MAZE - The Endless Quest

The first group of humans rushed towards the camp with everything they had. Sure, they could see the defensive structures, arcane turrents and walls placed by the entrance, but that was it. All the traps, ditches, and spell circles the Alliance created were hidden. If this was a regular fight, then people might be wary of that kind of thing. But according to Tania, the human propaganda machine was flaring at all cylinders. People were saying the other species were lesser, stupid, unable to make plans, or that they required a human leader to be effective in any way.

Neither the triton nor the Scoutmaster, for that matter, understood how people could believe in those lies. It was one thing if the civilians believed, after all, they had no experience with the other species. But for those who already lived in the MAZE, that made absolutely no sense.

Hera, however, wasn’t as clueless as them. Thanks to their work with the intelligence agency, and the conversation they had with Leo and his group, they had an idea of what was going on. Even then, this new information could mean something harrowing. From what they knew, the videos played as propaganda to the humans had a weak emotion control effect to heighten the fear people had. Then, by using that fear, they could push for more radical possibilities. However, if it was getting to the point where the people who were part of the army were starting to be affected, that manipulation was growing stronger.

Seeing the humans acting like fanatics, rushing head on towards a valley that was clearly well defended, only increased that worry. If that effect was already on the level of making people lose their sense of self preservation, it was hard to tell what could happen.

Thankfully, Hera’s worries were quickly lessened. It didn’t take long for the humans to start being hit by the traps. A couple of people in the first row fell into the pitfalls, and by their reaction, it seemed like one of them even died after someone else landed on top of them at an odd angle. Just as the group halted, another of the traps was triggered and two large boulders flew from the sides of the mountain, slamming together in the center. No one was hit by the collision directly, but the debris that flew off peppered those who were right in front of that trap.

One of the people in the lead started yelling something before the battalion of humans slowly moved back, keeping their backs to the entrance of the valley in order not to be attacked by the Alliance. A few people did try to hit the humans with arrows or spells, but with the distance, it was easy for the projectiles to be intercepted. Soon, the humans all moved away from the entrance and vanished.

A few minutes passed and there were reports of more humans appearing on the plateau, but the spell circle stopped all. The ones who tried to find the source of the magic were attacked by the people protecting that area, which forced them to leave. Not long after, Kaela sent out another warning to the teams. The humans now were gathering in the south entrance. However, no one was to change their position. After all, the Alliance had prepared their defenses on both sides of the valley.

Hera just waited, she heard some noise from the opposite side of the camp but it soon stopped. It seemed like once more the humans found the traps. After that, nothing happened for almost one hour. Tensions were high and the fact the attackers vanished made everyone uneasy.

“Vash, do you have a way to make my eyesight better?” Hera turned to the harpy.

“I do have an eagle eye song. Why?”

“I’m thinking about flying up to see if I can find the humans,” the Empress explained.

“Why are you going? Wouldn’t it be better to ask one of the harpies that are up there already?”

Hera shook her head, “No, because that would create an opening in our defenses. If I go up, we don’t really lose anything.”

“That’s a good call. Just tell Tania first. We can’t just be doing our own thing here,” Flint said.

Along with Vash, the Ophidianite moved quickly and found the team leader.

“Why do you want to do that?” the triton frowned.

“I have a bad feeling. I don’t think the humans just gave up. They might be doing something, and if they see someone going up in the sky, maybe they will take the chance to attack and we can pinpoint their location.”

“You want to be the bait?” Tania's frown grew even deeper.

“Yes, I don’t think they will be able to hit me. Even if they do, between Nimbus and me, we can take a hit.”

“What about Vash?”

“I’ll stay on top of Nimbus too. I have a tune that can help us see what is going on.”

Tania glanced around and then nodded, “Ok. Go. Just be careful.”

The duo nodded and jumped on top of Nimbus. In just a few moments, they were already on top of the Sentinel, going high into the sky. They passed by the plateau, which was already about 50 meters or so away from the ground, and continued. Only when they reached a height of almost 150 meters, they stopped to look around.

“Can you see anything?” Hera asked. There was nothing that caught her eye in the scenery. She could, at most, see the top of the two cities, since the camp was in between both.

“Not really. Hang on,” Vash started to hum a tune that was almost like a lullaby.

Hera and Nimbus suddenly felt their eyes becoming sharper. They could see things that were far away, as if they were close. Well, not close, but closer than they actually were. It was almost like having a pair of cheap binoculars.

“We should’ve gotten a spyglass or something,” Hera sighed.

‘Empress, there!’ Nimbus pointed his beak in a certain direction.

