Blacksmith vs. the System 308

While Harold led the army to take their post, I moved outside the castle, and moved toward the giant shark. I could have flown there, but I didn’t want to waste an opportunity to modify the battlefield.

I walked on the ocean, and every time my foot connected with the water, I radiated a giant burst of frost energy, turning the shore into an icy platform. From a practical perspective, it was wasteful. I could probably have killed the giant shark with a similar amount of mana, but I still didn’t know how the other sea monsters would react to its defeat. Maybe they would attack?

Or maybe, they would move to support? A potential worst-case scenario, but hardly impossible.

No, all things considered, it was easier to freeze a portion of the ocean, at least partially impeding their mobility. I even buried some explosive spells in the structure of it to prevent the shark from just smashing it down.

It turned out to be a good choice as the beast moved forward, its teeth sinking into the growing ice platform to demolish it, only to receive a dozen explosions to its face. It retreated, looking considerably more hesitant.

“Come on, big guy. Don’t you want a taste?” I called as I brought my blade down. This time, I didn’t use radiant flame, but released a concentrated blast of frost energy, once again focusing on the dungeon. The attack was effective, and the shark moved back slightly.

And one of the other monsters moved forward. Not much, just enough to be threatening. Message received. It was better not to push too much, or I would end up fighting multiple enemies. On that, I had a choice. I focused on the ice wall. I hadn’t expanded it further, but reinforced the edges, wasting quite a bit of mana in the process.

I even took some steel from the ongoing construction effort, and used it to fashion runes that I then hid in the depths of the ice wall, which challenged my Shaper skill. In a pinch, I could have applied those spells on the ice directly, but Shaper worked far better with metal.

During the hasty construction process, I had to deal with three probing attacks from the sea monsters. Two of them came from the shark, but one actually came from another beast. Some kind of a giant octopus that reminded me of the kraken stories, but it was quick to change its mind when I froze one of its long limbs completely before chopping it off.

“Sir, the heretics are within visual range,” Spencer called.

“Noted,” I responded. “Have you made contact with Rosie? I’m afraid there might be a follow-up attack.”

“They reported some, but at this moment, they look like probing strikes.”

It took all my effort just to nod to that. We knew that building the port left us potentially vulnerable to attack from multiple sides, but I had to believe that the other preparations would hold. Every single town we had was defended by walls of mana alloys anchoring the wards, not to mention our growing number of ascended.

I had to trust them to hold. No matter how much I hated the idea. Staying defensive in one town forever, hoping that things would somehow resolve, was worse.

“It still doesn’t prevent me from hating it,” I muttered as I retreated back, and with a wind-assisted jump, I stepped onto the newly constructed observation tower, right next to our scout. A scout who looked unsettled when he found himself next to his king. “Pass me the spyglass,” I asked.

He did so, and I raised it, using it to watch the approaching enemy force. The first thing that captured my attention was the endless army of dungeon monsters, showing various levels of corruption, their numbers impressive. If the total count wasn’t a million, it shouldn’t be too far away.

It was a force larger than I expected, but the real problem was at the center of the army. Humans, with their ranks made of their corrupted pseudo-ascended, each sporting their unsettling mutation.

I tried not to think about how many of them were innocent. The war had an arithmetic of its own, one that I was not ready to find palatable. Refusing it was not an option either when they came in the form of a bloodthirsty army with little to no chance of reversal.

And, watching an army of thousands mixing with corrupted monsters like they belonged to the same side, it was difficult to have hope. Worse, I knew that technically, there should be one; one I had to ignore to keep the people that trust me safe.

I hated it, yet carrying that weight was my responsibility.

“Harold, you have the general command. Show me the performance of the latest cannons that have been developed!”

“As you wish, sir,” he responded before he turned to his soldiers. “Men, show the pride of our newly christened navy!”

The cannons roared once more, and once they landed among the heretic army, they exploded in a variety of effects. Not just frost, but also decay, fire, wind, though quite a bit of radiant flame was mixed in, demolished their wards to allow the other effects to land.

Devastation followed. I did my best to radiate pride as they rained devastation, though I made sure not to give any other. A deliberate move, letting Harold lead as much as possible, solidified his position as the leader.

Not that he needed it. He had trained every single soldier under his command from scratch, and since they were farmers, I didn’t expect any persistent System issues to mess with their perception. The more solid his command was, the better.

I watched, saying nothing even when I noticed a sudden growing force of beasts gathering at the ocean. A force that, luckily, didn’t include the giant shark or the other boss monsters, still hesitant after an earlier mishap.

“Cannons in the east wing, shift targets. Focus on the beast wave,” Harold ordered, showing that he had not missed the threat. Good.

I watched, my attention split between the approaching army and the sea monsters, both being devastated by the rain of steel. The newest generation of shells was functioning far better than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise.

Not just because of the practical benefits. It was also valuable because I had no direct role in that project anymore; nor did I work in any other technology project. My contribution was limited to inscribing my latest understanding of runic crafting and general spellcasting.

It was beautiful, because it meant they could not only grow but soar without my micromanagement.

It was enough to blunt the sadness of the deaths among the heretics.

Then, I noticed the approach of the giant shark once again, accompanied by the octopus. Their limited patience finally snapped. I jumped down next to Liam. “What’s the status of the higher-impact weapons, against the boss monsters?” I questioned.

He looked hesitant. “They should work, but…”

“You haven’t tested them yet,” I guessed. He nodded. “Are they ready for a field test?”

“We can push for it, but I doubt it’ll help a lot, sir,” Liam responded. “They are fragile. A few shots would probably destroy their barrels. I think it’s more efficient for us to rely on you.”

“Fine —” I started, but at a distance, I noticed Spencer frown with worry. “Give me a second,” I told Liam before I moved to Spencer. “What’s wrong?”

He pointed at the five magical devices in front of him, though only three of them were familiar. His attention was on one of the unfamiliar ones. “It should be a bug,” he muttered, his attention on the display.

“Tell me what I’m looking at,” I interrupted him.

“It’s a new device we are designing, but its results don’t make much sense. Maybe we shouldn’t have calibrated it inside a dungeon.”

“What does it do?”

“It’s primed to measure the stability of the dungeon at the edge, or the gates,” Spencer explained. “It’s supposed to help identify the weak points, but it’s giving some erroneous results.” I wanted to ask him how it worked, but it was not the right time. “Just tell me what the result is supposed to mean,” I asked.

“It means that the dungeon walls are weakening, but it doesn’t make sense. We’re not even in a dungeon.”

I frowned as I stretched my senses, first focusing on the dungeon gate, then the whole dungeon, but there was no issue. “It might be a bug like you suspect,” I replied. It was a possibility. Then, I turned to Liam. “Deploy the experimental cannons,” I called. “It’s better to have the option.”

Spencer looked at me, a little hesitant. “Professor. It’s most likely a bug. We wouldn’t reveal our experimental cannons just for that. They are fragile.”

I shrugged. “Then, in the worst case, they shatter, and we make better ones.” I said. “When an experimental device starts giving errant readings, it’s not always a bug. Playing it safe has no issues.”

With that, I returned to the tower, observing the battle from both sides.

We seemed to be in control, but I doubted it would be the extent of Drakka’s attack. Maybe they underestimated the speed I could build the defenses, or expected the ocean creatures to have a bigger impact on our defenses, but I didn’t want to take the risk.

My men fought. I watched.