Sixth Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  Bai Ping's sword deflected a spear thrust. From his left hand a mana spike shot out. He stabbed out with the spike, using it like a lance driving it into the attacker's chest.

  He heard yells and felt the rush of air of a passing spell. His squad had gathered themselves together and attacked. One grabbed a mounted man's spear, dragging them off of their mount in a display of strength and agility.

  Another stabbed the spear user as they landed on the ground.

  A spell slammed into a rider, sending them flying and hitting a pile of rubble. They started to get up as a war hammer slammed into their back, embedding them in the ground and releasing them from life's hold.

  A shield user yelled, shooting forward and taking a hit with their shield aimed at the warhammer user that had been open.

  The war hammer user flipped his hammer before he swung back and threw his weapon with a yell. The nail looking spike on the back buried itself in the back of the charging attacker.

  "Wounded to the rear! Pull back to the shed!" Bai Ping yelled as he checked the area with a quick scan.

  The Willful Institute weren't charging in anymore, they tossed out spells that covered the area in smoke.

  Bai Ping grabbed a woman that was wheezing on her knees. In one motion he picked her up and put her over his shoulders, using a mild healing spell on her he helped her back towards the rear.

  He saw his squad coming back, he counted his people.

  "Where are Ahkment and Gwen?"

  "Gwen was in the path of one of those tornados”, the warhammer user said with a dark look and shook his head as he hauled his bloody war hammer.

  "Ahkmet got hit with rubble," The girl holding onto Bai Ping forced out.

  Bai Ping gritted his teeth.

  "Alright, keep pushing back."

  There are only four people that I'd say are combat capable. The rest are wounded and all fucked up.

  He didn't remember how they got to the shed.

  They reached the simple defenses there, weaving between wooden furniture that had been fused with stone and earth.

  "Fire!" Several mana cannons let loose, shooting at the openings in the wall and firing blindly into the smoke. Mages were using air spells to clear the smoke but it was a losing battle.

  Bai Ping passed off the woman he had been carrying to healers that had set up a casualty collection point, assessing the wounded rapidly before sending them on the back of modified carts up to medical stations there.

  Bai Ping gathered his people and moved to the defensive wall. He saw a familiar face from the CPD and walked over.

  "How are things looking John?"

  "Wall's are fucked in several places, just as we planned, we took some wounded but nothing serious. You?"

  "Two down, thirteen wounded."

  John grimaced "Shit, sorry man."

  Bai Ping grunted.

  "We're holding here. There are some stragglers still coming in. We just need to hold for five minutes."

  "Alright, where do you want me?"

  "Take the defenses on the right side."

  "Alright," Bai Ping waved to his people and pushed to the right side. The wall was circular running from the right to the left. Now it was broken with multiple holes in it. Their ad hoc defensive line was back a hundred meters from the walls creating an uneven semi-circle behind the main wall.

  Bai Ping jogged with his people to the right. The ground had been hardened up so they weren't stuck in the mud. They passed other groups that were getting organized. Wounded poured through and were sent to the casualty points. Bai Ping looked back from the second wall, a third wall was coming together on the road that angled up with switchbacks that led one up to the mid-wall.

  Bai Ping got his people in place.

  "Check your gear and re-stock," He said looking at the walls, mana cannons fired out at the walls.

  They just got to their positions and Bai Ping was spreading them out when beasts charged out of the smoke.

  The defenders, now shocked and scared fired on the poor beasts.

  "Hold your fire, hold your fire! Watch for riders!" Bai Ping yelled. He checked on his people and scanned the area in front of the defenses.

  The defenders couldn't be held back as they kept attacking the poor beasts.

  The riders charged out, throwing down mana barriers, creating forward fighting positions. They tossed out formations, creating a series of positions.

  "Hit the people to the rear!" Bai Ping yelled as he drew and released his arrow, hitting a rider, dropping them.

  Others with ranged attacks started to change their focus.

