To her credit, the Bishop recovered quickly.
With the sea roaring beneath them, Jonah watched as she scanned the battlefield, looking, searching for any other surprises that she needed to be aware of. Her eyes zeroed in on a particular spot at the center, and as Jonah followed her gaze, he saw that she was studying an eye-like object that was floating there.
It looked almost indistinguishable from the video transmission trinkets that were used on Angaria, but the only difference was that below it, a silver box that had a cobra with three heads engraved on it was present. The box pulsed with each second that passed, shining brilliantly in the rays of the noon sun whose shade was almost blood-red.
The Chameleon corps were waiting for orders, as this was a situation completely different from what the Mastermind had been prepared to expect. It was still a limited Artefact that had to be directed if things went completely out of control, so at the moment, all of the soldiers were on the defensive.
Meanwhile, the Saint's hands continued to close, aiming to crush all 2000 soldiers to nothingness. The contrast was jarring to look at; his face had the kindest expression in the world, while his hands were moving aggressively to trap his foes. At the same time, the squadrons of the Domination corps which had regrouped mounted an attack, but once again, the replenished defensive means of the Church appeared to keep them at bay.
This meant that they were ripe for being targeted by the rest of the forces of Angaria, though, and Jonah saw that Daneel did not miss the chance. The millions of Angarians revealed themselves again, their eyes fixed on their opponents and their faces set in determination to not allow themselves to be rattled like the last time. Their attacks had already been prepared, so the barrage that began to travel toward the Chameleon corps was now comprised of Champion and Hero level spells of various colors and sizes. One attack among them was the most brilliant of them all, and of course, it was from the core of the continent.
Only the weapons that Angaria had taken control of before were missing, and Jonah wondered where they were. This was the perfect time to use them, too, but surprisingly, they didn't make an appearance.
"A live feed. He means to guarantee my death on the Mainland if I move to actively kill those hostages… It would have been different if they had been used as meat shields, at least! I could have defended myself by saying that I had no choice, and it wouldn't have been a situation in which I would be fighting them! But what do I do now? They represent the Church, so going against them would cause the Chameleon corps to be sluggish because of their vows…ARGH! He leaves me no choice! I need to get them back!"
Due to the panic that had taken ahold of her, the Bishop gave voice to her frenzied thoughts. This glimpse into her mind made him understand that Daneel had countered her move with one even more perfect in all aspects, so once again, he felt honored to be the one who had guided him all those years ago.
She glanced at him then, and as he had no time to wipe away the smile on his face, he saw her narrow her eyes and catch him by his throat. He let it remain, though, seeing which she cursed and flung him aside before turning to the four large objects that were still floating behind them.
Indeed, her secret weapons had been kept back to enter the fray when needed, and it looked like it was time for one of them to be unveiled. Going to the one furthest to the left, she raised her hand and made the waves of darkness disappear.
Within was a suit of armor that he had never seen before. It seemed to be made of a flowing, silvery metal that could change its shape at will, as it cycled through multiple forms even as the two of them watched on. At one instant, it fit a woman, and then, it had changed to fit a man. After that, it even grew in size to fit a race of giants of the Mainland, but before it could change again, the Bishop stepped forward to touch it.
It flowed up her hand, making a sound akin to an object being dipped in water. In barely a second, it had covered her completely and taken the form he had seen first.
The part that covered her head disappeared to show her face. Her lips rose and rose until she looked the happiest that Jonah had ever seen her, and as she raised one gauntleted hand and closed her fist, he could feel the air rushing out with a loud sound.
"I wanted to use this to capture him, if I had a chance…but no matter. I'll give them a taste, now."
Complete with a silvery cape on which the image of the Saint had been embroidered, the armor looked indestructible. Unlike the flowing liquid like sort he had seen on the Heroes of the first wave, it was concrete, making it seem as if it was much stronger than what had covered them. There were no individual links, anywhere, so there were no areas that could be targeted. At the shoulders, it jutted out to form two short swords whose sharpened points would make any normal man shudder with fear, and as she waved her hand again, a third sword appeared on the helm that had no eyeholes.
When she moved, she disappeared, making Jonah wonder whether she had teleported. However, a gust of salty wind struck his face in the next second, and his defensive trinkets activated to shield him from the sonic boom that she had left in her wake.
In a blink, she had entered the fray. She rallied the Chamelion corps, and for a brief moment, it seemed that it would be easy to deal with the commanders.
This notion left his mind when she turned to face the construct of the Saint. She raised one hand, but the moment it reached his face…it slowed, then stopped.
The Saint had no qualms against attacking her, though. They had already seen that Daneel had somehow managed to make them think that they were attacking Angaria, and when the commanders even shouted to cheer on the Church, he knew that the Bishop must be wondering whether to laugh or cry.
"Die, you ants! The Church will stand victorious!"
"Crush the insects! Glory be to the Eternal Saint!"
If the Chamelion corps could control their faces, Jonah felt that they would definitely be looking around sheepishly as their enemies cheered their side on. He watched them split into 6 groups, again, before moving forward to target the commanders, so right away, the Bishop's plan became clear.
She wanted to take on Angaria, all by herself, while the Chamelion corps acted to neutralize the threat represented by the commanders of the Church.
