Chapter 75: Power of a sixth Resonance (I)
"Gather the marshals. Prepare my chariot. I ride at dawn." Aiden rose to his feet, ignoring the mountain of work on his table.
His beloved wife and son were arriving. The matters of war would always remain.
The herald bowed. As he stepped to the side, Aiden passed by him, the herald’s brows raised in surprise.
"...It’s been so long since I saw him smile like this," the herald glanced at the smile on Aiden’s face, not the earlier faint one, but a full smile. No, more like a grin, his pearly whites reflecting the silver luminance of the moon that made its way into the tent.
He was elated to meet Raika again.
To meet his beloved Raika after seven years of being apart, and his son who he never saw grow up.
He stepped out of the tent. Several tents settled meticulously in the valley, a few rowdy as people moved in and out. War knew no time.
Morning, afternoon, evening, and even the depth of night, it continued.
The rowdiest of them all was the tent that was larger than his own, the medic tent.
Screams of the injured reverberated through the still night; the sounds of rushed footsteps, though muffled, mixed with the screams.
"I have to end this war soon." He winced, turning his gaze away from the tent, his attention shifting to the tent a few metres from him.
...
Several minutes later, he sat at the head of the conference table, his marshals sitting opposite each other, each clad in deep crimson, the insignia of their rank glowing dimly in the fire-lit room.
A molten V, with cracks lined with red stone. Underneath it were four claw marks, speaking of their rank, the highest after the commander himself.
Including himself, seven sat at the table. Each had hair so dark one might confuse it with brown. Though they were but Fifth Resonance mages, they were the best on the continent.
They couldn’t match a Sixth Resonance, as the level difference wasn’t a matter of mastery or mana quality, but something else, something more akin to comprehension, akin to one’s resonance with the element.
But among fellow Fifth Rank Resonance mages, they were unmatched, ranking within the top ten of the continent, with Aiden obviously being number one.
"Leave everything to us, Commander..." The marshal seated to his right thumped his chest, eyes blazing with resolution.
"I won’t be long... The war has been going on for far too long. We have gained a lot but lost a considerable number of soldiers... I will bring the Black Knights so we can wrap this up. Too much blood has been shed," Aiden said, his chin supported by his clasped hands.
"You are right, but we have to take the Seventh-Tier Tower in Greenwood to truly win this war..." the marshal on his left added.
"You mean the Golden Wing Tower?" Aiden echoed, trying to verify his thoughts.
"Yes, having another Seventh-Tier Tower will increase..."
"Increase nothing..." Aiden interjected sharply.
"The Golden Wing Tower is a treasure of the Dominus Kingdom, their soul.
If the Tower of Vulcan was taken, do you think we would back off even if we were losing?" He paused, allowing his question to sink in.
The marshal kept mute, realization clearing his greed.
If they would fight to the death for the Vulcan Tower, why wouldn’t the Dominus do the same for their own Seventh-Tier Tower?
Seventh-Tier Towers were the highest-ranked towers, the very zenith of difficulty, but with the highest risk factor came the highest rewards.
Most elders, Sixth Resonance mages, spent almost their whole lives there, trying to break through to the Seventh. Even though it was impossible, their gains were worth it.
Artifacts, knowledge, culture, skills. So many things had been gained from the tower. The blueprint for the first telephone was gained from such a tower, knowledge from the gods themselves.
An artifact that could be used without any mana, a technology the Vulcan Clan was making millions of gold off of.
One couldn’t temper with, it didn’t need a steady supply of mana like the communication crystal of old.
Most, if not all, noble homes had it, a communication tool that changed the game of communication. No need for mana, telephone lines buried underground.
There was more to gain, more technology that the Vulcan continued to research, waiting for the time they would unveil it to the world. The Dominus, with resources of their own, had gained a skill Aiden had recently learned of, the ability to influence and, to some extent, control demons.
Something unheard of, yet they had gained such knowledge from their tower.
It would be a bloodbath if they decided to take it, and even if they succeeded, there was no way the Dominus Clan would sit still.
"I understand..." The marshal nodded as he pictured what type of future would befall them if they conquered the Seventh-Tier Tower.
"I will be back in a week with reinforcements. Don’t do anything reckless, I trust my marshals will keep the peace..." He rose to his feet.
"..." The marshals rose in unison, a formality as their commander had risen. They waited for him to leave before following behind.
...
"Have a safe trip, Commander."
The marshals bid him farewell as he perched atop his black chariot, drawn by two powerful Longma.
Mythical elemental creatures of fire, they possessed the body of a horse, the tough, almost impenetrable black scales of drake, and the head and tail of an Eastern dragon.
Their hooves twisted into claws, nostrils flaring with fumes of tamed flames.
Several warriors stood by his side on horseback, his escort as he prepared for his journey home.
He nodded at their words, reins flung as he made his way toward the horizon, the camp disappearing behind him.
The escort followed, eyes narrowed, a faint glow of red around them as they remained ever ready for an unexpected attack.
They were in the midst of war, after all.
...
Several hours later, the campsite was completely out of view, the darkness of the night sky slowly fading beneath the orange luminance escaping over the eastern horizon.
They rode through a forest, senses heightened to the max, a few riding ahead of Aiden to scout for danger, the rest surrounding him, keeping up with the pace of his Longma on their lesser Qilin.
A few minutes across the rough forest roads, Aiden halted, his escorts doing the same.
"Oh, so you sensed my presence..."
~~~~~
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A/N
Sorry about the week break. My father died so had to take care of things.
But we are back in business.
I will try to update regularly.