Gaolin. A day later.
An excited soldier ran into the hall where the military council was being held, where Colonel Wei spent the fourth hour trying to persuade General Ji Ming to move his corps as reinforcements to Omash.
"General, but your men will be able to turn the tide of the siege and push back...
" Colonel Wei, "the narrowed gaze of a stately elderly man in gold-trimmed armor did not bode well for the intrusive officer," I think I clearly explained that if we move our troops north, it's not enough that we will leave the city entrusted to me without protection, we will also become the primary target for the armies of the Fire Nation. Right now, our inaction is forcing them to keep some of their forces in reserve, preventing them from assembling a strike force to crush the defenses of Omashu, and if we break this delicate balance, we risk losing more than just one city. All of the southern exit to the sea belongs to the one who rules Gaolin. The question is closed, and don't make me come back to it.
"But General...
"That's enough! General Ming waved his fan. "Your perseverance was the reason for your rapid rise, but now it is also the reason for your fall. Colonel Wei, you are being expelled from the army of our great Kingdom. Lieutenant Colonel Yongsheng will take your post, "the old soldier bowed to his master," Take him away.
The guards dragged the deposed officer out of the hall under the bored gaze of the command staff. Wei's downfall had been clear to everyone since his arrival. I was too eager to fight, completely ignoring the wise advice, for which I paid the price.
"Report back! Ji Min snapped at the messenger.
"Master, Captain Shu Mii from Xiao Outpost has come to you with an urgent report.
"Let it pass.
A young officer strode into the room. A trained eye might have noticed a very tired man in him, but Shu was too stubborn to show weakness in front of his command, and in a strange city at that.
"General, gentlemen," he bowed to the others in turn.
"What brought the soldier from Xiao Outpost to Gaolin? The general asked the newcomer with interest. "Visitors from your region are rare in our city.
"I have arrived with important news: a patch of dead earth was discovered by me near Xiao Outpost. The captain looked around the room.
There were only sneering glances in response, and some of the commanders even quietly laughed at the young man for rushing to the garrison for help at such a harmless find. But after the next words, the laughter was cut off:
"Within this spot, it is impossible to use earth conquest.
The command began to frown at each other. Losing the subjugation was the worst torture for a bender, and it could deprive the Earth Realm of its main advantage in war."
Fire Nation benders, thanks to their rigid discipline, training, and independence from the elements, were much more dangerous in battle than earthmen, and often the generals had to trade for victory, and one - to-one was the most sparing option. It was impossible to concede such an advantage to the enemy. If they found out about this land, then Gaolin would be their first target.
"Are you sure of your words? Ji Ming asked the guest with a frown, " This is extremely disturbing news.
In response, the captain silently held up a small piece of rock near him. Conquering the earth was forbidden at the military council, but this was how he described the situation as clearly as possible.
"What are the orders? Colonel Yongsheng now asked calmly. "Should I prepare soldiers for promotion?
"yeah. Right now, only Wei's regiment is ready for battle. As soon as you take command, prepare for the transition. Captain Miy and his squad will go to reinforce you, and show you the way to this place. The Captain?
"It will be done, master.
Although he wasn't technically under Ji Min's command, Ba Sing Se was far away, and the general " here he is. He sits and considers his options, periodically asking for the officers ' opinions. And it will be much easier to get a promotion if he has a favorable person at the top.
"But my squad needs rest, we rode without a break from the outpost itself.
"Billet his squad in the barracks of Colonel Yunsheng's regiment," he waved his fan, " rest while he takes charge of the regiment. At the same time, get acquainted, the change of command will take a couple of days.
"And, Mii," the general looked him in the eye, " no one should know about the peculiarities of this land. For the rest, you will guard Xiao from a possible attack by the Fire Nation's marine assault force. In fact, " find out what's going on there and ideally destroy the cursed place. Take over your squad and keep your mouths shut.
"I'll let them know.
"And you'll see to it," Ji Min pressed.
"And I will, master," Shu agreed grimly. The prospect of silencing his own people didn't inspire much enthusiasm. And it was already clear that they wouldn't keep quiet.
"Captain Shu Mii," the general looked him straight in the eye, " I don't forget those who helped Gaolin. Once you've dealt with this, we'll discuss your reward.
"I'm looking forward to it, sir. "The wedding with Ran was already looming before the young officer's eyes.
A cave near the Xiao Outpost.
