Alexander The Great Mage

Chapter 38 - Furball

Alexander took a step back hastily. He wasn't afraid of her or anything.

He just found having a beautiful young woman sniffing at him to be extremely uncomfortable. It was definitely a first in his long life. Both lives, in fact.

"So? Which God gave you your power?" Lyra eyed him quizzically as she repeated her question.

"Why are you so interested anyway?" Alexander countered.

Lyra hesitated for a moment before answering.

"I'll be honest with you. I am actually looking for allies to fight against the Lich King. And Scions of God make for really good allies. Not to say it looks like you're actually a King, so you'll be pretty useful in the grand scheme of things."

"My full name is Lyra Seraphina, Left General of the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom Military Force." Lyra straightened her back as she said this.

"Seraphina is Eastern Phoenix Kingdom's Royal Family name. She must be a Princess." Buccephalas said excitedly.

"Yeah, I think so as well. She's definitely royalty. I can tell from her bearing and her attitude." Alexander agreed.

"Left General of the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom? The Kingdom that controls more than half of the Main Continent's Southern Regions? What are you doing all the way here, in this little backward continent?" Alexander asked

"I told you, I am looking for allies. I was at Lea, negotiating with King Zarius to lead the Conclave to a general call to arms and send an Expeditionary Force to fight against the Lich King. As you understand, once the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Your continent will be next if the Lich King succeeds in his invasion of the Main Continent." Lyra explained patiently.

"You were at Lea? And you teleported thousands of kilometers here?" Alexander asked incredulously.

"Hehehe. I did teleport here. But not by my own power. It was little Fluff-fluff who brought me here. She might look cute and all, but don't let her looks fool you. She's actually an Arcane Powerhouse! Much stronger than Archmages. You're very strong aren't you, you cute little kitty cat." Lyra tickled her fat furball lovingly. It purred and leapt on top of Lyra's head where it yawned and curled up.

"Hey! Not on top of my head!" Lyra protested. But Fluff-fluff ignored her completely.

Lyra sighed helplessly. "Fluff-fluff is extremely strong-willed. Don't mind it." She said rather apologetically.

"It's fine." Alexander smiled.

"So anyway, the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom needs allies to fight against the Lich King's hordes. King Zarius has agreed to convene the Conclave of the Twelve Kings, but it would take some time. YOU're a King, right? Come help us! The very survival of your continent and way of life hinges upon this war!" Lyra declared passionately.

However, she would have made a much stronger impression if she didn't have a fat little cat sleeping on top of her head.

Alexander nodded in agreement.

"I understand. What's the situation in Eastern Phoenix Kingdom now?"

"It's not good." Lyra replied glumly. "The undead horde massed and attacked us from three different directions. They have no need for supplies and logistics, and they do not tire. They throw their bodies at us endlessly, day and night without stopping."

Alexander frowned grimly. Fighting an army that did not tire and had no need of supplies was indeed troublesome.

"So far we're holding on, our Eastern Phoenix Kingdom has no lack of Firemages and fire happens to be the undead's main weakness. So everything is at an impasse now. But all that will change soon. I heard that the Lich King deployed an extremely large army of Orcs. They are already marching down towards us. Our scouts have estimated that they will reach us in three months, four at the maximum. If we do not send in reinforcements, our defensive lines will not hold."

"More people are coming. From the sky to your North East." Buccephalas warned Alexander.

Alexander lifted his gaze upwards, but he actually didn't see anything.

"Hoo.. Impressive. You could actually detect my Shadow Warriors." Lyra nodded at Alexander appreciatively and snapped her fingers.

The sky shimmered and instantly, a squad of grey armored soldiers flying upon giant grey birds that looked like some sort of mutated hawks with three pairs of wings instead of one, appeared in the sky a short distance away from them.

"These are my personal bodyguards." Lyra explained. "I sent them to clear the area of any threats when we teleported here."

