Chapter 83 Magic Construc
There were 3 panels in total, each showing different locations.
The first was the front of the palace. Daneel had been to the place with Elanev when he had gone to collect the Prime Citizen Award. It was an aerial view, with the gate to the palace and the situation outside clearly visible.
A gargantuan beast that looked like a rhinoceros was ramming into the crimson barrier that had formed at some point around the whole palace. As he finally understood exactly what had been causing the disturbance along his way, Daneel noticed two small specks standing in the air above the beast.
Looking closer, his jaw dropped as he realized that they were actually Radagast and the pot-bellied man he had seen before.
Now that he had a human to compare with, he understood just how big the beast actually was.
It covered the whole of the large road which was in the center of the outer city. This meant that 10 men standing side by side would be needed to match just the width of this beast.
As for the height, Daneel could estimate that it was at least as tall as a 10-story building. All in all, it emanated the feeling of a force that would make anyone run in fear.
Now that he had had time to study the library and gain some knowledge, he knew that such beings were called "Magic Constructs". Just like the Firewind Dragon which had destroyed the Dwarve's Rum, this was an existence which came into being due to the effect of a spell.
There was no information regarding what level as a mage was needed to cast such a spell. In fact, one historian had written that it was impossible for any mages alive to cast such a spell. Only trinkets or formations from ancient times which were made with the purpose of protecting important locations could be used in this day and age to make entities like this appear.
Such treasures were so rare that even the Kingdom of Lanthanor did not have any as long as one did not count the Royal Palace.
Each time the horn of the rhinoceros rammed into the barrier, the whole palace seemed to shake slightly accompanied by the brightness of the crimson formation decreasing a bit.
On the second panel, a group of men in black clothes were holding a strange object in their hand and pointing it at the barrier at a certain location that seemed to be devoid of any people.
The device reminded Daneel of the battering rams used by people back on Earth to break through doors. Only, this battering ram was longer, requiring four people to hold it on each side.
Three snakes entwined around a spear-like object which was rotating at a high speed with the sharp tip impacting the barrier.
"It's a drill!", realized Daneel, feeling awed at the first piece of equipment that seemed to be using both magical and mechanical means that he saw in this world.
The third and final screen was actually the most shocking of them all. In the aerial view, a gigantic wall could be seen on which numerous soldiers were standing in neat rows. On the other side of the wall, a humongous army which filled the rest of the screen was marching forward.
Focusing, Daneel estimated that there were at least 250,000 soldiers in just the area that was visible in the screen. This already exceeded the number of regular soldiers that Lanthanor even had.
Daneel now understood why there were only a few soldiers in the city to stop the Church of Rectitude and the TriCobra Society. It seemed that the two forces had somehow synced their attack with a third party which pulled the military might of the Kingdom away.
"Damn Axelor! How could the information about their army's movement arrive so late?", cursed the King, breaking the silence with the room.
His voice broke Daneel's gaze away from the panels. Just like the others in the room, he had not even realized that he had been transfixed on the images on them all this while.
Now that he had time to look around, he saw that the Vice Sect Master who had been at the procession was now standing in front of the enormous heart in the room. His left hand was holding what looked like a golden book to his chest, while his right was upraised, pointing at the heart.
Daneel kept his eyes on the man, watching him shoot a glare at the King after he spoke out loud. Turning around and sharing a look with the Eldest Prince who was standing beside him, he closed his eyes again as an expression of concentration appeared on his face.
"Father, don't worry. The foolish Church and the cowardly Society think that by attacking at the same time, they can hope to overload the formation with their combined force and break it. If my master didn't beseech the Head of the Sect to lend an ancient trinket which hastens the mastery of formations, then we would not have stood a chance. In only a few more hours, we will have full mastery of the Dragon Heart Formation after which we can easily send these fools scurrying in fear. Just stay patient, Father. As soon as we resolve the situation here, we can easily drive away the attacking army and take full control of the Kingdom.", said the Eldest prince as a sycophantic smile appeared on his face.
"Are you sure that no one knows of this? As far as I have seen, their information network seems to be highly extensive.", asked the King, sighing as worry made him crease his forehead.
"Yes, father. Besides, even if they knew, what can they do about it? All the entrances are blocked as all the members of the Royal Family have been called back to the palace and accounted for except that traitor Laravel. It doesn't even matter whether he managed to kill that kid or not, because regardless, he must be definitely dead by now eliminating the last way in which anyone can gain access to the palace. As for that kid, no matter what tricks his master taught him, he can't break through this barrier made by the formation which is impervious to all attacks below those of a Peak Exalted Warrior Mage."
Hearing this conversation, Daneel finally had a grasp of the whole situation.
In order to reach the heart and take control of it, either the formation had to break due to the attacks from the forces outside or the barrier had to be deactivated from the inside by the King.
Besides, time was tight. Unaware of the situation here, the forces outside were taking their time to break the formation thinking that they still had a lot of time until the formation was mastered.
"System, can you still take control if someone is already in full control of the formation?"
[Negative. System can only take control if the formation is not currently controlled by anyone.]
Indeed, it was as he had expected. All would be lost if he did not find a way to get to the heart before the Vice Sect Master gained full control of it.
Stepping back into a shadow in the corner of the room, Daneel started planning his next step.