Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

On the front

Threefingers threw one of his peculiar explosive devices. Two losts exploded into pieces under the power of the mana bomb that was his main offensive method.

He had to prepare them beforehand. First, he created a mana membrane, and then inserted more mana into it. The result was a somewhat unstable product that had to be handled with great care. For some reason, he only had three fingers on one of his hands.

Once created, they lasted about an hour. The mana would slowly leak out, until they reached the point where they no longer had the pressure to explode.

It was a somewhat crude but effective method. It gave them an extra resource for when the pressure of the mass of losts was too intense at a specific point on the front.

"Thank you, Three," Ted thanked, without turning around.

Some higher-level losts had suddenly arrived, and they were having trouble containing them. Mideltya, at her side, took the opportunity to cut off the head of a corrupted wolf. It had been injured and destabilized by the explosion.

Perhaps, it would have been more natural for her to be with the elves, especially since Elendnas was one of the leaders. However, there were members of her family there, which could cause tension. She didn't plan to leave Ted's side, and he wasn't accepted by her family.

"Dad's sword cuts wonderfully, doesn't it?" Lidia asked, almost at her side. Melingor, her husband, was between the two of them.

"Yes, it's incredible. I still find it hard to believe," the elf acknowledged. She was still marveling at her weapon.

Eldi had forged it especially for her. It was a custom-made weapon of great quality. She couldn't ask for a better weapon.

The high human wielded one of the Twin Shadows, which was why her brother was at her other side. In case of need, they could activate the special function of the weapons.

On the other side, next to Ted, was Chornakish. They had become quite close friends since their visit to the mansion, and had even trained together several times.

Next to him was Brurol, the starving blue orphan that Gjaki had rescued in one of the counties of the Blood Kingdom.

He had certainly changed a lot. Not only was he a vampire now, but his power had increased noticeably over the years.

Next to him was Cuina, his wife and Coinin's most warlike sister. She held a huge axe identical to Brurol's, except for the gem in the center of the metal. Eldi had created the weapons for them, and they even had a special ability that they executed at that moment.

The axes collided, thus causing the discharge of the energy they had been accumulating. The ten meters in front of them received the explosion, which took some enemies with it.

The main characteristic of the ability was the need to accumulate said energy. It was a slow process, which occurred after each hit. The gems absorbed some of the energy from the impact, and accumulated it. The glow of the gems indicated how far the charge had gone.

It was an ability that had surprised all who had witnessed it. They had never seen anything like it, and it was possibly the first of its kind in Jorgaldur.

Eldi had been inspired by electric cars, which use braking to recover energy. He had wondered if he could do something similar, and the result had exceeded his expectations.

Those axes were, for now, the only weapons he had created with that ability. Eldi had some plans, with modifications and possible improvements, but he needed more and better seismic gems.

They weren't excessively valuable because they didn't have many known uses. Therefore, it was also difficult to find them of good quality, since no one was interested in obtaining them. However, if Eldi offered to make similar weapons, he would surely soon have volunteers to obtain them. Quite a few would want to get their hands on something similar.

For her part, Diknsa was further back. Although she had offensive spells, her qualities as a healer were more appreciated. It wasn't as important to do damage as it was to keep the combatants alive.

There were also other inhabitants of the mansion, such as a pair of vampire dwarfs next to Cuina. They seemed to be enjoying hammering left and right.

More than half of the mansion had responded to the call. The others weren't great fighters, or had other obligations. Like Coinin.

The vampiress-rabbit had to take care of the mansion and its defenses, make sure everything was fine in Diknsa's absence, and babysit some vampire children.

"Ha, ha! I still haven't lost my touch!" count Shabeladag laughed.

The veteran mercenary had decided to go as well to remember old times. He looked to be in his fifties, despite being over a hundred.

Life had been rather peaceful for him, and he was no longer in the same shape as before. However, he could still fight with skill.

"Well, the children do it much better than you. They have more energy," Countess Lulorha criticized.

She was on the same front as Shabeladag, at a distance of about ten ex-mercenaries. Not only the two of them had decided to go, but some of their former comrades.

"Ha, ha, ha! That's why we've sent them to the other side! So it wouldn't be so noticeable!" he laughed, as he looked sideways into the distance.

There, several young warriors were fighting on the front. Among them, there were some of his children and grandchildren, Lulorha's, or those of other ex-mercenaries. Not all of them had inherited their fighting spirit, but those who had come had.

There was a couple in particular whose resemblance to Shabeladag was obvious, and three others who could easily be pointed out as descendants of the countess. They seemed to get along well, although, without a doubt, there was some rivalry between them.

Countess Kilthana was also there, although she didn't like to fight. Therefore, she was helping in the organization of logistics, and in watching Jiknha. Her friend seemed more interested in looking for her fourteenth husband than in her work.

As for Solodkro, they had left him in the county. Someone had to stay to manage it, and it had fallen to him.'