Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 203

Chapter 203: Invasion

Lysette watched as the moon continued its unrelenting ascent toward the celestial zenith.  In some ways, it was even worse than the previous two times.  It was one thing planning against a known attack, surrounded by thousands of competent Cultivators in the heart of a nation’s capital.  But it was quite another to prepare for an attack that might not even come, all with fewer than a dozen people able to defend themselves from what might, or might not, emerge before long.

Mirae pulled at Lysette’s waist from behind, pressing her into their chest and abdomen.  “I have a pretty good idea of what you’re thinking about, love.  But I want you to remember one thing.  You aren’t the meek girl who nearly died in Osstia three months ago.  You’ve grown, not just as a goddess, but as a person.  And I know that you possess not just the desire to protect everyone here, but the strength to effect that will into reality.”

Lysette took to the air, with Mirae following a short distance behind.  All around was quiet serenity.  Not the unnatural stillness that filled the air on the night when Karchek made his presence known to Lysette.  But rather, the calm of the late night punctuated by the rustle of bare tree branches and nocturnal wildlife going about their lives.  No signs of an invading force, though with Asterion’s power to mass teleport, it failed to fully assuage Lysette’s fears.

“No signs of anyone?” Serrena asked, floating up to join the other two.

“None.  But I don’t think we can rest easy.”

“I know.  While you were busy Cultivating and making your own last-minute preparations, I let everyone know to be ready half an hour before midnight.”

“Thanks, Serrena.  Sometimes I worry about where I’d be without you.”

“Well, save the worrying about that until tomorrow morning.  If you’re hobbled by your fears all night long, all your work naturally falls on me as your chief deputy.”

Mirae shot her a disapproving glance.

“Well, you’re going to be doing— I don’t want to know what— with her.  So I guess I’ll have to pick up the slack for both of you if she gets too deep in her head.”

“You mean, we’re going to have to pick up her slack.”  It was Rayleigh’s voice.  “What?  I can’t let you have all the fun, Serrena.  Goddess or not.”

“You’ve clearly trained her quite well, Serrena,” Lysette said.

“Just for that, I’m going to deck you!”  Rayleigh raised her fist, but Serrena caught it during the wind-up.

“After!” Serrena said.  “Didn’t we just talk about not wanting to do all her work for her?”

Rayleigh sighed.  “Fine.  By the way, where’s the other one?”

Lysette turned to Mirae.  “Oh, my other body.  I sent it to the top of the Spire Mountains to keep an eye on any happenings in Domaria.”

“Does it… do you see anything?”

Lysette shook her head.  “I’m afraid not.”

Rayleigh turned to Serrena.  “Will you be making a second body soon?”

“It would be convenient.  Lyse and I still need to go home and meet my parents at some point.”

Mirae interjected.  “I trust there’s a good reason for that?”

“We wanted to find out any information we could about the warring gods,” Lysette said.  “There may be things that only they know.”

Mirae nodded.  “I’m guessing you’ll need me to stay behind.”  The sadness leaked through their voice.  “Even though I know it’s still you deep down, cuddling with your other body just isn’t the same.”

“Later,” Serrena said, her expression suddenly deathly serious.  “Can you see it?”

Lysette nodded.  “It’s a little hard to pinpoint the exact number from how tightly they’re packed, but there’s somewhere between thirty and fifty soldiers approaching from the north.”  She looked around.  “I don’t see anyone coming from any other direction.  Unfortunately, my other body’s visibility is considerably lower, but I see nothing there either.”

“How strong are they?” Rayleigh asked.

“Hmm.  Most of them are about as strong as you are, Rayleigh.  Maybe a bit weaker?”

“And the rest?”

“Five of them are considerably stronger than the others.  The strongest among them has an Essence coefficient somewhere between that of Mirae and Serrena.”

Serrena glared.  “You make it sound like you’re stronger than I am.”

“Maybe… five percent at most, plus my avatar?”

“Should I be worried?” Mirae asked.

“We all probably should be, at least a little.”  Lysette started sending telepathic messages to the other students, warning them of the impending attack.  “I wouldn’t say they’ll be here immediately, but I doubt we have more than fifteen minutes until they arrive.”

“I see.”  Mirae pointed toward the oncoming forces.  “Then I will head over and buy us a few extra minutes.”

“Wait, love,” Lysette said.  “Don’t start your attack until after I give them a chance to back down.  And if someone comes after you, I want you to retreat back at once.”

“I understand, and I will.  And you all be careful as well.”

As Mirae flew off the soldiers continued their approach, Lysette recalled her avatar from the peaks of the Spire Mountains at full speed.  With any luck, it would allow her to keep an aerial view of the entire battlefield to help coordinate her and her comrades’ efforts in the ensuing struggle.  Although each was individually powerful and gaining strength quickly, a lack of coordinated tactics and strategic acumen was definitely their biggest weakness as a group.  Serrena excluded, of course.

Serrena shook her head.  “You’re just wasting your time and effort with this, you know?  We’re going to have to fight.  But I know how important it is to you and your Reciprocity that you give them a chance first.  Just be quick about it.”

  She concentrated on the leader of the approaching army and sent a message.

