Doloresse carefully observed the large map unfolded on the table, multiple markers pointing to the position of the ground troops having been moved to follow their retreat to higher ground.
The command center - located even further east toward Ylesse - where she and Finn received long-distance orders, was the handle of a huge harpoon whose three prongs designated the southern, northern and eastern positions. Three points of attack on the body of the great fire snake, which at any moment would be completely submerged by raging waves.
Listening to the reports coming in as the great wave advanced, Doloresse sighed as she stretched. From the beginning, everything had been planned to happen at this specific moment, yet she couldn't believe that Quartermaster General Balgoranth could have imagined such a thing.
Being at the heart of the communications had shown her that the man with the long blond hair was in complete control of the overall situation, but it hadn't dispelled the distrust she felt towards this superior who had assigned her to this position on a whim.
"How much longer are we going to be on the job?" She asked without really pointing to anyone with her question.
"Can't do much about that. The communications position is vital, especially with the equipment at hand and its limitations," Finn replied, focused on scrutinizing the communications stones.
Limitations, huh?
Sure, the stones held a given amount of energy, and depending on the distance, it was mobilized in different ways.
If you were communicating at close range, you could do so with several stones at once; just as the Quartermaster Generals did with the troops at their side.
However, if you had to communicate over a long distance, and in order for the signal to be stable enough to reach the other paired stone, you had to reduce the exchanges to one stone.
This was the law of energy distribution, naturally available in certain ores, such as Elvine, for example; and after a certain number of uses, this energy would eventually be totally dissipated. The life span of the Elvines was therefore rather short, unlike that of the communication stones, which could be kept for a longer period of time with proper use and management of resources.
The communications station was therefore very important: to manage the energy expenditure of each stone, while serving as an intermediary to transmit orders.
"This is Rudd, Units 4 through 6 report that the wave has reached the eastern point and is continuing its progress," came a voice from the communication crystals.
Doloresse was about to relay the information, when Finn raised his arm to stop her.
"I'll take care of it, rest a bit," he interposed.
The young woman nodded and, following his advice, left the command tent momentarily.
In the distance, she could hear the terrible roar of the water rushing through trees and rocks, with nothing stopping it.
A wave that Carciem was watching carefully from his overhead position.
He had deployed terraforming units ahead of time - a combination of alchemists dispatched by the Association, and soldiers who could use earth elemental or physical strengthening spells - to carve out the hills between the Amaranth River and the attack sites. Since the area was hilly and growing deeper and deeper to the south, the diverted water would flow through without much difficulty.
The terraforming teams had therefore dug a large channel so that the water could partially cross the rocky area usually containing it in the river bed. Then, at Carciem's signal, the alchemists had blown up the thin remaining wall between the new channel and the river, unleashing the terrible waters on the forest and on the creature's body.
Now, this surge was hitting the portions of the creature sticking out from underneath the ground with full force, releasing huge explosions of smoke at every touch.
The clouds of thick, white smoke rose in volume and size, and Carciem smiled. An ominous cracking sound came from the ground, and through the wisps dispersing in the wind, he could see the desired result: the creature's body had finally come to a halt, and the large slabs of rock covering its lava body - now frozen solid by contact with the cold water - were beginning to crack all over.
It had worked. The intense heat of the magical attacks combined with the brute force, and the sudden cooling brought on by the waters of the Amaranth, had created a violent thermal shock to the creature's body; weakening its surface as well as the interior of its body.
"This is Carciem, the creature has stopped moving, can you confirm this?" He asked through the communication stone.
"This is Rudd, the creature has also stopped moving here!" Replied a male voice.
"This is Felicia, same here!" Added a female voice.
"In that case, to all units, attack with everything you have!" Ordered Carciem.
It took a few seconds for the order to reach everyone, and the attacks began again. The sounds of weapons clashing with the rock breaking into a thousand pieces echoed from the ground, while explosions caused by high-level magic spells hitting the monster head-on emerged from all sides. Judging by the violence of the fighting to the south and east, the other two Quartermasters General had surely begun using their ancient weapons.