Alexander nodded and quickly put the matter aside. He had to consider his options.

As a matter of the highest priority, he needed to increase his strength. There was no need to discuss involvement in a major war if he still remained at his power level. He would be trampled on and taken advantage by his more powerful allies.

And to increase his strength, he needed to get to the City of Turah first and investigate the possibility of gaining the blessings of the Magius, God of Magic. After that, According to Buccephalas, he had to 'tame' a dragon and 'fuse' with it. Only then would he be strong enough to make an impact in the war.

However, there was also the pressing issue of the Wyvern beast tide that was threatening his shiny new territory, Zan.

And he had yet to build up his Demon Companion Cavalry and Air Force.

As he frowned and analyzed his options, an outrageous plan began to crystalize in his mind. He glanced at the Shadow Warriors who had arrived and studied their mounts.

"What are those mounts your Shadow Warriors are riding on?" Alexander asked.

"Those flying mounts? Six-winged Falcons. They are the pride of our Eastern Phoenix Kingdom. Only our Kingdom had managed to tame and breed flying mounts in the entire continent. Although we do not have them in sufficient numbers to create a full regiment of flying warriors, we have enough to create several squadrons that can help us turn the tide of battle during key moments." Lyra said proudly for a moment before turning glum once more.

"Not that they've been much use in this cursed defensive war that we're in. We're merely sending out our Firemages in rotation and having them send wave after wave of fire down the ranks of the undead. It's been a few weeks now and you wouldn't believe the number of undeads we've killed! And they still keep coming!" The more Lyra talked about the war, the more worked up she became.

"We need more fire power to overwhelm the undead and resist the orcs." She said in an exasperated voice.

Alexander nodded and said slowly. "I think I have a way to give you that firepower you need to overwhelm the undead and the orcs."

"Really? What kind of fire power? I hope you're not talking about that Higher Fire Elemental I just sent home." Lyra said drily.

Alexander chuckled. "No, of course not. How does an entire regiment of mages mounted on Wyverns sound?"

"Wyverns?!" Lyra opened her eyes wide in surprise and disbelief. "You have ten thousand Wyverns in your army??"

"No, not yet. But I have plans to acquire them soon." Alexander said seriously. "However, I will need time. There are a few important things I have to do before I can build that flying regiment."

"What kind of Wyverns are you talking about? 2nd generation fire-breathing kinds?" Lyra asked with a slight tinge of excitement in her voice.

Alexander laughed. "Of course not! How do you expect me to capture 10,000 2nd generation, 20-meter tall, fire-breathing Wyverns? I'm talking about 6th, maybe 7th generation 4-meter tall non-magical Wyverns."

Lyra began to breathe heavily. Wyverns were notoriously powerful. Depending on the type and generation of the Wyvern, even a single Wyvern would be a threat to a battalion of soldiers. Even with the 6th generation Wyverns with no magical power whatsoever, having ten thousand of them was like having an army of two hundred thousand soldiers. And if mages were mounted on those Wyverns.. The combination would be very, very powerful.

Definitely powerful enough to go against any number of Orcs.

Lyra studied Alexander carefully, deciding whether or not he could be trusted.

"In any case, you shouldn't make your plans around my regiment. I suggest you go on ahead and do what you planned to do, and if I am able to make it with my flying regiment, you can take us as a bonus."

Lyra nodded in agreement. Such an endeavor would probably entail great risks and the success rate would probably be pretty low too.

"How much time do you need?"

"Four to twelve months, depending on my luck." Alexander said.

For a moment, there was silence as Lyra considered Alexander's words, and as Alexander ruminated on his plans.

Finally, Lyra sighed heavily. Above her, on her head, Fluff-fluff slowly stood up. And then with a powerful leap, she flew across the distance between Lyra and Alexander and landed nimbly on Alexander's head where she promptly curled up again.

"Wha..what is she doing!?" Alexander cried out in surprise.