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The Verge Of An Empire 64
– How do you like it?My friend's voice struck me as inappropriately joyful. He walked, holding in his hands something that I, as a military man, could not help but recognize as a weapon. A grotesque weapon assembled from many parts, shining with copper, nickel, with small blinking lights screwed into the body, and bundles of insulated wires stretching from the weapon itself to the dorsal backpack-generator. Yes, I recognized the generator in this thing by the characteristic hum and discharges of electricity running between the two antennas sticking out of it. It's hard to imagine how heavy this generator must be! However, it is just tiny compared to ordinary colossus, weighing tons!“How do you like my electric gun, huh?”“This thing looks like a hand-held antenna with bulbs.- In principle ... In principle, it is!- Have you tried it?- I'm going to!- And the spine does not crack? Is that the generator behind you?Inch shrugged.- Yes, it is heavy, but do not hesitate, when I final
The Verge Of An Empire 65
“…demonic spawn from the Darkness. The gas retains its properties for only about ten to fifteen seconds when in contact with oxygen, and then disintegrates.- You're not dumb.“Amazing insight for the chief counterintelligence officer of this vast country,” Zinkara chuckled.– Magic?- Alchemy! When will you fools realize that alchemy can open as many roads as magic, if not more!The Maldese opened his mouth wide, showing me something black, shiny, like a vile, swollen leech, clinging to the human oral cavity. It took me a few seconds to recognize this language.“Living alchemical matter?”“Bravo, Thane el'Moria!I was whipped by the whip of his contempt. Gross feeling.Behind me, there was a creak of rusty hinges, and I felt something huge penetrate the stone room. I smelled the smell of wine and onions, and then the carcass of Makhtar Ali, wrapped in the dimensionless tunic of a Tartsar infantry officer, heavily invaded my field of vision. He leaned over to Zinkar's ear and spoke qu
The Verge Of An Empire 66
I literally vomited with hatred, and I said a lot of things that I did not want to say. A lot of things I shouldn't have said even to myself. And it was especially disgusting because I spoke the truth. It makes no sense to shame Meskiah, she will not shed tears of repentance, for this is how the world works, the strong dictate, the weak obey. This is wrong, wrong, because there are too few strong and too many weak in the world, but the vicious circle of pain, revenge and hatred is indestructible, and we, Meskian thanes, must preserve the greatness of the greatest of powers. Mesquia is above all, even if we are all complete bastards and scoundrels in the end. This is our ... military imperialism.“Smug hypocrite,” Zinkara said quietly. - Freak. You... you will know. I was a teacher before, and I will be one now. For you. Only I will not teach alchemy, but compassion. You asked me to put us in each other's shoes? Well, I will not just make you imagine, I will make you experience! Tonigh
The Verge Of An Empire 67
When I escaped from the building of the old town hall, its insides were already licked by tongues of fire. This could be seen from the reflections dancing in some of the windows. The flame escaped from the ground up, where there is more air, more food!The alchemist pulled away from me considerably, but I didn't have to catch up with him. He stood on the square in front of the town hall. He was waiting for me among the crystal pillars. On the right hand of my enemy is put on a pata [ Pata (puddha) - an oriental straight sword with a blade coming out of a hard gauntlet that protects the hand from the wrist to the elbow.], He kept his left hand inside a bag hanging from his shoulder.“I met your cannibal. Bravo! Even my pot would not have cooked such a stew! Manguda! I didn't think I'd ever be able to see such an incredible creature!- Makhtar is not a creature, - the alchemist answered quietly, - and not a cannibal. Usually. He is my true friend and colleague, who has supported and p
The Verge Of An Empire 68
“It's safe here, master. You can come in.And I went. Sometimes it seems to me that if I had not had military experience behind me, I would have turned gray and died after the very first year of work as the supreme interrogator. Mesquia was drowning in corpses, and there was no count for them! Over the past 24 hours, I have already seen several dozen dead, and after all, most people and even tenkris, having lived their lives, can hardly count three or four dead! Here again, going into the room, I came across a mountain of corpses! All are osh-zan-kai officers, all in armor and some even with weapons. Upon closer examination, I noticed that the vast majority of the dead show the so-called "lightning signs", tree-like stripes resembling a complex burn, blackened or pink. Also, parts of the metal armor are fused together in places by incredibly strong heat!“The mage did it,” I concluded.- Master?“They were struck by lightning, Sebastina. Do you smell?- Ash and bleach.“Yes, burnt fle
The Verge Of An Empire 69
It would be a strategic mistake to overexert the soldiers before a possible battle, so I softened the load as best I could. Fortunately for me, Gatus Virze appeared next to me, my personal adjutant in the past. Avian from the subspecies of axipiti. These Avians are noticeably smaller than the Aquili aristocrats, but are also true warriors of their people, desperate and fearless. Gatus had a flat, triangular head with dark orange eyes, a predatory beak, and black and white plumage. Goshawk. Of all the adjutants that I had, this fellow distinguished himself not only by his amazing vitality, but also by his exceptional talent as an organizer. From his piercing cry, even the most arrogant and lazy lups began to move faster. It was Virze who took charge of the erection of the barricades and immediately distributed more than five hundred soldiers allocated to him into nine teams,While everyone was bustling about, I, with the tenacity of a true interrogator, pulled out of Incival the detail
