The situation in the southeast was handled almost flawlessly, but the same couldn't be said for the southwest. Trouble started the moment the east side was attacked, clearly telling that it was a coordinated assault.
The soldiers in the southwest were much more lax, including their captain, who had developed a false sense of security because of the high wall that stood there for as long as he could remember. And because of this, they paid dearly. When the siege began, unlike the southeast soldiers who faced direct attacks, the enemy here used a scroll that completely masked their presence—even the earth mage couldn't detect them. With another scroll, the enemy gained the ability to scale the walls without a hitch.
It would have resulted in a complete wipeout, but Erik had prepared for such scenarios. The moment an enemy soldier moved next to a talisman concealed on a wall, the talisman activated with a sharp buzz, instantly incinerating itself. This triggered three more talismans planted strategically around the area.
Dummm!*
The bells tolled with a thunderous clang, jolting the soldiers awake from their shock. Instinctively, they rushed to the wall, peering anxiously over the edge to assess the damage.
Seizing the opportunity, the enemy forces launched a volley of spears with the help of atlatls at the exposed soldiers. The projectiles flew through the air, aimed with precision to catch the defenders off guard as they struggled to react to the unexpected turn of events.
"Careful!" someone shouted from the back, but the warning was drowned out by the chaos. Spears flew through the air, finding their marks with brutal accuracy. Several soldiers fell, their lives snuffed out in an instant. Fear spread like wildfire among the remaining defenders as they scrambled back, their retreat disorganized and frantic.
The situation had deteriorated far too quickly, and the captain, overwhelmed by the unfolding disaster, stood frozen in a daze. With the chain of command faltering, Vice-Captain Ashley stepped into the breach. Calm and decisive, she took charge of the situation.
Ashley swiftly activated several talismans along the wall—emergency measures Erik had meticulously prepared. She wrapped one talisman around a spear; the runes glowing faintly as she prepared her counterattack. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward to where the sounds of enemy footsteps were most pronounced. With a skilled flick of her wrist, she hurled the spear with precision toward the heart of the enemy ranks.
The spear flew true, carrying the talisman's magic with it. The talisman's activation triggered a powerful burst of energy, aiming to disrupt and damage the enemy forces in its path.
"Naïve," one of the enemy soldiers scoffed, casually sidestepping the spear and reaching out to catch it. His comrades laughed, already fantasizing about the spoils of the city, too distracted to hear their captain's urgent shout: "Don't touch it!"
But it was too late—the soldier had already caught the spear. The talisman wrapped around the tip loosened and fell. It didn't incinerate this time, and they would have preferred if it had. With a sudden, violent shudder, iron spikes shot out from the wall, converging on the fallen talisman like metal filings drawn to a magnet. The soldier holding the spear was immediately impaled, his body pierced through like a pincushion. The deadly spikes continued their ruthless advance, skewering him and two of his comrades who had been unfortunate enough to be nearby. The talisman's effects didn't stop there; the spikes followed their path of destruction, killing anyone else caught in their wake.
"Move up!" the enemy company captain ordered, climbing the wall himself to escape this hellish wall. Just as he neared the top, his instincts screamed. Reacting to it, he leaped aside just in time to avoid a cascade of piping-hot liquid pouring from above, scalding everything in its path
Ahhhh!
He looked down to see his soldiers screaming in agony as the scalding liquid melted their armor and skin alike. Furious, the captain glanced at his men, many of whom were now writhing on the ground in agony. He had just gained these soldiers, and now they were being killed like flies. That was unacceptable.
With a final push, the captain scaled the wall, sword in hand. He dashed toward the nearest Iron'Heits soldier, swinging his blade in a horizontal arc. The soldier's armor absorbed the blow, but he didn't have time to breathe a sigh of relief before the captain stabbed, this time piercing through the armor, piercing his heart and coming from the back.
With a brutal yank, the captain pulled the soldier closer and hid behind it, just as arrows thudded into the soldier's back, turning him into a human pincushion. The remaining Iron'Heits soldiers gulped in fear, instinctively stepping back.
"Stand your ground and keep attacking!" the vice-captain Ashley said, her voice cutting through the chaos.
The soldiers wanted to disobey and flee, but they knew the consequences of desertion. They could only obey and held their ground. One soldier, desperate, charged at the captain, but the captain swung the dead soldier's body at him, knocking him down with a sickening thud. He grabbed a sword lying on the ground.
