The plan that Dirx and I came up with was simple: I'd teleport my corn body back inside the barrier, my full kernel aura present for all to see, and the second the mages tried to jump me, I'd teleport just beyond the reach of town. When they reached me again, I'd teleport even further, before masking my emitting kernels so that they'd never be able to find where I'd gone. The object of course was getting the mages and their mercenaries to take their sights off Carverstead.
"Just in case, you guys should head back to the lake or something," I instructed while Lyka held me up in preparation for my departure. "I don't want to have you associated with me or anything should they see us together."
"Awe, a man concerned for me?" Krissy sighed. "Human girl, gimme him, I wanna give him a good luck kiss too."
"I'll kill you," Lyka stated flatly before looking back at my kernels. "Be safe, Master. We'll be back on the beach waiting for your return."
"A-alright, get going now," I told them, where I'd blush if I was capable over Lyka's words. "I'll be okay, it's not like I'm fighting those guys or anything, it'll be a fast job."
"Don't die," Darotha smiled weakly as she and the others turned to leave. "I'm ready to go home now."
"And home you shall go!" I thought to her. "Alright, Lyka, hold me up to the flames. I'll find a place to land."
"Good luck, Master!" she replied as she held me up near the wall of purple fire.
Focusing with my "corn vision" looking towards the bell tower in the middle of town, which I was able to see even from down on the ground, I focused on teleporting over there. Using the same process I'd done in the past, I entered a deep focused state, concentrating internally as I pictured being up on that tower in my mind. I didn't even feel it this time upon finding myself suddenly over town and high up off the ground, perched on the tower's roof and my 360 degree view of the world giving me an incredible view of the entirety of Carverstead.
Phase 1, complete. Phase 2 was going to be easy. Feeling as if I were undoing a belt and letting a gut of belly fat spill out, I unleashed my kernel energy and allowed it to be as visible as possible. Just in case my flare of energy didn't attract the attention of any powerful mage nearby, I sent out the equivalent of a telepathic scream that would have been at the top of my lungs (if I had them).
"HEEEEYYYYYYY LOSERS, CULTIVATOR IN THE TOWER, YOO-HOO!!" I bellowed over a mental link of kernels.
Now all I had to do was wait, and it certainly wasn't long. With my amazing 360 degree vision, I quickly spotted a blur moving fast along the roof tops of the houses below , his crescent-shaped weapon already glowing a fiery red. Lysander had been quick to jump into action, but I wasn't sure when the headless guy was going to make his move.
The entire tower trembled as I got my answer. I could barely believe my kernel-vision as a gargantuan arm that looked to be made out of wood emerged from an ominous purple-black portal that had silently opened in midair. Without hesitating, its dark-brown clawed palm swung toward the tower, which to my horror, easily broke through and obliterated it like a child would to a stack of Legos. My vegetable body fell and tumbled through the air along with a whole lot of brick, glass, and wood, sending tons of debris falling into the plaza below. Treated to a bizarre, 360 degree spinning view as I plunged downwards, I quelled my panic and focused on teleporting myself somewhere, anywhere that wasn't about to hit the pavement below.
My efforts resulted in myself appearing a few feet above a nearby cart that was filled with hay, where my yellow-kernel form harmlessly bounced onto the dry, crunchy grass and rolled a little ways into the wagon. The cart parked at a horse stable, the nearby hoofed animals neighed with terror as a chunk of tower the size of a minivan fell a short distance away. I'd saved myself, but gotten nowhere near far enough to lead the two mages away from the town.
Needing mobility, I focused next on hovering and getting myself up. Several minutes of concentrating later, now feeling the strain of using my kernel energy, I found my corn body surrounded in the red energy "bubble" again and began to rise up out of the hay. Using my kernels in this way was something that took a while to get used to, as coupled with my strange panoramic vision, I was aware of the absurdity of the whole situation. I was a corn cob. Hovering in midair.
"I didn't take you as arrogant enough to challenge us directly," a harrowing voice shrieked as a cold, icy breeze wafted through the streets. "It's amusing. You come to this world, learn a few tricks, and think that you have a chance against those who have studied the magical arts for years."
As the dust from the fallen tower flooded over the nearby area, I spotted Dryden hanging menacingly in midair over the town. His arms were aflame with a dark purple energy, which I deduced was piloting the giant limb that knocked the building down as the massive wooden arm swung over the street, mimicking the movement of his own wrist.
"Captain, there are many casualties around town from the tower debris," Lysander reported from a rooftop. "Shall we at least try to minimalize collateral damage?"
"No. Capturing and killing the cultivator is top priority, no matter what we have to do," the headless horseman replied as his black-clad form turned in my direction. "Thankfully, they are making no attempt to hide right now."
Cornered, or at least, about to be, I decided to buy myself a few seconds as I prepared to teleport again and bluff my way out of my predicament.
"That's right, chumps, prepare to be made fools of by CORN," I stated boldly as I continued to float higher into the air, now matching Dryden's altitude. "How does it feel, high-ranking military men like yourselves being forced to pursue a VEGETABLE?"
"What a cheeky corncob," Lysander chuckled as he raised his scythe. "Do you have a death wish, Tino? Why didn't you run?"
"How nice of you to be corn-cerned, but I've returned simply to see what the competition was," I continued to bluff boastfully. "And now that I have, I'm sorely disappointed. I mean you guys sure got a-head of yourselves. Get it? Mister headless over there does."
Dryden didn't say anything, but I assumed that my ribbing quickly got to him as two immense arms of wood creaked and crackled as they rose up behind me and with clenched fists, they pounded down in my direction.