themonasnovels Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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The Dungeon, Medea Island, The Kalenic Sea
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After directing Kataren and Huea to head to the Eleventh for more specialized training, I returned to sorting out the Eighth. There were two things I wanted to sort out before I started on the Ninth. Firstly, the bridge. It'd been used to great effect, and when the snowbolds replaced it, they made sure it could be quickly and easily released from either end.
Given this is the only way between the first and second peaks that guilders currently have access to... If this was to be the ultimate trap for those truly antagonistic, where the bridge is dropped, there should be an alternate route. But first, the bridge!
I enchanted the bridge itself to automate the trap under the 'hardmode' enchantment, triggering when a guilder passed the midpoint. Then, it would drop from the far end, preventing another Indiana-jones situation, where they could cling to the planks and climb up to make it to the other side. It would trigger earlier for the non-hardmode guilders, with plenty of creaking and snapping effects, so they could retreat across the bridge before it fell. The timing should allow them to make it if they sprint as soon as the creaking starts. If not, they'd have to climb the planks.
But, with the most apparent route an impassible trap, there needed to be another way. I'd had a few thoughts about this since I first made this floor and finally decided to implement it. Between the two peaks, I formed a glacier. Creating the glacier itself was the problem since they were composed of compacted snow that turned to ice, eventually flowing down from mountains, carving valleys along the way. I didn't have hundreds of years to wait for this process to occur naturally.
So, I'd have to make a 'false' glacier. I brought yet another tunnel of water from the ocean, desalinating it on the way, and directed it to freeze into a glacier-like state. I made a note to summon Ice Sprites in the near future since this was the perfect place to have them.
The Glacier would slowly accumulate snow anyway, with the blizzards happening every other day, so I moved on to the next part of the path.
I carved a thin, snaking path down both sides of the cliffs. The one on the far cliff should be visible from the bridge, and an observant guilder could spot the close side path as they sprinted back along the collapsing bridge. The route would be relatively stable, but with the standard collapsing ledges and dropping icicles that could catch out the unwary.
After descending this path, they would need to cross the glacier. It was filled with crags and cracks, which would soon be covered with powdered snow. With ice sprites down here, potentium golems, and pure-ice golem bodies alike, it'd be plenty dangerous, especially with how windy it would get down there in a blizzard.
With that done, it was time to move on to the second thing. Pyry.
Layla's gift of a breeding pair of hawks, with some 'encouragement,' had already laid a few clutches of eggs. Most of them I brought to maturity, then let loose on the Eleventh. I took one of the males and had him brought to the Eighth. Under my careful hand, I evolved him into a second Thunderbird. Something to note was that the hawk base I evolved him from was sexually dimorphic, and I kept that in his new form. He was slightly smaller than Pyry, with a small 'plume' of white feathers on his head where she lacked them.
Pyry was undoubtedly interested in the male after I introduced them, and when I left them alone, the two hawks were in the middle of a sky dance. I decided to finish the glacier now rather than put it off.
I quickly ordered half a dozen Potentium golem bodies to be delivered with two dozen cores. As a side note, the cores came from my fish monsters. The Kobolds, Drake-kin, and other Children loved them, and their replenishment rate was fast enough to easily support the dungeon's various residents.
The Second Peak snowbold shamans were happy to summon all the ice Sprites I wanted. The sprites were given the same contract every other sprite was given, and I provided some quickly-carved Ice Golems for those interested in the idea. I let them loose on the Glacier, leaving them with a request to contact me when one of them transforms into a Spirit.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
Pleased, I skipped the Ninth and Tenth for now, jumping down to the Eleventh. I had a contingency plan that I'd just thought of to implement.
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The Eleventh Floor, The Dungeon, Medea Island
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Wave let the currents carry him as he explored the other half of the Eleventh. While there was endless freedom and exploration in the skies, he was just as equipped to explore the ocean's vastness. He'd had a taste of this place when he was escorting the Fire Court to Isla Fuego, but as with the sky, a taste didn't compare to the real thing.