The Verge Of An Empire 70
I look at the people running, watching how in the distance, driven by the news of a terrible defeat, the crowds of Maldese turn and go back. Doing what I asked them to do without bloodshed just recently.- Do not finish off wounded opponents. Collect our dead and transport them over the bridge. Provide immediate assistance to wounded soldiers. Combat-ready fifteen minutes of rest, then loading! The night is not over yet, warriors! The battles for Starkrar are still on!While my orders were carried out, I stood over the canal and examined my palm. My hand is covered with stinking, thickened blood, but I gripped the hilt of the saber so tightly that my palm remained clean.“You are smeared with the blood of lesser creatures, master. Shall I give you a handkerchief?- Look at yourself.“Very true point, master.Footsteps were heard behind.- Hard?- To me? - Incival leaned on the stone railing and somehow childishly, stupidly spat into the dark water. - Not really. My back hurts, the gen
The Verge Of An Empire 71
“The boy el'Moria, the boy el'Calypsa, and the fidget el'Fayenfas. Dead man, outcast and slob. How much time do we have, el'Moria?- Enough to put all the emphasis. But first, with the greatest respect, Your Majesty, transports with my soldiers are waiting at the gates, many of them are wounded, others need rest, and they will again be ready for battle.- Here! The most powerful ruler of the world looked at his junior heirs. “This is how a real commander should think, Your Highnesses!” Look at his face, swollen, cut, smeared with blood. He needs a doctor, but he takes care of his soldiers. Warriors follow people like him, as if they were their own fathers, and you? Rearrange the figures on the game board, study the characteristics of weapons, alloys, alchemical formulas, the psychology of your future soldiers, but you will never be able to win their trust until you yourself lead them on the battlefield and share your share of suffering in one lunette!“Your Majesty, we believe that th
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- The Verge Of An Empire
Epilogue
In the evening of the same day, when the carpenter's hammers continued to rattle throughout the capital, I sat opposite the Emperor and told him everything I knew about the past crisis. Although not all, of course. I left out some details, I didn't say a word about John Darksad, or Zolan el'Cha, or who and what helped me set up a forgery to start a riot, I didn't say how exactly I was connected with the first enemy of the empire, in my retelling, he was simply the Persistent, who broke into our world and wanted to crush the great Meskian Empire. If the Emperor knew I was lying, he never showed it. After all, during our conversation with Authurn di'Anshwar, he was near death and could not hear everything that we said to each other.“Thus, after all of the above, I tender my resignation and express my readiness to accept any punishment that Your Majesty deems appropriate.”I laid out a sheet of petition on the tabletop.Hmm, punishment? the Emperor drawled. “Hmm, what punishment should
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- Hurt.- Sorry…“It hurts to see what an ungrateful and stupid young man my son's son has grown up to be. Boy, I am a great black-tongued, I do not die from a wounded perishable blade, I forge perishable blades myself!With these words, he tore the sword out of his stomach, causing the purulent masses to flow out, and let out a loud roaring scream! His appearance changed dramatically and almost instantly, his clothes dissolved, his whole body acquired a matte black color, dozens of thin tentacles appeared instead of legs, forming something like a long skirt, huge black wings opened behind him, from which numerous eyes looked, his arms lengthened and received the second elbow, instead of fingers, terrible blades jingled on them, and a white bone mask without eyes and nose, but with a wide, toothy mouth, covered his face. A large wound on the stomach that was supposed to kill a person was quickly healed on this monster!“Look what you got me into. Are you satisfied now? I had to uncove
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“I was forced, Brian. Even my spell can be removed, and the puppets, although they are not able to act on their own, see and understand everything.“You destroyed him, and at the same time you tried to kill Tromgar el'Rumar to protect yourself from possible testimony from the grave.- It's like that.“I still don’t understand why you stole Yaro Wolfeld’s body from Volchie. Is it really just to abuse him for the last time and turn him into a vile running piece of carrion?- A burst of inspiration. A particle of chaos in an ordered stream of consciousness. Besides, I was hoping to set you on another false trail.“Using charmed Lups soldiers from the missing battalion?”- Exactly. They did not stand out on Volchie, and lups are by nature a close-knit people, they do not suspect their own.- I understand ... In principle, if the execution of a grandiose plan was perfect, you would have succeeded. You removed your creature from the statue before the statue reached the museum, and all this
- The Verge Of An Empire
