"Need us?" I ask.

Silvia was standing in the yard in front of the guild hall when I teleported Terrence and myself into it, and she immediately walked over to us once we appeared. The natural assumption was that she was waiting for us.

"I'm sure my message arrived," Silvia holds out an envelope. "But if it hasn't, can this be delivered for me? It contains all the same information, as well as a little more."

"Sure," Terrence accepts the envelope.

"Do you have an update?" Silvia asks me. "Regarding when and where the threat will come, I mean."

"Let's leave town first," I teleport us to the fields, where some people are hunting monsters.

Kneeling, I close my eyes and place a hand on the ground, sensing the flows of the world's Mana. The flows feel… difficult.

"What's wrong?" Silvia asks.

"I'm having a hard time reading them," I stand and look at her. "Probably because it's too close and I'm too inexperienced at doing this. I can tell it's still going to happen, but there's too much of it gathered now for me to get a more accurate idea. It's definitely in the next five days, though."

"Alright," she says. "Terrence, impress upon your father the urgency of this."

"Will do," Terrence responds.

"Alright," Silvia says. "I'll see you two later, then."

I nod, then lift Terrence and myself up into the air with [Flight], an [Air Barrier] forming around us. Then, I take off, soaring eastward. There's no real blind flying here, as I've taken us high enough I can see past the next town.

All I have to do is follow the roads and towns.

We don't fly at an immense speed, but we do pass by a town every half-hour, soon reaching the capital. As it comes into view, its immense walls standing out on the horizon from more than a town away, I feel something wrong.

"That mountain there," Terrence indicates a mountain past the city. "It's only a few miles away from the city. When I was ten years old, Alexander took me there and taught me some spells at a lake halfway up it. It was the first time I realized that he actually cared about me as his brother. He also showed me a few spells that I couldn't learn back then, but plan on learning soon. There's this one-what the ancient fuck?"

The city is under attack from the east. A horde of monsters on the ground, and the big daddy of all flocks from the air. We can barely make them out, but some of the monsters are large enough to see.

Including a wyvern.

I speed up our [Flight], pushing my spell to its current limits, crossing the remaining fifteen miles to the city in only ten minutes. The city itself is almost two miles across, making it quite the massive city from what I've heard. That still takes us a minute or so to cross, and I release the [Air Barrier] once we reach the eastern side of it.

Terrence and I begin casting dozens of [Stone Spear]s, [Air Spear]s, and [Ice Spear]s, slaying the monsters closest to the damaged walls. One whole section of it has collapsed, and soldiers and mages are battling it out down there in an attempt to keep the monsters from invading the city.

Standing atop the wall is a group of mages focused on trying to stop the wyvern. They can't pierce its hide, so they're using brute force in an attempt to knock it off-course and keep it from succeeding in attacking. Though they're finding some success, they're also finding a lot of failure, and the beast has slammed into the wall twice just in the time I've seen it.

That thing broke the wall by ramming into it, and it's trying to make more holes.

Fortunately, the mages down there have managed to create a temporary blockade of shorter [Stone Wall]s to help them out, but it probably won't last long, and they probably won't be able to keep making new ones as they're destroyed. Especially not if the wyvern puts more holes into the walls.

They need their Mana for offense as well.

"I forgot," Terrence tells me. "That we had a wyvern living in the nearby mountains. Let me go so you can focus on it."

I release Terrence from my [Flight], and he immediately uses [Flight Wind] to catch himself and fly down to the wall.

A dozen [Air Spear]s form around me, and I flick my right hand forward, sending them at the wyvern. It notices them too late, the spearheads slicing into its hide and wings. Screeching, the beast redirects its attention to me and begins flying my way.

At the last moment, I fly out of the way and soar out over the horde of monsters. [Air Razor Bomb]s shoot out and burst, slicing through many of the fliers as an [Air Armor] forms around me. The wyvern pauses for a moment when it sees this.

"Wasn't expecting someone who could actually fight back, did you?" I ask as more [Air Spear]s and [Air Razor Bomb]s form.

The beast screeches at me and charges, and I drop the [Air Razor Bomb]s to the ground and send the [Air Spear]s outward, to kill some of the other flying beasts.

For the wyvern, I inhale deeply, then let out a roar with [Amplify Voice], causing the very air itself to shake. The ground quakes beneath me from the force of it, and everything goes silent and still. Even the wyvern freezes up.

For a few moments, the wyvern actually loses its hold on its flight.

"Regardless of how easy or hard you are for me," I say. "The Experience Points you give will bring me up to Level 200. That means I don't have to worry about having reduced Experience just because you're weak."

With how deep my [Air Spear]s pierced into its hide, this beast was a low-tier wyvern before the Slip, and it definitely hasn't reached 2,000 Might yet. If I had shot those spears even harder than I did, I would have cut vital things in several spots.

