Chapter 30 - The First Gate (2)

It was going so smoothly.

The forward observers had returned with accurate intel, that the land beyond the gate was cleared, and sure enough, when they came through, there were rotting corpses everywhere, enough to from their own army.

It had been an easy progression. The Master had not sensed anything amiss, and they had stopped to set up camp.

He grit his teeth.

That was when the walls revealed their secrets.

Lucian cast spell after spell, his entire squad was casting barrier spells, trying to keep themselves from being overwhelmed by the tide, but monsters like the Stalker who had high magic resistances would directly shatter them.

The Monster's had poured out from the countless caves excavated into the walls, few Abominations, but swarms of nightmarish fiends small enough to pass their giant undead frontline.

His magic was starting to run low.

The Rock Eaters, creatures that looked like stones that hung on the walls, and used their sharp tentacle claws to dig and throw stones, had decimated them at the sudden ambush.

The soldiers of his unit and the surroundings ones were thrown into disarray. He couldn't give commands, or else his spell's efficacy would drop.

It wouldn't be long now...

He poured his magic into the barrier spell, reinforcing it. But the stones flung like fastballs, with sharp ends, pelted it. 

...His face was pale.

"Gart! Use an impact magic and blow the ground open! We're abandoning back! We need to meet back with the other squads!" He shouted without turning back, the tethering of his magic were shaking violently.

Larger stones were being thrown, with the efforts of several Rock Eaters together. They were trying to shatter his spell. But most of all, they were working together.

His pupils shrank.

His whole body buckled under the stress.

His jaw tightened.

There had to be something commanding them... he was almost certain of it.

"GART, IF YOU DON'T CAST FASTER YOUR MOTHER WILL-?!" Lucian looked back and his expression fell.

Gart's upper half was inside the maw of a Stalker. It's long sharp teeth were chewing on him.

His blood ran like magma through his veins.

He'd sworn to Gart's mother, to bring him home alive, even at the cost of his own life. He nearly bit off his inner lip.

It looked at Lucian, with it's glowing eyes, and bit down.

Gart's other half hit the ground. Lucian's eyes were torn afire. He started to desolve the barrier, it was useless now that a Stalker had broken through.

They were Mages. 

These Monsters were mostly just fodder. 

Disgusting creatures that had not encountered their first fixation, were as effective as regular humans against their magics, however.... This was not the case with these special Monsters.

There were too many. Too varied. Too united.

How had they not killed each other off long before they had arrived? A few perhaps but so many?

For ever soldier they lost, the mages killed dozens of these weak monsters, but, there were countless monsters flooding towards them.

It was not that the mages were weak.

It was the number of monsters was great.

Lucian's blurry vision was growing dark. Yet, he was still aware enough, to grit his teeth, as the Stalker pounced towards him at break neck speeds.

He was still recovering the magic of the barrier, but, even if he had enough mana to cast, he would not have enough time.

"...Lucaris Miracle!" He looked up, and his eyes widened but his pupils shrank! 

A woman's voice. Chains covered in flames, restrained the Stalker! Lucian backed away as quickly as he could, his barrier had finished dissolving, he raised his hands, quick casting a chain spell.

"Rally on me! Form units of four! Stand by your Mages!" A man's voice this time. His focus split.

It filled him with the need to move. The sheer authority in it, was compelling enough to snap him out of his hesitations, he did not know who had spoken, but he was willing to listen.

He stumbled to his feet and threw himself out of the way. Six soldiers surrounded the Stalker, and chopped at it's limbs, destroying it's mobility, the spell was undone rather than broken, and the excess mana was sent back to Red when Lucian's chain spell wrapped around it.

A soldier covered in blood, with scars across his armor, and a chilling violet gaze looked past him at the swarm of monsters colliding with their Western Flank.

He raised his sword high, a bright flash appearing on it that gathered the attention of the entire Western Flank. Who would use such a useless magic in this dire situation?

He traced the tethering of magic back to Red. 

Argo shouted, "Mages! Prepare a medium size fire spell! Soldiers! Raise corpses as shields and close ranks!" 

Lucian didn't immediately understand what it was that Argo was ordering, but then, he saw that a formation was being cast by Red and the mages with her, and he understood.

More and more Mages were appearing by Red's side.

They looked completely haggard. With low mana left, and little no ability to cast remaining, their only option to turn the state of the battle here, was to focus the Rock Eaters, or die.

Many refused to lower their barriers, but, Lucian, being the most senior mage within the Western Flank, raised his voice, trusting in this feeling in his chest, "...Follow them! Assist the Violet Soldier!"

Argo glanced down at Lucian.

He was a smart man, with quick decision making. He didn't need to worry about the mages further.

With the soldiers now listening to his commands, he barked out orders extremely fast, Johan, Mark and Mason who had been running behind him throughout the battle, were split off to go and disseminate orders faster.

They reformed the Western Flank very fast as the soldiers grabbed the corpses around them and raised them as shields from the Rock Eater's barrage, allowing them a breather! 

