Inflame (The Completionist Chronicles Book 6) by Dakota Krout (best romantic novels in english TXT) 📕

context even if I tried to keep it from you. The Elves are a theocracy. There has been a large push to get rid of all the so-called ‘minor gods’ from this Zone, and we managed to make it happen for our people.”

“What do you have against the deities?” Joe was surprised by the mentality. “I’m a Chosen of Tatum; the benefits have been really helpful, and he doesn't pretend to be anything other than a powerful faction leader.”

“Success is its own reward,” Havoc muttered bitterly, bristling at Joe’s words. “Working for them is just a different type of warlock contract, isn’t it? Getting power you haven’t earned from a powerful entity, just not demons or cursed objects? I prefer our creations. No ‘divine energy’ powering our defenders and keeping us safe. Water and Cores go in, steam and Elf-death comes out. Much safer, in my opinion.”

“Cores again? I thought that was just a mounted cannon issue.” Joe shook his head. “How often do these go boom?”

“Not as often as you might think.” Havoc waved at the closest one just as it was hidden behind a gout of steam. It made for an impressive sight as it stepped forward heavily. “At least, not outside of battle. We put in low-ranked Cores during travel so that there is a smaller chance of overload; then we switch them out with higher-ranked ones when we are ready for them to fight. They move around pretty good like this, but just wait until you see them zipping around at full power.”

Joe was suitably impressed; he had already been complimenting their abilities in his mind, and this was only travel mode? Havoc broke his train of thought. “Let's go over this one more time. How close do you need to be to take out the Guardian?”

The Reductionist considered his ritual, trying to put together a comprehensive answer for his… mentor.

Ritual of Withering Mana (Apprentice). This ritual is designed to wither not only plants, but anything or anyone that actively uses magic within the area of effect. With enough outside power, this ritual becomes self-sustaining and will only end when mana is no longer supplied to it for a set amount of time.

Area of effect: 50-meter radius.

Mana input required for self-sustainment: 110 mana/second.

“The model shows that the basic forts’ walls are at least twelve meters thick.” Joe ran the numbers in his head as he explained. “Since these ones are not upgraded, from the interior wall to the other side of the fort—the total diameter—should be only about seventy-five meters. We need to get through the wall and at least halfway to the Guardian in order for this ritual to have the greatest effect. Otherwise, we are just going to be guessing and hoping that the Guardian is closer than the exact center.”

“Walk me through that process again; how are we getting through the wall?” Havoc grinned as he lit up a cigar.

“I have a ritual that can tear down any building. Walls are considered buildings.” Joe chortled along with Havoc at the thought. “I know that a ritual can only work once against Elves, or at least you think so, but I highly doubt that a more advanced fortification wouldn't have someone that could stop the ritual anyway. That’s why I’m willing to throw this away against such a small target. Havoc… a lot of this is based on the assumption that they haven't sent any real powerhouses to the border, at least not in the amount of time that they've controlled this territory.”

Havoc nodded along with Joe’s answer. “Pretty standard practice; takes about a week for an area to get stabilized. If there is someone here that is outside the scope of what you can handle, I’ll take over.”

“You? You’ll go directly into combat?” Joe stared at the Dwarf, who was practically a steampunk mad scientist, and shrugged at the toothy smile he got in reply. The man was pretty wild, but Joe had no indication of how powerful he actually could be. He seemed confident, and anyone who knew about him seemed to be slightly on edge, so Joe simply needed to trust that he could get the job done. “How long do we have until we lose all the Dwarves that were sent to respawn?”

“We'll burn that bridge when we cross it.” Havoc smoothly moved on even as Joe's eyes twitched at the terrible metaphor. “Get ready to go.”

The barrier wall surrounding the Fortress came into view in the distance. The glare coming off of the surface gave Joe pause; weren't the walls supposed to be… stone? Havoc cleared up the confusion in an instant. “Abyss, they’re working fast. A hundred reputation says that they are gonna to be doing a big push for the major fort if they’ve already upgraded their walls to steel-coated stone.”

“If it makes you feel better, when I raze a building, we get all of the building materials that went into it.” Joe’s eyes glittered as brightly as the sun-reflecting wall. “I wonder if we can exploit this? Can we just start getting a huge amount of materials by taking down a wall and having it rebuild within a day?”

Havoc took that happy dream from him immediately, “No, the fortress will only rebuild itself to the basic form if it changes hands. We’ll not be able to strike a deal with the Elves to give a fortress back and forth between us. Certainly not for stone, which is what it reverts back to if we destroy it. Just focus on doing your job, and be greedy when it won’t impact the mission!”

The Dwarf stepped forward and seemed to transform into a different person, reminding Joe that he was not just a crazy old coot in a top hat; he was also a powerful and authoritative Major General. “All troops, prepare for battle! Artificers, exchange automaton Cores from travel… to combat! Engineers, set up defensive encampments! Healers, get ready; this is the most rested you get to be