A few hours ago, when the sun was about to go downwards. Barenge was under attack by Erieka and Lydia leading their men past the broken walls. Erieka has her headscarf back on properly. Both of them with a group of ten avengers sent powers like fireballs and electricity that finally got the wall down. The musketeers on the battlements of the wall worked very hard to defend. They shot their arrows from bows and crossbows, and threw magical powders that explode upon contact. But the battlements were then destroyed. Squads of musketeers came rushing out of the barracks. They aimed their crossbows and bows at The Outlands soldiers now making their way into the city through the broken wall. Most were killed. But there were too many soldiers. The first few rows went down when the soldiers killed them with their swords. The crossbows and bows were only strong enough to prevent two or three strikes. But then, the sword managed to cut through and killed them. Barenge's elite soldiers and knights came marching out of the barracks. Two-third of the knights were cavalry. About minutes passed and Barenge was doing well for a huge army with magic that was storming into their city. They still managed to hold them at the wall. No one can get past the cavalries yet. And they're just behind the musketeers. King Jonathan and his elite musketeers joined the battle with the royal master by his side. He and the royal master got magic on their side. But the ten avengers with Erieka and Lydia were a magical combination they cannot match.
At the Unity Square in front of the castle steps, Queen Alice and Princess Darleen, assisted by some of Barenge's soldiers, were leading the ladies, children and senior citizens away from the chaos. The Unity Square was not far from the broken wall. At least seven buildings away. The sound of the battle was a nightmare, especially to the children.
Back at the wall, four of the avengers had started to go in. They transformed into black birds and flew swiftly away from the fight. They landed in the Unity Square and back to their human forms. The people started screaming as the avengers conjured fire and other magic. The fireballs and other attacks sent by the avengers were deflected by the warriors' shield or sword. Queen Alice was led away by some of the elite musketeers up the steps and into the castle. The rest stayed behind with Princess Darleen to fight. She received a sword from one of the warriors.
'On me!' Darleen shouted. The warriors and elite musketeers got ready for charge. Ten warriors, five elite musketeers, and a brave princess, the four avengers did not stand a chance. The avengers were separated. The good thing is, they're all standing alone. The bad thing is, there's more than one area of target.
'Now!' Darleen exclaimed and she was the first to run to the nearest avenger. The avenger threw fireballs at her but Darleen successfully deflected it with her sword. The fireballs went in other directions like into a tree and burnt it. Two avengers went down not long later. Darleen went to assist the warriors dealing with the other two. From Bowman Road on the castle's right, which led to the back areas of the city, came two groups of masters. The first group of ten masters immediately killed the two avengers and proceeded ahead to join the battle. The second group of three masters-in-training went to help the princess as she checked on buildings and houses that still have citizens inside.
Inside the castle, Queen Alice was writing a few letters to warn the other cities of The Inlands. She folded them and attached each letter to a raven's foot. Every castle has a post chamber where the ravens who delivered messages rest before they were tasked to send another letter.
'Please be safe' Alice told all the ravens. They flew out the chamber's opening. It was specifically designed for that reason. She then headed to the castle's armoury and took a crossbow off one of the hooks. She was ready to fight.
At the wall, things were starting to get really bad. Erieka herself was marching in with Lydia right by her side. She was unarmed. But that was just a lie. Her powers plus the amulet can bring a city down in less than a day. And that's what she intended to do. The cavalries and the knights were dying. Now it was the elite soldiers' turn to defend all they can. They are already about four buildings away from the wall. Three more to go before the Unity Square. King Jonathan and the elite musketeers were retreating just as the ten masters joined in. The six avengers behind grinned happily as they saw them. Finally someone worth fighting with. The Outlands soldiers continued forward as the last of the Knights went down. Barenge's elite soldiers took their cue. Those of the soldiers who are SHAWs managed to survive longer. Other than that, mostly Erieka's magic killed them. She was already using her amulet. Every step she took towards the castle, the amulet glowed brighter. And with every glow, a magical force was released, throwing Barenge's troops backwards and rallying The Outlands soldiers. The avengers and masters took their fight to another street on the right. The streets are now empty, thanks to Darleen and the citizens who took initiative to help. The citizens are all gathered at the back areas of the city. So the masters went all out in their defenses and attacks. They didn't care about the buildings and objects destroyed in the battle. At first the six avengers were winning against ten masters. It wasn't a fair match for the avengers but they're still winning. One master died after a fireball burnt him. Then the three masters-in-training came and helped. Princess Darleen and the elite musketeers and warriors arrived as well. The musketeers shot their arrows, careful not to shoot the masters duelling the avengers. Princess Darleen and the warriors bravely went closer and attacked with their swords. The avengers defended with magic. But the sword strikes were faster than their magical reflexes and a few avengers went down. Three avengers left. Suddenly Erieka stepped onto the street. Lydia followed behind. She released a magical force. Her amulet glowed brightly as it happened. The dead avengers rose. The dead master rose as well. But now, the master was fighting for the enemy.
