Amazon Apocalypse 6: Chapter 64

I reluctantly left Bridget with Mimiko once again, then left to meet up with Frank. He was already prepared to leave, and he had a dozen of his best adventurers alongside him. They were all C-Grades, but high-ranking ones.

I wasn't sure how they'd fare against the C-Grade Sages of Camlaan, but these adventurers were fighters while the Sages were not, so the difference in grade might not be as big as it seemed between the two forces. Especially not with me tagging along. Though my plan was to get the sages in line before Frank and his adventurers even arrived, which would hopefully avoid any fight at all.

"So what's the plan, boss?" Frank asked.

"We're going to make the Sages of Camlaan sign this piece of paper before we help them." I held up a stack of paper. It was one of many copies I was carrying.

As fortune would have it, Nakano had enlisted Margaret's help with drafting the protectorate agreement he had the leaders of New Kyoto sign. Since she had a copy, it was easy for her to quickly swap a few names and figures and change the agreement to one tailored for the Sages of Camlaan.

She printed it out and provided it to me, though all I truly wanted was the first page. People from Earth might be willing to parse lengthy contracts full of exceptions, but among higher powers something simple and easily understood was often better. Besides, this would need to be signed in a hurry, and I didn't want the Sages of Camlaan to think our help was contingent on anything but the simple protectorate contract we had on the page.

With our precious paper in hand, we took off. Frank led me through several teleportation arrays belonging to his guild. Apparently, his people had an array inside the city we'd visited previously, deep in the heart of the Sages of Camlaan's territory. I hadn't realized how far afield Frank's adventuring guild had been going, but it was clear his people weren't called the Adventurers Guild without reason. There was very little they hadn't already explored during this stage of the integration.

We appeared inside a private residence within the City of Tavalon.

"Hey, I'm back!" Frank said as we emerged from what looked like a broom closet.

Pretty soon, I heard a woman come running and realized it was the mayor of the city herself. We'd gotten into a bit of trouble with her before thanks to the way some of Frank's female adventurers were dressed. The mayor was also the guildmaster of the Whores Guild, and didn't appreciate the competition.

"Oh, Frank! You've returned just in time. The city is under siege by horrible monsters! We've hardly even repaired our walls from the Black Knights' attack, and now this. Quickly, only you can save us!" the mayor said while adjusting the hem of her low-cut dress even lower.

After exchanging a nod, Frank and his adventurers took to the walls to clear out the monsters. I followed along and took to the air nearby. After taking to the skies, I scanned our surroundings and fired off a few quick bursts of mana bolts. That thinned out the horde Frank and his team would have to deal with. Then I set my sights on the strongest monster in the area, which was a mid B-Grade Void Harpy, like the kind that had been fighting Cyra.

It had a circle of victims surrounding it already, but my Sunlight Spear caught it entirely unprepared. Thanks to my sneak attack, finishing it off proved rather easy. I left Frank and his people to finish up. They could catch up to me after I had a chat with the Sages of Camlaan themselves.

***

As I had suspected, the capital was beset by far greater forces than the city we'd just liberated. This was where the Sages themselves resided, and thirteen B-Grades had to draw out a significant response from the void monsters.

Sure enough, there was a Void City Eater flailing against a shimmering barrier that surrounded the city that was being projected from the rib bones of the great ark I'd seen before. It was probably once a shield for the colony ship that deposited their ancestors on their new world. I was impressed it was strong enough to hold as long as it had. Only something made by the Architects could hold off a creature as strong as this Void City Eater for hours on end.

But how much longer would it last?

It wouldn't last forever, and I doubted the thirteen sages were up to fighting that thing. They might have been B-Grades, but they didn't have the combat experience a B-Grade raised up by the System would have.

I bypassed the barrier and the Void City Eater and flew straight for the throne room. The trip up the long staircase went by in a blink as I set down outside the heavy doors. Despite the crisis, the gates had guards posted at the top.

The guards seemed shocked that someone was present, and both had their armor off and their spears resting to one side as they played a game of dice. Under normal circumstances, they would have had hours to see someone coming up the stairs and prepare themselves. Someone ascending the massive staircase in the blink of an eye had to be a first for them.

"H-halt!" one of the guards scrambled to shove his helmet back on. He knocked over his table in the process, spilling snacks and dice everywhere.

