Chapter 63

A Hurried Defense

We rushed back to the Community. While the soldiers were fast, both Kevin and I easily kept up—evidence of the boons that came with the system. The level difference attested to our stronger physical abilities. However, compared to before we had departed on our little excursion, the soldiers had unquestionably improved in their movements. They must have gained a few levels during our small expedition.

Kevin was taking the lead for guiding Kantje, who had managed to become entangled in our speedy escape through no fault of her own. Glancing back, I could tell just how confused she was, but what I hadn't expected was the gleam of excitement within her eyes.

It only took half an hour to return to the Community, and I figured it would take at least a little while longer before the bandits made their way here as well. After all, they had to traverse across decaying roads, and they were moving only slightly faster than a walking pace. If we organized a retaliatory force quickly enough, we might still be able to ambush them, but this time with a much larger group.

Rick was the first to greet us at the gate leading into the community, a newly installed chain-link fence, the previous cars being tossed aside. At first, Rick was thrilled at our approach, however, our hurried gait and concerned faces only served to remove that elation.

As we arrived at the gate, Rick demanded, "you look like you've seen a ghost, what the hell happened out there?"

"There're Bandits Rick!" I exhaled.

His eyes widened in consternation as he drew closer to us, "how long do we have?"

"Half an hour at most. They're moving slowly, but it won't be long. They're heading straight towards here along some side roads through the northern forests, on Route 140."

"Are you sure they're heading here, Thomas?"

"Liam was with them," I said, with a mix of emotions crossing across my face. That mere fact bothered me to my core. The man I had let go was now leading Bandits to us.

Rick paced, and then called over one of his subordinate officers, "get me Captain Sherman. It looks like we'll be giving the Bandits an early welcoming party."

As soon as the Captain arrived, a meeting was called.

We were all gathered under the canopy of a military tent—Rick, myself, Kevin, and several officers I only recognized in passing. As soon as Captain Sherman walked in with one of his Senior Officers, the fervent chatter came to a close. "Camp Edward could scramble a pair of helo's, but it would take nearly half an hour for them to arrive... This withstands the lack of resources available to operate them for an extended period. Supplies are finite, AGM's especially if we wished to coordinate a strike. The question is: does the situation dictate a level of necessity to warrant the use of our limited supply of AGM's?"

"The Colonel is of the opinion that these missiles would be best used against the demon's inevitable attempt to break through our enclosure of Boston, so unless anyone has a pressing argument against the decision, it's final," the announcement came with a general sense of disappointment.

Everyone knew that the question only had one clear meaning. Camp Edward wasn't willing to scramble airpower to deal with a small band of thieves. No air support meant on-the-ground combat and lives likely lost.

Nobody wanted to lose lives.

As soon as Captain Sherman finished, I took advantage of the moment of silence to speak up. There was one option available. An opportunity that I had been unsure how to deal with until now.

"Ahem..." I cleared my throat as I stood up, seeking to grab everyone's attention. Everyone's eyes gravitated towards me. "There's one development that might be useful in this particular situation. Something that might help reduce the chance of casualties"

"And what development would this be, Mr. Parker?" Captain Sherman replied, quizzically lifting his brows.

"The Leyline. Once I obtained control over it, I gained the authority to select how the Leyline influences the surrounding area. An option is available to me by which I can have the Leyline provide a buff for magic-based attacks from individuals recognized as members of the Community while debuffing any attacks made by adversaries."

Captain Sherman looked towards one of his aides, who then shook their head. Frowning, Captain Sherman turned back towards me, "care to elaborate Mr. Parker? We have little time, so if you have a solution, lay it bare."

"When my group, in conjunction with Rick's men, assaulted the Leyline within the cemetery, I was able to take authority over it. The Community here has been recognized by the System, and I have been designated as its Ruler. The moment the Leyline came under the command of my community, I was granted a selection of choices in how to influence the Leyline. As of right now, it is emanating a... 'Frost-Mana' effect on the surrounding area. Hence the cold we have all been experiencing. I can modify this effect into something entirely different. One of those effects being what I just mentioned, that is, a buffing effect on members of the Community. It may not help your men, Captain. But, it sure as hell will help ours. If we launch a fusillade of magical attacks when the Bandits arrive, we can catch them off guard enough where your men can take them out before they close in."

