.
The atmosphere within the headquarters tent became instantly charged with high tension. Bron’s face grew etched with concern as the reports came in. They had a common theme. The light artillery that the Berado forces had snuck in– magic catapults throwing shells charged with explosion magic– combined with the damage being dealt by a fairy knight apparently skilled at the same sort of barrage magic that Lâsin had employed, was gradually eroding the barrier at one point on the northern perimeter.
Large barriers are not monolithic spells. The spell formation at the center is only the means to coordinate and control, at most casting the barrier directly overhead, where everything joins together. Dozens or even hundreds of local formations around the perimeter create the majority of the wall. That’s why barriers like Tëan Tír’s can follow the outline of a valley, rather than being a circle. The only reason why the makers of the Greenwater’s barrier chose to make a circle is that it simplifies the design by making most of those local formations identical.
The Amaga had already committed to a flanking attack on the southern perimeter where the Berado had committed a large force. This new attack was probably a desperate enemy ploy to draw off part of that flanking attack, before it became a deadly trap for their main force. But, desperate or not, the Amaga could not ignore it. If things continued as they were, they would have no choice but to do as the Berado hoped.
Worse, since the Berado had managed to get the Orestanian ‘mercenaries’ to lend them a fairy knight– there was no way the tribesman were actually hiring fairy knights, themselves– there was a chance the backdoor attack could achieve the decapitation goal, eliminating the main stronghold of the Amaga and seizing their most valuable asset, the mana spring.
After Bron finished issuing his orders to aides hurriedly working their talking stones and viewing projections and pouring over a map of the endangered area, he turned to me with a concerned frown.
“I can’t guarantee your safety right now, My Lady. If your stealth is as good as my niece says, then you should probably take advantage of it and leave us.”
I nodded, since I was already thinking the same thing, but I had already come up with a plan for how I would go about leaving.
“Certainly, sir,” I agreed, “but you don’t mind if I do your enemy some damage on the way out, do you?”
His concern turned into a scowl. “We haven’t hired you, and that’s a fairy knight out there. Do you understand how dangerous going up against one of those is?”
I laughed. “I served in the war in Lang Doria a couple years ago. We had four of them on our side, against three on the enemy side. I know exactly how dangerous they can be, especially for your land forces. That’s why I’m offering.”
“I don’t have time to negotiate to hire an adventurer.”
“I’m already being paid, Mr. Bron. My employer wants their daughter back, and it is in my interests while going against her kidnappers to make sure as many of their forces as possible are tied up here, fighting you. I’m offering my alliance, not my services.”
“My Lady, it’s not worth risking your life! What can one adventurer do against a fairy knight?”
I tipped my chin up and smirked. “Two fairy knights and a fairy clan chieftain have already found out how much I can do, to their great regret.”
He was caught by surprise, and just blinked at me without a word.
“Warn your forces that I’m on my way, Mr. Bron,” I told him with a smile. “And depending on the results, I might actually return here before I leave for good. Otherwise, I’ll return once you’ve dealt with your foe. Good day to you.”
I finished that declaration with a curtsey, turned and walked away.
“My Lady!” Sidis called as I exited the tent. I paused outside for her to catch up.
She told me as she arrived, “Uncle wants me to follow you. Actually, he wants me to talk you out of this.”
“Only to the barrier, ” I told her. “You stay and watch from behind. I can’t protect you.”
I immediately rose into the air, rising as vertically as I could to get my bearings quickly. The barrier was just a short sprint away for me, so I wanted to make some preparations. I began circulating mana as I determined exactly where the attack was happening.
Beneath me, Sidis was sprinting along the path and beating her wings. It seemed she needed a take-off run. Bird-kin have a much lower power to mass ratio, and it looked like Sidis didn’t have my wingspan either. Hers extended maybe two and a half paces.
“Hey, old man,” I said to Durandal as I chose my destination and headed at it. “Let’s have a quick chat about your shields.”
I didn’t wait for Sidis. I went ahead and showed her what full speed looked like for me. I had no intention of letting her be nearby when the dangerous stuff went down. And, I wanted to be far enough ahead that she couldn’t hear me seemingly talking to myself and she couldn’t bother me with reasons for not doing this thing.
Because this was a thing I definitely planned to do. We needed the Berado tribe as distracted as possible, and we needed an ally in the region. I already had the beginnings of a plan in my head for how we could use the Amaga while helping them out.
A minute later, Durandal and I had our plan set, and we were less than a mile from the barrier. I initiated my [Vampire Cloak], so the fairy on the other side wouldn’t see my approach.
I could see the inner surface of the barrier coming up, and the flashes of explosion magic battering it. And my fairy sense showed me the location of the fairy knight, and the major assault she was laying on the barrier, with repeated strikes using Earth magic.
“Ready, Old Man?” I asked as I pulled him.
Absolutely, My Lady.
