As they marched on, Oakina took the time to tell Razaranje about the war and political situation of the continent, which was shared by 4 different nations. The Grand Duchy of Cloud occupied the north-east of the land mass, and it was neighbored by the much-larger Fallavrok Kingdom, which was situated on the north-west of the continent. Militarily powerful, the kingdom was in a political and military alliance with Cloud, although the exact relationship between the two countries was disputable depending on who was asked. While Cloud was often dubbed "the sword of Fallavrok" due to the smaller nation's supposed zeal in fighting alongside the kingdom, many Cloudians dubiously referred to their country as "the shield of Fallavrok" instead, apparently due to the Fallavrokians using the duchy's military as a buffer or sometimes expendable shield in battle with the enemy.
The southern half of the continent was occupied by the other two countries. The Grove Republic was on the south-east and was of similar size to Cloud, and like their enemy, was allied with a much-larger nation to the south-west. The Kamlu Federation, a country made up of several former independent states, was another military powerhouse that stood opposed to the Fallavrok Kingdom. Corporal Silverbell eventually joined the conversation to explain that Grove actually shared a similar culture to the Cloudians and Fallavrokians, but for unknown reasons, pledged allegiance to Kamlu instead. The gnome claimed that there was a theory going around that Grove planned to eventually swoop in and rule the continent after the other countries exhausted themselves.
How the war started was also disputed, but the Cloudians and their allies claimed that the Kamlu Federation sought to occupy more and more land. The war eventually became so destructive, that the warring states eventually agreed to confine their combat to a "neutral zone" that lay in the large area where the borders of all 4 countries initially met. Presently, the Cloudian 4th army was within the neutral zone, but right up against the Cloudian border. Silverbell continued to explain his plan of marching what remained of the Cloudian 4th into the Fallavrokian border to find military aid or assistance. While patriotic to his country, the feisty gnome had a lot to say about the duke who led Cloud. Apparently their leader was a spineless puppet who served the every whim of the Fallavrokian king.
"Okay, okay, I can only take so much mindless chirping," Razaranje sighed after growing weary of listening to his hosts. "Oh, by the way, I think there are more of those Grove people just outside the forest."
"W-what's that, My Lord?" Oakina asked, before looking around warily at the surrounding trees. "Enemy reinforcements?"
As if to confirm Raz's sudden statement, a scout that Silverbell had deployed earlier to watch the army's flank came bursting through the underbrush, panting and wheezing as his leather-armored form nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
"G-Grovan archers, at least 300," the scout coughed. "They've formed up just ahead where the forest gets thinner. Their long bows should have more than enough range to hit where we are now. We need to run deeper inland!"
"It's too late. Shields up, men!" Silverbell yelled as his pointed ears twitched, before raising his crescent shield above his head. "Lady Oakina, hit the dirt under the wagon, it'll be safer than under these cheap tin things of ours."
A distant whistling sounded throughout the trees a second later. Her eyes widening in fear, the priestess tried to dive towards the underside of the supply wagon, but sturdy, bone-piercing iron arrows were already raining down through the forest.
"This is it," Oakina whispered to herself as time seemed to slow down, where she could only watch as the arrows shredded the nearby foliage and struck the shields of the surrounding soldiers. "I'm going to die."
Before she could drop to the ground, the young woman suddenly felt herself get jerked back while a strong arm wrapped around her massive breasts, before feeling a warmth behind her and her ample posterior being pushed into another person. Trembling, Oakina turned her head to see that the god of destruction had taken hold of her from behind, and had bent her over to shield her body from the falling arrows with his own shirtless, muscular figure.
"How unimpressive, they're like raindrops," Raz scoffed as the deadly arrows harmlessly broke and snapped against his body as if it were made of rock, unaware that Oakina's face had gone beet-red while her entire womanly form shivered with uncontrollable excitement.
"L-lord Razaranje," the priestess moaned, feeling faint as she bit her lip at feeling the god unintentionally pressing his groin against her rump.
"Huh? What's wrong with you?" Raz asked casually, before straightening up after the volley of arrows had ended. "Well, I guess I have to find these archers. 'Balance' and all that crap."