  More beasts ran out of the smoke from different locations.

  "Riders on the beasts!" Bai Ping yelled, feeling frustrated as they were being pressed from every side, keeping them off balance.

  His arrow was smacked out of the air by a rider, smashing it into rocks on the ground. He quickly drew another arrow, aiming at the beasts, sending piercing spell enhanced arrows through the creatures and into the rider on top of them, or killing the beast and sending the rider tumbling.

  Some riders tossed out more barrier formations, creating new positions for those behind to advance. Others were formed up and charging the half-wall.

  Bai Ping saw a group of riders jump over the wall on their beasts.

  A few were caught by the spears on the ground, but most made it behind the wall. Their spears flashed out as they cut down defenders without any cover.

  A yell came from behind as a group of Grey Peak Sect riders appeared on their armored bears.

  They crashed into the Willful Institute riders that were disorganized and having to fight the ground forces around their mounts.

  Bai Ping turned back to his fight, sending arrow after arrow into the enemy as people started to get into a rhythm as they held on against the Institute's attack.

  New wounded were pulled back as reinforcements came in from the mid-wall. Bear mounted Grey Peak members charged any Institute riders that made it over the wall, overwhelming them with numbers and home ground advantage.

  "Mages!" Someone yelled. Bai Ping looked over to see a stream of lighting that shot across the barrier, errant arcs tearing up the ground and the barriers before striking several fighters, causing them to stiffen and then drop to the ground.

  Rocks and debris rose from the ground around a mage, protected by a mana barrier, before she cast her hand out. The debris turned into projectiles, hammering the defenses, hitting some defenders and forcing others down to get cover.

  A mage covered in spells was chanting, his first spell was overlaid by a second and then a third that rotated into place before they all stuck together, stopping suddenly like seized gears. The wind whistled as air darts, small in size but great in number shot out. It shredded the ground, leaving numerous holes as several people in the open were caught by the attacks, markings showed on their armor as they stumbled back, their unprotected skin showing multiple cuts.

  They were left screaming and crying as Bai Ping saw a group of Institute warriors charging forward with the cover of mana barriers that had been tossed out by the real wave of riders. All of this was taken in by Bai Ping in a glance, the terror and desolation of two forces clashing illuminated in full horror.

  "Hold the wall! Hold the wall!" Bai Ping yelled, storing his bow as he threw out a formation plate.

  There was no thinking, there was just doing. He had trained as a sharpshooter, of bows and rifles of every kind. He had trained with mortars and on the principles of artillery, learned the ways of magic, how to break and how to heal one's body and the technical aspects of engineering. It had not been easy, but he had made it.

  Now all that training backed him up at this point.

  He stood on the formation, power surged through his body, his eyes lit up as the world seemed to become his domain. "Burning sand!" He yelled out, using the words to increase his control over the spell as he threw his hand forward. The power of the formation increased the power of hi
s simple spell many times over as rocks the size of a man's fist appeared in the sky above, they glowed red hot, just barely cool enough to not turn into glass.

  They hit the ground like bombs, exploding on impact and sending burning hot shards in every direction. Impacts lit up the mobile mana barriers.

  Bai Ping changed his point of aim.

  He threw out his other hand, casting the spell again. Institute warriors that were charging the defenses let out a yell, which changed halfway through as they started to break apart, trying to get away from the attack from above. Others sped up or raised their shields.

  "Stand with me! Stand you mother fuckers!" Another CPD leader yelled as he shook his spear, power rushed through his body, igniting the air around him as his muscles bulged.

  The Adventurers got to their feet.

  "Buffing spells! Ready on the heals!"

  "Titan’s upbringing!" Bai Ping sent over the mid-level buffing spell enhancing their reaction speed and strength while increasing their body's toughness.

  Buffs quickly fell on the Adventurers as the enemy had to jump over the wall.

