Even before the dust cloud cleared, Sebastian and Zes were already attacking the mutated beast.
"[Augment] Steel mind and body, Hyper senses, max physical reinforcement!" Sebastian moved with a blur while using Fulgur and his other sword to attack.
"[Ice Lance]! [Fireball]!" Zes remained on the side and used offensive spells when she had a clear shot to distract and break the enemy's momentum.
GWAAAAA!!! The mutated beast's severed limbs dangled in awkward positions. Although it had 6 remaining limbs left, it still posed as a dangerous threat to the two adventurers. While using three limbs to engage with the sword wielder in front of it, the other three limbs started to pick up stones from the ground. With brute strength, these tiny stones became weaponised projectiles that could easily smash through its target!
"Adventurer! We'll support you. Let's go!" Two guards took their posts beside Sebastian with their swords drawn out. Even with the dust cloud in front of them, they were still eager to dismantle the mutated beast.
Sebastian paused his attack when he sensed the beast started arming itself with makeshift bullets. "Careful! Stay back for now!"
WHIZZ WHIZZ WHIZZ!
Three blurs broke through the dust cloud and headed straight for Sebastian and the guards!
Using his heightened senses, Sebastian was able to dodge the stone aimed at his head. The other two guards weren't so lucky.
"Wha-" They couldn't even finish their surprised gasp as they fell down in a headless hot mess.
Seeing the guards fall, Sebastian immediately prioritised his companion. "Zes! Don't come near and engage from afar! Conserve your mana!" He knew that if he was hit by a single blow he would need a spell to heal himself.
Their brief encounter took moments but it proved disastrous to the guards and their surroundings. The mutated beast's rampage killed two guards and damaged the gate from the stray projectiles.
The beast roared once more as it looked at Sebastian with a murderous instinct in its eyes.
"[Fireball]!" Even though Zes' offensive spells were reduced in number, she chose spells which had splash damage to offset the beast's balance.
"[Augment] Mage killer set, maximum mana flow!" Sebastian didn't want to prolong the fight and was prepared to use his mana tendrils to add damage and to further augment his abilities. He knew that he was going to burn through his mana and his reservoir would last for only a few minutes.
Boom! Zes' fireball collided with the beast's paw who decided to face the offensive spell head on. This was the chance Sebastian was waiting for as he disappeared with a blur once more!
Slash! Slash! Slash! Multiple slashes came at awkward angles. His speed broke the sound barrier and he started to leave after images.
From his point of view, the world was dyed in a golden hue as it slowed down. He could see various sizes of mana tendrils from the beast's body. He knew that each tendril would be connected with a certain function.
'This tendril should be connected with his movement!' Sebastian reached out to a mana tendril in the middle of his attack. This caused a lapse in the attacks for a brief second.
Zes was currently charging the next spell and couldn't release it in time to cover the gap in her master's attack.
Swipe!
The beast made use of the momentary reprieve and attacked!
'Got it!' Sebastian was able to hold the mana tendril and started to fluctuate his mana through it. His intention was to destroy it while injecting his mana into the beast's body. It should cause additional havoc in its movement. However, he underestimated the beast's uncanny speed and reaction time.
"Sebastian! Avoid it!" Zes saw from the sidelines that it would be disastrous should the swipe connect with her master's human body.
'Almost there!' Sebastian was still waiting for the mana tendril to disintegrate in his hand. Seeing the beast's limb approach him steadily even with his speed, he prepared to deflect it with Fulgur. What he didn't realise was that there were another 2 limbs headed his way after that initial strike.
"[Power Shot]! [Double Shot]!"
From the city walls came an archer's shout to warn the other adventurers below of her spells. Although the voice sounded familiar, Sebastian didn' t have time to react. He merely changed the trajectory of Fulgur. Instead of using it to deflect the blow, he changed the angle and prepared to stab through the beast's head!
Pang! Papang!
The two arrows found their mark and pushed the beast's paws off target. Even though it moved it by mere centimetres, it was enough for Sebastian to dodge by simply twisting his body.
GWAAAAA!
The beast roared once more, this time in response to the pain and damage. Seeing the beast respond to their continuous attacks, Sebastian and Zes stepped up in their attacks.
The mutated beast tried to scamper away, however, it soon found that its movement was restricted due to the severed limbs and the foreign mana in its body.
With attacks pouring in from all sides, the beast provided minimal resistance before it succumbed to the attacks. Sebastian thrust Fulgur once more into the beast's head and surged a huge amount of mana into the magick sword. The mutated beast's limp body fell onto the ground.
"Zes! Are you okay?" After checking himself, Sebastian immediately went to Zes to check if she had any injuries. Knowing her personality, she wouldn't tell him if she was hurt during the fight. Surprisingly, she was looking up towards the city gate walls. Sebastian traced her line of sight and found what she was looking at.
A human female archer was heading down towards them. She kept an arrow nocked in her bow, ready to fire anytime when needed. Even though the beast fell and Sebastian thrust his sword into its head, she still wasn't taking any chances.
Zes was the first one to greet their unexpected saviour. "Hi Mel, nice to see you again. Thank you for helping us."
"Don't mention it. The guards also helped in attacking when you weakened it. I think it's still too early to use your mana tendrils in combat. That's what you were doing right?"
Sebastian was flustered and scratched his head in embarrassment. "I thought that it would help if I hamper his movement abilities."
"It did help in a way. Everyone was able to attack because of it. Although I have to say, why do they all have the heads of mutated wolves?!"
Sebastian remembered that Mel had a certain traumatic experience in dealing with mutated wolves. Which would probably explain why she kept an arrow ready in her bow. He was about to comment on her antsy status, but he decided against it. After all, it was because of her involvement that they were able to get away from the fight unscathed - save for the two guards and the city wall.
