian experience in the Kargil War.

The Kargil War is the best example of how a major Military Power responds to aggression and provocation when the eyes of the world are watching. The Indians had been Calm, Measured and Decisive; earning the respect and confidence of every nation. The sentiment after the Kargil War was that India could be trusted; a lesson the US has always failed to learn.

The US’s Global JSOC War on Terror conversely ignited Russian Resurgence, Chinese Assertiveness and every regional power now sees the US as a potential threat. The invasion of Iraq frightened Arab leaders, cowed and shaking their asses like a 2 dollar whore at the Americans they lost their strong men credibility and everyone sensed a weakness in their resolve; that’s basically the Arab Spring.

The insurgents sensing weakness took-up the challenge and with every killing on behalf of or in consort with the US the Arab strongmen lost credibility; their own people saw them as puppets. So basically the US’s use of its overwhelming military power essentially guaranteed that they would loose all influence and ferment an endless line of new insurgents.

Elrick was hoping to emulate India in the creation of the country wanted by Eastal and in this encounter with Calimado he could not afford a misstep. Defeating Calimado would earn Nova Horizon a lot of enemies, and factions from all over the place will want to block Nova Horizon’s ascendance. Elrick fully expected that a coalition of factions would form to help resurrect Calimado, but such a thing is within his calculation; that is why Calimado’s defeat has to be complete.

To accomplish Calimado’s complete defeat Elrick needed to understand the reasons the members of Calimado fought. By Elrick’s calculations the core of Calimado was driven by ambition, but the bulk of the more than 30,000 people who belonged to the additional 12 Clans were in this particular fight because they got swept up in the emotions of the moment, they believed that since they outnumber Nova Horizon 3 to 1 it would be an easy victory; everyone likes to win.

The allure of being on the winning side was too tempting, and the illusion of minimal risk was too persuasive; all in all it seemed like it would be fun. These people had been drawn in by the prospect of an easy life in Realm Eternal under the Calimado Faction, and an easy military victory was part of the course. Because of Nova’s movements behind the scenes they hadn’t noticed the implications of the vast disparities in infrastructure.

Direct members of Nova Horizon had not been told of the eventual military confrontation with Calimado; there were too many Calimado spies in Nova for that information to be made public, only those senior members who passed regular Psionic vetting could be trusted, and as far as the rank and file knew Nova Horizon’s policy was to avoid conflict. Even Calimado partially expected Nova to run and not fight; especially when they were at a strategic disadvantage.

Nova Horizon had very practised manoeuvres, and someone not paying attention would ignore the fact that Nova Horizon trained regularly in Advanced Manoeuvre Combat; Formations, Positioning, Concentrated Fire, Supporting Fire and other Tactics had been thoroughly practiced. Calimado was not blind to this and that’s why they were throwing the small fries at Nova, and should Nova choose to fight the small fries would exhaust Nova Horizon’s fighting strength; allowing the core of Calimado to deliver the finishing blow.

Contrary to Calimado the people who joined Nova were screened, and even though they wanted an easy life in Realm Eternal they also wanted to be part of something significant and extraordinary. The Nova Horizon Faction lead by Mithriliar and Lady Lorelei boosts extensive infrastructure through Starlight Spark and the expectation is that Nova Horizon would grow to become a major player in the Commonwealth.

Elrick knew where he wanted to take Nova Horizon, and he considered himself fortunate that both Mithriliar and Lady Lorelei wanted to go in the same direction. Elrick didn’t need Nova Horizon to establish a country, but he understood that things would be a whole lot easier if it did. What Elrick needed was to use the power and influence gained by Nova Horizon to allow Starlight Spark to establish a Small City State, but if Nova wanted to build a Country it would workout even better.

The first hurdle for Nova Horizon is to grow in power while maintaining a relatively good reputation. In Realm Eternal public broadcast media is used by state officials for public announcements and the advent of private public broadcasters has long since lost out to a cacophony of social networks; people get their news from other people and that is considered the only reliable source. Apparently both governments and corporations consistently misrepresented the facts and that lead to a general distrust of official commentary.

