BXBX NOVEL Chapter 264 263: Invasion Begins
Grabbing our gear and strapping it on, we once again climbed up our tower and looked out over the plains, where the enemy from the Western Kingdoms roamed around, their soldiers also getting prepared for the upcoming fight.
From the looks of the large scale movements happening around their encampment, we all exchanged glances as we watched them begin to gather up, signifying the first real attack.
Nirinia leaned over the parapet, looking around the field before turning her gaze back towards our castle, scanning the walls and camp with narrowed eyes.
"Careful with this one, girls. If someone wanted to attack, doing so during the height of the siege would be their best bet. Besides that, keep a lookout for the enemy mages, be it Praetors or others. They\'ll be the ones trying to destroy the walls. Now..."
Taking a deep breath, the Djinn gestured towards the gathering army and added "The main problem is the fact that both Julius and Matilda will be taking part in this as well, but they\'ll be fighting conservatively, hoping to deal damage to the castle and tear it down. If not, then they\'ll pull back and regroup for an attack later today or tomorrow. If you see them, a tall, lanky hawkish man and a short, buxom woman in unique gear, don\'t engage them. Don\'t draw attention to yourselves."
Seeing the Djinn\'s serious expression, we all nodded before returning our gazes to the gathering army, awaiting their movements.
The wait was tense and draining under the sweltering afternoon sun, but that wasn\'t something that affected us; a thin Water Cloak kept us cool and refreshed as we waited, and my perpetual gale dome stirred up a gentle breeze atop our tower.
Physically, we were all fine, but mentally the wait was tiring; staring off over a gathering army that wants to kill you and invade your land, all while needing to watch your back for assassins took its toll slowly but surely, and we all needed to take small sips from a focus potion to keep our minds sharp.
Thankfully Leone was an Alchemist, so we could afford this luxury, but the other soldiers couldn\'t; looking back into the castle, I saw a few of the larger, more heavily armored soldiers panting and stumbling towards medical tents, where they would be given a small drop of focus potion mixed with water to revitalized them.
As the sun slowly crawled through the sky, the heat and stench of both unwashed bodies and corpses continued to nag at the troops morale, but that all vanished as a trumpet blast alerted the Legion to the upcoming battle.
The Western Army was on the march.
Each of us readied our magics and weapons, and we grit our teeth as the humans began to roar and charge at us, the thundering sounds of their run mixing with the clangs of their weapons and armor.
At the forefront were the Praetor Squads, and a thicker, more solid shield of mana covered the Western Army from any attacks, the splashes of magic and shattering of arrows adding to the cacophony of sound.
Leone and I nodded at one another, and we began to hurl our own spells into the shield.
The Vampire sent large bolts of liquid flame hurtling towards the shield, and I swiftly followed her attacks up with spheres of compressed winds, fanning the flames she created.
Her magic was almost like napalm as it dribbled to the ground, and some of it managed to seep through the shield or permeate the ground, singing and burning some of the enemy soldiers.
Cracking sounds filled the air as the barrage of magical attacks on the shield took its toll, and the Legion cheered as the Praetor Squads needed to relinquish control of the barrier.
With their protection gone, the Western Army was at the mercy of our mages and archers, all while the melee fighters awaited at the gate.
While the barricade might have fallen, the Praetor Squads instead created their own personal Mana Cloaks, saying themselves from the worst of the injuries, allowing them to reach the moat in mere moments.
Of course, some weren\'t so lucky; Leone sent a compressed beam of her Fire Mana towards a Praetor, melting his torso and killing him instantly, while one of my Wind Spheres tore a Praetor and some soldiers apart, the sharpened gale winds slicing into flesh with ease.
Jahi began to target the larger, tougher looking soldiers, her bow singing a deadly tune as she loosed arrow after arrow, each one thunking into flesh and taking someone out of the fight.
Nirinia and Anput unleashed barrages of magically enhanced arrows into the crowd, piercing enemies with ease as they slowly whittled the enemies numbers.
However, the sea of enemies before us was vast, and each one that we killed was replaced by two others.
Reaching the moat, the Praetor Squads began to bridge the gap with Earth Magic, and Nirinia cursed as a two people pushed to the front of the Praetor\'s.
"Shit! Alright, you girls stay up here! I\'ll go bolster the gate! Remember, be careful!"
