by D N Meinster
As the number of chrome men shrunk, their methods became more desperate. They used long-range weaponry in close proximity, ending their existence along with any peacekeepers and Massku in the vicinity.
Flamethrowers were intentionally set to explode. Bubbles and spikes were damaging all irrespective of loyalties.
Oblivion-based weaponry was activated in the midst of both armies, swallowing any that got in its way as it expanded.
One clever plated Massku lifted up a peacekeeper by the legs and swung it into nearby chrome men over and over.
Demibeasts finished off the fallen peacekeepers, tearing them in two and chomping on whatever spare parts they encountered.
The last grouping of peacekeepers was maintaining parity with the Faun traitors, but they were swiftly surrounded by the Massku that had long made it past them. The back of their line was taken apart one-by-one. A pile of scattered and smashed parts grew as they unsuccessfully tried to defend against the all-encompassing enemy.
Peacekeepers picked up their fallen comrades’ sword and dual-wielded against the Massku. But there were simply too many. No matter how fast the peacekeepers could counter a strike, they could not account for that one extra sword or one demibeast that snuck up on their legs.
The last peacekeeper was cut at the legs. Demibeasts finished it off, tearing chunks of chrome skin off bit-by-bit. When they were finished with it, only a clump of dead wires was left in its place.
Having overcome the peacekeepers, the Massku resumed their march to the border.
Aros tightened his fists on the hilts of his clawblades as he carefully moved them into a better position.
Doren readied his shield and stepped back until his feet were out of the mud and on pavement.
Rikki lifted her staff above her head and toward the storm clouds. Massive bolts of lightning shot down from the clouds and charred the Massku waiting below. She repeated this attack over and over until Neanthal’s army was only feet away.
“Steady!” Rikki shouted as she was moments from being overrun. Like a black swarm, the Massku enveloped her and rushed past.
Aros crossed his swords and pushed back against the plated as they charged into him.
Doren swung out as the first Massku tried to make contact.
The rest of the army made direct contact with the front lines of Kytherans. But while the soldiers pushed back, they also found the structures left standing in the Outer to be an obstacle to their advancement.
The Kytheran volunteers were not well-trained, but the armor they wore was well made and held up against the jagged blades.
The Twilean battalion had refused armor, but their skill more than made up for their lack of protection. Eloise took out demibeasts with ease, depositing her halberd into skull after skull.
M’hadder used his harpoon to remove the helmets of the plated, leaving their heads vulnerable to the swords and arrows of the Island Protectorate. They were the first to drive the Massku back from the city and into the mud once more.
Bodies piled up at Aros’ feet once he figured out where to slip his clawblades into the plated Massku’s armor. The curved aperture of his sword fit right in at the base of the plated helmets, allowing him to slit or decapitate his opponents. He moved with grace, taking out demibeast below and plated above. The Fauns noted his skill and seemed to avoid him, leaving their bestial brethren to take him on directly.
Doren was initially having less success with his shield. He was able to shatter Massku weapons with it, but he could not bring them down while they were armored.
When another plated joined their disarmed teammate to take him down, Doren smacked his shield into the jagged blade and shattered it as well. But they came at him with their gauntlets.
It was at that moment that Doren called upon Rikki’s enchantment. And it responded to his will, ejecting a bronze beam from its surface and laying waste to his challengers. Doren examined the results of his attack, observing charred bodies covered by a smoking copper residue.
Rikki created a wide swath of empty space around her. Any Massku that dared enter her area was immediately touched by her staff and transmogrified into a crumbling black statue. She then lifted the newly made rock into the air with her magic and sent it flying into Neanthal’s forces.
When all the Massku began avoiding her, she charged at them. Grouping after grouping fell as she melted them with green fire and batted them away with her glowing staff.
One of the remaining structures in the Outer fell, allowing the Massku to trample on its remains and proceed further into the city.
The Massku thought that they’d forged an unimpeded path but were greeted by a red-haired giant wielding a war hammer. With one swing, he crushed the head of a plated. With another, he slammed a demibeast into the wall. He sent more flying until a contingent of Twileans joined him and tried to halt the Massku advance.
Aros stood atop a mound of deceased Massku, but its height left most of his opponents out of reach. They passed him by rather than engaged.
Enraged by their apparent disrespect, Aros hopped from the mound, sticking two demibeasts in the back as he landed.
When he spun and prepared to resume his attack, he saw just how little his small victory had counted. More were coming. So many more.
Bounce. Bronze beam. Deflect. Smack. Bronze beam.
Doren only managed to eliminate demibeasts without calling upon Rikki’s enchantment. The Massku armor was too much for his shield to penetrate alone.
Rikki was no longer relying on clouds for lightning. Green bolts left her staff and disintegrated the Massku like the Bellish apparatus had at the start of battle. She used her magic to mimic its power, eliminating hundreds of Massku without direct engagement.
Neanthal noticed her power and reappeared before her.
She readied for a direct fight, but instead of attacking, he reached out a hand and sent her soaring back toward the Outer.
Rikki landed on her feet, but when she looked back, Neanthal was gone and more of his forces were advancing. She took a deep breath before charging back into battle.
