The Archmetamagician: The Weave Collapses Again

For the first time, Anser realized that the Obarskyr royal family was genuinely taking the prospect of a marriage alliance very seriously.

It definitely wasn’t just some spur-of-the-moment idea.

Cormyr’s territory wasn’t particularly large. For them to offer an island with considerable land area, a good ecosystem, and a healthy economy as a gift was unquestionably a major gamble.

Maddox said, ”Dragonclaw Island isn’t exactly peaceful, but for you, it probably shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

Anser immediately understood. The island’s existence had already become a source of trouble for Cormyr, but that didn’t diminish its true value.

”We’ll talk about that later.” He declined politely. ”Have you reached a decision about the orcs?”

A marriage alliance wasn’t that simple, and he had no intention of letting himself get tied down because of it. It didn’t align with his goals at this stage.

He had money and land now. He really wasn’t lacking for one more island.

”We can take our time discussing the marriage alliance,” Maddox said, making no attempt to pressure him. ”The matter of joint military operations has already been reported to Father, but he said that all affairs of state are to be decided by His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Anser fell silent for a long moment, unable to make much sense of the old king’s thinking.

”Knowing my brother, he’ll probably agonize over it for two days,” Maddox couldn’t help complaining.

”Are the orcs really that strong? Why all the hesitation?” Anser asked, puzzled.

Maddox replied, ”War is no small matter. Not counting the navy, there are fewer than five thousand troops in the city. We’re at an overwhelming numerical disadvantage, and the casualties from a direct clash would be too high...”

Suzail was the royal capital, the heart of the kingdom. They had no choice but to exercise the utmost caution.

From the royal family’s perspective, they were under no pressure when it came to supplies. The navy was already transporting troops and provisions here, so time was on humanity’s side.

Meanwhile, the orc coalition had neither food nor drink. If things dragged on for a few weeks, they would inevitably collapse. This was a lesson learned from the long-standing confrontation between the two races.

Anser wasn’t convinced. Cormyr was a land of forests. There was no shortage of wild animals. The longer this dragged on, the more Eyes of Gruumsh there would be.

Still, he could understand their position. The kingdom’s Legendary Professionals had suffered a setback, while its premier combat force, the War Wizards, had their spellcasting abilities restricted and could only provide support.

If the Weave were stable, the orcs would never have had a chance to run rampant.

”Those orcs are an eyesore. If you guys aren’t going to do anything, I’ll just drop a Meteor Swarm on them myself!!!” Anser sent through Sending, making his intentions clear.

”Don’t be reckless. I understand how you feel, but going alone is too dangerous. That half-orc Chosen is extremely powerful,” Maddox advised.

”How powerful? Can he kill me instantly?”

”In that battle, he threw nine javelins in total. They pierced through and killed more than a hundred people. His final throw, from several hundred meters away, severely wounded a Legendary Fighter!”

Anser’s heart skipped a beat, and a rough picture began to form in his mind.

He had mastery over a great many weapons and was skilled with javelins himself, but even with the enhancement of a Belt of Giant Strength, he couldn’t achieve anything like that.

Considering that Barbarians already had Rage and various combat features, he estimated that this Chosen’s Strength had to be at least 25.

A Barbarian’s 20th-level feature was Primal Champion, itself a symbol of primal power, granting +4 to both Strength and Constitution.

As long as someone was a Legendary Barbarian, their Strength and Constitution couldn’t possibly be poor.

Anser pondered for a long moment and decided this fight was doable.

He was a damn spellcaster. How could he possibly be afraid of a Barbarian? Flight, teleportation, Ethereal Jaunt—any one of them would leave that Barbarian helpless against him.

He was confident he could make sure the other guy never even saw him!

One of the reasons the elderly Crown Prince Erastul was so indecisive was that he didn’t trust Anser. He didn’t think Anser joining the battle would be enough to guarantee victory outright.