It took both Hera and Vash a moment to understand what they were looking at. But in a forest to the north, the one that grew over the nearby craters instead of around them like the others, they could see some movement. Some of the birds in that area were flying away, and a there was a small cloud of dust moving. Hera squinted a bit, and thanks to the buff, she was able to see a couple of humans running. Followed by several monsters.

“What are they doing? Is this the time to level up?” Vash asked.

“I don’t think that’s the case…” Hera frowned.

‘Hera! They are using the monsters!’ Nimbus gasped.

“What do you mean by using the monsters?”

Realization dawned on Vash, “Shit! They are bringing the monsters here to deal with the traps!”

“Fuck!” Hera told Nimbus to dive. As soon as they landed, she shared her suspicion with Tania, who passed the message along to Kaela. If the humans were really about to use monsters to attack, they would be in trouble.

Everyone got ready, the tension raising even more. It didn’t take long for the Empress to start feeling a rumbling on the ground. She forced herself not to appear worried, even if that was far from the truth. The path in the valley between the camp and the exit of the formation was a good 500 meters long. For her to be able to feel the tremors from this distance, the size or number of creatures should be staggering. Not that they would actually be a problem. The Ophidianite had full confidence in the team’s ability to deal with the monsters. But that wasn’t the problem.

A large number of monsters walking forward would end up triggering all the traps they had set up. All the ditches and pitfalls might end up completely filled, opening a path for the humans. If that were to happen, it meant they wasted all the time they spent preparing these defenses.

Suddenly, an idea came to mind. Hera walked forward and aimed at a spot about a hundred meters ahead and twenty meters up. She cast the Elemental Poison Storm and let the rain fall on the valley.

‘Viper, help me out here. Overlap your spell so we can make more poison.’

The Spymaster nodded and used the same spell, the power of the attack even stronger since it used [Naga Poison] and his [Naga Attunement] strengthening the magic even more.

“What are you doing?!” Tania asked.

“Making sure we can push the monster’s back. I’m filling up the trenches with poison,” Hera replied, her eyes full of confidence.

“Fine, just warn me next time,” just as the team leader scoffed, three humans appeared at the opposite end of the valley. They were running like crazy and an odd pink aura around the trio.

Right after them, the first line of monsters appeared, and it was a wide variety. Green gazelles with golden horns, massive lizards with eight legs, giant pill bugs with shells that looked like brains, squirrels with five tails the size of a great Dane. It was incredible to think that all those monsters lived in the same forest, and that might not even be the case. Maybe the humans were running around a large area to gather all of them.

The monsters got closer and closer as Hera kept a close watch in the level of poison in that area. A few others even joined in when they heard her idea. No one knew the extent of her plans, but they were not about to question her. Not after the battle in the camp.

As the humans moved deeper into the valley, various traps were triggered, harming the three men. And Once they were about 300 meters away, one by one, those people started to fall. Either due to the traps or the injuries caused by them. That didn’t hurt them too much, but they were swallowed by the stamped of creatures that refused to stop.

“Vulcan! Awaken Livy,” Hera called as she intensified the spell.

The Leviathan grew to her awakened form once more, becoming even more Draconic as she walked towards beyond the defensive walls, in front of everyone. Yet Hera didn’t say anything. A couple of the trenches were almost full of poison. When the monsters were about 20 meters away from the Elemental Poison Storm.

“Now!” the Empress called.

Livy opened her mouth and a flood of water came rushing out. This was the [Awakened Leviathan’s Torrent] a skill that created an actual tidal wave. And thanks to all the poison and speed in which the wave came out in addition to Livy’s [Seal of Draconic Vortex] that was added to the attack, the water pulled the liquid in the trenches before slamming against the monsters. The first few rows of creatures continued moving and pushed through the wave. Not by choice, but because the ones behind continued to push them. However, as the wave washed over the creatures, more and more were caught but the tsunami and pushed back towards the edge of the valley.

Once the spell was finally over, about half of the monsters ran away, regaining their senses. A quarter of them turned to the humans who were at the end of the valley, and the last quarter turned back to the camp.

This was the best Hera could do, and it felt like it was good enough. Even if she almost spent her entire mana pool in the attack. At least now, part of the traps was still intact, and anyone who attempted to walk across the valley had a chance to be poisoned not just by the liquid, but by the fumes that were created as the water evaporated. Not to mention that the last hundred meters or so were still untouched by their enemies. That was the part of the valley they had put the most effort into, and where the strongest traps were located.

People cheered that result and Hera felt proud of herself. Even if that only lasted for a moment. The humans quickly reorganized and started rushing towards the camp, this time, the traps wouldn’t be enough to stop them.