Nova Horizon was now under the scrutiny of the public and unlike the Real World there were no trusted news networks that could shape public opinion in Nova Horizon’s favour. Therefore how Nova Horizon behaved in this conflict would become its First Marker; people would use this as a reference whenever Nova Horizon came up in conversation. The aftermath of this upcoming battle would entrench people’s perception of Nova Horizon.

For the sake of maintaining a good public image Nova Horizon would have to be Violent without seeming Brutal, Kill without looking Murderous and Gain from Combat without looking Greedy. Above all Nova Horizon had to appear Dauntless in the face of an onerous enemy. The demonstration of Nova Horizon being Calm, Measured and Decisive would earn them the respect of a violence weary populace.

- - -

The moment of truth had come, and the core leaders of Calimado were attempting to read the movements of Nova Horizon for any sign of suspicious behaviour. Lucifer Morningstar of Morningstar, Reinhardt Calmera of Calmera, Otto von Wolfgang of Wolfgang, Takeshi Bladestorm of Bladestorm and Lenora Winterbourne of Winterbourne are in a Field tent looking at screens showing maps of the area. The observation Runes placed throughout the region fed back a detailed divination of the positions of Nova assets and personnel.

They are looking at the numbers with some relief.

Otto : " Looks like they only hired a few local scouts and a couple of low ranked mages."

Lucifer : " We can be forgiven for killing a few locals but any more than that would be disastrous."

Takeshi : " Do you think they’ll fight?"

Lenora : " If it’s Lorelei she’ll first try to talk and find out if we’re hostile."

Reinhardt : " You think they don’t already know?”

Lucifer : " They know; they’re not stupid"

Otto : " So they want to negotiate?"

Lucifer : " Negotiation may be a stalling tactic; there is no shortage of intellect in Winged Sage Falcros"

Takeshi : " Only 12,000 showed up, and that means that there are at least 4,000 people unaccounted for; they may already be heading for Coswe through other routes."

Lucifer : " In that scenario the 12,000 may be here to keep us bogged down in a military standoff while the other part of Nova Horizon completes the contract. That would mean that they are unlikely to come within range of our Heavy Machine Guns or Theatre Defence Artillery."

Lenora : " Both Lorelei and Mithriliar aren’t known for shying away from a fight, and with the Annihilator on Chaos Island I think a fight is very likely."

Reinhardt : " The outcome of any initial contact may be determined by the Speed of their counter-manoeuvres; Don’t they have a Mounted Cavalry?”

Otto : " That’s why we brought the Heavy Machine Guns and Theatre Defence Artillery; a Mounted Cavalry charge under that scenario would be foolhardy."

Lucifer : " If we try to outthink them we’ll lose, but if we focus on closing down all the elements they need to achieve tactical superiority on the ground it comes down to military force multipliers."

Takeshi : " No matter how well resourced they are if it comes down to Mêlée or Guns we have more Elements of both."

Reinhardt : " Then isn’t it logical that they would try to avoid getting into Mêlée or Guns range?”

Lucifer : " They know full well that they can control the movements of their troops but not ours. Their best result would be to force us into ranged warfare; but we are not going to allow that now are we?"

Lenora : " Then we should prepare even our own clans to mobilize"

Otto : " We can’t move until they do; there’s still a chance that they’ll charge one of the flanks with a shielded Mounted Cavalry."

Lucifer : " Yes; in that scenario they can execute both a Mounted Cavalry charge and a ranged attack simultaneously”

Takeshi : " Taking out both Flanks and setting us up for a Pincer Attack"

Lucifer : " We can’t let ourselves be intimidated to the point where we over-think things and doubt sound military stratagem that has been proven valid. Let’s focus on the facts on the ground!"

Lenora : " We are less than an hour away from an encounter with our chosen enemy"

Reinhardt : " Yeah; The moment of truth is at hand”

Otto : " Victory is within our grasp"

Takeshi : " And the rewards will be that much sweeter; HeHeHeHe"

Lenora : " How dare she make light of us!"

Reinhardt : " This is our moment; I won’t let anyone take it away from us”

Otto : " Cobalt City is ours!"

Lucifer : " Damn Right it’s ours!"

