Reborn: 6-10

by D. W. Jackson

  As the sound of stone hitting stone filled the air the fort counterattacked using two trebuchets of their own that had been built within the confines of the fort. It took much longer for each volley coming from the fort and they were much smaller in number but with the much larger number of condensed enemies present they were much more effective.

  After the fourth volley of attack the enemy charged with more than a third of their numbers running toward the fort.

  As stood up ready to lead his own charge when a hand landed on his shoulder. “Not yet my lord they haven’t committed enough forces to the charge yet. We have less than a quarter of their numbers with us. If they are able to turn and fight us head on then our losses will be great.”

  Ash returned to his position but his hand never left the hilt of his sword as he watched the soldiers’ charge where his wife was while raining down heavy boulders on the fort. Whenever one of the rocks made it over the wall Ash had to remind himself to breath.

  “Looks like they want to end it at once without caring about their losses,” Uthla said as he watched as more and more soldiers rushed toward the fort. From where they were sitting it looked like a tidal waves of bodies looking to crash against a stone wall and from the looks of the numbers it would be the walls that would be the one to give first.

  “Time to go,” Uthla said as he got to his feet and unsheathed his sword. Ash followed suit releasing his own sword while getting to his feet.

  Ash led the charge. Not because he was the strongest but because he had abilities that could only be used if he was out front that could help devastate the enemies moral and numbers. Some of the officers were considered about him being put in such a position of danger but when he explained his plan they all ended up agreeing. In the end the demons were a people of war and there was no way they would truly accept a maoh who hid away from a battle.

  At the forefront of the charge Ash couldn’t see those that were behind him but he could hear the roar that rose from their throats as they thundered toward enemy.

  Ash could hear, feel, and smell everything around him as he ran across the ground. The sound of his and his guard’s feet on the ground. The smell of the freshly growing grass, and the feel of the morning dew as it covered his boots.

  Ash could almost see the second the enemy noticed them. Ash couldn’t hear the voices of their commanders shouting over the sound of thousands of feet hitting the ground but he could see as thousands of enemy soldiers turned to meet their charge.

  When Ash was only twenty yards from the enemy line he came to a quick stop and just as planned LI covered them with a shield of light as he used gambler’s boost.

  “Tring.”

  [You have activated gambler’s boost. All stats increased by + 34.]

  Ash had wanted to use boost and double his stats but the cost was too high and would leave him almost devoid of SP. Which could be deadly in a prolonged battle.

  Once his stats were boosted Ash quickly activated the ability total destruction which took 300 MP and 100 SP.

  As soon as the ability was activated the feeling of being drained overcame Ash for a second as a massive force of magical energy spread out in front of him hitting everything in its path. Ash had learned after practicing the ability a number of times he could focus the attack in one direction. This was vital since if he just cast it normally it would spread out in a perfect circle and hit his troops as well. That was the main reason he had lead the charge since he was unsure that he could completely control it in the heat of a battle.

  As soon as the storm of magic ended Ash activated tremor causing the ground beneath his feet to shake as if one was trying to stand on top of a roaring waterfall.

  Ash had spent days training on how to move with the ground shaking below him and while it wasn’t easy it wasn’t impossible. The enemy was completely taken by surprise given the large abilities Ash had used. If he was a normal person his MP would already be drained but he had only used a quarter of what he had so he was still fine to continue the battle. Taking a deep breath Ash took a quick glance at his wives who sounded him and nodded his head.

  When the enemy started firing a cloud of arrows Ash used aegis shield of protection. While it only covered a small portion of his forces it still blocked a good number of the incoming arrows. Before the shield disappeared Ash continued his advancement forward looking for anyone who might have the sign of the reaper above his head.

  When Ash had previously looked over the enemy he had noticed a number of them with the sign of the reaper above their heads. Ash had been slightly surprised that none of the normal troops had the mark but it seemed that the higher rank a person obtained the more likely that they earned the mark. Ash had given it some thought and started to understand that under the laws of a goddess that if a person was following an order that they would not be blamed for the breaking of a law instead it was the person who ordered it that would be. The only exception he could think of was when one killed an unborn child or salted the earth. Since there were few humans who would do that unless they were truly evil there were few low ranking soldiers who earned the mark for death. That meant Thad Ash’s main goal during the battle would be to kill as many high ranking soldiers as he could, which was a good plan no matter how he thought about it.

  Ash met a number of soldiers but due to the two abilities he had used they were almost defenseless and easily killed. The few soldiers who had kept their wits never even had a chance to meet with him sword to sword since they were quickly taken down by Tolarea, Gena, or one of his other guards. Seeing this Ash felt slightly annoyed since a large part of him wanted to join the battle more than he was given the chance currently.

  Ash didn’t have to wait long before he was given the chance to prove his mettle in battle as soon the enemy regained their composure and put up a united front. Ash kept looking through the crowd as he blocked blow after blow until he noticed the floating symbol of a reaper in the distance. Taking a step back Ash let Tolarea intercept the next blow and pointed in the direction he wished to go. Due to the noise of the battle around them talking was pointless but his wives seemed to understand his meaning even without words.

