67 Against the Wall (1/2)

Despite the arcane boost Aura had given me and Luca, we were unable to break through the wall of inner Magesong defenders who protected their general before our time limit ran out.

Sure, we'd been able to push past the outer layer of five hundred soldiers with two minutes to spare on the Fiery Blessing spell, but as soon as we hit the inner defenses, the wall of elite soldiers there held us off brilliantly despite us having Edo and Shaqs raging at our sides.

The shields they carried weren't just big and sturdy but even the electrum-tier chain hauberk armor they wore made our foes formidable. Their steel shadowblade spears seemed sharper too, with each blow heavier than the usual thrust.

As if the weight of the responsibility they carried bore down on me and my soldiers like boulders that refused to be moved.

Even with the combination of Fiery Blessing and Fool's Insight working in my favor, I was barely able to make a dent in the wall of enemies. For every Magesong soldier I slew, two more would take their place and push me back.

Luca—with Foolish Strength and Fiery Blessing giving him a boost—couldn't make a hole in the defenses either. Even after he'd carved a bloody path and pushed past the frontline of these elites, he was just as quickly pushed back by the soldiers behind them.

I parried a spear thrust that would have skewered me in the abs if I was a second too late. After my falchion's shadowblade parried the strike, I used the momentum of my parry to move my body in a three-hundred-sixty-degree rotation that pushed me forward. My shadowblade sang as it swung around to the front. And the combination of vibrosword and swinging force slammed into the side of my opponent's hauberk with such violence that the elf I'd just slashed gave out a strangled cry that was quickly snuffed out by him passing out.

As the elf fell remarkably slowly, I took the momentary reprieve before the next soldier took his place to check on my fellow soldiers.

On my right, Luca was fighting against a brawny dark-haired visere wielding a shortsword and shield. Although Luca clearly held the advantage in terms of strength which was evident in how each of his blows made his enemy's knees buckle, Luca couldn't finish him off. After each blow, the visere would just get back up and pressure Luca with well-placed shield pushes and sword strikes aimed at Luca's lanky legs. This strategy continually forced Luca back and successfully kept him locked in place.

The only reason Luca hadn't been overwhelmed by more soldiers at this point was due to Shaqs. The troll waived his double-bladed ax around in an effort to keep the enemy from getting behind him and Luca.

I whistled appreciatively. Shaqs was proving to be more and more of an asset to the Foolhardies with each battle we fought. Maybe it was time to promote him.

Further to the right of Luca and Shaqs, the Foolhardies and replacements under the command of Xanthor struggled to keep their footing against the Magesong elites who just wouldn't budge.

On my left, the Foolhardies struggle was in similar dire straights.

Although neither Edo nor Aura—the two of them teaming up to spread fire and death around them—looked to be in any danger, Ashley's shield squad was having a nasty time blocking spear thrusts from the enemy with their battered shields.

I'd really worked them to the bone on this night's battle. This was clear in the dents of their bronze shields and the glistening sweat on their struggling faces.

”Time to earn your shields, boys and girls!” Ashley yelled hoarsely. Her voice was cracking from obvious fatigue. ”Hold the line!”

I really wanted to watch their fight some more but the sounds of battle from above drew my eyes upward.

Qwipps and his Talons were facing off against Magesong soldiers riding atop white pegasi. And even in this aerial battle where our forces should have had supremacy, we were slowly being beaten back.

It seemed I miscalculated somewhat. The level of the enemy forces guarding their leader was a little too high level this time. Not even our individual strengths which had often once us the day did much against these elite Magesong soldiers.

While I pondered this thought, two more elves wearing a similar electrum hauberk to the one I'd just defeated came rushing in to attack me. They were soundly repelled by the massive rock body of one of Varda's stone golems. It seemed my dwarven Quartermaster had finally made her way to the front.

”Smash them, Rocky!” Varda yelled from close behind me.

The golem did as she asked and pounded on the two elves with his massive fists of stone. A single smack each was enough to topple them down.

However, they were quickly replaced by double the amount of elf warriors carrying elven sabers on each of their hands. Together, these four dual-wielders hacked at Varda's golem and whittled it down stone by stone until it was destroyed completely. They accomplished this in the time it took me to recover from the momentary fatigue caused by Fiery Blessing leaving my body.

”Muds! That was my last golem!” Varda complained. ”Sorry, Commander!”

I raised a hand and sent Varda the thumbs up. ”How many spells do you still have?”