Now armed with two swords, the captain moved like a feral beast, cutting down anyone who came near him. The vice-captain, gritting her teeth, turned her attention to the wall, where three more enemies were close to scaling it. She directed the soldiers' attention to them. "I'll handle him," she said. "You take care of the rest and do not let anyone come up!"
With that, Vice-Captain Ashley drew her sword and charged at the enemy captain. Her form, a blur, as she leapt into the air, her blade arcing downward with explosive force.
Screech!
The clash of their swords erupted in a shower of sparks. The captain, though momentarily caught off guard, quickly regained his composure. His knees were bent, wielding both of his swords to intercept her powerful strike. His dual blades moved with practiced ease, absorbing the force of her attack and deflecting it away.
Ashley, however, was relentless. She followed up with a rapid series of strikes, her sword moving in a swift dance of steel. Her attacks were designed to press the advantage. Each swing aimed to push him back and create an opening. She swung high and low, attacking from different angles to keep him off balance.
The captain met her strikes with a combination of parries and blocks. He sidestepped some of her blows and turned others away with practiced skill. His defensive posture was good and his anger from before diffused a little, and he deflected her attacks with a composed grace that spoke of his experience.
Ashley, aware of the power gap between them—her recent advancement to the intermediate realm versus his peak mastery of the realm—knew she had to maintain the tempo and keep up the relentless assault. She exploited every opening; her strikes coming faster and more forcefully as she sought to wear him down.
While the vice-captain fought the enemy captain, the rest of the Iron'Heits soldiers seized the opportunity to rain arrows and scalding liquid down on the scaling enemies. Some enemies retaliated, and more Iron'Heits soldiers lost their lives in the chaos. But then, something unexpected happened.
Pshhh*
A soldier at the base of the enemy's line turned on his comrades, swinging his sword with deadly precision. In one swift motion, he severed his comrade's head from his shoulders. Stunned, the soldiers nearby hesitated, unsure of what had just happened. But soon, more followed, turning on their comrades, slaying them like flies. Bodies piled up at the base of the wall.
The remaining soldiers, confused and disoriented, scattered, allowing the Iron'Heits soldiers to thin the herd. Some enemies, in their panic, even dragged their comrades into the line of fire.
Meanwhile, the vice-captain and the enemy captain were locked in an intense duel, their swords clashing with a thunderous clang that reverberated through the chaos of the battlefield. The captain's grim expression hardened as he faced the vice-captain's relentless attacks. Each strike of her blade met his with an equal force, sending vibrations through their weapons. Sparks erupted with every clash, illuminating their fierce engagement against the backdrop of the raging conflict around them.
The vice-captain's armor bore the marks of their combat—a few deep scratches and dents—but her skill was growing visibly. Her strikes became sharper and more precise with each exchange. She dodged and parried with increasing agility, her movements now a well-honed dance of offense and defense. The captain, though experienced, could not ignore the growing effectiveness of her attacks. His own movements were more measured, each swing and block calculated to keep her at bay.
As the vice-captain pressed her attack, her blade swept in powerful arcs. She launched a series of rapid strikes, her sword flashing with deadly intent. The captain was forced into a defensive posture, his dual blades moving in a blur to intercept and deflect her blows. Each parry of his swords was met with a resounding clash, and he struggled to maintain his footing under the relentless onslaught.
Despite the captain's formidable defense, the vice-captain's relentless pressure began to take its toll. With a well-timed sidestep, she caught him off guard, her blade slicing through the air with a high, powerful cut. The captain barely managed to block the attack, but the force of the strike pushed him back a step. He grunted as he regrouped, his face betraying a flicker of concern.
Seizing the moment, the vice-captain pressed forward with a flurry of aggressive thrusts and slashes. The captain's armor clanged and groaned under the assault, each impact echoing like a war drum. He deflected a particularly fierce strike with one sword while using the other to counter a low swipe aimed at his legs.
In a sudden burst of speed, the vice-captain spun around, launching a powerful horizontal cut aimed at the captain's midsection. The captain raised both swords to block, their collision creating a shower of sparks. He countered with a rapid series of jabs, forcing the vice-captain to backpedal momentarily to avoid the fierce counterattack.