  The Adventurers, feeling their allies at their backs, roared. The Willful Institute warriors were coming back down to earth when three were hit with arrows, and another one was tossed back into the sky with a blast of wind. The CPD leader's spear jabbed out and the ground rose with him, several earth spears shot out with him as if he was the lord of the Earth. His spear killed one and the earth spears wounded two others.

  The Institute's people landed, feeling like they had entered hell as they were met with the blades and shields of the Adventurer's Guild, cutting them down in moments.

  "For the guild!" One person yelled out.

  "For our guild members!" Others yelled back. The fighting spirit along the line rose.

  "Burning sand!" Bai Ping harassed the enemy with one hand.

  "Titan's Roar!" His buffing spell spread out to the allies around him, they didn't take time to wipe off the blood and sweat as they raised their bodies, feeling clear headed and energetic.

  "The wounded have been pulled back. The Institute is sending reinforcements. Set out magical traps. We're going to start pulling back!" The order came from the local commander.

  "Those of you without ranged weapons, start using those trap spell scrolls!"

  His people rushed to obey.

  "Mana barrier protected routes will activate upon the pull back. Remember to not bunch up and to follow the barriers," The commander talked in the CPD leader's ears.

  "Mana barrier protected routes will activate upon the pull back. Remember to not bunch up and to follow the barriers," Bai Ping repeated. "We are not leaving anyone behind!"

  His words were washed out by a tinkling noise that made one's spine shiver.

  Shit ice!

  Darts of ice shot out at Bai Ping as he pulled out a spell scroll and tore it.

  A weird noise that rose and dropped like a wave came from the spell scroll as it blasted over the battlefield. Ice shattered and crumbled, turning into dust as it covered the sky.

  "Covering fire!" A Grey Peak Sect leader yelled.

  Mages waved their hands on the mid-walls. Ice and Earth were combined, they rose in the sky like a guillotine before they shot forward one after another like cannon balls.

  They struck the ground ahead of the defenses, tearing apart mana barriers they struck, killing or wounding those unfortunate to be hiding underneath. Many more hit the open ground, causing it to explode and leaving a massive crater.

  The mages staggered from the attacks but the Willful Institute only took minimal losses. Emboldened by narrowly missing fate and not wanting to be caught by more attacks, they charged forward.

  From the smoke between the broken walls, new yells could be heard.

  Mounted riders from the Willful Institute charged across the open ground.

  Bai Ping raised a whip of ice and lashed out, hitting two Institute fighters.

  His warriors looked up from what they were doing.

  "Keep putting the traps down!" Bai Ping barked.

  The enemy was rushing across the ground like an unstoppable tide.

  Graa-kerr!

  A strange noise came from the ground as if the earth was complaining. Only a few heard it before the ground a few meters ahead of the craters made by the earth and ice projectiles exploded.

  Hands of dirt with ice veins smacked beasts and grabbed riders as the ground kept shifting.

  Heads appeared out of the ground.

  "Golems!" A Willful Institute warrior cried out in alarm as a golem smashed its arms into the ground, sending out a ripple in the ground that exploded within the charging riders.

  Beasts and fighters were thrown in the air. Beasts broke their ankles and stumbled on the ground that showed waves like the ripples on a lake's surface.

  Bai Ping looked up to the mages that were standing on the walls. They were pale faced, but they were moving their bodies as if they were in the fight.

  It is not just golem creation, this is golem control.

  He saw as a golem pushed out of the ground and dragged out a sword, it slashed back and down, cutting into the ground and slashing forward.

  The ground was torn up turning into a snake of earth and Ice that charged out at a Willful Institute elder that was trying to pull his units back together.

  Guards rushed forward to defend, using combat techniques, red shields appeared in front of them. Mages cast chains of lightning that descended on the golems, causing them to smoke and bring them to their knees.

  "Attack the spells and the mages!" Bai Ping ordered. A spell formation as big as his chest appeared in front of him as he showed deep concentration. He worked for several moments before he released it.

