"My gods…" One of the imperial soldiers below the wall muttered as all of his fellow imperial soldiers and the duke's soldiers behind the wall also looked up with dumbfounded expressions as their armor was dyed orange by the intense light from the huge fireball suddenly appearing in the sky.
"Fuck this shit…!" One by one the soldiers start to run away before the panic immediately spreads through everyone under the threat of a huge fireball as friends and foes alike are running for their lives without caring about fighting anymore.
"YO-HO-HO, THAT'S A BIG ASS SUN!!" Zarking, who was still standing in his place, blinked before he suddenly shouted, then he grinned with a crazy look in his eyes as he spread his arms wide like he was trying to embrace the fireball in the sky itself.
"My emperor!" But the mad emperor's craziness is cut short as Not-Thomas suddenly pushes him aside just before a ballista bolt from the tower nearby rams into where Zarking previously stood as the bolt penetrates the thick stone with a resounding crack sound.
"Fucking missed...!" On the tower, a group of particularly daring soldiers of the Duke's army who didn't run, hoping to use this chance to kill the mad emperor for a great reward that was promised to whoever manages to slay the mad emperor, frantically reload the next ballista bolt before they shoot it again towards the emperor on the wall.
"Raaaaah—!" The slave warrior's hammer didn't idle this time as he intercepted the next ballista bolt with a skillful sweep that violently deflected the spear-sized bolt away with a resounding clank toward the escaping Duke's soldiers below the wall inside the fortress.
"I'll not die here! My future wife is waiting for me—guahhak—?!" The deflected bolt spun in the air for a brief moment before it struck down on a soldier who was raising a death flag for himself on the back of his helmet as he collapsed on the ground with a concussion while his fellow soldiers avoided stepping on him out of courtesy since they are civilized people.
"My Emperor, we need to move now!" The other slave warrior who just arrived beside Zarking growled through gritted teeth before he picked the mad emperor up on his shoulder, while Zarking just giggled creepily as he was carried away, kicking his legs like a toddler. "Hehehehehe! Faster! FASTER!"
The Definitely Not Thomas, on the other hand, was currently throwing things toward the nearby tower to delay another shot from the ballista before he then followed behind the mad emperor, who was being carried away by his brother as the three of them moved towards the remaining siege tower with great speed.
"Quick, they're escaping…!" The ballista crews on the tower seized the momentary reprieve to reload their ballista bolt, as they wanted to take their last chance to shoot at the emperor and his bodyguards.
"Aim at the emperor and shoot now before they get away—aaakk?!" But before the ballista crews could get another shot, they suddenly noticed their shadows stretching unnaturally across the sun-baked stone, and the orange light grew intensified around them as the temperature spiked violently, making their skin prickle with pain.
"Son of a bitch, it's dropping—!" One ballista operator barely had time to scream before the huge fireball finally dropped from the sky at the wall of the fort like a falling star—only it was slower, more deliberate, as if the spell casters were savoring the impending destruction that was about to happen.
"SIUUUUUUUUUU—!!" Meanwhile, the magicians above the tower of the fort's inner keep cried out in unison, and they thrust their hips forward with their arms stretched behind them as they finished casting the grand spell and then immediately collapsed on their asses with massive headaches from mental exhaustion. Their job is now done...
Back to the two slave warriors who didn't even glance back at the dropping sun as the air hummed with intense heat and mana concentration, they simply ran while covering Zarking with their large bodies as a living shield when the fireball finally touched the wall with the deafening sound of an explosion as stone vaporized instantly, followed by a rolling tsunami of fire that swallowed the entire section of the fort's wall and spread outward in all directions, incinerating men who didn't get far enough, both imperial soldiers and Karo soldiers alike, as they couldn't even scream and instantly turned into charred skeletons and were blown away like dust before they even hit the ground.
The two slave warriors fortunately arrived at the siege tower just in time when the firestorm's shockwave hit—heat seared their backs instantly, peeling paint from their armor as their cloaks burst into flames. They didn't even flinch because of their magic enchanted armors that staved off the flame just long enough for them to lunge down the stairs of the siege tower with Zarking, who was still being carried by one of the slave warriors, as he cackled like a deranged clown high on drugs.
Then the follow-up explosion from the fireball rippled outward a second time, sending another wave of flame that burned and blew away the siege towers nearby in its wake—but the structure that the fleeing trio fled into held just long enough to shield them from the worst of it as, with a loud snapping crack, the top of the wooden tower snapped in half and flew back into the imperial camp, sending Zarking and his slave warriors bursting out of the splintered structure and tumbling through tents and supply carts in a cacophony of splintering burning wood and screaming men.
Amidst the clouds of dust and smoke, the silhouette of a man became visible before the emperor emerged from the wreckage first, his beard singed but his eyes still wild and filled with euphoria as he staggered upright in the middle of the chaos in the camp.
The emperor's magic enchanted golden armor is glowing slightly from absorbing most of the damage and was still left intact, as he barely felt anything while his armor was only dirtying with dirt and soot.
All that grand spell, and they didn't even manage to wound the mad emperor. The Duke of Karo will be quite furious when he hears about this…
"Ooooh! TICKLES!" Zarking shouted, patting at his smoking pauldrons and ripping off what's left of his cape. He turned to look around him as he scratched his gray beard in confusion.
"Where's the PIGGY?" The mad emperor asked no one in particular before he shrugged his shoulders and started finding his way back to his tent. He had enough fun for today; now he wants to sleep!
Behind Zarking, the slave warriors stumbled out from the wreckage of supply carts with minor wounds on them, as they sighed with relief that they managed to survive that. They look around for the emperor before they spot him swaggering away like he didn't just escape a certain death, and then they begrudgingly walk after him while checking their own injuries under the awed gaze of the soldiers in the camp.
÷×÷×÷
On the jagged ridge overlooking the Baraba Fort, two mysterious cloaked figures stood motionless as the wind tugged at their hoods. The shorter one exhaled sharply through their nose—half a laugh, half a sigh—as Zarking's distant figure pranced through the imperial camp below like he didn't even notice how close to death he was.
"Look at him… still alive," the shorter figure muttered, head tilted to the side with hand on their hip. "After that spell? What kind of enchantments that armor has, I wonder."
"Some men are just more equal than others," mused the taller figure, voice deep and sarcastic. Their fingers twitched toward the sword at their hip as the tall cloaked figure watching Zarking below inside the imperial army camp kicked the general, who tried to ask about his well-being, out of the way with great enthusiasm. The thought of going down there and challenging the mad emperor crossed their mind, but the tall figure restrained themselves. 'That's a fool's errand…'
"Too bad that we can't really do anything from here with just the two of us…" The shorter figure sighed as they watched the distant imperial camp from the ridge before they turned around while pulling their hood tighter against the wind. "We should try another approach—closer, more direct next time, maybe?"
"Very difficult…" The taller one tilted their head before they also turned around after giving the imperial army camp another glance. Beneath their hood, shadows writhed where a face should have been.
"The Blade of Ascension is too powerful for direct confrontation. That sword and the two Great Warriors always stay near the mad emperor, so assassination with a small group is futile…" Their arms crossed on their chest, they feel annoyed by how well protected Zarking is.
"And with how crazy he is, any plan will probably be derailed most of the time…" The tall figure shaking their head at how ridiculous it is to plan around this lunatic…
"Well, that old bastard will eventually slip up since recklessness seems to be his middle name; we just have to wait for the opportunity." The short figure said as they waved their hand in the air and made a couple of gestures before a magic circle materialized on the ground.
The two of them then step inside the magic circle before the magic circle shines bright as the two cloaked figures teleport away…