BXBX NOVEL Chapter 262 261: First Charge
We all nodded, before Nirinia kicked open a chest that she had hoisted up the tower, revealing three simple longbows and a mountain of arrows.
Handing them out, the three women all tested their draw weight and strength, before they began to gather some arrows for themselves.
"Don\'t lace each arrow with a spell; honestly, Jahi, don\'t lace any with a spell. Keep that Light Magic a secret for now. Aim for whoever, though mainly anyone that stands out and tries to corral the troops is a fine target. You don\'t need to kill either; legs are perfectly fine, since the rabble won\'t have any magic to protect themselves nor heal themselves. Remember, we aren\'t trying to kill everyone, just take them out of the fight to reduce the numbers. Though, do kill if you can; it\'s better that way."
Giving the Djinn another nod, we all turned towards the main tower in the middle, where Adelina stood, looking down at all of her troops.
Sensing another speech coming, I turned my attention instead to searching the crowd for anyone shifty, to start creating a list of people I needed to look out for.
As I did so, I moved around and began to study the tower Anput and Jahi had created, etching it into my mind for the battle to come.
I had no doubt that something would happen during this opening engagement, but the severity was still to be seen.
Would it be a simple \'misfiring\' on someone\'s part, or would a few soldiers reveal their true colors and try and kill us?
With that on my mind, I barely paid attention to Adelina\'s address to her Legion as I did my rounds, earning myself a confused look from the others before they shrugged it off.
"-thing worth fighting for! Tell me, will you let them take an inch of this Empire\'s sacred ground?!"
The roar of the Legion traveled across the plains, and I glanced over at the gathered enemy and raised a brow as I saw quite a few flinch, the small waves of movements telling of their scared, worried attitudes.
After all, they need to charge towards a fully garrisoned castle and attempt to break down it\'s gates... which were separated by a few feet of deep water.
Pursing my lips, I waited for the Commander to finish her incredible speech before lounging against the wall, looking between the others as they all stared over the plains with a bored look in their eyes.
I could tell that we all much preferred the swift rush of combat that we could set our own pace in against monsters, and that this new waiting of the enemy army was rather boring.
Taking a deep breath, I stared across the plains and began to take note of the single Praetor Squad that was at the front of the gathering, the various members of the squad dressed in flamboyant colors standing stock still as they stared back at the castle.
Time dredged by, and I could tell that it was a tactic the Westerners wanted to use to try and tire us out mentally, but...
Watching as a few of the enemy collapsed from the heat and from their own mental exhaustion, I glanced at Nirinia and asked "Is this mind game going to continue on for much longer? It has to be obvious that we have the advantage in every way, no? While we lounge above them, rested and watered, they stand below in the scorching heat with a giant castle laying before them."
The Djinn chuckled as she nodded, her jade eyes filled with mirth as she responded with a jovial tone.
"I would hope so, but Humans are fucking stubborn. Even more so than Orcs. They think that they have some kind of superiority to \'Demi-Humans\', but they just... don\'t. To them, we are impatient, ravenous lesser beings, though where the hell they got that assumption is beyond me. If I had to guess, the higher ups are thinking we\'d abandon our position and attack first, but sadly for them, we\'re not children."
With that brought up, I decided that I would use that to fill the time.
"Why do they believe themselves superior? Do you think it\'s a way for the entirety of their race to cope with the fact that they are... well, that they have no advantages at all?"
I was rather curious about this, as it was quite the interesting topic.
Mainly though, I just wanted to know what most thought of humans in this world, and considering the others seemed to be rather nonplussed by what Nirinia said made me shrug.
"Most likely yes, it\'s a way to keep themselves unified against races that simply are better. The only true advantage human\'s can claim to have is their high fertility; many human families can easily have multiple children, whereas the Marquess and Countess were lucky to have one. Hell, they might try for a second child for another decade and not see a result.
But the problem is quantity doesn\'t overcome quality in this instance. I mean, I wasn\'t keeping track, but that last fight against the peasants? We killed hundreds upon hundreds of humans, and received nary a scratch for that tally.
So yes, I think that they tricked themselves into thinking that they have a chance because they need something to believe in. The average Dogkin is still rather close to the average Human, but when they begin to train? A Dogkin is faster, reacts quicker, can hear better, pick up scents better, and usually is stronger. And that\'s with, no disrespect, but the weaker sides of the Beastkin alone. I mean, hell, the Mousekin can be damn good rogues on their own right.
Then you get on to the vastly superior races... Demons? Elves? Vampires? All have incredible physical and magical prowess in different fields, and a single trained Demon can be worth more then ten of the best Human\'s to have ever lived.
It\'s purely a brainwashing trick to keep them from despairing, and I understand why they did it, but the problem is it makes them so insufferable to deal with. They look at someone like me, a half blood of two different races like I\'m dirt, yet I could demolish their cities with ease. Though, a few of the Human\'s have started to figure out that very fact..."
Nirinia trailed off, her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared across the plains, towards the large tents of the enemy encampment.
Jahi smirked at the Djinn, following her gaze as she asked "What, did a few of their women want to get a taste of something \'exotic\' via you~?"
Rolling her eyes, the Djinn was about to respond when a trumpet blast made us turn towards the field, where the enemy had begun to shout and charge.
The Praetor squad leading the way created a large wall of raw mana before them as they tried to block the incoming arrows and spells, wanting to keep as many soldiers alive as they could before reaching the walls.
"Alright, NOW I\'m going to start keeping track, so let\'s see who gets the higher kill count, hmm~?"
With Nirinia\'s teasing voice nudging us on, we all exchanged looks, the only one who seemed exasperated being Leone when she saw us smirking at one another.
Nocking an arrow, Anput grinned as she channel some Metal Magic on the tip, increasing its weight and sharpness as she let it loose, the arrow hurtling towards the shield.
Jahi quickly followed suit, but her arrow simply shattered against the shield, whereas Anput\'s pierced the mana barrier and impaled a Praetor in the shoulder, causing a section of the barrier to falter.
Seeing that, Leone and I nodded at one another as we created arrows of our own, sending them flying towards the disrupted barrier and raining down on the troops.
Her fire was amplified by the gusts of wind from my arrows, creating small bursts inside the enemies formation as they began to be cut down.
With that one section being lowered and weakened, our archers began to target what they could hit, while the Mages continued to pepper the rest of the barrier, wearing it down before forcing the Praetors to drop the shield.
When that happened, I grinned as I began to send a barrage of gale bursting arrows down onto the field, the arrows sending sharp slices of wind into the crowd and dismembering the enemies around the impact.
Leone also capitalized on her potent magics, small explosions tearing people apart and burning their comrades.
Meanwhile, the other three let their bows sing a deadly tune, each swiftly nocking an arrow and letting it loose in not even a second, each one finding its mark inside the sea of bodies.
As we worked, I kept my focus on the small gale around us, keeping a protective dome around our tower to \'keep out enemy arrows and attacks\'.
Or not so friendly friendly-fire.
Just like before, this wave of enemies was short-lived and rather bland, but it resulted in a large swathe of blood soaked land before us.
The Praetors withstood a barrage of arrows and magics, but they too eventually fell, cut down as they were isolated from one another and picked off, leaving the battlefield silent and lifeless.
However, the enemies tactics became noticeable as night fell.
As the moon rose, the previously dead soldiers rose anew, no longer caring for any patriotic goals that they might have been instilled with.
No, instead they began to hunt for flesh and blood, as the dead began to walk once again as little more then Ghouls and Zombies.