NOVEL WEB Chapter 116: Chapter 116
The Elite Royal Guards that accompanied the King advanced towards Varrus, Syra and Tess with purpose.
While facing so many Elites accompanied by a named Hero could be challenging, Varrus had a few things going for him.
For one, his position was rigged with countless Fire Runes that he had set up earlier, there were tons of stone walls, and the Mana Stones he had set up to stop the ritual were full, and brimming with energy.
Furthermore, while Genn Greymane had been busy showboating, Varrus had been in constant communication with Rho'dan.
Ever since he had entered the cavern, and realized that there was a big battle occuring, he had notified his stalwart guard to muster the forces of House Vandercross.
While Varrus was confident that he and Syra could emerge victorious in a 2v1 against Greymane, the hundreds of Elites were equivalent to 1-2 Heroes, so in reality, it was more like a 2v2 or 2v3. Not to mention, Greymane wasn't your average Hero.
Varrus had realized ever since he had fought Zul'Jin, that the top leaders of a faction were much more powerful than the Heroes they led. Kind of like how in Quel'Thalas, Rho'dan, Telonicus, Tae'thelon, Koren, Thaladred, etc, they were all Hero tier, but they would lose to Lor'Themar, Syra, Kael, and himself rather handedly.
Greymane and Crowley were those types of men, and (besides Gilneas's overwhelming numbers) were the only two true threats within this nation.
So whilst Varrus didn't take someone like Godfrey very seriously, he respected King Greymane enough that he wouldn't recklessly charge at him whilst surrounded by Elites.
[ETA 15 minutes] Rho'dan messaged.
[Be careful upon entry] Varrus replied.
Elites were dangerous if they surrounded you, but what Greymane didn't know, was that Varrus was a one man army.
"Syra, come here, we'll hold a position from the walls." Varrus told his wife, then yoinked Tess towards him with an application of Telekinesis.
Greymane lunged at them, but all he saw was Varrus's smirk as they Blinked away.
Appearing on a tall Raised Wall, Varrus began to pump out a torrent of magic at the soldiers.
He started with Mayhem, wanting to sit back and watch as the King's men tore into one another's throats, but the abbot that had been accompanying Godfrey arrived, and dispelled it.
"Your Elven tricks are worthless in these hallowed halls." The abbot exclaimed.
Varrus eyed the very clearly occult lair he found himself in, and raised a brow.
The abbot bristled at Varrus's mockery, and began to chant, the armor of the Gilnean Elites started to glisten with a golden glow.
At the same time, Varrus didn't want to bring the roof down on his head, and went with the relatively tame Tumble Magnet.
Casting the Expert Alteration spell, Varrus slowed the enemy advance significantly. The enemy forces bumped and tripped into one another, then the first Gilnean fell into a Fire Rune.
The resulting explosion was like that of an artillery shell! Fire and flame rose up into the air, and with it, one severely injured man.
Varrus tsked, because when he used this spell against the Amani, they died instantly. That barrier from the Heroic priest kept the soldier alive long enough to be dragged back, and healed by priests. Meaning he would shortly be able to rejoin the fight.
"Gilneans, chaaarge!" One man dressed in finery raised his sword, and took up the vanguard.
"For Gilneas!" The accompanying soldiers roared in reply.
During their advance, the Elites began to shoot their guns at Varrus, and a few fireballs came his way. Unlike the Trolls, the Gilneans were smart enough to figure out that his Fire Runes exploded upon contact, and they began to hurt things like weapons, helmets, and shields at the Runes to trigger their explosion. Like this, they slowly advanced towards the first of five walls that separated Varrus from the army.
The constant barrage of bullets and spells were of no concern to Varrus, as he had a loveable murder machine standing beside him at all times.
Syra was on point defense, and blocked every bullet, or spell. Her sword moved in magnificent arcs, and the power of her Light energy disrupted anything magical.
"Good job." Varrus praised. "You noticed those rogues trying to flank us, right?" Varrus whispered in Thalassian.
"You want me to take care of them?" Syra enquired.
"No, no, watch this." Varrus said in a boasting manner.
Meanwhile, a group of a dozen or so rogues were scaling the Mana Stones, and slowly crept towards Varrus and Syra's position.
"What is this crystal made of?" One rogue whispered in wonder.
All around them, the entire area was covered in blocks of shiny crystalline objects.
"Shut up rookie. Maintain operational security." The leader of the rogues hissed.
"I don't feel so good." The first rogue muttered, then collapsed on top of a Mana Stone.
"I said shut up!" The leader turned back, only to see his entire squad had exited stealth, and were in a comatose-like state.
The leader began to feel labored, as if all the energy was being sucked out of him.
"What. Is. This." The leader muttered as he collapsed to his knees.
His heart slowed down, and he felt horror flood his system as he saw the rookie begin to wither, and turn to dust.
He then saw no more.
Back atop the Raised Wall, Varrus slightly bowed, like a performer before his adoring audience, while Syra gave him a resounding ovation.
"Thank you, you are too kind." Varrus smiled at Syra, then noticed the gloomy atmosphere radiating off of Tess.
The Princess was sitting to the side, and she was understandably completely out of it. After all, her world had just shattered. Varrus cast Rally on her, so that she wouldn't lose herself to misery. It was a shit thing that happened to her, but if Varrus was going to get Gilneas on his side, he needed her cooperation.
"I'm sorry to have dragged you both into this. If you didn't rescue me from that Worgen, we never would have been in this situation." Tess pulled herself together, and offered an quiet apology.
"Betrayal stings. I had to slay my own father too. It was not easy, but I was forced to do so, for the peace of the realm." Varrus consoled.
"Really?" Tess looked up in disbelief.
