Collapsing sections of the walls not only allowed the Tenebach clan’s alliance to proceed, but also disrupted possible traps they might have laid out on the walls. The remains of the walls on either side as well as the gatehouse in the center still provided the defenders some advantage, but it was reduced.

Most of the members of the Shadow Wolf clan were remaining at a moderate distance, unable to make optimal use of their skirmish tactics with the lines of forces fighting each other. Making a sortie through the gates would just allow another entrance into the city, and if they had previously made their way outside the city they stood a chance of being cut off from the rest of their forces. Waiting for the attackers to enter the city proper where they could make full use of their tactics was a sensible choice given those conditions.

The head of the Shadow Wolf clan, Damian, was participating in the melee. His giant wolf tore into people while he cleaved at them with a halberd. John and Matayal moved to intercept him, as he seemed to be well suited to fighting against those of lower cultivation. In the other opening, the Golden Tomb Guardians fought against Katla of the Society of Midnight. Zacharie and Elder Monika cut through darkness cultivators with their twirling bladed staves, the light cutting through enemy defenses. Light and darkness directly opposed each other, so they were conversely in danger themselves- but they had the support of the Milanovic and Mulyani clans. Fire and air were less directly in conflict with darkness, allowing them to mitigate damage. Or rather, the Mulyani clan was able to do that. The fire cultivators were focusing on more aggressive tactics.

John gathered earth and water energy as he approached the wolf rider, circulating supplemental amounts of air and darkness into the mix. The more he combined elements the more John learned about which proportions were optimal for different techniques, but it was always better to add a trace of supporting elements. It was just possible to be inefficient with his additions.

Matayal moved a few steps ahead, confronting Damian with her short spear. He swept out with his longer reach, but she kept just enough distance for his attack to miss. His wolf went to move in for a bite, its jaws opening large enough to surround Matayal’s torso. She almost dove underneath it, but didn’t want to have to deal with its slashing claws on her way. Nor did she want to discover what would happen if the beast merely attempted to crush her.

The energy John had gathered was flung out like a net, provoking Damian to spur the wolf a step forward to avoid his energy as much as possible. Most of the combined water and earth energy found its way onto the mixed dirt and rubble from the wall. It was only when Damian went to maneuver away that he realized John’s technique was never meant to hit him. Sinking in the Mire, Quicksand- whatever John called it, it involved controlling the earth beneath someone and loosening it up so people would sink. Water made that more effective. If the area had been loose sand already, an injection of air would have produced exceptional results.

Either way, the wolf stumbled back as its rear legs suddenly sunk, throwing Damian off balance and allowing Matayal an opening to strike at the wolf. She avoided its jaws, her spear thrusting into the tough hide of its shoulder after scraping along its neck. She pulled back immediately, avoiding the sweep of a halberd. The awkward angle meant she was safer, but she still didn’t want to face such an attack directly.

Around them the other forces faced off with each other, fighting to keep the other side from joining against their leaders. While a Soul Expansion Phase cultivator might be easy for John to defeat normally, in addition to a proper Consolidated Soul Phase warrior it would be a dangerous distraction.

The great shadow wolf found its purchase and leapt out of the entrapment, but not before John managed a slash along its side. He barely broke through its hide, but his darkness energy clung to it, tearing at the creature’s innate energy to empower itself. Clinging Affliction combined with Spiritual Energy Absorption could last almost indefinitely if left alone. The shadow wolf didn’t seem to know what to do about the attack, but its rider contributed his own energy to wrestle with John’s attack. He was able to negate the effect, but the moment of distraction cost him. The shadow wolf had to leap slightly into enemy lines to get out of the mire, and John and Matayal charged after it- the angle not allowing it to go more than a handful of meters. Once more they targeted the wolf directly. It was tougher than Damian, but less able to defend itself. Blood dripped down from various points of its body, the weakness of having a physical form.

Not far away, Katla found herself barely able to defend with her long blade as she faced off against the unexpected ferocity of the Golden Tomb Guardians. Monika seemed to have some particular grudge against the woman, attacking with reckless abandon. She cut her way through other defenders to land any attack on Katla, though Monika received some wounds of her own. Seeing that part of the city was beginning to burn behind her- more as a side effect than any actual intention- Katla knew that remaining to fight would only result in her death. She’d already done enough to delay.

Tugging on the spiritual energy of the others from the Society of Midnight, Katla gathered a great power- enough to create a shroud of darkness over the whole battlefield, if only for a few moments. On one side the light cultivators cut through it in a few moments, and on the other the Tenebach clan was only minimally affected… but it provided enough time for Katla to disappear, along with Damian, leaving his injured shadow wolf behind.

