by Elian Tars
“Perhaps, but they know why we are doing this, my dearest husband,” I heard from the right. Tiara seldom agreed with Una.
“Our campaign was a suicidal idea from the very beginning, sir,” Omarh said from behind. “Battles like these can’t be called anything but slaughter. But you said it yourself that victory is worth it.”
“Stop encouraging me.” I chuckled, glancing over my squad. Motivators, damn them.
“Why do you think that it’s you they’re encouraging?” Horn chuckled and changed the topic at once. “Oh! The second gate!”
The battle that was being waged here was fiercer than the first one. Shouts of commanders encouraging their soldiers could be heard from everywhere.
“Come on, guys! Let’s push!”
“We have to destroy the third gate as soon as possible!”
“Faster!!!”
We hid behind a tall building and listened to the sounds of the fight. Being so close to it, in a city covered in blood, standing aside was even harder than before.
“I tell you what,” Horn suddenly said. “Had one of the local dukes come to us to Sautz and asked for a squad to attack Longera, I would’ve refused to help him. Such a task would usually seem unreal! In the best case scenario, the troops would get to the castle walls and that would be the end of it. Too many losses. Too suicidal!”
“Well, there are two dukes on our side, not one,” Una reminded.
“Plus my father’s allies,” Tiara added. “Of course, several princes and their troops don’t make for the greatest army, but it’s better than nothing. But what truly matters is that my husband and his soldiers are with us.” Tiara gave me a kind smile. Looking at us, Una huffed. Tiara was about to tell her something, but decided not to. A battlefield wasn’t a place for petty squabbles.
“The dukes... order... to start... the breach...” the Bat said.
“The troops got tired,” Horn guessed at once. “They’ll be stuck here if we don’t help them.”
I nodded and turned to the rest of the squad. “Get ready. Once the third gate falls down, we’ll finally join the fight!”
Chapter 31
Breaking Through
I didn’t know at the cost of how many lives, but our troops managed to break the third gate in a matter of minutes. My squad immediately rushed forward to join the most part of our troops that were already fighting on the streets. Some were still fighting in the second ring, and there were even some battles going on in the first.
“Let’s go!!!” I cried, rallying my elite soldiers.
“Yeah!!!”
“Order them to prepare and coordinate a rendezvous,” I said quietly, turning my head to the Bat.
I had to go to our allies and increase their morale, too, as well as decrease the number of enemies on my way to there. The problem was that it wasn’t exactly easy to get to the front lines. For a squad of riders that were riding at full speed, this was practically impossible to do on the narrow city streets. So, while Vella ran, I stood up on her back and, when she got close to the fighting group, jumped onto the wall of the nearest house. I grabbed the windowsill on the second floor and pulled up, hurling my body up as if from a sling. I then grabbed the sill on the third floor, then the fourth and... found myself on the roof, gazing at the battlefield ahead of me. Pulling these kinds of stunts was a walk in the park with my Acrobatics. Hell, it was faster than using the Joy of the Acrobat. The same couldn’t be said for my companions, who had to use such gizmos to get onto the roof.
Forming a Clot in my left hand, I jumped down from the roof into a crowd of enemies. The explosion rendered most of them unconscious, leaving them with only one HP left. The great majority of these “professional” soldiers was about level fifty and had about 1,000 HP, so I couldn’t believe how easy it was to get rid of them.
Swinging my trishula a few times, I jumped up and, stepping on the heads of the enemies, went back to join our troops.
“Senior Disciple!” my men cried with admiration.
“Senior Disciple is with us!”
“Hooray!!!”
In the meantime, the elite squad had caught up to us and immediately joined the battle. Needless to say, the enemy stood no chance against us.
Without any problems, we moved about two hundred yards up the captured street and turned left into an alley. The battles were extremely bloody and widespread. Big groups of soldiers were fighting on every square, street and boulevard. Major battles were happening on more strategically important places. I hadn’t gone there from the very beginning on purpose, but now…
Together with my elite squad and a big group of soldiers, we hit the enemy’s flank on the main street of the third ring. Our appearance brought panic into their lines and Zhalvin, who was the commander of the allied forces in this area, took full advantage of it.
