Zectas Volume IV: The Salubrious City of Centzo (40 page)

He didn't need to inspect the necklace to know its attributes. Without a word, he walked over to Hazard.
The young impetuous Avendre was slumped on the ground of the forest clearing. He looked at Smoke with remorseful eyes, and tried to explain his foolishness, but no words would come out.
Then, Espion appeared from behind them. "What in the world do you think you're doing? Didn't Smoke tell you not enter here?"
"Espion, it's alright," said Smoke calmly.
"No, it isn't. He should understand how to follow your orders," argued Espion. "We're training you to face far more dangerous things than this, but at the moment you're not ready to face any of them."
Hazard did not answer them and only kept staring down.
"Espion's right. You're far from the level to face stronger monsters," kindly added Smoke. "Which is why I'd like you to have this."
Smoke gave the newly acquired amulet to Hazard.
The young Avendre stared blankly at the rare accessory in his hands. "Why? I thought you were sending me back to Mount Alouer for sure. Why give me this rare item instead?"
"You have great potential. Very much like your cousin. It would be a waste not to polish a rough gem," replied Smoke softly. "I also feel responsible for Jeter's death, which is why I want to train you into an even greater fighter than your cousin."
Hazard looked at him with a confused expression. He grasped the necklace firmly and placed it around his neck. "Alright, I'll do my best from now on, and I'll follow your orders."
A notification window suddenly popped up.
 

It was far from being blood brothers, but Smoke still appreciated the increase in Intimacy with the hard-headed Avendre.
"Now, why don't we join the others and head back for Nanahuatl," said a friendly Smoke.
After they returned to Smoke's home village, Darius immediately began to teach the Avendre Mercenaries how to forge their very own double bladed swords.
Darius told him that it would take a week to finish this task. During this time, Smoke was visiting the different families in Nanahuatl.
With the rapid birth of newborns in the village, he used his improved Earth Manipulation to create a new playground for them. He created slides, see-saws, and even a six-meter tall anthill where the young ones could enter and play. All of these were far things that the infants could not use, but the bigger children gladly welcomed them. Smoke also considered how fast time flies in Zectas, soon these babies would grow up to be young adults.
When he wasn't bonding with the residents, he was busy training his abilities. He also sparred with Espion to help increase his Spy's fighting experience.
Yet, no matter what they were doing during the day, at sundown the whole village always ate in front of Smoke's house. His increased in speed enabled him to easily feed the growing village, including his one thousand Mercenaries.
After a week of toiling with their mantis blades, all of the Avendre finally got their personally crafted double bladed swords.
Smoke then ordered them to set out and hunt for phasmatodeas, towering stick insects that reached the height of two-meters. Yet, the monster was also extremely thin. Their bones made great arrow shafts. These monsters had almost no defense and a life bar of 15,000 HP.
With their new weapons coupled with Igniz's Fire Enchantment, the towering stick monsters gave no resistance to the Mercenaries.
Using his Cunning of the Dire Fox, Smoke directed them to the location of thousands of phasmatodeas. He looked at them with the eyes of a proud parent. He couldn't believe how well they fought with their double bladed swords. They were nowhere near Adder's skill, but they had more than doubled their attack power by simply using the weapons they crafted themselves.
With his Avendre Mercenaries' complete domination over the phasmatodeas, Smoke decided to check on the Avendre Quests.
 

He immediately noticed the new Mercenary Quest that appeared. He thought about taking the Silap or the Poludnie Quest, but was hesitant to either one.
However, now that there was a new quest, he decided to take it on right away.
"Alright! Good work, everyone," began Smoke. "Next, we're headed for Barat Village to take on some spined coyotes. Collect the loot and pack your gear. We're moving out!"
It had only been half a month since Smoke was together with them, but he personally felt close to them almost as much as his core members.
'Even if I train them to be over level 150 in less than a year...there is still a high probability that they would all be wiped out by Burmistrz's Cavalry Knights,' he somberly thought to himself.
"Guys, change of plans. We're going to stop by Nanahuatl before heading for Barat," Smoke said suddenly before the Mercenaries could get on board their respective transports.
 

