BXBX NOVEL Chapter 328 327: Armory
Staring at the headless corpse of the Sorcerer Elfan, I blinked a few times before muttering "He really was insane..."
Shrugging, I walked over towards the desk that he had occupied moments before and looked over the various tomes and papers scattered about, before picking up the opened tome and tossing it towards Leone.
"This seems to be his primary journal; just want to make sure it doesn\'t get lost or damaged... Oh, and here. Maybe you can use this."
Solidifying the mana sphere in my hand, I tossed it over to Leone as well, the Vampire looking it over for a moment before approaching the large chunk of Wind Crystal.
Taking a deep breath, Leone crushed the light sphere and guided the Wind Mana back towards its crystal, returning the luster to the green crystal in the center of the room.
"Alright, when we return to the base of the tower we need to secure it; runic traps at the entrance, and fortify the structure itself. Leone, handle the traps. Liga, Anput, secure the base of the structure to prevent the humans from trying to destroy this place..."
Everyone nodded, and we began our descent back down to the streets of Goron.
I had little faith in the human\'s ability to topple a tower of this size; the magic they\'ve put on display has been pitiful at best, and none are as physically capable as a Minotaurkin or a Demon.
Besides that, I\'ve yet to see those spherical devices they created filled with some kind of flammable powder be used at all, so who knows if that was the humans invention or something the Sariel and Kameiel Families gave to that female assassin back then.
So, while my squad set about to complete their orders, I kept my attention on our surroundings, wondering if the humans defending their home would come out yet.
Some civilians still remained inside their houses, hunkered down and silently praying for us to leave, and I could feel their gazes and almost smell their fear as they hunkered down.
Anput braced the towers structure with a mixture of additional stone and some metal, while Liga wrapped thick roots around the base, breaking through the ground and hugging the tower.
As for Leone, she layered a few more Ritual Circles on the doorway and steps, as well as the windows.
They would flare red for a moment before fading into little more then a dull shimmer that was hard to fully sense, even with me knowing it was there.
Wiping some sweat off her brow, Leone grinned at me as she said "Done! This Mage Tower is secured!"
Anput and Liga grinned as well, mirroring Leone as they gathered back around me.
"Good! Well, the next closest facility would be the Armory, then the second Mage Tower, and lastly the Barracks."
Striding towards the Southeast section of the city, I spoke as we marched, dealing with any soldiers that tried to ambush us.
"According to the last report we had of Goron, the Armory is a large facility with only two floors; a main floor and a basement. Home to Goron\'s forges and metalworkers, the Armory supplies the city with weapons and armor, acting as a storehouse for the materials they need as well.
The metals the humans use aren\'t exactly valuable, but we\'d never refuse fresh steel, iron, and other miscellaneous metals like bronze, tin, aluminum... Besides the metals, there are all sorts of tanned leathers, excess pelts, rubbers, and the like that would do well refurbishing this city into something better.
Securing the Armory intact is of utmost importance, same level as the Mage Towers. Keeping this city\'s infrastructure in place is of paramount importance to getting it back up and running when we leave. When the occupational force arrives, they\'ll be producing items for us to utilize during the rest of the Crusade, and this facility will be where most of it gets made. So nothing explosive, nothing potent... blades, precision magics, and defensive magics only, alright?"
""Yes Ma\'am!""
Smirking slightly at the chorus of acknowledgements behind me, I scanned the various roads around us before continuing onwards, the map in my head leading the way.
Thank the Goddess for giving me such a great memory...
Though I guess Mother would be a more deserving recipient of my thanks...
Reaching the giant factory that the humans used for their metalworks, I frowned as the fortified facility came into view.
The tall archways that led into the Armory were blocked by uniform slabs of stone, while only one entrance was left \'open\'.
Thick wooden doors blocked the archway, while a large ring of barricades fortified the entrance.
Dozens of soldiers waited warily behind the wooden palisades, each armed with heavy steel spears tipped with jagged edges.
Some Praetors roamed around the soldiers groups, giving them words of encouragement and bolstering their morale; a mixture of combat Praetors and support Praetors filled the ring, and I frowned at the sheer amount of humans present.
Archers and crossbowmen sat waiting on the roof, hidden behind palisades of their own, their eyes scanning the various streets.
"Damn... that is quite the difference. Perhaps a not so insane commander? Hmm..."
Rubbing my jaw, I continued to scan the Armory, searching for a way in or a way to make this a little easier.
Considering the formation and defenses, I was wearier about this then the Mage Tower; caution would be best used here, with the possibility of a semi competent commander being present.
That, and the sheer number of soldiers just outside was already worrying enough; who knows if an entrance on the other side of the Armory was just like this.
Which isn\'t even taking into account the soldiers waiting inside those walls; walls which were made from reinforced stone.
Keeping the structure intact would make this harder then necessary, but the benefits for doing so were obvious.
"Hmm... Alright, here\'s the plan. Anput, you and I will draw agro and tank whatever the enemy throws at us while staying just out of reach of those spears. I want to see what they have waiting inside and whittle down those archers first. Leone, Liga, Iaso, you three will begin to pick off the archers with precision spells; climb onto the roofs around us and stay hidden.
If some more soldiers come outside to bolster this side, we\'ll pull back and hit them from elsewhere. If not, Anput and I will secure the gate and wait for you three to join us. Take it slow and steady. Also, be careful of roaming patrols of soldiers; they might return to provide reinforcement to the Armory if they learn its under attack."
Looking at the four women behind me, I continued detailing the plan, listening to them as we observed our target for a few more moments.
When we settled on the plan, Anput and I stepped out and donned Mana Cloaks, approaching the fortified Armory.