“Go, my warriors!!!” he shouted. The soldiers answered with joy and burning eyes. Those who had come with us, bit into the defenseless flank like wolves. Speaking of which, the Wolves were everywhere. Wrecking havoc, they were being lead by a Vella and Husk. Vella was having fun, catching up to all the times she had spent with me away from the battlefield. Yes, I could’ve sent her into the fray earlier, and took a horse instead, but since we would’ve been attacked, I wanted to have my faithful Bullkorg beside me.
“Heroes always arrive at the last moment, don’t they?” Una chuckled looking at the soldiers. “We’re just in time then!”
“It’s just a warm-up, don’t get too cocky,” Tiara grumbled.
“That’s right. This is just the beginning,” I added at the same moment when the Bat rose from my shoulder.
“It’s time,” it wheezed and flew off.
“Let’s go, quickly!” I waved at my squad and hurried after it. The Bat led us back to the third ring, turned into a couple of alleyways, and led us into a small garden that was surrounded by houses from all sides. It was a perfect place for a gathering.
“My dear son-in-law! Finally!” Caer exclaimed impatiently. He looked a little bit tired, and his armor was splattered with blood. Confidence was burning in his eyes, and a proud smile wasn’t leaving his face. Battle did him good.
Aside from him, there were about a hundred of high-leveled fighters. I couldn’t say they were the best of the best (I had to put some of the better ones under the command of other dukes as well), but they were still worth their salt.
“Are you ready?” I asked, looking around.
“We were born ready!” Caer replied.
And are you ready? I asked the Old Man.
Longera was so well fortified and guarded that aggression was the only way we’d win. If we so much as slowed down to think of a more subtle and clever tactic, we risked being overwhelmed and slaughtered. Perhaps if we had more time to prepare at the very beginning, we would’ve come up with a better plan. But then the duke of Algert would’ve brought more troops with him. Not to mention that we weren’t fighting only humans, but also Gods. Slowing down meant exposing ourselves to the patrons of the king’s soldiers and risking having them find out about our plans.
The enemy Gods hadn’t joined the fight yet. But now they would have to act.
I am. Send it.
“Kane,” I called and held out a Shard, created from the reserves of my Rebirth Energy.
Taking the Shard, the Bat flew off toward the fourth ring. It was flying fast, gliding over the roofs, but never going too high that we couldn’t see it.
With all my body, I felt powerful waves of divine energy appear behind me. All of the ally Gods came to synchronize their energy with Elusive Darkness. This had happened before; when we were leaving Al-Harum, the Old Man and Tael synchronized the skill with the energy of Noriduel’s Followers, allowing them to be teleported without any problems.
I didn’t know if the Gods trained in their divine plane, but the process took a second.
“Elusive Darkness!” I ordered when the Old Man’s hand touched my shoulder.
I di
dn’t need to wait two seconds for the skill to activate. The Old Man told me that he would not only boost the skill, but that he would make it instant and remove the cooldown. For this one time, of course.
The world got covered in Darkness. Though, I noticed a couple of glimpses of light…
***
“So that’s what you feel, my dear husband!” Tiara said when we found ourselves in the fourth ring.
“Fight! Quickly!!!” Being an experienced warrior, Horn reacted faster than the others, immediately launching at one of the astonished enemy soldiers. I quickly picked up the Shard and followed his example.
I didn’t know whether the Gods purposefully placed the “exit” here or if it was just a coincidence, but we found ourselves in the thick of it. Hundreds of us were struggling on the wall that hadn’t been designed to fit this many people. Luckily for us, there weren’t many enemies, so we finished them off quickly.
