Chapter 29 - The First Gate (1)

Across four years in Loch, there had been few issues during the Invasions, and the city had never come under proper siege, since, with the Duchess of March, they never managed to break in that deep.

This meant, that Argo had no real experience with large scale warfare, aside from his reoccurring dream, that tended to come and go as it pleased, sometimes months apart, sometimes days apart.

However, though his real life war experience was low, he had closely read every war text within the imperial libraries halls.

There was no strategy, he had not seen.

When a boulder careened through the air towards their Mage Squad, he had already moved out of the way. 

"Most die from arrows, not swords." 

It was second nature, to look to the sky more than to the ground, in the midst of a battlefield. 

Hundreds of archers would send a rain of arrows that would last until they ran out of arrows or targets. 

In this place, where they didn't face human enemies, it was only the type of projectile that changed, not the fact that it was a fatal mistake to focus only forward. 

The boulder exploded several meters away, sending shards of stone blasting everywhere! His mind spread out.

How had it come to this? 

They had progressed through the gate smoothly enough, but, as soon as they had made it deep inside, and they were preparing to make camp, the walls started bleeding monsters.

He had noticed the corpses that were already littering the surroundings, so he was certain Awick and Constance had come through here, but, for the number of monsters to go up so fast right after they had been here, was frightening.

He realized, as the claws of a nightmarish abomination tried to cleave him into threads, that he had been wrong about his plan to clear the roads out.

He had never seen, or studied battles against monsters, aside from some anecdotal stories, since there was few texts in the imperial library.

He did not know… this horrifying reality.

The huge mass of aggression came down on him, and he dove forward, using swift footwork and his thinner frame to pass under it's massive sword, cutting open it's stomach and spilling it's entrails. 

His eyes carried a weak violet glow. 

He felt trapped in this meat grinder.

The tetherings of magic were everywhere. 

He hazarded a look back.

Master Murphy was in the most protected place, two mage squads around him, while he focused solely on the Soul Gem and the control over all the monsters.

It was like a well-trained death machine. 

The Undead who felt no pain or fear, threw themselves forward, taking down the enemy efficiently and without mercy. 

For each one that was torn apart, another would take it's place, being defiled by the power of the Soul Gem.

But that was all.

It was a mess, everywhere else he looked.

He looked back forward.

Red was weaving a spell, a Stalker was sprinting towards her at break neck speeds from between the undead monsters. 

Stalkers had bones that were similar to Magic Crystals, and absorbed magical attacks, making them Mage Killers.

He dashed forward, and swung in a vertical from down to up as the Stalker leapt forward! Argo's pupils shrank.

Wasn't this thing supposed to be more fragile than normal monsters, as compensation for it's speed? 

He buckled under the immense force. It snarled in his face and tired to bite his head off, but he leaned back, and the force of the creature sent him straight off his feet. 

The second it's feet touched the ground, it was upon him again! 

He swung in a vicious horizontal slash, if it continued, it would be cut in half, but the thing looked at him laughingly as it managed to instantly change directions! 

It dove forward, when a blazing ball of fire shot over him and splashed on it's body! He didn't need any encouragement, on his feet now, he pushed forward and cut the panicking Stalker, splitting it open from crotch to crown.

Blood spewed everywhere! 

Argo's breath was ragged.

The air of the battlefield was thin. The Monsters in the Mountains were far easier to battle against, but these were different.

There were too many different Monsters, with too many different abilities and specializations, his mind was worn extremely thin, trying to keep an eye on everything.

Argo looked over.

A mundane monster was barreling towards him! It was a Merk Wolf! His jaw tightened.

He swore in his heart if he survived, he would not get involved in anything else, for at least a year.

He was taking that damned vacation… his sword met it's claws and he was instantly pinned! He shifted his head to the left, barely dodging the things bite, but it came down to bite again right away.

"MAGE LIGHTNING!" Argo picked up the shout and shut his eyes. 

A blinding flash arced through the air slamming into the Merk Wolf's side, Argo opened his eyes, the Merk Wolf was injured and blinded, he stabbed his sword through it's ear and out the other side of it's head.

As soon as he finished, he started retreating while taking stock of his surroundings. They were winning decisively due to the Undead Monsters, but… the soldiers had been brutally decimated.

Karl appeared at his side, casting a barrier for their squad, while Raul cast chains and Red began calling forth her magic into bursts of primordial lightning! 

Argo could hardly breath. His eyes were blurry. There wasn't enough air. He felt magic enter his body, it was like a violation, but he allowed it.

His lungs were being filled with energy, and his head was clearing up. He glanced up. Karl was looking dead ahead with a serious expression.

"It's too early to be tapping out." Karl grinned fiercely, the barrier started going down. 

Of their ten man unit, four of the Soldiers had already died. The remaining five were around Karl, they had no shields, only swords, like he had.

Argo looked back ahead. He drew himself to his feet. 

His aura was still regenerating. He had used very very little, in order to adjust his sight enough to be able to keep up with the fast flow of the battlefield.

…How had Awick and Constance pushed through here? 

If the number of monsters were the same now, as they were when they had passed through, even if they had Awick, a strong Master, Constance, a Hero, and over a dozen Knights and Warriors, it was impossible.

He could not believe, that Awick and Constance, had managed to get past this dire battlefield. And the number of monsters still didn't show any signs of dwindling.

He glanced at Master Murphy.

Had he underestimated the difference between a Knight and a Master that much?

He didn't even seem tired. 

What… were Master's really?

Argo shook the thought from his head quickly, once he realized he had grown distracted in this battlefield. 

He pushed forward with Karl, swinging his sword as close as possible to the Mages, for the highest probability of protection.

His heart was beating like a racehorse at full sprint. He could see over the Undead.