Gregor slowly considered his options. A makeshift collection of small undead creatures found a small settlement a dozen kilometers away, which, judging by the walls, was an outpost to support a larger army. He'd seen enough of fortifications of all shapes and sizes in Skyrim. The civil war helped, and the warring parties periodically took a break and organized raids on the completely insolent necromancer who dragged people directly from their villages. So he had to fortify his lairs as forward fortresses.
But now he had other things on his mind. He couldn't kill all the three hundred soldiers guarding the village at once; he didn't have that kind of spell in his arsenal. More precisely, he could create them, but he couldn't energize them." In battle, he relied more on capturing targets alive, using various poisons, and creating the creatures he created.
And here's the bad luck: there's nothing to make a powerful toxin from, there's nowhere to feed a simple poison with energy, the same situation with cadavers, bones from a dozen rabbit carcasses simply won't be enough to raise something serious. And in a direct collision, it will quickly twist, simply crushing the number.
Also, he hadn't noticed any mounted soldiers in the village who had recently been inspecting the dead land, so reinforcements might well be on their way. And its number is unknown. As well as the number of mages at the outpost.
The mage sighed in exasperation, " he could have just been locked up in these hills, and then combed through them finely, since the locals change the landscape quite well with their waving. It was only a matter of time before they discovered his hiding place and captured him. He will not be able to fight the elementals head-on, and even immediately with the crowd.
The wizard couldn't run, because he simply didn't know where to go. If there was a small outpost, then in the border areas there are usually much larger fortresses, and the garrison there is also appropriate, so you need to take the battle here and do it quickly in order to catch up before the arrival of help. Gregor did not even consider the possibility of an agreement: "he will either be executed immediately, or they will pull out everything they know and still execute him.
Execution, executioner, torture, chains " thoughts were beating against the walls of his skull, but he couldn't grasp them. Why do they always attack it? Fear of the dead " is their motivator. But what if you add fear? Make their knees shake with terror, and then, when the enemy himself drops his hands, finish off the enemy who has lost his will?
There isn't enough material from animals to make fighters, but if you make killers... quiet, inconspicuous, but extremely deadly.
Or prepare the ritual of raising the undead in advance, solder it into the blank, and create cadavers right on the battlefield from the bodies of defeated enemies.
Ha, and the options loomed by themselves, it was only necessary to make an effort " the inhuman grin itself got out on the necromancer's face. The plan was laid out and he would not be able to rest for a long time.
The setting sun cast shadows over the green hills, giving the rocks standing in them an ominous look. From the cave that had become Gregor's temporary hideout, the frightened squeak of mutant rabbits could be heard sitting in bone cages and watching their fellow humans die in the necromancer's clutches.
The latter was caught up in another burst of inspiration, which gave him new ideas for increasing his lethality. Since the beginning of training, the necromancer has always sought to increase his lethality in any case.
And an idea that had lain unnoticed on the surface for years suddenly grabbed him by the head and poked him in the face with an easy way to solve most of the problems in close combat.
Despite his reinforced body, Gregor wasn't very good with any weapons. Yes, he could easily punch through a not - too-thick wall, run in plate armor for almost half a day without rest, or wring the neck of a young troll with his bare hands, but he used his sword exclusively as a club. The rest of the weapons were even worse. His first bowshot nearly killed himself, miraculously grazing his neck instead of the arrow in his throat.
The spear flew out of his hands when he tried to strike, sticking a couple of centimeters from the temple of the teacher who was watching him. After that, Meredach did not enter the training ground without a protective charm.
The axe, when trying to strike, split the armor along with the stand, lamp and a piece of wall, the remains of which fell on his head. So in the past, he had made do with magic, bone needles that could be adjusted by telekinesis, and created undead creatures whose blades, fangs, and claws were enough for him to solve most problems.
Now the situation required a different approach. The opponent was much smaller than Gregor in height and weight, and therefore moved much faster. Yes, if he had punched one of those soldiers with full force, " even the armor wouldn't have saved him from having a hole through his body. Perhaps a local magician would have escaped with only broken ribs, but energy changes over the years of direct control do not pass without a trace for the body, making it more adapted to the elements, which in the case of earth gave a noticeable increase in strength. But what's the use of strength if you can't hit the enemy? Each blow must hit the target " this postulate the necromancer learned from fights with energetically stronger magicians. Yet even though the reserve grew with age along with skills, its current size was far from that of the truly powerful mages of Tamriel.