-----

After triggering the collapse of the walls, it didn’t take long for Renato and the others to make their way further into the city. Combining his efforts with those who could squeeze in nearby, Renato smashed upward out of the end of the tunnel, opening half inside a building and half on the streets. With a swing of his stone club he scattered the wall out of the way to make the climb easier for others. The other tunnels should be doing the same on a similar timescale.

Though they should have been unexpected, the city wasn’t completely unprepared. Cultivators kept in reserve moved to face them, gathering from where they were stationed around the city. They were not as organized as those on the walls, but they still managed to delay them enough for further reinforcements to arrive. That slowed the intended pincer attack, but Renato found his position to be strong enough that he didn’t need to consider retreating into the tunnels. The Order was contributing enough, if not exactly in the way intended.

Deirdre had come up in another one of the tunnels with some from the Golden Tomb Guardians. Facing off against darkness cultivators directly was a risk for both sides- skill trumped power to some extent, and she deflected many incoming blows… but if she slipped up she could easily die. She fought alongside other from the Golden Tomb Guardians and the Order of the Amber Heart, making her way towards the walls. That was when she noticed a fleeing group, with a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator in it.

She took a deep breath, absorbing some of the excess light elemental energy from the egg she carried with her. It looked vaguely like a strangely bulky backpack, but despite its size didn’t weigh much. The light energy it produced should mix with her own to not be particularly obvious, but she honestly couldn’t guarantee anything.

Whatever reason the Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator had for moving around, she wanted to stop it. Bringing with her as many of the others as she could, she moved to cut the enemy group off. She didn’t recognize the enemy by sense, but upon seeing her Deirdre recognized Katla, a bit battered and bruised but still ahead in cultivation, the mid Consolidated Soul Phase. WIth more experience, and likely a shard of Ciaritzal… she wasn’t sure she could face off against her. On the other hand, she couldn’t afford to let her flee- and what was the point of Cuah’arn’s egg if not to even the balance?

“Stop right there!” Such a demand in the middle of a battle was practically useless, but it filled Deirdre with some confidence. Like facing down a villain… which she was.

The initial clash of their two forces was relatively evenly matched. Unfortunately the advantage was on the side of the Society of Midnight, not only familiar with the streets they were fighting on but with Katla’s cultivation advantage. Deirdre found herself barely able to deflect the long, thin blade that Katla wielded, keeping it away from her vitals but wearing herself out in the process. If that had been all, perhaps she might have turned things around.

Unfortunately, reinforcements were approaching. More from the Society of Midnight, and not just a squad or two. It was likely not a coincidence that they were making their way towards Katla- she was the vice-head of the sect, after all. Meanwhile, Deirdre found herself and the others cut off from their own allies, Renato and the others having focused on the original plan.

Blades appeared and disappeared on her staff at her convenience, but the slight advantage of reach was not enough against her superior opponent. She couldn’t hold on for long… and the time to retreat had perhaps already passed. “Guardians! Lend me your aid! Order, get back!” She didn’t have time to explain exactly what she had to do. She didn’t fully understand it even, but she had a large source of light energy on her back. She just had to use it.

She shouldn’t have let herself get overconfident just from its presence, but she wanted to make a name for herself. She’d lucked out just to get where she was, and wanted to prove something. Unfortunately, it seemed she’d done the opposite.

As the earth cultivators moved away, taking a defensive position, the light cultivators gathered around her. As she drew deeply upon the power in the egg, she realized as it was positioned it wouldn’t be as effective as she wanted. Her staff turned into a longspear for a moment as she thrust, forcing Katla back. Then she hoisted the backpack above her head. Katla looked confused for a moment- then concerned. Deirdre hardly noticed it, though, as she was focusing her utmost on directing the power that would be coming out- even the other members of the Guardians around her were at risk, since uncontrolled power was dangerous to anyone. Then there was a great flash, and nothing more.

-----

John cursed as he both felt and saw the explosion. It was directed away from the gates, further into the city, but it almost made him blind anyway. With it came no small amount of destruction, as well as fires. There was also knowledge of what had happened.

Giving Deirdre the egg had seemed sensible at the time, but now he knew he was responsible for another death. It was rather unfair to others who had died in the course of his cultivation that he cared more for those he knew personally, but that was just how humans had to function. Without that egg Deirdre likely wouldn’t have pushed her way so far into the city… though he might never know for sure. What he did know was that they would take advantage of the situation.

“Push forward!” he shouted. “Their forces are weak!” He could already sense Renato and members of the Order battering at the rear lines of the enemy. “We march for the central keep! We can’t allow Faramund to complete whatever he has in mind!” Whatever was so important that the sect head couldn’t participate in defending against a siege… that absolutely had to be stopped. And though John couldn’t tell exactly what it was, he could sense a gathering of darkness elemental spiritual energy… and something happening to the shard of Ciaritzal in the sect head. Inside of him, Ciaritzal himself squirmed in discomfort.