Everyone starts moving almost immediately.
No hesitation or confusion.
I step down from the wagon with Laz and Sylvia following close behind.
The crossroads look even worse from down here.
Several buildings sit around the intersection, but most of them are barely standing. Roofs have collapsed, walls are cracked, and some of the windows are completely gone.
There is enough cover which matters more than how the place looks.
Onyx walks towards the center of the group and points towards a few buildings.
"Two cannons on the western side. One near the broken tower. The rest stay behind the southern building until we get the signal."
Everyone begins splitting off.
I stay where I am for a second as I don’t really know where I’m supposed to go.
Onyx notices.
"Kain, Sylvia, Laz. You three are with me for now."
"Got it."
Sylvia gives a small nod.
Laz looks more focused than he did during the ride here.
Probably thinking about his brother which makes the most sense.
Onyx gestures towards one of the wagons.
"Start unloading the special rounds."
I walk over and grab one of the crates.
It is a lot heavier than the spears we used before.
Laz grabs the other side.
"These better be worth it."
"They are."
Onyx walks beside us.
"What’s actually inside them?" I ask.
"Magic."
"That’s obvious."
Laz laughs.
Onyx just looks at me.
"Compressed magic."
That still doesn’t really explain anything to me in the slightest.
"What kind?"
"Just stop asking questions."
I stare at him but he keeps walking.
We bring the crate behind one of the buildings.
Several other slayers are already setting up one of the cannons.
The weapon itself looks different from the one we used before.
Wider and a bit shorter.
The opening at the front is much larger.
I’m guessing that is because of the ammunition we are using this time around.
Niko is standing beside it and I notice he is adjusting something near the side of the cannon.
For a moment I think about walking over and asking him about the strange magic Laz mentioned.
This is definitely not the time to be asking him about it... If I distract him and something goes wrong because of it, that would be on me.
~A responsible decision.
I don’t know why you sound so surprised.
~I’m not. But it is nice to see that you are making the right decision.
The system goes quiet and I help Laz lower the crate.
THUD!
One of the slayers opens it, inside are several dark metal spheres with glowing symbols carved around them.
The markings shift slightly, almost like they are moving.
"What are those symbols?" I ask.
Niko finally looks over.
"Containment."
That is the first thing he’s ever said directly to me.
"Containment for what?"
"Magic."
I stare at him.
"Can’t someone just give me a straight answer?"
Niko laughs slightly.
"Because that’s the answer."
He picks up one of the rounds carefully.
"There is a lot of magic compressed inside this shell. The symbols keep it stable until impact."
"And then?"
"It releases."
"How much?"
Niko looks towards the cannon.
"Enough to bring something large out of the sky."
That sounds pretty damn strong.
"What happens if it breaks before we fire it?"
"Don’t let that happen."
Simple enough.
I step back.
Definitely not touching those more than necessary. I won’t be taking my chances with one accidentally exploding.
Laz gives me a grin.
"Scared?"
"No."
"You stepped away pretty fast."
"I respect dangerous things."
"That sounded like fear."
"It’s not."
Sylvia laughs from behind us.
"I think he’s scared."
"Not you too."
She walks past with another crate.
"I didn’t say anything wrong."
"You did."
"Nope."
I shake my head.
At least they’re having fun.
That is probably better than everyone being tense before a fight.
Onyx claps his hands once.
"Let’s stay focused!" Onyx shouts.
Everyone immediately goes quiet.
He is right. That is also pretty impressive.
He points towards the western side.
"First cannon will fire when the lead dragon reaches the crossroads."
Then he points towards the second position.
"Second cannon waits until the rest change formation."
Change formation? That’s new.
"How do we know they’ll do that?" I ask.
Onyx looks towards me.
"Because they always do."
Interesting. I didn’t know about that in the slightest.
He pulls out the letter they recovered from the armored dragon.
"There are at least five confirmed dragons involved in the Aldion attack."
Five... That is already more than the last fight.
"At least?" Sylvia asks.
"The letter only confirmed five names."
I didn’t really think much about names. I’m used to the ones I fought previously where I didn’t hear a single name mentioned.
"What kind of dragons?" Laz asks.
"Two armored. One flame-type. One tracker. One unknown."
Tracker?
"What does a tracker do?" I ask.
Niko answers this time.
"Depends on the dragon."
He walks over.
"Some smell magic. Some track heat. Others can hear heartbeats from ridiculous distances."
Heartbeats? I don’t like the sound of that.
That immediately makes me uncomfortable.
"So hiding doesn’t always work."
"Exactly."
Onyx nods.
"That is why the first attack matters. We need to cripple their formation before they realize how many of us are here."
The cannons aren’t just supposed to damage them, they’re supposed to confuse them.
Force them to react.
Then we take advantage.
I’m definitely starting to understand the plan a lot better.
"Where do Sylvia and I come in?" I ask.
"After the first two shots."
Onyx points towards a narrow street between the buildings.
"You’ll move through there with Laz and four others. Stay hidden until the dragons are grounded."
"Then attack."
"Then follow orders," He finishes.
I nod.
"I understand."
Onyx keeps his eyes on me.
"Do you?"
"Yes."
"Good."
He walks away.
Sylvia steps closer.
"He’s definitely watching you."
"I noticed."
"Probably because you almost got yourself killed last time."
"Thank you for reminding me."
"You’re welcome."
I look towards the damaged buildings.
This place must’ve been something before the war.
Now it is nothing but broken walls being used to hide weapons.
That seems to happen a lot out here.
The war takes something normal and turns it into something useful for killing.
But if it keeps Aldion alive, then I won’t complain.
More slayers begin spreading out and some climb onto rooftops while others place small glowing objects along the road.
I point towards one.
"What are those?"
"Detection stones," Niko says.
I turn.
He is standing closer now.
"You really are curious."
"I don’t know anything about magic."
"Clearly."
That was unnecessary.
"What do they detect?"
"Movement."
He crouches and presses one of the stones into the ground.
It glows blue for a few seconds before becoming dull.
"If something large crosses the area, we’ll know."
"Dragons."
"Hopefully."
Hopefully?
"What else would set it off?"
Niko stands.
"Anything large enough."
"How far do they reach?"
"Not far. They’re just for confirming position."
I look at the stone.
Magic really does solve a lot of problems.
I spent so much time thinking swords were the main thing slayers relied on.
Out here, magic might be just as important.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter