Amidst the commotion, little Lyle stood shivering in the middle of the circle.
Cold air seemed to permeate through his armor, penetrating through the layers of his clothing. The chill made his body shiver and his heart thumped madly. At least, he clenched his jaw and managed to keep his teeth from chattering.
It was cold, definitely cold—the reason behind his shivering. He was not afraid of the monsters.
The hums and buzzes of the magic and the booms and clangs of a fierce fight resounded all around him. Some wood seemed to break in the distance, and something seemed to thwack something, making him flinch several times. His ears seemed to burn, and his clothes seemed to melt along with his sweat.
It was all frightening, just like those intense fights they had fought several times. Thus, it was decided they were ready to lose a dozen of their fighters so that the rest could survive.
How vicious, how cruel of this forest! What had they ever done to it? If their people kept dying like this, what if-!
Suddenly, two arms gently wrapped around his neck as someone hugged him from his back, soothing his trembling body. Something soft rested on his head, and by the size and softness of them, he knew who was the culprit.
"Aunt! Where's your armor? Why didn't you wear it?" Lyle held her staff on the side and supported her swaying body.
"Oh, I didn't get the time. Just… let me rest for a bit." She tightened her hug around him, squishing his head further into her bosom, for she knew he needed someone to calm his mind.
"No! Wear it right now!" He untangled her arms from his neck and strictly rebuked her. "How could you take it off? Don't you know how dangerous it is?"
Aunt couldn't help lifting the corners of her lips, as this idea always seemed to work. It was a perfect distraction for him from all the scary things. "It was too hot, and I was all too sweaty." Grumbling, she pulled out her leather armor from her black witch hat and put it back on her head.
"Here," She handed the armor to him. He pouted, glaring at her with all his might.
"Please~, my little Lyle~, Aunt is too tired." She made her puppy eyes.
He groaned and went on, helping her put on her armor.
…
Alron caught glimpses of this aunt-nephew pair during his fight — a six-year-old caring for his exhausted aunt, holding her massive weight with his limited might. Maybe he knew a witch's importance to a party and that's why the ardent effort?
Not to mention other kids who were also helping the elderly retreat and follow orders, while supporting the combatants with supplies. They all did their best, no matter how small an effort, to contribute to their fight for survival.
When the elderly had given up their hopes, lacking vision and courage, the youth kept fighting for their future, with a strong desire to survive.
This was it! The future of their survival relied on the next generation. It was definitely possible to teach this generation and transform them into disciplined knights!
Thus, the glimmer of hope burned to a shimmering sun, as Alron realized the goal of his life.
If only he could hear what was going on with the aunt-nephew pair:
"Aunt, why did you use your bitchcraft to the point of exhaustion?" Furrowing his brows, Lyle asked.
"It's witchcraft, Lyle, and it was necessary." She huffed. "Now you should take a look at the battle carefully." She urged him as she knew something epic was awaiting.
The surrounding air started whirling, slowly at first, and then to a howl. Lyle's flaming red hair fluttered, as did his cape.
The mages in the vanguard formation twirled their staffs in the air, and the wind rushed into a raging whirlwind. A dwarf, fat whirlwind that threatened to devour everything in its wake.
As if that wasn't enough, the wind seemed to heat up and then combust into a roaring, flaming tornado.
The collective work of the mages was astonishing to behold, as Lyle gawked in awe, watching their flawless coordination. A mage controlled only a single arc till it was received and augmented by their adjacent mage. They passed the current in a way that avoided the huge tree trunks to protect the momentum.
The tornado howled as the atmosphere shot up in temperature. It swept the vines around, stretched them into their momentum, and burned it to cinders as it popped and crackled.
This went on for a while till all the surrounding vines caught up in the whirlwind and were reduced to ashes. Soon, the fiery tornado turned murky.
This maneuver was a clear invitation to a wrathful wildfire, and thus, with a command, fire mages stopped, and earth mages imbued the wind with fine dust. Water mages also imbued it with mist as the tornado became heavier to handle. It went on for a minute or two until the mages stopped their magic.
The tornado splattered everything it held to its centrifugal force, snuffing all the fire.
Everyone coughed to the smoke and ashes. Cinders glowed everywhere. The water mages then sprinkled a shower like rain till no room for combustion remained.
Suddenly, A deafening boom rang out. Lyle jumped, scared. He turned and smothered his face into his aunt's soft bosom. Aunt also hugged him, knowing how much he loved that part of hers.
When everyone looked towards the source, they saw a huge, green maw with jagged teeth adorned with orange petals like a mane. And a foreboding feeling came true when they saw one of their comrades limply fall with a thud in a bloody mess. He was a vanguard, a spear and shield wielder.
A purple tentacle, several times thicker than the previous ones, rose in the air to smash another man to demise. Bereft of their vanguard, the unit could only raise their magical shield, and judging from how their comrade had fallen, they weren't so sure of being able to block the upcoming brunt.
*Woosh!*
A gust of wind flashed before them and Val, their commander, stood before them. Her mana spirit flared up, as did her hair, and she raised the flat of her great sword and blocked the violent slam of the tentacle without even budging a bit.
Everyone was once again reminded of their commander's superiority. They held their breath to witness her glorious battle. Alas, the forest would spare them no time for appreciation as another six flower monsters popped up, surrounding them. And although relatively smaller than the one Val was confronting, they proved more fatal than the previous vine barrage.
The warriors had no time to take a breather as they confronted their next threat. A savage battle followed, much harder than the previous one, though the attacks this time were more concentrated than before.
Although vicious, attacks only came from one direction for each unit, thus they somehow managed to thwart and repel the incoming attacks. With their cultivated coordination, they killed the flowers in due time.
On the other hand, Val single-handedly fought what she guessed to be the main body. Four thick tentacles launched a thunderous barrage on her body, but her sword flashed numerous times in a moment and effortlessly slashed them to pieces. She dashed forward, closing the distance, and burst her mana spirit as the air around her roiled skyward. She leaped, her sword raised above her head, and brought it crashing down with devastating might. The air seemed to compress into a single slash as it closed on the main head of the flower monster.
Boom!
A shockwave boomed and swept the dust and splinters away, revealing Val burying her sword into the monster split in two.
By this time, everyone had defeated their foes more or less, and when they were about to sigh in relief,
Pss!
Yellow smoke rose out of the dead monsters.