In that case, Anser might as well toss out a few ”fireworks” and show him. He wasn’t some seven-second man who went limp after blowing a few spells.

’Time to give them a little confidence.’

With that thought, he carefully got out of bed. He had just finished putting on his shoes when he turned around and found both girls, one big and one small, looking at him with their heads tilted to the side.

”Big Brother Anser, the sun just came up. Where are you going?” Little Claira asked, still bleary-eyed.

”To set off some fireworks,” Anser joked.

”I wanna see too.” Claira immediately rolled over and scrambled out of bed.

”It’s too far away. I’ll take pictures and show you afterward.” Of course Anser couldn’t take her along. He wasn’t even planning to take Iris.

”What’s taking pictures?” Claira pouted.

”Let your new mentor explain it to you.” Anser shot Iris a meaningful look.

Almost all Spirit Net members were adults, and there was far too much miscellaneous content on it for a child to be exposed to so early.

”Nornoth and I haven’t seen you in forever. You’re always so busy. When are you and Mentor Iris going to have a baby? Then I’ll have someone to play with.” There was a hint of complaint in Claira’s childish voice.

Anser and Iris exchanged glances and couldn’t help smiling.

”You’re still tiny, but you sure know a lot. Time to wash up and eat.”

He picked Claira up and personally helped her get dressed and wash up.

Iris watched him from the side with a beaming smile. ”You’re even better at this than I am.”

Anser only smiled without answering. In his previous life, he’d actually helped look after someone else’s child for a few days.

Life moved at a relatively leisurely pace in Holrewen, and breakfast was served late as well.

After enjoying a delicious halfling breakfast, Anser didn’t linger. He cast Teleport and appeared in the sky above Suzail.

The sunlight was warm and gentle, and the streets below were bustling with people.

The orc encampment outside the city was the exact opposite. Orcs, half-orcs, gnolls, and goblins all had Darkvision. They were more active at night and preferred hiding away to sleep during the day.

Gnolls and goblins in particular were typical nocturnal creatures.

Those two species made up more than seventy percent of the orc coalition, directly determining the army’s daily schedule.

Anser took a deep breath, drew the Arcanefire Longbow, spread his wings, and flew higher into the sky.

Two thousand meters, three thousand, four thousand... ten thousand meters!

This wasn’t the limit of Meteor Swarm’s range. Any farther, however, and he wouldn’t be able to see his target.

Meteor Swarm had a base range of 1.6 kilometers. With his high Charisma, Enhanced Distant Spell, Spell Sniper, and the Arcanefire Longbow, its maximum range was roughly eighteen kilometers.

But that was far too distant. He wouldn’t be able to see anything clearly, much less lock onto a target.

Ten thousand meters was far enough. Even in his previous life, passenger jets generally flew below twelve thousand meters.

The wind howled in his ears. The city below had shrunk into a tiny box, the endless streams of people too small to see. Even the tents of the orc coalition were barely distinguishable.

’I’ll have to fire blind. As long as the general location is right, it’ll be fine.’

He connected to the Spirit Net, entered the ”Around the Sea of Fallen Stars” group chat, and typed a line:

[Come watch the fireworks!]

After sending it, he paid the chat no further attention and focused on the orc encampment.

Magic Power surged around him as he raised the Arcanefire Longbow and lightly rested his fingers against the bowstring.

Innate Sorcery + Metamagic: Enhanced Quickened, Enhanced Distant, Maximized + Meteor Swarm!

The Spirit Net surged to full power. A vast torrent of Magic Power converged upon him, throwing even the winds into chaos.

Red light blazed across the sky. Four flaming spheres several meters in diameter rapidly took shape, scorching waves of heat sweeping outward in every direction.

The next instant, the four flaming spheres went from motionless to hurtling downward, plunging toward the ground with long trails of fire behind them, accelerating faster and faster.

Meteors descended from the heavens, their howls carrying an oppressive force.

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