The Kytheran volunteers were holding the line, and the Massku acknowledged this achievement by attempting to bring down the buildings in their way and even trying to go around the soldiers.
Guardians from the back lines navigated through the city and met the Massku that had attempted to make it around them.
Ratch and M’hadder met up as they plugged a hole in their lines. Twileans shot arrows into the eyes of the plated, while Ratch used his war hammer to jam the arrows deep into the enemies’ head.
There was a rumble as another building fractured and began to fall. A contingent of Kytherans was lost beneath the rubble as the Massku made their way through the new opening.
Ratch, Eloise, and M’hadder all glanced at each other before heading to plug the fresh hole.
As Rikki ran forward, she saw something new. A boulder shot from the back of the Thalian lines and soared toward the city.
She reached out with her staff and sent the boulder back to the catapult that launched it.
As it destroyed its source, another ten boulders shot through the air.
Rikki started to target them, but a demibeast grabbed hold of her cloak as it ran by and pulled her to the ground. It dragged her along, through the mud and eventually onto the pavement.
Doren noticed the incoming boulders and launched his bronze beam at one, causing it to burst to dust. As he readied to repeat his action, he was tackled to the ground by a plated Massku.
Aros watched as nine boulders fell from the sky. Several smashed into the line of volunteers, creating holes in their defensive lines. The others crashed into buildings, demolishing brick and stone and sending plumes of dust into the air.
He rushed back toward the city as the Massku took advantage of their newly created openings.
Rikki shifted away from the demibeast that had her and reappeared at Doren’s side. He stuck out a hand and helped h
er back on her feet.
They were about to speak, but another cluster of Massku came racing toward them.
The volunteers were quickly surrounded, and no matter how decent their armor, they could not contend with the vast numbers around them. They were crushed. They were bitten. They were stabbed. They were slaughtered.
Aros cut through the backs of Fauns and Massku as he tried to free a group of volunteers from their position. But the Massku made up for those he took down, and he was swiftly engulfed by their reinforcements.
There were too many holes in their lineup, so Ratch and M’hadder parted ways as they tried to do their best to prevent the Massku from going any further.
Ratch easily cleared a path forward with his hammer, eventually reaching a group that had previously been surrounded.
“Ratch!” Aros called out in glee, and he joined up with his master.
When Ratch sent them into the air, Aros split them open. When Ratch sent them flying, Aros got out of the way.
Once Ratch and Aros had cleared the Massku around the volunteers, the Kytheran soldiers joined them in pushing the Massku back.
Doren started up his bronze enchantment and tossed the shield into the incoming lines. The bronze light overtook the Massku, cutting them and leaving a pile of body parts where they’d just stood.
Rikki returned the shield to Doren before spotting another collection of boulders soaring through the air. She could not let them make contact.
With a spin, Rikki shifted into the sky. And with her magic, she conjured up barriers which ended the boulders’ momentum. After hitting the barriers, they fell straight down onto the Massku below.
Rikki shifted as she descended, ending up back at Doren’s side.
“How many are left?” Doren asked.
Rikki didn’t answer. They’d all be overtaken in less than an hour. Not even her magic could prevent that.
“We have to find a way to Neanthal,” she said. That was the only way they could end this.
Aros and Ratch were the last two standing. Another battalion of Massku had breached the city and taken out the volunteers.
They stood back-to-back as they sliced and smashed, but Ratch was getting nicked by the jagged blades. Amelia’s cloak protected Aros from such injuries, but more and more were getting the chance to try and change that.
M’hadder removed the helmet of another plated, allowing Eloise to plunge her halberd into its forehead. But while she pulled it from the Massku’s skull, two black blades broke through M’hadder’s chest. He looked down at the penetrating swords before they cut him in three.
Eloise jumped at the murderous Massku, but it was two archers that got the better of them before she could.
She ignored the fact that she was standing in M’hadder’s blood as she continued the assault.
Chunks of the fallen buildings crushed the Massku as Rikki conducted them with her staff. They swirled around them and collided with demibeast, Faun, and plated alike.
But one plated didn’t fall. It made it past her rocks and charged at them.
Doren let loose a bronze beam which slowed it down, and Rikki touched it with her staff and caused it to shatter like glass. But the rocks fell to the ground, allowing another party of Massku to get closer.
Ratch screamed as a blade sliced his shoulder. He slammed his hammer down on the attacker, but a demibeast saw an opening and made a jump.
Ratch fell back and onto Aros while the demibeast sunk its teeth into his chest.
Aros slipped out from underneath his master and planted both blades into the demibeast. He looked down and saw Ratch was still breathing. He would not let him die.
Rikki’s ears perked up as an additional sound joined the cacophony of battle. It was not the incoming Massku. It was something else.
A velizard trotted into the path of the Massku as its rider struck them with a lance.
Another velizard ran by, this one ridden by a woman with a wide-brimmed hat and eyepatch.
Doren and Rikki took a second to eye each other.