The idea was to put our strongest warriors on the fourth wall, because according to the Gods, the fifth wall, which was the wall of the castle, would be guarded not only by humans but by spells as well. Chances were high that the Bat wouldn’t make it past that wall. Besides, our trump card demanded our patrons to be present. And their appearance would cause the appearance of the enemy Gods.
A sudden, loud explosion came from the direction of the third ring. Glancing toward it, I saw Noriduel and Guer-Shui fighting side-by-side against Bers, Karus and Viyon. Their clash demolished several buildings, a beautiful fountain, and the trees around them.
Not a second had passed when another earsplitting explosion erupted a little to the side from Noriduel and the company. Mavia got in a fight with Kiriana, who was being covered by Aerida and her jade arrows. Did it only seem to me or did she look battered? Could it be that she hadn’t fully recovered after our battle?
Six Gods were fighting in the sky. On our side were Rugus and Glozeysk, who were doing fancy stunts on something that looked like a wooden hang-glider that emitted steam and dropped bombs. They were fighting against Laenel, the God of Hunt, Healissa, the Goddess of Health, Garheim, the God of Blacksmithing (a broad-shouldered, sturdy fellow in an apron holding a two-handed hammer), and Lia, the Goddess of Rain — a thin, barefoot girl in a cornflower-blue, chintz dress wielding whips made of water.
Another fight was going on the ground, a little bit further from everyone. The Old Man was fighting against Einar, the God of Military Virtue, Paku, the God of Execution (a tall man in a black hood with cuts for the eyes), and Feta, the Goddess of Love — a beautiful curvy woman. They made for an odd trio, but that didn’t make them any less dangerous. Quite the opposite. But despite being outnumbered, the Old Man was holding on well for now. The biggest problem was that he was spending the strength he wanted to save for the battle with Rheingeit. However, he didn’t have a choice. There were too many opponents; someone had to occupy them, otherwise they would cause problems for humans. And then it would be the end. As for Rheingeit… The most important thing was not to linger. We had to hurry before our patrons got exhausted.
“Stop gawking around!” Horn shouted. “Fight! Let’s open the damn gates!”
“That’s right!” Caer supported him. “The Great Gods are fighting and sparing no effort, so let’s not put them to shame!!! Come on!!” A wave of bluish energy rushed from his hands, knocking five enemies off the wall at once.
Despite the fact that our Gods were struggling, we were winning. Our main forces, under Cleuney’s command, had joined us.
The towers fell in no time and we began opening the gates. We broke the opening mechanisms the moment we were done.
“We have to hurry!” I shouted from the wall. “Our patrons are outnumbered!”
“Are we breaking through to the castle?” Tiara asked, standing near me with the rest of the squad. “Or shall we wait for the main forces?”
“We’re breaking through,” I answered, looking Caer straight in the eyes. “Our entire plan is based on speed.”
Caer nodded slowly. Turning on his heels, he hurried to his group.
The battle was hard and very bloody and the road to victory paved with corpses. But we were gradually moving to the last ring. I tried not think about whether we did everything right, whether our plan was good or not. We couldn’t change anything now. But we could still fight for our future.
We were so close...
I didn’t achieve anything extraordinary in the fourth ring. All I did was swing my trishula around, cast Tranquility, buffing allies and cursing foes, and use the Trident and Clot. I didn’t try to use energy; the Old Man had warned me that without having enough of experience, I could quickly get tired. Just like the rest of my aces, I’d keep this one up my sleeve as well.
For now.
The main troop soon joined us. There were many injured fighters among them. Many, unfortunately, haven’t made it this far.
“Wizard,” said a sudden, tortured voice. It’s time. Go to the castle.
He wasn’t only fighting three enemies at once, but also watching the world through our eyes at the same time. Perhaps he had discussed what was happening with the other Gods?
With each passing day, the Old Man earned more and more of my respect.
Got it, I answered, cutting down another enemy.
“Let’s go,” the Bat wheezed, rising from my shoulder. So the Old Man had talked to him, too.