Everyone who had been at the demonstration a few days prior immediately recognized the ramifications of such a proclamation. AGM's might not be needed if I could replicate destruction on a similar scale.

It took just a moment for Captain Sherman to make his decision. "Mr. Parker. Your people will act as support. I don't need to state the importance of me putting the lives of my men on your shoulders. The amount of trust I am giving you here. Do I?"

I shook my head, "no sir. You can count on my people to watch your back."

Battle plans were drawn up, and the next half-hour was filled with hasty preparations and the scrambling of Soldiers and Community members alike.

We attempted to contact the soldiers accompanying Alex, but there was too much interference. Apparently, the dungeon wasn't conducive to traditional methods of communication. So, a runner was sent.

With Alex and Dante both out, we had to make due. Kevin and I split to grab our combat-oriented community members. I would take charge of our support-capable members, while Kevin would lead our melee combatants. Even though they wouldn't be able to take part directly in the battle, our melee fighters were a strong contingency if the Bandits, god forbid, managed to break through our defenses.

While a wooden palisade wasn't exactly an ideal wall to block modern weaponry. It should persevere against light gunfire. The plan was to surprise them and hit them hard the moment they got here.

Fortunately, we'd be making our defense towards the northern edge of the Community, and we only hoped that we were anticipating the attack by the bandits correctly. Since they had a vehicle moving with them, we could at least anticipate the attack coming from one of the roads. Some scouts had been sent out to keep an eye on the contingent of Bandits.

What I had promised Captain Sherman regarding the Leyline was a decision I had been struggling with up until this point. The Leyline had an aura effect. It's what we had come to know as the 'Mana Zone'. When the Leyline was first formed, the Lich had control over it. It was why it had been attuned to frost-mana, and also why it had been so conducive to the undead. When we killed the Lich, the Leyline was suddenly claimable. As such, when I came into contact with it, and it recognized me as a 'Ruler' I was allowed to claim it for the Community.

Once claimed, several options emerged within the menu over what to do with it. The Leyline was some sort of Magical Generator. And could be used to cast intricate spell networks known as "Ruler Spells". None of which I knew how to cast, it was only referenced by the System's info-piece regarding the Leyline. So, until I managed to learn how to use the Leyline with complex unstructured magical spells, I would have to stick with the limitations of the system.

That meant that I could attune the Leyline to distinct magical affinities. With the frost mana affinity, frost-attuned spells would be empowered. However, none of us had the ability to use frost spells. Except perhaps for myself. I had yet to delve into frost mana, but I had a working theory. Since pressure could be used to either heat or cool something down, the same concept should apply to spells. It's why I could heat my fire mana so well. In the case of water... Well, if I condensed the spell enough, I theorized I could form frost-based spells.

But, conversely, whatever affinity the leyline was attuned to didn't solely impact spells, but also the environment within the influence of the leyline. The entire mana zone was significantly cooler than the areas outside of it—a result of its frost attunement. I could only imagine what would happen if I attuned the Leyline to fire mana. In the winter it might result in a pleasant environment. In the summer though... well.... other options had to be considered. Tampering with the environment was a tad risky on my end unless we knew exactly what we were dealing with.

There were also more abstract options available to me. I could consolidate the leyline, increasing its power output within the area of the mana zone. I could also expand the leyline, allowing it to increase the area which it influenced. This held incredible opportunities, but both required the use of Prestige Points.

When it came to Leylines, it seemed like everything required the usage of Prestige Points, and as such, I was becoming increasingly aware of their purpose. When changes within the Ruler System were performed. Prestige Points were used. It was a very gamey way to influence the system, yet it was powerful in its effects.