"How have you been?" Sebastian tried to redirect their conversation away from the mutated wolves and their grisly heads.
"I've been surviving as you can see. These recent attacks have required the help of many adventurers. It's even considered a class A quest. Speaking of defence, I'll leave you two to help the guards repair the city gates. I'll go back up to help maintain perimeter defence."
"Uh okay sure. It was nice seeing you, Mel." Their exchange was cut short due to urgency. Looking around, Sebastian saw that while some of the guards took away the dead bodies, the others were already busy bringing supplies in for repairs.
"Let's help them out Zes. [Augment] Steel mind and body, max physical reinforcement." Sebastian circulated his mana again - it seemed that rest would not come any time soon.
***
Clash! Clang!
A huge beastkin male exchanged blows with a mutated beast. On this forefront, the new-types took on the form of a bat and a bear. Although it had the frame of a skinny bear, it had the wings of a sonic bat which gave it brief bursts of flight and speed. This newfound ability gave them the advantage when they jumped and glided over the city walls. Currently, the mutated beast was at a stalemate with the beastkin in front of it, a testament to his abilities.
"Help the 3rd battalion!" Adarn gave brief commands to the other soldiers in his platoon. Being the newly appointed leader, he didn't forget his training and prioritised the troop assigned to the inner wall. Adarn and his men were previously part of the 4th battalion who was stationed to guard the castle's outer walls. However, there were only a few troops left. Much of the 4th battalion was no more.
"We can't give this defence line up! Not after we lost the third wall yesterday!" A soldier nearby responded when Adarn hinted that they should fall back. The recent loss of the third wall was a huge blow to the soldiers and nobles inside the castle. Considering that the king of the empire, Jacob the Lionheart was in the castle, the soldiers didn't want to lose any more ground to the mutated beasts. They were all prepared to stand their ground even at the cost of their lives.
"If we fall here then the inner wall will be chaotic! Reorganise the line there!" Adarn had experience and was considered the most senior soldier in the 4th battalion after their commander. He was also known to use his beast kin physique and brute force to wreak havoc in the battlefield, earning him the nickname of "Bloody Beast".
The soldiers looked at Adarn with a serious gaze. If their appointed leader and the "Bloody Beast" seriously considered retreating and regrouping then the situation must be dire. For a moment their expressions turned dark before they looked at Adarn once more. This time with a look of resolve in their eyes.
"Adarn we'll cover your retreat! Make haste now!"
"It's my duty as the battalion commander to - "
"We don't have time for this now! We need your abilities if we are to mount a counter-attack! Hurry before we all die in this carnage!"
Adarn couldn't reply anything to the soldiers' logic. With a resolved look, he started to make way to the city gates.
BOOM!
An earth-shattering sound echoed through the battlefield.
"What in the gods' name is that?!" Soldiers all around the chaos couldn't make sense with what they saw. It still looked like the new-type beast they fought. It was still a fusion of the bear and sonic bat - however, these bears were three times in size. They stood as tall as three-storey houses. With every flap of their wings, they tore nearby soldiers apart with strong gusts of wind. They traded their flying ability and speed for a monstrous increase in their offensive power.
"We're done for." Adarn mumbled to himself when he saw the recent new-type in front of him. After using his years of experience in the battlefield to think through his options, he turned to the soldiers on top of the city gates. "Barricade the gates! Prepare to defend with your lives!"
With the silence brought about by the new-types' appearance, every soldier heard the command. Within a breath's time, they took positions and started to barricade the city gates. The remnants of the 4th battalion remained outside. Everyone understood what Adarn was trying to say with his brief command. The remaining soldiers regrouped outside the city gates and prepared for their last defence.
"4th battalion! We're not going down without a fight!"
The cheers raised the morale of the remaining troops. For the remaining citizens of the empire and their noble king behind them, the soldiers prepared for what would be their last stand.
***
In the Tahan Empire's castle, an obviously distraught royal adviser gave his report to the king.
"My king, we need to hurry to the castle's shelter. As we speak the new-types are besieging the second wall."
"How are they faring?" King Jacob looked at the adviser with calm eyes. He was getting used to hiding his turbulent emotions these past few days. Exhaustion and fatigue helped in some ways.
"Not good. They might fall tonight or tomorrow. When that happens, the inner wall will be the only thing protecting us from the new-types. We need to evacuate you now." The adviser didn't hide the urgency in his voice.
"What good will that do?! I can't sit back and watch my subjects and kingdom crumble before my eyes! Prepare my mount and personal knights at once!" His voice thundered through the royal hall. The royal adviser flinched involuntarily at the charisma exuded by his king. Exhaustion and fatigue also eroded his reason.
"My king. If you'll let me speak." A noble came forward and knelt down.
"Speak Herman."
"Thank you, my king. If you get injured then no one will be able to take the helm in this turbulent time. We will need a leader especially when we start to rebuild. Please evacuate and take shelter. Once this siege is over then we will need a leader more than ever."
Jacob felt as if a cold bucket was poured over him. Hearing the noble's desperate plea calmed his fiery temper.
"I understand what you're saying. I'll head to the shelter with half my knights. The other half will help in defending the city. I'll evacuate only on these conditions. I'll even declare it as my decree for now. Herman and the rest of the nobles will decide the state matters for me." With a huff, Jacob left the room.
The cloaked royal adviser turned to Herman when Jacob left the room. "Are you confident that we can survive this siege, Herman?"
Herman shook his head and looked at the royal adviser with empty eyes. "It doesn't look good for us. However, the king must survive at all costs. He'll never take shelter unless we tell him that. Now we need a miracle."
The rest of the nobles and advisers nodded in silence.