Kai fully analyzed the siege of Mercantile Central as he sprinted his way over the Yulthens rooftops. It looked like some sort of special defenses had been activated over all the main entrances, where the army camped. In theory many of them could have broken through the other walls, but the opposite side of the building was in range of the last great crystal controlled by the nobles. Staying right next to the building actually shielded the army from its attacks.
He considered leaving that to them and seizing the crystal instead. Unfortunately, it looked one had multiple Ruby Crystalliers guarding it, and they were prepared for an attack just like his. This was a time for decisive action, not recklessness. Better to help them break the internal siege.
A number of acid cultivators were throwing techniques against the crystal barrier while being defended by others. The crystal wall seemed capable of opening and closing small windows, through which crystalliers launched attacks. Trying to break through one of those was an option, but again, their defenses seemed to have been well-designed now that they had recovered from their initial shock.
Still, the windows were offense and weak points all in one. As he leapt off the last building, Kai swept both arms across his body, launching two massive Tyrant's Claws against the defenses. Crystalline sparks lit up all across the wall and the attackers flinched back, no longer so willing to open their windows. He ended his leap skidding onto the plaza where the other leaders met.
"Damn," Cragrila said when she turned to him. "You should save your strength for the Diamonds."
"I don't need to," he said. He'd been able to keep fighting for a long time even after absorbing Gomodo's Stamina, which had become vastly stronger in Behemoth's Heart, then fused together with his new Physique. Explaining any of that would have been awkward, but it seemed like they believed him.
"Can you keep them off of us? We have a plan to break through, it's just a vulnerable one."
"Got it." Kai moved to the front of the lines and raked another claw across the crystal wall. The barrier was definitely effective against force, if not as apparently invulnerable as Suortril's prism.
Every time one of the opponents tried to start an attack, Kai covered their position with another claw. A Ruby Crystallier had gathered a lot of qi and he grinned at her, which made her draw back. As he kept them pinned down, Kai considered how best he should get around these sorts of defenses.
Meanwhile, the army was preparing their own attack. It looked like a group of acid cultivators getting together on a larger technique, though they seemed to be struggling. Yurwa was among them, frowning the way she did when she thought things were being managed poorly, but was too meek to interrupt. He was considering stepping in to advocate for her when someone else shouted over the noise of the battle.
"I can help, I can help!" Gundle tried to squirm past one of the soldiers, who held the boy by his shoulder. "My mother is out there, let me help!"
"You shouldn't be here," Cragrila said as she knelt down in front of him. "This is too dangerous for you."
"I should be able to risk my life for freedom too! I'm an adult now!" Seeing the spindly boy declare that so passionately was more tragic than anything, and Cragrila hesitated before giving the order. Kai stepped in first to interrupt.
"I'll shield them," he promised. "Let him help or he'll just run into trouble."
Cragrila cursed under her breath, but gestured for it to be done. Kai stepped in front of the group, as if daring any of the defenders inside to attack the child standing behind him. Even the nobles of Yulthens didn't have the stomach for that... though they might regret their choice.
"Are you sure about this?" Yurwa wrapped her arms around her son from behind, but not to shield him: she was examining his cultivation. "This barrier is stronger than anything you've seen before."
"Look, , ! We can break it!"
Kai was busy keeping the defenders pinned down, but in brief glimpses he saw another sphere of acid building in front of Yurwa and Gundle. No, it was more like a point of acid, with power washing out from the center and renewing the exterior surface. Clearly a new technique, but would it be enough?
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"This is where I come in." Omilaena appeared like a whisper on legs, and even Kai's newly enhanced senses hadn't been aware of her. She knelt down beside the two and patted Yurwa's shoulder. "This is going to hurt, then it will feel good."
He heard Yurwa gasp and looked back in time to see the syringe empty the last of what looked like acid into her veins. But the sphere she was building almost doubled in size, and Gundle laughed gleefully. The power built higher and the defenders started looking away from Kai, but it was too late.