  The spell formations grew to be several meters large as the formation under his feet enhanced it.

  A pill shot out of the spell formation and towards the enemy. The light coming from it shifted, mixing blacks with green, with golds and yellows, to brilliant red sparks and silver threads.

  The chaotic blast entered deep into the Willful Institute area and ignited. Lightning surged out, then swapped to wind, then ice blades and fire spears. Enchanted metals warped and the mana in the area was distorted, tossed into chaos before it was sucked in and then exploded into a rain of burning flames.

  Chaotic blast, hard to defeat and fucking chaos when they go off. There is no knowing what will happen with them.

  "Pull back first echelon!" The local commander yelled.

  People turned and jogged through the mana barriers to the rear.

  Bai Ping shot out spears of ice at the mages. The mana had been churned up with the chaotic blast and other CPD members were using the same spell, forcing the mages to have to use their internal mana, making their spells much weaker, as they couldn't influence the mana around them as much as they had before.

  Golems broke free of their chains and prisons and rushed to meet the riders and warriors on the ground.

  "Second echelon!" The local commander yelled.

  Bai Ping checked on his people with a glance and used the buff Clear-minded. Their spell casting became easier and they focused on their trap laying more, not worrying about the battle around them as much.

  They tore spell scrolls apart as if they were confetti, dropping down spell traps all over the place.

  "We're next, get ready!" Bai Ping saw the holes along the wall. The golems were doing good work, but the WIllful Institute was recovering and their mages were pulling out mana stones to increase the mana density around them and enhance their spells.

  The supporting attacks from the rear increased as the first and second echelon provided covering fire.

  "Third echelon, pull back!"

  "We're moving!" Bai Ping grabbed his spell-casting formation.

  "Move it Melinda!" He barked seeing she was still casting spells.

  She dismissed it and started to run with the others.

  "Spell traps!" B
ai Ping yelled as he pulled out spell scrolls. He barely looked at where they would go before he ripped them apart and followed the steps of the others ahead of him.

  The Willful Institute, seeing them running charged around the remaining golems towards the wall. They threw out mana barriers wildly to cover their advance and push forward.

  The first groups started to make it over the wall when spell traps were activated.

  Others were close behind them along the wall. They didn't have time to learn from their mistakes as mana pooled together into attack spells and targeted the poor bastards that had activated them.

  Bai Ping and his people followed mana barrier after mana barrier.

  At the rear of it all Bai Ping waved his hand and collected the barriers or threw out attack spells to break them so that the enemy couldn't use them.

  The others did the same.

  Attacks rained down on the retreating groups.

  People were cut down, dropping bonelessly to the ground. Others screamed and others yelled but kept going.

  There was no option but to keep running.

  Medics used their beast storing crates to grab the wounded. Bai Ping felt energy building behind him.

  He cast a protective spell just in time as a spear crashed into his back, it launched him forwards, into the ground.

  "Team leader!" One of his people called out.

  "Keep going!" Bai Ping yelled as he pushed himself up gritting his teeth against the pain. If I wasn't wearing my armor then it would have done more than break my damn shoulder.

  Bai Ping felt more energy gathering. He turned and raised one hand, the other limp by his side. The snow around him turned into a shield as dirt rose up, creating pillars to support the shield.

  A fist as big as a human formed from the sky and shot forward, leaving streaks of white in the sky. It smashed into the shield, cracking through it and the pillars he had thrown up.

  Bai Ping let out a yell as he drew the power from his body and from his mana, igniting the power in his body, creating massive momentum and force. If Erik were there he would see the similarities of Bai Ping's modified combat technique: finger beats fist.

  The power around Bai Ping condensed in his finger as he pierced it towards the fist. The ground under his feet and around him deepened, showing the impression of a fist as Bai Ping's yell turned deeper. He was forced back half a step before he surged forward, his finger reaching out to touch the immense fist.