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The Dungeon, Medea Island, The Kalenic Sea
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Leaving the Eleventh, I brought my attention to the surface. My rats had been tracking patrols and any other congregation of the militia. At the same time, the seagulls kept an eye on the growing number of ships moored offshore. There were a couple of dozen warships now, though only three were of a significant size. If I had to make comparisons, I'd say the largest rivaled men-of-war from Earth's exploration era. Another six were frigates, ten were brigs, and the rest were schooners. Gathered as they were, it was an impressive sight.
But from what my seagulls were overhearing, they were far from confident.
The admiral of the Eastern Fleet would get here after the Bahrain reached the island, and the commodore, who looked pretty young and inexperienced, was the highest-ranked officer around. While he put on an impressive front among the gathered captains, he was a mess in private.
The navy obviously had yet to be informed of the guild's request for my assistance, given the plans they were making didn't mention me. In fact, it seemed like the Guildmistress asked me without informing anyone in the first place. That... might be a problem later, but it was her job to hold up her end of the bargain.
I had a seagull sneak into the commodore's cabin when he was on deck and read through a couple of letters. From their estimation, the Bahrain were invading with almost their entire navy force, leaving only enough to protect their ports from pirates. And they'd been busy. The numbers were... daunting. I doubled the height my patrolling gulls were flying. I needed as much warning as I could get.
Their preparation amounted mostly to doing a few drills and wargames while they waited, but they didn't expect to do much. Perhaps they'd manage a one-to-one k/d ratio, but that'd barely dent the Bahrain fleet, leaving the rest free rein to invade the island, wipe away the local resistance, and set up shop.
I'd put in a lot of work, training the locals, and I didn't particularly feel like breaking in a whole new group who wanted to settle on my shores. I had a five-mile range around me, which I could influence, and standing on the deck of a ship, you could only see about 3 miles until the horizon hid any incoming vessels.
That meant I had a two-mile window to ravage the Bahrain fleet without alerting the Phenoc to my interference, disregarding any patrolling schooners around the island. At that range, the Leviathan was my go-to. She was easily large enough to swallow ships whole, and if they were too big she'd undoubtedly take a bite big enough to sink them. She could breech and fall on the larger ships, though I was unsure about her resistance to cannonballs. She was untested, after all.
But I had no doubt she'd strike fear into the hearts of every sailor on that fleet.
When they reached the 3-mile mark, they'd be close enough for the Phenoc fleet to spot from the island, and my Sea Serpent would take over. It was long enough to wrap around ships and then snap their spines. The Leviathan would continue breaking vessels as they passed through her zone if she survived that long. When they reached a mile away, the Kraken would engage whatever survived the first two, regardless of whether the Phenoc engaged. Meanwhile, Gull and his legion could pick off commanders, throwing ships into chaos.
Honestly, I thought the Bahrain would indeed make it to shore. The Leviathan might survive, but the Serpent and Kraken had scales and hide where she had layers of blubber, leaving them far more vulnerable. I expected two things to happen once they committed to the actual landing.
First, the island's militia would do their best to fight them on the beaches. Given their skill level and limited training, I didn't expect them to do well. I had no idea how strong the Bahrain's army was, though. I couldn't imagine they'd ignore literal magic in a real military force. I didn't know how they'd integrate mages or other mana-enhanced individuals into their troops. Would they be like champions? Fighting in a cleared circle while the average people around them slaughtered each other?
I could only interfere here by having bloodfish bite holes in any rowboats they might use. They'd be useless if the ships beached themselves instead. Otherwise, it was too shallow in the foreshore, even if they invaded at high tide!
The second thing is that the Medea Island Guild would get involved. If not the guild itself, then it's members. I'd already overheard dozens of conversations affirming their commitment to defending their home, regardless that they were meant to be neutral.
I applauded them. There was no point defending your people from inhuman monsters, just to let them die to the very human monsters who wanted what they had and weren't asking.
Depending on how many mana-enhanced soldiers the Bahrain had and how many soldiers made it through my sea monsters... In the best case, the guilders keep them from getting a foothold, push them off, and the remaining invasion force retreats in shambles. Worst case, they'd be slaughtered, and the Bahrain take over. They invade me regularly, and depending on their attitude towards dungeons and their attitude in general...
Well, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. I'd just have to wait and find out.
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