The gnomes had probably chosen the timing of their attack well, Regina reflected. The weather had gotten worse, the rain was pouring down steadily, and if it wasn’t a real storm yet, it wouldn’t be much longer before it earned the name.

Her fancy new gunpowder was going to be so much worthless dust in this weather. Maybe if their capabilities had progressed a little further … but they’d barely gotten started.

What she’d really wanted was some genuine artillery, but that was a bit of a pipe dream still, unfortunately. Even relatively primitive weapons, which wouldn’t need sophisticated technical components, weren’t really in the cards. The hive just didn’t have that amount of metal, and Conjuring it would be unfeasible. Not that having cannon, mortars or whatever would be much help under the circumstances, anyway.

It was evening, the sun dyeing the sky to the west a burnt color. Luckily, that hardly mattered to the hive. They could see just as well as they would in bright daylight. Besides, the ‘passive’ sharing of sensory and other information, which had become more pronounced as the psychic link improved and Regina’s own psychic power grew, ensured that there was virtually no risk of a drone running afoul of the defenses placed around the hive’s base. And the drones knew them very well. Not even the youngest Swarm Drone was likely to get itself blown up.

“We’re as ready as we can be, Mother,” Ben said quietly.

Regina turned and glanced at him, standing beside her at the edge of the base’s rooftop terrace. She smiled and laid a hand on his arm briefly. “I know, Ben,” she said. “And you’ve done good work. I just wish we’d had a little more warning this time, that’s all.” She pulled a face. “And the damn weather could be nicer, too.”

He snorted softly and nodded. “They have been moving quite quickly,” he said.

Regina turned back to look south across the terrain stretching out beyond the village. She still kept a metaphorical ear tuned to the psychic link, and she felt the presences of Max, Ira, and other drones further away. Then she took a deep breath and turned most of her focus to tracking the gnomes that were making their way towards the hive and passing on the information to the others, including Ben.

The raiding team — for lack of a better word, and Regina had to assume that was their purpose — clearly consisted of high-level individuals, given the speed with which they moved. There didn’t seem to be many of them. She couldn’t be sure she’d caught all of them, even now, but there weren’t more than a handful. That also argued for them being high-level, of course. Really strong people had to be military or at least strategic assets more valuable than almost anything else.

But at least she had caught their approach, and they wouldn’t get the element of surprise they might have hoped for.

As best I can tell, there are probably no more than sixteen of them, three squads of five or six each, she relayed to the others. This close, I don’t think there are any others I’ve missed, unless they’re significantly farther back.

We can’t rule out reinforcements, Max commented.

Of course not, Tim agreed. But I think we can safely say that they hardly brought out the entire army of the Confederation.

On the face of it, sixteen people attacking a group of thousands was ridiculous. That was why Regina was convinced it had to be a raid. Presumably intended to be a quick in-and-out affair. And smash-and-burn. And maybe they’re actually doing this to gain intelligence, she reminded herself. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had the time to recall more of her drones from elsewhere, at least not in large numbers, even if she’d been so inclined. However, they still had more than enough here, covering the hive’s main base.

Then the gnomes came closer, close enough that she could make them out with her own eyes. From up here, at least. They seemed to have ditched their stealth, or whatever had allowed them to pass unseen so far. Maybe the time of their Skills had run out, or maybe they simply needed the focus or mana for other things, like attacking. Regina supposed it didn’t particularly matter. She watched them get closer with narrowed eyes.

A flash of light and low, muted thunder reached them as the first mine detonated. It hurled a gnome who’d stepped into its radius to the side, flinging his body into one of his companions. The others halted immediately. After a few long, drawn-out, tense seconds, both of the gnomes climbed to their feet again. The first one might be leaning a bit to the side, but it could also just be her imagination.

Another flash lit up the darkening sky a few seconds later … and then it stopped. Regina held her breath, but none of the other mines triggered after that.

They appear to be flying, or at least floating, Ada said. The scout crouched on a protrusion at the forefront of the building, where they’d built a small lookout and command post.

