Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Chapter 325 The Flood [Part 1]

With sweat continuing to pour off her body, Snow yanked her daggers free and moved to create a temporary barrier for them to retreat safely. Desmond was about to protest when the elf woman gave him a small smile and a nod.

There was one additional part of their task after completing the construction portion of the dam, and it seemed she had completed it for him while he was distracted.

"[Glacies: Ice Wall]"

""[Glacies: Ice Wall]""

Snow cast the barrier in front of them, which was swiftly followed by two other mages casting the same spell. With three layers of protection, they assumed they could retreat even with Desmond's extra injuries. He helplessly leaned on the much smaller woman and let her help him move behind the line of mages.

After having recalled his spear, Desmond finally observed it and saw that it was covered in blood. Though he had thrown it with reckless abandon in the general direction of the enemy force, it seemed he had been lucky enough to land at least a few hits with it. He put a note in the back of his mind to thank Corva again.

Over the edge, the water had already reached about two-thirds of the way to the top of the dam. Further down the river, it had already 'dried up', leaving behind a mucky riverbed. The opposing forces seemed to contemplate whether or not they should attempt to cross. Thankfully, the archers they set up in range of the river remained in place and were prepared to fire the moment anyone tried crossing.

No one attempted to cross between the bridge and their construct because anyone on the dam or the bridge could bombard them with spells.

Looking around and analyzing things made Desmond's world spin. The recovery effects of the potion had dwindled, and the pain settled in once more. All the extra movement he made while fighting off the hammer user had re-damaged his ribs as they mended, completely undoing the effects of the potion. Read exclusive adventures at empire

Snow looked little better. Her body physically shook with every step as they protested each minute movement. Sweat soaked through her clothes and basically poured off her head. Many times, Desmond noticed she would engage in a fierce blinking fit as she tried to blink away the burn of sweat getting into her eyes.

From behind them, the walls of ice cracked. The combined efforts of the enemy had made quick work of the three barriers, but they did their job by lasting long enough for them to retreat behind several of their own soldiers that had been brought over to help defend the new crossing.

Nearly the same moment they passed into relative safety, the ice walls shattered, sending massive chunks of ice cascading into the slowly filling basin.

"Quickly! More walls! We must reinforce our position!" Desmond shouted. The moment he gave the order, three more walls of ice materialized between the two armies. "Whenever a wall comes down, replace it! Buy time for us to reinforce!

Pull from the bridge if you must!"

Snow moved to a position where she could monitor the basin, while Desmond struggled to put himself in a standing position once more. Though he had to lean on his weapon for balance, he maintained a noble demeanor, as was drilled into him during childhood. His ability to maintain this look while being in copious amounts of pain earned him several approving nods.

Not even ten minutes after he stood, he locked eyes with Snow. She gave a subtle nod. Desmond took a deep breath to prepare for casting a spell. He hoped it wouldn't send him into unconsciousness, but he had no choice. "[Aqua: Water Ball]"

With the horns of retreat being sounded, the spell flew over the heads of their men. The mages cast several wall spells of different elements on both the bridge and the dam to cover for the retreat. The moment the spell exploded; Desmond cracked his jaw to prepare for what came next.

The Thunder Mage heeded his orders. "[Tempestas: Lightning Strike]! [Tempestas: Lightning Strike]!" He launched two spells back-to-back, targeting multiple explosive crystals at once. The enemy forces seemed to move in slow motion as they attempted to retreat. Unfortunately, since they had advanced so far along both the bridge and dam, many of their troops could not escape the devastation.

Several massive explosions tore through the stone construction, sending rock and chunks of elves flying. Water was scattered into the air before quickly filling the void left behind. It cascaded in a massive wave over the bridge. As if a testament to the skill of elven construction, the wooden bridge seemed to hold strong against the massive wall of water.

However, it only lasted a few moments before the supports splintered and the bridge collapsed. The screams of elves unable to escape the destruction were drowned out by the rushing wave of the river surging forth to once again claim its territory.

Desmond looked south at the water rushing toward the main camp. With the extra amount of water, the surface of the river was nearly twenty feet higher than it used to be, flooding hundreds of feet of land, pulling people, trees, and buildings along with its raging waters.

Though everyone watched on in silence, Desmond could feel the looks of death on his back from the elves, who were disgusted by their actions.

Snow slowly returned to Desmond's side, deftly dodging soldiers and trying her best to keep out of arm's reach in the event someone forgot their place and let their frustrations out. She seemed to think that staying close to him would provide them some form of safety. Though it was just a thought and had no basis in reality, he could not fault her for feeling that way.

"I hope Lucius knows what he is doing."

"He does. Usually at least."

"You did this based on a usually?" Snow glowered at him.

"Nope, I did it because I trust him, like I said before. You should too, you know," Desmond answered quietly. Neither felt like continuing the conversation as the waters roared in front of them. The water levels likely wouldn't return to normal for several minutes. After all, they were only a few miles from the river's source.

It was only thanks to the raging waters and distance from the source that this plan would work so well and so quickly.