BXBX NOVEL Chapter 268 267: Under Siege
Facing the army of humans that charged towards us, I too began to display some of my real prowess, forgoing any Water or Wind magics as I instead weaved together a few Ice spells, starting first with a simple carpet of frost to coat the field, and tower, before us.
The enemy soldiers yelled out warnings to their comrades, thinking an attack was coming, only to slip and slide off of the now frozen over mud, the sounds of bodies falling into the moat below joining the shouts and curses hurled our way.
With that momentary distraction created, I joined the others in thinning the herd, simple bolts of sharpened ice flying forwards and shattering against, and inside the Westerners.
Each impact activated [Frost of Despoina], the soldiers that managed to survive having an icicle explode on or inside them now needing to worry about the frost that clung to their bodies, slowing down their movements and freezing their flesh.
However, the amount of soldiers affected by our spells and arrows were easily replaced, and I marveled at the large amount of troops the Western Kingdoms were able to procure for this war.
It felt like a never ending horde of humans charged at us, intent on whetting their blades with our blood.
From behind, the members of the Legion began to bolster our impromptu fortifications, adding their own spells and arrows to the defense.
Giving me a quick glance, Jahi nodded as I turned my attention off of the enemies before us and instead focused on the area around us.
With a wave of my hands, the spell that I had been waiting to use flared to life, water rising from the ground, only to be swiftly frozen over, creating a thick sphere of solid, opaque ice around us.
The temperature inside the half sphere plummeted, and I trembled in joy as the frost began to crawl over my armor.
Each of the others draped themselves in Mana Cloaks, though each shivered at the bone chilling temperature for a moment.
The Banshee simply stood beneath the frost, the runes etched into its armor keeping the frost from forming permanently; it stood with its head turned forwards, \'gazing\' out over the charging enemies with its hands clasped around the hilt of its sword.
With a few different passive mana regeneration buffs layered onto me, I grinned as I returned to dealing death amongst the charging Humans, my attention focused on the crimson spray that erupted from each unlucky soul that caught my ire.
My spells were instantaneous kills, yes, but they were also rather brutal; an arrow of solid ice would skewer you, before the ice inside would shatter, sending shrapnel of razor sharp ice bouncing around inside your body, sometimes even bursting your torso open.
The shower of blood and guts made the other charging enemies pause for a split second, only for them to be cut down instantly by the others.
For a minute, that was all that happened as we held the line, our attacks cutting down each wave that surged forth, the bodies of the dead slowly filling in the moat as they fell or were kicked to the sides.
That all changed when a Praetor Squad surged forwards, the rich violet and crimson uniform and gilded armor wiping the smile from my face.
A dark swarthy man led the way, a determined look in his eyes as he held up a tower shield, the runes that shone on its wooden surface deflecting any attacks.
His calm, steady movements allowed him to push forwards, his boots crunching through the ice with ease.
Hurling a large sphere of ice at him, I clicked my tongue in annoyance as he simply grunted under the impact, the swarthy man stopping for a moment before resuming his walk forwards.
When he finally crossed the tower, he held his position as two more shield bearers stepped out from behind him, their smaller shields adorned with the same rune, which joined together with his as they formed a wall.
Readying themselves, the Praetor\'s began to move forwards with slow, methodical steps, covering the ground between us in a few moments.
With each step they made, we continued to slam spells against their shields, and I could see the runes flickering as the stress of withstanding such potent spells began to destroy the rune.
"Keep going! Once the barrier falls, we can turn them to mincemeat!"
Hearing the Demoness\' shout, the Legion around us matched her shout with their own, and the spells that were hurled towards the Praetor\'s doubled.
Grunting, the swarthy man glared at us as he continued forwards, though his two comrades stumbled backwards, blood leaking from their noses as the rune on their shields shattered.
Grinning slightly, Jahi and Anput drew their blades and rushed forwards, splitting when they reached the swarthy man and slipping into the gaps the shield bearers made.
Cursing, the swarthy man slammed his tower shield into the ground, encasing his body in a thick layer of stone, which protected him from the slashes aimed at his head and ribs.
That stone armor cracked under the blows, but it gave him enough time to allow his remaining Squadmates to push forwards and attack the Demoness and Jackalkin, diverting their attention.
Before the dark skinned man could begin to aid his comrades, I sent a barrage of heavy lances into his shield, making him grunt under each impact.
Frost began to creep over the wooden surface, and he grimaced as it edged around the shield, making its way towards his hands.
Leone added her own spells to the mix, shattering the frost and damaging the wooden shield, the tongues of the flames licking at the man.
He still had his stone armor on, but his winces let us know he still felt something from the attacks.
With Jahi and Leone fending off the other Praetors, we needed to cut this man down first before we could surge forwards, and we did just that.
Nodding to Leone, we both sent a bolt forwards at the same time.
Seeing that, the man readied his shield, bracing for the impact, only to shout in pain as we flicked our fingers to the side, redirecting the bolts and moving them around the shield.
He staggered backwards under the two consecutive hits, crying out in pain as Leone\'s flames burst against his stone flesh, while my ice shattered and crept under the stone.
Sending out another bolt each, we watched as he tried to block them, managing to raise his shield to block Leone\'s bolt, but not mine.
Impacting his head, a sharp crack echoed around the courtyard, his head hanging off to the side, while his neck appeared to be shattered.
"""Ferti!"""
The rest of the Praetor Squad shouted out a name in unison, the pain and anguish in their voices making me smirk slightly as the dark skinned man dropped to the ground, his body lifeless.
His comrades roared as they began to push back at Jahi, Anput, and the Banshee that had joined the fray, but the raw power each held easily outweighed the Praetors.
Magic blocked sword thrusts and slashes, but the three were gradually ripping past the Praetors defenses, landing blow after blow on the now unguarded humans.
Jahi sparred with a young boy who looked like he had just reached adulthood, his determined expression matching the longsword that spun expertly in his hands, all while his skin shimmered with a blue sheen.
Anput danced between two different Praetors, her longsword and sickle weaving around the poor humans blades and shields with ease, scoring cut after cut on their flesh.
Finally, the Banshee simply took whatever attacks the Praetors sent its way, opting for pure offense as it grabbed a mans sword and snapped the blade in half, before ramming its own swords straight into the mans gut, twisting and yanking the sword back out moments later.
Tossing the body aside, the Banshee stomped over towards Jahi, grabbing for the young man.
"Riyfe! Wat-"
Seeing an old man screaming at the youngster, I smirked as I flicked my hand forwards, a lance of ice shattering the mans skull in an instant, a cloud of red, pink and white filling the air.
"GILBERT!"
The boy, Riyfe, screamed in anguish as another of his comrades died, before gurgling on his own blood as Jahi\'s claymore impaled his throat.
As the blade slid deeper, his head rolled off to the side, while his body fell to its knees, its arms reaching up for its now decapitated head.
Kicking Riyfe\'s chest, the Demoness clicked her tongue as she glared at the Banshee, who simply returned to the fray without acknowledging its Mistress.
More Praetors were rushing over the broken tower, but I cursed softly as I noticed something.
A cloud of rain hovered far above them, and the Praetors were shimmering with a deep blue light.
"Jahi, pull back!"
Hearing my shout, the Demoness and the others retreated, giving up the ground as they stared warily at the approaching Praetors.
Like the previous squad, these Praetors made a shield wall as they glanced at the now dead squad, grimacing at the strewn corpses before glaring up at us.
However, we weren\'t focusing on them; no, we were focusing on the woman striding on the bridge behind them, her large Zweihander resting on her shoulder as she smirked over at us.
Matilda of Duurghaven had entered the castle.