Chapter 43: First Victory

Victory.

The feeling, the taste was pleasant. While I was tired, I drank it all in. the shouts and cheers of the Crimson Army and allies. We had come a long way. I had brought these people a long way and I planned to go even farther. Once all traces of Nox were wiped from the continent, I would use this world as a staging ground for the next.

I glanced warily at the Eye of Yacsuun as traces of lightning flashed across its surface while we mopped the remnants of the surviving Nox forces. Once complete my victorious army made its way towards the camp. Our camp was assembled slightly outside the forces of the Last Kingdom. Their soldiers watched as we marched back their feelings unknown.

Victory.

I let myself and my people bask in the feeling for a while. It was nice. My armor was caked in dried blood superheated from the effects of my bloodline barely leaving a stain but leaving a stain altogether. We won.

Roughly eight thousands of the Empire’s people beat the Nox in almost an overwhelming victory. Injuries were in the hundreds, but deaths remain in the tens. Those deaths came from the Crimson Army which was unfortunate. I began to review the battle wondering how we won with such few losses.

It became simple once I thought about it. Tier advantage. The Nox seemed to be tied down to some sort of force that doesn’t allow them a wide variety of strength. The common grunts or the red vein variants were previously locked to tier three now they’re tier four but at a cost. Becoming more aggressive and feverish than previously seen. While the golden veins hadn’t increased in tiers, their strength did rise, yet they were still limited to that tier. They are more locked at the peak of tier six instead of the average. As the Crimson faced off against twenty thousand of the things this became obvious. The light from the Eye of Yacsuun guided our way back. Just because we only cast individual spells didn’t mean the storm would stay perfectly calm. It could activate at any time.

Amaya and the Crimson Army worked together in unison almost perfectly. Amaya relaying orders for areas to be reinforced with waiting for troops just as it seemed the area would collapse. A highly trained commander could do the same, but I knew she was utilizing her perks to the fullest. While on top of the front line having large tower shields their perk Interlocking Force reduced all incoming attack damage from the Nox. I did not doubt that this saved plenty of lives.

While we would let out soldiers celebrate the victory the heads of the various forces would be meeting together to discuss all that occurred. My thoughts drifted to the Warrior Princess who would be arriving within the week and Gloria who hadn’t looked the same since the fall of Fort Carrano. I was certain the area was still a raging inferno.

***

In the distance, Kalra gazed at the two front-line camps next to each other. The forces she could muster all marched behind her. Wagons filled with goods and supplies trailed far behind them protected by the young kids barely off their mother’s teat. She took a long deep breath of the dry arid air belonging to the scorched lane. The two mountain ranges that help separate the lands of the Last Kingdom, the daemons and the Nox stood tall while the Eye of Yacsuun shed its light down onto the ground. The sun is hidden behind its clouds.

As she marched, she took another long deep breath. Her mind was already set on a decision. One that came to her long since the news of Fort Carrano being destroyed reached her ears. Her will hardened and the Warrior Princess stepped through the makeshift entrance while much-needed supplies and goods began to become unpacked. Not the entirety of the Last Kingdom was here. Far from it in fact but what the supplies and what they could arguably support were present. Ready to take a final stand and slay the High Queen of the Nox and wipe out all traces of the Nox present.

She walked into the large tent while behind her various nobles of the Last Kingdom followed. She had called and they had answered. Leaving their homes in the hands of the elderly and youth. As her eyes landed on Gloria she frowned. The woman was missing an arm and heavy bags rested underneath her eyes. The very eyes that found the Warrior Princess. So many emotions passed through the older lady’s eyes at that moment and the Warrior Princess saw it all. Hope, desperation, relief, anxiety, grief all flashed through, but the Warrior Princess was not satisfied. She frowns.

Next, her eyes landed on General Irvon who had aged considerably since the last she saw of him just a few months ago. His eyes however still held light within them. His natural aura seemed firmer, sharper, and ready. Finally, her eyes landed on what was effectively her liege and lord alongside the rest of his party. Tall dark-skinned men and women all stood around one another chatting and laughing. They seemed to glow and had energy and activity the Warrior Princess had long since abandoned. Before her arrival, the Warrior Princess had received several reports on the activity ongoing within the front lines.

Almost a week before her arrival Aegis Kan and his forces devastated a Nox army twenty thousand strong. Since then, they’ve been in several skirmishes with smaller Nox forces all of whom were soundly defeated. Strong, that's what the Warrior Princess saw in Aegis Kan’s eyes. Eyes what appeared like the night sky with blues and gold dots representing stars spread within. She could read them. The eyes she once thought were beyond her were now open and displayed Aegis Kan’s current feelings.

Resolve.

Alongside other things such as courage or maybe it was fearlessness. Whatever the emotion, Aegis alongside the people around him radiated that. Their victories had boosted their emotions. Victories that her people needed as the Warrior Princess looked around the room of the other figures within her forces, she saw a new light. A light that had been missing amongst the soldiers of the Last Kingdom for quite a while.

Karla saw hope.

*

Operation Breaker.

That was the name the unified forces came up with. I sat within my tent and a lush carpet as I digested all my gains from the day and the skirmishes my forces fought against the Nox. Each time we repelled whatever they sent our way and each time I noticed the returning energy to the people of the Last Kingdom. While hearing the occasional conversation discussing our battles as I passed through their camp.

Operation Breaker was set in three stages.

The first was simple. Clear the lands underneath the Eye of Yacsuun for any traces of Nox. The Last Kingdom knew where several nests of the creatures were placed but never mustered such a large force in being able to take care of them. Our first step would be clearing out those nests before we moved on to the next step.

