BXBX NOVEL Chapter 324 323: Tower Fun
With Anput leading the way, we began the ascent of the Mage Tower, listening to the shouts of the various soldiers stationed within as they prepared to meet us on every floor.
Keeping her shield ready, Anput held up her long lance as she steadily climbed the stairs, Iaso right behind her, giving her a Water Cloak to help mitigate any damage she might take.
Liga was in the middle, her hands illuminated with a verdant green glow, while Leone stood in front of me with glowing red hands, both women ready to sling out spells at a moments notice.
Finally, I brought up the rear, a dagger held loosely in one hand while my other toyed with the configuration of runes for a spell, shifting it between a healing spell and a defensive spell; whichever might be needed, I could cast.
The pace Anput set was quick, taking mere moments for us to reach the first floor of the tower, where a group of archers stood waiting with daggers drawn.
Shouting out war cries, they charged at Anput only to feel her cold steel slice through their throats, silencing them instantly.
Pushing past them, everyone continued to scale the tower, while I stopped and stared at the room we were on.
The tower was roughly thirty feet wide, and the room was spacious for the size; maybe it was the windows?
Either way, shelves lined the walls, filled with various tomes and display cases, while a few desks were littered with paper and inkwells.
I was curious to what knowledge this tower might hold; would it be primitive theorems that the Empire already had centuries ago, or would they offer the unique perspective of such a weak race?
Maybe they would hold different ways to look at the way the world functions, offering something valuable despite the worthlessness of their creators?
Shaking my head, I returned to my spot behind Leone, letting those thoughts drift free.
We would have time once the city was under our control to sift through this tower, but for the moment we needed to get this city under our control.
The Mage Towers provided the city - specifically the innermost ring - a defensive arcane barrier, which would be easily penetrable for us, but...
Why bother expending the effort of destroying such a barrier when we could simply take it down by destroying the places that powered said barrier?
There were four of these Mage Towers, all evenly spaced out so to provide the perfect runic configuration for the barrier, connecting them to the wall that protected the Nobility.
That was our goal, and for such important structures for their city\'s defense, they were surprisingly undermanned...
Reaching the next floor, Anput repeated her singular slash, controlling the length of her spear to slice cleanly through the waiting soldiers and opening up a path upwards.
This continued on for a few floors, before we began to run into the stronger combatants of the city.
Praetor\'s.
Wearing dark green and flashy yellow gambesons, the Praetors wielded various weaponry as they covered themselves in their mana.
Each wore a hardened expression as we reached the next floor, their weapons held in steady grips as they prepared for battle.
Anput was assaulted instantly as she rounded the bend for the sixth floor, a long spear slamming into her shield instantly.
Grunting quietly, the Jackalkin planted her feet as she tilted the shield to the side, letting the spearhead slide off and clang uselessly against the wall.
With that out of the way, Anput stabbed her own spear forwards, curving it around the wall and impaling a woman in the stomach, twisting the blade before wrenching it free from her gut.
When the body thunked to the wooden floor, Anput took another step up, her shield held over her chest as she prepared to meet the next attack.
Stepping out of my sight, Anput began to move around the floor, killing the Praetor\'s as quickly as she could, though the addition of mana made that a tad harder then before.
These Praetor\'s were quicker with both reflexes and movements, stronger, more skilled with their weapons, and weren\'t entirely afraid of us - at the very least, they were capable of holding on to their rationality better.
All of that meant that this was no longer akin to cutting down chaff in a field.
It was more like yanking weeds from a garden; not as mindless as before, and required more effort and precision.
Stepping up, I spoke quietly to Anput, saying "We\'ll alternate floors now; I\'ll be going ahead."
Nodding, she parried the sickle of one Praetor before bashing her shield forwards, slamming it into his chest.
"Liga, with me. Leone, Iaso, remain with Anput."
Hearing their affirmations, I climbed the stairs, Liga walking behind me.
The seventh floor was home to another Praetor Squad, this one smarter then the last.
One stood at the top of the stairs, waiting to fend me off, while the rest hid behind upturned desks and chairs, providing cover.
