The Legend of Tantus - Book 3

Chapter 4 - The devastation of Ultros

    Laguna's army that attacked Ultros had about one hundred thousand soldiers, men and moghrans, and now Lieben's armies added to the lobimes reached about two hundred thousand, a strong reinforcement for the fifteen thousand resistance and defenders of light that protected the city, their hopes were reborn again. Civilians remained locked in their homes for better protection, or only, since there was no chance of leaving the city, the industrial part, which was the main target, was now safe, although this would not be an easy battle, as the many buildings served as cover for both armies, “The Battle of Ultros” started.

    Arkan had five thousand aerodrons and three thousand armored vehicles available, but for reasons of strategy only half were there, the rest remained in the carriers and coast, considering that the enemies had less than twelve hundred. The simultaneous attacks from the three directions started causing good losses to the opponents, a real rain of magic shots took over the entire city, the many buildings were increasingly serving as cover, not to mention the barricades built by both sides, initially the troops Lieben's hesitated to attack to kill enemies, in the old days against the goblins and others this was not a problem, but now they were talking about similars, taking the lives of brothers was inconceivable and weighed heavily on hearts, Sumith, Arkan and Régulo had a dilemma on their hands while Omega and Ultima remembered absurd times from the past, in the Darkan civil war. Leand-garai did not seem to care (and did not really care), but the resistance and the defenders warned them about this, that those people no longer looked like brothers and attacked to kill without mercy, as if they were fanatical followers of something, but what would have radically changed their ways of thinking to act like that nobody knew, and it was only after an aerodron attack that killed several soldiers did they finally understand, killing, murdering brothers, it was the only and depressing alternative in that war.

    Sumith and the darkanians unfortunately should not use their maximum powers, as they could not risk further damaging the industries and injuring the innocent people caught in the crossfire, because of this care the battle went on. The fervent will of Laguna's army gave them an unusual job, but little by little the lost ground was being recovered. After a day of battle about half the city had been recovered, the aerodrons had not yet effectively engaged in combat, all the civilians who were able to rescue were evacuated from the city, but there were still many prisoners in their homes. Garai had not yet fought, he was in the rear by order of Omega, who, knowing his experience against these troops, decided to wait to launch him into battle. With each passing day the fights became more intense, each construction was disputed violently, the sounds of elemental shots sometimes seemed to be one, the traveler and the darkanians fought using these weapons as well, they knew that this was not the real battle and they would need to save their forces when the great army of Laguna arrived.

    Three days had passed and things seemed calmer now, with enemies making sporadic attacks and isolated disputes, but the enemies still had a good contingent and Régulo assumed they were waiting for a more opportune moment, probably the arrival of their leader.

    On the fourth day things started to heat up, the enemies attacked harder and the battles literally spread across the city. The aerodrons finally crossed the skies in terrible combat and it was from there that the war became more damaging to Ultros, the damage ended up being inevitable, the enemies fought as if nothing else mattered and the battle jumped to another level, the guns tirelessly fired all over the place until they used up all the energy of their crystals, which took a long time, and when this happened these crystals simply extinguished in power and must be exchanged, they could be recharged again by elemental users, this was not time consuming, but it required some concentration, so it was not feasible to perform this task in the middle of the war unless they were guaranteed time, because if they were not fully recharged they would break, being unusable and lost, since they became unstable, but this was irrelevant in this war, as the extra ammunition was already properly provided.

    For two more days the battle was raging fervently, only on the sixth day were the insistent enemies finally pushed out of the city and defeated, but it was at this point that the tide turned again. From the northeast the immense army of Laguna arrived, and the real battle would begin.

