Dungeon Builders Harem Book 05 Ch 45

Chapter Forty-Five

I had to see for myself. I darted to my Vault and shifted all the companions to the front, along with Siwang and his monster girls. I moved Kassie to the teleportation room and darted there so she could get me to Astovin fast.

When I emerged into the city, shouts and cries were coming from all directions. It was more than just arrows. Huge crashes rocked the city. Boulders hurtled into the walls or over them. Some crashed into the village, destroying the wooden buildings with ease.

One slammed through the roof nearby, ripping through the thatch roof and bursting out the wall, destroying the plaster and leaving a gaping hole in it. The rock stopped at Smerta's foot. She planted an icy boot on it and glanced at me, concern in her eyes.

"You shouldn't be out here, Leo," Maya said.

"No," Mom said, hands on her hips.

I glanced over at Siwang. "Let's split up our companions to defend the walls."

BOOM!

Siwang flinched and glanced out at the wall. "Your monster girls are right," he muttered. "But, yes, let's do that."

Feya winged down and landed before me. "They are assaulting us from all sides. Siege weapons have just started firing."

BOOM!

"Yeah, I noticed," I muttered. I glanced at Siwang. "Me and you are not going on the wall." I hated that. I wanted to be in the fight. I also wished Halia was here, that I hadn't sent her away. "It's not safe."

"At least you're being that smart," Crystal said.

"Yeah, I thought he'd insist on going up there," said Terra. "You're learning."

I scowled. "Don't tease me about it. I'll do it. just to spite you two."

Mom threw her arms around me, hugging me. "You're too important. You know that. You're a king, not a grunt."

"Yep, dirty boy," my older sister said, forming a dagger out of ice. "Leave that to us."

"We'll drive them off, Dark Lord Big Bro!" Garnet declared, her wings flaring wide.

Morana and Hagane both nodded, Hagane's arms forming into blades.

"We can do this everyone!" whooped Alizee, bouncing in place. "Go, Leo's Harem! Go!

"Okay," I said, looking around at who we had. "I want Morana, Vilkas, Ljosa, and Xiongbu on the north wall."

The once named darted off in that direction.

"East wall, Maya, Ms. Trueno, Baaghi, and... Bjorni!" I called.

Bjorni gave a wicked smile that looked gruesome with her bear's head. The bugbear joined the others rushing off in that direction, Ms. Trueno leading the way.

"South wall... Terra, Crystal, Paanee, and... Guang."

Guang hugged Siwang and kissed him before she joined my three monster girls running--or slithering in Paanee's case--towards the south wall.

"Mom, Hagane, Smerta, and Lei, the west wall," I declared.

Lei's one eye blinked as she nodded. Hagane darted off, Smerta on her heels, with Mom and the cyclops close behind. That left Lana Fulmine, Garnet, Nina, Mrs. Lucina, Feya, Esclava, Paetu, Daleitha, and Alizee.

"The last of you, take to the air and do what you can," I said. "I want the assault driven back, and if we can take down those siege weapons... better."

BOOM!

The south wall shook.

"Lord Leo," Kassie said, grabbing my hand, "let's get you back to your Vault. You can cast your scrying and watch from there. You don't need to be here!"

I glanced at her, my jaw grinding together. "Fine!"

* * / *

Morana, her black mist spilling behind her, gained the north wall. She peeked out over the battlements to see the mass of soldiers gathering for the attack only for an arrow to nearly take her in the eye. She gasped and ducked back down.

BOOM!

A rock slammed into the wall nearby. Stone cracked.

"Okay, let's spread out and do some good," Vilkas growled. The raiju wore a fierce look on her face.

"Sounds good," said Ljosa, her body shining bright.

Morana nodded, agreeing. She moved down the wall, passing will o' wisps, unicorns, sphinxes, leprechauns, and animated armors. Will o' wisps peeked out to fire balls of lightning down on the archers, striking them dead.

Svyte took an arrow in the face. The lightning sprite vanishing into motes.

Morana's stomach twisted. She knew that Svyte would come back. All the monster girls were immortals. It was the joys of serving the dark lord. They were given eternal youth and beauty, but it still hurt taking an arrow in the face.

She glanced out at the soldiers and saw a mass of them were marching forward with shields raised. Lightning burst across some of the shields, deflecting the will o' wisps attack. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed they were pushing something in the middle.

She had watched

Return of the King.

She knew what that was.

"There's a battering ram coming up,"

Morana sent to Vilkas, Ljosa, and Xiongbu.

"Rock elementals, get ready. That gate's coming under attack. Will o' wisps and sphinxes, take it down!"

