Steel and Mana

Chapter 262 – The Siege of Lothlia (6)

Otto stood on the bridge of the Lawbringer, overlooking Lothlia and his own army. His sharp eyes were narrowed in focus as the biting, cold winter wind cut against his flesh and through the camp below the ship. His subordinates were already working on their part of the formation, and soon, he would have to start chanting his incantation and start bringing their work into a balanced state. They would be the anchors of his spell, lessening the stress on his mind and allowing him to focus on destruction more than on maintaining the expert-level spell.

Each of his disciples knew the weight of their task. They were trained to be their master's perfect companion for it, as their coordinated effort would allow Otto to unleash the full fury of this ancient magic. This devastating formation was once used against the Vasas thousands of years ago in a similar fashion, attacking their strongholds. If it was executed perfectly, the formation would bring a storm of ruin against the city, turning the clouds above the land into their worst enemy. No wonder it was deemed an expert-level formation, as it was complex, delicate, and required flawless synchronization.

"For the Eternal Emperor and for Ishillia!" Otto yelled, his mind surging with conviction and burning zeal, something that he could no longer distinguish from being his own or something that someone had planted in him. Not that it mattered… He knew this was what was required of him and that he would turn out as the victor in this battle. It was preordained.

While his mages sat at different spots on the deck of the Lawbringer, meditating and sitting in the middle of faintly glowing formations, Otto remained at the bow, preparing the primary spell. This ancient storm formation would harness his mind's focus, taking over nature's powers. Through it, he would channel his will into the sky itself, calling down lightning strikes with precision, like the hand of the Six Gods.

"Watch over me, my Eternal Emperor…" he whispered, closing his eyes, and the ritual began in earnest.

The ground beneath his feet hummed with latent power as he extended his mind, touching the mages connected to his. All of their parts were eventually connected, becoming one through his lead. Each mage focused on a different part of the formation—one of them was nothing more than the lynchpin between the ship and Otto's spell, using the Lawbringer as a booster catalyst. The other two were reinforcing the vertical and horizontal axes to stabilize the immense flow of energy, rushing forward to be controlled by Otto. The air buzzed as tendrils of glowing light streamed from their formations, rising into the sky, connecting to the thick clouds above them as if they were throwing invisible hooks of power up into the clouds themselves.

To the untrained eye from below, it appeared as though nothing had changed. But to Otto, who could feel the pulse of magic beneath the surface, it was like he was becoming the reason for the birth of a storm. The magical lines they were creating expanded outward, each one a part of his formation and requiring the utmost concentration to maintain balance. The air around him buzzed with electricity, charged with the formation's unnatural tension.

"I'll show you all what real power is." Otto whispered, his lips curling into a smile. He could sense the strain on his mages as the formation's complexity began to take its toll on their mental and physical endurance. "Focus!" He called out to them both audibly and mentally. Their own lines they produced were delicate and fragile under the increasing pressure of the magic that flowed through them. A single mistake could cause a backlash that would annihilate their mind and body, possibly harming Otto as well.

Yet, their strain was nothing like what Otto was facing. His mind was already slipping into a different state, lingering between consciousness and subconsciousness, becoming the central conduit, the heart of the storm he was about to summon. He raised his hands slowly, palms up toward the sky, as the energies from his subordinates began to coalesce around him. He felt the connection deep within him, where his mind was tethered to the formation, becoming visible on the ship's deck. The air crackled and sparked as the threads of magic from each mage snaked their way toward Otto's post, joining together into a single, pulsating network.

Below the Lawbringer, the army of conscripts and mercenaries began moving the moment morning came. On Otto's command, spreading before dawn, the entire assault on Lothlia started in earnest. The trebuchets hurled their remaining stones at the city walls while the infantry pressed forward in waves, shields raised against the rain of arrows. Yet they proved little to no use when a magical cannonshot landed between their ranks, vaporizing them in the dozens. Still, with the number of invaders, they were poised to arrive at the wall sooner or later. Not even their machines could be at every point at once.

From his vantage point, Otto could hear the clash of steel and the thunderous impacts of siege weapons, but he did not allow himself to be distracted. His role was far more critical than that of the soldiers below. He was about to deliver the decisive blow. A sudden gust of wind swept across the snow-covered fields, and the dark clouds above began to churn. The sky, once a dark gray blanket, now twisted and writhed as though reacting to the magic being summoned below it. The formation was almost complete.

Otto's mind perceived his subordinates and quickly calculated how long they would hold out. Their minds were strained, sweat beads dotting their bodies despite the biting cold. Each one was pushing their limits, but they were holding. For now. He could feel the storm building above his target, a roiling mass of black clouds gathering above Lothlia like a furious beast at his command. Lightning danced within the clouds, flickering in the depths like caged dragons, hungry for release.

One by one, his mages completed their sections of the formation, each producing an arc of electricity, snapping into place with a brilliant flash. The points of the formation were now physically connected, creating a vast, intricate web that stretched across the ship. It was invisible to the magicless eye of regular people but pulsing with raw, blinding, mystical energy for those who could see it. There was no mistake about their spell being fed by the Lawbringer's core for a greater effect. Everything was ready.

