The World Dragon's Heir - Chapter 529: Critical Mass

Chapter 529: Critical Mass

Dominic sipped cheap wine from the cellar as the storm shook the house. It had grown so intense that even with an [Area Barrier] over the compound, the amount that he was reducing the storm’s force by was no longer enough to make it comfortable in the yard.

He could make it stronger, but if he made it a solid barrier, the mana use would be more than he could maintain.

It wasn’t like being in combat, where he could refresh himself with [Arcane Blast] constantly. But at least he could use external mana, and not just internal mana to keep the barrier up.

If he was limited like a normal mage, it would have fallen by now.

“Amie, what does the radio say?” He called.

“Nothing. There hasn’t been a broadcast in nearly an hour now. I think that we might be the last survivors in the area.

But I’m more concerned about the storm itself. I can feel mana building in the core, and I count at least fifty cyclones that would rate a force 3 or higher. Sustained winds are already in excess of two hundred kilometres an hour, and the cyclones are forming into huge water funnels even with that much linear wind.

For all I know, they could be maxing out the ratings.

We’re lucky that we haven’t taken a direct hit yet, but we’ve had to come within a kilometre of us so far, and the storm now extends to the horizon in every direction, including out over the ocean.

This is not a natural storm, and when that mana builds to critical mass, something terrible is going to happen.”

Dominic frowned. “Do you think that we should move?”

Amie laughed. “I can’t even open a small portal home to warn them with the interference. We’re not going anywhere. But where did you have in mind?”

“Modbury, maybe Bamberbury?”

Amie waited silently for him to explain why he wanted to go to the most populated region of Dagos.

Then it came to her.

The storm had formed directly overhead. Dominic was wagering that it would follow him, and he could bring three hundred kilometres an hour winds to a region with a population in the millions, and wooden framed houses.

It was a brilliant tactic. Why fight the enemy when you could simply obliterate them with a natural disaster?

With the northern peninsula annihilated, that was the last region with significant rebel forces loyal to the Prince. Perhaps they would even get lucky and get Prince Kaizon himself?

Nobody had seen him for at least a month that they knew of. But he had to be hiding somewhere.

She was still wondering if there was a way that she could make Dominic’s dreams a reality when she felt a twist of magic from the basement. Someone was activating a ritual spell down there.

“Dominic!”

“I feel it. I’m headed down to see what it is.”

The sailors backed away when they saw that Dominic had a mortar in one hand and a pistol in the other. Only one of those two things was suitable for indoor use.

Especially when they were in the house.

Carefully, Dominic made his way down from the kitchen entrance, so he didn’t have to break a barricaded door to get into the main room.

The bodies were gone from the basement, disposed of by Amie, though there was still blood everywhere.

However, that was true before he had arrived as well. The ritual circle was drawn in blood, as was necessary for so many necromantic rituals.

The runes were glowing, and the amount of magic in the air told him that something huge was about to happen. However, there was nobody in the room. Not even that odd feeling of being watched that came with scrying spells or hidden threats.

Then, a blast of magic knocked Dominic to the ground and everything went silent around them.

He put the mortar away and took out a second pistol, expecting the arrival of more mages.

But found nothing.

There was bright light streaming in the basement window, the blood circle was dried and inert, and there was no sign of the storm raging outside.

He needed to check on the others.

Dominic silently raced upstairs, where he found everyone unconscious, but breathing.

Amie came to the top of the stairs, and silently waved him up.

She led him to the radio room, and threw open the storm shutters. The storm was gone, but so was everything else.

They were sitting in a wooded area that smelled faintly of marshland, inside an intact house. An intact house with no yard, no driveway, and no sign of how it had gotten here.

“Don’t give me that look. I know a lot of magic, but [Move this house out of the storm] isn’t one of the spells I am familiar with.” Amie complained.

“Do you think that we will have guests soon? The basement runes were glowing, so it should have been a planned escape. Perhaps not exactly how they planned it, with the spell casters dead, but planned.

Which means, we’re likely still in Dagos.”

Amie smiled. “Oh, I certainly hope so.”

There was a reason that they were friends. Now, someone had to wake up the others and tell them what was going on.

“We’ve got movement in the woods.” Amie whispered.

Dominic lay flat on the floor and slid forward to look out from between the stone pillars of the balcony railing with his pistol at the ready. Amie hid behind the curtains, peeking through periodically to whisper updates that a normal human would not hear.

“They look confused. Dagos Hunters. Noble badging, commoner clothing, bows and arrows.” She whispered.

“Perhaps we should say hello? They might know where we are.”

“Or they might be bait to lure us out.”

They smiled at each other, both knowing that if these hunters were bait, it would be a slaughter. Unless Kaizon had another Mage Sect on his side, there wasn’t much that would stop the pair of them on a rampage.