Empire Builder 1: Breed, Populate, Conquer Dante King (i read books txt) 📖

Adremor didn’t stand around to watch this time. “You give me no choice!” He lifted his hand toward the fire mage and crooked his thumb and index finger. Uzax’s eyes went wide, his head snapping back as if he’d just been grabbed by the throat. The flames stopped, a few drops of molten falling onto the ground and landing with smokey hisses.

Telekinesis, thought Ben. He’s giving him the Darth Vader treatment.

Adremor touched the tips of his index finger and thumb together, tightening the invisible grip around Uzax’s throat. Ben watched with great interest, wondering if the Force Wizard would simply kill the other on the spot.

“Stop this insanity!” shouted Lexi, jumping up from her chair and rushing over. “Whatever’s happening here, reducing our numbers won’t help matters!”

Adremor held his fingers together for a few beats longer, raising his hand and bringing Uzax off the ground and into the air, his feet hanging limply.

“Adremor!” shouted Lexi.

Adremor then let out an annoyed grunt before letting his hand drop. Uzax fell to the ground at the same time, landing in a heap. His chest rose and fell slowly. Then he placed his hands on the ground and pushed himself up to his feet.

“You’re…you’re going to regret that.” Uzax spoke between breaths, still recovering.

Then he raised his hands in front of him, preparing to channel another blast of fire.

“You summon so much as a single spark, and I’ll snap your spine like a branch,” shouted Adremor.

Lexi rushed between the two of them. “Both of you stop this right now!” she shouted.

They did, realizing she was in the way of their spells.

“Both of you, stop now! Remember the vow you made to one another back after the battle of Kenningbrook? To put aside your differences and work together? What a foolish end it would be to kill one another while our true enemy lifts not a single finger!”

The two mages regarded each other with skepticism.

“As much as I hate to admit it, the beastkin is right,” said Adremor. “We did swear to put bad blood behind us.”

Uzax nodded as he finally regained his breath. “Yes. And no doubt the owner of this place would be pleased to know we’d done his work for him.”

Lexi let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the situation had been diffused.

“Now,” she said. “Let’s figure out a way to get out of here that doesn’t involve killing ourselves in the process.”

“As soon as we get out of here, I’m going to roast this traitorous varmint who welcomed us into his tower.” Uzax’s eyes blazed, hungrily. “There will surely be a reward.”

“Then we’ll get those nymphs back too,” Adremor muttered irritably.

“And the tower,” Uzax added.

“Adremor, Uzax,” Lexi called out.

“What is it, woman?” Uzax asked.

“I think his magic might be more powerful than you think,” she said, pointing at the ceiling.

A row of large green plant heads were congealing and growing out of the high obsidian ceiling. As their stems grew longer, they twisted and drooped, lazily swinging closer and closer to the table beneath.

Uzax hopped out of the way and cursed as a green head sprouted up beside his leg.

The footsoldiers all assumed a panicked look on their faces and drew their weapons.

“Ugh,” Adremor exclaimed in disgust as more plant heads sprouted out of the table.

The mages and their soldiers watched in fear and wonder as the plants rapidly grew into full fledged monsters. The room was totally quiet.

Then the silence was shattered by the simultaneous roars of a hundred vine monsters. The room erupted into chaos as the long-stemmed creatures snapped and slashed in all directions.

The vine monsters attacked every which way, chomping at limbs, smashing chairs. A few even bit each other’s heads off.

Maybe a hundred in a dining hall was just a touch overcrowded, thought Ben as he watched the chaos unfold.

Several of the soldiers were wounded in the melee. But although the vine monsters were formidable, the mages and their attendants were evidently highly trained.

The footsoldiers worked hard, decapitating monsters with every stroke. They kicked heads and stomped on stems.

Adremor held out his hands and waved them, using similar motions to the ones Lulu had used to manipulate water. The silverware all rose from the sideboards and hung in midair, blades pointing at the flailing vine heads.

Then he flicked his wrist, and the knives and forks all shot forward. Blades stuck in the melon sized snapping jaws, forks pinned vines to the table or the walls, and spinning knives severed necks.

Uzax also attacked at range. He summoned balls of fire in his hands and hurled them indiscriminately, singeing vines straight through at the roots, or boiling their heads, causing them to explode, spraying juices all over the room.

He set furniture on fire, as well as the carpet beneath. Fortunately, the whole room was made of volcanic glass, or Ben might have had a proper fire on his hands to deal with.

One stray fireball blasted the head right off one of the footsoldiers, the headless body standing still for a moment, the neck smoking before the hapless soldier dropped to his knees and then to the ground.

Uzax glanced at him lazily and shrugged. “Oh, that was one of your soldiers, I’m afraid, Adremor. Never mind, I’ll buy you a new one with our reward money.”

Adremor didn’t appear thrilled by the collateral damage, but he was too busy throwing plates with his mind, smashing all the dishes against vine heads to give the matter much attention.

Ben hoped the tower could replace all the china. He had no idea where to buy kitchen supplies in this forest—not like he could swing by a nearby Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Lexi was the only one who seemed to value the lives of the soldiers who fought for her. She stood in a ring with them. All five had their backs to each other, fighting hand to hand with the bobbing and snapping green heads. The soldier wielded short, cutting blades which proved ideal for the fight against the