Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends
Chapter 608: Erdania

Chapter 608: Erdania

Weight of Reliability

Erdania floated far above the battlefield, at an altitude that put her out of the range of anything that might try to get at her from down below. She was so high up that she could reach up with a hand and touch the boundary of the Sky.

She observed the battle beneath, but didn’t interfere. She had Scorn shroud her body; its Essence changed to make her invisible to both sight and most any other types of perception powers. Only things that detected life or could sense space would be able to see through it, but those were rare powers, and in the end her presence being known wasn’t actually an issue. She was certain that the enemy did, in fact, know. The Exalted Empire had some powerful technology, and she could sense something in the gravity around her.

She had her Authority extended beyond herself, spreading through the gravity like an aura, and falling to the ground where it spread through every solid Essence of the battlefield.

Erdania’s Reliability could touch any Essence that was… well, reliable for the lack of a better word. Things that were constants, laws, hard to change. Essences like Gravity, Earth, Metal, but it could also touch on the things that intersected with the ideas of her Axiom. Anything that could be used for defense, powers included, but also things that were more esoteric. She had an easier time spreading her authority through people that were stalwart, true to themselves and unwavering in their convictions—Reliable.

She used her Authority and one of her new Class Perks, Will of Reliability, to watch over the fighting. The perk allowed her to more easily impose her will on anything her authority touched. She was using it in a bit of an unorthodox way, something that she had been experimenting and practicing with Ryun and Selia. She was actually using the perk as a focus for one of her skills, using it to greatly extend the range and narrow the focus.

Her |I Was Aware By Will|

allowed her to sense what was happening through her perk and authority. Out of the three of them, she was the closest to reaching the peak of all three focuses. She had reached the end of her Path and Class, with only a couple of skills left to reach the end. Advancement had always come easy to her; her more relaxed approach to life and her not wanting to eclipse Selia were the only reasons why she hadn’t reached the Eternal Realm far earlier. And she was satisfied with her decisions; she wouldn’t have the life she had now if she hadn’t.

And now it was time to protect that life. Her warriors were fighting down below, pushing the invaders back. They had arrived barely a day ago to find the Scarlet Sky Sect being pushed back, losing ground with every passing hour. Her reinforcements changed the entire state of the battle, and now the invaders were the ones being pushed back.

This kind of war wasn’t something that she was unfamiliar with; she had fought many wars. She knew how these things went, the push and pull, the reveals of trump cards in a sequence, attempts to provoke your opponent into spending a big power so that you could counter them.

The Exalted Empire forces were doing exactly that right now. This part of the front had the empire forces in a support position, while most of the combatants were their allies from the core. The Republic of Alosi was one of the factions that had been absorbed into the empire. Their forces preferred to fight in a manner similar to the Sects, using less advanced weapons in conjunction with their powers.

Their military was more unified, with most people being on the same branches of Class. That made them dangerous when fighting in groups where they could support one another. Their forces were holding the line in a mountain pass, the choke point for this part of the front. Their forces stretched across the entirety of the pass’ width, presenting a unified line of defense. Shields gleamed, reflecting the light of the sun, and spears peaked through their shield wall. Above them, a hexagonal grid of shields covered their heads; the power of that perk was magnified by every soldier using the same one.

That shield would be tough to crack for even an Immortal Realm Cultivator, which was saying something, seeing as most of the people in the shield wall were well below that tier of power. But, like any army following similar philosophies, they had more. There were strategists and tacticians stationed just behind them, guiding them and using their own powers to command and help boost the soldiers in front. Each of them was also at a much higher level, and operated in a team with other people with Classes suitable for boosting others.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It was a powerful combination. If that was all, her side would have some trouble getting through, though she was certain that they would manage it eventually.

The main issue was the empire’s support forces behind their lines. Artillery was raining down on her troops, forcing them to defend, while the fortified turrets placed in the mountains prevented her small fleet of airships from getting closer to support or bombard the defensive line.

