The world around me was lagging. It was the only word that fit the state I was in. When I tried to turn my head, the image before my eyes refreshed with a fraction-of-a-second delay. The numbers doubled, overlapping each other, turning into an unreadable slurry of orange and blue pixels.
I sat at the table, trying to focus my gaze on the cup of coffee Albert had brought. My fingers trembled so finely that I couldn't catch the handle. Then I reached out with my right hand. I felt the roughness of the ceramic, its warmth... and a moment later, a dry crunch echoed.
The cup simply burst in my fingers. Dark liquid spilled across the map of the northern sector, flooding the positions of our turrets.
"Damn," I exhaled. My voice was hoarse.
"Rest, Iron." Albert stood nearby. "You haven't slept... I've already lost count of how long you've been awake. Your nervous system is exhausted."
"We have time, Albert," I wiped my forehead with my palm. "We have at least eight hours. More likely ten. In that time, we'll manage to retune the focus of the lens."
"The mages are frightened right now. A frightened enemy is unpredictable," Wayland said.
"They won't attack," I stubbornly shook my gray, heavy head. "The etheric background is stable. See for yourself."
I projected a graph onto the wall. The line was flat, with slight fluctuations.
A heavy, dull ache throbbed in my temples. At one point, I thought I heard a quiet whisper—thousands of the city's voices merging into a single hum. I saw water flowing in the pipes beneath the Town Hall, rats scratching in the basements, Walter out on the square arguing with Darwin over a jammed shell feeder.
I closed my eyes, hoping for a minute of silence.
[WARNING: ANOMALY DETECTED IN THE THIRD SPECTRUM. SENSOR ERROR PROBABILITY: 89%]
"Interference again," I muttered, striking the table with my fist. "Darwin probably shorted the winding on the capacitors again."
People on the streets moved slowly, conserving their strength. Those who weren't busy on the barricades tried to sleep right on the pavement. After the victory over the second battleship, a dangerous euphoria had taken hold of the city.
"Walter, how's the Boar?" I asked over the radio, trying to shake off the delusion.
"Alive," the captain responded. "But the left track is on its last legs. Darwin is trying to patch it up, but we don't have spare links. Also, Iron, a strange mist has rolled in over the harbor. Is that normal?"
"Yes. Normal fog, Walter. Don't get distracted by nonsense."
"Alright. You know best."
But then, a strike came sharply from above.
It all happened in a fraction of a second. Something burst soundlessly in the sky above the Town Hall.
[WARNING: DIRECT IMPACT ON CENTRAL NODE.]
"What the—" I didn't have time to finish.
The headquarters ceiling exploded from concentrated thermal energy. Meter-thick stone slabs turned into white-hot rubble. The blast wave threw me against the wall.
I screamed, but instead of sound there was only a ringing in my ears and darkness before my eyes. My "network," my "eyes" across the entire city—everything vanished.
"Iron!" Through the ringing, I heard Wayland's voice.
I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn't obey. There were gray spots before my eyes. The headquarters was burning. In the breach in the ceiling, against the night sky, I saw the silhouette of something sleek. A narrow ship.
"They're... here..." I rasped, choking on smoke.
Walter on the market square reacted first. When fireballs began raining down from above and battle mages were already on the ground, he didn't wait for orders.
"Battery, to battle!" his voice cut through the roar of explosions. "Turn the Boar around! Fire at the flashes! Use canister shot, don't spare the iron!"
The Boar roared its engine, spewing plumes of black smoke. The rapid-fire cannons fired blindly into the fog, creating a wall of lead.
Wayland grabbed me under the arms and dragged me deep into the corridor, away from the collapsing ceiling.
"Servants!" he shouted to his guardsmen, who were already taking positions at the entrances. "Hold the basement! If they break through to the Heart—it's all over! Albert, tend to the engineer!"
The Count drew his broadsword and stood in the doorway. Meanwhile, Noah was cutting down the landing force's command staff.
I lay on the floor in the corridor, leaning my back against the wall. Albert was shouting something at me, slapping my cheeks, but I barely processed it.
"Give... give me the device..." I whispered.
"Lie still, you idiot! You have a concussion and magical exhaustion!" Albert tried to apply a bandage to my head.
"The Thundermaker... they hit the cooling system..." I grabbed his arm. "If they finish off the tower, the city is defenseless."
I forced myself to open my eyes. The world had stopped doubling, but it had turned flat.
I tried to activate LUMON. Only a sharp pain in my chest and the taste of blood on my lips.
"It's not working..." I let my head drop to my chest.
At that moment, another strike shook the Town Hall. Somewhere above, a section of the scaffolding collapsed with a crash.
"They are landing on the balcony!" one of Wayland's guardsmen shouted.
I reached for my belt, where my revolver hung. Through the breach in the corridor wall, I saw an Inquisitorial skiff slowly descending into the internal courtyard of the Town Hall. It was pristine white, trimmed with gold.
The skiff's side hatch glided open noiselessly. A man stepped down the extending ramp. He wore no heavy armor or ostentatious robes. Just a long white caftan and a slender staff of light-colored wood.
He walked across the broken stone and the bodies of the fallen militia.
"It's him..." Albert whispered, turning pale. "The High Punisher. Elias."
The figure in white stopped in the middle of the courtyard and raised his head.
I tried to summon the skill again. Come on, do it! Just a little bit! I screamed inside my mind. But there was no answer.
"Iron, get deep into the basements," Wayland approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "We'll hold them off. As long as we can."
"Wayland, no..."
"Go!" the Count barked, turning toward the breach.
High Punisher Elias raised his staff. A soft light began to kindle at its tip.
There was only one thought left in my head:
Damn it... how? Why couldn't I see it coming?
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