    The number of enemies was impressive, all wearing Saitar's blue armor, including the troops of Scyra, Zelante and Meira, and also no longer carrying the symbols of the respective countries, all changed to the symbol of an hourglass, which obviously meant time, but the reason for the choice nobody knew. Lieben in his traditional silver color stood out, the lobimes and shinobis wore white and light armor, to clearly facilitate their skills, Arkan's defenders of light wore black armor under silver robes with the symbol of the country of Vida on their chest, the resistance used improvised armor due to the precariousness that went on for a long time, but now they were better equipped, in fact it was a prodigy to have resisted so much with so little protection, they were worthy of admiration. The battle started immediately, Laguna's troops attacked the city with the greatest violence seen so far, and it was time to show their true fighting skills, the shinobis and the wolves with their enviable firepower were terrible, but they also did not give up of one-on-one combat, and when they drew their swords, axes and spears they seemed to become even more dangerous, as this was how their powerful spells were used, reminiscent of the old days. The defenders showed themselves to be valuable warriors, determined and skilled in order to be respected, their sorcerers were also of enviable efficiency, thanks to the training of the old sailor. Leand-garai finally showed his face, and many legs shuddered when they saw him, because he was remembered by many of the enemies who were very hesitant to face him, the darkanians showed his unlimited speed all over the place finally, their golden beams were impressive and tore through the streets of the city, annihilating dozens and leaving jaw dropping, even among allies, Garai's unknown animal forms were simply fearsome to enemies, the last of the arch sorcerers deserved the respect of an entire army. Sumith, as the legendary warrior did not fail and showed his unique elemental power, and also a leadership capacity still unknown, his golden shot with the armored arm showed itself at the level of the darkanians! Arkan, like the old immortal warrior, remained as powerful as in the past, he was still determined not to kill, but he was forced to change his mind definitively when he saw an innocent girl being hit by a violent explosion caused by an aerodron, the sailor showed his hatred against such cruelty and took out his old and powerful spear, Rapina, leading opponents to terror, with his very powerful water element he even brought down buildings on enemies. Régulo proved to be an above average fighter, and with his sword he wounded enemies that approached with incredible speed, his spells were also very powerful, especially thunder, light and earth, he also had the complicated element of fantasy and led many to doom with this. The war was more frantic and violent than ever, but Laguna had not yet shown up, his right arm, Senkou, commanded the troops efficiently, his encounter with Arkan was memorable, and the sailor's spear against captain moghran's ax was registered as the most spectacular fight in that place, his skills were impressive, and even lacking magical force the white lion compensated for this by masterfully using two elemental weapons, simply attached to the waist, he aimed them at the enemy without even having to draw them, bringing much danger to the sailor, their blows sparked everywhere while the armies fired without rest, but the spectacular dispute did not end, as a great explosion knocked over one of the largest buildings in the city center almost above them, separating them. The battle of the aerodrons was now terrible, all over the sky the ships crossed the city in combat, explosions were happening all over the place and sometimes they, both allies and enemies, swooped down the streets, firing at troops. Ultima and Omega were the ones that most shot down enemy ships, providing precious assistance to the allies, mainly due to the large number of opponents, which now exceeded five thousand, the princess of Darkan and the king were at the height of their fighting strength that it would still last a long time, but still containing themselves, aiming at the defense of the industrial part, this way the Arkan reserves would not need to be called, yet. Yasmine fought on the front lines without the knowledge of Sumith and Régulo, as they would never allow such a risk to her, the young woman was instinctively taken close to danger and proved efficient with guns, but with the sword she still had a lot to learn, and it was exactly at this point that she almost found the ruin, fighting a moghran, unfortunately she was disarmed and thrown next to a damaged transport vehicle, stunned and at the mercy of the enemy who was preparing to kill her, in a reflexive act she took her hands to the machine, a quick golden glow filled everything, and to the surprise of both the vehicle changed! Assuming the shape of a humanoid warrior, and at her involuntary command it massacred the opponent in front of her, right after that the same golden glow went out and the machine returned to its original shape. Ultima, who arrived at the last second to save her and witnessed the whole scene, approached her:

- I knew, you are an arch sorceress!

- But... what is this about “arch”? – asked Yasmine confused.

- How can you not be aware of what you just did?

- I do not know... I feel something strange inside me, something that runs through my mind, and escapes me...

- I also cannot imagine how this is possible, even when Garai said. You are not darkanian, my perception does not reveal anything at this point, and you only have seventeen winters.

- “Darkanian”???

- It is clear that there is something of Darkan in you, and we will find out sooner or later. I will tell you everything another time, the battle is calling us!

    As Ultima revealed in the future, the unmatched arch ability to transform simple machines into soldiers or weapons was only achieved at the highest level of training for Darkan's elite warriors. She herself did not have this, because since the time of her world, and even when she arrived in Tantus, she had not completed her training, so how was it possible for Yasmine to reach this high level? As for her and her brother, taking into account that Omega did not wish to follow the path of the arch sorcerers, it was not an easy task to continue that training alone, but considering the several centuries that they certainly did not spend sitting idle, it would not be surprised that they had some card hidden in their sleeves.

