The Bee Dungeon

Chapter 375 - Traitors Will Bee Judged

It did not take long for Starami to return to the former site of his main camp, and from there to make his way to the surface. There, the surviving members of Starami’s Claw stood at attention to greet him. Starami just waved them off and they fell in line behind him, joining their forces with his to march towards the rogue Tower.

Ansari the Sea Dragon furrowed his brow.

“My lord, forgive me for questioning but...will you truly allow those traitors to escape?”

Starami did not bother to look at him.

“They have not escaped. They flee to the Tower we shall now destroy. Whether now or later, they shall pay for their treachery with their blood. We’ve no need to rush to deal with some rats.”

Ansari bowed his head.

“Of course, my lord. As you will it.”

Starami narrowed his eyes.

“But I am here now and we begin our assault without delay. I will deal with any traitors we find myself.”

Ansari grinned in response. And so Starami’s full remaining might marched on the Tower with their lord at the lead and the true dragon flying overhead. He ordered his elites to wait behind him in the second wave while he led a force ahead, if the fey managed to ambush Ansari he would be hard-pressed to make it through the water room. He would clear the first room of the Tower first, giving the fey no opportunity to strike at his crucial assets.

Still, traitors had to punished and the rest of his army needed to see him do it, so Starami led the vanguard personally. If the fey wanted to try and ambush him, he would welcome them and unleash his might upon them as he did on their fort. As it were, a small group of traitors stood in his path, holding up their shields while the rest streamed into the Tower.

Starami himself let out a dragon breath and burnt them all to ash in an instant, then marched to the Tower without looking back.

Captain Auschias did his best to evacuate as quickly as possible, but he was trying to move around two thousand people through the Tower entrance and the shortcut. That took time no matter how quickly or smoothly they marched. The fey and their monsters kept the siege camp in check, but Captain Auschias knew it was only a matter of time before his former lord intervened. Most of them were through at this point, just a little longer and everyone would make it.

But a huge wave of mana heating up the room from the entrance told him that time was now up.

Captain Auschias frowned. He now understood why Starami’s Claw had not intervened until now. Lord Starami himself had come, with the full army of Tower Guards and monsters that remained loyal to him following behind. Lord Starami narrowed his eyes as he marched forward, allowing more and more of his army to step into the room.

“Captain Auschias, this is surprising. After all your long years of service, I did not think you would be so easily swayed by the fey.”

Captain Auschias stepped away from the rest of the surrendering Tower Guards, hoping he might buy them a moment or two.

“Lord Starami. I did not think you would turn on the Conclave or the gods. If not for that, I would remain by your side. But you have gone rogue, become the very kind of Tower Lord we swore to subjugate. My loyalty to the Conclave and the gods surpasses my loyalty to any one Tower Lord, even you.”

Lord Starami scoffed.

“The God of Dragons seems to disagree, judging by your lack of blessings. Now suffer the fate of all who betray me!”

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Lord Starami took a deep breath. Captain Auschias held up his shield and tried to stir up his mana out of drilled instinct...but the barrier he made was pitiful. Not that he could have resisted Lord Starami even if he still had his full might...

But at that moment, the eyes of the statues of the gods began to glow and the sun began to shine overhead through the glass ceiling overhead. A bright flash blinded everyone as a column of light flooded the room.

Captain Auschias tensed...but the light was warm, like being submersed in a pleasant bath. He felt the aches and pains from the forceful removal of his blessing fade away. He felt his heart slow and his muscles relax...as if he was being embraced in the arms of one who cared for him.

A horrendous shriek pierced through the sense of peace growing within him. It seemed not everyone shared that feeling...

The flash of light faded without any ill-effect on Captain Auschias’ vision...allowing him a clear view of Lord Starami now covered in golden flames. Flames that seemed to ignore the Tower Lord of Dragons’ great Fire resistance, judging by his screams, and that also seemed to contain bees made of golden light that swarmed over the Tower Lord and thorny vines that wrapped around his limbs.

The rest of the forces loyal to Lord Starami suffered similar, if less intense fates. The Tower Guards of the siege camp and many of Lord Starami’s captains had been visibly burned by the light, some even had small fires on their heads and shoulders. The effect was mixed on the rank and file Tower Guards, some suffered as badly as their commanders, but others were only lightly singed. The latter Tower Guards were staring up at the statue of the God of Light, whose eyes continued to glow. If anything, that seemed to hurt them more than the light did.

“GO!”

A shout from the Tower Guard candidate who had come to their aid brought Captain Auschias back to the present, the fey and their monsters were now retreating out of the room. Captain Auschias waved his arm and repeated the shout, getting all of his followers remaining in the room running towards the shortcut before running there himself. He noted that many of the lightly singed Tower Guards now threw their weapons down and ran to join them, Captain Auschias stopped at the shortcut and waved them through. He waited until the last of them passed into the shortcut, when Starami’s forces began to recover, and then stepped through himself.

The shortcut closed behind him and disappeared.

Belissar, Wardmaster Varilold, and Duke Turuhave were standing in the command tent, with Belissar relaying events as they happened. Some Tower Guards trying to surrender before the attack was not unexpected...but the way the surrender played out was. The surrendering Tower Guards had suddenly lost most of their mana, which Belissar and his allies surmised meant they had lost the blessings of their patron god. This had rendered them harmless to Belissar and confirmed their intentions as genuine...but it also meant they had become completely defenseless against those who had remained loyal to Starami. Like the monsters and Tower Guards holding the Hall of Purification under siege...

Belissar was incredibly relieved he had asked the bee army to prepare to intervene beforehand, because Hirkolos had then charged the loyal Tower Guards and monsters alone, leaving Belissar scrambling to protect both him and the now helpless surrendering Tower Guards.

But the bees had been as reliable as ever and distracted the enemy so they couldn’t gang up on Hirkolos. Additionally, Duke Turuhave had insisted on sending the Silver Host to help once he learned what was going on. He had said it was crucial that his troops win a victory, even a small one, after all the retreating they had done lately. In any case, Belissar had just been grateful for the extra help, between the silver elves and the bees the enemy had been forced onto the defensive and unable to hurt Hirkolos or to stop the surrendering Tower Guards.

Then...Starami himself had marched into the Tower. Wardmaster Varilold had advised him to use the Hall of Purification as soon as he found a good opportunity now that Starami was launching a desperate final assault...Belissar had panicked when he saw Starami about to attack and decided to use it then, hoping it might distract Starami long enough for Hirkolos, his bees, and his allies to escape...

But now, Belissar blinked as he watched Starami flail about. Wardmaster Varilold furrowed her brow.

“Tower Keeper? Has something happened?”

Belissar blinked again.

“Yes...the Hall of Purification hurt the Tower Lord a lot more than I thought it would...”

Mission: Test one hundred challengers with purifying light completed!

Reward: One Light-type monster choice.

Additional reward granted for: Testing a dungeon master under atonement!

Reward: One cross-perk choice.

Belissar rubbed his chin.

“I think...it’s because the gods are angry with him?”

Wardmaster Varilold smirked.

“Walking into a room designed to channel the power of the gods would be a poor choice for him, then.”

Belissar could have sworn he heard someone giggling in the distance, but then the pixies in the room began laughing outright so he guessed it was one of them. In any case, he had managed to strike the first blow of this battle and took a chunk of Starami’s army along with it. Belissar himself began to smile, the battle was starting off well indeed.