Chapter 202: Coming to a Head (1/2)
”[Wind Blades].” Tal announced in her trademark emotionless voice as she launched her spell down the stairs, catching two of the intruders and cutting them to pieces in the process.
A few bolts from their small crossbows fired up in response, and the elf was forced to evade. With the top of the stairs clear again, Sera took the opportunity to lean over and release her own arrow at the climbing Tennundians. While she still had to back up quickly to avoid the return fire, she had time to watch her attack strike home.
”Got one!” She exclaimed.
”Yes, yes. Very good, but don't get cocky. They aren't even seriously trying to take this command tower, otherwise we'd have been overrun already.” Kiera commented from the window, where she was still watching the course of the battle, a semi-permanent scowl fixed on her face.
Things were not looking good.
Not too long after they received reports of teleported infiltrators, a massive force of Tenundians appeared in the eastern part of the city, right next to the wall. While Sera didn't know much about teleportation or how difficult it must be, the movement of hundreds of soldiers, even over short distances, was quite a feat. If they hadn't been under attack for that very reason, Sera might have felt impressed.
As it was, it didn't take long for the enemy to lay siege to the minimally guarded observation tower. Thankfully, the majority were occupied in their attempts at seizing the gate, while the most powerful enemies were squaring off against members of the Royal Guard in flashy battles with high amounts of collateral damage.
Nevertheless, the lower floors quickly fell to the enemy as much of the command hierarchy retreated to the topmost portions of the tower. With the assistance of the mages on standby, the Almirans were able to mount an effective defense, turning the open staircase into a death trap for the invaders.
As a result, both sides were currently at a standstill, with the Tenundians occasionally launching tentative forays using a variety of tactics, while the defenders did their best to resist. This had gone for about ten minutes.
Sera fired another arrow, this time only grazing her target. She was about to take another shot, when Tal pulled her back suddenly. A barrage of icicles shot through the area she had been occupying, before continuing on and shatter against the stone roof.
Suppressing a shudder, she turned and thanked the elf. ”Thanks…that was a close one.”
”Enemy mage. Tier 2. Stand back.” Tal replied while pressing a hand against the floor. The bracer that Mike had given her flashed momentarily, and a slight vibration passed through the floor. After a moment of consideration, the elf started chanting a spell. Sera didn't quite catch what she said, but once she finished there was another, stronger vibration and a chorus of horrible screams passed up the stairs.
”Hm. Missed.” Tal said while standing, a hint of disappointment in her voice. ”Mage escaped.”
”Well, I'm sure you'll get him next time.” Sera answered, slightly nervous.
[Since when has she been able to do something like that? Why am I surrounded by absolute monsters?]
”Bigger problem. More on way.”
Harnik, who had his hands full maintaining the built-in protections that were the keeping the tower from simply being destroyed, gave a tired sigh. ”If any of them are Tier 3s, then we are in trouble. I don't think we can hold too much longer as it is. Any chance of us getting reinforcements, Kiera?” He was standing in front of a square pedestal, somehow interacting with the tower's system by placing his hand upon it.
The 1st University Division commander shot him an unreadable look. ”More than likely, we won't see any until the force assaulting the gates are beaten back. All available reserve forces have been redirected to support the 2nd Division.” She was silent for a moment. ”According to reports, they suffered a similar attack which resulted in the defeat or capture of the entire 2nd Division headquarters.”
There was a moment of stunned silence as the audience absorbed the steam of bad news. One of the younger mages noisily collapsed against the wall, before gripping her face in futile effort to halt a stream of tears which quickly started to spill from her eyes. One of the other novice mages quickly knelt down to console her as best as he could.
”Her friend was stationed there.” Harnik explained quietly before turning towards Kiera again. ”If that's the case, why hasn't the gate fallen already?”
The commander frowned. ”I'm not sure exactly. The last report only stated that a group of armed citizens, following someone claiming to be the Prince of Thieves, had arrived just in time to resist the Tenundian assault. Since our enemies haven't started swarming through our streets just yet, it seems like they've been able to hold out.”
[…I guess Brenden got involved after all.] Sera thought to herself with a pinch of unease.
For some reason, she found herself very worried about the beastman. He had managed to place himself in the most dangerous part of the battlefield, and didn't have access to any of the tools necessary to call Mike to his side in the worst case.