    Sumith was fighting right in the heart of the city, commanding soldiers, but it was in an unusual moment that several buildings were destroyed, many explosions surrounded him killing almost all his men, and a magnificent ship, resembling a bird of prey, descended slowly in front of him, Ragnarock! Laguna finally showed himself in the battle, he appeared on top of the ship, lifted by an elevator that was in the cockpit, leaving his aides maneuvering the ship, he had his arms crossed in an imposing, threatening way:

- It's an honor, Maxlyeben. – said Laguna.

- So you are Leon. – said Sumith.

- I owe you a lot, in fact if it were not for you none of this would be possible.

- What you mean?

- Look around you, it is exactly like that, in the face of chaos, that creator and creature are destined to face each other.

- ???

- This is the beginning of the end. This whole war was inevitable and, as it were, necessary.

- What you want?

- What else could I want? This world!

    The traveler fired his powerful blast of fire, which was retaliated by Laguna with light, his powers were tremendous and equivalent, which drew Sumith's attention, not even he expected such a high level from the enemy, he thought that powerful users like him already were extinct, with the exception of a few special ones. The elemental dispute stopped, it did not make sense to remain there forever, and immediately the traveler jumped in attack with the formed Maxlyeben, but was startled to see his opponent drawing a long and simple sword, which he had not seen for a long time, his old Laguna sword! But strangely, he did not feel the power that made it so striking, did not have Isil's slight silver luster or crystal, so it could not be his old weapon, but incredible to be identical. By surprise he was hit before attacking, just defending himself and being thrown to the ground in a violent way, Laguna's strength was frightening, even unreal, at this moment he noticed Andriel and Andurel shining more brightly than ever under his cloak, it seemed that they wanted to jump out in aggression, inexplicable, the traveler felt an immense evil will in the enemy, and at the same time another bitter, sad force, and the two alternated, as if two people inhabited a single body:

- But... what are you?

- Time, my dear, you will find out.

    Sumith became the silver guardian, and at the same time Laguna re-entered the ship, already firing its cannons at the dragon's breastplate, which seemed to bother him considerably and an incredible chase started in the skies, the guardian's fire was very powerful, but amazingly it was not able to damage Ragnarock, his extreme power would undoubtedly destroy it, but for the brief time he needed to concentrate it allowed Laguna to plan his exit, the ship was too agile to be reached, despite three attempts by the guardian, because now Laguna had all the helpers of flight that he could, and to worsen its most powerful weapon, the main cannon, could destroy the dragon's breastplate! Sumith noticed that power and narrowly avoided it, it slightly resembled the power of a darkanian beam in trance mode! Sumith also had to be agile so as not to be surprised and now attacked directly, managing to grab onto the ship's “back”, but when he concentrated he was simply pulled by Ragnarock's claws and thrown away, leaving only his dragon marks on the fuselage, he would need a very well thought out strategy to destroy it, and the enemy was also very competent. The battle continued at full speed in the city, without a break as the ship and the dragon faced each other in the air, even above the aerodrons, it was when Laguna turned around and headed at full speed to the southeast, immediately Sumith went after him and the chase was again spectacular, with the guardian trying to hit him unsuccessfully, but after some time of fast running through the skies Sumith noticed that they were approaching Lieben, and in the direction Laguna was heading to Mérit, but what he intended to do there the traveler had no idea. So intent was he on pursuing the ship that he did not notice the enemy flying very low over the city, and could only feel an extraordinary power repelling him, the millenarian shield, Laguna kept the ship floating right at the limit of the shield, where Sumith was almost able to touch him, and again with his arms crossed he left the cabin:

- I could destroy this city without any chance of you interfering. – said Laguna, and the population was already panicking hearing and watching that epic scene.

- ... – Sumith was apprehensive, if Laguna really wanted Mérit was at his mercy.

- But not yet, I am just here to take a power that interests me.

- ???

    While the tyrant remained in the same place, his auxiliaries led the ship to the top of the great central mansion, where the Laguna sword, the shield's source of power, was located, but what most puzzled Sumith was how someone evil as he crossed the shield without the least resistance. He was indeed evil, Sumith could sense, so how was this possible? Laguna drew his sword, which was really identical, except for Isil's crystal, he stuck it right next to the old sword, and concentrating his power in a brutal way began to pull it, a few seconds passed and after the spectacular scene, which looked more like that of a legendary warrior being born, he removed it! The millenarian shield, which shone from the guardian's presence, fell apart like broken glass, a fantastic scene, but Sumith was too stunned to move or realize that he could now enter the city center, the old and great power of the Laguna sword could be felt in the distance, and the most striking was the similarity between this power and the bitter strength that he felt alongside the tyrant's evil...

