What are those people doing?!
The General of Solemnus, Richard Ainsley, was furious.
Falling into a pitfall was something that they hadn't seen in a long, long time. It was basic logic for earth mages to detect some anomalies underground to see if there were any traps. So what happened to the northern brigade? What were their earth mages doing?!
Falling into this sort of trap…
What a disgrace!
Those soldiers who were originally part of the northern brigade that recently split up were momentarily lost about what to do. On which side should they provide support? Fortunately, someone assumed command and dismissed the thoughts of going back. If their comrades fell into a hole, then their numbers would not have a huge impact, the leader pointed out. So, they could only advance.
Ainsley sighed in frustration. The enemies numbered few, but due to the interference of magical beasts, their brigade of 900 soldiers found it hard to fight against less than 500. There was nothing more problematic than fighting creatures that have no regard for life. Moreover, the beasts' random abilities made it much harder for them.
The stalling would stop here, Ainsley thought as he casted an A-ranked area spell.
They agreed to stall earlier because it was a much safer tactic. Defending always had its perks. And the longer their enemies stayed focused on them, the more benefits the other brigades would reap.
However, that was from the leading side's perspective.
What good would stalling do if no one would reap any benefits?
From their perspective, the northern brigade wouldn't be reaching the surface for a while. The pit didn't look shallow. And for sure, enemies waited for them down below.
Who knows what's happening to the eastern brigade?
Stalling would end in their loss if things go south. They had to drop their plans and adjust according to the situation.
Ainsley finished casting his spell.
Blazing flames rained down on people and magical beasts alike, paving the way for their backup force.
It was going to be a long night ahead of them.
….
The ground beneath the northern brigade suddenly collapsed, but none of them immediately went out to save themselves. They knew the drill, they had to disengage as one, or else they'll end up getting picked off, one by one.
In the end, the soldiers were left to surf the falling rocks as they waited to reach the bottom. All of them were surprised by the trap, but none thought about blaming their earth mages. If none of their earth mages saw it coming while they were all paying close attention, then it could only be their enemy's doing.
The air was polluted with dust, and every time a rock hit the edges of the pit, more would add to the cover.
This was a setup, obviously. And nothing was more troublesome than playing at the hands of your opponent.
To most people, this would have been a dire situation.
However, to them, the northern brigade, soldiers of the Meredith Empire, the cover provided by the dust cloud was nothing!
A series of thuds echoed through the enclosed space as each soldier landed. At the bottom of the pit, through the haze, they could see dozens of paths. And inside them were multiple pairs of frenzied eyes.
The creatures from the shadows charged with silent footsteps, amplifying the effects of the haze.
The scene immediately shifted into chaos.
The dust cloud persisted as they fought. At any given time, a creature would emerge from its cover, attempting to victimize a mage. However, none of these ambushes were fruitful. How could it be? Those animals were facing against experts of Mist Warfare.
Dust cloud as cover? Not even half as thick as their mist!
The enemies must've realized that their plans of whittling down the northern brigade's force by using a stream of magical beasts failed because a few holes started to open up in random places of the walls. This was naturally not the magical beasts' doing. The enemy mages were finally stepping up themselves even though no mage fell just yet. A few were able to notice this and warned the others. With that, they were able to put up their defensive spells.
Spells rained down on the northern brigade, however, none were able to pass through. With the way they cycled their spells to always have their guards up, no harm came to the team. Wind and fire provided offense. Water and earth, defense. They did not have a lightning mage, but they were able to prove that they were capable enough to not need one.
The one-sided slaughter continued.
After the stream of magical beasts ended, the northern brigade tried pursuing those mages who opened up new tunnels on the walls. Unfortunately, the enemies were too quick to close the tunnels, even those at the very bottom.
As the enemies' last resort, they tried sealing the cave. However, even that plan was spoiled. The northern brigade's earth mages counterattacked with full force. The mouth of the pitfall never closed. Using ice pillars, they were able to lift themselves up back to the surface.
The northern brigade successfully exited the pitfall, though it did take them quite some time. Looking towards the west, they saw that things were not looking too good.
The enemies held the upper ground. This was both in terms of describing the flow of the battle, and their positions. The northern brigade didn't know what was happening, but they could tell that the majority of the enemy forces were now participating in the battle on the hill.
Their allies were being pushed down. Some were attempting to circle around, not minding the hill at all, but even those were harassed by spells.
The eastern brigade was nowhere to be found. Their side was also peaceful.