'We need to get that amulet' Darleen told her warriors. The battle continued. This time, the masters and Barenge's troops could not make a difference in the enemy's. The avengers stood stronger than before. The dead were even stronger. It was like they got back alive and wanted revenge so they did better.
Back at the other street, Barenge's army was retreating back more and more. They were a few metres away from the Unity Square.
'Fall back! Regroup at the circle' King Jonathan ordered. He and his men retreated and regrouped in front of the castle steps. The Outlands soldiers advanced.
'For Barenge! For Inland!' Jonathan rallied his men and they charged back again at the soldiers.
Queen Alice arrived at the masters' battle. She went inside a two-storey building. It was a bakery with a house on top. The house door was already open. She went in, checked for enemies hiding, and went to the window. She could see the battle going on below. She inserted an arrow and aimed the crossbow at Erieka. She fired the arrow. The arrow flew swiftly towards Erieka's chest. A translucent shield suddenly appeared around her and deflected the arrow. The arrow went in forcefully into a master's chest instead. The shield then went back to being invisible. Alice stared at what just happened in shock. Erieka was already finding where the arrow came from. Alice hid quickly behind the wall before she could be seen. But it was too late.
'Queen Alice! How nice of you to join us!' Erieka's voice was projected loud and clear. The fight paused for a second as everyone got distracted. Darleen looked at the buildings around. Her mother is in one of these buildings. She needs to find her before Erieka does.
'Distract the avenger with the amulet. Get that amulet if possible' Darleen instructed the warriors. She went into the nearest building. A bakery store, but different from Alice's. She ran up the stairs to the second floor. Of course, Alice wasn't there. She went to the window and observed closely all the windows on the opposite side. A fireball came crashing into the window where she was standing. If Darleen had stood openly, she could have died. The heat burnt the right side of her arms and face. She uttered a yelp as she staggered backwards. She rushed back downstairs. As she exited the bakery, she saw another arrow shot into the chest of an avenger. She traced it back to where it possibly came from. She entered another bakery. This time, she found her mother on the second level, ready to shoot another arrow. The arrow was released and hit another avenger. Two avengers went down. And the same two stood back up joining the army of the dead.
'Mother' Darleen called, walking quickly towards her. Alice went back to hiding behind the wall.
'Sweetheart!' Alice exclaimed in shock. 'What happened to you?!'
She looked at Darleen's burnt half, trying not to touch them.
'You weren't careful!' Alice scolded softly. Tears were forming in her eyes.
'Mother, it's okay'
'We won't be able to win. They are too strong. With the amulet on their side, none of us can defeat them' Alice said.
'Mother. We have to survive. I need you to leave Barenge, get help. You have many friends from the other cities'
'We don't deserve help. Combination was attacked and we did nothing. We only cared to strengthen our forces and that was worthless'
'Mother, the other cities, Trisnarim, they're far from here. They might have not yet received messages of The Outlands attacking. We need to warn them'
'I already did. I wrote letters to Trisnarim, Silverside and Arstar. The ravens should reach all cities by midnight'
Darleen hugged her mother on her left side. Carefully not to make contact with her right. She could still feel her right side burning very painfully.
'I need you to leave Barenge' Alice said, pulling away. A tear rolled down her left cheek.
'What?!'
'Listen, you must do as I say. Leave Barenge. Find Princess Flyra. Find her, there are rumours that she wasn't in Combination when they attacked. She's known as a child of the seed of Gratultyn. She's the key to defeating the amulet. There's no time to waste. Please, leave us' Alice said, tears continuously rolled down her cheeks.
'I won't leave you! I will lose all my family!' Darleen was also starting to cry.
'Your dad was wrong to break the alliance. Don't forget Darleen, King Henry, his children are your family as well. All Inlanders, we are brothers and sisters. Children of Sofya. For the good of Inland. You must find Flyra. Tell her what is happening. Help her to win this war'
Darleen wept. She hugged her mother fully this time. The burns felt like needles were poked into every corner as she went into contact. But she didn't care. This was most probably the last time she'll be seeing her mother. Her father. There was no time left to meet him. But she has a duty. Duty to her bigger family. To her nation. For Inland. She pulled away quickly. Staying longer will make her hate leaving even more. She took one last look at her mother as she was aiming her crossbow at another target. The fight was still going on below. But when Darleen exited the bakery. It was obvious the avengers were winning. Only a few masters and musketeers left. All the warriors were dead. But there were no more dead people standing up. Maybe Erieka did not need them anymore since the masters were dying. Darleen turned away from the fight. She ran to the other street which was where the battle started earlier. The fight with the king was nowhere in sight. But the sound was probably somewhere at the castle steps or even inside. She ran to the broken wall. She looked around carefully just in case any Outlanders stayed behind to kill anyone escaping. No one. She ran out. The city's main entrance was not far away. But she's not going to follow that road. The road will make her more visible to the enemy. She ran straight to the nearest forest, a hundred metres away from the wall. Thinking where to go was not important now. Getting out of here alive and far away as possible is the main priority.