Chapter 72

The Seers were busy, if looking relaxed and confident, as they guided the various troops from both sides of the allies through to their destinations. Also helping them with this was Galadriel of the Maraú-Uxuí who, it appeared, was involved with a massive exchange of information and techniques with the Seer groups. The Unbroken were accompanied by my team, Gregorius, Marja and Szymon, Elpida, Nell and Daniel, as well as a squad of Loegrian Special Forces, though not toting their railguns, just what appeared to be a compact sub-machine gun. With us of course were Ilzik, Lenna and Esira who simply wore Mage armour and each toted a semi-automatic rifle capable of using self-activated Null to take out the Archimandrites.

We entered into the parkland-cum-forest where my team had originally discovered the sacrifice area and moved to positions as the three Drow simply cloaked and headed off to the Archimandrites’ palace. Carefully advancing we reached the sacrificial area to find several Orcs chaining up victims, presumably for the next atrocity. I didn’t need to give the order as shots rang out to take them down and the Drow swiftly moved in to free the captives.

“We thank you,” a stunned looking survivor stated as they were being moved to our rear and back towards where the portal was being maintained.

“You’re welcome; you’re safe for the moment. Do you know if they are keeping others?” I asked in Yr’chan.

“A thousand paces that way,” he pointed. “There are over a thousand of us.”

“Thank you,” I replied as he moved off with what I presumed was his family.

“Well, we wanted a spectacular diversion,” Birry mused.

“Yep. Send several squads, release the prisoners and get back here as quickly as possible. You’re in charge Birry, be careful.”

“Yessir!” he saluted and hurried off to gather the squads.

“Tirus, you know what you need to do,” I spoke to my friend who was leading the Loegrians.

“Yes, John. Go to the TechnoYr’ch HQ and blow it to pieces,” he chuckled.

“Yep. Take Elpida with you just in case.”

“No problem,” he replied, giving a quick salute before heading off.

“Null medallions are planted,” Kate announced.

“Good, let’s hope this avatar thing works to a timer,” I chuckled.

“Róisín believes she can emulate the life signs if necessary.”

“Yep, but I really don’t want to do that as there’s no telling what might happen to someone who comes mentally into that thing’s sphere of influence,” I grimaced.

“Ah, yes, see your point,” Kate nodded with a frown.

Over in the distance there was a crackle of shots as Birry and his squads attacked the Orc prisoner camp and hopefully freed a lot of prisoners.

“Won’t be long now,” I murmured as Kate nodded.

Tenklar was having fun, the Industrial park was totally undefended and mostly empty as the TechnoYr’ch ran it automatically. The only life signs around were a bunch of Crimonachs, which were swiftly annihilated, and the maintenance drones, whose quarters Tenklar avoided as they wouldn’t be able to rebuild the place from the mess Tenklar intended to make.

“Detecting Militia,” his Ground-boss announced.

“Let’s go welcome them,” Tenklar nodded as the armoured weapon carriers turned in that direction.

The military base was in flames as the blesséd of Ar-Thenna swept through the last remaining defenders, having been guided through the minefields by Archimandrite Vlut who had requested of their goddess that the mines and detection units simply did not work. At the moment, the warriors were busy looting the base of the modern weapons stored there and passing them through a portal to Vultoq to be handed out to the new hordes being brought to readiness there. The base itself had been mostly deserted with most of the horde of the TechnoYr’ch busy elsewhere. The few Orcs manning the defences had been overwhelmed swiftly and despatched to their deaths after the blesséd found the mass grave of the original loyalist horde.

“Have we all the new technology?” Vlut asked the sub-Adept in charge of the blesséd.

“We have, revered Archimandrite. Currently we are tracking a series of sleds making their way here, presumably in reprisal,” he answered politely.

“How many?”

“Over two hundred.”

“Can you take them out with the new weapons Ar-Thenna’s allies provided us with?”

“Yes, indeed we can, revered Archimandrite,” he replied with a savage grin.

“Good, let us make them pay for the deaths of the innocents!”

“We have an insurrection brewing!” Zorst announced to the new Council as reports started to come in of attacks and riots in various cities.

“Will the troops be enough?” Takkas asked.