The Djinn rushed down the tower, leaving us alone as we looked over the enemy.
"This is a pain..."
Jahi\'s low growl made us nod, and I muttered "Keep going, I\'ll focus on keeping us safe..."
The others nodded again, and they turned back to the army, magic and arrows flying down swiftly as they increased their speeds.
Leone began to utilize more crowd control spells, the sounds of explosions booming around the plane as she bombed the horde in front of us, while Anput began to shoot multiple arrows at a time, creating new ones from stone.
Erecting a barrier around us, I looked down over the gate, where the tall, thin man raised his Gladius and dagger and pointed them at the castle, the cold silver glow radiating from the blades making me shiver slightly.
Runes danced around the man, and each one flickered between reds and greens, before a flash of lightning struck the gate.
The bolt scorched the thick gate, gouging out a few small chunks of rock, but otherwise the walls remained intact.
Seeing that, he frowned before raising the Gladius, slashing out slightly as he sliced an arrow away.
The shorter woman beside him stabbed her Zweihander into the ground, and a swirling sphere of water burst forth from the earth, protecting them.
But, she didn\'t protect the Praetor\'s behind them, and a wall of fire bathed the small bridge the Praetor\'s had created, causing them to scream in agony as they were set aflame.
Arrows and bolts of elemental mana rained down on the Praetors, cutting them down in mere moments, all while the two Justiciar\'s remained unscathed.
Turning my attention back towards the enemies under us, I kept the barrier up before using it as a medium to cast spells, though I could feel my mana drain swiftly from my core.
My spells were of a limited selection, but I didn\'t need complexity at this moment; I needed simple, efficient spells.
So, I began to use the revolving sphere of wind around us as a medium to send out blades of sharped Wind Mana, the crescent blades slicing cleanly through swathes of soldiers below us.
Whilst I did that, I focused on the castle around us, keeping my guard up as I looked around for any potential assassins.
Sending out another crescent blade, I frowned as I felt something press against the barrier behind and below us, and I swiftly turned and rushed to the opposite parapets.
Looking down, my frown deepened as I saw nothing under us, so I instead rushed towards the stairs.
Peering down into the staircase, I rapidly traced out a bullet spell and held it at the ready, all while my Protective Fang remained in my hand.
Taking a step down, I glanced through the various holes that Anput had made, giving me a good look at the stairs below us.
Seeing a cloaked figure, I narrowed my eyes as I watched them attempt to sneak up the stairs, the gleam of metal flashing form under their cloak.
Turning the corner, I sent the bullet hurtling towards the cloaked figure, eliciting a shout of pain as the pressurized water sunk into their chest.
Readying another one, I sent the next bullet flying towards the figures head, watching as it snapped back, a spray of blood coming out the back of the persons skull.
Looking warily around the towers stairs, I remained where I was for a few moments as the body dropped to the ground, the sickening thud of flesh smacking against the stairs echoing around the tower.
Not seeing anything else, I raised my dagger and steadily and slowly descended, reaching the body.
Dropping the water spell, I used my wind to lift the corpse up and levitated it up to the top, where we would examine it together.
When I did return up top, the others glanced back at me before gritting their teeth, only to have to turn back as we heard "Retreat! Retreat now!"
The lithe man had pulled back, guiding the troops away before aiming his fingers towards the castle, sparks of electricity dancing around his outstretched hand.
Thick bolts of lightning struck the earthen fortress, and I shouted "Get down!" as he pointed his finger towards our tower.
We all dropped to the floor as multiple bolts of lightning struck the barrier, before the stronger mana shredded through my spell.
However, Anput was quick to act, summoning a dome of solid rock around us, which blocked the mans attack.
The deafening booms as each bolt struck the dome made me flinch, my ears ringing fiercely, before silence fell over us.
Keeping the dome up, Anput instead carved out the floor and lowered us into the tower, where we all panted for breath.
"Holy hells... that was... potent magic he had..."
Jahi grimaced as she said that, and I nodded, adding "He tore through a barrier like nothing... I guess he really is Knight level..."
Anput spoke next, her tone both excited and worried as she said "His reflexes must be incredible with a Lightning Cloak up. Must be why he dual wields two short blades."
That thought made us all shiver slightly, before we turned to stare at Leone as she coughed into her palm, gesturing down towards the corpse.
"We can talk about him later. For now, I want to know who this is."