As they closed ranks, it became easier to maintain their positions. When they looked around, they were able to take heart. A great deal more of them were alive than any of them had expected.

A unit of fifty or sixty soldiers had prepared quickly. They all looked forward. The line behind the corpse bearers, had their swords ready.

Argo had an idea, as to what could stop the Rock Eater's and Stalkers from trying to penetrate their ranks and attack the Mages. 

Once everyone was prepared, which took less than sixty seconds, though it felt far longer, Argo started at first at a slow trot forward.

Johan, Mason and Mark trotted behind him, heaving those corpses with them, holding it over their heads. The unit of soldiers didn't need explicit orders following beside.

Argo lowered his stance slightly, and started running. The soldiers behind him followed closely like a pack of demons barreling forward they crashed into the lines of Monster's fighting the Undead! 

"AIM FOR THE WEAKENED ONES!"

The Soldiers had been used as damage control, to stop leaks prior, and thus were fighting against the Monster's that got through who were full strength and so, as they joined forces with the Undead, to crush the Monster's weakened by their attacks, they were also able to catch their breaths.

A brief respite.

Argo hazarded a glance back at the mages. His eyes were open wide, taking in every inch of the battlefield they could.

His hunch had been correct.

The Rock Eaters' were focused on his unit now. And there were no Stalkers trying to break through to the Mages anymore either.

After all, they weren't after the Mages.

They were after Human Souls... and the easiest ones to get, were no longer hiding behind the Undead atrocities ravaging their ranks.

Using the large Undead Monster's as cover, the soldiers weaved in and out of combat when necessary, creating an effect similar to a cliff face breaking waves. 

Underneath the feet of the giant undead monsters, the soldiers battled desperately against the smaller nightmares that were coming through. 

However, not needing to worry about the Rock Eater's as much, allowed them to fully show off their training, bearing down ruthlessly on the infringing monsters.

Argo took a peek at the state of the battle. The mages weren't under any pressure and were recovering well in the back.

His gamble was paying off.

Why would a Monster, that just wants blood, not fight the Undead? 

Because they didn't want just blood.

They wanted their souls.

If he had been wrong, than the whole West would have instantly collapsed with the Mages breaking when the soldiers moved away... but he had been right.

Red was still preparing the Medium Rank Fire Magic, with the help of Lucian and the other Mages, it would take time, but with the progression of the battlefield, they had it so long as nothing went wrong.

Argo turned back forward. His pupils shrinking, as a stone the size of an egg blasted straight past his head, ricocheting off his helmet and sending him ringing to the ground. He turned a vicious gaze upwards.

"STONES! FIND COVER!" Argo dove underneath the belly of a six legged creature, each one of it's legs, like castle pillars. It was a Defiled Monster turned undead. One of the special undead that were used as crucial battle power for their front.

It's rotten blood leaked onto him, staining his clothes and making his skin sticky. He looked forward, past the underpart of it's chin, at the stone wall no longer so far away. 

He wanted to take a bath terribly. 

The Monsters were still pouring out of the Western Wall, but, it seemed less. The barrage of stones had slowed as well. He ran out from under the giant tortoise, and looked around trying to grab stock of the everchanging battlefield again.

"REPORT!" His shout rang through the cavern, he deftly dodged a shadow coming for his head. It was a small creature with brown fur, and long scaled roots growing of it's back, that moved like whips.

It struck forward with it's eight limbs.

He cut them down with extreme prejudice. 

Taking three steps forward, he closed the gap in under a second and chopped it's head off, sending it rolling, only to be crushed under the foot of another.

"CLEAR!" "CLEAR!" "CLEAR!"

Squad after squad shouted back their reports. Damage had to have been minimal, and they had almost pushed up to the wall of the Giant Road. 

Argo felt a seething pain open up on his leg.

That creature's detached roots were still writhing, and one of them had stabbed straight through his leg.

Argo fell to one knee, against his wishes.

He stabbed his sword into the ground ahead, in a vain attempt to stabilize himself.

His throat was closing up. And his mouth had gone dry and sandy. 

"CAPTAIN!" Argo looked up.

Johan was standing in front of him, fending off a monster with four massive wings and a small central body, that was no bigger than a basketball. 

He sensed the tethering of magic, and realized that it was preparing an attack. 

He laughed internally. What kind of sin had he committed, to be targeted like this?

An intense heat grew on his back.

There must be a Tyrant watching him from somewhere. It would make it's move soon.

He looked up, at the sky.

....He'd never seen, Medium-Rank magic before. 

It was like a dragon's breath.

The four winged monsters opened it's main body, revealing a gaping maw with hundreds of sharp teeth, and a pitch black energy.

Johan braced but Argo pushed his ass and sent him sprawling forward to the ground.

He as blocking the view.

That great fire had lit up the wall, showing an absolutely stunning artistry, an ancient piece that told a story.

And the pitch black shadow near the ceiling that covered one of it's parts, staring down at him, with bloodless eyes, smirking.

It was tragic.

"CAPTAIN!"