  Ash retook his position at the front though with Tolarea standing at his side while the others moved to form a protective circle around LI who was the only one who was weak in direct battle.

  As they pushed forward Ash took a step to the side to dodge an incoming blow while bringing his sword up to block a second strike. Without thinking Ash activated dark spear and sword of illusion at the same time. Ash attacked the first man with the newly created spear in his left hand and the other with his sword. The first soldier tried to parry the spear with his sword but due to the nature of the weapon it passed straight through it as if it were made of water and stuck the man just below the neck. Seeing what had become of his comrade the other soldier didn’t try to block it but instead tried to doge Ash’s sword but with three versions of it coming at him at one he was unsure of which way to move. Luckily he choice to go to the right which only left him with a small cut on his right shoulder from one of the illusionary swords but Ash quickly followed up with a second attack this time using both weapons at once.

  The soldier’s movements were well trained and Ash could tell that he was not among the common fodder as he sidestepped the black spear while bringing his sword up to block Ash’s sword which had returned to normal. Seeing both of his attacks come to nothing Ash didn’t let himself become shaken and altered the path of the spear tearing through the side of the soldier with the edge of the spear as he brought it back to his side.

  When the bold words “Trick attack,” appeared above the soldier’s head Ash prepared himself for something unexpected.

  The soldier attack with a straight stab but just before it reached where Ash had positioned his sword it suddenly moved to the left heading straight for where Ash’s heart was located Ash gritted his teeth and quickly activated armor of thorns while trying to slid his left
foot back to move his heart out of the way of the strike.

  Ash’s luck shilled didn’t activate but his armor of thorns was fast enough to cover his shoulder when the blade stuck which left behind only a small wound which Li quickly healed before more than a thimble full of blood had been able to spill out. Ash readied himself to strike back but a gust of wind passed by his ear as a black arrow flashed past his ear. The soldier battled the arrow away but it still left a small scratch on the back of the man’s hand.

  With an evil smile the soldier brought his sword back up but his face started to stiffen and the sword fell from his hand. The man looked at his hand as if it had betrayed him before his knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground. With his eyes going wide he only got a second to look up before the blade of Ash’s sword passed through his neck sending his head tumbling across the ground.

  With a look back to Seia Ash nodded his head knowing that the arrow had to be poisoned.

  Ash continued forward but the soldiers around him were starting to lose their footing and were being pushed back quickly by his demon army but Ash wasn’t sure how long it was last since a large portion of the force attacking the fort had started to turn back to try and repel the attacking demons. It was at this time the second magic company moved from their position in the forest casting together to create a tidal wave of fire at the forces retreating from the fort.

  Seeing the large force coming to help the forces from the fort let out a cheer as they doubled their efforts to repel the invaders.

  Most the time when a small group was defending against a much larger force they had limited supplies and would hold back on using all of their arrows and oil on the first attack but with hope of breaking the siege early they had no reason to hold back.

  Ash didn’t know if but Emelia was watching the entire battle from her place in the commander’s tent through one of her personal abilities called “ruler’s vision.” Just like Ash’s ability it was a blood ability and one that allowed her to view anything within the domain of her realm through magic though it was quite costly on her MP so she could never use it for long if she moved it more than a few miles away though if she kept it within a mile she could currently easily sustained it for a little under an hour.

  When Emelia had received the news that a horde of demons had attacked the enemy she had quickly used her ability to check on what was happening outside the walls of the fort and it was then that she noticed a young man charging at the front of the battle.

  “Ash,” Emelia said as a thin line of tears streamed down her face.

  Emelia had known that Ash was alive. It had taken her more than a day to calm down enough to think to look for Yuki and Ash’s other slaves. When she checked their slave tattoo and noticed that there had been no change she knew that Ash was still alive.

  The slave bond was made using spirit magic and if the owner was to die then the tattoo would turn a light grey so that the slave guild knew that they were free of ownership and could be transferred as long as a person bearing the right appeared with proper documentation.

  When Emelia learned that Ash was alive it only alleviated a part of her worry. If they had not killed Ash where had they taken him and what had they done to him? She had worried endlessly over this but when the king’s army approaching she had to put her personal worries aside though she still held out a small ray of hope that she would see Ash again either in this life or the next. Now she was getting that wish.

  “Order all troops to the battlements,” Emelia said to the older soldier standing at her side. “Don’t hold anything back. We will break the siege today and chase those godless bastards to hell.”

  “My lady what about the demons?” the man asked hesitantly. “Should we not simply let the king’s men and demons kill each other.”

  “Fool,” Emelia shouted her face turning red in anger. “Those ‘demons’ are trying to help us. Why would we return their bravery by simply letting them go to their own slaughter? Now do as I told you and order my men to hold nothing back. If I find out that so much as a single arrow was kept from a bow then I will have whoever is at fault boiled alive and given to the demons as an apology.”

