Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2195: Liberating The Archon

The Peak Sovereigns dropped from the sky and joined the lower battlefield without delay.

With the four Gnome Peak Sovereigns and the two Necromancers already dead, the remaining enemies inside and around the city had lost all coordination. Most of them were only at the Venerable Plane or the lower stages of the Sovereign Plane. Against the combined force of the Molten Crest experts and the local survivors, they stood no real chance.

Grey did not involve himself in the slaughter of the weaker ones. His shoulder wound still limited his movement, so he stayed in the air and watched while the others cleaned up. Heidens and Mayor Zane led the charge through the streets, cutting down any Gnome groups that tried to form a line. Adkins and the remaining Peak Sovereigns swept the outer slopes, making sure no one escaped to carry news.

Grey joined Reynolds in the fight among the Ninth-stage Sovereigns. Reynolds’s lightning spear flashed repeatedly as he took down one fleeing Gnome after another. Grey stayed close, his attacks steady and efficient. The human side moved with clear momentum. The earlier public deaths of the Peak Sovereigns had broken the Gnomes’ will to resist.

It did not take long.

Within less than an hour the last organized resistance inside the city collapsed. Scattered survivors who tried to run into the deeper mountain paths were hunted down by the bunny army that Grey finally released. By the time the sun began to rise, the sealed city was quiet again. Only the human forces remained.

Mayor Zane stood on a broken section of the wall and looked out over the scarred streets. His face was tired, but the heavy pressure that had sat on his shoulders for over a week was finally gone.

The Faction Leader landed beside him, still holding his injured arm. "Secure the city. Tend to the wounded. We move again before the day is over."

Zane turned to him. "Already? The men are exhausted."

"The second city is still under the same pressure," the Faction Leader replied. "If we wait, the Gnomes there will hear what happened and tighten their defenses. We strike while the advantage is still ours."

Grey flew over and landed near them. His shoulder had been roughly stabilized with light elemental energy, but the wound was still deep.

Heidens glanced at it. "Can you still fight?"

"I’m fine for another battle," Grey said. "After that I’ll need proper rest."

The Faction Leader nodded. "Good. We leave in two hours. Only those who can still fight at full strength come with us. The rest stay here to hold the city."

Orders spread quickly. The most exhausted local defenders and the more heavily injured Molten Crest experts remained behind. The rest of the force, still more than two hundred strong, gathered again near the central compound. Grey checked the teleportation array one more time, confirmed the link back to the Molten Crest Faction was stable, then deactivated it for now. They would not need it for the next move.

Two hours later the reduced army took to the sky and flew toward the second city.

This one sat along the main trade routes. Its position made it vital for moving supplies across the region. The Gnomes had not fully occupied it the way they had sealed the first city, but they had kept it under constant pressure with regular raids and a strong surrounding force.

When the human army arrived, the situation was already tense. Smoke rose from several outer districts. The city walls were damaged but still held. Gnome forces moved in organized groups around the perimeter, and the auras of two Peak Sovereigns could be clearly sensed among them.

The Faction Leader did not bother with any long speech this time.

"Same method as before," he said to Grey and the other Peak Sovereigns. "We break their strongest first. The rest will collapse."

Grey looked at the two Peak Sovereign auras and gave a short nod. "They will probably keep their puppets sealed once they see me. Don’t expect the same easy opening."

"I know," the Faction Leader answered. "We still outnumber them at the Peak level. That is enough."

The human force did not hide its approach. The moment they entered the range of the city’s defenders, the local experts on the walls noticed them and sent up signal flares. The Gnomes reacted at the same time. The two Peak Sovereigns rose into the air, followed by several Ninth-stage experts.

One of the Gnome Peak Sovereigns narrowed his eyes when he saw the size of the incoming force and the familiar figure flying near the front.

"Grey Dawson..." he muttered. Then he raised his voice. "Do not summon puppets! Hold formation!"

The warning came too late for some of the lower-ranked Gnomes who had already started to call theirs out, but most of them stopped in time.