Takeshi : " It ends here!"

Lucifer : " Calimado!"

Lenora : " Calimado!"

Reinhardt : " Calimado!”

Otto : " Calimado!"

Takeshi : " Calimado!"

They spoke the word Calimado like it’s some kind of Oath and to them Calimado is an oath, a promise they made to themselves to seek success in Realm Eternal.

- - -

Part 2

- - -

Calimado’s opponents in the Nova Horizon faction were not intimidated by the size of Calimado’s army and the prospect of confronting such large numbers troubled only the rank and file of Nova Horizon. The core of Nova Horizon understood that the vast numbers of Calimado’s army were small fries, and that the true threat was the core of Calimado which Nova’s estimation suggested was unprepared for a direct military confrontation with the elite of Nova Horizon.

As the Nova forces took up their formations Mithriliar and the other Clan Chiefs watched over the assembling army. Unmistakable in the formations is the assembly of Starlight Spark’s First Ranger Cavalry with Identical Full Plate Level 1 Armour in the same Gold on Dark-Blue colour scheme as their Dress-Uniforms. Mithriliar couldn’t help noting that everyone else looked like Adventurers with personalized stiles to their combat equipment but Starlight Spark’s Cavalrymen held the visage of a proper Army.

At the head of Starlight Spark’s First Ranger Cavalry is Force Commander Bowden, next to him is Deputy Force Commander Vava, then there’s Group Captain Axil, Group Captain Swordin, Group Captain Arrow, Group Captain Shieldor, then there’s Cavalry Captain Ebni, Cavalry Captain Thana, Cavalry Captain Davis, Cavalry Captain Abram, Cavalry Captain Sello. Everyone from the rank of Deputy Legion Commander 「Captain」 and higher is equipped with Full Plate Level 2 Armour.

With Starlight Spark’s increase in number the Ranks and Salaries were adjusted to reflect an in crease in responsibilities.

~ Frop! ~

『Starlight Spark’s Ranger Cavalry Ranks & Salaries!』

•

Force Commander’s Rank = Commander; Salary = $1500 a month.

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Deputy Force Commander’s Rank = Lieutenant Commander; Salary = $1200 a month.

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Field Commander’s Rank = Group Captain; Salary = $950 a month.

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Cavalry Commander’s Rank = Cavalry Captain; Salary = $850 a month.

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Legion Commander’s Rank = Captain; Salary = $650 a month.

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Deputy Legion Commander’s Rank = Captain; Salary = $550 a month.

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Raid Group Commander’s Rank = Lieutenant; Salary = $450 a month.

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Deputy Raid Group Commander’s Rank = Lieutenant; Salary = $400 a month.

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Party Leader’s Rank = Sergeant; Salary = $325 a month.

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Deputy Party Leader’s Rank = Corporal; Salary = $275 a month.

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Party Member’s Rank = Cavalryman; Salary = $250 a month.

At the moment the rank of Group Captain is occupied by Executives of Starlight Spark but it is expected that in time others would rise through the Ranks, and there are only 5 Cavalry Captains who are for the most part in training. A Cavalry Captain is chosen not just for strength of skill level but primarily for the ability to inspire and lead others in combat. It is for this reason that Starlight Spark undertook long range deployments and activities.

- - -

Nova Horizon had deployed in an Arc to match the Calimado deployment.

Looking to his right Mithriliar saw the approaching Strategist from the command centre.

Ren : " Faction Chief; Message from Command."

Mithriliar : " Yes?"

Ren : " It’s time sir"

Mithriliar : " Bowden!"

Gaining Bowden’s attention Mithriliar Nods and Bowden understands Mithriliar’s message.

Bowden : " Bows!"

The whole Nova Force snaps into action at Bowden’s yell.

4000 Level 1 Longbows are prepared by direct Clan members and the Faction members prepare over 8000 Basic Longbows. Everyone prepares the 100 apiece Runic Arrows Supplied by Starlight Spark for this specific encounter. The local crafters employed by Starlight Spark had been steadily stockpiling Runic Arrows in anticipation that Nova Horizon may get involved in a large scale combat with Demons or rogues.

