22 Siege At Dawn III

*Clang!* Clang!*

Kies parried blow after blow but was slowly being pushed back by the enemy soldier's constant pressure. It was getting increasingly more difficult for Kies to hold his ground against him. The soldier got used to his attack patterns and wasn't giving Kies a chance to even strike back.

'Maybe if I can get a concentrated blast of wind off, then I would be able to take him down,' Kies thought to himself. A concentrated jet of wind would likely be able to pierce through the thick armor. The problem was that unlike shooting off a normal blast of wind, he needed some time to force the winds to gather together into a concentrated ball, and the soldier wasn't going to let him do that.

Kies was too submerged in his fight that he didn't notice the Silvian soldiers around him were falling rapidly. There was only a handful left defending the wall. Suddenly, a purple light fell from the sky, causing a large explosion somewhere on the other side of the wall. It startled the soldier and he distanced himself from Kies and glanced back to see what had happened.

Kies wasted no time. He didn't know what happened, but this was his chance. He dropped his spear and started compressing the winds in his hands. The soldier turned his head back around and saw that Kies was up to something. Without hesitation, he raised his sword and charged at Kies.

Just as the sword was about to reach him, Kies let go of the wind he gathered and sent the soldier spiraling backward. Immediately after releasing the wind, Kies ran forward, picked up his spear, and brought it down on the soldier on the spot where the wind had torn through the armor.

"Ack!" the soldier cried out in pain. He coughed out blood and tried to pull the spear out but it was hopeless. The spear had pierced him in such a way that the torn armor was acting as barbs to prevent the spear from coming out.

The soldier struggled for a few more moments before he gave up. He breathed four heavy breaths and then went still. He was dead. Kies had killed a person but he felt oddly calm about it. Kies tried to pull the spear from the body but was unable to do so. The spear was lodged in tightly and wouldn't budge.

So instead, Kies bent over and picked up the fallen soldier's sword. Just as he picked it up, another Otanian soldier rushed up to him. "Die silver sc*m!" he yelled.

Kies parried the first blow and was cut on his arm by the second. Kies grunted and shot a blast of wind out from his free hand, catching the soldier off guard and giving him time to put distance between them. He took a quick glance around and saw that the Otanian army had completely overtaken them and realized that he was the only one left.

Arrows flew in his direction and Kies quickly called up a wall of wind to block them. Unfortunately, he was too slow and didn't block all of the arrows. A few of the arrows made it through with most just barely brushing past Kies, but two made it through and found themselves on both of Kies' legs. Kies yelped out in pain but kept his focus on the barrier. He continued to pour magic into it. Within a matter of seconds, the wall of wind fully formed, keeping out the arrows entirely.

The enemy, realizing that the arrows weren't going to do anything, stopped firing and switched to their blades.

"Careful, he can use magic!" one of the enemy soldiers yelled as they surrounded Kies. They kept a certain distance from his barrier since they were wary of what he might do. The soldiers eyed him cautiously and a few of them still had their bows drawn and were waiting for the barrier to fall.

Kies slowly backed off, but for every step he retreated, the enemy took one forward. It was impossible for Kies to escape, especially when his legs were in so much pain. Furthermore, he couldn't keep the barrier up forever. He needed to figure something out before then.

***

Nina looked around the clinic. Nearly every bed was occupied by a soldier. The entire place reeked of sweat and blood. Nina felt dizzy and wanted to throw up. It was too much for her to handle. Nina was really worried about Kies right now, but she couldn't leave the clinic. The only thing she could do is hope that he is okay right now.

"Are you okay Ms. Nina?" Heaths walked up to Nina. He was still smiling despite their surroundings. Nina found that strange but decided to not ask about it. "Do you need some fresh air? You look ill," he noted.

"Sorry, I don't like seeing blood," Nina replied.

Heaths saw that aside from not being comfortable around blood, Nina also looked worried. "Is that all?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Your face tells me that there is something else bothering you as well."

Before Nina could say something, a voice interrupted them. "Heaths, we need you here quick! Someone lost their arm!" a woman shouted from somewhere within the clinic. It was difficult to determine where they were with so many bodies in here.

Heaths scratched his head. "Well Ms. Nina, whatever is concerning you, please let me know later. I'll see if I can help," he offered. Heaths hurried off to where the voice came from while Nina went outside.

She found a chair right outside the tent and sat down. Out here, the air was filled with the smell of soup instead of blood. Some of the soldiers with lighter injuries were assigned to make food for the rest. Nina realized that even though she wasn't hungry despite not having eaten anything all day. The sight of all that blood had made her lose her appetite. She rubbed her head which was aching from all the blood. She also felt light-headed from using magic all day. She needed a small break.

After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Nina put her hands together and prayed for Kies's safety. She never was a believer of any of the gods but there was nothing else she could do. After having calmed down, Nina took a deep breath, got up from her chair, and went back into the tent.

***

"Hold!" A female voice from behind the enemy called out. The soldiers parted, revealing a woman dressed in armor with a red cloak waving behind her. The Otanian soldiers saluted her as she walked by them. She looked at Kies and he felt as if her gaze was going straight through him. "Silvian, we need to talk," she said.

"What... Do you... want?" Kies huffed. He was exhausted from all the fighting and had difficulty speaking. Kies didn't know who she was but judging from how the other soldiers were treating her, she was likely someone of high rank.

---

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