With a surge of adrenaline, the vice-captain saw a fleeting opportunity and lunged forward, her sword aimed straight for the captain's chest. The blade sliced through the air, finding its mark despite the captain's desperate attempt to parry. The blade sank into his armor, piercing through with a forceful thrust. The captain's eyes widened in surprise and pain as he felt the blade's sting.
Quickly sensing the danger, the vice-captain withdrew, leaving her sword embedded in the captain's chest. She grabbed a discarded sword from the ground, its weight reassuring in her grip. As she faced him once more, her breath came in sharp, controlled bursts. Her stance was steady.
The battlefield seemed to hold its breath, the outcome of their fierce duel hanging by a thread as they prepared for the next clash.
"You're good," the enemy captain praised, his gaze dropping to the sword embedded in his chest. He knew that without a healer, removing it would spell certain death. "It's a pity—"
His words were cut short as the vice-captain materialized beside him with a speed that took him by surprise. Her sword was dangerously close to his neck. The captain instinctively jerked his head back, but then from the corner of his eyes he was the glint of a smile on her face, which told him he had made a grievous error.
Before he could react, the vice-captain released her blade, letting it fall to the ground with a muted clatter. Her hand shot out, seizing the hilt of the sword still lodged in his chest. With a swift, violent twist, she wrenched the weapon free. The motion was brutal, tearing through flesh and blood vessels as she yanked it out. The captain's eyes widened in pain as he collapsed, a spurt of blood erupting from his mouth.
As he lay on the ground, gasping for breath, the Ashley's cold voice cut through the chaos.
"Who stops to chat with the enemy?"
Her words were sharp and final, leaving no room for further conversation as the captain's life ebbed away. The battlefield continued to roar around them, but in that moment, there was a silence—one marked by the captain's final, shuddering breaths and the vice-captain's unwavering gaze.
With the enemy captain dead, the battle soon ended. The vice-captain, remembering the Colonel's orders, said to her soldiers, "Throw the bodies down."
Though confused, the soldiers obeyed. The vice-captain had earned their respect through her fearlessness in battle. "Where's the captain?" A soldier asked the question on everyone's mind. Only then did they realize their captain had been absent the entire time. After searching, a soldier reported: "He's in the restroom."
"And what's he doing there?"
"With his head in his hands, he keeps mumbling that we're all going to die."
Silence*
The soldiers exchanged disbelieving looks. Surely, the soldier was joking. But his serious expression said otherwise. Stunned, they realized what kind of leader they had been following. If it hadn't been for vice-captain Ashley, they would have lost the wall to the enemy. And from what they'd heard, this wasn't even the main force.
Unlike the southwest, where many had died, the atmosphere in the east was grim. Many soldiers wanted to vomit but held it back, though some rushed away when they couldn't. Ashley clenched her fists. The joy of victory was short-lived as she remembered they had lost more than half of their troops to mere fodder. It was disheartening, but she composed herself and ordered the soldiers to return to base.
'This is a nightmare,' she said to herself, watching her comrades carry the bodies away with heavy hearts.
Once that was done, she ordered the soldiers to remain extra vigilant and headed to the restroom. There, she found the captain, well-dressed, smiling at his reflection in the mirror. His smile faded when he saw her enter.
"Oh hey, Vice-Captain," he said casually. "Thanks for your service. You must be tired. Let me handle the rest."
He extended his hand to pat her shoulder, but before he could, Ashley grabbed his wrist, tightening her grip.
"What are you doing?" the captain asked, wincing. "Let me go!"
He struggled, but he couldn't free himself.
"We were out there risking our lives," Ashley said, her voice heavy with restrained anger.
"I already told you. I commend you for that. What else do you want? Oh, I see..." The captain asked but stopped mid-way and smirked.
"You want a reward, don't you?"
That was the last straw. Ashley snapped, twisting his wrist...
Crack—his wrist snapped.
AHHH!
"What the hell is wrong with you?" the captain said as he cried out in pain, dropping to his knees.
Ashley still had a grip on his hand, her anger boiling over. Unable to control herself any longer, she kicked him away, then followed up with a flurry of fists and kicks, each one landing with a satisfying thud.
Outside the room, the soldiers listened, silently cheering. They had all secretly wanted to beat the captain up themselves, but as an intermediate realm expert with a higher rank than them, they never had the chance.
"He deserved it," one soldier said, while the others nodded in quiet agreement.