Stepping away from the shuddering priestess, the muscular deity "hopped" up through the towering trees overhead, soaring up to nearly 1000 feet in the air. His keen eyes quickly spotted a neatly-organized squad of lightly-armored Grovan soldiers just outside the forest area, the couple hundred men each wielding a massive longbow and were in the process of reloading. As if flicking a gnat, the god tried to keep his destructive power to a minimum as he delivered what look like an innocent brush of his finger towards the formation.
The result was a massive explosion that blasted tons of earth to pieces, a nearly-perfect kilometer diameter area being reduced to crumbled bedrock and a shower of dirt. The poor Grovan archers were unaware of their fates as their lives were extinguished in a fraction a second, not a trace of man remaining as they disappeared in the enormous blast. Falling back into the trees below, the god landed on his feet, pleased with himself that he'd managed to dispatch the Grovans and not take half the countryside with them, which to himself, stood as a testament to his skill.
Back on the ground, several of the Cloudians were groaning or screaming with pain. The shields hadn't protected all of them, and several now had their feet, shoulders, or bodies pierced with the powerful arrows. While looking at the god through wide, amazed eyes, Oakina ended up turning away from Raz as she sprang into action upon hearing the pained moans of the soldiers. Razaranje watched with minimal interest as the healing mage quickly set up a triage upon gauging the several casualties, before treating those with blood pouring out of them using her magic.
"Platelet cloth," Oakina whispered as she tore a piece of her own robe off, before imbuing it with white light and then wrapping it around a whimpering soldier, his shoulder gushing blood after an arrow was pulled from it. "Keep this pressed against the wound, I've blessed it to jump-start your platelet count around the bleeding."
"T-thank you, priestess," the man coughed.
With the Realm of the Gods being filled with the powerful but vain and arrogant deities of the universe, such displays of sympathy and compassion were foreign to Razaranje. Grinning, he couldn't help but find it amusing to watch the mortals scampering around, clinging to their limited and fragile lives.
"There…there isn't going to be a second volley, is there?" Silverbell asked with a smirk as the other soldiers cautiously let down their shields.
"Oh you never know, maybe I missed one or two," the god shrugged. "Alright, let's hurry this up. I'm guessing we can resume moving once the priestess has finished tending to the injured?"
"Y-yes, Lord Razaranje," Oakina nodded vigilantly while she dressed the wound of another soldier. "Thank you again, this is the third time now you've saved us already!"
"Yeah, and I doubt it'll be the last time I save you hapless mortals from the gates of the underworld as well," Raz chuckled weakly.
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"We lost contact with the auxiliary unit that we borrowed from the 20th Legion near Fallavrok," a Grovan soldier explained shortly after bursting into the officer's quarters back at the 12th Legion's base. "They were all veteran archers who were fighting on the Fallavrok front, so unless they got ambushed by a fast infantry unit—
"The Fenress plains should be free of enemy movement apart from what remains of the damned Cloudian 4th army," Major Barak growled from behind his desk. "This was no ambush. I'll bet my magic that whatever destroyed Linbeak and his men is responsible."
"How shall we proceed then, sir?" the soldier asked. "If it's a powerful mage, then we might need to depart with the full force of the legion."
"I've lost enough men, the casualties we've taken over the last day are humiliating," the spiky-haired young man replied as he stood up, his small frame haggard with anger and his tank top clinging to his body. "No, I'm going myself. Only I'll be able to catch the Cloudians in time before they cross into Fallavrok."
"B-but sir, by yourself? You don't think that's too dangerous?" the subordinate asked.
"For me, or for the Cloudians? Barak grinned as he held up a clenched fist, which crackled with lighting as yellow electricity ran up his arm. "Until I snuff out this mystery mage, tell Captain Brandy that she is charge of the legion while I'm gone. She's been gunning for my position anyway, it'll brighten her day."
With that, the major took a swig of grog from his nearby canteen and wiping his mouth, took off running at full speed out into the open. The soldier could only watch as his superior effortlessly leapt and cleared the fence surrounding the base, before vanishing into the encroaching darkness that began to cover the landscape behind the setting sun.