* * * * * * 

Smoke awoke to see the familiar white fountain with a strapping bearded man sitting on its walls. 'He really looks like a Wizard Boss now. I wonder how much power Darius has recovered?' he secretly asked himself.
He had logged out of Zectas during the trip back, and timed his sleep to match their time of arrival in Nanahuatl.
Casually, he stepped off the transport, and asked Espion and all of the Avendre to get some much needed relaxation near the weirs.
Meanwhile, he walked over to Darius. "Nice of you to greet me, every time I arrive," he said gratefully and hugged the old Beggar.
"Of course! I know that I'm mostly the reason you come here in the first place," said Darius flippantly.
"That is, true," answered Smoke. "Alright, I'll get right to it. I don't want to risk the lives of the Mercenaries, facing off against Cavalry Knights. We're suppose to attack within a year's time, otherwise Burmistrz will have gained another attack force that could try and take over another city."
Darius didn't say a word and only listened to him.
Smoke appreciated how Darius knew that he still had more to say. He felt that if it were anyone else they would have interjected by now.
"I wasn't really up for it in the first place. Prosjak was the one who strongly suggested it to complete this quest, and I was blinded with the idea of gaining thousands of new subordinates," explained Smoke, and let out a deep sigh.
"Maybe, if it was after three years, then we would have a better chance of surviving against them," Smoke grit his teeth as he had an inkling of the battle a year from now.
"This sounds like a serious problem," stated Darius. "It is so serious that I won't even mention about eating those yummy burgers before we proceed talking."
Smoke was taken aback. He wasn't sure if Darius wanted him to make the burgers.
"So, what was it that you truly wanted to do when you first got the mission?" bluntly asked Darius.
"Actually, I wanted to create an elite team and sneak into the city and take him on directly, but I don't think it would be successful—" Smoke paused as inspiration hit him. "But Sierra just got her Job Change to Druid Archon, and Mamelon's Elemental Knights have also increased their levels."
Darius clicked his tongue while stroking his long white beard. "But sneaking into the city itself would require you to have a low number of people. Unfortunately, from what I heard about this Burmistrz, you would need at least twenty people to take him on."
Smoke stared at the water in the fountain. He knew that Darius was right. "If only there was a way to get him away from his men."
"Well, there is an ability that could instantly teleport the caster and any other person they are holding and transport them to a prepared casting circle," said Darius out loud.
"And you can teach this to me?" asked Smoke excitedly.
Darius shook his head. "Sorry, it cannot be taught. You would need an ability book, and I think you could only find one of those in a temple of the Guardias de Tiempo."
This time, it was Smoke's turn to click his tongue.
"Luckily, I still have one more transference crystal left" quickly added Darius, and reached inside his wizard robe for a pure white gem. "I could create an impetus gem, and that would serve as my substitute. With that you can teleport anything touching it to my preconfigured casting circle."
"Hm. Then, Burmistrz would be teleported here, in Nanahuatl," said Smoke while strongly shaking his head. "We can't have that."
"Not to worry. I can create my casting circle outside the village walls," offered Darius. "And remember, I can cast a cloaking spell over the village, making anyone who has never stepped inside unable to enter it."
Darius then teleported near the outskirts of the village entrance. Smoke hurriedly used his Hyper Jump to get closer to him, and had to run up the missing distance his ability could not cover.
The old Beggar wrote ancient runes in the air with both his hands, and uttered words Smoke could not comprehend.
A green, white, and blue casting circle appeared outside the village on top of each other. Next, Darius casted a rainbow of glittering colors and covered Nanahuatl inside a dome.
"There, I've already finished half of what needs to be done," said Darius proudly. "Should I proceed?"
"Hypothetically, the people inside the village, they could still cast range attacks outside this invisible barrier you created?" asked Smoke eagerly.
Darius smiled as he understood where he was getting at. "Why, of course! People inside the village can safely attack."
"Ha! Then, Burmistrz is practically dead!" exclaimed Smoke. "I'll hit him with that impetus item, teleport him here."
Darius nodded with the same enthusiasm. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"Then, you finish him off with one of your special spells," said Smoke and gave Darius a thumbs up.
Darius' mouth fell open. "Hm. Well, hm. You see, how do I say this?"
"You've already gotten most of your powers back, right?" asked Smoke. "I mean you just casted that preconfigured casting circle and all."
"Yeah about that, I still need a day to recover my mana to create that special impetus device," began Darius nervously. "And, when you use the impetus device, it would use my mana as its power source and drain me empty."
A frustrated Smoke angrily scratched his head, almost pulling out his long white DarkElf hair.
"Well, I could still attack with him a bow and arrow... but if you recall, I specialized in magical attacks, so I don't think my damage would amount to much."
"Not a problem, not a problem." Smoke repeated himself. "I think it will still work. I'll just have all of the Vigilantez hide inside the village while I bring Burmistrz here."
While Smoke was ranting on, Darius remembered an update he was suppose to tell him. "Oh, by the way, Caid said something interesting about the Magietrois. It looks like our brothers in the Verum de Mendicantibus have—" Darius stopped talking as Smoke was clearly not listening to him.
Smoke's smile turned into a devilish grin. He faced Darius' preconfigured casting circle and imagined Burmistrz's face in pure agony.
 

