248 248 Squish
Just explaining the basics of what was going on in the Den took them over two hours, by which time all of the witches in the lead portion of the convoy had created or pulled out chairs to listen to the story and hear about the adventures of the Snow Demon and associates.
It turned out that Colonel Ming was an incredible storyteller, and she could vividly describe events that she hadn’t even been at, bringing to life the battle in the valley, where the armies of the Kingdom of Hiziros had been routed by a mere twenty witches and a patrol of mutant scouts.
“Just how powerful is Wolfe that he can feed mana for that level of an attack?” The Convoy leader asked in awe once the story was finished.
“I just reached Rank Four. I’ve got three complete Mana Focus, and my mana density is getting quite thick already.” Wolfe explained.
The witches were immediately on guard, and Wolfe raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not going to snap and attack random people. I like it here, and we’ve got a really good thing going for us. You should see the new gardens that they are working on. I’m told that they cover over twenty acres underground, and they are still expanding. With so many Rank Two witches on duty, they can harvest every week if they want to.
Add to that, we’ve got a sweet new city built in the woods, all enchanted for luxury, and I really don’t see a reason to mess up the good thing I’ve got going for me.”
The Myrrh Coven Witch snorted. “You expect me to believe that a high-ranking Demon isn’t attempting to capture and imprison Witches for lewd reasons?”
That made the witches with Wolfe burst into laughter, and Ella began to poke Wolfe in the side.
“You’re after lewd things, aren’t you? It’s all you think about, right?” She teased.
ƥαṇdαηθνε|
Priya smiled at the exchange, then clarified for the Convoy. “Two of the witches here summoned Wolfe at the Morgana Academy, and Ella is one of them. While he is known to enthusiastically enjoy lewd activities as much as any other man, he has shown no intention to force anyone.
The caveat is that when he transfers mana to build your aura, as opposed to allowing you to draw it to cast spells, it feels really good. Like, REALLY good.”
One of the Sergeants from the patrol chuckled at Priya’s explanation. “So, he doesn’t force lewd things on the witches, but he is a walking cheat code for advancement, so the Witches will happily do it themselves in order to gain power?”
Colonel Ming shrugged. “There are currently twelve Rank Two Witches in the Den. It’s hard to argue with results.”
That brought the conversation to a screeching halt.
“Back up, did you say twelve? Like, more than ten? We had assumed that one of these was the one named Mary, who came from Morgana Coven, and that you were the strongest of the Witches in the Forest.” The convoy leader remarked in confusion.
“Oh, no, we’re just the ones from the strategy group who were available at breakfast today to come find you before you entered the Fae Forest and got hopelessly lost. Even if you didn’t upset the Treants, you would end up completely disoriented and wandering aimlessly while getting separated every time you lost sight of those around you.” Priya elaborated.
“It’s that powerful? Are we in danger of monsters leaving the forest and rampaging through the border villages?” The Sergeant asked.
“Highly unlikely. The Fae Forest calms the creatures in it because the Fae value harmony. It also regulates its own numbers, so those who belong in the Forest will naturally want to stay to keep the balance.”
The little Reaper bobbed up and down next to Ella’s head, and she nodded in its direction.
“Wolfe, there is a human convoy coming this way. Reaper says that there are over a hundred of them, no witches, and lots of heavy artillery. They must have decided to see what is up with the forest as well.” She informed the group.
“Wait here, have your snack and chat. I will go deal with that and come back.”
The witches that had come from Myrrh looked at him strangely. “Did he just say he was going to deal with an armoured column while we had lunch? Isn’t that a bit too proud, even for a Demon?”
Wolfe smirked. Maybe it was best if he showed off a little. “Can I get a volunteer to come observe the fight? That way, you can make a proper report and not just accept my word for it.”
One of the Sergeants got to her feet and smiled at him with a deep scar running from her hairline and over one blind eye to her neck.
“I will join you. I don’t have a bike, but we can double up.”
She hopped up behind Wolfe, and he raced away through the Wastes until the convoy came into sight, a mere five kilometres away. That must be the extent of the Reaper’s detection spell, and [Detect Hidden] verified that there were no Witches, prisoners, or civilians with the armoured convoy.
“Alright, see the convoy?” Wolfe asked his partner for the morning.
“It’s an impressive one. Will I get to see the infamous Fireball Array today?” She asked.
“Nope, we’re going to do something different. Instead of cheating and drawing a little from each of the Witches that are linked to me, I will use my own stored mana for a change and end the fight in a single spell.” Wolfe clarified.
With a few seconds of focus, Wolfe envisioned a [Gravity Array] around the moving column, at five hundred times normal gravity, placed fifty metres in the air. Then he layered it with a matched array of [Wind Blades] and slammed it down on top of the group of APCs and tanks.
The sounds of shrieking steel and crushing wood filled the air as one of Wolfe’s Mana Focus dropped by half, and the Convoy was first crushed, then diced.
“There we go. It might be a bit of overkill, but that used about a sixth of my stored mana without drawing anything fresh in.” Wolfe explained.
The battle-scarred woman looked green in the face, and for a moment, Wolfe thought she was going to vomit before she steeled her nerves and pointed to the site of the massacre.
“We should verify that and then head back to the group to make the report.”