His name was Arnold. Back at Ashdale Kingdom, he had been framed for the theft of military supplies and thus he was deemed a petty criminal and sentenced to ten years imprisonment minimum. His only out was to join the Legion and waltz off to the Frontier. Many saw this as a suicide option; but Arnold straightened his back, proclaimed his innocence, and rejected jail outright.
A week later, he was at the Legion camp of Frontier Town, building two ballistae.
“So now you know my background.” He grunted, testing the crank of the one on the left. “Why do you ask?”
“Because, well…” Remian scratched his head. “You’re good. Very good.”
The ballistae were easily three meters long, and just as wide. Each was like a crossbow, only much bigger. They used the ‘headless spears’, that is, the simply steel shafts with sharp points for ammunition; Arnold said something about the consistent strength and weight distribution of the spears that made them more suitable and
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Kingdom of the Weak 38. How?
How? That was the question on Remian’s mind more than anything else. How to fend off the Beast Wave, for sure, but even before that… How did the Wilds know that this was the time the town was vulnerable? That the Legion was full-swing in celebrations today? How did they know to rush the Beast Wave a day early, and to hurry over even at the expense of their slower fighters? How did they know now was the time to strike? The fact that they struck now, like this, told Remian two things. First, somebody, somewhere, had told them. There was a traitor in town, probably one of the Wilds, possibly one of the wolfcats in Carrie’s pack. Second, somebody, somewhere, was controlling them. Somebody decided to rush the Wave so that they would attack during this one vulnerable day. It had been a deliberate decision. Similar to Shadowflash, there was another lord of the Wilds out there commanding the Beast Waves. And if the Waves could
Kingdom of the Weak 39. A Long Night
Tim and Silas were in trouble. They were the vanguard of the ammunition convoy, and they had just entered the town center when an immense bull on fire came charging straight at them. “Tier 4!” Silas gasped. “Brace!” Tim crouched, holding out his precious Tier 3 spear, praying against all odds that at least one of them might survive, at least one of the eight young boys behind him who went to get the spears might come out of this alive and finish the mission, because most certainly, he himself wasn’t going to make it… But a miracle occurred. Remian shouted, “Light!” Before Tim could exclaim anything, a wall of light twice his height and much wider rose up in between him and the charging bull. There was a terrible, jarring impact; Tim could feel the ground sake under his boots from the crash. But the Bull was stopped cold. It could not get even an inch past Remian’s light. Silas let out all his breath in relief. “I
Kingdom of the Weak 40. Choosing Runes
“What happened here?” Charlie was astounded when he arrived on the airship the next day. “The Beast Wave hit last night.” Remian summarized. They met at the half-built airport. There was a high deck for mooring airships, currently accessible either via a long ramp or a manually operated lift. At present, four Legion trainees were pushing at the wheel powering the lift which had two injured trainees on stretchers aboard. Next to the lift were eight more injured trainees in a row. Down below were four more and other people queued up with their crates for export, still waiting for their turn to use the lift. “We need more lifts.” Charlie observed. “We need a secure warehouse, so people with goods for export can bring them up here early.” Remian countered. “This airport currently only had three people on staff, and two of them work at the air traffic control lighthouse.” All three were hired by Deutero, so Remian had little say over whether more c
Kingdom of the Weak 41. Increasing Forces
In the end, it was Arnold who really blew Remian’s budget. The things he asked for were estimated to wipe out half of Remian’s earnings all by themselves. “You want that Repeating Scorpion quickly or in a few years? And a moving tower, no less… do you have any idea what it takes to build a decent Siege Tower?” “Not really, no.” Remian confessed. “Neither do I.” Arnold handed Charlie with a list of ordered parts, gears and tools. “Count it as research costs!” “How long do you expect this ‘research’ to go on?” Remian asked, concerned for his wallet. “Without these supplies? A Repeating Scorpion could take me all year. With them? I could have one ready in a week or so.” Arnold clarified. “Putting it on a moving platform would need more work; we’ll have to do a lot of testing and adjustments to fire a Scorpion while the platform is moving. Building an actual siege tower capable of withstanding Tier 3 and 4 Wilds… that’s going to take at lea
Kingdom of the Weak 42. Looking for Answers
Atop Three Pines Peak, the Sun Eagle Lord sought to ensure the future of the Wildlands by cleansing all the Destroyers (humans) from it. From deep beneath the Black Depths Lake, the Deepsilver Lord sought vengeance for his fallen kin. The High Crown Stag Lord of the Speckled Highlands believed destroying humans would save the entire world from eventual destruction. The Golden Lion Lord wished to challenge mankind as a matter of pride. Then, there was the last, mysterious possibility; that the enigmatic Shadowflash himself wanted to rid his territories of these pesky humans. As to why these five were the suspects rather than one of the many other Lords of the Wilds? It was because these five were the five nearest Lords directly south of Frontier Town; the direction the Beast Waves were coming from. Shadowflash’s last known whereabouts was also in that direction. The most suspicious one? Sun Eagle, because up until now, none of the Wilds in the B
Kingdom of the Weak 43. Considerations
They ended up shopping at Burning Steel rather than the airship. Remian ordered Tier 3 weapons and armor in bulk, which he would later donate to the Guild for Points. After all, as Guild Master, he should strive to remain as one of the top Adventurers in his own Guild. They finally spotted the airship in the horizon by lunch time. As Mandy said; they were simply late. The reason for that became apparent as they docked at the still-unfinished airport. The airship had dozens of people on deck, and many crates of cargo to unload. “Workers!!” Remian roared to the sky, exultant. One hundred workers. Forty mercenaries. There weren’t as many mercenaries as Charlie estimated, but for Remian, who had sweated over a lack of manpower until now, forty tier 2 fighters was a godsend. On top of that, there were not ten, but twenty Iron Legion trainees this time around, led by another drill sergeant named Julius. “Orders!” Julius salute
Kingdom of the Weak 44. Smoke
This time, Remian thought, they were going to be ready. This time, for sure, they would stop the Beast Wave entirely. Things had gone well over the week. The dorm and the barracks were built; the Legion got their stone, and Remian got his wall. Four Guard Towers were raised, two to completion with Ballistae and Repeating Scorpions, and two just at Phase 1, but able to shelter archers and crossbowmen. When the day came for the Beast Wave to strike, Remian had a prepared force of forty mercenaries, a dozen Adventurers, and over thirty Legionnaires on guard while he himself went to greet another shipment of reinforcements coming in with the airship at lunch-time. As Charlie promised, they came early. “Any word from the scouts?” he asked Mandy, who stood at his side. “No sign of a signal fire. It seems the scouts haven’t spotted anything coming.” Mandy said. “I thought you said they usually didn’t attack until sunset. It’s high noon out here.” “Best to be wary. You never know, with th
Kingdom of the Weak 45. Unstoppable
The first indication they had that something was coming was when the ground started to shake. The birds began to scatter. Most of them took to the air and fled in every direction, getting away from the scene. But the ravens gathered. They began to stalk a certain figure in the distance. Trees began to fall. A visible column of floral victims trailed all the way from the far horizon. It headed directly toward the Frontier Town known as Fort Spoas. “What is that…?” Kairos asked. He stood on Remian’s left, while Charlie was on Remian’s right. They were atop the rooftop of the Adventurer Guard Tower, behind a fully prepared Ballista with a Steel Stake loaded and ready to fire. “We’ll find out soon. The scouts are almost here.” Remian pointed. There was Carrie, with Candice and Denise on her back. She had gone ahead with them especially to bring these two back quickly. Upon arriving, the twins went straight to Remian to report. “It’
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