They waited for their attacker to turn the corner before peppering them with swift spells.
Flipping the dagger around, I spun it towards the Praetor in front of me, catching him off guard as the small blade sunk into his chest, forcing him to stumble back as he coughed out blood.
Drawing another dagger, I erected a Light Shield before turning the corner, snorting as I realized my theory was completely correct.
Bolts of flame, wind, and earth slammed into my shield, while blue glows covered each Praetor; a woman wearing green and yellow robes stood in the back, a staff in her hands that shone with a blue light.
Her voice was steady as she chanted, her eyes screwed shut.
"-o that we may overcome this challenge before us, oh mighty god! Grant us the resolve to smite these evildoers, who so desperately-"
Hearing her prayer, I sighed as I tuned her out, focusing instead on the others.
With golden light spilling from my palm, I strode towards the desks they used as cover, smirking slightly as the spells splashing harmlessly against my shied increased in intensity and frequency.
Reaching the first man, I kicked the desk he hid behind and slammed it against the wall, squishing his lower half from the force of the desktop slamming into the wall behind him.
Blood splattered the ground as his torso fell to the ground, and the others shouted wordlessly in anger as I continued forwards, uncaring of the man I just killed.
Flicking my hand out, I shot the dagger towards the next victim, the blade thunking into their brow before flying back to my hand, a thin strand of light connecting it to my palm.
Repeating that, I impaled a woman\'s throat, before smirking as the last woman evaded the blade.
Using the strand of mana, I smirked at her as I wrapped it around her throat, yanking her forwards and into the shield, which I solidified.
Hearing her neck crunch against the Light Shield, I nodded to myself before approaching the last member of the squad; the chanting woman.
She opened her eyes - a startling sapphire - and stared at me in fear, backing away.
Seeing her tremble at my approach, I lowered the shield and continued forwards, forcing her against the wall.
"What happened? Did your god not answer your prayers? Or maybe you didn\'t impress him enough to warrant salvation?"
Her eyes grew wet with tears as I muttered to her, flinching as I reached up and gently caressed her chin.
"Maybe you sinned? Wit beauty like this, I could understand sinning..."
Running my finger over her cheek, she gulped, hope appearing in those sapphire orbs as she bit her lip.
Holding back a sneer as she tried to puff out her shapely chest, I played along with her for the moment, tucking a loose strand of her bluish black hair behind her ear.
"Would you commit sin again, human? How strong is your faith in your god? Would you sin so that you may live, or would you remain pure for the god that remained silent?"
Holding her cheek, I watched as she blushed under my touch, her emotions clear as she began to contemplate my words.
Narrowing my eyes, I leaned down slightly, getting closer to those eyes.
They were captivating for a human; beautiful sapphires filled with fear and tinged with lust.
Would she commit sin by letting a Demoness sully her?
Did she realize that my words were nothing but fiction, my curiosity getting the better of me as I decided to observe this race closer?
"I..."
Her voice was shaky, unlike before, but she spoke nonetheless.
"I-If y-you promise to l-let me live..."
Feeling her hands press against my abdomen, I narrowed my eyes further as they began to trail downwards.
Her answer made, I smirked at her as I cupped her chin, forcing her to look at me.
"So you would sin to remain alive? Was that what your faith amounted to? In the face of certain death, you chose to sully yourself for a chance of life? Interesting... I\'ve asked two humans this now, and I\'ve received two different responses..."
Releasing her chin, I wrapped my fingers around her neck and lifted her up, grinning widely at her.
"To be honest, if I was unlucky enough to be single at this moment, I would take you under me to stave off my lust, but... sadly for you, my luck was rather good. You\'ll have some time to pray for forgiveness, human. May your god find it in his heart to listen to your pleas..."
Her eyes widened with terror as I smashed the glass of the window, her mouth opening to plead with me.
However, nothing came out beside a scream as I threw her out, letting her flail around before splattering against the stone ground below, her body mangled and broken.
Turning, I saw both Anput and Leone staring at me, unknown emotions dancing in their eyes as they watched me approach.
"Come on, upwards... we have a tower to take over. We can talk later."