Absolute Mana Dominion: All My Talents Are SSS

Chapter 56: 56 - Five Stars

Gaspard’s arrival changed the western front almost immediately.

The Arquenay soldiers who had been struggling against the narrow approach pulled back enough to make room for him, and the pressure from his Five-Star Core rolled ahead of him. Adrien felt it through Absolute Mana Sense before Gaspard even reached the first barricade.

’That’s a ridiculous difference.’

Garrick came across the line with three Knights behind him. "My lord, remain behind the second position for as long as possible. If he breaks through, we will need you there, we will need all the help possible."

"For once, we’re completely in agreement."

That lasted about a minute. Gaspard reached the first reinforced barrier and drove straight through the men holding it. Mana flared around him, and one Clairmont Knight went off his feet hard enough to crash into the wall behind him. Another managed to strike Gaspard’s side, but the blow barely slowed him.

The Wardens reinforced the position again. It bought seconds.

"He’s going to tear the whole front open," Ariane said beside Adrien.

"Yeah. I noticed."

Adrien manifested Umbral Root. The staff took little seconds to form, dark wood gathering around the pale crystal until the familiar drain settled into his Core.

He moved forward with Ariane while Garrick tried to keep the rest of the line from collapsing.

Gaspard saw him coming.

"So you finally decided to show yourself."

Adrien stopped well outside striking range. "You’ve brought seven hundred men to my house. It would’ve been rude not to come say hello."

Gaspard’s face tightened. "My son is dead because of you."

"Your son came here to kidnap my sister."

"You could have taken him alive."

"I already let him walk away once."

Gaspard moved before Adrien finished speaking.

Absolute Mana Sense caught the shift, and Adrien reacted on instinct.

[Ice Wall]

A slab of ice erupted between them. Gaspard struck it once and shattered the centre apart, shards spraying across the road as he came through without losing much speed.

Adrien fired two [Frost Lances]. Gaspard knocked the first aside with the weapon in his hand and twisted past the second.

’Right. So that’s useless.’

Ariane attacked from the side with her own [Frost Lance], forcing Gaspard to change direction long enough for Garrick to close in. The old knight hit him from the opposite side, and for a few seconds the three of them actually stopped his advance.

Then Gaspard released more mana.

Garrick was driven back several paces. Ariane barely avoided the follow-up strike, and Adrien used another [Ice Wall] at an angle to force Gaspard away from her.

The wall lasted about two seconds.

Adrien had fought stronger opponents before, but there had always been something to exploit. Gaspard was different. Five Stars gave him too much speed, too much mana and enough raw force that even good decisions only delayed the obvious result.

’Alright, I don’t need to take him down. As long as I can hold my own and waste his time, that’ll be enough ’

That was something Adrien could do.

He retreated toward the prepared positions, throwing [Frost Lance] whenever Gaspard tried to take the shortest route. He raised [Ice Wall] to split the ground, forced him around barriers and used Clairmont Knights as pressure rather than expecting any of them to stop him alone.

Gaspard understood what he was doing quickly.

"Stop running around and fight me properly!"

Adrien kept moving. "I’d rather stay alive, if that’s alright with you."

Gaspard crossed the distance anyway.

Adrien let him.

The moment Gaspard came within reach, Adrien shifted Umbral Root aside and raised his free hand.

[Zap]

The electrical discharge struck Gaspard at point-blank range.

His arm jerked.

That was all.

Adrien stared at him.

’Well. That worked considerably better on Léon.’

Gaspard’s fist hit him in the ribs.

Pain exploded through Adrien’s side, and the ground disappeared beneath his feet. He flew backward, struck one of the prepared wooden barriers and broke through it before landing hard several paces farther away.

For a second, breathing became optional.

Adrien rolled onto one elbow and coughed. Blood hit the dirt beneath him.

Ariane shouted his name from somewhere to the left, and a burst of fire crossed the road from the central position. Adrien deliberately kept his eyes low. He had enough problems without Absolute Comprehension deciding this was the perfect moment to study his mother’s spells.

Garrick and two Knights bought him enough time to stand.

Barely.

Adrien wiped the blood from his mouth and checked himself through the pain. Nothing felt immediately fatal. His Draconic Physique would help, but it wasn’t going to turn a Five-Star punch into a pleasant memory.

Gaspard broke past Garrick and walked toward him.

Around them, the rest of the battle was getting worse. Arquenay had started pushing through another approach, forcing the Rangers to abandon one elevated position, while the Wardens were spending mana faster than they could recover it.

They were still holding.

They weren’t going to hold forever.

"You killed my son," Gaspard said as he approached. "And after today, there won’t be enough left of this house for anyone to remember why."

Adrien straightened slowly, Umbral Root still in his hand.

Then he heard it.

At first it was distant enough to disappear beneath the fighting. A low mechanical hum. Hooves striking the road. Then more of them, accompanied by the heavier sound of several mana-powered vehicles approaching from the west.

Adrien’s mouth moved slightly.

"Looks like you’ve lost, Gaspard."

Gaspard stopped. "What are you talking about? Look at yourself."

"Yeah." Adrien spat blood to the side. "I’ve looked better."

The sound reached everyone else a few seconds later.

Heads turned along both lines.

Arquenay soldiers stopped advancing as riders appeared beyond the western road. Their armour carried the royal crest, and behind them came several dark mana vehicles surrounded by more mounted guards.

Royal Guards.

The fighting began dying almost by itself.

One of the vehicles stopped behind the first formation. The door opened, and Vikir stepped down first.

Adrien felt something in his chest loosen.

Then Aurelian Valleroy emerged behind him.

The Crown Prince took in the battlefield, the Clairmont wounded, the Arquenay banners and Gaspard standing deep inside Greymoor’s defensive line.

He didn’t look surprised.

When he spoke, his voice carried across both armies.

"Gaspard Arquenay, by authority of the Crown, you are under arrest for conspiring against the Crown and attempting to provoke a war with the Kingdom of Sylvamir."

Gaspard did not move.

Adrien wiped another line of blood from his mouth.

’About fucking time.’