The cold wind blew gently through Matthias' thick scruffy hair as he sat on the jagged cliffside looking out on the grassy plains below. The scent of morning dew and moist moss filled his nostrils as he breathed in deeply. Six years had passed since the invasion. Matthias and Lilly were now full-fledged soldiers aged 17 and 18, respectively, both ranked private in the military's 5th Soul Summoner brigade. Their training was cut short compared to other soldiers. The military reasoned that, as soul summoners, they already had an ability advantage compared to other soldiers. Anything that was skipped in basic training could just be learned through actual battlefield experience, which they had accrued quite a bit of in their short 4-month tenure as soldiers.
"Hah, Hah. Do you have an idea how hard it is to hike up this steep-ass cliff just so I can relay a damn message to you?!"
Lilly collapsed behind Matthias, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Trying to recover from the back-breaking hike she had just endured.
"And that's precisely why I chose this spot. And anyway, if that little hike tired you out, I think you need to work out a bit more; we're soldiers now! Can't afford to be caught slackin' on the job."
"I will come over there and throw you off that cliff."
"Make sure to catch your breath first!"
"Very funny. Anyways, the captain wanted me to tell you that we're leaving soon, and if you don't come down in five, he's going to personally come up here and drag your ass down."
Matthias sighed, lifting himself off the damp, mossy rocks and brushing off the water droplets that clung to his thick leather jacket.
"Let's get going then."
* * *
The two descended down the cliffside and lined up on the damp grass below, shoulder to shoulder with their comrades. A tall bald man in his thirties stepped to the front and looked over the group. He wore a deep scowl on his scarred face as he inspected the lineup of ragtag privates.
"I don't need to explain to you how important this day is to the future of our country. As you know, the enemy has now begun their advance towards the city of Südfes. We have confirmation from our scouts that they do indeed have siege equipment; in other words, they plan to take the city. Should they succeed in doing so, we will have lost our most valuable asset in the southern part of the country. The city of Südfes has stood for thousands of years as Westeria's most fortified settlement; losing it would mean we would have no hope of regaining any territory south of the city borders. With that being said, It is my belief that those imperial bastards ain't got the brains nor the firepower to even put a dent in that thing; nevertheless, any damage sustained by the city walls is damage that's going to need to be repaired by the city out of pocket, so it's our job to cut those bastards off before they make it to the city borders, now..."
The captain paused, staring each private in the eye, with a glare that could shatter glass.
"It remains to be seen whether or not you, cocky, slacking honour student pansies, can actually pull it off. Now maybe I'm just getting senile, but something tells me I'm right to put my trust in you good for nothin's. So, I'll ask you, are you ready to die for your people today?"
"Yes, sir, for king and country, sir!"
The privates shouted at the top of their lungs, placing their right arm over their left shoulder in salute.
"Good to hear. You'll be split into teams. Matthias, pussy ears, Tardy. You'll be group A. You'll be on my right flank until I give the signal, then break off. The Aurecan Auxiliaries will meet you midway if you don't see them, keep moving, and focus on taking out their cavalry. Once you're finished, move to the archers, then wrap around and help group B. Have I made myself clear? "
"Sir!"
Matthias, Lilly and another young boy released their salute and walked over to the temporary stables where their horses lay in wait. They began preparing their gear, putting on their padded, tanned leather armour and adjusting the saddles on their horses.
"Hey, Tardy!"
Matthias turned to the other young boy in their group, A shorter-framed guy with black hair and freckles on his face. Tardy wasn't actually his real name, but it's what everyone, including the captain, took to calling him, thanks to his unfortunate habit of showing up late to almost everything. He also had a relatively well-known crush on Lilly, who had rejected him multiple times.
"Y-Yeah?"
"Try not to slow us down out there! I'll even ride in front of you so you don't get distracted by Lilly and wind up making us late, although knowing you, that'll still wind up happening anyway."
