I gathered all the knights and mages who could help make the plan achievable. I elucidated the plan which Ethan, the Vice commander, suggested before.
"Based on my understanding, Milady wants us to do a barrage against high-ranking mages and knights? Don't you think you're underestimating them too much?"
"We're just using our terrain to our advantage. Since they ambushed us, why don't we do the same thing to them? Considering how depleted your mana is because of the previous fight, you said you could only manage spells that physically support the knights. Am I correct?"
"Let's think outside the box here. Our enemies already know that our forces have been reduced to half because we weren't expecting their ambush, so they might think we're using our remaining time to continue advancing to the fortress. Since they may think that way, they won't expect that we will be waiting for their arrival."
I smirked. "Even if they don't think that way, the enemy forces don't know the location of the gate fortress because only Duke Augustine, Count and Countess Vanidestine, and some of their loyal vassals know the location of it—"
"So it's most likely that they're stopping here, or they will head to the carriage that served as a decoy before. Either way, our objective in this plan is to buy time for Ethan and the Young Masters to arrive at the fortress. We need to hold on until then."
I looked at the other mage. "You have the communication orb connected to the fortress and the Vanidestine Household, right? Did anyone contact us from the mansion?"
"Unfortunately, there hasn't been anyone who tried to communicate with us from the mansion… yet. As for the fortress, I'm still contacting them, but it's quite difficult because the fortress is protected by some kind of barrier which makes communication strenuous."
I sighed. "I see. Let's hold on until we receive news from the fortress that the Young Masters have safely arrived. Does anyone have further questions about the plan?"
One of the knights raised his hand and asked, "What if… we can't hold on, and there's still no news from the fortress?"
Everyone went silent. Even I don't know the answer to that question.
The knight panicked when he realized our morale had dropped after asking that question.
He voiced out, "Should I not have asked that? I was just asking about a possibility since I wanted to know what I signed up for. I pledged to be a knight in House Augustine while expecting to die on the battlefield, so if this mission eventually leads me to my death, I want it to be honorable."
I tapped his shoulder. "I apologize sincerely, but I can't answer your question because even I'm not certain there will be no casualties in this mission. But for now, let's do our best to stay alive."
"Now, let's go over it again, shall we?"
*****
After that, I used the ring, the artifact, that Rupert returned before I escorted them outside the cave. I caressed it and used it to change my clothes. If I say so myself, this is a pretty handy artifact, but it's a bummer that it can only change your appearance and project a barrier according to how much mana you have.
As much as I liked the dress, it's unsuitable for an upcoming battle.
We stationed ourselves above a small cliff. We can see the path from below, so this is a perfect position for an ambush. We also stationed one mage from our hideout to care for the injured, and the remaining mages will be here to support the knights—including me.
I borrowed a sword from one of the injured knights. I may not be knowledgeable about magic and stuff, but I'm confident in my stamina and physical characteristics. They don't even know what will hit them!
"How long are we going to wait here, Milady?"
"It takes twenty minutes to go here from the mansion. Considering they had come from there, it took fifteen minutes for us to settle down in the cave and work on our plan. So, it will probably take five minutes for them to reach here," I explained.
"Also, considering that some dark mages usually travel in the shadows, making them faster than high-ranking knights, they could arrive any moment. If we want this ambush to succeed, we should be faster than them."
One of the mages hushed us and said, "Quiet! I can feel multiple presences." He touched the ground. "About five of them are coming here."
"Are they from the enemy forces? Maybe they're the backup from the mansion."
The mage shook his head and doubted, "I can sense their grisly dark mana from here. They have two dark mages and three knights."
I took a deep breath. "Prepare yourselves. I can also feel that they're near. Wait for my signal, okay?"
They all nodded, and we waited for our enemies to arrive. It's now or never.
Minutes later, we heard footsteps, and I waited for the enemies to gather slowly in one spot. Since we were dealing with high-ranking dark mages, I asked one of our mages to hide our presence until the ambush. To my surprise, it's working.
"The corpses of our kind are here. The track ends at this spot, but I don't sense any presence as we advance. What do we do?" One of the dark mages asked.
His companion hissed and stated, "They said that they successfully killed tons of those disgustingly upright knights and mages."
After that, three knights came. Just a little more… until they crowd together in one spot.
"They couldn't have gotten far in their state. We should be able to finish them off, and who knows—maybe we could also discover the location of that bastard Augustine's fortress—"
"Now!"
With that, one of the mages used a blinding spell which only takes a small amount of mana depending on how long the user will use it.
As for these rocks, they aren't just ordinary rocks. These rocks are big enough to crush a person's whole body. We will bombard them with multiple rocks while the spell blinds them. It's only a simple strategy, but it's effective if you're unprepared for it.
The spell is also a way to prevent dark mages from hiding in the shadows. We just hope this plan will be enough to fight them, but if ever there's a chance that some of them will be able to evade the barrage, the knights and I will take care of the remaining enemies.
"I no longer feel any of their presence, Milady."
I signaled them to stop throwing the rocks, and the mages and the knights slumped on the floor due to exhaustion. Even if the mages enhanced the knight's body and stamina, throwing multiple enormous rocks still took a toll on their body.
I also did the same task as the knights, so how am I okay?
"Is it over?" one of them asked.
I shook my head and looked below. "We can't let our guard down just yet."
I turned my gaze towards them. "For those who can move, follow me below. Let's be careful, okay?"
We slowly slid down. Wow, the rocks we threw are no joke. I covered my nose as the place was filled with blood. It's so strong compared to an ordinary human. Is this because they are dark mages?
I do not know how they became evil, but I'm sure they used inhumane methods to own this ungodly power.
"All clear here, Milady," A knight said from the left side.
"Here too."
"As for me." I looked at the enormous rock in the middle, and there were no signs of life. "All clear for me too."
I was startled when they jumped around and hugged each other. Their cheers and hoorays echoed throughout the mountain. I'm thankful that no one was harmed, and we're lucky to outnumber our enemies.
"Ugh, my nerves have finally calmed down."
I picked up some of the swords left by some of our knights, which we could use to honor them when the time came. Each fallen knight has their name engraved on their swords, so it's better to keep them.
I smiled. "Good work, everyone. Let's head back to the cave and rest."
When I glanced at them, I let go of the swords when a dark mage was standing behind one of them. Adrenaline rush took control of my whole body, and I unknowingly ran towards the unaware knight.
"You lowly bastards!" the dark mage shouted in anguish.
Before he blasted a spell, I pushed the knight away. I can feel the heavy force of the dark magic that resulted in my body being dragged with it.
I can hear them shouting my name.
"Milady, no!"
I can feel the rash pressure of the wind pinning me down. Their faces were gradually getting smaller as I kept falling from the mountain.
As my body felt heavy, a fragment from Adelaide's memory suddenly flashed. It was the memory of her falling from a cliff while someone shouted her name.
So, I met the same fate as hers. But I can't die like this! I refuse!
I injected mana into the ring and let myself be wrapped by a strong barrier, hoping it would lessen my impact from the ground.
I kept rolling around the steep mountain, and my body hit some rocks until I fell completely into the forest.
"Argh," I grunted in pain.
Even though I quickly put up a barrier around me, I still felt an unbearable pain from the impact. I should escape this forest, or else I'll succumb to the forest's hallucinations!
But I can't… move my body.
As my eyelids were getting heavy, the forest was engulfed by a thick fog.