- This power... It's really impressive. – said Laguna. – I now have a weapon at the level of yours.

- But who are you? – asked Sumith astonished.

- This is for our final battle, but not here and not now. This city will remain standing for now. Huhuhu...

    After all this, Laguna got into the ship and left at full speed back to Ultros, this time Sumith stayed behind, perhaps because of the maximum speed of the powerful ship, or perhaps because of the surprise he was still trying to understand: who or what was Laguna?

    The tyrant arrived in the merchant city quickly, the battle continued extremely intense even with Saitar's immense numerical superiority. Lieben's armies, in addition to the unrivaled wolves and shinobis, were strong enough, that is when the most unusual moment came, the tyrant ordered his armies to stop prioritizing enemies and to destroy the city completely! The information was certain, in fact he changed his mind and tried to dominate Ultros, but now he has returned to the original plan and simply wanted to destroy any chance of supplying his opponents, even sacrificing many of his soldiers and killing innocents, even Senkou hesitated, but obeyed, and with Ragnarock, without the silver guardian there to stop it, the city was totally devastated even with enemies fighting hard to protect it.

    Things went from bad to worse, Ultros was lost, there was no point in fighting there anymore, there was no more to defend, and Régulo ordered the total withdrawal. The lobimes also agreed, but this would be a dangerous time, if they stayed there when everything was pulverized they would be easy targets, and also when they abandoned the building's protection they would be chased and hit. Régulo found Yasmine, took her in a vehicle and fled out of town before everyone else, fearing that something might hurt her, but to his utter surprise now the darkanians took action at full power, their golden beams causing great destruction in enemies, who saw that whole army simply rejected by just three people! What a power, what a speed, seemed like lords in action, even without showing the trance mode, still guaranteed the safest possible withdrawal of the allies, thus saving many lives. Laguna was irritated when he saw such powerful beings, but he even seemed to wait for this, taking his ship he swooped over the darkanians firing the main cannon, which was contained by Garai, without the trance mode he showed effort for this, but managed, however, the subsequent attacks took a lot of danger to them, who needed to give priority to the protection of their army, but it was at this moment that the most spectacular scene of this battle took place, Ragnarock was hit hard by another shot from another main cannon, coming from above, and to the general surprise, Tantus' help has arrived, Ragnavolk! The ship returning from space exploration was ordered to go straight into battle, now a duel of the powerful raptors began in the skies, while the darkanians proceeded with safe withdrawal and without much concern. By the shot Ragnarock received it was badly damaged, and thus in great disadvantage, a magnificent chase unfolded with many shots, the two ships ended up clinging in the air with their frightening claws, the pilots forced the engines in a dispute of force of the machines, and as they were superb, they looked like two birds in combat. Laguna fired the main cannon, but the Ragnavolk pilot managed to deflect even at close range, releasing the enemy and gaining mobility, Ragnarock was hit a second time and now its damage was really serious, it would be defeated if they stayed in that fight, but the tyrant remembered the great quality of his ship, and heading to the coast attracted the enemy, taking the maximum power he still got from Ragnarock, he managed to grab the enemy ship again and plunged into the sea, astute, took the opponent to his ground where he would have the advantage, which in fact happened. Laguna's ship proved to be much more agile in the water, it really looked like a shark attacking prey, which also responded, but not as efficiently, this time Ragnavolk was hit taking serious damage, and quickly understanding the difficulty in that situation the pilot decided to leave the sea as soon as possible:

- Full force on the thrusters! We must return to the surface immediately or we will be destroyed here! – ordered the pilot.

    The two almost hit each other at the same time, a third damage would be the end for Ragnarock, it was close, the Ragnavolk pilot deserved respect, and she it out of the water going back to its advantage, still exchanging a few shots between water and air, but now they were tied and there would be no winner there. Laguna was smart and fast in strategy, but so was the opposing pilot, but the tyrant's ship was in far worse shape, requiring major repairs, which would take time. The two ships remained there like that for almost thirty minutes, until the enemy finally withdrew, and after some more time, without detecting anything on the radar, Ragnarock returned to Balvera. Ragnavolk accompanied Lieben's armies to the Colony Wolver, also needed repairs, but without immediate need like Laguna's ship, Sumith had not yet returned, Omega, Ultima and Leand-garai managed to protect the troops with the least possible loss, the army's strength was still high, but frustrated. Ultros was totally destroyed, the supply would now be precarious and the strength of the armies would soon decrease, a heavy long-term defeat, “The Battle of Ultros”, was over.