Glancing at his wrist, and the ever-diminishing mana line, he quickly assessed the situation: if he used Sarmawyn again, he would surely have to land immediately afterwards.
Having made up his mind, he held the ancient sword in front of him, ready to charge it with electricity and summon lightning. Another gust of wind blew his hair up, charging it with static electricity, and the storm roared over him; when suddenly, a high-pitched, shrill scream sounded.
The scream, inhuman and terrible, rose into the air and caused intense headaches; twisting the ears and grinding the teeth.
A low rumble came from the ground, and Carciem began to receive disturbing reports.
"Sir! The ground is shaking violently!" Came a voice through the communication stone.
"The ground was already shaking earlier with the magical attacks, don't worry about it," replied Carciem.
"Sir! These tremors are not coming from us!" Insisted the sergeant leading the ground unit.
Carciem was about to retort that they shouldn't worry about it, when a communication from Rudd and Felicia came in.
"We have a problem! The ground is shaking abnormally here too!" Rudd insisted.
"I don't think the creature liked our attack!" Felicia added.
High in the sky, Carciem couldn't really feel the intensity of the earthquake on the ground, and could only rely on his ears and eyes to observe the extent of the situation below.
Parts of the forest began to rise, and others to suddenly fall about ten meters below. Like slabs of ice colliding with each other, the changing ground levels collided with each other and broke up into small pieces, with trees falling into the newly created crevices.
Carciem had to face the fact that his plan was going off the rails, and soon everyone would be in danger.
He was about to give a new order, when a huge flock of birds flew noisily behind him. His gaze was immediately drawn to the spot from which the birds had fled, and his eyes widened.
In a rush, he put his hand on the communication stone.
"All units, fall back! I repeat, fall b-!" he shouted.
The huge fire snake had just thrust its flaming tail out of the ground, whipping the air and catapulting huge boulders in all directions, including toward the direction of the ground troops. The latter were surely going to be crushed without being able to do anything, so Carciem chose to intervene.
Summoning lightning to reside on Sarmawyn's blade, he faced the incoming shower of rocks, and with a superhuman effort, managed to deflect several boulders of various sizes with the back of his sword.
The blade slid over the rocks and wood, and sand and dust seeped into Carciem's eyes, mouth, nose and ears, momentarily blinding him.
However, even with all his efforts, he wasn't sure he could stop all the projectiles.
"Fall back to the command center! Fall back!" He ordered again.
Another large rock came in his direction, and he again swung Sarmawyn's blade to stop it, but failed. He immediately felt the power of the impact on his arms, shoulders and back, and knew something was wrong.
The great rock continued its movement, pushing the Quartermaster General back a little more, and he glanced nervously at his left wrist.
The mana bracelet was almost completely gone, meaning that Carciem was running low on mana. He had even been starting to lose altitude for several minutes, without realizing it.
"Reinforcement!" He intoned.
Immediately, the power of his arm muscles increased tenfold, and with the ancient blade crunching against the ore, he pushed the huge rock away.
"Sir! The ground is completely unstable all around! What should we do?" A voice exclaimed through the communication stone.
"Have the alchemists clear the way! They should be able to create a workable path!" He replied hurriedly.
This was no time to hesitate, and Ewan's words from their days at the military academy came back to him.
'Sometimes it's better to give in to your instincts, rather than think like you do. It can always get you out of a bind.'
He remembered lightly replying that he would always be ready for any eventuality, and that he would never be in a situation where he had to reject thinking for instinct.
Nevertheless, despite his best efforts, it had happened. His plan had just backfired, and all their lives were in danger.
The wings on Carciem's back began to fade and dissipate, becoming transparent as the blonde man descended further and further into the sky.
The crashing caused by the creature and his own ragged breathing now prevented him from properly hearing voices from other units. He also had to watch out for the debris that the huge snake's flailing tail was throwing in all directions.
Another rock came in his direction, and relying now solely on his enhanced physical strength, threw it to the side.
However, he did not see the other debris hidden by the first one spinning towards him, and was hit full force in the ribs. He felt the shock take his breath away, and he could barely tighten his grip on Sarmawyn's shaft before he was thrown at full speed to the ground.