"He was very brave. While training with you, I saw your conviction, I think you might just have a fraction of his bravery." Syra smiled.
"Thanks for the compliment?" Tess said with a befuddled expression.
"So what do you want to do next? We're trapped in this cavern, and there is only one way out. If I Blink, I can get us out of here, but if we do that, we'll constantly be on the run. Whatever your decision, I'll honor it." Varrus casually remarked.
"...I won't let my father keep me in a pitch black room anymore." Tess said with conviction.
Seeing the raven haired teen draw her sword, Varrus nodded his head. It looked like 'Plan B' was a go.
During their conversation, the soldiers had breached the first wall with the help of explosives, and were taking a crack at the next line of defense.
"Let's cut the chatter, I have to focus for the next part then." Varrus muttered, then began pursuing his spells
While Varrus had considered blasting them by spamming big AOE spells, he didn't want to collapse the mega church that was above this large cavern. That, however, didn't mean Varrus was helpless.
Without a second thought, he unleashed another Alteration spell. This time it was the Thrumming Stone.
The stone was a magical vibrating rock that emitted a tremor every 8 seconds, staggering enemies and reduced magic resistance by 40% for 2 seconds.
After tossing out a couple of these, he then cast Talons of Nirn.
Talons effect was that whenever an enemy in the area is staggered, a spike of rock erupts from the ground, piercing or tossing the target and dealing 150 Stamina damage.
These two spells, alongside Thrumming Stone significantly slowed down the enemy force.
Metal shrieked as earthen spikes popped the abbot's barrier of Light like a needle piercing a balloon, and the spears penetrated the soldiers.
Messy splatters of gore leaked out onto the forest as the Gilneans were felled one by one.
They took enormous casualties by the time the second wall was breached. Of the hundreds of Elites, there were now less than 90 front line warriors remaining.
Seeing their tired, grim, and worn out faces, Varrus took pity on them. He didn't need to slaughter every single last man to achieve victory, he really only needed King Greymane. With him out of the picture, Varrus could swear these Elites to Tess's service.
"Surrender! Surrender, and you shall be spared the same fate! The King has gone mad with grief, and already cost countless Gilnean lives. While the Worgen terrorized you for months, and the King did nothing, Princess Tess solved the problem in a day! Only through new blood, through Her Majesty, Princess Tess's leadership can Gilneas emerge as a unified nation!" Varrus's magnetic voice boomed within the wide cavern.
"Do not listen to this foreigner, faith shall see us through this day! Only through belief in the Light, shall we prevail this day!" The abbot rebutted.
While the abbot's speech indeed raised some spirits, Varrus could see that the soldiers morale was wavering. The men and women at the front were hesitating to press forward to the third wall, and no one was eagerly shouting war cries like they had at the beginning.
"Do not be deceived, this abbot is a fraud! This forest is ancient, the statues old and weathered. The cathedral has clearly sat upon this cultists lair, and done nothing. Look with your own eyes, the leader of the Worgen lies dead by my wife's hand!" Varrus released his Imposing Presence, and pressed down upon the fragile psyche of these rattled troops.
"Preposterous! Men, charge against this heathen!" The abbot said, red in the face.
The Gilneans looked at one another in consternation. Eventually, they looked to the King for orders.
However, Genn Greymane was silently standing over his son's corpse. While he had his blades drawn, and looked to be angry, he was still grieving.
Varrus took this silence as an opportunity to win over the remaining Elites.
"Lay down your arms, and witness a miracle." Varrus continued with his showmanship. He then cast the Restoration spell: Infinite Light upon the Gilneans.
The abbot blocked some of it, but as it was a bouncing beam AOE spell, the majority of Infinite Light got through.
Countless injured and dying Elites suddenly found their limbs regrown, and lethal wounds sewed shut.
Within a handful of minutes, the pitifully low force of 90 Elites had more than doubled in size.
"If I was a heretic, could I work such a miracle? Lay down your arms! This is your final warning." Varrus commanded.
At the same time, the rest of House Vandercross filed into the cavern from the rear, and had the priests, and mages held at sword point.
The Gilneans took one last glance at the Tumble Magnets, and Varrus's remaining 3 walls, and evidently had had enough.
"He makes an interesting point, why has this cultists lair been here for so long?" The Heroic paladin that had been part of Godfrey's raiding party-and had previously been grievously wounded, but now stood thanks to Varrus's spell-questioned the abbot in a dangerous tone of voice.
"He-heh-heretics." The abbot got out as a group of paladins surrounded, and gagged him.
King Greymane finally stepped forward.
"I built the wall to keep Gilneas safe. I withdrew from the Orc War to save lives. If you men can't see that, then don't bother calling yourselves Gilneans. As for you, Tess. You want this crown? Duel me for it. Prove to me you have the conviction to rule this nation." Genn twirled his dual swords, and pointed them at her.
Varrus sharply inhaled, as he knew Tess stood little chance. Even with her affinity for Void, she had only just stepped into the ranks of Heroes.
"I never wanted to be Queen, but your mismanagement has driven the realm to civil war. I will face you." Tess spoke up with resolve, and stepped forward.
Narrowing his eyes, Varrus decided to accept this turn of events. Should Tess win, she truly would have proven her conviction, and being witnessed by the Royal Guard, her right to rule would be confirmed.
Before either of them struck one another, Varrus applied all the buffs he could onto Tess.
Greymane scowled at him, but his act did not violate the spirit of the duel, as their battle had yet to commence.
Varrus grinned back at the old man, and waved.
"Remember what I have taught you, and victory will be achieved." Syra spoke up in encouragement.
Tess bowed to Syra, then flourished her sword in salute to King Greymane.
The duel determining the fate of Gilneas had officially commenced.
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