General Coffer had the fire mage next to him fire a ball of flame towards the sky. After reaching a substantial height, the fireball exploded into flames.
This was a query signal to ask for status!
Immediately after the explosion, three more spells shot towards the sky.
One came from inside the town, an ice shard that was glowing bright blue. It didn't explode. It just disappeared into the night sky.
Two came from the western side, both fireballs. After a few moments, they both exploded.
Two exploding fireballs meant that they were locked in a battle with the enemies and needed help. The ice shard that did not explode meant that there were no enemies.
Without even issuing any orders, the northern brigade moved towards the west. Although they were still puzzled as to why the eastern brigade didn't encounter any enemies, they thought about it as they ran. At least they didn't need to go there anymore and could provide more support.
Just to make sure, General Coffer still sent a scout towards the town to inform the eastern brigade about potential traps. The scout had a long way to go, but traveling alone should be way faster. He should get there on time.
The northern forces were charging at breakneck speed, each individual using his own mobility spell. With an increase in number, for sure they would be able to claim the hill easily this time.
The night was just starting.
….
The eastern brigade advanced like a tsunami. At first, their movements were quite sluggish. They moved slowly in order to react to any sudden changes. However, when they realized that literally no one was intercepting them on the eastern side, they all rushed in. Though their speed was still controlled, they moved many times faster than before.
Everything was proceeding smoothly. Although the town was a bit big, at their current pace, they should be able to reach the town hall in 10 minutes.
But wasn't it proceeding a little too smoothly?
General Roman clicked his tongue. He could smell the trap from miles away. As he hovered in the air using his wind mobility spell, his eyes rapidly scanned the terrain. Though no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see anybody.
Traps required people to set them up. And because there should be no way that their enemies were able to foresee their attack earlier on, then, in theory, they should still be seeing people running around. Those who just finished laying down traps.
But how come there was no one?
Does that mean that the traps lie ahead? Maybe in the town hall?
General Roman scoffed. Just to make sure, after reaching an area where it was safe for the enemies to plant their traps without being seen, he ordered water and earth mages to blanket the houses ahead.
A layer of frost and earth that moved like a gentle tide advanced together with the speeding troops.
Then suddenly, the blankets started exploding.
Boom boom boom!
The mages of the eastern brigade scattered. None were surprised. Although some of the explosions came from directly below them, they didn't cause enough damage to injure them. They scattered merely because they didn't want to get in each other's way as they advanced. They inwardly praised their general for his quick wit.
So this is where the traps were, many thought.
Explosion after explosion filled the air of the night.
After continuously running, they finally reached the town hall. They left it uncovered.
Water mages proceeded to do as they were told when they finally reach the area.
Two ice giants emerged from the scattered snow and headed directly towards the town hall. Effortlessly, they pulled the building out of the ground to reveal what's underneath it.
At that moment, they saw a figure rushing straight towards them. The person had a green glow surrounding his body, so he was probably a wind mage. Based on his complexion, he should be local. A scout sent by another brigade?
Although the general was curious about what the scout was about to say, he turned his attention back towards the town hall.
The giants lifted the enormous town hall.
The bunker underneath was fully exposed. The giants immediately turned the iron knob to open the bunker. With a loud clack, it unlocked. As the circular metal door swung open, it revealed… nothing.
The bunker was dark and silent. There were no signs of people.
The scout finally arrived, he rushed through the crowd of people trying to look for the person in charge as he yelled.
"There are traps!"
Although General Roman was disappointed about the bunker being empty, he chuckled at the words of the scout. It was a bit too late for that message, wasn't it?
That's what the General thought.
That's what everyone thought.
Until a phantom blue line that ignored the houses and even the blanket of frost and earth started to draw a circle on the ground. At the center of this circle were the broken town hall and the mages. Then, unknown symbols started glowing beneath their feet. They didn't know in what language it was written, but to them, it spelled trouble.
"Fall back!" General Roman yelled.
"Exit the circle!"
Everyone scrambled to leave. They even went as far as blowing the people in front of them away just to move.
In the end, it was too late for most of the eastern brigade mages.
The phantom circle with mysterious symbols stopped its activity. Then, a ray of blue light shot towards the sky.
The ray covered the entire circle.
It was unknown how many eyes fell unto that majestic blue light that reached the clouds.
….
After the light dissipated, what was left were the figures of people covered in a thin layer of frost. They looked like statues of humans painted pure white.
They were beautiful!
Unfortunately, when the wind blew, the statues broke into millions of tiny snowflakes.
….