"Real funny, dude. But I'll have you know that I am a man of integrity! I do not stare nor gawk at women."
Tardy spoke in a righteous, haughty tone. A contrast to his usual meek and stuttery self.
"A man of integrity, huh? Hard to believe, considering you've been rejected seven times!"
"Eight, actually. He tried again yesterday."
Lilly chimed in. Smirking as she adjusted the saddle on her chocolate brown stallion.
"Oh, come on! I know she's just playing hard to get! She'll come around....eventually."
"Yikes, man, the irony is palpable in the air."
"Man, whatever, just hurry up with your stupid saddle and let's go..."
* * *
With the teams assigned and all the privates suited up and mounted, the captain gave the signal to go; dozens of horses poured out of the small valley, like clockwork they all manoeuvred to their positions in the formation, forming an octagonal shape with the captain in the centre, the horses galloped at top-speed, overall the formation was covering around twenty-four meters of ground each second.
"How'd you think the defence is holding up in Südfes?"
Tardy shouted to Matthias, the wind violently blowing his hair behind his head.
"The Empire is probably being held back in the surrounding villages at this point. Who's to say how long that will last. In any case, the empire doesn't have formal soul summoner units, so their magic users are a Hodge podge of different skill sets. That gives us some advantage, but their gear is much better than ours, and they had a civil war not too long ago, so their army is way more experienced than ours."
"You know, like way too much about this sort of stuff."
"What can I say? I like to read."
"Spend too much time reading those books and less time training, and your combat skills going to slip!"
Lilly chimed in mockingly.
"Is that so? Well, I happen to recall I beat you in our last training match! So perhaps you should keep those lips zipped."
"Well, I was off my game that day! I could easily beat you now!"
"Oh, is that right? Would you like to test that theory?"
Matthias drew his horse closer towards Lilly's, his eyes narrowing and a smug, confident grin stretching across his face.
"More than happy to."
Lilly leaned in closer and mirrored his smug attitude. You could practically see the sparks flying between the two as they stared each other down, western style.
"Matthias, Pussy ears! Back in formation. Before I shove my foot so far up both of your asses, you start tasting leather!"
The captain screamed over to them with fury in his voice. The two begrudgingly complied and separated themselves, pulling back into their original positions, still staring each other down.
"Jeez, you two are scary when you get competitive, b-but for the record Lilly, I meant scary in a good way. I can tell you're a strong independent woman!"
Lilly and Matthias whipped their heads back, glaring at Tardy with a look so judgmental you could practically hear his pride shatter into a million pieces.
"S-Sorry, I'll shut up now..."
Tardy proceeded to shrivel back and deflate into his horse, never wanting to socially interact with another human ever again, resigning himself to the solitude and comfort of his mind.
* * *
20 minutes had passed the convoy had made it to the halfway point, where teams would begin splitting off. The captain raised his left hand to signify the detachment of the group on his left flank, B group. The group members nodded and pulled away from the formation, disappearing out of sight before long. A few seconds later, he signalled for the rear group, C group, to come forward and replace the B group's vacant opening. Unlike B group and A group, C group and D group were mainly comprised of soul-summoners with defence or healing magic proficiencies, so they would, instead of flanking the enemy like A group and B group, would provide support and healing for the infantry soldiers fighting on the front lines, of course, A group and B group also had a dedicated healer, Tardy was A group's designated healer, but unlike the other groups B group and A group's healers were also at least moderately proficient in combat orientated magic.
* * *
A few minutes after Group B departed, The captain raised his right arm; Matthias, Lilly and Tardy broke away from the formation, moving westward diagonally across the grassy plains.
"We'll be meeting with the Aurecan forces in about ten minutes. Look out for them, Tardy! Don't take your eyes off the horizon, not for one second! Blink, and you'll miss 'em!"
Matthias said with a grin on his face, it was clear he was pulling Tardy's leg, but Tardy wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so naturally, he hadn't caught on and began scanning the horizon like a hawk.
