Because I had used the excuse of my preparations to be left alone after an early dinner with the refugees, I actually managed to go to sleep pretty early and thus was not bothered by the arrival of another person on a strange mount. Mostly because the sun was still illuminating the sky while setting. I had only been asleep for maybe an hour before being woke up.
I would probably be awoke early as well, but I had done everything I needed to already and the day was only just ending. I still had plenty of time to get some sleep and by the gods I was going to get some sleep. So I did
The next time I woke up it was to find my family in my room. My father was decked out in a thick and heavy suit of padded leathers augmented with bands of metal, my mother was wearing hooded robes of some shimmery silken material, and even Gryn was decked out in his traveling suit. In nothing but a pair of linen shorts, I felt severely under dressed.
Luckily, Gryn already had my suit in his arms and helped me to hurriedly dress. I barely had time to look out the window as I grabbed my sealed sword from my dresser. The sky was still dark but for the first time in a long while I actually felt rested. Despite the fact that the town would soon be beset by thousands of undead, I somehow felt like today would be a good day.
There was no breakfast to eat along the way this time, it was my parents' advice that I have an empty stomach during the combat. It would decrease the chances of my being sick at the sight of gore or at least keep it short with a lack of content. After my experiences killing animals on our recent hunting trip, I doubted I would have such an adverse reaction to the sight of wrecked undead bodies.
Undead could not even be counted as animals, animals could potentially be cute and fluffy. Undead were just lifeless abominations. I expected to have no problems watching them fall apart.
Even if they killed living people in front of me, the idea itself did not cause any emotional or mental stirring. As long as I did not know whoever died, I probably would not be affected by their passing. No matter how gruesome. Video games from Earth were probably way more gory than actual death, the human body could only hold so much blood.
We were not the only people out an about, though. Every street we came across or walked down was more crowded than during festivals or baptisms and nearly everybody was armed and armored in some way. I could tell from the directions people were going that not many of them would actually be on 'the battlefield' but it was somewhat inspiring to see thousands of armed and ready citizens.
The closer to the infamous east gate we got the heavier the foot traffic became, until we actually reached the main highway which was where most people stopped. For the last few streets, the armed and armored apparel had steadily declined and been replaced by whole families of young and elderly. These were the townspeople who gathered along the edges of the highway to see the men and women of their family who had volunteered off to battle.
Our destination, the main road leading out of the east gate, was dramatically more organized and calmer than the people in the surrounding streets. Even if the weapons and armaments were more complete and intimidating, the different styles of armor of different materials were still just as varied.
However, these volunteer warriors were already hard at work maintaining carts and wagons up and down the highway for supplying the field as they slowly filled the field themselves.
Through the gates beyond the seemingly endless supply train were the beginnings of orderly rows and bodies of people. As I had been told, everybody at the front were wearing much more uniform equipment that represented the various ranks, districts, and individual functions of the town guards. In all the games I had played, town guards became something of a joke even before halfway through the game.
These guys who made up our front lines, though, were every bit as strong as or even more powerful than the Guild mercenaries reinforcing them. They still had the same shitty job of being cannon fodder on occasions such as this when shit was going to hit the fan, but I actually felt some confidence while looking out over our front lines. I could only trust that these guys were good at their shitty jobs.
Even though I had long since realized all of the people geared up and ready to go in the neighboring blocks waiting for the moment that shit truly hit the fan. My parents made it sound like it was not that big of a deal, but I could tell that not everybody shared the same opinion as they did.
There were teary eyes and full on crying sounds coming from either side of the highway we now walked down.
My parents were addressed repeatedly by people working on the highway, some even made remarks about their infamous children. I was more surprised by the fact that Gryn received quite a bit of recognition more than anything said about me. I was divinely blessed and probably everywhere between here and my extended families probably knew it.
Gryn received recognition for being on friendly terms with many of the Guild mercenaries and craftsman as well as for some actual feats. He and his group were known for having bagged a few big game animals even before some of their members had unlocked their levels. Gryn himself was supposedly known for highly accurate wind cutter decapitations and throat slitting against some of those animals.
I knew my brother was a strong and capable mage long before I had begun actual training with him and my mother, but his usually quiet and cheerful personality seemed to turn hardened and brave while out hunting with his friends. Being THAT person was not much of a surprise, though. As the only natural mage in their group, in any circumstances against multiple or bigger game he would be the one handling the brunt of combat and support until they made enough money to equip and train.
However, I was still somewhat surprised that Gryn was going with us to the battlefield. He had neither my raw potential nor skill in layering power and magics so I could not help but wonder if he was going to be part of the preemptive. Since he was here at all, I was sure he would be with us, but he would hurt himself at this stage just trying to reach a hundred yards with magic.
Once we were outside the gates, the noises changed suddenly from heartfelt families to a tense silence before eventually the military sounds of shouting organization among the ranks and supplies. Just by listening in I could hear that the scouts had arrived only an hour or two ago and the ETA was still a few hours away. That estimate even considered the alternating sides of artifacts that were supposed to stretch out randomly for fifty or so yards from the highway all the way here.