Regina nodded. Now that Ada had pointed it out and the gnomes were coming closer, she could tell that she was right. The gnomes weren’t actually touching the ground, but rather moving through the air above it. Well, so much for that part. She suppressed a grimace.

The gnomes were advancing in a spread-out formation, if you could call it a formation. They still stuck relatively close to each other in a strategic sense, probably to keep whatever effect they were using working.

Now they were close enough that she could make out more details, Regina noticed the variety of weapons and equipment they were using. A few barely had any armor, while others wore heavy plate. They carried everything from swords to polearms to bows to a few things she couldn’t put a name to. Several also had what looked like primitive firearms. And, interestingly enough, they were all men, with not a single woman in the strike team. Regina supposed that said something about their culture, although she wasn’t sure exactly what.

Then the hive opened fire. A few scattered shots at first rapidly grew into a rain of projectiles.

Regina had a flock of Winged Drones in the air, but the weather made things harder. The driving rain limited their maneuverability, and the tempestuous wind might carry anything they dropped heavily off course.

Under those circumstances, it probably wasn’t surprising that the bombs they released didn’t seem to find any targets. Regina sighed as the explosions rattled the terrain outside the hive, squinting to catch a better glimpse of the gnomes. Then she switched her focus to Ada and several other drones, looking through them.

The hive’s drones shooting directly at the gnomes seemed to have more success, but after a few of the attackers dropped, a shield flickered into existence around them. It was mostly translucent, with a faint blue shine, and it extended far enough to cover everyone, although it also forced them to draw more tightly together.

Regina frowned to herself. So far, the hive’s defenses weren’t doing very well, definitely worse than she’d hoped. Once this was over, she would have to sit down with Ben and the others and evaluate where they went wrong, and how to improve.

She wasn’t really worried yet, though. The attackers were simply far too outnumbered, unless they happened to have a hidden army waiting in the wings. She doubted they’d be able to conceal that from her psychic senses, though. Come to think of it, if these people knew about the Hivekind, maybe their target was actually Regina herself. Maybe this was a decapitation strike, aimed to take out the Hive Queen? I guess it might make sense if they think they can get away with it, she considered.

My Queen, perhaps you should head inside, Ben suggested.

Max stiffened slightly and glanced between them, before nodding firmly. Regina frowned at them. Ben must have been following her thoughts. She had kept herself more tightly immersed in the psychic link, so she could share what her psychic senses told her and coordinate with the others. Then again, he might have just reached the same conclusion on his own.

“I don’t think I would be safer there,” she pointed out. “If they reach this place at all, then at least in the open, I’ll have more drones around to protect me, and the ability to move much more easily. I do still have wings, you know.”

Max rolled his eyes and Ben sighed slightly, but neither of them argued. She could tell that they followed her logic, albeit a little grudgingly. Ben did call over additional drones to form up more tightly around their position, though. Regina left him to it without interfering.

They waited in silence for a short while longer, watching while the gnomes worked their way closer. Even though they didn’t seem to be taking casualties, they were at least hindered by the hive’s defenses, the projectiles and the need to keep up their own magic shield.

Mages, attack, Ben ordered finally.

Regina watched as the scattered Drones Witches and Drone Attendants (and Evolved Classes) opened fire. Most of the attacks splashed harmlessly off the attackers’ magic shield, as well, but she could tell that a few actually managed to pass through it. The gnomes slowed down further, as well.

“I wonder why they’re not retreating?” Max muttered. “They were clearly banking on their stealth.”

Maybe trying to gain information, Regina answered absently. Ben, do you think we should try throwing some explosives, as well?

The general paused, then smiled at her, nodded and turned to pass orders. Quickly, several improvised grenades joined the hail of attacks raining down on the gnomes.

Regina knew he’d probably wanted to keep them in reserve for now, but this move seemed to work out well. The gnomes staggered and several of them were actually pushed back. One even went down when a large explosion went off right against his shield.

