Chapter 69: ~Force.~ (2/2)
“It wasn't.” Celestial's answer is short and fast.
I resume to following Den and look up at our flying ships. They are fully committed now and I hear the thunder of distant explosions. “So how do you intend to get up again?”
“Jumping!” Celestial is busy with picking leaves and twigs out of her hair.
I sigh. “Of course. How else would someone get back to the ship.”
We follow the soldiers in silence and concentrate on our surroundings. Fingulf's mansion is just three kilometres away. It's possible that there are enemy troops stationed here.
Our squad purposely didn't jump directly onto the enemy. Den deemed it to be a recipe for chaos, increasing the probability of needlessly losing people to the enemy or falling into a trap.
But nobody disturbs our advance until we reach the open clearing around Fingulf's mansion. Our people are using the trees as cover while Den observes the situation with an orb. “Barricades all around the house. And quite a few soldiers and people who look like magicians.”
He freezes for a moment and continues. “And there are three freaky guys with masks! They are looking right at us.”
I smile. “No wonder, they saw us jump and also where we landed. It's not hard to guess from which direction we are coming.”
There is no point in hiding any more, so I walk forward. “Let's test how these suits perform in man to man combat! I will be the spearhead.”
I walk towards the enemy barricades with my hands folded behind my back and the enemy soldiers start to call commands when they see me. The rest of my comrades follows at a respectful distance.
There are indeed three masked figures with them. They have powerful auras, despite looking elderly. Their masks seem to symbolize the old trinity of creation, preservation and destruction. The first one seems to be a woman. Her mask is made of wood. It's laughing and there are different patterns taken from nature on it.
The second person's mask is made out of steel or iron. It shows no distinct expression and there are no patterns at all. He seems to be a guy.
The third person is also male and his mask seems to be crying. The whole thing is stitched together out of a multitude of materials and looks worn and old.
The enemy soldiers seem a little dumbfounded and unsure of what to do. I guess they didn't expect the enemy simply walking up to them. Not a word is spoken and there is a heavy silence all around the area.
I am only twenty metres away, when one of the soldiers deems that I got close enough. An arrow is let loose and impacts my chest plate. The arrow splits and falls useless to the ground. The automatic defensive barrier didn't deem the arrow as a danger.
Consequently it didn't activate. I halt and inspect the scratch in the beautiful black and golden ornament on my chest plate. It took me a day to achieve an acceptable result.
The colour was scratched...
I look up and point my index finger at the individual responsible. A small disk of light forms at my fingertip and shoots out faster than the eye can follow.
The archer's head disintegrates into a cloud of blood and brain matter. One of the masked guys is quick to react and the earth starts to move under my feet. My body moves on its own as I recognize the spell.
A stone spike stabs the space where my head had been a second before.
“Attack!”
I hear Den's voice bellow from behind and Celestial rushes past me. There is no point in thinking of special tactics right now. We have to keep a tight schedule to meet up with the fleet again. They are currently fighting an outnumbered battle to give us the needed time.
Guns are shot from behind me and the enemy guards start to fall. They strike back and a fireball rushes past my head. I hear an explosion and screams.
While I run, I conjure a blue sphere of mana and split it into several smaller spheres which start to orbit me. Manipulating mana became much easier since I have the new mana crystal.
Celestial throws herself between the enemies and moments later our two forces collide in a blind attempt to attain victory by pure force.
.