Chapter 748: War (1)

"Fire on the vampires."

The officer beside the command display turned toward the fleet commander.

"Which formation, sir?"

The commander looked at him, then at the enlarged image of the ruined capital. One vampire force was withdrawing from a breach in the ground while another pursued it through the rubble. Three powerful figures fought above them.

The two vampire forces were plainly attacking one another.

"All of them."

The officer pointed to the force moving its wounded away from the opening. "That group is maintaining a defensive line. We may be able to—"

"Do you want me to ask which vampire deserves to live?"

The officer lowered his hand.

The commander turned back to the display. Proxima’s Tier-One signal had carried no explanation, but the reports of vampires had reached them before they departed. Now an army of the creatures was fighting beneath his ships. What more confirmation did he need?

"The heaviest concentration first. Keep the weapons tracking those three above it."

"Yes, sir."

Orders moved through the bridge. The leading ship’s weapons brightened, and the vessels behind it adjusted their positions to clear the firing lines.

The commander watched the red marks over the vampires.

If the two groups wanted to kill each other, that would save his soldiers work. It did not make either group an ally.

***

Light gathered beneath the leading warship.

Alex saw the weapon turn and followed its angle toward the street below.

"Dorian! Move your right side!"

The first shot struck before every soldier could get clear.

BOOOOM!

The street vanished beneath a column of light. Stone and broken metal flew across the neighboring buildings, striking red-eyed bodies and allied vampires alike.

Alex raised a rune barrier against the debris reaching Selene’s position. Mingyue cut across his front, intercepting Thepes when he tried to attack through the distraction.

Below them, Dorian dragged a soldier away from the edge of the blast. The man’s lower body was gone, but he was still alive. Nearby vampires broke off from the fighting to shield him.

"Human vermin!" Dorian roared at the ship. Another red-eyed body lunged toward the wounded man, and he cut its head off before hauling the soldier behind his line. "Selene! Take him!"

The ships were firing on both sides. Whoever had given the order hadn’t cared which vampires were attacking and which were protecting the wounded.

More weapons began charging.

Alex’s anger rose as he looked at the ship. Shooting back would be satisfying. It would also put him between Thepes and an entire fleet while his own people remained exposed on the ground.

He watched the next weapon turn.

It tracked the densest part of the fighting, where Thepes’s followers were pushing against Dorian’s line. The first shot had broken their bodies, but the ones outside its center were already moving again.

The fleet was preparing to hit the same area.

"Dorian, take the line left. Away from the open avenue."

Dorian glanced toward the route, then began moving his ghouls.

Selene pulled the wounded behind them. Vesa shifted the last group away from the exposed edge, leaving fewer people who had to cross the ground under the guns.

The red-eyed vampires followed.

Alex dropped toward them, and Thepes came after him at once.

A blood blade struck Alex’s hammer, forcing him lower. Alex gave ground toward the wide avenue beside the breach, keeping himself in sight of the bodies pouring out below.

The front ranks turned toward him.

"Mingyue, keep our people moving."

Mingyue glanced at the brightening weapon. Her sword cut through the air beside Dorian’s flank. Purple ice stopped the nearest pursuers from following his soldiers into the narrower street.

The rest kept coming at Alex.

He landed at the far side of the avenue. Thepes hit the ground in front of him, breaking the paving stones with the force of his attack.

Alex blocked and stepped back as the bodies behind Thepes pressed into the avenue, closing around them.

Above them, the Imperial weapon held its aim. Alex waited until its light intensified, then moved.

He pushed away from Thepes’s next strike and rose sharply out of the avenue. A blood edge caught his leg before he cleared the enemy’s reach, cutting through the flesh below his knee.

Pain broke his concentration. He forced qi through the injured leg and kept rising.

The ship fired.

BOOOOM!

Light struck where the red-eyed force had gathered. The front ranks disappeared beneath it. The blast spread along the avenue, breaking the bodies behind them and throwing the rest back toward the breach.

Thepes roared inside the light.

Alex raised a barrier as the edge of the blast reached him. Heat struck his face, and several runes broke before he climbed beyond it.

Mingyue reached him and glanced at his leg. "Can you still move?"

"It’s healing."

She moved to his injured side instead of asking again. Alex shifted his hammer, giving her room without letting Thepes come between them.

"Don’t try the same thing twice," she said. "Look at the other ships."

Alex followed her glance. The leading ship had fired down the avenue, but the vessels on either side were spreading out. Dorian had moved beyond one weapon’s aim, straight into view of the others.

Alex nodded. The trick had bought them time, but Mingyue was right. He needed to watch the whole fleet.

Thepes burst out of the blast below them. The outer layer of blood had been blown from his body, but it was already gathering over him again. He came straight at Alex without slowing.

His followers had taken the worst of the blast. Dorian’s soldiers still had enemies close to them, but with the mass at the breach scattered, they had managed to regroup beyond the direct impact.

Thepes struck at Alex with both blood blades, forcing him to turn before he could check the wounded again.

Mingyue caught one attack. Alex met the other on his hammer. The three of them rose above the rooftops as the force of the clash tore through the smoke.

Above them, the Imperial ships began changing their aim.