“Soldiers of Terea.  You are trespassing upon the people of Ciricu and their villages.  Return home, and no harm will befall you.  Continue, and your lives and safety cannot be guaranteed.”

Lysette waited three minutes for a response, but none came.  With a heavy heart, Lysette sent a mental message to Mirae informing them to proceed with their plan, 

They hovered high overhead, coalescing a colossal glacier over their head.  More and more ice deposited out of the air, glistening in the pale moonlight high overhead until it had formed a crystal nearly the size of Lysette’s former home.  They struggled to maintain their technique— even from three miles away, Lysette could see their shaking arms and quivering wings as they gathered every bit of stamina they could muster.

And they unleashed a vicious hailstorm upon the would-be assailants.  Chunks of ice the size of honeydew and watermelons led the assault, followed by ones the size of desks and bathtubs.  And Mirae launched them all deftly and with furious alacrity as they poured rage into their attack, guiding their descent toward the attackers.

The first projectiles slammed into the ground a minute after Mirae began firing.  Most of their attacks hit the ground rather than their targets, but even those attacks sent icy shrapnel in every direction and slowed their assaults.  The few that did hit their target did so to devastating effect.

Four of the thirty-nine soldiers Lysette could see were crushed instantly, their life fading instantly.  Of the others, another seven of them suffered various injuries ranging from minor flesh wounds all the way to dismemberment in one unlucky man’s case.  Unfortunately, none of the most powerful contingent of Cultivators suffered any more than superficial cuts.  But thinning their numbers was still of great import to prevent their human comrades from being overwhelmed in the ensuing onslaught.

Serrena and Rayleigh dropped back down to Ciricu and began mobilizing the students and the people of Ciricu alike, the former to take up arms and the latter to hide themselves and begin praying for safety against the impending forces.  And with the power of prayers strong and Divine Essence brimming up from within her, Lysette flew down to the surface and approached the apparent leader of the strike force.

Contrary to Lysette’s expectations, the leader of the Terean contingent was a woman who looked only a few years younger than she.  She had long silver hair which glowed in the moonlight and wore armor bearing an insigne with which Lysette was unfamiliar.  Her apparent youth belied the enormous strength she possessed, and she alone stepped forward to meet Lysette.

“Are you the leader of these soldiers?” Lysette asked.

The woman nodded.  “Colonel Julianna Reinhart of Strike Force Three.  Are you the leader of this demonic cult?”

“Lyse Barret.  I don’t know anything about a cult, but I am the protector of Ciricu and its people.  I do not know why you and the others continue to trespass upon the town and its inhabitants, but I strongly encourage you to back down now, cut your losses, and leave me and the people of this village alone.  If you oblige, I promise no further harm to you and your army as they retreat.”

“Bold words.  Do you believe you are able to back them up?”  Julianna’s words were sincere, with not the slightest bit of condescension behind them.

“Alone, it would be difficult.  However–”  Lysette moved the hair out of her face, revealing her crystalline left eye.  “While you are certainly a gifted Cultivator, you are the third-most powerful fighter taking part in tonight’s battle.  That barrage of ice from earlier was a gift from the fourth.  With such powerful allies accompanying me, I cannot lose tonight.”

Lysette stepped forward, borrowing a few branches from nearby trees and fashioning them into flexible whip-like appendages reminiscent of her previous fighting style with shadow tendrils.  She then drew two weapons of ice, a shortsword and a long whip with a spiked flail at its end.  As she slowly approached Julianna, she expanded the range of her aura to its limit and flared out her Aura of Intimidation.

“Archduke Golgu of Terea has forsaken his duties to the people of Ciricu.  He has allowed thugs to defile the town and the good people who live there.  When an outsider passing through on her travels dealt with those scum of her own accord, did the good Archduke apprehend the criminals?  Of course not.  He sent highly-trained and well-equipped soldiers to browbeat the people into revealing their benefactor.”

“So, you are the leader of this cult?”  Julianna seemed unfazed by Lysette’s aura, although she seemed the only one able to fully resist it.

Julianna’s body glowed in a bright surge which blotted the darkness.  A stellar radiance shined out from her blade, which expanded from a standard longsword into an oversized claymore.  And yet, despite its size, she continued to wield it one-handed, seemingly not impeded in the slightest.

“Is that wrong of me to seek a path other than the established order of the gods?  Without exception, I have found them to be cruel, uncaring despots ruling Aimarion from on high.  In their callous disregard for mortal lives, for mortal suffering, they have brought Aimarion to extinction once already.  Now they once again threaten to drive it to its deathbed as the collateral damage for their wars for supremacy over one another.

“Julianna, tell me, why do you fight so hard in support of these deities who have done so little for you?  For all humankind?”

“I care not for your quarrel with the gods.”  Julianna pointed her blade toward Lysette.  “Whatever religious squabbles you have are of your own choice.  However, as a loyal soldier serving in His Eminence’s Royal Army, my liege’s will and my superior’s orders are absolute.”

“You would throw your own life away like this?”  Lysette paused.  “Please, I beg of you, let’s find another way!  I don’t want to take more lives!”

“Enough talk!  There’s only one way to settle this!”

Chapter 202: https://www.patreon.com/posts/112051717

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170

Chapter 204: https://www.patreon.com/posts/112051726