“I believe so, but I have called up the newly constituted horde guard for action.”

“Can they be trusted?”

“Their lives depend on it as I have their families in safe custody.”

“Is that necessary?”

“Sarkal demanded it,” Zorst replied, silencing the discussion as all feared their new god and its primary disciple.

“Can we expect Sarkal to become involved himself?” Ambost asked.

“He expects us to help ourselves; he will only intervene when we cannot.”

At this point there was a loud explosion somewhere in the temple complex making the Archimandrites leap to their feet in shock.

“Seems our enemy has come calling,” Zorst all but sneered. “However they will fail as we are the elect of Sarkal and cannot be harmed by their weapons!”

At that point there were two loud bangs as the doors to the chamber flew open and the bodies of the two guards crashed through them, though there was no one in sight.

“Pah, you may be cloaked, but you have not the power to hurt us!” Zorst announced as he began a chant of exposure.

There was a sharp crack and the back of Zorst’s skull exploded spraying the Archimandrites with gore, causing utter panic amongst them as they suddenly realised just how vulnerable they were.

“We have movement to our right flank,” Clara announced.

“Ask Marja and Szymon to take a look. Keep us informed if it decides to get closer,” I nodded as I scanned the direction in which Birry and the three squads had gone.

“On it.”

In the distance there were a series of loud explosions as I presumed the Loegrians were accomplishing their tasks. So far as I could tell, everything was going to plan, which was worrying as in my experience there was usually something that didn’t.

“Marja’s just informed me that the movement is a very large armed civilian horde, John,” Clara stated.

“Heading our way?”

“Not yet; getting into position for a charge, they believe.”

“Numbers?”

“Several hundred thousand.”

“Ouch,” I winced. “Tell Marja and Szymon to bug out and order drone strikes on the Orc position and pull the reserve miniguns to that side,” I ordered.

“On it.”

“I can see Birry, they’re leading a column of refugees,” Kate announced.

“Direct them to the portal the Seers are setting up, please,” I requested.

“On it.”

To our right flank there was a series of massive explosions where, I presumed, the Orc horde was, though no massive bellow as a mass charge would give.

“They’re scattering, seems they don’t like to be targeted by missiles. There are a few ... leaders trying to get them back in line, but it’s going to take a while,” Clara updated me.

“Good, I’m not happy with our forces being scattered,” I nodded.

“Me neither, John.”

The attack on the militia by Tenklar’s forces had gone well enough, though the new weaponry the militia had had damaged several of his weapon carriers as well as killing several of the Yr’ch in them.

“How long till repairs are completed?” he asked a Squad-boss.

“A hand span of solar movement, sub-Adept. The damage to the drive train is extensive,” the Yr’ch replied.

“Do we have enough vehicles to carry those displaced?”

“Yes, sub-Adept ... barely. Though it would reduce our combat effectiveness by over half.”

“I’ll risk it, load the vehicles up and destroy these in place. We are to make straight for the portal site as we’re too exposed here.”

“By your command, sub-Adept.”

Tirus and his squad along with Elpida the Gorgon jogged back, with Tirus piggybacking Elpida to assist her in keeping up with them, having set off several explosions in the secondary headquarters building of the TechnoYr’ch. Their nano-camo and her Mage armour blending them in well with their surroundings and their powered armour moving them along at over thirty kilometres an hour, far faster than the militia trying to catch them.

“Report from the Mages,” trooper Jiddif, their comms expert, announced. “Large horde assembling to our left flank after being scattered.”

“Acknowledge,” Tirus ordered. “Squad will swing to the left and prepare to engage as we pass by,” he ordered the rest of them.

Tirus picked up the pace as his squad prepared to engage. They soon spotted the horde, gradually being brought back into line by several Orcs wearing some form of uniform and clearly being readied for an advance en-masse.

“Target those leaders, full automatic!” Tirus ordered as the Loegrians took aim with their specialist rapid-fire plasma bolt rifles. “Fire!”

The Orc lines were torn apart by the dense volume of fire from the four Loegrians who took care to hit any leaders they could see. This however caused the Orcs to act by instinct against something they could see and with a mass bellow they charged towards their, as yet unseen other than the plasma bolts, enemy.