"Jeez, man, you really are gullible."
Lilly said, facepalming and chuckling.
"H-Huh?"
Matthias and Lilly both chuckled at Tardy's expense. They took great pleasure in teasing the poor fellow. It was all in good fun, of course, and they made sure not to overdo it.
"H-Hey guys, by the way, do you see that black cloud over there?"
Matthias and Lilly looked over to where Tardy was pointing. Directly ahead of them was a pitch-black churning cloud heading north, Matthias and Lilly immediately recognised what that cloud was and the horror it signified. They went silent, lowering their heads, their expression drooping.
"Those bastards..."
Matthias said through gritted teeth. Tardy looked at the two, oblivious. He moved his head back and forth between them looking for some sort of answer; eventually, Lilly spoke up.
"They're villages. On fire. The empire razes and loots settlements with no strategic value, and they slaughter their inhabitants, only sparing those who aren't of Aurecan or Westerian decent."
"That's...They can't do that! it's just...Wrong!"
"Like they care. They hate us. Our very existence is disgusting to them."
"But, why I mean, we're people like them? Right?"
"That's not what they think... They see us as animals, savages. It didn't use to be that way...makes you wonder what changed."
"Hey, guys...how close do you think that smoke cloud is..."
Matthias said in a troubled tone. The other two looked at him, confused, not knowing what he was getting at.
"About 10 miles, give or take."
Lilly said, staring at the cloud with a perplexed expression.
"Wouldn't that mean they're already at the outskirts villages..."
Matthias said, narrowing his eyes. Something wasn't adding up. It was always thought that if an assault on Südfes were to happen that the imperial army would be held up 20 miles south of the city for at least a week, giving ample time for reinforcements to pour in, but it had only been 2 days since the scouts spotted troop movement near the area.
"N-No way...how did they close in that fast...T-That's not possible!"
Lilly had come to the same realisation as Matthias had. The imperial army had covered far too much ground far too quickly.
"S-Should we circle back and tell the captain?"
Tardy asked, growing more and more concerned.
"No, we'll wait for the Aurecan forces. I don't know what kind of firepower these guys are packing, but I doubt they'll be any match for us, plus the Aurecans."
Matthias may have seemed confident on the outside. However, internally his mind was filled with doubt, because the big question still remained, how was the Imperial army able to take so much territory, despite the numerous troops forming a defensive line within the southern area?
* * *
The three sat in silence for 10 anxious minutes awaiting their reinforcements, but 10 minutes came and passed, and there was no sign of the extra troops anywhere. Anxiety was building within the group. Things didn't seem right.
"Looks like our reinforcements aren't coming either..."
Lilly said in a flat tone, looking at the empty westward horizon. There wasn't a soul in sight except the three of them.
"We need to press on...Reinforcements or not, we need to slow down their advancement."
"Agreed."
Lilly and Tardy nodded, lowering their bodies towards the nape of their horse's neck for more speed. They had no idea what awaited them or was going on, but they knew they needed to high-tail it or risk the Imperial forces closing in on Südfes.
* * *
After travelling for a few more minutes, the three finally managed to close in on the enemy lines. Just beyond the horizon, they could see cavalry galloping at full speed. In front of them were the burnt, charred remains of numerous villages, bodies scattered along their streets, stripped of their clothes and belongings. The mere sight of it was enough to enrage Matthias. The group turned their horses towards the enemy. Within no time, they closed in on the rear medium-sized cavalry detachment and began their attack.
"Lilly and I will move to the left flank. Tardy, take the rear!"
"You got it!"