I plunged through the barrier, headed straight at the fairy knight, then dumped all the Aether I had in circulation into Durandal. The holy sword immediately projected a massive [Shield of Oranos], far wider than any I had seen him create before, while I pulled more Aether from my core to replace it.
We had timed it so that the fairy knight’s next strike would occur just after the shield completed. Her Earth projectile, a mass of manifest mana that should have materialized as it struck the barrier, impacted my shield and exploded.
If the soul of Newton ever gazes upon the battlefields of Huade, I am quite certain he has serious complaints about the physical laws. When magic is involved, reactions may or may not happen, and they may or may not be equal or opposite. In the case of [Shield of Oranos], I receive barely any feedback at all. It acts as if the shield is anchored to the living rock of the planet, which was about thirty paces beneath my feet at that moment.
The shield sheltered me from the resulting shockwave, which sprayed outward, striking the unprepared fairy knight and raking the surface below. The knight beat her wasp wings furiously to recover control as the gunners on the ground behind her struggled to recover their artillery pieces, which had just been knocked around.
I allowed my [Vampire Cloak] to drop, revealing myself to the enemy as I hovered before her with Durandal in one hand and the Starfire Jade Writing Brush in the other.
“Coward!” she spat out at me. “Attacking from stealth!”
“What attack?” I ‘protested’ with a mocking tone. “You were throwing some kind of [Earth Bullet] and I raised a shield! You struck me, and got caught with your own rebound!”
Her brow furrowing– probably because I had a point– she pressed her lips tightly together, then demanded, “What are your intentions here, monster? A little succubus has no business in this fight!”
“How rude! I’m an honest adventurer, plying my trade! Only my employer decides where my business is!”
Pinching my skirt with my pinky and ring finger so I could keep my sword and brush gripped, I did a light curtsey. “Tia Mona, at your service. Good day to you, Fair Knight.”
She glowered at me, probably annoyed that I was trying to catch her in my pace.
“I’ve no need to name myself to some vagrant adventurer,” she declared. Then she added, as she drew a new draught of mana from the ground below. “Little succubus, you’ve chosen the wrong employer.”
I knew she would focus her next shot on Durandal’s [Shield of Oranos] rather than the barrier behind me, but all I could do was trust my [Body Fortification] when the more effective attack landed.
The strike landed perfectly and shattered the shield this time. The fragmented remains of the materialized Earth mana hit hard like a gigantic shovelful of dirt, knocking me backward, but not hard enough to overcome my fortification magic. I saw her preparing a follow-up attack now that my defense was down. It wasn’t another barrage spell but rather some magic she could deploy faster, involving Fire.
I had anticipated that, too. I was already raising Durandal and dashing forward. With his blade point aimed directly at her, I declared, “[Holy Smite]!”
Ostensibly, it was her barrage attack thrown back at her. Two differences though. It didn’t depend on materializing the mana upon arrival to intensify the effect. Instead, although it used a similar quantity of mana, it fired it at a far higher density.
Oh, and a third difference. It deployed much faster.
The circle finished forming as I dashed within four paces of her and she hastily abandoned her Fire attack to deploy a [Wind Wall]. It was the correct choice against Earth mana, and if I had been launching a contact attack on her the way she probably expected, her shield would have formed in time. Really, this woman knew her stuff.
Except it wasn’t a contact attack. It was a ranged attack but fired at point blank, just before her shield formed. She caught it in the chest from two paces away.
Newton would be annoyed, like I said. This cannonball blasting out of my sword did nothing to slow my forward motion, even though it sent the target barreling literally head over heels out into the forest behind the gaping soldiers below me.
It registered at this point that these men were wearing unmarked uniforms in the style of Orestanian territorial guards.
I circled around and flew at one of the two batteries of magic catapults, where the hapless troops were just getting their guns re-erected after the shockwave earlier.
“[Holy Rend]!” I declared, with a sweep of the holy sword at the catapults.
Their defending crossbowmen were trying their best to hit me, but I was flying a lot faster at that moment than the bird-kin they were used to. The bolts weren’t even finding Durandal’s shield, and then the ones I hadn’t hit were diving for cover.
The fairy knight didn’t seem to be moving. I could sense her in the woods, on the ground.
Come to think of it, [Holy Smite] had been devastating against Feraen. I wasn’t fighting Mára or Lâsin now.
After overflying the first battery, I reversed and came in from behind the other group. I wanted Durandal to concentrate on shielding me, just in case anyone was getting adjusted to my higher flight speed, so I dumped my remaining Earth mana into the brush while sweeping it, using the writing end. It created a crude whip of manifested mana that battered their weapons almost as effectively as [Holy Rend].
Having seen my attack, some alert Amaga officer had opened a portal for their crossbowmen and magic archers. They were now raking the two batteries with fire that would force them to abandon their positions.
Maintaining my course straight at the barrier, I cloaked and flew back inside.