  The older man’s face turned slightly white as he ran from the room at a full run. When the man had gone Emelia leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. “Idiot…Why are there so many idiots?” She asked to the empty air. It had not been the first time her orders had been questioned. She didn’t know why men refused to believe that a woman could do as good as a job just because she didn’t have something swinging between her legs.

  After drinking a bottle of light blue liquid to help recover her MP Emelia once again focused her ability on the battle.

  Demonic Valor #10-8

  Ash continued to push forward. After the last hard fight Ash had yet to find another challenging opponent. Most of that was due to the increasing panic of the enemy forces but also because his guards would all aid him the second a fight took more than a couple of blows. So far he hadn’t even really had the chance to use many of his abilities which was more than a little disappointing to Ash.

  Just as he was thinking this a large man on horseback broke through the lines of demons swinging a large two handed sword that was only slightly smaller than the one Tolarea wielded. Ash couldn’t contain his smile as a large floating scythe was hanging above the man’s head.

  Raising his hand Ash activated light arrow. As a small three inch long arrow flew toward the horse Ash activated the spell three more times. Light arrow was still weak, it was one of the few abilities he had that could be used at a distance of more than fifty yards with any precision.

  When the first arrow hit the flank of the horse it reared up allowing the next two to strike at its exposed chest. While the three arrows only caused flesh wounds to the horse it was enough to send it into a frenzy bucking its rider from its back. Ash didn’t care about the horse and used one more light arrow to make it run in the opposite direction. Ash couldn’t help but to cringe when he saw the massive horse trample two soldiers and a demon in its attempt to escape.

  Ash rushed forward not waiting to give the man on the ground a chance to regain his footing before attacking. It was true that Ash was hoping for a real fight but when he was faced off against someone marked for death he would rather have it over quickly. That way his target would have no chance to escape. The call of the experience and abilities was just too great to deny.

  Before Ash knew what was happening he heard a loud horn signal not too far away and suddenly everything changed. The soldiers were no longer trying to fight but instead they were trying to retreat. Ash was currently at the edge of the battlefield but he just happened to be at the end where all the soldiers had decided to flee toward.

  With such a large force rushing toward him Ash had only one choice to keep his prey. Rushing forward Ash used his MP to bring up a wall of earth around him and the other man. Since he had little time to think about it a soldier who was rushing past at the moment got caught in the formation of the earth wall covering all of him but his right arm and part of his head.

  Ash could see the man’s face turn red as he was denied oxygen and the feeble attempts to break free as her arm moved wildly. Then as quickly as it had begun the man’s face lost its color and his eye lost slowly dimmed as life left his body.

  “A bad way to die,” the enemy soldier said as he got to his feet and shaking his head. Ash looked at his and held his sword tightly ready to attack. The man didn’t move and instead slammed his sword down burying it nearly a foot into the ground. Thinking that he was up to something Ash took a half step back while lowering his center of gravity.

  The other man let out a chuckle as his right hand moved to his shoulder and within a few seconds his thick armor banged to the ground exposing a another layer of leather armor. Next the man pulled the helm from his head and tossed it aside. Within the space of a few heartbeats he was standing in front of Ash while his metal armor lay on the ground
at his feet.

  “I don’t know why you are removing your armor,” Ash said without moving. “Even if you surrender I would still take your head. You have been marked by the goddess for death.”

  “Oh,” the man said with a surprised look on his face. “I wonder what I did to gain her ire. Though maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, this war alone would probably have gained me that mark. You don’t have to worry though I am not surrendering it is just hard to fight on the ground when weighed down. It is great on horseback though,” the man said his voice light and carefree as if he were simply discoing the weather over a cup of afternoon tea.

  “Shall we get started,” the man said as he pulled his sword free of the ground. “I don’t think I want to wait for the rest of your friends to get here.”

  Though the man’s sword was only a few inches shorter than he was and the blade was half as wife, he was able to wield it as if it weight nothing. When the first strike lashed out, ash quickly brought his own sword up to parry but the blow was so heavy that his sword was almost knocked from his hand and even though he had kept hold it he still felt the numbness run from his hand to his elbow.

  “Not bad boy,” the man said with a half concealed smile. “Why don’t we try that again?”

  This time Ash noticed the bold flashing words, “Heavy strike,” before the man attack. Instead of trying to parry the strike Ash pivoted back on his right leg and let the sword pass by harmlessly.

  Not one to play defense Ash countered with his own ability. Activating phantom strike first to make it look as if he was coming in with an overhead blow then quickly activating wind slash and blood strike in quick succession.

  The other man didn’t even try to block the phantom strike as if he knew that it could do no damage to him. Instead be placed his heavy sword in front of his body and took the blade of wind head on causing it to break apart. Ash had a devils smile as he lunged forward with his sword but it instantly disappeared when the larger man used his sword to pull himself away from Ash leaving his blade to touch only air.