The mana shield flickered for a moment, which also exposed the gnomes to either side of the fallen man. Regina didn’t waste the opportunity, and sent a Magic Missile into the opening immediately. Several other mages of the hive had the same idea, and while most of their Spells still crashed into the edges of the shield and sputtered out, her Missile and a Firebolt passed through. One gnome collapsed screaming to the ground, and the other was pushed back, the shield in front of him now showing a real rift. Other Spells and a few javelins from the Shooters passed through quickly, taking him out as well.

Regina narrowed her eyes, looking at the attackers. She couldn’t see a single level displayed for them, just question marks. Granted, a few had fallen back enough they weren’t in range, and most of them were injured, so these were probably more likely to be the lower-leveled members of this strike team. But still, the gnomes were probably all in at least the fourth Tier, or maybe even the fifth.

She sighed and conjured two more Fireballs, launching one from each hand at the closest gnomes while she prepared follow-up attacks. Even if her mana pool was largely spoken for and her regeneration bound up in her hive’s eggs, she doubted any of them had as much mana as she did.

One of the gnomes staggered, before her Fireball engulfed him and he fell down screaming. Regina was just starting to smile in satisfaction, when the somewhat tattered magic shield protecting the rest of them flickered and went down.

She only had a moment to realize they’d dropped it and must have freed up their own mages to attack directly, when a hail of rocks swept towards her.

Max and a few other drones stepped forward, raising their shields to catch the attack. Two of them staggered and would have fallen if Via and Ria didn’t catch them.

It interrupted Regina’s line of sight, but she didn’t rely on that, and she trusted her drones to keep her safe. So, when the gnomish mage appeared in the air in front of her, she was ready. She even had enough time to catch a glimpse of his System descriptor.

Petiaken — Level ? Archmage of the Elements

They attacked almost at the same time. A massive Fireball rushed towards Regina, while a smaller one flew from her to him. Regina winced slightly, but she didn’t take her attention off her opponent. A Mage Armor flickered on her, then a second, and then Max extended his shield, just in time to catch the Fireball on it.

Simultaneously, the gnome veered to the side, dodging her own attack. But she hadn’t counted on that one. Instead, several other magical attacks covered the area around where he had just been. A fraction of a second later, he was hit by another Firebolt, sent by Janis and staggered slightly behind Regina’s attack.

His own Mage Armor absorbed the hit, but she could see it fail. Regina sent out a torrent of Magic Missiles, while half of the mages in her vicinity copied her. The lighter Spell could be spammed more easily, and it didn’t take long for one of them to hit the gnome. He lost altitude, then suddenly vanished.

He retreated, Ada sent her, showing a view of where the mage had appeared a few hundred meters away. The gust of wind carrying him blew away a scattering of fallen leaves and sodden grass from the area around him.

They’re all retreating now, Ben added.

Regina flipped quickly through perspectives, taking in the entire battlefield. Ben was right, they were trying to disengage.

Hammer them while they try to get away, but don’t pursue them too far, she ordered her hive.

Regina sent a few more Spells at the closest gnomes, shaking her head to flick water out of her eyes. The rain had only increased in intensity, and her Winged Drones were having real trouble staying in the air.

They still managed to pile onto several of the gnomes in small flocks, bringing them down and savaging them on the ground. One gnome, wearing armor and wielding a sword, managed to cut his way out of them, only to be set upon by the next flock and harried until a Shooter’s Skill-bolstered projectile pierced his back.

In the end, only five of them escaped.

You have leveled up

Regina sighed, dismissing the notification and watching while Ben and the others called the drones back and got them sorted out into proper order. Their insistence on not letting sapient drones close the distance to the attackers had paid off, since none of them were killed and only a few injured. Still, she found it hard to call this a success.

Lightning flickered in the distance, illuminating the terrain in front of her starkly. The earth was churned and pitted, dotted with the occasional fallen body.

We’ll need to discuss this in detail, she finally said. At the moment, though, I have to admit, I just want to get out of the rain.

Max laughed, and she smiled as the small surge of amusement spread through her drones. They were feeling good about having won an engagement and killed some gnomes, and Regina didn’t begrudge them that.