But back to the topic of inspiration. How to hit an extremely fast target? The homing spell is too complex, and it takes too long to create, and no one will give it time to fight. To cover a large area with one blow does not allow the reserve and the number of opponents " you need to save your strength.
And then the wizard remembered the life-sucking spell, " it clung to the target, and pumped life force to the sorcerer wherever she ran. The range of action was entirely dependent on the caster; an experienced mage could have it up to several kilometers.
But that wasn't the idea. To strengthen the transmission channel, students often used a material component: rope, thread, fishing line, chain...
The latter option was especially interesting to the sorcerer, because fighting with a rope or fishing line is ... difficult, and for him it is completely impossible. And with a chain made of bone, he doesn't even have to move his hand, he's energized and mentally guided. Plus, again, you can make jagged tips and absorb the life energy of the enemy right during the battle, and not just on the altar in the laboratory. And if you constantly maintain a certain charge in it, even if absorbed from the enemy, then you can change the length and shape of the links, growing spikes or thickening the links.
The warlock was thrilled with the new tool in his collection of deadly toys. But even as his soul sang, his face remained impassive. In addition, the replenishment had one significant drawback. His left arm, which he had grown four small chains from, had completely lost its ability to cast spells. All of the limb's energy was being used to prop up his new weapon, leaving him unable to cast spells.
In principle, the necromancer could create spells with his remaining hand, or even mentally, but crutches in the form of limbs gave a significant increase in speed. After considering all the options, he decided to leave the novelty. Even if it wasn't often, he still had to engage battle mages. And he rarely fought directly with spells then, preferring to use pre-prepared artifacts " the undead by that time were usually already a pile of dust. But strengthening melee combat was extremely necessary at the moment, since he didn't know what tricks the locals could pull, and his spells were mostly tied to rituals and preparations.
Still, Gregor had his doubts. He may have been able to expand his arsenal by committing a genocide of animals, but the reinforcements to the outpost could outnumber the remaining forces many times over. And then you won't be able to get away with any chains " they'll just throw meat at you. Something else was needed that would even the odds, or at least distract some of the enemy soldiers. Undead would have been perfect, but again, there was nothing to create them out of. Although....
The wizard remembered the layout of the outpost: a stone box with a dozen houses, barracks, and a tavern in the center. A couple hundred soldiers and civilians and only two exits. Perfect place for a trap. If he understood the aboriginal's hand-waving correctly, the necrotic energy was preventing them from controlling the land, and they hadn't shown anything else yet.
The necromancer idly examined the hare's skull in his hands.
No matter who comes to their aid, they will be in a hurry. The necros stain had disturbed them too much. No one will throw a soldier right off the march to search, it's useless. So it would be a rest before they started scouring the hills. The outpost stands on the same hill, and there is no place to stop for a large number of people in it. In any case, part of the squad will camp near the fortifications, and some will go inside. Most likely, there will be a command with mages inside, and ordinary soldiers in the outer camp.
The skull cracked, changing shape under the mage's hands.
You definitely need to hit before the reinforcements arrive at the outpost. It is best that by the time the troops approach, there is no one alive in the future trap. Yes, and the fortification itself is not easy to take " sentries around the perimeter, the thickness of the walls is two meters, and the height is four. It stands on a hill, there are no trees or rocks on the approaches. You can't get in unnoticed, you need an assassin or a good illusionist, but not a necromancer.
The bone in his palms took the shape of a jagged needle.
You can draw the attention of the guards to yourself, he has already pulled off such a trick in High Rock more than once. And the remaining material "a look in the direction of cages with animals" should be used for bone birds. They may not be able to do any serious damage themselves, but a couple of unstable runes can explode as well as a fireball, and flying bones will become a good striking element. Yes, and cadaveric gas as an explosive filling previously showed itself well, and it can be made even at such temperatures in large quantities. Of course, the structure will be unstable and won't work on magicians, but it will work for one fight against a crowd of ordinary people.
His fingers slid along the needle, and where they passed, the sorcerous runes flashed with a rotten green light.
And the bodies of soldiers from the outpost will serve as a good start for creating his Necropolis. The main thing " is to have time before the main forces arrive. He wouldn't be able to fight a two-front battle, but if he managed to remove the outpost guards and take up a fortified position… Or is the trap option better? Decide based on the results of the battle? How will the locals show themselves? Yes, that would be best.
Gregor tossed the enchanted needle into a sack with a dozen of her sisters. The night was just beginning, and he had a lot of work ahead of him...