Chapter 280 B4 Chapter 36 - Improved Launcher

The golem’s weight tipped over, crashing against the ground. In one clean hit, it died.

Sand and sandstones shot out in all directions. Vivi rushed in front of Aolinn and summoned Shield of Nature. And good thing she did. A chunk of loose sandstone hit her shield with force. Cael protected Helegar, though they weren’t hit.

The noblewoman was already a mess. Without a coating of ether, sand clung to her clothes and skin, and her hair was a far cry from the beautiful scents her fresh shampoo had given at Helegar’s ball. All she had was a piece of cloth wrapped around her mouth and nose for protection.

“We’ll have a warm bath for you soon,” Vivi said. “Just a few more hours.”

Aolinn spotted the chunk of stone that flew straight at Vivi’s shield. Her eyes widened. “Thank you.”

Vivi patted down all the sand that loosely fell from Aolinn’s clothes, then turned around to the direction where the missile had been fired.

On the peak of the small mountain, a convoy of a dozen hunters pulled a carriage. At the front was Coshi Dala, still wielding one of Vivi’s best swords, Blossom. She stood majestically with her hands on the pommel of the sword, eyes looking down at Vivi.

With sand still mostly pushed off, the storm growing, Vivi headed up. She met Coshi’s eyes, who wore a disbelieving grin.

“Vivian?” Coshi shouted when she got close enough. “It’s really you? Curse the abyss, you’re alive?”

Coshi looked exactly like she had when Vivi last saw her. A small woman for a leader, wearing whatever she wanted, while still somehow always standing at the very front of any army. Today, she wore a simple swordmaiden’s vest with a moonweaver’s silk skirt, shorts displayed underneath. The lines on her cheeks almost looked like whiskers as she gaped at Vivi.

Vivi couldn’t help but grin back. “That’s me.”

Coshi snorted, then placed her hand on Vivi’s shoulder. “Your funeral was three days ago, girl. We thought we lost you.”

“I’m not dead that easily,” Vivi said. “Good to see you.”

Behind Coshi, Vivi recognized many faces. Essi was there, of course, with her head nervously to the ground. Anthony Ailman stood as stoic as ever, surveying the area for threats. Freyven sat at the edge of the closest carriage, or cart: the next thing that took Vivi’s attention.

It wasn’t a carriage as much as it was just a sturdy platform on wheels. Atop it sat the largest slingshot launcher Vivi had ever seen. The barrel was as thick as the columns in a palace. Supporting it was a thick metal plate that also hid most inner mechanisms, but the long enhancement string of two dozen ether roots was clearly visible, ready to enhance ammunition. The missiles, carried behind on a smaller carriage, were as large as human bodies, both by length and width. They didn’t seem to have outside-carving on them, though Vivi wasn’t sure who could have learned inside-carving. They probably used the easier mold method to mass produce these.

No wonder the golem had been one-shot. On top of that, a crew of soldiers with handheld slingshot launchers surrounded the carriage on foot. It looked like the slingshot launchers had become even more popular than runeswords.

“Every time I think luck is running out and you’re gone, you come back stronger. Are you sure you didn’t come from the heavens, Vivi? You’re not a goddess’s apostle?”

“I’m just a runesmith…” Vivi said.

Coshi tapped her hand on Vivi’s shoulder again. “You have a new name in the city now. I hope you’ll like it.”

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Oh no, Vivi thought. As if Runeblessed wasn’t already bad enough. Surely nothing else could be even worse, right?

Coshi then bowed to everyone behind Vivi. “Coshi Dala, the Luminary of Shivenar. Honored to meet you.”

Cael lowered his head first. “Cael Darkwind. An artist.”

“Alda Darkwind. Ether hunter of the third elevation.”

“Lortel. We have met before.”

“Of course, Vivi’s seamstress.” Coshi bowed. “You are all heroes.”

“The rest don’t have translation magic,” Vivi said. “That’s Aolinn, my friend. She can’t channel ether. Please treat her well. That’s Helegar, her father, and not so much my friend. Make sure he doesn’t die.”