We did not travel far from the gate, only a few hundred feet out from the gate on either side of the highway were clusters of large tents around which the supplies and shouting were focused. Between these two clusters of tens was placed a large and open pavilion right in highway. It would have been right in the middle of the highway, but the pavilion covered a large area of ground from one side all the way to the other.
This was where we went and where I found a large gathering of city, Guild, and even religious officials and corresponding officers. Here was apparently where we would be gathering to prepare for the preemptive. After having made my sealed sword and acquired a power-source catalyst, my preparations for my all-out attack were pretty much done for unless I found some cheesy ways to feed the scabbard.
There were plenty of way I could do that off-hand, even something simple like vaporizing and converting mana potions into a refined mana. However, I soon found myself in the company the head priest, several high ranking Guild members, and one man in common clothing. Even Old Man was wearing a suit of chainmail and leather armor, so this guy stuck out like a sore thumb.
However, if looked at magically, this man had an aura of pure fire alignment that swirled and burned around him like a thinly contained inferno. On his arms exposed by rolled up sleeves you could see matching scarlet tattoos of geometric and writing characters that carried their own ethereal glow. Even though his clothes, if you channeled more magic into your eyes, you could see that his entire body was covered in these fire magic tattoos.
Even if he only seemed capable of fire magic, this guy probably had equal all around stats to either of my parents. Probably greater stats from his visible commitment to power. If I had to guess, he was more of the head priest's equal and everybody else here stood below the two of them.
This group of people were gathered around a large table with a map of the town on it and its surrounding mileage on it. However, when we walked up, they were not simply discussing the approach and responses of the enemy. They were probably so efficient in their planning that they had already covered all of their attack and defense bases.
Right now they were discussion troop and supply deployment within the town in the event that we were overrun outside of the walls and left our home under a real siege.
The tactical debates we walked up on were quite sobering, but I was not overly bothered by it. It was smart to think this far ahead and bear the consequences of mistakes in mind, but what bothered me were the sudden jokes and remarks about the arrival of children. One of the Guild officials, though, was one of the men I had worked with while imbuing and blessing holy water and simply minded the map while this was going on.
All lighthearted conversation came to a stop, though, then the firestorm of a person musingly asks, "So… this is the little saint I've been hearing so much about. You don't look like much with some leather clothes and only one sword, but that sword… may I see it?"
"Nope," I answer bluntly and casually. "This is a special weapon I designed for 'mass defense', I can only and will only use this sword to stop mass loss of life. You may not study it."
Everybody was deathly quiet for a moment until the fireman suddenly laughs and remarks, "I don't need to hold it to study it. You've got mutated ivory transmuted instead of magic carved into a sword and sheathe, the sword has two enchantments for conducting mana and releasing it into a mystic slash. The scabbard is the really interesting part, you're using an elemental emblem and absorbent stones to draw in surrounding elemental mana and store it in the scabbard you've enchanted with a void. Now, may I hold it?"
He was mostly right on all but the crucial parts, the emblems without any aligning factors target raw mana more than elemental mana and the void I had created was large and exceeded its opening by at least a thousand times. If he was good enough to break it down with just is aura, once he held the weapon he would have all my secrets. He also missed the part where all of the material itself was aligned in holy, light, and life elements.
"Not at all, even more-so now than before," I reply just to let him know that he was on the right track before promptly dropping the naked wakizashi styled sword into a pouch at my hip. Within the confines of distorted space, my weapon would be harder to get to by such prying eyes. "If you continue to persist, I will feel threatened."
This was a pretty severe warning considering the circumstances. Not only was I myself basically a high speed mana battery because of my physical stats that were nearly triple my weight while housing my wisps, but my parents together were probably more than enough to take him down. I did not actually feel threatened, but for the first time I was being treated like a child in the worst way and under the worst circumstances.
I was starting to feel a little pissed off, but I kept my face clean and clear of any emotion whatsoever.
However, the man just kept laughing and started shaking his head. After a few seconds, some of the others present decided to hesitantly join in the laughter only for it to suddenly stop. Then the man said, "After the battle, sell me that sword. I'll give you everything I make from undead slaying."
"The sword is worth a small country, not even your life could compare," I reply seriously with a slight cold creeping into my voice.
Nodding his head in approval, the fireman looks across the table to the head priest who was actually smiling and says, "Do you see the way he talks to nobility? He'll go far as a saint, was probably born to be your apprentice."
Ah. That explained why everybody here was so quiet and awkward because of my provocations. He had a background probably as strong or even stronger than either of my parents.
"I dont know about being born to be my apprentice, but it is certainly a good thing he was born where I retired to," Old Man agrees with a hearty chuckle that seems to wash away all of the tension in the pavilion. It was not until now that I noticed all goings-on around us had stopped to watch.
This fire-loving guy now assuredly had a background above either of my families.
*