Chapter 97: The False Divine Strike Spell
After gaining the trust of the two kings, Rhodes began to discuss with them how to deal with the demon army. Although he had now been acknowledged by the Holy Right Sword, Athos, and could, in theory, go to the Godfall Land for his fated battle with the goddess, the front lines of the allied army were in a precarious state. He couldn't just leave them to their fate. After all, Athos wasn't some lost treasure of the dwarves like Org; it was a sacred object that had been worshipped by the elves for generations. It also possessed the most powerful of all defensive spells. It was, in a sense, a holy relic of the elves. And besides, he had already "abducted" one of the elves' treasures; to take another would be a bit much. Though the "treasure" in question was still blissfully unaware of her own abduction.
"I say we have to go on the offensive! Lure out the whole demon army, and let Lord Rhodes blast them with Org's light cannon," the Dwarven King said. Having seen it with his own eyes, he knew what the sword was capable of, even if no one had been able to wield it before. Now that Rhodes had been acknowledged by it, he proposed the same plan Rhodes had originally had: find an opportunity and blast the demon army with a beam of light.
The Dwarven King didn't know the true power of Org, but he was sure it was immense, perhaps even comparable to the most powerful elven spells. He didn't dare to imagine that it could match a Divine Strike. If he had known that Rhodes had used it to break a Divine Strike head-on, he would have been speechless.
"Lure all those damn demons here," he said, pointing to a spot on the map, "and then let Lord Rhodes blast them to bits!"
The spot he was pointing to was a canyon, a perfect place for an ambush. And Rhodes's light cannon could easily pierce through the entire demon army.
"Too risky," the Elven King said, shaking his head. "I don't doubt the power of Org, but the demon commander is no fool. He won't just march his entire army into a canyon and line them up for you."
He then turned to Rhodes. "And with just your own power, Lord Rhodes, even with the help of Org, the mana required to unleash an attack that could wipe out their entire army would be astronomical. Can your body withstand such a strain?"
Rhodes was silent for a moment, then answered honestly, "In Org's current state, it's impossible for me to forcibly draw out enough power for such an attack."
The excited look on the Dwarven King's face froze. The clash with the Sky-Winged and the goddess had taken a heavy toll on both him and Org. Before he faced the goddess again, he had no intention of using such a self-destructive tactic. He had to be more cautious. This was not the same situation as at the dwarven ruins. Then, it had just been the few of them, against the Sky-Winged and a god. If they hadn't fought with all their might, they would have never survived. But now, things were different. There were many other mages in the allied army. He had to make them pull their weight.
Just then, a bold idea came to him. "By the way," he asked, "do you elves have a spell that can transfer mana to another person?"
"Yes, but the burden on the recipient is very heavy. I'm afraid with Lord Rhodes's... constitution..." The Elven King trailed off, but his meaning was clear.
The spell was essentially a way to pour all of one person's mana into another. While it could grant a temporary, massive boost in power, the side effects were terrible. In a best-case scenario, the recipient would be unable to use magic for decades. In the worst-case, they would just explode. And the mana levels of the two parties couldn't be too different, or the recipient would just be overwhelmed. It was a rather useless spell, rarely used even among the elves.
"I don't mean transfer it to me, but to the holy sword."
"But the spell doesn't work that way."
"It's fine. Just teach it to me. I'll figure out the rest. Of course, I'll need some assistants," he said, and looked at his own party.
He envisioned using the holy sword to unleash the same spell he had used to counter the Divine Strike. But this time, he would create a new magic circle, a spell that could achieve the same effect: a false Divine Strike. With the mages of the allied army as a base, and himself, Serie, and Olivia as a core, they would pour all of their mana into the holy sword, and then unleash it. It would have a power comparable to a true Divine Strike.
The Sky-Winged's spell required all of them to cast at the same time, in perfect coordination. A single mistake could disrupt the entire magic circle and cause a backlash. Even if he could replicate the spell, he didn't have time to train all the mages of the allied army. So he would create a simpler version. The mages would all release their mana at the same time, and he, as the controller, would gather it into the holy sword and unleash it with Org's own light cannon. That way, neither he nor Org would have to overexert themselves; it would just be a matter of expending a little mana.
But there was one condition: he had to repair the 'Light of Ersten'. It, along with Athos, would serve as a conduit to support Org's main attack. And since he was here, he might as well take the opportunity to make a small request of his own. There were bound to be many dwarven smiths in the allied army. He would have them reforge his sword. It was a win-win. I just hope that old man Dural isn't here, he thought.
After he had laid out his plan, the Dwarven King was the first to speak. "Alright! I agree! I'll have our smiths reforge the holy sword for you immediately."
The Elven King was next. "I'll have our mages prepared. I'll arrange for the relevant grimoires to be sent to you."
"Then let us begin!"
(End of Chapter)
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