"It's one thing to relax in times of peace, but don't you see your city is under siege? You should be with the rest of the guards preparing to defend the city from the void monsters." I waved my hand and the fallen table and snacks righted themselves.

One of the guards looked like he wanted to reply, but the other covered his mouth and backed away. He must have seen me flying up here and realized I wasn't someone he could fight. It was the smarter move, because an instant later I put them out of mind and kicked down the door to the throne room.

Inside, the place was packed with Camlaan's nobility, much as it had been when the Sages awarded Frank with his title. My entrance caused a bit of a stir, and a couple of people crowded near the door had been pushed back.

"Balencia! I hear you want to borrow my hero," I said by way of announcement.

The crowd of nobles went silent, and many of them looked shocked that I would barge in here and shout the Grand Sage's name the way I had. Nearby, the guards stopped leaning against walls and grabbed their weapons. A knight kneeling before the Grand Sage and speaking looked up in surprise and growing anger. He had the look of a warrior, and had probably been in the middle of reporting the current situation to the sages.

Balencia, the Grand Sage, was present as before. Many of the chairs beside her were filled as well. If they were all at court instead of near the walls or powering the barrier, things were even more dire than I'd initially assumed. If the Sages were all here, it meant they were certain there was nothing they could do to aid with the defense, and that if the barrier fell while that Void City Eater was outside, they were all as good as dead.

"You're not Frank the Hero..." Balencia stood from her throne, already glaring at me.

"No, I'm Carter, the guy who heroes work for."

"Ah yes, I remember you now. You're the hero's assistant? Attendant? Something along those lines? Hurry up and fetch your master. We are in dire need of someone to slay a powerful monster," Balencia replied dismissively. She gestured to the guards, no doubt expecting them to haul me off to the dungeon after my entrance.

I clicked my tongue. Normally, I preferred traveling incognito. After hitting B-Grade, there were eyes on me no matter where I went, even on powerful worlds like Glacia. I much preferred the treatment of an average guy who no one paid so much as a second glance.

The one kneeling before her was quickest to stand and draw his sword. I scanned him quickly.

Camlaan White Knight Captain (Level 135)

It wasn't nearly strong enough to face the void monsters outside. Let alone the Void City Eater high above. He looked ready to skewer me with his sword, and he thrust his blade at me.

I caught it between my fingers, then bent the steel weapon over until it pointed back at him. He stared at the tip of his blade in muted shock. Then I backhanded him, and he left the ground before slamming into two of his subordinates who were coming as reinforcements.

I reached for the cloak I'd grown fond of lately, plucked it from my shoulders, and let its level-disguising effects fade away as I stuffed it into a spatially-enlarged pocket. People finally started taking in my level, and I heard more than one sharp intake of breath.

I didn't take glee in what I was about to do, but the alternative was worse. With void monsters on the outside and me on the inside, I was really forcing Balencia's hand here. But Nakano's recent work had proven that getting through the integration could be as simple as getting a signature on a piece of paper.

I held up the paper in question, then levitated it to Balencia through telekinesis. On the surface it was a very preemptive application of power. Anyone used to seeing it would think nothing of it. But those who truly lived and breathed magic were seeing the feat and gaping in awe. I watched the glasses fall off the face of one of the sages. I remembered her name was Lydwyn, from the party I'd attended in honor of Frank.

"No mana use at all..." Lydwyn peered at the floating pieces of paper.

Balencia muttered a few words and twirled her fingers as though not willing to be outdone. A gust of wind swept through the chamber, caught the papers, and carried them the rest of the way to her. From the swirl of mist and the arcane gestures, Balencia's spell seemed more like magic. But those who'd seen my telekinesis could tell there was just a little something lacking from Balencia's showy spell when comparing it to my simple levitation.

I folded my hands behind my back and waited patiently. The White Knight and the guards tried to sneak up on me from behind, but I could sense them coming through senses far more powerful than my eyes. I turned the floor beneath their feet to ice, then held them in place telekinetically so it looked like they were trapped in place and unable to come any closer to me no matter how hard they tried.

