All allied soldiers formed an impenetrable wall as they moved towards the fort. Shields were raised above and in front, keeping arrows at bay.
"Brace!" [Ryse]
The shields rattled as volleys of arrows fell upon them. It was only when their opponents were knocking new arrows that the battalion moved.
"Forward!" [Ryse]
Their rhythmic steps drummed against the earth. There was quite a distance until they could enter the fort.
"Brace!" [Ryse]
Another volley of arrows poured onto them.
"Forward!" [Ryse]
They moved a mere four feet before having to brace once again.
"..." [Askyros]
The slow progress made Askyros impatient.
"Ryse, have another soldier take my position." [Askyros]
"Huh? Askyros?" [Ryse]
Placing down his shield, Askyros ran forward.
"Wait! That's suicide!" [Ryse]
As Askyros ran towards the fort, he saw the sky turn dark. Upon closer inspection, it turns out it was just a number of arrows covering the sun.
("I wonder how Askyros is going to deal with that.") [Adam]
"Talchios pagou! Frost Aura!" [Askyros]
Reciting a chant he'd only seen once, he summoned an icy mist around him.
("I forgot he knew magic.") [Adam]
The arrows deflected off of Askyros, leaving his mad sprint unhindered.
"Someone stop him!" [???]
Askyros could hear voices from atop the wall as he came closer. It appeared that they rounded up a group of archers to aim for him.
"Hm?" [Askyros]
"Release!" [???]
They rained arrows on him, only for Askyros to shrug them off. However, Askyros was startled the moment he saw a bright arrow pierce his defense.
"You almost got him! Try again, Aleph!" [???]
Luckily for Askyros, he evaded the first arrow. The hard part was identifying which one was the strong one through the volley.
"I won't allow this." [Askyros]
He ran even faster. So fast that even a horse would have been left behind.
"What?! Send some soldiers to guard the hole!" [???]
A group of armored men stood at the hole made by the boulder Askyros threw, but their efforts would be in vain. Askyros had other plans as he unsheathed his blade and dragged it through the dirt.
"Xano tergi. Rising Earth." [Askyros]
He flung the dirt upwards with his sword, causing it to harden and create a road towards the top of the fort.
"He's coming up!" [Panicked Soldier]
As Askyros ran up the path, a few brave soldiers charged onto it.
"Move." [Askyros]
With a few swings of his blade, Askyros knocked them off regardless if they blocked or not.
"Surround him!" [???]
Many soldiers encircled him the moment Askyros arrived. They aimed spears at him, but none dared attack.
"You've got a lot of nerve to come here alone." [???]
A red caped soldier in the back spoke to him.
"Looking at the color of your cape, it appears you're of decent ranking. Why not let your soldiers do the work?" [Red Caped Soldier]
Askyros gave him a look of pity.
"It appears you lack the intelligence to know why." [Askyros]
The soldier grew furious.
"I wanted to show a little respect, but I suppose you don't deserve it. Kill him like the vermin he is!" [Red Caped Soldier]
The soldiers thrusted their spears.
"That is unfortunate." [Askyros]
Askyros leapt over the spears. He then landed safely and began making his way towards the caped soldier.
"What?!" [Red Caped Soldier]
Many soldiers drew their swords and attacked Askyros, but were either blocked or knocked out as Askyros punched them.
"S-Someone stop him!" [Red Caped Soldier]
He turned to run as he saw Askyros making rapid progress. Seeing this, Askyros disarmed a nearby soldier and threw their sword at the red caped soldier.
"Agh!" [Red Caped Solder]
He fell as a sharp pain emerged in his leg. Looking down, he found a sword sticking out of it.
"How…? How is this happening?!" [Red Caped Soldier]
Askyros pushed against the crowd of soldiers attempting to cut him off, only stopping when he stood before the red caped soldier.
"Who commands this fort?" [Askyros]
The red caped soldier spat at him. Fortunately, Askyros evaded it.
"Like I would tell you." [Red Caped Soldier]
"So be it." [Askyros]
He raised his sword, only to be interrupted by a familiar bright arrow.
"Hm." [Askyros]
Tilting his head, he evaded with his lightning quick reflexes.
"...You're a monster, you know that?" [???]
A voice spoke behind Askyros, shocked that Askyros had evaded the arrow at such a close distance.
"...Again?" [Askyros]
He turned to see a man with long brown hair, accompanied with turquoise green eyes. He also appeared to be the origin of those annoying bright arrows that would strike at Askyros once in a while.
"Who are you?" [Askyros]
"Me? You can call me Golden Archer Aleph." [Golden Archer Aleph]
"No." [Askyros]
"Okay, Aleph will do then." [Aleph]
Askyros gave this man a strange look. His sense of sociability was odd.
"Anyways, you wish to see the commander of this fort? You're gonna have to get through me." [Aleph]
Askyros brandished his sword.
"I see." [Askyros]
Aleph glanced at the sword and back to Askyros.
"Ah, shit. I think I just started a boss fight." [Aleph]