The remaining will o' wisps popped up and fired their lightning balls down at the enemy. She trembled. If the banshee had a living heart, it would be screaming right now. This was so dangerous. The battering ram crept forward, the archers pelting the wall with arrows.

BOOM!

A stone struck the wall beneath her. Fragments of rocks flew up in the air and nearly peppered her face. She waited for the battering ram to come closer and closer. Gintaras died. The will o' wisp burst into motes as she fell back.

"SPHINXES!" roared Vilkas. "SHOUT!"

The five sphinxes all popped up and roared. Their sonic attacks slammed into the massed soldiers, disrupting their formation. They were knocked back, sent stumbling. Will o' wisp lightning crashed into their midst, killing more soldiers.

Morana rose, her black mist fluttering behind her like a cape. She drew in a breath and shrieked!

Her deathly wail chilled the air. Arrows flew around her as her cry struck the front ranks of the soldiers. They died. Her banshee scream killed them. They dropped like flies. She kept shrieking, consuming more and more of the soldiers.

An arrow struck her arm.

She kept wailing.

The soldiers broke. She stopped shrieking as they ran out of her range. Morana ducked back down and looked down the line, surveying who they had left. Zaibas and Oroszla were down. Leo could bring them back so long as none of the soldiers were touching the wall.

But the entire city was under attack. The wall shook beneath her.

* * / *

"Okay, okay," Lana Fulmine said as she soared in the sky with the other monster girls. The air force swirled over the town. Stones flew at all four walls. The soldiers were massing for an attack. "Let's split up the monster girls and lead them where they're needed."

"And to take out those siege weapons," Daleitha said. The chalkydri's twelve wings fluttered.

"And doing that," the lightning sprite said. "I'll take the quetzalcoatls. Mrs. Lucina, you got the thunderbirds, Nina the phoenixes, and Alizee the harpies."

"Sounds great!" Alizee said. She was far too peppy.

"Feya, you have the hippogriffs, and Garnet, take the vampires." Lana looked around. "That's all of them, right?"

"Yep," Garnet said. "Ooh, ooh, vampires, let's play!"

"What about us?" Esclava asked. The ifrit floated there, her hands on her hips.

"You, Paetu, and Daleitha, wreak havoc." Lana grinned at them. "How does that sound?"

"Sounds fun," the ifrit said and became a whirl of fire. She surged out, followed by the chalkydri and the djinn.

"Okay, I'll go north," Lana continued. "Mrs. Lucina, you got the south wall."

The angel nodded.

"Nina, take your phoenixes east, and Alizee, west," Lana finished. "Garnet and Feya, you go where you think you're needed. Hold back and watch the situation and act when you need to."

"Yes, Booty Electric Lana Fulmine!" Garnet cheered.

Lana Fulmine rolled her eyes.

Can that girl ever take anything seriously?

Lana flew towards the north wall with the quetzalcoatls around her. The five snake-girls with rainbow-feathered wings soared with her. She liked flying with lightning magic girls. She could feel the current arcing through their bodies. Her own charge crackled through her wings.

Morana shrieked from the north wall. Lana Fulmine watched an enemy attack melting away. A battering ram was left behind. Archers fired waves of arrows that crashed into the wall. Morana ducked down low. The other monster girls did, too. Stones slammed into the wall with mighty crashes. The siege weapons pounded their position.

"Girls, we have to take out that siege weapon," she cried, pointing.

"Right!" Iaidas shouted.

"Let's go, Lana Fulmine!" Vaivory hissed.

The flight swept out over the battlements. Vilkas ran back and forth, growling out encouragement to the monster girls huddled down. One animated armor stood watch. Arrows struck her armored form and bounced off her. The archers didn't notice Lana and her monster girls. The archers screened another mass of soldiers readying for an attack.

The siege weapons fired. They threw rocks that soldiers quickly replaced.

How had they gotten so many boulders?

wondered Lana.

Magic? If they had some sort of Priest of the Earth Gods or an Earth wizard, they probably could have gotten stockpiles fast.

"Let's go," Lana said as the group soared over the ballistas. "Let's fry them!"

"Yes!" Gyvate hissed.

Sparnas nodded, an eager smile on her lips, her green tail undulating behind her.

Lana folded her wings in and dived. Her golden hair crackled behind her as she descended. She built the charge in her wings. The five quetzalcoatls followed after her. They screamed down at the enemy, ready to take them out.

Shouts rose from below. Screams echoed. The crews pointed up at them. A few drew bows and knocked arrows, but they weren't in time. Lightning burst from Lana Fulmine's wings and spat from the mouths of the quetzalcoatls.