But how are they going to do that?
His question was answered when the first group reached the spot from where the commanders were attacking. They were above the continent-wide formation as they couldn't control their construct from within, but they were still being defended by various barriers that sprung to life as the soldiers approached. However, instead of attacking to break through the barrier…the entire group of soldiers stopped, then screamed.
That was what it looked like. They all opened their mouths which were still covered by the purple light to shout at the commanders, but as Jonah activated his elementary vision, he saw that a spell was being cast to twist the sounds they were making in some way.
These waves of sound were stopped by a few special barriers that came to life, but they were soon overcome when a second group arrived to join their strength to the first. After a second, the screams reached one of the commanders…and instantly, he looked around, bewildered, before trying to flee the barrier he was behind.
Immediately, Angaria reacted by shifting the attacks of the giants, the people, and the core to target the Chamelion corps. That left only the giant to contend with the Bishop whose armor had given her the strength of hundreds of Heroes, and for a moment, it seemed as if she would be able to break the construct and reinforce the soldiers.
As if reading her mind, Angaria acted to keep her where she was. Streams of hissing and writhing snakes were shot out from multiple locations all over Angaria, and soon, she was drowned in a sea of them. Jonah couldn't even see her, but he still heard the loud 'BOOM's that accompanied each strike that tried to mash the snakes into dust. She could only defend against the Saint, but effectively, she had nullified Daneel's plan to decimate her army by making them stand around, unable to do anything, as their vows prevented them from raising their hand against anyone still sworn to the Church.
Still…he could bet that her plan had not included the deaths of the members of the Chamelion corps.
The spell they were using seemed to be one where they needed to stand in one place to cast it, so they were the perfect targets for the rest of Angaria. Hundreds of attacks fell on them at once, and it was the fury of the Domination corps that drew first blood.
Daneel also unveiled the weapons he had taken away from the Church now. As the targets were those that would definitely not move, Jonah had to agree that this was the perfect time for them to enter the battle.
Together, the Angarians succeeded in breaking the defensive barriers of the Chamelion Corps multiple times. Their strategy was to overwhelm each group, in turn, and aim to destabilize the defensive formation each time so that they would deactivate for a few seconds. During this precious window, they would swoop in for the kill.
First, 10 of them were killed by an attack from the core, and then 15 succumbed to the edge of Kellor's axe. Bodies started falling from the sky like a swarm of flies being exterminated, and quickly, the numbers of the Chamelion corps began to dwindle.
Yet, they were also succeeding in 'awakening' the commanders of the Church with each second that passed.
Each awakened member would fall unconscious, waiting to be picked up, while the others continued fighting. For every 50 soldiers that died, a commander would awaken, so at the moment, it seemed like a fair deal.
The Bishop quickly moved to change this, though. Escaping the clutches of the Saint, she swung down from the sky and raised her hand above the six groups of soldiers. Their defenses gained a silvery sheen, and at the rate at which they were dying shrank abruptly. Above, the reason behind her move was also exposed as the construct of the Saint was moving at a sluggish rate when compared to what everyone had seen before.
Only 20 commanders remained, so this was to be expected. For a few seconds, the battle seemed to be at a standstill. It was an incredible sight, though, so Jonah watched without blinking.
A kilometer above the land, 6 groups of individuals with purple orbs of lights glowing around their heads stood with their mouths open, screaming at 20 commanders wearing white cassocks with sashes of different colors. Above them, in shining armor, the Bishop stood like a God with her hand raised, defending her people while she took back what she had given away freely with the confidence that it could not be used against her.
All around them, dazzling rays of Energy and light-forged weapons of power assaulted them with the intent to destroy them, and everything they represented. A few attacks would get through, but for the most part, the Church's resources kept being consumed at a terrifying pace.
It was only after a few more seconds that the last of the commanders fell unconscious. The continent-wide formation moved forward to protect them, though, but as an object shaped like a small cage appeared in the Bishop's hand, it stopped in its tracks.
She flung the cage at the last of the barriers protecting the commanders, and they broke apart instantly. With a flick of her fingers, all the commanders rose, and together, she began to retreat with the Chamelion corps covering her rear.
She flew back to where Jonah was standing, and as the last of the attacks of Angaria stopped, she dismissed her helm and flashed a victorious smile in his home's direction.
In the path of her gaze, a man who stood 10 feet tall appeared in the air. He seemed to have magnified himself to make himself visible, and as the Bishop saw him, she humphed as if dismissing his attempt at beating her in a single stroke.
"Look at him. Still smiling in defeat. I'll use these same commanders to-"
She stopped mid-sentence, and at the same instant, two things happened.
First, Daneel winked and waved in her direction.
And second…the bodies of all the commanders exploded, showering them in blood and gore.
When the red mist cleared, only their heads remained, but in the case of those who were Mages, their Mageroots had been targeted, too, even though the rest of their faces remained unscathed.
He gave them back…but they're useless. Is it his defeat, or yours, Bishop?
As Daneel chuckled and turned around to return to Angaria, the Bishop reared her head up and screamed, making her frustration, anger, and hatred known to the High Heavens and all that lay below.
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