"YOU CALL YOURSELVES WITCHES!? MASTERS OF THE EMERALD WINDS!?" Dannatili screamed amidst the storm of shot and spell. Many had already fallen by her hand already and many stayed away from her. She may have not been the most powerful, but it certainly seemed like it. Nothing was safe from her power.
Fragments of their castle swirled about her in a protective vortex and their own spells backfired on them. Even the nominally harmless shot from the fortress was being turned into a line-piercing life-stealer. Trails of magic shot about her large gushes of blood began to fill the air as her magic helped pierce the mobile fortress.
It wasn't just her either, the men of the fortress were giving it their all. Even as spells carved away at the fortress or as witches carved a bloody path through them. All the guns kept firing again and again. They were straining the patience of the mighty giant and it was starting to lash out.
"Hm, rather mindless, aren't you?" I remarked as I dove down past its face after having watched it suddenly chomp down on a passing ally of its. Those who survived the passage and followed me further joined me under it. Where its smaller, snippier appendages flailed about with eager, blood-desiring intent.
Skillfully, I dashed about them and the spells coming after me. When openings appeared, I cut a war-witch down and made my job easier. Sometimes, I'd even slice apart a spell and go through straight to the caster. The erratic, sudden movements spooked many of them.
And screams filled the air as some of them were suddenly snatched up by the nimble claws. The lucky ones found themselves dead quickly, others were left in a bloody struggle as their own beast turned on them. It enraged those who were still around and forced them closer to the core of its underbelly. But their attempts to find safety just made them an easy target for me.
With one sudden burst, I then sliced my way through most of them and carried on towards the fortress. My sudden appearance relieved the men of their need to focus on the enemy in close quarters. And more guns came alive as gun crews returned to their posts. Rather unfortunately, however, I found myself having to stop a barrel that suddenly hurled its way towards me.
"You will all die here!" one of the war-witches reminded me as I flicked my sword clean of the blood of her sisters.
"And how many of you will join me before Waionr's judgement?" I asked them as I went into action. Spell after spell was sent away and I forced them off of the fortress battlements. For a brief moment, I saw the vast battle happening on the ground. As ironcoats clashed against the crew and compliment of the machine.
But I could not help them, I was unable to help them. The fighting was too thick up here for me to be able to spare them even the slightest hand. I had to leave them be so that I could help preserve the fortress and her ability to fight. However, one thing about it all still bothered me.
The mountain cracker had not yet fired!
"W-Wait, no!" I let out as I noticed too late that some war-witches had gone past and had unleashed a deadly barrage against the gun. The lengthy barrel, while unharmed mostly, found itself collapsing downwards. The stone was blasted away and I could barely make out the Ammimpaurst as I fought to keep the gun up there.
"Oh, no you wo-" one of them tried to tell me before I smashed her faceplate and caved in her skull with a single strike.
"He needs more time..." I realised before I was suddenly struck by a relatively harmless spell.
"GO! VALKINVAR! SAVE THE CANNON!" one man of the gun crews roared at me before his position was suddenly eviscerated by a magic blast.
"I am very sorry you lot... But you will have to fight on without me..." I realised as I dove down quickly towards the mountain cracker. Someone stronger needed to keep that barrel up. Someone tougher needed to withstand all that came at them until that gun could fire!
"Wing-Head!?" Lavauroas let out in relief as I cleared the area of war-witches.
"GET THE BATTCOMM AND LOAD THIS CANNON!" I screamed at him, making it clear that this was his final chance to make a shot for the gun.
"Yes, Wing-Head!" he acknowledged with a loud bang of his chest before he legged it into the fortress proper.
"And hurry..." I growled as I watched war-witch after war-witch approach me. Yet, with my sword out and my back against the thick metal of the gun. I was more than ready to face them.
Come on and face me! They would all face me until this gun ripped the sky open!