Jackal Among Snakes - Chapter 548

Argrave stood on the deck of the Sea Dragon, trying to dismiss the memories he’d made with Sophia here as a task of equal import demanded his attention. He could see it now, plain as day: the siege engine that had rained hellfire down on Berendar for the better part of a month, utterly defying their expectations of an offensive from the Coalition. And from all the way down here, the situation seemed quite formidable.

The sky tower looked like a great cumulonimbus. It was a dense billowing pillar of clouds positioned high in the sky, with nothing beneath it but an unfathomable stretch of air. The top of it roared with thunder and glowed with lightning, and electricity danced all along its surface. Rings of power swirled around it—divinity manifest as pure energy. These rings of power would begin moving slowly, then accelerate until they moved fast enough they were imperceptible. Then, the top of the sky tower would erupt in power, sending blasts toward Vasquer and making the spinning rings halt. Half a minute this took, blast after blast after blast. Almazora’s feat in defending against this thing was all the more impressive now that Argrave saw its source.

Argrave looked at Raccomen, god of space, standing on the deck with him. The god’s bejeweled hand rested on his chin as he gazed up at this siege weapon. Argrave asked, “You’re the god of space; how big is it?”

Raccomen glanced at Argrave, disturbed from his thoughts, then looked back. “It’s seven miles high precisely.”

“Seven miles off the ground, or seven miles high?” Argrave repeated in disbelief.Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only

“The tower is seven miles. Its peak is about forty-five thousand feet from the ground,” Raccomen clarified.

As Argrave reeled, another deity chimed in. “As fortified positions go, you can’t ask for much better than the sky,” Rook noted, leaning against the deck’s railing. “There’s a reason the heavens are known as the realm of the gods. Largely, only our kind can do battle up there. Your people aren’t well-suited for it. But even among gods, few have mastered the sky as Kirel Qircassia.”

Anneliese leaned against Rowe’s staff as she watched. “It’s a blessing to us, I should think. How can the people of the Great Chu truly believe the gods aren’t interfering if this giant structure persists above them? Ji Meng’s intercession may come easy.”

“I can think of half a dozen different ways the puppeteered imperial court might spin the tales,” Rook mused. “Just make any number of reasons up. They could say that the tower belongs to us, for instance. It’s our nefarious weapon. Simple, effective... and no way of disproving it.”

“Now that we can see our goal, we should discuss our plan,” Argrave reminded them before they veered too far away from the point.

“I can tell you the most important information.” Lira walked to the very front of the deck, then pointed her finger upward. “Erlebnis and Qircassia both reside in the top of the tower. Beneath them, hundreds of thousands of divine servants lie in wait. The entrance to Qircassia’s realm lies at the top of the tower. Fortunately it’s fully melded to this mortal world, meaning that he can be killed there permanently. Nevertheless...”

“He’s as fortified as he could possibly be,” Rook summarized. “The worst thing we could possibly do is allow our foes time to run back into the heart of their territory. I hope Sataistador understands this.”

“Of course he does,” chided Lira. “That bastard knows war better than anyone, that much I’ll concede.”

“We’ll face the harshest opposition on the shores of the Great Chu. The gods of the Qircassian Coalition will come out in force. Should we falter at all, Qircassia or Erlebnis might deign to descend to deliver a decisive blow,” Raccomen summarized.

“...but they’ll never come unless things are truly desperate for us,” Rook said, walking away from the railing.

When silence came for a moment, Argrave interjected. “What I’m going to ask of you is simple. I know that what I’ve built is a match for most in this realm. But my people aren't gods, and I can’t ask them to fight gods. Not here, not now.” He looked up to the sky. “That’s why I’d like to ask you to keep the two battlefields separate. The heavens above, where the gods dwell... and the earth below, where the mortals squabble.”

All of the gods considered this, yet Lira looked at Raccomen.

“With the god of space, that’s not’s merely doable—it would be ideal,” the aged god said. “It would spare your people casualties, and allow a monster like Law to fight freely without fear of collateral damage.”

Rook nodded in agreement. “Raccomen can play support, separating the fields of battle. If Law’s our vanguard... I will say one thing. He’s every bit as terrifying as those two lurking in that tower. Or even Sataistador, lurking... wherever he’s lurking.”

“What are these symbols?” Durran thumbed a drawing on the front. “I’m worried that—”

“Worried that he might send a covert message? I know,” Argrave smiled at his friend’s quick wit. “Anneliese interrogated him about each and every one. The symbols merely denote one’s rank. That, my friend, marks you as my commander.”

“It sounds like we’re going to be collaborating rather closely,” Durran hefted the token. “Me and my brother-in-law, taking the world by storm.”

Argrave smiled, choosing to neglect to inform Durran he’d first considered Melanie for the role given her continued success in doing amazing things for their cause.

“Yeah. You’ll need to make up a story about why you have the emperor’s dadao. Like I said earlier, it could be a blessing if you play your cards right.”

“It’s been a nice weapon,” Durran admitted, looking to the side where he’d left it leaning against the wall. “Considered having it attached to a pole, turning it into a glaive. Suppose it’s fine as is.”

Argrave nodded with nothing more to say.

“Elenore tells me that little kid I’ve seen running about with a huge entourage of guards might just be the key to set me free of my life-or-death bet with the Alchemist.” Durran set his arms on the table. “That you’re getting closer, daily.”

Argrave’s mind wandered back to Sophia and her troubles as soon as she was mentioned. “It’s true,” he nodded. “Complicated, but true.”

“Must be a nice child,” Durran noted.

“Yeah. She is.” Argrave nodded, though he wondered if it could stay that way given the path fate had in store for her. “Why do you think so, though? Have you met her?”

“Because Elenore talked about the idea of children in a positive light for once,” Durran smiled.

Argrave chuckled a little. “Sophia adores Elenore.”

“Oh, I know.” Durran tapped the table a few times, searching for words. “It’s been a long journey. The people we once feared, we’re heading out to kill.”

“Someone has to. Funny how that tends to be us,” Argrave lamented.

“Funny indeed,” Durran leaned back in his chair. “Let’s have a light drink. Enough to make it easier to sleep.”

“Let’s.” Argrave nodded.

Of course, he didn’t want to spoil the moment by telling his friend his black blood still made alcohol useless on him. They drank, chatted... and for a moment, Argrave managed to forget his worries.

Yet dawn came quickly, and sunlight was soon to replace moonlight.