Chapter 147: Airburst Thunder
“Regarding the wyverns, be prepared for defense, deal with the troublemakers first. Do you know who’s leading them? Did Councillor Graham really withhold their goods?” Anse asked.
“The strongest force is called Salberg, the Lord of the City of Salberg in the Claw City-States, a homeless dog who fled with quite a few guards, very strong.
Councillor Graham was right there confronting him, the withholding is probably just an excuse, they did have cooperation before, mainly weapons, but Salberg didn’t pay for the first batch of goods, so the cooperation ended…” Quentin knew some inside information.
The Claw City-States generally have poor reputation, smuggling is rampant, taking goods without paying is too common.
“Councillor Graham must be protected.” Quentin saw Anse still pondering, a bit anxious, “Whether he committed a crime or not, he should be tried internally by the Federation. Letting a group of outsiders bully him is trampling on the Federation’s face.”
“Don’t rush, the city guard stays put, gather the other guards, come with me to take a look.” Anse smiled faintly and stepped out.
He was just thinking about these people’s intentions and the intensity of the retaliation after the conflict.
“They’re all waiting downstairs.” Quentin hurried to follow.
Anse went downstairs and saw more than a hundred guards lined up, each carrying a musket with ammunition at their waist, but he knew these were all show pieces, definitely temporarily equipped to intimidate.
The muskets just arrived, the guards probably hadn’t even learned to load ammunition.
Anse summoned Nolnos, mounted it, and waved his big hand: “Let’s go.”
Quentin and Kalenno also had mounts provided by the Federation, quickly mounting and following behind him.
Illyas piloted the flying carpet, following at an altitude of over a hundred meters, a good habit for a spellcaster to always keep a safe distance in any situation.
Still the West City street, already packed with people.
At least two or three hundred warriors in different armor surrounded the Iron Crown, a dozen Durag guards blocking the door confronting them, bloodstains on the ground from dragging, the atmosphere extremely tense.
The surroundings were full of onlookers, many adventurers climbing onto roofs and chimneys, their eyes gleaming.
Anse just turned onto the main street and saw this scene, couldn’t help but sigh, in the field of watching the fun, Faerun adventurers are truly unique.
“The President is here—”
Not sure who shouted, everyone looked toward Anse, the opponent’s soldiers turning in unison, shields raised, in a posture shutting out enemies, blocking the street completely.
‘Quite a few people, no wonder they’re so bold!’
Anse’s gaze turned cold, putting on this show on his own turf, disgusting who?
He rode at the very front, constantly approaching, those soldiers slightly restless, but calmed under the Bearded Man’s reprimand, blocking ahead without giving an inch.
Clearly wanting to give him a show of strength.
Anse raised an eyebrow, surging mana churning endlessly, he pointed his scepter, eyes filled with anger.
“Get lost!”
「Metamagic」+「Metamagic: Subtle Spell」+「Fear」!
Without any omen, an invisible cone-shaped wave swept forward with his angry shout, covering a ten-meter street.
Dozens of soldiers suddenly widened their eyes, faces full of horror, as if seeing something extremely terrifying, almost simultaneously dropping their weapons, fleeing desperately away from Anse, mouths emitting meaningless wails.
The scene descended into chaos, but even crashing with broken heads and bleeding, rolling on the ground, they still crawled on all fours, getting up to run, messing up the formation completely.
Many other soldiers, unclear of the situation, also ran in panic. These soldiers belonged to multiple groups, not under unified command.
Nolnos didn’t stop, snorting disdainfully, continuing forward, the ground littered with debris, besides weapons, shields, lost shoes, there was also yellowish liquid emitting a foul stench.
In extreme fear, people can’t control their bowels.
“They pissed themselves…”
“A bunch of weaklings, all show no substance…”
“Claw City-States are all soft eggs, soft egg city-states, only know how to run…”
“Wrong, it should be no-balls city-states!”
“That’s it, that’s it!”
“Haha…”
The surrounding crowd burst into waves of gloating taunts and mockery, most people unaware of the power of Fear, only seeing the new President scare them into pissing with one angry shout.
The opponents barely stabilized their formation, but morale was completely gone.
Quentin and Magistrate Pardo led the guards running past their own President, lining up to apply pressure.
Giant Tail stood at the very front, shield hammer clashing, roaring once with each strike, stepping forward simultaneously.
“Roar, roar, roar…”
The guards followed the rhythm, stomping feet, angry roars, perfectly in sync, momentum rising steadily, forcing the opponents to retreat in disarray until they cleared the Iron Crown’s headquarters gate.
Giant Tail is the Lizardfolk King, not too bright, but leading troops in battle is like instinct.
Anse nodded in satisfaction, lacking a general’s courage, Quentin and Pardo were too soft, the guards lacked confidence, Giant Tail was his ideal commander.
The guards stopped, splitting to both sides, clearing the path.
Anse rode forward, activating True Sight, scanning the crowd, finding no anomalies.
Then he locked his gaze on the two at the forefront, one Bearded Man without armor, one tall professional in full scale armor.
The dice spun slightly, quickly detecting their information:
【Claw City-States elite, human, level 10 barbarian（Beast Heart Path）】
【Mercenary Group elite, tiefling, level 10 warrior（Combat Master）】
‘Tiefling, quite rare.’
Relations between tieflings and humans are decent, but due to appearance and bloodline differences, their integration into the human world is far less than elves and halflings.
The opponents’ strength was good, but not enough to threaten him.
If they really had advanced professionals, no need for such tactics, as long as they normally apply to join the Federation, he wouldn’t refuse strong reinforcements.
Anse’s gaze passed over the two, looking to the rear.
Several people in luxurious armor rode tall horses, surrounded by soldiers, watching him coldly.
The Bearded Man turned his head to exchange glances with those in the back for a few seconds, then looked at Anse, feigning anger: “Is this how the Durag Union treats guests? Owe money, pay up, reason everywhere…”
Anse frowned, annoyed in his heart, these people unrepentant.
The dancing elemental orbs suddenly trembled, rainbow light flaring, a shining one flying from his fingertip straight to above the crowd.
「Metamagic: Quick Cast, Subtle, Maximize」+「Fireball-Thunder」!
“Watch out—” the Bearded Man hurriedly warned, but he was already talking nonstop, others didn’t hear clearly.
“Boom—”
Deafening thunder exploded out of nowhere, only twenty meters above the crowd, like a bolt from the blue, knocking them over in chaos, some with bleeding ears, deafened, trembling on the ground.
Not to mention them, even the farther guards and onlookers felt their ears ringing, temporarily hearing nothing.
Anse was also casting thunder-attuned fireball for the first time, the effect was pretty good.
He just wanted to intimidate them, no intent to harm, the airburst distance was relatively far, no fatal injuries, they’d recover after a bit.
Of course, some unlucky ones might have perforated eardrums leaving sequelae, like hearing loss, tinnitus or dizziness.
The opponents gathered this much force, clearly pressuring him, forcing the issue, demands unclear, but inseparable from interests.
Others were pushing their luck, no need for him to worry about face.