Monstrous abominations towering at three meters tall, humanoid creatures that were anything but humans, violations of their very species.

Wolves that were fast like shadows, jumping and diving into and out of darkness, ripping apart the Undead. 

Chitinous monstrosities, that were over three meters tall, and half a dozen wide, with claws that crushed Undead into paste! 

Smaller monsters, like Headless Monkey's, or the Mimic Stones, that if one grew close, a sharp tendril would suddenly fly out from underneath and cut off their legs.

In the sky, there were four winged monsters, that looked like balls of leather, their main bodies just an eyeball, whom fired magic down!

Boulders flew over head!

He didn't want to stick out, but... this situation would not be viable for him much longer. Once the Mages got tired, the Soldiers would be sitting ducks.

He needed to do something.

His jaw tightened and he grit his teeth. 

Despite the chaos, Red kept a close eye on Argo's figure. She didn't know how to feel.

She'd thought originally, that he was a desperate father who had nearly thrown his life away, with only resolve and his convictions on his back to come down here for his daughter.

But… watching him slaughter the Monsters that attacked, though not with ease, but with such ruthless efficiency, again and again, with little to not respite, as well as his grasp of the flow of battle, had made her doubt herself.

Who was he exactly?

Was he really a man named Karrion? 

From where could someone with no Aura come from, with such skill and ferocity? Even their trained soldiers, were being killed, despite their best efforts.

She raised her hand, casting icicles. A group of flying monsters were diving down fast. She grit her teeth. Her magic was running low.

Icicle after icicle fired into the air, she shot trying to track their trajectory as best as she could. 

One of them came for Argo's back as he was engaged in a desperate fight with a Tumbler.

Having eight arms, covered in a thick black hide, with poisoned bristles, it was over if even a little bit of it's venom got into his blood stream, and though he was dodging well, if those monsters got to him from above, he would be done for.

She focused in on that creature, and shot, sending the icicle straight through it's sternum, and sending it spiraling straight past the Tumbler, which was significantly taller, giving Argo an opening! 

Argo deftly dodged the bristles fired off of the Tumbler, and stabbed it's left chest, where the sac was located, the venom dispersed inside the Tumbler, and it quickly went down to it's own poison.

He retrieved his sword and hazarded a glance back, giving Red a thankful look, before turning back to take stock of the battlefield. 

What needed to be done, to ensure his own survival?

His eyes narrowed.

The Undead Monster's were targeting the Mundane Abominations, which were head and shoulders taller than normal monsters, their power lying with their physical forms, they were being focused down.

It was the correct decision, since those Mundane Abominations would be near impossible for the soldiers to fend off, and difficult for the Mages to bring down.

However...

Argo's eyes swung around to the shadows of those titanic clashes.

...The smaller monsters, were pouring through the combat, into the lines of scattered soldiers and the mage squads that they protected, causing a disorganized mess of a battle situation where they were being swarmed with no counter.

Some squads were isolated, some weren't able to fully use their combat potential due to being surrounded in a throng of allies. 

His hand slowly started to ball into a fist. His lips curved.

He knew that if he wanted to survive this, and make it down to Constance and Awick, that, they had to form proper battle lines, or else, more soldiers would keep losing their lives, thus destabilizing their positions.

And if that happened, it would only be a matter of time, before he too, was overwhelmed.

He quickly found where the other soldiers in his unit were, and started rotating. One of them was caught in a desperate fight with a flying monster, whose beak was long and fibrous, with many protrusions.

It opened it's mouth, to breath done a flaming breath, when Argo threw his sheath into it's mouth, and tackled the soldier down! 

He felt something slam into his back.

The charred remains of that flying monster. He looked down, and locked eyes with the trembling soldier, Johan, and spoke quickly as he stood up, "Follow me." 

Once he was on his feet, he had already found the next two. One of them was already done for. They would be dead before he could arrive.

Yet, chains flew past him, keeping that chitinous creature seeking to clamp it's claw down and split the pair in half, down.

He hazarded a glance back. Red was watching him. He had her support and with it, he made it in time, aiming his sword at the things two eyes, which were attached to it's body by a pair of thin tendrils.

The thing thrashed and screamed, it's immense physical strength shattering the chains! 

The other soldier that Argo had saved, came from the side and cut off one of it's legs, causing it to lose balance. 

The pair of soldiers that were saved, came forward and started stabbing it, while Argo fended off a giant claw, slipping underneath it's swing and using it's own momentum to cut it apart! 

Johan, the first soldier he saved, looked up, between ragged breaths and blurry vision, at Argo, who had just cut off it's claw and was finishing it off.

Blue blood spilled everywhere and a thick fishy smell rotted in the air.

Mark and Mason, the two brothers who they had saved, quickly retreated back, to Argo's side, alongside Johan.

Johan looked to Argo, waiting for orders.

Argo frowned, looking at the battle state.

He had an idea in mind. A plan, or perhaps, a gamble, but, it would bring a great deal of attention, if it worked, but if it didn't work, then they were sure to all die.

The Mage Squads were already starting to fall apart however.

If he did nothing... then there was no gamble.

They would all die here, except for Murphy and those beside him.

The soldiers, did not have the luxury of such protections.

He took a deep breath.

"...Follow me." As his breath escaped his lips, he was already running off to the next place. 

Johan's eyes sparkled. 

It felt like he was watching the incarnation of one their legends, rushing through this vile battlefield, to save the day.

Mark and Mason exchanged looks. There was no better options if they wanted to live. And retreat was no option at all.

Karl, who was right beside Master Murphy with Raul, didn't rotate to follow Argo and the unit of soldiers, but, Red, who was paying close attention was quick to follow up.

Like this, the bloody battle raged on as he ran with all he had to the Western Flank, wherein the key to survival, laid.