~ Ridgeline City Walls ~
All the cheer and laughter was loud and invigorating. Guards did their final checks of their equipment, loaded the large canons. And turned their weapons to safety off. Some were nervous, others were excited. But one thing they all seemed to share was a sense of unity through the use of their war cry.
But… That all changed in a single split moment. The very air itself seemed to fill with an insurmountable anger towards the humans. It was immediately clear to the humans, they were now afraid. Almost petrified, as if they were the very stone that made up the walls.
"This haze…" The Major murmured to himself, at least he thought so anyway. But everyone one heard him. So this is what it's like to face a legendary class monster. Such a terrifyingly powerful anger. Do we deserve this? Probably, but that doesn't make it any less scary.
Click Clank Shiver "Huh, my legs… They are shaking? And this smell of ammonia… Ah, It seems we all pissed ourselves." The Captain said, terrified. "Major, give the order." He said. Not like that's gonna do anything.
The Major slapped his own cheeks a couple times. "Guardsmen!" He shouted. "Take your positions. The enemy is near!" He continued.
The Guardsmen seemingly came to their senses. Though it was a slow and brutally painful process they used to go about it, Not because they wanted to, But rather… They had no choice. It wasn't easy to be courageous without the help of skill specifically for it. And not everyone had it to begin with. Which only added to the chaos.
"Load the cannons with air burst balls!" The Captains under the Major, commanded.
Along the City walls, everywhere, Canons were loaded with special round balls. They had a small amount of intricate design on them. As a result, of the complexity of their construction, there were far too few of them to properly go around. The cannons were almost ready and then it happened.
The 6 Sisters broke formation and went to each of their locations. Diving down to strike. Their wingspan stretched so far it blotted out the sky. With the ingenuity of Vitaliana, the 5 Elder sisters had learned the drilling technique. Closing their wings and turning into a hurtling drill, in what seemed like a single moment, and none at all, 5 watchtowers had giant bore holes.
"Humans! Know despair." Acialia shouted. Flying up to the sky from behind the walls.
The Tower she just went through, started crumbling down. Debris falling all around it. Men shouting in terror as the rubble fell, spelling their immediate death by crushing. Some had their legs trapped beneath the rubble. And the whole of the formation directly next to the tower was completely wiped out. The ones who were still breathing, wept with horrific pain.
"Fire! Everyone discharge your weapons! Kill the Monster!" Someone commanded. Though no one could tell who it was anymore.
Men turned towards Acialia and opened fire, with the roar of gun fire and shouts of men, the chaos only grew. Acialia, just hovered in place. Stalking her prey.
I'll test if we should worry about these weapons at all. Vitaliana came back relatively uninjured, so it's likely the skills are effective. But there might be limitations.
The air, filled with pellets and bullets alike. Some Men threw explosive orbs into the mix, just barely managing to get them within range of Acialia. An impressive feat, but ultimately one that got them yelled at. Why? Because some of these men had accidentally thrown the smoke screen orbs. And enough of them had been used to form a rather large cloud, blocking sight of their target.
Hmm, these weapons… They aren't too dangerous. I left off several of the skills and only received minimal damage… But with them I received none at all. Hold on a moment. Then those injuries Vitaliana received were on purpose then…
"Vitaliana, did you purposefully take damage in that battle before?" Acialia asked through a direct form of telepathy.
"Yes, I wanted to make them think that their weapons would be able to do something against us. Giving them a high sense of false hope." Vitaliana answered calmly, through their telepathy.
"I see, don't be so reckless again. But I can see why you wouldn't want to leave the skills untested. The Despair these humans are about to experience… Oh it feels so good thinking about it. You did well to set the stage, little sister, be safe." Acialia laughed through the telepathy, cutting off the direct line and opening it to all of the sisters. "Sisters, show them no mercy. Fear none of their weapons, they are all useless against us." She said with a proud conviction.
"Of course we will sister. And I'm going to have all the fun I can. Squishing them under my claws. Oh! The thrill to see their faces filled with the fear of death. Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside." Fernia replied, overdoing it a bit on the hot and heavy. "A battlefield is truly where my element shines the brightest! I love it!" She continued.
"Uhm Sister Fernia… You're still on the telepathy…" Fulgiana chuckled in response. "Though I can't say as I blame you for getting excited. It was truly a great feeling seeing the murderers dying in terror. Let's make them die even more painfully. I'll even lower my output just to have them twitch under my spells for longer." She continued.
~ Fernia's Location ~
"Ah, you humans. Are so pitiful. But I have no pity for you." Fernia spoke, in a domineering voice as she landed on the rubble.
A man had been crushed under the rubble, his body was fine, but his legs… They were gone. However the added weight was more than enough to add an even more intense pain to the man's experience.
"Pathetic humans, mother took great care to protect the city from monster invasions. My sisters and I fought tirelessly every time. And only 1 in every 10 stampedes ever managed to get through to your city. Yet you thanked us by turning your weapons upon us. Your heads are clearly only for show." Fernia said, in a cold and fear inducing tone.
Fernia shoved her beak into the trapped man's head, killing him instantly. But, she wasn't done yet. She opened her beak with immense force, exploding the man's head into thousands of pieces. Then looked at the other humans and smirked, licking the blood on her beak.