"The only reason I pulled you away from town," I tell the beast. "Was so that I don't risk accidentally killing people."

I snap, and a violet, arcane [Flame Vortex] forms around the wyvern. With a clench of my fist, I shrink the spell's size, incinerating the beast before it can try to fly up out of it.

+6,407.87% Experience! You have gained 65 Levels!

Unclenching my hand, I increase the radius of the [Flame Vortex], then I summon three more of the same size and begin sending them out, incinerating beasts with ease. The wyvern was the strongest beast here, none of them possessing enough Constitution to withstand the power of arcane fire.

Soon, the monsters are fleeing. Without the wyvern to command them and with an obvious threat they cannot stop, fear has taken over the horde.

This makes them ripe for targeting with bomb spells, and the mages of the city do just that. Hundreds of bomb spells fly out from the defending forces, targeting the horde of monsters. With all of their allies still close to the walls, there's no risk of hitting any friendlies. There's also no need to focus on the ones closest to the walls, either.

I assist with the retreat, continuing my [Flame Vortex]es as I send out [Air Razor Bomb]s and arcane [Fireball]s, though I don't move from my spot. The full retreat takes only three minutes before it's not worth chasing them down anymore.

"So," I say once I fly back to Terrence and land. "That fight was disappointing. Maybe after the big threat, I can look for a middle-tier one."

"Oh, jeez," he puts his head in his hands. "Seriously?"

"Nah," I dismiss my [Air Armor]. "That will be for after I finish dealing with the passage and return to my family."

"You're ridiculous," he says.

"Your air magic," the man standing close by, a black-haired wolfkin with golden eyes and who looks to be in his thirties, says. "It was tinted purple, not green."

"I'm an [Archon]," I say. "So my magic is purple instead of green. Terre, we've been over this, being ridiculous comes with the territory of being an [Archon]. Now, let's go find your father."

"That would be me," the man says.

"Oh, sorry," I say. "I'd assumed that his father would be blowing up a mountain or something."

"That was last week," the man indicates the mountain in the distance. "Which is why she has a giant hole in her side."

"I did notice the hole," I say.

"Wait," Terrence says. "Why did you blow a hole in the mountain, Father?"

"I was dealing with a pest," his father answers. "I received a letter from Silvia last night, I take it your summoning was to handle this threat?"

"No," I answer. "It's not a world-ending threat, but it would definitely end the kingdom. I was here through a force outside the norm. Fortunately, Terrence was there to introduce me to Silvia, so I can only assume at least one god knew it was going to happen."

"I see," he says. "We are still gathering mages, and planned on flying them over tomorrow, so that they can rest after having traveled today."

"Reid can use the [Gate] spell," Terrence says. "It allows us to walk through it and appear on the other side. So we can cross the distance pretty much immediately."

"The powers of an [Archon] are immense," King Windfang muses. "Most of those we've called have already arrived. Tell me, [Archon] – do you believe it best if we leave today, rather than wait until morning?"

"Yes," my answer is immediate and with confidence. "I'm uncertain of when the threat will arrive, so the sooner reinforcements are there, the better-prepared we will be."

"Alright," he says, then turns to face the mages examining the wall. "Mages with earth affinities! Perform temporary repairs to the walls! We will have the builders perform repairs after the Slip has ended! Those of you joining us for the threat to the west, form up!"

Terrence's father continues calling out instructions, including how to handle the damages and guard work. He only briefly scans the letter Terrence hands him, then pockets it before giving a few guards instructions to return to the castle and do some stuff.

We join the fighters down on the ground, those ready to join us for the battle to the west. There are roughly two hundred of them, most of them at Tier II but with thirteen at Tier III. The force includes Terrence's father and older brothers, as well as both his mother and his step-mother.

"Supplies will be coming shortly," King Windfang informs me while we wait and a few introductions are made. "We won't be asking the town to feed all of these people, and we'll be setting up camp outside of it. I've already requested that several wagons be made, and the guards I sent into town will be instructing that their finished as soon as possible. Will you be able to transport all of these forces?"

"Yes," I answer.

"Who are you?" A catkin man approaches. "You seem quite comfortable speaking to His Majesty so formally."

"You seem so comfortable approaching those your king is speaking with and joining their conversation," I say. "But I'll let it pass."

"You?" The catkin man asks. "Who do you-"

"I am [Archon] Reid," I say. "And I don't recognize you from the forces that were here, which tells me that you're either a coward or nothing more than a noble. Terrence, which is he?"

"This is a lord from one of our southwest duchies," Terrence informs me. "The son of Duke Firefang."

There's a slight pause in Terrence's response, and the lord begins to say something only for Terrence decide he's going to say what he was wanting.

"He's part of the faction that opposes my presence in the castle," Terrence informs me.