Blasts of lightning struck the engines. Arcs of electricity burst from the weapon and into the crews. They screamed as they spasmed and died. Lana Fulmine banked out of her drive, flapping her wings hard. She turned to glance back at the siege weapons. Smoke rose from the engines. The crew lay dead or dying.

But the weapons had suffered very little damage.

They can be used by a new crew,

Lana Fulmine realized.

"Let's bank around," she cried. "We'll--"

"ARROWS!" Iaidas cried.

Lana Fulmine snapped her gaze to the south. The archers had turned and had fired. She barely had time to register it before arrows were hissing around her. She dodged and weaved as they flashed by her.

"No!" screamed Sparnas. She spun, her right wing folding in, an arrow stuck in her back. She crashed to the ground in a burst of motes.

Gyvate took an arrow in the head and just vanished.

Lana Fulmine beat her wings. "Rise! Rise! Get altitude!"

* * / *

"Here comes the next wave," cried Ljosa.

Morana peeked over the wall. Lana Fulmine and her quetzalcoatls were winging into the air, arrows hissing at them. Two of the monster girls died. The siege weapons had gone silent, though. The archers were distracted.

But a full assault of soldiers rushed at the wall. This wasn't just a small group protecting the battering ram. This was thousands of soldiers. She spotted massive ladders behind carried by soldiers at the front.

Morana shrieked.

Her deathly wail struck one of the ladder crews. The soldiers dropped dead from her banshee shriek. She planted hands on her hips, screaming as long as she could before she ran out of breath. She drew in another breath.

The four sphinxes roared. The surviving will o' wisps fired off blasts.

A ladder slammed into place to the right. Then the left. Three ladders. Four. Soldiers started rushing up to them. The three animated armors sprang into action, rushing for the ladders. They stood ready to repel defenders.

Morana thrust her head out over the battlements through the teeth-like crenelations. She shrieked at the nearest one. Soldiers dropped dead at the ladder, raining on the men on the ground. But there were so many of them.

"We have to break them," Vilkas growled. "Unicorns! With me!"

I glanced at Vilkas. She had transformed into her lightning wolf form. With her, the unicorns gathered. Sphinxes roared. A siege ladder shattered. Men screamed as they fell to the ground in bone-crunching impacts.

"FOR LORD LEO!" Vilkas roared and jumped over the side of the battlements.

"What?" Ljosa gasped.

The unicorns followed her. The six monster girls landed at the ground and charged into the soldiers. Vilkas led the way, leaping into them and electrocuting them. Unicorns lowered their horns and charged, goring soldiers. Ljosa shook her head and fired light from her eyes, killing a soldier as he reached the top of the siege ladder.

Morana shook her head as the six monster girls crashed into the troops. Vilkas roars echoed over the shouts. Morana drew in a deep breath and shrieked. She struck another group of soldiers massing to go up a ladder. They dropped dead.

Metal clattered. The animated armors fought the soldiers who had gained the wall. The leprechauns threw out shadows that had the soldiers flinching from phantom attacks, leaving them open to the animated armors' sword thrusts.

In moments, the wall was clear of defenders.

Below, the unicorns died. They followed Vilkas, jumping into the enemy soldiers. Chystota fell first. Then Kin. Rih and Sriblo burst into an enemy group, their horns skewering the soldiers. They left men collapsed and bleeding on the ground, but a spear rammed through Rih's back. A sword took Sriblo in the neck. That left Nezaymana with Vilkas.

As Morana shrieked, the lightning wolf waded into the enemy. She left them spasming from her electric currents. Nezaymana followed, her horn goring those that Vilkas missed. The soldiers screamed.

Shadows flung down from the leprechauns, adding more distractions. Soldiers stabbed each other. Ljosa's eye beams smote others. The sphinxes kept roaring as the animated armors shoved back the last of the siege ladders.

The attack faltered. Soldiers fled the wall as Vilkas and Nezaymana kept attacking them. They left a trail of bodies behind. But one soldier got lucky. Nezaymana went down with a spear in her guts. Morana winced.

Vilkas plowed into a large group of soldiers. She burst with electricity. They shouted, panicking. Weapons swung. The combined damage must have been too much for her as she vanished in a burst of light, killed.

"They're coming back!" Xiongbu cried.

Morana gasped as soldiers raced forward once more. A fresh wave. They had recovered the discarded battering ram while others picked up the discarded siege ladders. The defenders on the wall thinned. Will o' wisps fired blasts of lightning. The sphinxes roared.

