“What portion of them do you think that we killed before they ran away?” Colonel Lu asked as the defenders were catching their breath and preparing for the next attack.
Karl shrugged. “At least a third, but I don’t think that it matters because they took the bodies back. They will most likely resurrect them right away, and then they will have suffered no losses.”
The Minotaur sighed. “Whereas our losses are permanent, so they’re running a campaign of attrition.”
Karl gestured behind them. “Who said ours are permanent. We have Lotus, High Priestess of the Nature God, and a healing specialist, here with us today. It looks like she started with the strongest of the fallen, and then the cutest. She might not be able to save them all before she is exhausted, but with two Dragon God clerics here, we shouldn’t have too many casualties.”
They had many wounded fighters. Almost all of them had some level of injury after the battle, but about half of their force had been heavily injured and were slowly moving around, getting used to the feeling of their limbs again.
It was a measure to prevent lingering mental trauma that would reduce healing effectiveness in the future, an accelerated version of rehab to remind the body that it was healing properly.
“At least there are more reinforcements incoming now that the first group is out of the trial.” Tessa noted as she rode up beside Karl on Thor’s back.
Karl looked back in the direction she was pointing and saw an entire army regiment coming out to surround the ruins. Dozens of white robed clerics, nearly a thousand soldiers, and a full artillery battery had arrived so far, on top of hundreds more soldiers from Newbon, and one adult blue dragon.
“We should likely go speak to the dragon before they have to come here. Blue Dragons love knowledge more than anything, and if we give it to them, they will like us by extension.” Karl suggested.
Tessa smirked at him. “Is that your plan to gaslight the clergy? Just play to their aspect?”
“Hey, I brought you a whole battle with the world’s best charger to ride, didn’t I? I think I’m doing alright.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “You provided this lovely charger, but I don’t think that you can take credit for the whole battle. The Giants were coming whether we were here or not.”
[The Not Dana Mages are coming back.] Hawk updated as Karl prepared a good reason why he should get credit.
“Oh, there are Spellblades incoming as well. We should prepare to welcome them.” Karl announced, changing the topic while letting Tessa know what was happening.
“What direction, I will go update them on the situation so that there aren’t any conflicts between allies today.” Tessa asked.
“Under Hawk. He’s circling them now and preparing to land.”
The Minotaur wondered how that was going to help with the stated goal of not starting a fight between allies, as the gigantic Ghostfire Thunderbird was not a comforting sight to strangers.
Thor rushed off to greet the people, which would give him time to socialize while Tessa explained the situation. Of course, Dana was on Hawk’s back, and she knew most of it already, but that didn’t sound like nearly as much fun as going over himself.
“Why would they appear all the way over there instead of being here with the rest of the reinforcements?” Colonel Lu asked as the group came back into sight.
“They were likely sent from their Clan Compound, or another mission, so they didn’t want to appear right on top of someone in an already chaotic situation. They’re only a five-minute walk away.” Karl replied with a shrug.
The Royal Rank Minotaur decided to leave it alone. He knew that the one who had found them was Hawk, so the rapid response was perfectly reasonable, and there were more forces expected from both sides, as they would be sending as many people as possible to take the trial and attempt to awaken System Functions before the orb ran out of energy, or the ruins vanished again.
That was what usually happened with these things, and why they couldn’t just get along and peacefully use the resources that appeared.
There were too many factions with too many people who all wanted or needed that power.
Whether it was for survival, political gain or like the Blue Dragons, just because they didn’t already know.
Karl and the Colonel waited with a few other officers as the Spellblades approached. The uniforms were simple, so nobody would have known which nation they represented without the introduction, so sending out someone to greet them and verify their identity was actually a good idea, no matter how redundant it seemed.
Corbin nodded at Karl as he approached, then at the Minotaur and the Satyr runner who was waiting behind them.
“I am Prince Corbin, of the Golden Dragon Nation. You can just call me Corbin. My people will be on guard here until the incident has ended.” He explained.
“Not headed in to gain the power of the orb?” Colonel Lu asked.
“We have been paid handsomely for others to get that opportunity. Our instructions are that it is likely to be usage limited, so we are to prioritize not letting unauthorized users in.”
“Should we be expecting anyone else?” The Minotaur asked.
“Orcs. There is a group of Orcs headed this way. My instructions are that the nomads are considered part of the Newbon delegation, but I am aware that your people have had some issues with them in the past. So, we will have Prince Karl escort them in if they do choose to come here.” Corbin explained.
[I saw them in the distance, and Dana told him.] Hawk explained.
“I understand. Though, the thought of Orcs with a System is a frightening one. I had expected that such an honour would be reserved for more civilized factions.” Colonel Lu grumbled.
A lineup was already forming around the Orb, as it appeared to have reached its usage capacity. That would likely drain it much faster than anyone would prefer, but Corbin had already received a message by portal describing the situation.
The content of a magical message was easily intercepted by the Totems, but a small portal to drop a physical letter would not be noticed.
His excuse was a good one. The Spellblades were a powerful faction, but they were willing to be paid for their work and pass up other opportunities. So, the Minotaur and the other Newbon officers wouldn’t question why they weren’t trying to barge to the front of the line.