"Now!" His voice was a command to the elements he directly commanded, and the sky obeyed.

A massive bolt of lightning arced down from the storm cloud, striking the walls of Lothlia with a deafening crack. The stone exploded under its force, sending debris and soldiers flying in every direction. Otto felt the energy pulse through him, and he grinned as he realized the full extent of the control he now wielded.

This was no ordinary magic—this was the true power of what an Expert-Level mage, no, a Magos could wield. It was his title, although only uttered by one individual yet, his Emperor. Still, soon, the whole world will know. His mind was the storm's core, his will the guiding force behind every strike. He could feel the electricity coursing through him, like a conductor channeling the raw energy of the heavens. With a flick of his wrist, another lightning bolt lashed out, obliterating a tower on the city's eastern side. The defenders scrambled, watching as stone and burning wood fell on the ramparts, powerless against the force that rained down upon them.

Otto's subordinates maintained their positions, their focus unwavering as they funneled their energy into the formation, reinforcing it and stabilizing the formation. Each was responsible for a section of the storm's power, and without their contributions, the formation would collapse under its own weight.

As the battle raged below, Otto continued to rain lightning down upon the city, creating multiple openings for the army to rush in and start the slaughter. His mind moved faster than thought, selecting targets with brutal efficiency—each strike was precise, each bolt of lightning guided by his will alone.

The storm roared as a living entity bound to Otto's command. He could feel its boundless capabilities, soon locating the machine that caused his first assault to fail. It was standing in the midst of it all, killing his soldiers like stepping on bugs… It was time for him to do the same. Concentrating, willing nature to obey, he sent down a lightning bolt, but to his surprise, the activated shield of that monster managed to block it. But Otto knew. It can't do it for long.

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"We are late; it has already started!" Merlin yelled, leaning out of the train and feeling the magic fluctuations in the distance.

That was enough for the conductors to start shoveling even more franticly, feeding the train with coal, ignoring the whines and warnings of the pressure gages as they pushed the fresh snow away, heading towards Lothlia at full speed. It wasn't dragging along any cart; every soldier was hanging off the train's side or standing on the pile of coal, traveling as light as possible. Merlin could feel the raw power and destruction permeating the area, giving him a bad feeling. This spell gave off the same smell and feeling he experienced from the Kingdom of Scorc's weapon. The one that brought down Duke Kustov's flying ship all those years ago. Lothlia was in actual danger.

It didn't take long for the train to reach the flatlands around Lothlia and let its passengers see the siege raging around the city. They watched as lightning came down from the unnaturally dark clouds, assaulting the walls and buildings, while the massive army did its best to flood in through the many newly created holes in their defense. In turn, the enemy also noticed the weird machine heading towards their backs.

"Brace for impact!" Merlin yelled and began to cast a spell…

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On the northern-east side of the battlefield, hundreds of mercenaries were ready to be the second wave to reach the walls, becoming more spaced out than the first one. They finally began learning that the enemy's cannons were something they had no defense against, watching multiple groups being annihilated by a single blast. They must provide multiple, smaller targets and pray they won't be the ones to get hit. The order to charge had already been given, but they heard another whistle beside their commanding officer's. It was coming from behind them… along with an unnatural rattling noise.

Thanks to the cold and thick snow below their armored boots, they failed to see that they were standing on the tracks in the way of a speeding train heading straight in their direction. Not that they could do anything about it. The metal monster plowed into them without slowing down or stopping, throwing torn-apart bodies and screaming soldiers to the sides.

It was not all. As it sped through them, Merlin's spell was finished at the right moment. It appeared above the train's chimney, turning the steam their train had spewed out into green rain, falling down around the mercenaries as a hot, acid drizzle, melting metal and flesh alike, turning up their screams tenfold in just under a second. By the time their train was away, leaving the army behind and heading towards the train station, a screaming and melting opening was left in Otto's army, one that would be the first visible crack in his army.

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"We are getting overwhelmed!" Pion shouted, directing their howitzers and cannons to fire, trying to hit the Lawbringer in the distance, knowing that it was the source of this magical thunderstorm.

"I can take it!" Yuri roared, standing in a spot where the wall was completely gone, holding back thousands by herself. She was periodically bombarded with lightning, weakening her shield spell with every blast.

"Leave, and you will become its focus and die!" Oleg countered, not letting her stride out alone.

Polo was not in better shape either, as his cannons were constantly firing, straining his machine and his mind and body alike. But there was no time to think or pause; he was doing his best to cover as many sides of the city as possible. They tried using their trojan spell, but the formation was either too strong or the ship was simply too far away for it to work as intended. The best they managed so far was redirecting some of the bolts to destroy an empty house instead of another part of the wall.

"Reinforcements!"

It was the shout of one of the soldiers, and his words were followed by the whistle of a train, but that part was only heard by the two mechs because of their heightened senses. They didn't know who had arrived, but whoever it was, they better be bringing over a counter for this overwhelming spell…