While tempting to consolidate and expand, we didn't exactly have a plethora of prestige points to spend. So, I had to prioritize. Which is why I had finally come to my decision on what to do with the Leyline when Captain Sherman had presented the dilemma regarding the community's defense. My decision? Change the aura that the Leyline emitted.

While the mana zone was a comfortable temperature at the moment, and largely spared us from the sweltering heat of the New England summer, I couldn't see the benefits in continuing to use it. I'd miss the cool days, but, this was more important. One of the final abstract options regarding the Leyline I directly attributed to my specialized class, the [Mature High-Human Paragon Magus]. The aura was, uncoincidentally, named the [Aura of the Magus].

It amplified every spell used by a member within the "Ruler's" Community. I didn't see any exact number or percentage, however, I theorized that the effect of it coincided with how powerful the leyline was. Hence the emphasis on expanding and consolidating a Leyline.

We didn't have time for that though.

This entire process brought back memories from my time playing Holy Arc Online. The Leylines I had seen in the game was at the very least several times the size of the one we had here in the Community, yet the similarities were still undeniable.

Whenever I had witnessed a Leyline, the view had been absolutely stunning. The mana pouring from the crystalline structures had been so immense, that the surrounding air had an aurora that ranged across entire cities. I never knew how they operated. But I did know that the Kingdoms that possessed a Leyline had significant benefits.

Some Kingdoms seemed to have had an inexplicably large amount of nature mana within their vicinity. Those Kingdoms excelled in growing crops. Others had areas attuned to Earth, like the Kingdoms of the mountains. There were a plethora of applications, and only now was I realizing their significance. These Kingdoms didn't have these benefits due to some sort of natural surplus of a particular mana type in their region. It was because of the presence of a Leyline.

The epiphany spoke volumes about the benefits to be had. In our case, our Leyline was going to be attuned for war. I did not doubt that the Leyline would chart the future of the Community. It filled me with excitement.

So, with little time to spare, I pulled up the menu regarding the Leyline—a subsidiary of the Ruler Menu.

Community of Genesis — Leyline Interface

Number of Leylines under Genesis control: 1

[Mountain View Leyline] - Stage I

Current Leyline Energy Available - 10/10 [ +1 / day]

Current Attunement: Frost-Attunement

Change Attunements?

Of course, I selected to change the attunement.

Available Leyline Attunements:

Frost-Attunement - [Current Designation]

Fire-Attunement - [50 Prestige Points]

Earth-Attunement - [50 Prestige Points]

Air-Attunement - [50 Prestige Points]

Water-Attunement - [50 Prestige Points]

Aura of the Magus - [100 Prestige Points]

Leyline Consolidation - [100 Prestige Points]

Leyline Expansion - [100 Prestige Points]

Current Prestige Point Value: 177

I selected the [Aura of the Magus], and watched as the number of Prestige Points ticked precipitously down to 77.

With the selection made, a sudden, tangible shift occurred within the air. To the passive observer, it was a visible rumble, while a wind-like effect tore through the area, with brilliant light emanating from the direction of the Leyline crystal.

With my [Mana Sight], I saw the swirling colors of the frost mana flowing back into the direction of the crystal, where I assumed it was being reabsorbed. The secondary effect was an affinity-less mana-like energy swirling to fill the void left behind. I could only assume that this was whatever effect I had just selected regarding the new aura.

It only took moments for the disturbance to settle down, and as soon as it did, I felt the temperature within the Mana Zone begin to rise and the residual frost mana dispersing.

I conjured a small ball of fire in my hand.

With my [Mana Sight] trained onto the spell, I watched on as even after I finished the spell's conjuration, the mana-like energy swelled to envelop my growing spell. The effects were instantaneous. The fiery particles of mana became animated by this energy, and in turn, the spell took on a more violent appearance. Whereas prior the fireball looked like a flaming ball of cotton, it now looked like an aggravated miniature firestorm. Sparks flew off of the spell and circled around the ball, like flames blown by a bellow. Even though the amount of mana itself hadn't changed, it had been made more chaotic. Without a doubt, the spell had just grown more powerful as a result.

I smirked. This was something we could work with.