They were in a stalemate, a familiar state in wars such as these. Right about now was when one side usually lost patience and spent a big power, hoping that they could turn the fight around and roll over the enemy before they could respond in kind.

Erdania could see them preparing it. The empire was bringing in a large cannon on the other side of the pass. A monstrosity carried on a large floating platform with six other platforms attached to it in a circle, each glowing with blue light as obvious energy generators flared on their surface.

She could already tell that letting that thing fire would be bad. Not for her, nor her own people, they had powerful defenses. But the Scarlet Sky Sect was not as able to defend, and most of their fliers had been taken out before Erdania arrived.

If this was a war from a couple of decades ago, Erdania would’ve let that cannon be fired, then responded with a powerful counterattack, then pushed that advantage. She had always trusted her endurance, so she would provoke and tank their trump cards, then respond with deadly precision each time a powerful opponent revealed themselves.

Now… well, now she was far more than she was before. Her power eclipsed what most in the world would consider to be at the peak of it. If she had her way, she would’ve punched through the empire’s forces and already be in front of their capital, tearing down walls. But, she wasn’t the one that made their plans.

In the end, they were still a Sect, and every opportunity for growth and advancement was to be taken. She had held off until her troops had the opportunity to fight, to gain experience, Essence, to struggle and seek their inspiration, to grow.

She wasn’t selfish enough to deny them such an opportunity. But now it was time for her to act on the enemy’s provocation. She sent out a few messages through a communication formation, and her side started retreating from the mountain.

She raised her hand and focused on the Gravity Qi she held above her, the authority she had infused. She had come prepared for this fight. She dropped her hand, and a moment later the barrier of the sky was pierced from above as something passed through from the Void. The violet Essence of the realm beyond the sky spilled in, bulging as it was pushed out, flowing like mist falling to the ground. It took only a couple of moments for what came after to push the Void aside.

A mountain was falling from the sky. Erdania had picked it up on her way to the front and pushed it up into the Void to prevent it from being seen. True, it was a bit of an effort for her to keep it safe from the effects of the Void—she had to keep her authority infused in it constantly. But that was just good practice.

Her attack lacked any subtlety, any finesse. She didn’t even use any of her skills or perks to enhance it. There was no need. She let Gravity do its work.

The mountain fell, a whoosh of displaced displaced air roared across the territory, the land darkened as the new mountain eclipsed the sky. And then it crashed into the pass, burying everything in it and surrounding the mountain.

Erdania dropped closer to the ground and flexed her power. Gravity Qi exploded out of her intensified its effect in front of her, ensuring that the gravity caught any debris heading toward her forces and sent it crashing into the ground before it could even reach their lines.

The ground shook and the air trembled as Erdania rose again and over the ruined mountains that were now covered in debris and dust clouds. She soared above it to look on the other side, the destroyed fortifications of the enemy and the running forms of the enemy.

She reached inside to Scorn and grabbed hold of Selia’s Qi. She felt Selia offer a piece of herself through their bond, and with a few deft movements guided by her, Erdania channeled the Qi and formed spears of green and black Qi. Selia wasn’t on the front, but she could still help through either Erdania or Ryun.

With an effort of will, she sent them flying, taking down flying vessels, and destroying anything else on the ground that seemed dangerous. She didn’t hunt down all of the running forms, of course, her people needed something to do after all.

With most of the truly dangerous things taken care of, she floated back to the mountain and summoned her Domain: Endless Pull. With her hands raised wide she raised the destroyed mountains up into the air, creating a tunnel through which her forces could pass through.

She took satisfaction in a job well done, but she knew that soon they would be pushing into the empire’s territory. For now, her troops had the time to get accustomed to the mental state required for war. While she was free and able to look after them. But she knew that the resistance they would face once they advanced into enemy territory would be much greater.

She hoped that her people would get strong enough to survive.