The battering ram reached the gate and slammed into it. The wall shook. Xiongbu jumped down one of the ladders. The wraith flowed almost like mist, killing the soldiers before she ended up at the bottom. More ladders slapped into place

BOOM!

The battering ram slammed into the gates.

BOOM!

* * / *

Lana Fulmine orbited over the siege weapons for a time, but no new crews came. So she winged back to the city where the north wall lay under attack. A battering ram hammered at the gate. The defenders were vanishing.

Xiongbu flowed like mist down a siege ladder, killing everyone on it. More siege ladders slammed into place. Morana shrieked, killing the men on one. A pile of corpses lay on the ground.

Leo is not going to be happy about this.

So many dead, and so fast.

As she and her surviving quetzalcoatls soared for the wall, soldiers flooded up a ladder. Aizsardzi, one of the animated armor, fought them. She cut off the head of one. Their weapons struck her. She killed three more, but they pushed her back. Shadows whirled, creating a distraction, but a flood of soldiers surged up the ladder.

Aizsardzi took a hard sword strike that crumpled her helm. The animated armor vanished in a burst of motes. Lana flapped her wings harder. She had to help take down those siege ladders. Morana was holding back on the eastern side, but the western was getting hit hard. The other two animated armors surged in to block the tide, Ljosa and the surviving sphinxes with her. Blasts of lightning burst from the few will o' wisps still alive.

"Let's go!" Lana cried. "The siege ladders. Hit the siege ladders!"

"Right!" cried Vaivory.

Lightning burst from Lana Fulmine's wings and struck a ladder in the middle. Electricity arced through the soldiers on it. They screamed as they fell. More blasts hit two more ladders, fired from the quetzalcoatls' mouths. Not as powerful as the movie starlet's blasts, but one of the ladders burst.

Soldiers rained on the ones beneath.

The sphinxes roared, shattering another ladder with their sonic attacks. Ljosa's light slammed into the attackers who'd gained the wall. They stumbled, blinded. Brunasi and Neredza, the surviving animated armors, slashed with their swords, hacking through them.

Lana Fulmine struck another siege ladder with lightning. The soldiers crashed down it, knocking off those below. One of the leprechauns reached it. Tuar. She pushed it back and shoved it down on the enemy.

A sword took her in the back. She vanished in a mote.

The animated armors, with the sphinxes' help, killed the surviving soldiers. The battle for the wall was stabilizing. Morana, an arrow in her arm, had cleared off the eastern wall by herself. Xiongbu had regained the wall, climbing up the side after leaving death below.

A loud crash burst from below. Lana Fulmine turned to see the battering ram had broken the gates. The enemy surged into the gatehouse. The rock elementals and Siwang's lemures had to hold.

Let them hold,

thought Lana Fulmine. They couldn't get into the dungeon.

No, they are in the dungeon. The walls... Leo can't make any reinforcements right now. He must be pulling out his hair.

And it wasn't just the north wall under attack. Smoke rose around the city. Dust billowed. Men screamed in every direction.

* * / *

"The gate!" Morana cried as Xiongbu climbed over the side.

"Right!" the fierce and motherly wraith hissed.

The two Death monster girls jumped off the side of the wall and landed in the city. They rushed to the gate to find that the soldiers were pressing at the defenders. Already, two of the rock elementals were missing. Hraniti and Marmur had already died.

One of Siwang's lemures died.

"Kandzi," hissed Xiongbu.

"Let's get them!" Morana cried, hardly feeling the arrow in her arm. She drew in the air as they rushed into the gate.

She shrieked.

Her deathly wail reverberated in the confines of the gate tunnel. Men clapped their hands over their heads. Blood spurted from their noses and mouths. They fell convulsing on the ground. Xiongbu laughed and rushed forward.

Morana followed her. They wove through the rock elementals and lemures and burst out past the battering ram to the soldiers. Xiongbu crashed into the enemy soldiers. The wraith flowed over soldiers, her black mist choking them. Her fingers ripped open their throats.

Morana stepped up and shrieked into the soldiers rushing forward. They collapsed. Death had come for these mortals. These foolish peons had dared attack the Dark Lord. Morana would show them the error of their ways.

She was his deathly lover.

His banshee.

She shrieked.

From above, Lana Fulmine soared over. Lightning crashed into the soldiers. Electricity danced. Three quetzalcoatls flew with the movie starlet. Green tails slashing behind them, they breathed more lightning down on them. Will o' wisps threw their balls of electricity.

"Lady Morana!" a lemure cried and threw herself into a soldier that had come at Morana from the side. The blade buried into the lemure's throat instead of Morana's side.