บท 101: A Fractured Empire V
Jacob sighed, things were not exactly going perfect, but what could ever be said to go perfect? His plan was to do something else entirely, but, Mikhal had acted before Jacob had the chance to even begin his plan. So here he was trying to change the pace of things in the capital. He could only imagine what was occurring in the other cities and villages.
He had to stay focused, this came first. Everything else after.
"What are the chances that the other nobles took part in defending the capital?"
Jacob inquired as he glanced at Angelia.
"Unlikely, there are only a few noteworthy ones. The rest are standing on the shoulders of their ancestors, just tossing their previous influence around. If anything happened, they would be the first to flee."
Jacob chuckled at her reply. He could imagine it now.
"They could have been helpful. We would have been capable of cleaning up the streets faster than we are now."
Pausing for a moment he looked at Leah.
"Now that we have a moment, care to tell me more about this Holy Aura?"
Jacob asked as he watched the last citizen give thanks before leaving the area.
Leah nodded.
"It's surprising you do not know, with how much you seem to be aware of everything. How should I put it... I was lost... no... mystified. Yes. I was mystified when I first felt it which is why it slipped my mind. To be precise a Holy Aura is a concentrated area of light energy. It surrounds the person emitting it and anyone who comes into their domain will take heed of their presence."
Leah analyzed the expression on Jacob's face, wondering what he was thinking. She assumed he did not fully comprehend her meaning, thus she went further into detail.
"You've never encountered a Cardinal or Crusader, which could be considered a good thing. However, this has caused you to overlook what having a Holy Aura means. A cub is never meant to beat a tiger. Having acquired a Holy Aura means anyone in your presence becomes like a cub. Or so I've been told. Each one does something different, but they usually stem from the same power."
Leah said.
'Is she talking about the skill I obtained once I acquired my prestige class?'
Jacob asked himself as he pondered over the effects of having a Holy Aura.
He was unsure if he could even turn it off if it even had an off switch. It would definitely be a pain if he had to explain himself to any high-ranked person in the order. Not only was he considered a blessed person in their eyes, but also had this power only a select few managed to obtain.
For now, he had to focus on the problem at hand. Overcoming what was in front of them.
"I understand. We still need to gather some guards to help secure this temple so we can send more priests to assist the others."
Jacob said as he looked at Leah.
"Amelia will go to Dauntless along with the other ones I will send. It is best someone escorts them to the academy in case something happens. I will stay back with the other priests to maintain this place, as well as make sure none of them do anything stupid."
Leah told Jacob.
Jacob looked at Matthew and Angelia, then shook his head.
"I do not have anyone to spare, and we are not headed in that direction. However, if she heads towards my estate, she should find the path to be clear. Jack along with two of my knights are headed towards the watch commander. That is the halfway point between my estate and the academy. As long as she goes in that direction, she should meet up with him."
Leah thought it over for a moment. She was hesitant to send Amelia along with the other priests anywhere without any proper guards. None of them have learned any spells that could be used for offense, and some have yet to even have a proper grasp on Barrier. All of them knew how to heal, but that would be meaningless if they met someone they could not take out.
"Ok. I'll send them that way."
Leah responded.
"Great. Hopefully, the knights will have secured the western gate by the time they arrive."
Leah did not respond to Jacob, instead, her eyes were focused somewhere else. Jacob saw her body expression shift, causing him to look behind him.
That's when he saw it. Five bright red boulders in the night sky.
"Again?"
Jacob thought out loud.
"It is a sound move, I'm just surprised they took this long to launch another assault."
Matthew commented as he observed the boulders coming closer to the city.
"If it were me, I'd continue to hammer away at the city until I assumed most of the defenders were incapable of battle. Then my troops could have an easier time once we breached the walls. Whoever is leading this assault is weird, I'm not sure what they are thinking."
Matthew added.
Jacob forgot about the catapults that were used at the beginning. After all, it's been a while since the first attack, and no boulders were seen since. Even he wondered what caused the delay or if this was part of the rebel's plan.
"It is fear. They showed everyone that they had the siege equipment needed, which caused a big commotion. No one was prepared for it, thus they were confused. Now that the city is reacting and trying to muster up a defense, they are telling everyone we still have the resources to lay waste to the capital. It does not matter who it is, no one knows when the next assault will happen. The feeling of 'are they out' or 'is it over' will always be in the back of your mind. Fear is one of the greatest powers you can use against a person. If they are always afraid, they can never see what is in front of them, or see a way out."
Angelia said.
"Emperor Shen used fear to control the empire during his reign two hundred years ago. It was the most peaceful time for the empire because everyone was afraid of him."
Angelia added.
Matthew rubbed his chin as he thought about her words.
"That is an option as well. Emperor Shen's reign also did not last long either, as fear drives people to the edge."
As Matthew finished his sentence, the five boulders landed in the city shaking it. It was impossible to see exactly where they landed, but from what could be seen it was not the palace.
"We should hurry, this more than likely is not the last attack."
Jacob was about to move when he remembered something.
"Do you happen to know where the ring of Saint Micheal is?"
He asked Leah.
Leah did not respond to him, and Jacob could not tell what was going on in her head.
"Where did you learn of such an item? There are a handful of people that know of its existence and none of them exists outside of this temple or order. I've overlooked a lot of the knowledge you've shown so far, mostly because I was blinded by my own goals. Yet, this is not something I can let go of. Who are you?"
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VanishingDust
VanishingDust Did not post in a while, was busy with scripting. I've changed a lot of the beginning of the novel (For the webtoon), but the story essentially stays the same.
I'll link a discord group where you can preview the webtoon. (It is still a WIP, but input/feedback would be nice.)
Discord - https://discord.gg/RxK9Ubxx
Enjoy.
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