The two sides crashed together above the trade city.

This fight was harder from the start. Without the instant advantage of the mental attack, the human Peak Sovereigns had to rely on pure strength and numbers. The Faction Leader, Heidens, Mayor Zane, Adkins, and the others pressed the two Gnome Peak Sovereigns together. Grey supported with spatial disruptions and fusion orbs, forcing the Gnomes to constantly adjust their defenses.

One of the Gnomes managed to land a heavy darkness strike on Adkins, sending him flying back with a deep wound across his chest. Adkins coughed blood but stabilized himself and returned to the fight. On the other side, Heidens took a glancing blow that tore open his side, though he ignored it and kept attacking.

Grey’s shoulder wound opened again under the strain, but he continued to move. Every time one of the Gnomes tried to create distance or aim at the lower battlefield, Grey cut them off with a spatial barrier or a well-timed fusion attack.

The numerical advantage slowly told. After a fierce exchange that lasted several minutes, the first Gnome Peak Sovereign was overwhelmed by combined strikes from the Faction Leader and Heidens. His defenses shattered, and a final wave of fire ended him.

The second Gnome tried to flee the moment his partner fell. Grey appeared in his path and forced him to stop with a spatial lock. The remaining human Peak Sovereigns closed in from all sides. The Gnome fought desperately, darkness exploding outward in every direction, but the outcome was already decided. He fell under a concentrated barrage less than a minute later.

With both Peak Sovereigns dead, the lower Gnome forces around the trade city broke almost immediately. Many of them had already been shaken by the sudden arrival of such a large human army. Seeing their strongest experts killed in front of them removed what little will they had left to fight.

The cleanup was faster than the first city. The Molten Crest experts and the local defenders poured out from the walls and hunted down the remaining Gnomes with coordinated efficiency. Grey released the bunny army once more to cut off escape routes. Within two hours the surrounding area was clear.

The Mayor of the trade city, a middle-aged Peak Sovereign who had been barely holding the walls, flew up to meet the Faction Leader. His face was covered in dust and dried blood, but his eyes were bright with relief.

"You actually came," he said. "We thought no one would reach us in time."

"The first city is already taken back," the Faction Leader replied. "The Gnomes in this region have lost their main strongholds. Regroup your people and start restoring the trade routes as soon as possible."

The local Mayor nodded heavily. "We will."

Grey landed nearby, one hand pressed lightly against his shoulder. The wound had worsened during the second fight. Heidens walked over and glanced at it.

"That’s enough for today," Heidens said. "Any more and you’ll only make it worse."

Grey did not argue. "The main work is done anyway."

Reynolds and Conor flew over as well

"Two cities in one day," he said. "Even for us that’s a bit much."

Conor gave a tired smile. "The Dawson Family’s side of the deal is complete. Grandfather will be satisfied."

The Faction Leader turned to Grey. "You have done more than what was promised. The Molten Crest Faction will not forget this. Once the region stabilizes, the training ground will be transferred as agreed."

Grey only nodded. He had never been particularly interested in the political side of the arrangement. The fighting was finished, and that was enough for now.

By the time the sun began to set, both strategic cities were back under human control. The remaining Gnome forces in the Archon Region had lost their two most important positions and six Peak Sovereigns in a single day. Word of the defeats would spread quickly, and the pressure across the rest of the region would begin to ease.

Grey stood on the wall of the trade city and looked out at the darkening sky. His shoulder throbbed, and full recovery would take time. Still, the results were clear. The Archon Region had been pulled back from the edge, and the Dawson Family’s request had been fulfilled.

Heidens landed beside him. "We return to the Molten Crest Faction tomorrow. After that you can rest properly."

"Alright," Grey said.

Below them the city was already moving again. Fires were being put out, wounded were being carried to treatment areas, and the first groups of experts were organizing to reopen the trade roads. The long siege was over.

For the first time in months, the Archon Region had room to breathe.