Unification. Right now, the remnants of the strong forces of the beast people and the daemons were fighting it out within their lands against an estimated million Nox horde. On several battlefronts. Slowly but surely, they were losing. Not from a lack of strength as they had managed to hold on to the lives of their key individuals. It was a matter of numbers. The Nox only needed to wear you out before they would attempt a takeover. Once we arrived, we hoped to do the exact thing Karla had spent so much time doing before her arrival. Doing a better job at what was to be my responsibility than me. Converting her people into aspect holders.

The final step was to push for the former Artis Empire capital where the High Queen of the Nox resided. We would be far outside the range of the Eye of Yacsuun, and my mages were more than ready to do some serious damage. In front of me were several reports on my men counting the numerous perk upgrades and a few of their overall thoughts and feelings when utilizing their aspect and its perks. My original plan when coming to this world was to use it as testing grounds to see how aspects and perks worked. What were their limits and so on.

Now I was beginning to have success in those tests and now I was starting to see the benefits of aspects. Perhaps I would soon have insights into what [Beyond] was hoping to gain by converting so many people to the power system. I just wondered how its aspects would take over your cultivation. The words of the system rang through my head.

“Aspects.”

Aspect: Starlit Harbinger

(50) %

Effect: Increase in all stats which include but are not limited to endurance, vitality, speed, magic, and strength. When under starlight gain a 20% greater increase. Gain the skill Perfect Recall, allowing you to recall special moments with perfect clarity. Increase combat damage output by 15%. When calling upon your bloodline all powers and effects are concentrated and strengthened within a range of 20ft.

Perks:

Ashes Fall [Beyond] (Max): Summon ashes from [Beyond] which will drain vitality/mana and sap mental endurance (Major). Only affects living objects. Those who fail to extricate themselves from this ability in time will begin to build stacks upon themselves. Once an enemy reaches five stacks’ users may harvest these stacks returning health/mana and mental endurance to themselves. Enemies that have been harvested once are inflicted with [Transcendent Dawn]. Harvested target’s soul shall take the damage instead of the body. Damage is doubled for each new stack upon the target.

Starlit Eyes (Tier 3): See in the dark without light interference. Can see through illusions. Cast an illusion through your eyes that can hamper the senses of allies and enemies alike.

[Beyond] Gaze (Tier 2): This is a permanently activated ability. Allows users to see into the Beyond glimpsing events that will happen shortly.

Dragon’s Health (Passive) (Tier 3): Passively regenerates vitality and mana (High). Increase mental endurance (High.)

Prelude of Ash (Passive) (Tier 3): When in combat surrounded by ashes a Dean of Ash shall be summoned as a physical construct. Dean of Ash can more efficiently transfer energy to host. Can now be summoned through ashes on the battlefield

Aspect: Adventurer

(40%)

Effect: Fortification of all stats which include but is not limited to endurance, vitality, speed, magic, and strength. This allows users to draw more upon their physical bodies without using as much resources as before.

Perks:

Adventurer’s Insight (Tier 3): When activated allows the user insight on all viewable items within sight. Providing detailed information based on the knowledge user already has and making structural weaknesses more obvious. Any weakness hit has a chance to inflict the skill Tundra’s Grasp slowing the enemy by 25%.

Adventurer’s Grit (Tier 3): When activated fortify and turn your physical body as tough as steel. Damage taken during this period will be negated by 15%. Once a month block all incoming damage for a period of five minutes.

Seed of Hope (Tier 1): Plant an idea within yourself or a single target. Then allow the Seed of Hope to blossom.

Survivability (Passive) (Tier 3): Increase regeneration of physical and mental state. You can now regenerate limbs and extensive damage taken to the body.

Probability (Passive) (Tier 1): Increase in user probability to create unique opportunities for themselves.

My new perk Probability hadn’t shown much use yet or perhaps I missed the opportunities it showed to me. My mind is constantly filled with a multitude of things in and outside of battle. Yet I hadn’t had any unique feeling or notion with the new perk just yet.

What changes I did notice came from Dragon’s Health and Prelude of Ash. Both of passives from my first aspect. Dragon’s Health now boosted my regeneration of mana and vitality which played into my magi human abilities. Danger sense, essence absorption, and conversion along with an increase in my regeneration. With Survivability from Aspect: Adventurer working in tandem as well I could feel myself always pushing for peak the moment, I used any of my abilities. The essence naturally helped me to be restored to a pristine state.

Prelude of Ash was now tier three and most of my perks in Ashes Fall [Beyond] were now over halfway disregarding [Beyond] Gaze which activated only once and with that activation it saved my life. As we cleared out the nest of Nox, I would use this chance to further level the perks. In the heat of the battle, I hadn’t kept track of the energy transferred from the Dean of Ash but now that I knew I wasn’t getting the full conversion I would be doing my best to create the proper field the physical constructed needed to be summoned.

Satisfied, I let myself ponder over the battles and small skirmishes that took place recently. Starting it the Battle of Evening or what Amaya had decided to name it being the main commander when we fought the twenty thousand Nox. The good thing that came because of the battle was my new understanding of aspects and perks. I was steadily gaining a conclusion about perks and their utilization. During the battle, something that I only knew of bet never experienced took over causing towards the end causing us to have such an overwhelming victory. Another benefit of being magi-human. Battle Mind or True Courage depending on whom you spoke to. True Courage was an ability our ancestors gave us that allowed our magi cores to sort of communicate with one another from my understanding. Part of the reason why we were so in sync even after discussing the plan previously. It was the reason I laughed and felt so in tandem with my Crimson Army and the knights beside me. Not just them but the magi-humans of the Crimson Army itself.

The rank of Alex and Rouge increased as we added several more members to the knight roster. People Amaya had viewed to stand out and a few I saw that dared to follow besides me. Courage was what I was calling it and not stupidity as I was three tiers above most of the members of my army.