* * * * * * 

Smoke's heart was beating fast as he was gliding towards Coatl. He quickly disseminated the plan that he and Darius had conceived. The Vigilaintez's strategists had no problem with the general concept.
However, Thyrsus pointed out that Burmistrz would likely be suspicious of the invisible attackers from Nanahuatl. Adder also added that the Duke could easily escape on the other side.
So, Sierra suggested that only Sonstwelters were allowed outside the village walls, and they would surround the preconfigured casting circle, preventing Burmistrz from escaping.
It took them a week to assemble all of the Vigilantez into Nanahuatl. This was Mamelon's first time in the village.
Smoke would have vehemently denied other Sonstwelters about the knowledge of his home in Zectas, but Mamelon and the rest of the Vigilantez Sonstwelters fully earned his trust. Their actions spoke of their true nature, and he knew that he could count on each one of them.
On the other hand, the Avendre Mercenaries were tasked to continue with their current missions.
Sierra's group were still out in Veneficatl Valley. She also left half of her Druids there to supervise them.
Mamelon's was busty in Wundern Desert wrangling more mounts. Earat and Louche were left in charge of them.
Meanwhile, Thyrsus and Vijaya were given command of all the core range members' Avendre. They were still fixing Silap up.
As for Guro, she remained in Verbrannt, along with all her dedicated recruits. She promised to increase the land size of the village by three times that of Anbau Forest.
Whereas Espion led Smoke's Avendre to Barat Village. Smoke insisted that the Mercenaries be kept busy and unaware of this special mission. It was imperative that their training continue as scheduled as he had big plans for them.
After twelve hours of gliding, he finally saw the heraldic city of Coatl. Caid informed him that it was time for the finals of the Swordsman to Knight competition.
Smoke thought that it would be a perfect opportunity for him to grab Burmistrz.
With the aid of his Telefax Vision, he easily spotted the braggart Duke on top of his special stage in front of the arena.
Diving as fast as he could, Smoke went straight for Burmistrz as he held onto a pure white gem. Igniz started orbiting around him rapidly, and together the two of them gave the sight of a falling meteor.
CRASH
Pieces of debris flew up in flames as Smoke used his Comet Crash ability on the unknowing Duke. He stunned him for a full second.
"Impetus Activate!" shouted Smoke before the Duke could recover, but Macher suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed on to the Duke.
POOF
Smoke, Igniz, Burmistrz, and Macher were instantly teleported inside Darius' preconfigured casting circle.
'I thought you had to be directly touching the impetus object for it to work, but clearly that isn't the case,' Smoke surmised as he angrily stared at Macher.
Burmistrz hurriedly equipped a zweihänder while Macher threateningly pointed his glaive at Smoke.
"So, you're the famous Smoke," growled Burmistrz. "You really are tricky I'll give you that."
Burmistrz looked around the casting circle and found himself completely surrounded by the Vigilantez Sonstwelters.
"Prepare to die, Smoke!" shouted Macher as he charged at him.
Yet, before Macher could reach him, Sierra used her Overgrowth ability and entangled both Burmistrz and Macher with thick roots. She then used Contrition on both of them, increasing their damage taken.
A bombardment of elemental attacks from Mamelon's regiment quickly showered the two of them. Their life bars and names were revealed thereafter. Macher (610,000/680,000 HP). Ultimo Maire (2,084,900/2,100,000 HP).
Macher's life bar was extremely high for a Cavalry Knight, but the Duke's was even more impressive.
"Everyone, focus fire on Macher!" shouted Smoke, and swiftly equipped his white metallic staff.
A torrent of spears, arrows, and bolts suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as Smoke's ranged forces safely attacked from behind Darius' invisible barrier.
Smoke started to jump out of the casting circle, but his leg was caught by Ultimo's whip.
"Where do you think you're going, boy?" snarled Ultimo. "You are going to be a victim of your own trap!"
"Not today!" retorted Smoke. He instantly created a concave Manatl which protected himself from his allies attacks.
"Aargh!" cried out Macher in pain, as most of the ranged attacks directly hit him. The lowest of which injured him for 2,500 damage points.
The few attacks that did miss, struck Ultimo and Smoke's Manatl.
Ultimo guffed at the Vigilantez joint ranged effort as it only dealt less than 500 damage points. It appeared as if he welcomed the damage to him.
"Stop this! Stop this, now!" pleaded Macher as his life bar was reduced to 25% in less than a minute. "Duke Burmistrz, please save me! I know you can get out of this."
"Relax, Macher, you'll return to Zectas anyway," replied Ultimo passively.
However, Ultimo raised his zweihänder over his head and severed off Sierra's thick roots with one stroke. He then yanked Smoke from his crouched position, and used him as a shield for Macher.
Against his will, Smoke blocked the incoming attacks at Macher and spared him from dying. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but at least now he was free from Ultimo's whip.
All of the Vigilantez instantly stopped attacking as Smoke was in the way. He canceled his Manatl and transferred the gathered energy into his staff.
With her Druid staff in hand, Sierra suddenly ran into the preconfigured casting circle and stopped behind the entangled Cavalry Knight.
She struck Macher's nape with all her might, and proceeded to pound her ferule into his spine. Deep dents appeared on Macher's armor with each bludgeon.
Despite the several elemental spikes striking Ultimo, he relentlessly charged at Sierra.
However, Sierra delivered the last strike needed to reduce Macher's life to zero.
"Good job, HighElf, you really killed him. Now, why don't you have a taste of your own medicine, Smoke," replied Ultimo as he grabbed him and Sierra with only his left arm.
'How strong is this guy?' wondered Smoke as he felt his breath being squeezed out of him.
Suddenly, he saw Laernea and Sharur jump out from Nanahuatl's hidden barrier.
"Go back!" worriedly shouted Smoke.
Then, he saw why Ultimo was holding them with only one hand. In his right, he held a pure white gem, much like the one he used earlier.
"Impetus Activate!" shouted Ultimo.