The 4000 Level 1 Longbow holders took up stances in preparation.

Bowden looked over at Mithriliar.

Mithriliar : " Begin!"

Bowden : " Fire Guidance Runes!"

Vava : " Fire First Volley!"

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

4000 Level 1 Longbow Runic Arrows fly into the sky.

Bowden : " Everyone Prepare your MP Potions! Drink after every 10 Arrows! Ready your Bows!"

Even while the Ranged Guidance Runic Arrows are fired Bowden prepares everyone else and instructs the Nova officers.

Vava : " Fire Second Volley!”

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

Another 4000 Level 1 Longbow Runic Arrows fly into the sky.

Axil : " Commander; We have Active Telemetry!"

The function of the Ranged Guidance Runic Arrows is to paint the targets for the self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows in the possession of nearly every member of Nova. With Active Telemetry all that needs to be done is choose a target and fire leaving the Ranged Runic Arrow to guide itself to within 5 metres of selected target. Depending on presets the self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows can land from just 0.5m to 20m of the Active Telemetry Unit/Rune/Arrow.

Bowden : " Artillery Bowmen; Fire!"

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

- - -

The Level 1 Longbows have a standard range of 15km and the Basic Longbows have standard range of 2km under normal conditions; excluding weather and terrain effects. However the Arrows being used this time are self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows crafted by Starlight Spark. Thus even fired from a Basic bow the self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows have a maximum range of 10km, and thus adding the effects of the Longbows the range extends even further.

The combination of self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows and Level 1 Longbows yields a maximum range of 25km under normal conditions. The combination of self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows and Basic Longbows yields a maximum range of 12km under normal conditions. Therefore under these particular circumstances all of the Calimado positions were within the range of Nova Horizon’s Artillery Bowmen.

- - -

At the encampment of the Calimado Elite the arrival of the 2 volleys of 550 Ranged Guidance Runic Arrows alerted them that Nova Horizon’s Artillery Bowmen had begun a ranged attack, and since they had no Runic mages present they could only assume that the Arrows had range extension runes since the arrows didn’t explode on impact. They are reasonably surprised that Nova would spend money on ranged arrows.

The rank and file are a little rattled but they quickly regain composure.

Lenora : " So they chose to attack first"

Reinhardt : " They’re not just attacking us; Arrows have reached every position”

Looking at the screens reports start coming in of waves of arrows reaching all other positions.

Otto : " This looks serious; should we move out?"

Lenora : " At this rate we’ll get pinned down"

Lucifer : " Fuck it! We’ll wait it out; they’ve gotta run outta arrows at some point."

Takeshi : " It’s gonna be a helluva a thing!"

Taking cover behind fortifications and using shields Calimado chooses to endure the rain of arrows.

- - -

Noting that the Nova Force had exhausted the supply of self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows Bowden decided that it was time to begin the second phase.

Bowden : " Deploy Mounts!"

Vava : " Cavalry; Form Ranks! Prepare to Charge!"

Bowden : " Preserve your MP"

2750 people moved forward and released their Customized Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycle from their Magic Bags of Holding.

Bowden looked over the details of his Mount.

~ Frop! ~

『Customized Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycle』

Previous Owner = Ashcroft Republic

Current Owner = Starlight Spark

Purchase price = 1 Gold Coin

Customized by = Starlight Spark

Weight = 452kg

Power Source:

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User’s MP

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Starlight Spark Customized 40 X 1000 Mana Crystal

「Installed Weapons」

Wheel Mounted Spinning Cutting Blades:

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Level 1 Spinning Cutting Blades = 2 per wheel

Forward Piercing Spikes:

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2 Forward Mounted Level 1 Piercing Spikes

Piercing Spikes「Starlight Spark Customization」:

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Large Forward Mounted Level 1 Spinning Piercing Spike

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2 X 5 Small Side Mounted Level 1 Defensive Piercing Spikes

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2 Small Rear Mounted Level 1 Defensive Piercing Spikes

Machine Gun 「Starlight Spark Customization」:

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Range = 3km

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Standard Rifle Bullets Cost = 1 Silver Coin per set of 15