Many more Bats and Crows were circling above the city. Kane had managed to pick the safest route to the castle for us. I’d have to thank him later.
“Oh, finally!” Horn breathed out when we were about sixty feet to the highest hill Longera stood on.
“Remember,” I warned, “stay here until I open the gates.”
“We got it already,” he grumbled in reply, shifting his gaze to the side. Unlike the others, he didn’t want to show that he was worried.
“My dear husband,” Tiara leaned forward. “Maybe…”
“No,” I interrupted her. “No talking. Do what you have to do.”
“All right,” she replied quietly, and kissed me.
“Yuck! Time and place, you two!” Una huffed.
I activated Wanderer.
Piercing through the space, I passed the wide moat filled with water (fit into the city architecture as a beautiful pool with an intricate system of fountains) and reached the gates.
As expected, energy was emanating from them and the whole wall. It was powerful, but it couldn’t be compared with that of the Gods. Well, no protective spell was comparable to divine power.
“Will five hundred be enough?” I asked the Old Man, but he didn’t answer. I still heard explosions from the direction of the third ring. I saw colorful sparks fill the air and the smoke billow. The Gods were still fighting their battles. I saw one of them in the sky but was too far away to figure out who it was.
I received no answer. We had discussed with the Old Man before that it would be better to use everything we had, hit or miss. However, Power of Light had a long cooldown, which meant that I wouldn’t be able to use it twice in this battle.
As soon as the effect of the Wanderer ended, I immediately took the Altar of Light out of my inventory.
Use five hundred “Lives” to activate the “Power of Light.”
“Look! There’s someone there!” I heard from above. There were much less archers on the fifth wall than there were on the previous ones. This was good. However, their average level was hundred, which was not so good. If they began to shoot at me, it’d leave a mark.
All I could think about at that moment was: “Don’t shout.” I shouldn’t attract even more attention to myself. And I shouldn’t make my friends worry even more; they could leave their posts earlier than necessary.
Clenching my teeth, I endured the terrible pain, breathing in the nasty smell of my burnt skin. I cursed the Altar and its torments.
Three arrows hit me, before the Altar created a powerful beam of golden light that smashed into the castle’s ga
tes. The beam pulsated and quickly spread in all directions, allowing me to see the energy barrier that covered not only the gates and the walls, but the space above the castle, too.
The light shone brighter; I had to close my eyes not to avoid going blind.
A thundering explosion threw me back several feet.
Rolling, I jumped up to my feet and looked around. Not only was the gate broken, but the whole wall had collapsed as well. Apparently, that had happened because of the surprisingly weak protective barrier.
It had been put up to protect the castle from humans… “Wizard”… the Old Man said in a tired voice. The power of a five-fold “Power of Light” is far beyond the capabilities of the people of “Zurtane.” “Wizards” are exceptions. But there hadn’t been any for a long time… Now go! You have to finish what you started!
It was in moments like these that I was truly grateful for telepathy. It saved us so much time and energy that would’ve otherwise been wasted on talking.
I launched forward, forming a Clot in my left hand. In a couple of leaps, I was over the ruble and in the courtyard of the castle. The survivors were getting back up. They must’ve been standing in straight lines, waiting for us before the explosion threw them back.
I attacked first, throwing a Clot at the nearest group of enemies. I didn’t kill anyone, but I did deal them some damage — the elite guards had too much HP.
Trident of Darkness.
Power Strike.
I jumped back, parried two swords at once and miraculously dodged an arrow. I attacked and jumped back again and got hit with an arrow. An axe whizzed a width of a hair past my head.
I was aware that I was no match for such a crowd without the Small Avatar. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. I had just arrived a little bit earlier…
“Now this is fun!!!” Horn rushed into the crowd with a roar.
“Don’t forget why we’re here,” Una chuckled, taking three enemies under her control at once.
“You did great, my dear husband!” Tiara said with admiration, already gathering blood at her feet.
