System Change

Savannah…

After Silvi left the palace…

“So, she killed Prince Orion?” Natalie stared into Alanah’s eyes as they sat in her courtyard drinking coffee and tea. After Alanah nodded, she continued, “You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Why do you think I’m here instead of in the capital?” Alanah asked with a sigh. “Silvi showed her strength.”

“They’ll be scared,” Natalie agreed.

“Yes, but not of Silvi, of Derek. And they’ll use the death of Orion as the reason. They’re going to do everything they can to kill her before Derek comes back. If they can, then he will be consumed by soul-sickness and his strength will be crippled,” Alanah said.

“Is she back yet?” Natalie asked.

“No.” Alanah shook her head. “She has that strange teleportation skill. All I know is that she showed up and saved Edward, then visited Edwin before leaving. That was almost an hour ago. There’s no sign of her. I have Stella stationed at Derek’s shop to let me know if she comes back.”

“Where will they attack?” Natalie.

“Either here, where they know Silvi stays, or Clayton. If they don’t know that she left the city after saving Edward, they will attack there, but I doubt it. Still, Edward and his men are all there, ready for a fight, and the kingdom’s army is en route,” Alanah explained with a sigh. “Battles were much simpler when we didn’t have to worry about the enemy using Portal to attack.”

“So Clayton gets the army and the kingdom’s elites, and I get you,” Natalie smiled and took a sip of her tea. “Seems like a fair distribution of power to me.”

“They’re ready to teleport here on a moment’s notice, but if Ryven is leading the attack this time, the Displacement Barrier is going to be much larger. There’s a good chance he can cover the teleportation building from outside the city with his. He’s strong,” Alanah said. “I doubt I’ll be able to hold off both he and the rest of their army.”

“He is strong,” Natalie said, then her eyes began glowing the off-gray color as her aura spread slightly through the courtyard. “But I’d still put my money on you.” The petite woman gave Alanah a small smile. “I’ll also be here to help.”

“If they attack here, I’m going to lose a lot of people. It’s what I’ve been avoiding all this time. Dammit, where is that damn bunny? With that ability of hers, she’d be able to go save at least some of my people,” Alanah cursed.

“Let’s hope that Ryven takes you as seriously as he should,” Natalie said. “If he does, then there won’t be many men guarding your restaurants. I’ve already sent my mercenaries spreading out between them, and I’m sure you have some of your Deathsworn mixed in as well.”

“I do… but not a lot,” said Alanah as she took another sip of her coffee. “I’ve withdrew the strongest. They should be arriving in Savannah soon. If I have to face an army alone, I’m not going to do it by myself.” Alanah half laughed at her own joke.

“Don’t forget, though,” Natalie said. “I’m not as useless as people think I am… and neither is Marcus.”

“You just make sure all your people have orders to keep mine safe. Depending on the size of his barrier, communications will be down for as long as they attack.”

“They already know,” Natalie replied, then, the two went back to idle conversation, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

***

“Gather everyone!” Ryven commanded, then turned to Titus. “Including all of your men!”

“What are we doing?” the young crown prince asked skeptically. The boy was still wary from the failed ambush, followed by Ryven’s own interrogation.

“We’re attacking Savannah in full force.”

“What?! Why would we do that?”

“Because you and your men know how that companion… bunny… attacks and what to look out for. It’s the best time to strike. It has already used its strange teleportation power to leave Clayton, so it must have gone back to its home in Savannah. We need to take it out before Derek Hunt gets back. If not, that man will cause us a whole slew of problems,” Ryven explained.

“But, even in full force… to attack Savannah with Natalie protecting it…” Titus started, but was cut off by Ryven.

“Which is why I will be leading the army this time. Their kingdom’s army is on their way to Clayton, and most of their elites are already there. Natalie’s mercenaries aren’t currently in the city. It’s not a bad time to attack. I’ll close off the communications and teleportation around the whole of Savannah. Then, you will Portal the entire army over when I give you the signal.”

Ryven stepped through a small Portal, then stepped out on the other side. He appeared many miles away from Savannah, but close enough that he would be able to get there in no time. As the Portal closed behind him, Ryven summoned his Illusion Barrier and wrapped it around himself, creating a veil of invisibility to cloak himself with.