Tardy gave Matthias a thumbs up. Lilly and Matthias pulled forward to the left and right respectfully. The cavalrymen had now noticed what was going on and drew their swords. The outer section of the cavalry line flocked towards Matthias and Lilly to overwhelm them with numbers. The two looked at each other and nodded, pulling outward, herding the cavalry into a single-file line like cattle. Matthias clicked his fingers; crimson electricity shot out of his hand, forming into a jagged Ruby-coloured dagger. He had just summoned his soul weapon, a type of weapon only soul summoners could use, forged out of the soul and mana of the person wielding it; their form, durability, use and damage would depend on the strength of the willpower and soul of the person wielding it, if the person's soul was strong their weapon would be almost unbreakable if their soul was weak it could be broken with a log; however, one weakness that all soul summoners shared is that, should their weapon break they would be incapacitated, for as long as it took for their mana to regenerate.
"Haaah!"
Matthias swung the blade forward, intercepting the sword of the first cavalryman; the force of the hit sent cracks running through the cavalryman's blade. The man looked at his blade in shock; Matthias using this moment of confusion to his advantage, turned his blade down and sliced the man's abdomen. The man tumbled off his horse and onto the ground, likely still alive but too injured to fight; meanwhile, on the right, Lilly had also summoned her soul weapons, two long curved short swords, and was engaging the enemy. She had managed to slice one of the soldier's blades clean in half and was in the process of jousting one of the other combatants. On the other hand, Tardy was keeping his distance, dutifully watching over Lilly and Matthias to ensure that he could respond quickly should they need his support.
Things seemed to be going well; however, the cavalry was beginning to re-organise themselves after the initial shock of the attack had worn off, and the soldiers on Matthias' side began to encircle him. He bit his tongue anxiously and signalled to his horse to move faster. Still, before the horse could have any time to respond, one of the cavalrymen bravely approached on his horse, pulling his broadsword upward, anticipating an attack, Matthias got into a guard position. However, at the last second, the enemy soldier changed his stance he cut downward, severing one of the tendons on Matthias' horse. The horse let out a pained yelp as it buckled under its weight; thinking quickly, Matthias leapt off the horse, landing on his feet and skidding on the soft mud below. He turned his head to see a mass of swords barrelling towards him at full speed.
"Crap..."
He said to himself, he had to think fast. There would be no way for him to avoid all of those horses at once, but there was also no way he could just let himself be chopped up; meanwhile, Tardy and Lilly, noticing what had happened, rushed towards Matthias.
"Matthias Oi!"
Matthias looked behind him to see Lilly's horse galloping towards him with a group of menacing-looking cavalrymen following closely behind. She stuck out her hand and pulled Matthias up by the collar lifting him haphazardly onto her horse. She narrowly avoided getting skewered by the opposing cavalrymen escaping, just barely.
"You idiot, you could have gotten us both killed! Tardy could have picked me up, and we wouldn't be in such deep shit!"
Matthias yelled, looking back at the giant mass of men chasing them. He was right; what Lilly had done was somewhat reckless. Tardy could have easily come in and taken Matthias instead; that way, the offensive pattern they had going wouldn't have collapsed. Still, something compelled her, instinctually, to ignore logic and save him instead.
"Jeez, would it kill you to be grateful for once? I did just save your life!"
"Fine, thanks for saving my life, but next time do it in a way that doesn't risk the entire mission, backfiring!"
Something about the words Backfiring resonated in Lilly's mind. She lowered her head, pondering when suddenly it clicked.
"Matthias, use fire magic on them, we're far enough distance where summoning times don't matter, and since I'm steering the horse, you don't have to worry about looking where you're going!"
"That's brilliant!"
Matthias looked behind him at the horde of cavalrymen barrelling towards them. Matthias put his thumb and index finger together. He inhaled deeply and strained the muscles in his hand. He could feel little electric sparks building on his skin, all connecting and collecting at the palm of his hand.
"Here goes nothing."
He clicked his fingers, and a burst of energy shot out from his hand, bursting into a scorching hot wall of flame, which engulfed the surrounding area; Lilly could feel the radiant heat on the back of her neck. Still, before the wall of flame could even burn a hair off any of the soldiers, a large air burst intercepted the column of fire, causing smoke and embers to shoot in all directions. Matthias and Lilly covered their mouths, coughing violently.