When the sphere hit the crystal wall it didn't immediately splatter. Instead it drove against the defenses, new waves of acid rushing from the center to wash over the crystal. The sphere seemed to sink in, slowly at first and then faster as the crystal gave way. Fragments falling from above only seemed to fuel the process, then the sphere began hissing into the stone of the building itself.
Everyone inside Mercantile Central began attacking the technique, but they were too late. Kai struck it from behind with another claw, making the sphere explode into a deadly splatter. The defenders fell back, the attackers cheered, and the rush to claim the building began.
"You've done well, but you need to retreat." Cragrila tried to smile at the boy, but her look at his mother was worried. They all knew what was coming next, and as clever as Gundle was, his potential could be easily snuffed out by any crystallier who got to him.
Now that the attack was in the hands of the army, Kai let himself take a step back and consider again. With the crystal barrier having failed, the group inside didn't seem like they could stand up to them. Hopefully they'd be able to fight their way into Mercantile Central and then fortify the building again, so they would have some defense when the enemy arrived. Theoretically, they wanted to deny their opponents any opportunity to rest while letting Cragrila and the others fight selectively.
Omilaena stood silently, tapping the syringe against her thigh, a drop of acid dripping from the needle. She glanced up when he approached but didn't say anything.
"Where's Zae Zin Nim?"
"She went off the plan," Omilaena told him. "Not sure why. But she's still by the city gates."
"Then she'll get hit first. Hope she's ready." Kai shielded his eyes from the sun out of habit and looked back toward the city gates. He didn't need his eyes to notice the raw power surging toward them.
The Diamond Crystalliers had arrived.
It had all seemed so elegant, at the beginning. Zae Zin Nim didn't trust the soldiers to stick to any plan, but Kai and Omilaena could be relied upon. Between all their resources, they should have been able to maneuver their opponents into match-ups where they had a chance.
Then she'd seen the Brightwind cultivators and all her plans had drained from her mind.
She still hadn't located them in the distant ocean when power hitting the city walls finally drew her attention back. All five Diamond Crystalliers, just as they had expected. With a single shout, Tareth knocked all the defending peasants off their feet, even atop the walls, which made it effortless for Traelisia to fly past them toward the crystal at the docks.
Whoever was controlling the great crystal tried to fight her off, but wouldn't last for long. At this point, Zae Zin Nim was supposed to provide covering fire from the other side, or stop the attackers from entering the city. She would have, if she hadn't drained all the qi from the crystal.
It would have been strategically wise to intercept some of the enemy, keep them from slaughtering the peasant revolutionaries. But she didn't have time, because he was coming.
Ren Ziq Quen flew up toward her directly, a mocking smile on his face. He knew that she couldn't win and that she had spent her advantage of the great crystal. Kai wasn't in range and Omilaena could be anywhere, so she had no support as she faced the very battle she had desperately wanted to avoid.
"Here we are again." He used his qi to slip the words across the battlefield to her, then she faced the same ferocious qi techniques.
She jumped off the side of the crystal and they fought their way across the side of the city walls, their lightness techniques almost equally matched. Little different than before, except this time he was carefully watching for her to try her Coldfire Corona. It wouldn't work this time, and without that her advantages were dwindling.
Just tying him up was useful, she tried to tell herself. So long as Ren Ziq Quen was chasing her, he couldn't fight the army or team up on any of her allies. But she couldn't account for all of the enemy, so she was at serious risk of being ambushed herself.
And all of it seemed so pointless. If the Earth Soul cultivators arrived...
Before either of them could get the upper hand, a deep horn sounded over the city. She would have thought it was an actual horn if not for the qi she felt along with it. Even Ren Ziq Quen seemed surprised, and they briefly alighted on the city wall to look toward the source.
Boreas of Kartiis stood atop one of the dead crystals, pouring his power into it. The horn-like sound emanated from the crystal, growing louder as it shone brighter. She had studied the Diamond Crystalliers closely and no one had the slightest idea that he could do something like that. Maybe no one else understood the depth of power that came from so many qi crystals.
Then the crystal began raining death down over the streets, Boreas added his power to the assault, and the walls began to come apart. All Zae Zin Nim could do was retreat as a superior cultivator pursued her.