18 Bloodshed (1/2)
My squad and I stood silently in the treeline just outside the north section of Valdora awaiting the signal. One final time I repeated our orders and made sure that everyone knew their role.
”Jake you and Dontae will be providing support when we start the assault. I will be leading, Joseph, Mathew, you two will be on the vanguard with me. Rachel, you'll be the rearguard. Remember we want to stay in a tight formation while we're going through the town, it'll be chaos in there once the fire bolts start flying.
Speaking of, Dontae, keep a tight leash on your casting while we're in the town, I don't want another accidental discharge taking out a civilian. That goes for everyone, only engage with enemies that are armed, Dontae and I will [bind] the rest as we go.
Our job is to secure the gate and area around the wall for the main combat units so they can eliminate the archdemon commander housed in the governer's mansion. Everyone got it?”
Everyone nodded, a few swallowed nervously and stared at the walls past the outcropping of houses dotted haphazardly around it. I cast my prepared spells as the time for the assault drew closer, [Wind Plate], [Enhanced Sense], [Mental Shield], [Reaction Fortify], and temporarily (Group) [Light Refraction]. All explanatory, except for wind plate, it's just an invisible barrier of wind that can deflect the trajectory of projectiles, it helps protect my vital organs from being shot with an unseen arrow.
In our final moments before the battle, I kneeled and prayed. ”god I ask that you would deliver us, please give us your victory now. Help us drive back the transgressors that have violated this holy land you've bestowed on us. Amen.”
I checked my armor and weapons one final time then looked to my friends and smiled reassuringly at their grim expressions. With this, they fortified themselves, each one giving a nod ready to execute our orders. We would do it and we would do it together.
We all stood in the treeline, standing defiantly against the meager breeze that blew at us in opposition. This would not be the only opposition we would face today, but hell, let whatever come, we'd take it.
On that same wind in the distance rode a defiant chorus declaring our intentions and a promise.
”god as my witness, god as my might, evil ones I will smite.”
With this familiar ballad came a bombardment of fireballs, raining death and hellfire down on the military positions reported after our resonance mission.
Drawing my sword and dagger I pulled up my hood and took a final look into my comrade's eyes, the fire in their eyes kindled the fire in mine. With the Paladin's Ballad and fire from the heavens, we started our assault.
We grouped up in our formation, walking quickly to the edge of Valdora. Dontae and I kept the invisibility spell up as long as we could, but when we entered the city through an alley we dropped it and I took notice of our surroundings.
We were in an alley that led to the main street, the alley was barely able to fit three people abreast, but Joseph and Mathew were so large that they had to walk behind me for there to be enough space. I led us down the alleyway until there was a branch that ran parallel to the main road. I used [Clairvoyance] with my wisp in order to map a route to the main wall to bypass the main road.
That's where civilians and demon soldiers will be due to the confusion caused by the bombardment.
We made our way through the littler covered alleyways until the shadow of the outer wall encompassed us.