Then, he summoned a Soaring Shield and stepped onto it. It wasn’t a skill that was meant to be used in the way he was, but with enough intelligence and wisdom, it worked wonders as an impromptu flight skill. With a quick look around, Ryven oriented himself to Savannah, then pushed his Soaring Shield onward.

The duke cut through the air at a blistering pace. If anyone, even with the best eyesight in their own kingdom, looked directly at where he was, they wouldn’t be able to tell that anyone was there. At best, they would see a slight blur and think their eyes were playing tricks on them. But only the best of their archers would be able to see through his level 20 Illusion Barrier that well. The rest… well, they would see a thing.

Ryven flew over small villages, and even some towns that were almost as big as some of the sub-cities they had conquered in the last year. Nobody suspected a thing.

Before long, the wonderful city of Savannah was in his sights. He slowed down a bit, as to not disturb or kick up any dust that may reveal him. Then he slowly circled around, looking for a good place to drop his barrier. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any one place that was better than another, because from what he knew, Savannah’s teleportation building was located in the central part of the city. So he decided on a frontal attack.

Ryven dismissed his Soaring Shield, then pulled two potions out of his storage ring. One was a regular high-quality mana potion, and the other was an extremely rare high quality mana regeneration potion. The regeneration potion would all him to use his Displacement Barrier for an hour and keep his mana pool topped off.

If that wasn’t enough, he could always use Greater Meditation. But he would only do that if there were no enemies around, as, at level 2, it greatly diminished his ability to react to his surroundings.

Ryven quickly gulped down the mana potion, then, when his mana was topped off, he swallowed the mana regeneration potion. Seeing his mana pool no longer decreasing while he kept his Illusion Barrier active, he sighed and pushed as much of his mana through his body as possible.

When he felt like he was about to explode, and there was no longer a way to hide his aura from anyone in his surroundings, he dropped the Illusion Barrier and cast Displacement Barrier and pushed. At once, over 75% of his mana pool was depleted. It was the biggest Displacement Barrier Ryven had ever used in a combat situation.

The barrier that was only visible to himself moved forward, out of his hands until it encompassed two-thirds of the entire city of Savannah. With a heavy breath, Ryven removed his hand from the barrier and fell to one knee before taking out another mana potion and gulping it down.

Now that the barrier was made, maintaining it was the easy part. He watched his mana pool as the potion did its work. Once his mana was fully regenerated, it would tick down by one point, then immediately be restored. The regeneration potion was doing its job as well.

Still mentally spent from creating such a barrier, the duke pulled a communication crystal from his ring and sent Titus the message and waited. Just under a minute later, a few thousand feet behind him, and in front of Savannah, a dozen or more Portals opened and his army began spilling out. For this attack, they had gathered everyone.

Their priority was to take out a small bunny, which, even after hearing the stories, seemed insane. But it was something they had to do. Their secondary objective was to eliminate Natalie Savannah. She had refused their offer to play nice, and instead sent her mercenaries in to bolster the Kingdom of Cydaria’s forces.

Without those mercenaries, Ryven believed that even Titus and Orion could have conquered the entire kingdom by now. But because of that woman, they had been unable to. So, while they were in Savannah, he would make sure to make her pay.

Finally, if there was still time after accomplishing those two tasks, they would take the city itself. Savannah would make a much better outpost than the one he was using. Plus, knowing that the top city in your kingdom fell so easily would greatly reduce the morale of Cydaria’s soldiers.

As Ryven continued to watch his soldiers pour out of the Portals one by one and begin their trek toward the city, he suddenly felt a tingle run down his spine. Quickly, he turned around, but didn’t see anything. Then he looked up.

Hovering above him and the rest of his army was one of the most beautiful women he’d seen in his life. She had emerald green hair flowing in the breeze. Occasionally, he could catch a glimpse of her ears, showing him that they were not that of an elf or of a human, but ears of a half-elf.

On her head, she wore a small tiara-like band with a brilliant emerald jewel set in the center. Her skin was pale, yet flawless, and her eyes shone a deep emerald, radiating an intense power. A silver-gray aura emanated from her body, enveloping her in an ethereal glow. Her body was clad in emerald green armor, which glimmered in the sunlight. Despite its seemingly plate composition, the armor looked remarkably lightweight. The exposed plates of the armor were etched with intricate runes, adding to its mystical allure.

The instant the woman appeared, Ryven knew who it was. He opened his mouth to speak, but the woman spoke first.

“Stop!”