"So a coward, then," I nod. "Understood. Anyway, back to our discussion, which that irrelevant man was not a part of. [Gate]'s cost is based on the size of the spell, and I'm capable enough to open one large enough to fit two wagons through with a little space between them and to their sides. Transporting a dozen of them along with a force this size won't be an issue, especially since killing that wyvern brought me up to Level 200. The Mana cost is trivial at this point."

"Then we'll leave as soon as everything is ready," King Windfang says. "Those who aren't present before we leave, would you mind returning to collect this evening?"

"It won't be an issue," I nod.

"Thank you," he says. "I've already gone over the basic plan with those gathered. Once we arrive, we'll prepare additional defenses for the town, including layers of [Stone Wall]s to give it added defenses. We have several magic items that we'll use to create a potent [Air Barrier] around the town as well, so hopefully, there will be no damage. If we pace ourselves, it will take around four or five hours. We can rush the job and do it in an hour or less, but that would require your assistance with the construction."

"Hopefully," I nod. "I'll assist with the [Stone Wall]s, strengthening them where I can. After that, we'll set up patrols to walk around it, and as soon as the threat appears, signals will be set up. Our forces will gather wherever the threat or threats are and begin the attack. Hopefully, it's focused on one side rather than spread around."

"Hopefully," I nod. "Are you Alexander, or Richard?"

"Alexander," the wolfkin who approached answers. "The eldest brother. When Father told me that Silvia said there was an [Archon] here again, I was only mildly surprised. I pray that this fight does not take too many lives. Father, should we begin moving people over now, with our supplies sent over once they arrive?"

"Are you okay with that?" King Windfang asks.

"Sure," I say. "Have everyone form up and I can let them in four at a time."

"Everyone!" King Wingfang amplifies with his voice with magic. "Form up into four lines! We're traveling now, and our wagons will join us once they arrive here!"

I hold out my right hand and create a [Gate] large enough to fit four people through comfortably, and the gathered fighters begin moving through it. To their credit, none of them question it or show hesitation, walking through it as if they're walking through the city gates. All of them are experienced fighters who are used to dealing with unexpected things, so an [Archon] showing up and creating a gate that takes them to another part of the kingdom doesn't phase them.

The fighters are just finishing passing through when the wagons start leaving the city, so I expand the [Gate] and wait for them to pass through. Terrence and his family are the last of those from here to go through, and I follow them through the [Gate] and dismiss it.

Something feels wrong.

"Something isn't right," King Windfang says.

So it's not just me who feels that way. I need to do another check of things.

"Reid," Silvia approaches us, a foxkin man beside her. "This is the other Tier IV, he arrived a few minutes after you left. Lucas is apparently Level 232 now, so that's quite a bit of power."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, [Archon]," the foxkin says, with a light accent. "When I received word of a great threat, I couldn't stand by and do nothing. Let us pray to the gods that all goes well."

"With an [Archon] here," Terrence says. "There shouldn't be too many deaths. It may even just be Reid panicking over something that turns out to be trivial for him."

"No," I say. "And I've got a feeling…"

"The same one we're sensing?" Lucas asks. "I can feel it, the flow of Mana in the air. It does not feel happy."

"It feels ominous," Silvia says. "This begin a few minutes ago."

"Yeah," I kneel down and touch the ground as I close my eyes, feeling the flow of the Mana of the world.

The ominous feeling I sensed before has nothing on what I'm sensing now, when I'm actually trying. There is so much danger present…

"We need to make the town's reinforcements!" I shoot to my feet. "Now!"

A moment of silence, then earth mages all get to work creating [Stone Wall]s around the town. I strengthen all of the ones that I can, and in under an hour, the defenses are complete. The [Air Barrier] around the town itself is created by fourteen scepter-like rods with large air crystals set atop them, linked together with a violet string. They were fixed atop the temporary wall, and the moment they were in place, the barrier formed.

No one can enter town, and no one can exit it. Everyone preparing to join the battle is outside.

"It's going to be on this side," I call out as I move toward the northeastern side of town. "And everybody prepare! It's almost here!"

The fighters all move into formations, placing themselves between the town and the area I indicated. I can tell for sure where the monsters will form, but the major threat is still muddy to me.

"How much longer-" Terrence begins.

Black clouds fill the sky in an instant, blocking out all light from the sun and plunging us into heavy darkness. Mages begin conjuring light and fire to illuminate the area, and they've barely begun when the monsters appear.

'Appear' isn't really the right word for it, though. Blobs of a black-and-grey liquid-like thing form all over the fields. They pulse and shift, then change form, rapidly becoming monsters. Boars, quake unicorns, frost hawks, shell hunters, air lizards, flame lizards, ice lizards, and more.

Thousands upon thousands of monsters. We are severely outnumbered here.

Without hesitation, the fighters begin their attack.