Grenade Launcher「Starlight Spark Customization」:

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Range = 5km

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Starlight Spark Custom Grenades Cost = 1 Silver Coin per set of 8

Additional 「Starlight Spark Customization」:

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Full Protective Enclosure System

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Front Protective Shield instillation Slot

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Surveillance and Terrain monitoring System

Active Systems:

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Speed Control System

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Ride Control System

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Jump Control System

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Targeting System

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Fire Control System

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Noise Reduction System

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Grenade Launcher

Active Systems draw Mana from the installed Mana Crystal and uses it to create effects such as the Psionic Targeting System at a cost of 1 Mana per minute thus allowing the user to Acquire and Designate Targets for Guided Runic Bullets. The Targeting System can also be used for standard Bullets.

.

The Customized Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycle that stood as high as a horse at 1.4m on the seat that could be enclosed in what can only be described as a cockpit had been modified to such an extent that it hardly resembled a Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycle. The original Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycle resembled a large off-road motorcycle, but Starlight Crafters introduced significant modifications.

The 6,000 Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycle were bought at 1 Gold Coin each second hand as a consignment of 6000 from the Ashcroft Republic which had suffered significant damage during the Demon Attack and was in desperate need of funds. As part of the Deal Starlight Spark bought another 4,000 Gold Coins worth of discounted Surplus equipment from the Ashcroft Republic to give a total of 10,000 Gold Coins.

To refurbish and refit the Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycles Starlight Spark spent an additional 2.464 Gold Coins on each Mana Cycle. Starlight Spark had managed to refurbish and refit only 2,927 of the 6,000 Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycles. 2,000 of the Customized Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycles went to Starlight Spark’s First Ranger Cavalry; thus 752 were sold to individuals affiliated with the Nova Horizon Faction at 5 Gold Coins and 175 were sold publicly at 6 Gold Coins to interested individuals not affiliated with the Nova Horizon Faction.

After examining the properties of the Customized Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycles in combat Cobalt City locals and mercenary groups requested that Starlight Spark perform Customizations on their own Mana Cycles; creating a new business opportunity for Starlight Spark. Atlantian Raid Groups used the Customized Level 1 Military Grade Mana Cycle as a light tank/Artillery able to provide fire support and suppression fire on the field.

Most Atlantians considered the use of Mana Cycles too expensive given the Mana Crystal requirements, and one could purchase a Familiar that could serve as a mount like a horse for as little as 80 Silver Coins; with the fuel being abundant grass and hey. Therefore from the perspective of people with a low MP the Mana Cycles are inefficient.

- - -

As everyone prepared their mounts Lady Lorelei decided to summon her Familiars.

Lady Lorelei : " Arvi, Wonar; Come Forth! 〘Magic Summon〙!"

The Familiars Arvi, Wonar respond to the 〘Magic Summon〙 and 2 Inter-Dimensional Pockets open and release the Transparent Air Wisp Arvi and the Bluish Water Wisp Wonar. Elemental Familiars are extremely expensive at 500 Gold Coins because the instinctive ability to tame an Elemental Wisp is a very rare Ability. As someone famous and presumed Atlantian high Nobility Lady Lorelei gained Wisp Wonar as gift from the Water Elf Government and bought the Air Wisp Arvi to compliment her highest Affinities.

Familiars are creatures that have been tamed and taken through a ritual that transforms their souls into a Magic Stone Core. As long as the Magic Stone Core survives they can be granted a new body even upon death. However if the Magic Stone Core is destroyed the Familiar is similarly permanently killed. As such owners of Familiars have to take special care of the Magic Stone Core.

There are 3 ways to use the Magic Stone Core. The first is to carry the Magic Stone Core in the inventory then bring it out to summon and return it back into the inventory after the summoning is completed. The second is to summon the Familiar at a bank and leave the Magic Stone Core in the safety of the Bank while you leave with the actively summoned Familiar. The Third method is to purchase a Tracking Familiar Inter-Dimensional Pocket to house the Magic Stone Core for 200 Gold Coins.