Hundreds of velizards darted through the Massku army, their riders stretching out swords and lances as they cut into the opposing forces. The velizards easily navigated through the squadrons, clawing and toppling Massku when they got in the way.
Azzer and M’dalla faded into being next to Rikki and Doren.
“Glad to see you’re not dead,” Azzer said.
“Where’s Aros?” M’dalla asked with apprehension.
Aros stepped around and sometimes on top of Ratch as he blocked blades and stuck demibeasts. He could tell they wanted to kill his master, but he couldn’t let them. Every time they attempted to strike, he was able to deflect. When they tried to stomp on him, he jabbed at the neckline of their armor.
And then the sound of a flail smacking them in their armored heads rang out from nearby.
M’dalla was able to remove their helmets and crush their faces with a single swing. Together, they created a wide perimeter around Ratch.
“Ratch?” M’dalla leaned down toward Aros’ master.
“We need to get him out of here,” Aros pleaded.
M’dalla and Aros helped Ratch back on his feet and they hurried him deeper into the Outer.
“I thought you two would be fighting Neanthal,” Azzer commented as they disposed of the last nearby Massku.
“He’s avoiding us,” Rikki replied.
After passing through the Massku horde once, the velizard company swung around and made to do so again. But this time, Neanthal’s forces were ready.
Demibeasts ganged up on many of the creatures, tearing at their legs until they could no longer move. Once the velizard was disabled, the plated finished off the rider.
Seeing their new strategy, Lady Yveen, waved her mace in the air and ordered her company to the Kytheran border. It was there that she found Rikki, Doren, and Azzer standing around.
“You might not have noticed, but there’s a war going on around you,” Yveen sardonically stated.
“How many are left?” Doren asked, still trying to get a sense of what they were dealing with.
“I wasn’t counting, but if you’ve got ten thousand men, we may be able to hold them.”
“We have maybe two,” Rikki guessed. “Plus however many you brought with you.”
“Two?” Yveen looked to her velizard riders who were lined up on the outskirts of the city. “We’ve arrived at a losing battle.”
“We only need to get to Neanthal,” Rikki said. “If we can create an opening.”
“Can you not use your magic to get to him?” Yveen asked. “Wait, he’s not inclined to fight you, is he? I suppose if I had an army like that, I would let them do all the work too.”
“If we diminish and distract enough of his army, Neanthal would have no choice but to fight.” Rikki was certain that was their only option.
“Because who wants to fight the peons when you can fight a demigod,” Azzer remarked.
Yveen let out a whistle and several velizard riders came over to her. She said something in Faun to them before they left. “We’ll get you some velizards. You can ride straight at the Beast while we keep the Massku at bay.”
“We need to find Aros,” Doren said. The three of them had to take on Neanthal together.
“M’dalla will bring him back,” Azzer assured them.
Aros and M’dalla hurried through the streets as a pack of demibeasts chased after them. When one latched on to Aros’ shoulder, Aros let go of Ratch and stuck it in the gut with his blade.
M’dalla laid Ratch on the ground and slammed her flail into the demibeast’s snout. The last one ran away before she and Aros could deal with it.
“It might be getting help,” she stated with concern.
Aros spotted movement from the corner of his eye, and he ran towards it with blades raised. But he stopped himself when he saw it was just a defenseless human spying on them.
He was poorly dressed, with what looked to be sewn tog
ether rags as clothes, and his skin was rather dirty.
It took Aros a moment to remember who could be out there.
Outerlings.
“We need help,” Aros said. “He needs help.” He pointed at his master.
The young man disappeared into a nearby building, and suddenly Aros and M’dalla were surrounded by Outerlings.
“Are they on our side?” M’dalla asked, keeping her flail up.
A woman from amongst the Outerlings got on her knees at Ratch’s side and placed a hand on his forehead. “We do not have what he needs,” she spoke.
“Take him to Castle Tornis,” Aros begged.
“We do not go there,” she replied.
“Should I convince them?” M’dalla asked, lightly swinging her flail.
Aros did not want to further antagonize them. He needed their help. “What can I offer you?”
The woman looked at him kindly but said nothing.
Aros held out his blade.
She stared at him blankly.
Did they not want the weapon or the Ligold? What else could he do? “I am a guardian. Take him to Castle Tornis. Please.”
“What is your name?” she asked, getting back on her feet.
“Aros Asilias.”
“And we have your permission to enter Castle Tornis?”
“Yes!” Aros shouted.
“Then we will all go there with your friend. But if we are turned away, he will be too.”
“They know Ratch. They won’t turn you away if you are with him.”
The woman called over her fellow Outerlings, and a bunch of them began to carry him back to the Inner.
Aros watched them take Ratch down the street before M’dalla gained his attention with a snap. “We should get back.”
As they started their return, Azzer faded in front of them. “Everyone is waiting for you,” he said impatiently as he stuck out his staff.
M’dalla and Aros latched onto his staff and they all shifted back to the Kytheran border.
After seeing that Rikki and Doren were mostly unharmed, Aros ran over to them. He wanted to give them each a hug, but that seemed inappropriate given they were still in the middle of a warzone. So he flashed them each a smile and then gazed at the newest arrival.