"If you don't want to share, I will." I turned to the crowd. "It's clear to me that your people are unable to defeat the void monsters outside your city. Mine can. Signing this treaty will reorganize your government into a protectorate of Crownhill, satisfying the System with a bloodless end to this stage of the integration. By signing this, you will receive our protection and still maintain your own local sovereignty. Any disagreements you have must be negotiated, and we will be free to recruit from your civilians and establish guild branches and businesses within your cities, but otherwise you will be free to do as you wish. It's a small price to pay for not getting devoured by a giant void monster, don't you think?"

There was muttering all around us, though it was dampened to faint whispers by the enchantments in the hall. Balencia's voice came through loud and clear.

"This document strips the Grand Sage of emergency powers. You want me to step down!" Balencia scowled at me.

"Nothing so dramatic. But if we take over protecting your city, there is no need for you to hold emergency wartime powers anymore. Let your fellow sages aid you as they have before. And let these fine nobles around us resume whatever tasks they had before the end of the world." I gestured to the crowd.

Those words stirred even more excitement. This was mostly a guess on my part, but it was a well-informed guess. Losing power and influence never went over well, and I was pretty sure I could get most of these nobles on my side by promising them things would go back to normal as long as they signed the treaty.

I reached into my pocket and produced several more copies of the treaty, along with a few pens. I turned to the White Knight who'd been trying to grab me and placed the spare copies of the treaty in his hands.

"Here, distribute these to the fine noble ladies and gentlemen nearby so they can read the protectorate agreement with their own eyes."

The White Knight stared at the documents like he was looking at a bundle of live snakes. He glanced between me, the nobles, and the Grand Sage, and I could see in his eyes that he realized he was picking a side in what had suddenly turned into a coup to strip the Grand Sage of her power.

He looked like he was going to stand there a while trying to decide, so I waved my hand and slid him across the frozen floor to start handing out papers whether he wanted to or not.

People started reading, and eventually, someone broke the heavy silence.

"I, Duke Ardgal of Walacia, have signed the protectorate treaty. I urge all my fellow lords and ladies to do the same," said a proud masculine voice off to one side.

At his approval, others began to sign. Pretty soon, most of them had done so. The sound of the ravenous void monster trying to eat the city coming through the open doors behind me probably helped sell the urgency.

Eventually, pretty much everyone noteworthy besides Balencia had signed. She had a furious look on her face, and seemed moments away from letting loose her anger in the form of a spell. Mana gathered in her hands, and I was prepared to deal with her then and there, but Lydwyn did so first.

"Enough, Balencia. A decision has been made. Just sign the treaty and you will still be our Grand Sage. You know as well as the rest of us that we can't fight that thing outside. Nor can we fight the one inside," she shot a glance at me. We'd gotten along well at the party, but now her eyes were full of fear as she looked me over.

Reluctantly, Balencia signed the treaty. It probably would have been a cleaner end to things if she'd died or been imprisoned, but Balencia was smart enough to realize I could kill her in a heartbeat if she attacked.

I had hoped she wouldn't believe the level the System revealed to her, but she had probably been scanning people and things for their level ever since she first got her powers and was much more used to trusting it than the average integration survivor. She did the smart thing and yielded.

She might start plotting behind my back, but hopefully by the time she did anything, Frank's Adventuring Guild would have enough ears on the ground in the city to deal with her. Given the resources at my disposal, I was confident we could slowly absorb Camlaan into a stable territory, similar to what I had planned for New Kyoto.

"Fine. The bargain is struck. Assuming you really can deal with that thing outside, that is. Should you fail or die, all this is null and void." Balencia reluctantly signed the treaty, much to the delight of the crowd and the other sages.

I levitated all the signed copies of the treaty for a moment. Light flared, and suddenly my name appeared at the bottom of every sheet, signed and dated. The bargain was struck, and the System recognized it a moment later.

Congratulations! You have gained the tenuous loyalty of the ruling faction of Camlaan.

Their leadership has sworn loyalty to you. You have entered into a protectorate agreement with them. If both sides fulfill their obligations wholeheartedly, your relationships will deepen and they may become vassals in truth.

You currently control four of five shards.

"This won't take long," I said. I turned and left. They could look out the door and watch me kill the Void City Eater.

<Note>

I'm going to skip most of this fight, since we've seen this one and there are more important ones coming up and this is taking a bit longer than anticipated and we still have to have something like this for the Order of Sorcery before we can get back to Adrian's birth.

I swear, I always target 150k-175k words for these books, but they always end up being 220-250k or so, and this one looks like it will be no different.