The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4) by A. Kay (best fiction novels of all time .txt) 📗

in Chat. We all just discovered Niall had his memories altered by Uru. He’s talking with Hamma now and she seems okay, but can you check on her in a bit?

Of course.

Knowing Hamma would have a friend to talk to, Ruwen focused on the Elders around the table. “Let’s start with Revival totals.”

The Priestess Elder Gabryel spoke. “We ran out of terium six hours ago. Until then, we managed to revive almost twenty-two thousand.”

Warlord Elder Vachyl leaned forward. “The city only contains a few hundred combatants, as the City Council didn’t want us under foot. We deployed most of our forces south and east, toward the enemy.”

“The Shattered Sun dungeon and its inhabitants will protect our northern flank,” Ruwen said. “I’ve just made an agreement with the Cultivators and they’re moving into the mountains, protecting our western boundary.”

Elder Vachyl snorted. “Convenient choices, as the enemy comes from the south and east. Your diplomacy is useless.”

“Useless, and at an unacceptable cost,” Elder Gabryel said. “How much more land did you rob from our citizens.”

“There is room for all of us,” Ruwen said. “How are the city walls?”

Ruwen knew that their only hope might be defending the city while they revived more combatants. Holding the city and keeping the temple safe were paramount.

The Worker Elder Yana spoke. “With the help of the Stone Mages we’ve made substantial progress. Another day and we’ll pass seventy-five percent effectiveness.”

Ruwen faced the Merchant Elder Zahara, forcing himself to keep his eyes on her face, and not the silk shirt that provided no protection and seemed far too tight for comfort. “And the Merchants?”

Elder Zahara sighed. “Our share of the quota was ridiculously small. We are under-represented by half.”

The Mage Elder Odalys shook his head. “You saw the logic of the council’s choices and agreed to them. It is poor taste to complain now.”

Elder Zahara pouted. “Well, that doesn’t explain the lack of Mage and Worker support in constructing our shops. How can you expect quality goods when we work in such terrible conditions?”

Elder Yana turned to Zahara. “As soon as the fortification effectiveness passes seventy-five percent, we’ll move additional resources off the wall and to your shops.”

Elder Zahara shrugged. “It will likely be too late by then. Armor, alchemy, and weapons don’t appear out of thin air.”

Ruwen turned to his right and found the red balloons, and a second later the man attached to them. “Elder Drivyd, what have your Observers discovered? I’ve just learned some distressing news from the Cultivators.”

Elder Drivyd frowned, probably frustrated that Ruwen had found him. “The enemy is now directly east of us, moving at twice the normal pace. In addition, it appears they’ve been doing this for days. If they do the same tonight, they’ll be within sight of the city tomorrow afternoon.”

Everyone looked shocked but Elder Vachyl. Which probably meant Elder Drivyd had already updated him. Ruwen locked eyes with the Observer Elder. “Such important information should be shared with everyone in a timely fashion.”

Elder Drivyd bowed his head. “I updated the Warlord immediately but have waited to inform the City Council. They are already working at full capacity, so worrying them seemed unnecessary.”

“Typical,” Elder Gabryel muttered.

Ruwen turned to Elder Vachyl. “How does this change your original plan?”

“The outer security rings no longer make sense, and I suggest we proceed toward a siege scenario.”

Ruwen had originally thought he had two weeks. But either the Temple Guardian had misinterpreted what it had seen, or the army had increased its pace immediately after being observed. Had the enemy army detected the Temple Guardians? Could he have accidentally alerted the enemy to an increased threat from the city and caused them to change their behavior so drastically?

Ruwen nodded at Elder Vachyl. “Bring your Fighters back.” He looked around the table and continued. “Just over an hour ago my team discovered an ether filled cavern forty miles south of here.”

“Ether,” Elder Drivyd said. “A coma prison.”

“Almost certainly,” Elder Vachyl said.

Ruwen left out the details. “Our party investigated and discovered a deep tunnel leading straight down and evidence of tunneling.”

“Yana?” Elder Vachyl asked.

The Worker Elder nodded. “Workers have been hardening the ground around the clock. We have a few Workers with maxed Stone Echo, and there are no tunnels under the city. We couldn’t check the northern flank because of the dungeon, but the east, south, and west are all confirmed safe in a ten-mile radius. We found nothing.”

A maxed Stone Echo meant they’d verified down to a depth of two thousand five hundred feet. An immense distance.

“Could they be tunneling deeper than you can see?” Ruwen asked.

“It is possible,” Yana said. She turned to Elder Drivyd. “How fast are the Naktos tunnelers?”

Elder Drivyd tapped his chin. “It depends on the volume of the tunnel and the material they’re removing. New Eiru sits on granite, and to move a decent amount of troops you’d want a width of at least fifteen feet. A tunnel like that would take a day for every thousand feet.”

Elder Yana turned back to Ruwen. “So, we’d have over two days of warning.”

Ruwen bit his lip. “That intelligence is ten thousand years old, right? Could they have improved in that time? I encountered a Mage with two Void Bands.”

Elder Yana gasped. “Two?”

Ruwen nodded but didn’t provide any other details.

Elder Drivyd shrugged. “Your point is valid. But even with two Void Bands, you still have a vast amount of waste to dispose of. The logistics are difficult. I can’t imagine them moving faster than two thousand feet a day.”

Elder Vachyl sat up straight. “And that is dependent on the unlikely scenario they are over twenty-five hundred feet deep to begin with. That poses its own risks and is no way to move an army.”

“In fact,” Elder Drivyd said. “It is likely the increased speed of the army is because they’re leaving the tunneling behind. If they knew we are reviving an army, it would explain their sudden rush toward us. I think the current behavior suggests they’ve abandoned their tunneling efforts.”

“What