The Tracking Familiar Inter-Dimensional Pocket will allow you to summon the Familiar regardless of location, and the Magic Stone Core is permanently safe from Damage. Either way summoning a Familiar Consumes 150 MP and 10% of Total MP is allocated to the Familiar; the absolute limit on the number of Familiars a person can summon at the same time is 10 Familiars.

What makes Elemental Familiars a special class amongst Familiars is that their Mana recovery rate is on the extreme end of the spectrum; higher than Continentals and Demons. Even if Elemental Familiars can’t transfer Mana back to the owner it adds extraordinary capability. The primary disadvantage of the Elemental Familiars is that they can’t equip Magic Items for self-protection, and that makes them rather easy to kill.

However Elemental Familiars are the only ones who can directly interface with the Divine Elements such as the 【Water Magic】 Element 「Living Water」, the 【Wind Magic】 Element 「Air of Life」, the 【Earth Magic】 Element 「Essence of Earth」, the 【Fire Magic】 Element 「Sacred Flame」, the 【Ice Magic】 Element 「Frost」, the 【Plant Magic】 Element 「Tree of Life」, the 【Sound Magic】 Element 「Resonance」, the 【Psionic Magic】 Element 「Psion」, the 【Enchantment Magic】 Element 「Enthral」, the 【Shadow Magic】 Element 「Blackbody」, the 【Light Magic】 Element 「Radiance」.

- - -

It had been just 4 minutes since the last of the self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows was fired and now a 2750 strong mounted Cavalry was ready for a Cavalry Charge.

Leading from the Front are 4 of the 7 Nova Horizon Clan Chiefs along with Commander Bowden.

Bowden : " Faction Chief; We’re ready"

Mithriliar : " Good"

Lady Lorelei : " They’re in for a Surprise"

Artemis : " Yeah"

Arturia : " HeHeHeHe! I wish I could see the look on their faces"

Mithriliar : " Anyway; DETONATE!"

With that command Carol in the wagon serving as the mobile Command Centre pressed the button that would Unleash Hell.

- - -

At the encampment of the Calimado Elite they started to notice that the over 400,000 self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows had started to glow

They got a bad feeling, and became visibly worried.

Lenora : " What’s that?"

Reinhardt : " Eh?”

Otto : " Kya!"

Lucifer : " Fuck No!"

Takeshi : " Gya!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Before they had time to react the self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows simultaneously exploded.

.

- - -

Since the self-guided Ranged Runic Arrows made by Starlight Spark included both Range Runes and self-guidance Runes they only had a third of the explosive power of normal exploding Runic Arrows. However even at a third of normal power over 400,000 Runic Arrows exploding simultaneously had a chain effect that created a MASIVE explosion that levelled the Calimado hilltop encampment.

The Calimado units arranged in an Arc suffered the chain effect of over 800,000 Runic Arrows exploding simultaneously; Total Annihilation. The vast majority of the lightly equipped Calimado small fries were instantly killed by the explosion, and those that survived were left dazed and confused by the Enormous Explosion that shook the ground.

The effect of over 1.2 million Runic Arrows exploding was so shocking that even the rank and file of Nova Horizon were stunned.

- - -

Recovering from the shaking of the ground Nova leaders started giving orders.

Lady Lorelei : " Carol; maintain bombardment to keep the Calimado Core from logging-out until we reach them"

Carol : " Understood!"

Lady Lorelei : " Anton; Use Rune Seeker Arrows to clear our path of any Runic mines along the road"

Anton : " Understood!"

The Rune Seeker Arrows are designed to search and destroy enemy Runic Magic Signatures within a set parameter.

Mithriliar : " Nicolas, Ronan; Leave no-one alive!"

Nicolas : " Understood!"

Ronan : " Yes sir; Faction Chief"

Bowden : " Cavalry; CHARGE!"

With a thundering roar the Cavalry speeds down the Road.

Nicolas : " First Company; Follow Me!"

Ronan : " Second Company; Follow Me!"

Nicolas took 4,200 Left and Ronan took 4,200 Right. Their task is to mop-up what remains of the 12 other Clans of Calimado. 2 legions would remain to protect the Nova Horizon Command Centre.

- - -

- - -