War Game(2)

(Author: I am truly mortified about the long break, but since a new exam session starts in December, I preferred to focus on that one. So the bad news is that I will not be able to maintain a good stability of publication in this period. The good on the other hand is that I have made several plans for the continuation of the story making it easier to write chapters.)

Several figures could be seen running in the forest. Their black robes, combined with the shadows created by the trees and the nearly setting sun, made it almost impossible to identify them.

"Our camps are farther away than expected." -Welf said as he ran.

"Maybe it was arranged in this way to manage the size of Apollo Familia." -Bell hypothesized.

With the start of the War Game, they began to head in the direction of the enemy camp, and although they knew the location, they had decided to move first, since once it got dark moving through the forest would become much more complicated.

"Shh."

With Yamato's warning, everyone closed their mouths, hiding behind the trees. Not far from them was a scouting party surveying the area, but from the way, they yawned in boredom they didn't seem to be putting much effort into it.

After they casually checked the surroundings, they began to move away. The Hestia Familia still stood where they were for a few more minutes before they could sigh with relief.

"I think it's better to wait here, if we get too close, there's a risk of encountering another group." -Zoe murmured.

The others seemed to agree with her words since once they were discovered by the Apollo Familia they would not have much chance of victory.

"I will check from above for Lili-dono's signal."

After saying this, Yamato nimbly climbed one of the trees while keeping her gaze on the camp.

They were currently about 400 meters from the encampment, but only another 200 meters were part of the forest. The remainder was a rocky open area, making them visible targets, so they could only stand there and wait.

Time passed quietly. By now the sun was hidden by the large mountain peaks, making the area completely dark, and although it was not the best feeling to be in a forest whose only sounds were the occasional insects or nocturnal animals, they could do nothing else.

"I see Lili-dono's signal."

The boredom was quickly broken by the hurry. They lit the lantern they had brought and passed it to Yamato, who responded with the light signals, then landed back on the ground with the others.

"We have to go before they start to realize that something is wrong."

Zoe and the others started running quickly toward the camp to begin the real assault.

Meanwhile, in the Apollo Familia camp, Hyakinthos was rocking in the chair in his tent frowning.

It had been a while since he felt that the surroundings had grown too quiet. At first, he did not pay much attention to it, but as time passed he began to get a dangerous feeling.

"Hyakinthos, something is wrong with the other members!"

Daphne quickly entered the tent warning him and confirming his concerns.

When they came out, they found several members lying on the ground sleeping, but no matter how much they tried to wake them up, they continued to remain in dreamland.

It did not take Hyakinthos and the other level 2 members to figure out the reason behind this, but even if they did, it was too late.

'fush!' 'fush!'

"ENEMY ATTACK!" -Shouted Hyakinthos.

Hearing the sound of the wind being cut, everyone stood on guard.

A stone spike fell from the dark sky without hitting anyone, but it did not end there. Another one fell and another until it became a rain of stones.

The members of the Apollo Familia tried to protect themselves from the incoming attack, but due to the lack of light in the sky, they could only react when the stones were not far from them, fortunately, the power behind each blow was not exaggerated, but this still impeded their mobility.

Some hid behind boulders in the area, obtaining cover, and after what seemed like an eternity, the attack finally stopped, but what awaited them, was not a moment to catch their breath, but rather a glowing ball that exploded, momentarily depriving them of sight.

Amidst the noise of chaos, what sounded like bells began to be heard, and then Bell's spell was cast.

"Firebolt!"

A huge blaze came out of his palm, heading toward Hyakinthos, who although still could not see well, did not hesitate to raise his sword where he felt danger coming.

'Booom!

He was hit by an explosion that sent him flying away and Bell followed him to continue fighting.

The other members of the Hestia Familia focused on the level 2 members of the Apollo Familia.

Zoe was left slightly behind to catch her breath after her two spells, which although they did not have much power, had to cover a fairly large area since she did not know exactly where the enemies were. The first magic had the task of destroying all obstacles that might block her view, such as tents, and pinpointing where his opponents were. Whereas the second one had the role of creating the opportunity to divide Hyakinthos from the others.

Once she regained enough energy, she went toward the others, who had begun to engage the enemies. Ouka with his shield and spear and Welf with his broadsword stood as the vanguard, while Yamato provided support.

The enemies were more than fifteen, and after an initial moment of disorder, they began to react, beginning to put pressure on the group.

"Stone pillar."

An archer in the rear had targeted Welf, but before he could shoot his arrow, a stone pillar came out of the ground, hitting him in the chin and knocking him unconscious on impact.

The rest of the archers and mages noticed Zoe's presence and wanted to end it quickly, as she posed too great a danger.

"Ouka switch!"

Their attention was disturbed by the shout of Welf, who had positioned his broadsword behind his back. The opponents did not understand the reason why he had holstered his weapon, but when one of the elves saw Welf draw a blue sword from under his cloak, his expression was full of terror.

"MAGIC SWORD!"

'ZAP!

His shout was accompanied by the sound of lightning heading toward them. A couple of enemies were electrocuted, while the others managed to dodge in time.

Welf looked at the sword apprehensively before sighing and looking at the enemies. His hatred of magic swords stemmed from the fact that they left their user after only a few uses and because of the events they caused. He saw only the negative sides of this weapon, so even though he had the talent of the same level as his ancestors, he had always refused to make them, but after the events of the 18th plan, he was forced to change his opinion.

He had decided not to limit himself anymore, and if helping his comrades meant making those weapons, then he had no reason to hesitate.

"YOU! Damn you Crozzo!"

The reason behind the elf's anger, was due to the fact, that elves were the first to experience the monstrosity of those weapons. A large number of elven forests were destroyed by Rakia's army equipped with the magic swords produced by the Crozzo.

The elf charged toward Welf with eyes shot with rage but was stopped by Ouka's shield.

Welf tried to strike again with his magic sword, but Daphne's attack forced him to leap back, but before she could continue her assault, a wind blade collided with her body pushing her several meters back and with a cut on her chest from which blood began to drip.

"Futsunomitama!"

Yamato, who until now had continued to recite her spell while fighting, something few were able to do, concluded it.

Out of the sky came a giant purple sword, and the moment the tip touched the ground, several magic circles of the same color were formed.

The members of the Apollo Familia who found themselves within its radius felt their bodies weigh more and more, so much so that their bodies began to be crushed to the ground.

Yamato's magic allowed her to increase the gravitational force in a certain area, but as a counter, she had to remain still, with her hands clasped together, making her an obvious target.

Various arrows flew toward her, but she could do nothing to avoid them. Before they hit her, however, a wall of earth formed, protecting her.

At that point, the three enemy mages finished their chant, and three fireballs formed in front of them, but before they could launch them, Welf activated his magic.

"Will-o-Wisp!"

Welf glimpsed a stream of air heading toward the fireballs, which caused them to explode, sending the wizards flying.

With the mages out of the way and most of the frontline members of the Apollo Familia under the effects of Yamato's magic, they could concentrate on taking down the archers first.

The fight continued. By now the Apollo Familia had no more members who could strike from a distance, and only eight vanguards remained, who were finally able to rise when Yamato no longer had the strength to maintain her magic.

Although the fight was going well, the group was beginning to tire, and with the breaking of Welf's magic sword after the third use, the pressure on them increased.

Zoe noticed an important factor as she provided support to those who needed it most, conserving her strength in case of an unforeseen event.

"Where is the 19th member?"

Of the nineteen level 2 members of Apollo Familia, she saw only eighteen.