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“You were right, cousin. As always.“See the skinny shadows walking in front of the front door?- The enemy was spotted in the amount of fifteen combat units.“These are Asmoderians, immortal creatures from the Darkness. They are very fast and strong, and they also have weapons that destroy any armor, stone, metal, wood.“My task is to attack and distract while you get inside.– There may be more, and even your car does not guarantee you victory.“I fight to fight, not to win, cousin.Chapadeau rushed across the square turned into a battlefield, took out the front gate with a kick and opened fire. The Asmoderians scattered like frightened water striders, but they weren't frightened!- Now!Sebastina made a dizzying leap and ran forward. The shooting stopped, a huge iron fist grabbed me and threw me forward like some kind of ball, and the maid caught me!- Run, cousin!The last thing I saw before I ran into the palace hall was the figure of a steel giant, plastered with skinny black bo
- The Verge Of An Empire
80
The tashshar's horseback ride turned out to be a surprisingly convenient and fast way to get around. Skinny looking and very hard to the touch, these furry monsters have long, strong legs. They rushed at great speed, made long jumps and easily maneuvered in the stream of evil spirits flowing through the streets. Smaller monsters did not stick to the tashshars, they had an order to get out and add new oil to the subdued fire of terror, and they breathed it, they breathed the will of their master! Every few seconds I looked up and peered into the darkness above our heads, expecting that the ceiling of the cave, invisible to me, would crack from a hail of artillery shells and multi-ton slabs would bury us under them! We broke out of the city and began to break through the tunnels filled with evil spirits, up into the predawn winter night, and hope even began to arise in me, that we will have time to get out when the whole world went crazy at once and a grandiose roar knocked us down! The
- The Verge Of An Empire
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It ended abruptly. The Tashshars simply crushed the Asmoderians in bulk, crushed them and deprived them of their heads. After that, the bodies of the invincible guardsmen literally evaporated. The armor was empty and scattered in many segments, swords fell to the floor. The crazy spree is over. It seems that one of the survivors addressed me. Some kind of lups with a crazy muzzle. Simon was saying something, but I didn't hear them. I was snapped out of my stupor by the sight of Arren el'Calyps writhing on the floor. Raising my saber as I ran, I struck with all my might at his arm, chopping it off at the elbow. Noble silver blood spattered, and the severed forearm literally in a few moments turned into a piece of fetid meat exuding poisonous pus.- Bandage him! Calculate the personnel, provide assistance to the wounded, if any! Don't touch the dead! Rest… I… Perform!Sebastina was already seated next to Incival.- Is he alive?- Yes, master. But it is very difficult for him, as far as
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He sighed heavily and sadly.“Listen, boy, I will go against my rules and extend my hand to you one more time. You have come a long way, you were able to find me and you were not afraid to come here, taking only a maid. This is worthy of encouragement. I extend my hand to you again and say, join me! The next morning will be the first morning of the new age! And this century will belong to me! On the ruins of old Mescia, I will build the palaces of a new empire, and, what the hell is not joking, you will sit on its throne!"Are you offering me the imperial crown?"“That little thing doesn't matter, my boy. I offer you the whole world!- Interesting.- You deserve it! Believe me, I know that in all this rotten aristocracy there will never be as much grandeur and dignity as there is in one of your fingers! Help me today, and tomorrow your path to the top of the world will begin! This is not the ravings of a madman and not a sweet lie, this is my promise to you! Get close and...- No.- W
- The Verge Of An Empire
77
We moved through the streets of the ancient city, expecting danger from every shadow. And there are many, many shadows! Tower, castle, palace or temple, whatever it was, the building seemed incredibly majestic and hung over us the closer we got. We soon approached the first crater.“The impact came at an angle of twenty-five degrees, demolished two houses, left a furrow, and went out right here.- What could hit like that? Spell? The stone is melted.The Emperor did it.- What?!- I saw something like that. Traces of destruction. Huge. And this sand under our feet - it is everywhere - not sand. It is the ashes of hundreds of thousands of living beings whose bodies have decayed over the past ages. This is Meskiah, thanes and gentlemen.“You mean the same city, el'Moria?”“The city that gave the name to our empire. The city that became the first letter in the new history. The Emperor came here and swept from south to north like a hurricane, demonstrating the power of his Voices. He dest
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Gantsaros remained himself, ruthless and purposeful, the one who steps over the corpses, grinding them into mincemeat, and opens fire on any moving target. I see his receding back and a plume of hot steam, white as milk in this cold and bitter night. And I have no doubt that the royalists have put an end to it. For some time, the new weapon will show its power, and the number of victims will exceed tens of thousands, total extermination. Then the time limit will be released, and the surviving prisoners will appear. Mesquia's new weapons will prove to all countries of the world that their armies are outdated. We will remind you again how powerful we are. And we will make them remember how ruthless we can be to our own people. What will we do with them if they dare to anger us?“Truly… The Emperor is prudent and ruthless as always… Now I understand why the threat of rebellion did not frighten him. Moon, have mercy on us.I looked at the creator of these new war machines and felt his del