Coshi waved happily at Aolinn and Helegar as well, then led everyone deeper. Behind the missile carrier, they also had a regular carriage with a roof. All of Vivi’s friends were led inside. The carriages wouldn’t need any more protection, even if Alda and Cael were hunters as well.

They began moving right away, the carriages pulled directly by demons. In these conditions, ether-fueled legs seemed to be more popular than camels. Maxed-out demons were more reliable and faster.

Vivi climbed on top of the missile carrier. “Good to see you, Freyven. Are we on the fourth iteration of slingshot launchers now?”

Freyven stood proudly next to her. “I’m not sure if this one can be called a slingshot launcher. We’re calling it a detonation launcher. We’re overloading crystalline emberstones with enough ether to make them explode. The barrel is reinforced with an enhancement string we call the bulk string. The impetus string has also been improved to accommodate heavier objects. Although, it’s a work in progress. The base certainly needs more support already.”

After the explanation, Freyven just grinned at Vivi. “You’ve become a legend, Vivi. Now a living legend. This invention is truly incredible.”

“You’re the one developing it.”

She moved behind the launcher, and Freyven showcased the inner mechanisms. Right away, Vivi was overwhelmed with the amount of lids and tubes and mechanical connections at the back. There was an everything rune marked with a warning sign. That must have been where ether was inserted for the detonation. Other than that, Vivi would have had to ask what each part did.

The experts of the field, the ballista makers and ether scientists, had unsurprisingly surpassed Vivi’s knowledge of ballistas. She wouldn’t be surprised if Civar invented a rudimentary skill wisp soon. Even now, Vivi would need time to catch up on understanding the new developments.

That probably wouldn’t be the best use of her time, though. Creating artillery weapons wasn’t the field she’d practiced, even if she had been the one to make all of this possible. What Vivi was the best in the world at was vein-shaping and runesmithing, and she had one specific project she wanted to complete before heading off to the surface.

“Good work,” Vivi said. “And keep improving it. If we use the enhancement strings correctly, Shivenar will never be threatened.”

“We’re starting to believe the enhancement strings could destroy the world,” Freyven said with a laugh.

That laugh sounded way too naive to Vivi. “The enhancement strings most definitely can destroy the world. After the storm season is over, we’ll have to establish regulations for using it.”

“We have discussed the possibility,” Freyven said. “With Patryn’s capture, the technology is bound to spread. We have a head start, but we’re no longer the only ones who know how to create weapons to destroy levelstone.”

“You’ve also destroyed levelstone with the launchers?” Vivi asked.

Freyven snorted at his new creation. “Aim a little off with this, and you’ve got an earthquake. It’s risky to even shoot a golem with this thing. But it’s a necessary development. If another colossus or behemoth spawns, there won’t be more miracles coming to save us. Or so we thought, at least, until… your return.”

“No, I agree with you,” Vivi said. “The city shouldn’t rely on me to defend itself. I’m glad you’re holding your own. How expensive is it to operate this?”

“Very. We’re launching chunks of metal weighing thousands of pounds that usually get destroyed from impact. Each launch burns through at least a pound of crystallized emberstone. It’s expensive, of course. The monsters we’re able to kill repay all the ether, but ether is only useful if someone is selling materials. Thank the lords for that fiend in the mines.”

“Eem?” Vivi asked. “She’s doing well in the mines?”

“We have enough ensium to consider crafting missiles with it,” Freyven said.

A smirk found its way onto Vivi’s lips. If she had ensium to work with, the project she had in mind would end up being even more powerful. She’d need perhaps another week in the smithy. That was more time that she’d like to spend, but anything less would be too little to prepare against fifth elevation hunters. Her enemies probably weren’t in any hurry either, since Ythar was deep asleep.

“Tell Civar I’d like to meet him today,” Vivi said. “I have a few ideas I need you two to develop.”

Her smirk vaguely spread to Freyven, though his smile looked a little apprehensive. “Once again, we won’t see an hour of sleep upon your return, huh?”

“I’m sorry,” Vivi said. “I need everyone to work hard one more time. Maybe after that, this storm season can finally calm down.”