The villagers glanced over their shoulders in fear at the dark clouds now gathered above their abandoned homes as the invading ships closed in. Bright flashes appeared amongst the clouds as the villager's eyes went on the small hut used as their temple. They could feel that something was there as Beans stepped out of it. Followed by Clay, Burri, Leggy, Old Un, Desa and others from the Ragnarok Pantheon. The only ones missing were Winter and Midas.
The group walked towards the shoreline with grim expressions plastered on their faces. Ysella's eyes went wide as she stared at the group of golden figures gathered beneath the dark clouds. She could feel the density of their combined divinity spreading through the air. Another flash appeared in the clouds as a lightning bolt struck the shore in front of the group, leaving a sole figure standing in its wake.
The pressure Ysella felt multiplied with the appearance of this God. His own presence was greater than all of the others combined. 'Exile...' Ysella whispered in her mind as her cart carried her further up the path. She watched on in fascination as Exile raised a hand overhead and lowered it towards the ships. Thunder sounded in the sky, like the beating of a great war drum.
Another flash followed as a thick lightning bolt descended on the nearest ship and a great cracking noise filled the air. The sails and deck caught fire as splinters shot out of the ruined mast. 'Fire... from the sky...' Ysella thought as her eyes burned that image into her memory before the villagers disappeared into the forest.
Exile nodded to his left and right as the Pantheon launched other Miracles and Divine spells to target the ships and players onboard. 'He's there... Somewhere on those ships...' Exile frowned as he studied the movement onboard. 'We can't stop them but we can deal as much damage as possible so their NPC's have to rest and recover.'
It was nothing more than a stalling tactic to allow Beans' followers to escape. What were the odds that the Sommerdans would choose to land in Beans' village? He had thought if they did invade that they would attack a larger town or something on the coast first to gain supplies. 'We'll have to move our forces away from this coastline. Leave them to attack the ruling faction on one side while we hit the other.'
Exile had a feeling that this was not the entire invasion force. It was too small for what was considered a Divine War. There were bound to be other ships. Probably all headed for different areas of Skardia. Divine spells fired from the decks of the ships, being ravaged by rain, lightning, and waves. Someone cast a Divine Barrier on Exile to give him a shield to absorb the damage.
He glanced over his shoulder and took note of that player. They would have to be rewarded for thinking of the others instead of just themself. The soldiers on the ships had no idea what was happening. All of a sudden it seemed as if Skardia itself was against them, setting foot on it. However, those who were devout enough could see the battle amongst the gods.
They shivered to see such a sight. It was something that mere humans were not capable of. Twisting the world to their whim as they tried to strike each other down. However, the real fear came when their eyes rested on Exile. They could feel his pressure even from where they were. It was also evident that he was responsible for the lightning falling from the sky to strike at their ships.
If they lost their ships, they would be doomed. Falling in the frozen seas around Skardia would be a death sentence in minutes. However, all they could do was try to steer the ships safely to shore amongst the storm raging around them. A lightning bolt struck down, only to be blocked by a golden disk that appeared above the ship. Sparks rained down as the lightning was stopped before it could cause any destruction this time.
'So... that's where he is.' Exile frowned as he studied the strange disc that managed to block his spell. 'Is that a divine spell or something connected to his authority?'
Exile was unsure of that, but he remembered clearly the last time they had a contest. 'Parthus was focused on Authority before... and it feels like there's a Tier 1 among them...' He quickly concluded that Parthus had stepped into the same Tier as himself. Which meant that at this distance, he was at a disadvantage.
'It's best to switch targets then... I'll need to deal with Parthus once I can get him in melee range...' Exile let out a sigh. Using his lightning would have given away that there had been some changes in his abilities to Parthus, but he had no other choice. It was too important to sink as many of the ships as possible right now.
Meanwhile, on board the ship beneath the golden disc, Parthus frowned. 'He's stronger since last time. Well... not stronger than just that, he's also reached Tier 1... And this lightning. How did he change his element? Parthus stared at the shoreline as another lightning bolt struck a ship off to his left.
'Hm... He doesn't want to target me right now. He's focusing on killing as many followers as he can. He's smarter than I gave him credit for. But you started this! If you'd stayed away from Sommerdan I wouldn't have come looking for you!' A vicious grin spread across Parthus' face as he stared at Exile. 'Prepare yourself to face the wrath of Mirage!'
Parthus raised his hands and brought them together slowly. Making an ever so faint sound of a clap. Air rushed forward, slicing through the frozen winds and icy rain. Slamming into Exile and his Pantheon and sending them sprawling backwards in the dirt...