"W-What the hell."
The smoke cleared, revealing a short girl even shorter than Lilly, standing around five foot, with flowing purple hair and amethyst-coloured eyes, wearing a matching frilly purple dress that extended down to her ankles. She held in her hand a silver rapier adorned with jade gemstones; it glowed a faint purple. Behind her, the cavalry made their escape with only minor casualties.
"My, My, what a dirty trick that was..."
She spoke in a condescending, holier-than-thou tone, turning her nose at Matthias and Lilly.
"Mother always told me you beast people were savages, but I didn't expect you to be that cruel."
"Who the hell are you?"
Matthias looked at her with a mixture of confusion and anger. The only thing he could physically tell about the girl by looking at her was that she was proficient in magic and likely a soul summoner, but other than that, the girl's identity was a mystery.
"Filthy, savage. Have you no manners? That is not how you ask the name of a woman, you ough-"
"You! Surrender now!"
Having finally caught up to Matthias and Lilly, Tardy had hopped off his horse and was pointing his soul weapon, a large green great sword he held in a double-handed grip, at the girl. She glanced over at him, her face twisted into pure disgust and anger.
"Who the hell do you think you are, interrupting me?!"
"Surrender, now I don't want to hurt you! But if you don't surrender I-"
"And now you're mocking me?! Mocking me?! Who gave you the right, the privilege, to order me around and mock my strength? I will shatter your flimsy blade and the arm attached to it, you cur!"
The girl made a twisting motion with her fist. A horrific crunch wrung through the air, followed by the ear-piercing sound of metal shattering. Tardy looked at his right hand in horror. It lay limp by his hip. Contorted in a stomach-churning manner.
"Aaaaghhhh!!!!"
He let out a blood-curdling scream before falling to the ground unconscious.
"Tardy! You bastard! What did you do?! Answer me!"
Matthias foamed at the mouth with anger, spitting his words at the small girl in front of him, who simply stared back at him with a smug grin. Lilly stared at Tardy, lying motionless on the ground, in horror. She was frozen in place, unable to act.
"I'll let him suffer a bit more, for being so insolent, in the meantime since you two have been....more respectful, I sha-"
"Shut the hell up!"
Matthias leapt off the horse, charging at the girl with lightning speed, blade drawn. Lilly tried reaching out to stop him, but it was to no avail. Matthias' blade clashed with the girl's thin rapier with immense force, sending sparks into the air. He pelted her blade with an overwhelming amount of barbaric, rage-infused swings.
"My, My, It seems I underestimated you. You have strength and spirit, commendable. But, you lack elegance and form, just a sulking child lashing out."
The two locked blades. The girl, seeing an opening, slid her blade past Matthias', cutting a gash into his arm. He stumbled back, crying out in pain. His scream was enough to pull Lilly back to her senses.
Just as the girl was lining up her fatal blow, Lilly intercepted, blocking the strike with her two shortswords in a cross pattern.
"Well, well, it looks like the cat finally came out of its hiding spot, not that it will matter, one on; one, two-on-one, even three on one, I can take all of you."
Lilly looked to Matthias, who was gripping his arm, gritting his teeth from the pain of his injury.
"You ok?"
"I've been better. I rushed in like an idiot. Guess you had to save my life twice today, huh?"
"You're lucky I'm such a good friend!"
"It's really infuriating how you two are completely ignoring me and after I gave you the courtesy of not just breaking your necks and being done with it! It is the height of rudeness...I've changed my mind...I want to savour every last second of your agonising deaths.
Lilly and Matthias braced themselves. At breakneck speeds, the girl launched herself forward towards the two. Purple sparks flew off her blade as she travelled through the air. This was going to be unlike any battle they had fought before...