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Forbidden Sphere Chapter 147
"What do I have to do?" Stoneheart asked, his eyes shining with eagerness at the chance to redeem himself.Arran did not share the tall novice's enthusiasm. Although he was still anxious to regain his strength, the benefits of the Tempering made his need less pressing, and he still remembered that Snowcloud had told him Elder Naran might try to entice him to ally himself with the Soaring Sun.Elder Naran glanced at Arran, seemingly waiting for the same kind of response Stoneheart had shown. When it didn't come, he eventually scraped his throat, then spoke."Some weeks ago, the two of you faced an army of Body Refiners. That army still exists. Although they lost many of their numbers to the fire, and more to the adepts I sent to drive them off, thousands still remain, and their leader still lives."He paused briefly, then added, "I am offering you a chance to correct that.""You want us to lead an army to defeat them?" There was a hint of excitement in Stoneheart's voice as he spoke."
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 148
"What did he say, exactly?" Snowcloud looked at Arran intently as she asked the question.They were sitting in her quarters, which Arran could not help but notice were far nicer than his own. While he had a single room with just a bed and a desk, Snowcloud had three full rooms to herself, including a bedroom, a small library, and the well-furnished sitting room they were currently using. Not that he was jealous, of course — although a bit more space would be nice.Arran quickly told Snowcloud about his meeting with Elder Naran and Stoneheart, and the offer Elder Naran had made them.When he finished speaking, Snowcloud frowned, seeming taken aback by the idea. "He wants the two of you to face an entire army together?""I assume he wants me to defeat the army, and Stoneheart to defeat their leader," Arran explained. "With the Blood magic, the soldiers' numbers won't make much of a difference to me.""But it's an entire army," Snowcloud objected. "With thousands of soldiers."Arran shoo
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 149
"I think we're getting close," Stoneheart said, looking at the six dead men on the ground in front of them.They had already spent the better part of two weeks in search of the army, and although they had come across several scouting parties, there was little sign of the main force.The region was hilly and densely forested, and the terrain made it far harder to find the army than they had anticipated. In such an environment, they could have easily passed within a mile of their enemies without ever noticing.Initially, they had thought they could simply capture a few scouts and wring information from those, but the scouts fought with an almost religious fervor, choosing death over capture. And when they finally caught one alive, the man bit off his tongue before they could make him speak.After that, they had stopped trying to capture their enemies alive.Still, even if the scouts they found would not talk, they knew they were getting closer. Just in the past two days, they had encoun
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 150
Arran put on the armor as quickly as he could, but it still took him more time than he would have liked. Between his coat, the helmet, the gauntlets, the gorget, the greaves, the cuisses, and all the other parts, suiting up was a slow affair, and that was hardly the only downside of wearing full armor.The quality of the armor was impressive, all the more so because Tuya had managed to find in just a few hours during the dead of night. All of it was enchanted, and it fit him better than he had any right to expect.Even so, wearing it made him slower and affected his balance, and when he put on the helmet, it immediately restricted his vision. To any other mage, the sacrifice would be far too large for a little added protection.But Arran wasn't like other mages. The control he had gained from the Tempering easily compensated for the bulk and weight of the armor, and in the dark of night, his Shadowsight would be far more useful than his eyes.When he finished suiting up, whatever part
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 151
The mage's thunderous words immediately set the entire camp in motion, and within moments, Arran's Shadowsight told him that hundreds of soldiers were beginning to move into the woods, with many more following behind them.It was exactly what he had hoped would happen, and he could not help but feel excited at seeing his enemies fall into the trap so easily. While he had prepared for the possibility that they would see through the ruse — it was hardly subtle, after all — it looked like everything would go according to plan.His spirits rose further when he realized that his enemies' advance was chaotic, lacking any sort of organization. Rather than progressing in tight ranks, as he imagined a real army would, they moved forward in a disorderly mass.Their sloppy advance allowed Arran to continue attacking in much the same way as he had before, striking quickly and furiously, then disappearing into the woods again before they could respond.Several of the soldiers had the presence of m
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 152
Stoneheart braced himself for Arran's Battering Force attack, throwing up what seemed to be a shield of Wind Essence.Before the attack could hit him, however, it smashed into its actual target — the Shadowcloaked mage who was heading toward Stoneheart with a raised sword in his hands.The attack hit the mage squarely in the back, sending the man flying into Stoneheart's shield. Stoneheart staggering back from the force of the impact, while the mage crashed heavily to the ground.The force of the attack proved enough to break the mage's concentration, causing his Shadowcloak to fail. With a brief flicker of light in the air, the short, fat man suddenly became visible to the eye.Despite taking a direct hit that should have incapacitated him, the mage got to his feet immediately, and without even a second's hesitation, he turned to Arran and shot a stream of white, lightning-like fire from his hands. It hit Arran in the leg, burning straight through his armor and leaving a fist-sized h
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 153
In the days after the battle, Arran hunted the escaped soldiers with grim determination. Deadly though the battle had been, many survivors had managed to flee, and thousands of them now filled the woods surrounding the camp.After just three days, he had already killed more soldiers in his hunt than he had killed during the battle, and even if most of the temporary strength of the Blood magic dissipated quickly, he could feel that there were permanent benefits, as well.Perhaps he wouldn't be able to shrug off major wounds the way he had right after the battle, but any small wounds he sustained healed easily, and his strength had more than doubled.Several times, groups of soldiers tried to ambush him. They did not live to regret the mistake. Arran's Shadowsight allowed him to see through their ambushes easily, and even if most of the strength of the initial battle had dissipated, Arran was strong enough to crush them effortlessly.More troublesome were the ones who neither fought nor
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 154
"Our town is called Riverbend," the woman said, her voice anxious. "I am the mayor."Arran spent some moments in thought. While the village — it was far too small to be called a town — shared a name with his old hometown, the two places were thousands of miles apart, and other than being next to a river, they seemed to have little in common.Still, the name reminded him of the life he had left behind. Even if he did not regret his decision to become a mage, he wondered what things would have been like had he stayed in the real Riverbend. Calmer, probably, and certainly less bloody.Arran shook himself from his thoughts. He had more important matters to handle."What about them," he said, gesturing at the soldiers. "What are they doing here?"Before the woman could respond, one of the soldiers stepped forward, a stocky, middle-aged man with dark skin and several old scars on his face."You gonna kill us?" Although the man's expression was cautious, there was no fear in his eyes. It see