She didn’t have more time to think on it; she needed to command her troops. Although the United Army was strong, the Combined Army was weak and just holding together.
Drafeng came down off the peaks, their footing being lost on the craters and the glassed slopes, killed by the fall or by the attacks from the armies at the base. They hit the plains and started running for the wall that had been erected around the peak.
A bloodbath ensued as they crashed into the walls and started to climb up them. The ranged attacks continued with the United Army but in their panic, the Combined Army’s ranged fighters focused on the enemy right in front of them instead of weakening the groups that were coming after them.
“Reports are coming from Shivernsin. It looks like the enemy there had started to attack without caring for the casualties as well,” one of the Guardians reported.
“What about in the wilderness?” She looked over to another Guardian.
“Guardian Flames have gone on the defensive across Dena. It looks like the doorways that we weren’t able to find are all attacking.”
“Is this their push?” Allynna asked.
“It might be. Make sure that everyone is alert. Have the rear guard keep an eye out. I don’t want to have Drafeng biting us in the ass.” Cecilia didn’t pay attention to the people who looked over in shock.
A high elf saying ass! What a shock!
“Focus,” Cecilia growled and they all returned back to their work.
Chapter: An Oath Taken; An Oath Received
Morning was just breaking on the second day since the Drafeng armies in the north had started to send wave upon wave of their chaotic beasts and Drafeng forward.
The Drafeng crisscrossed in front of Shivernsin, using the cover of the other bodies to attack the walls with their beams, striking the mana barriers that appeared.
Cannons lit up the day and the night. Dozens of barrels had been replaced; even two of the mortar barrels had to be changed out as they couldn’t take the repetitive firing.
Archers and mages stood along the walls and within Shivernsin, raining down destruction and being rotated out on a frequent basis to keep up their rate of attacks.
“Even though they rush forward like mindless beasts, they are all spaced out so that no one cannon or attack can take them down in a short period of time. Even their Drafeng are hiding among them all and then as soon as they attack, they flee, drawing our attention and the archers’ arrows, allowing more of the beasts forward and covering the other Drafeng’s ranged beam attacks,” Gheta confided in Fysher. The two generals who had been fighting each other for years were now each other’s confidant.
They knew more about each other than others knew about the people in their own families. He never thought that they would be working together to command an army, but there they stood—at the northern reaches of the world, fighting side by side.
“Even when they are pulling back their forces, they crush another one forward. It is like they are the mill stone, crushing their forces against our walls like grain.”
“Though this grain has claws and beam attacks. The chaotic beasts’ range isn’t as long, but as soon as they can get off a beam, then they do.”
Fysher grunted, seeing a pack of the chaotic beasts getting close. They shot out their beams and hit the wall, some of them being stopped with barriers.
The exterior wall didn’t have cannons, only large mounted shotguns—repeating rifles, as the dwarves called them—as well as mages and archers.
Beasts closed with the walls and were cut down in a blast from one of the mounted shotguns.
A number had been able to get through the withering fire and attacks that the people of Shivernsin had laid down.
Fysher checked his sword was free and ready to be used.
Suddenly there was a ripple of light that seemed to pass over the battlefield. There was not just a large amount of Drafeng who had made it through the fire; there was a reinforced army hiding underneath an illusion spell. Everyone had been stuck in a rhythm so that none of them must’ve noticed it.
Horns were sounded out. The cannons and mortars fired at an increased rate. Mages were called from the depths of Shivernsin.
The gunnery crews didn’t care about their weapons, about bringing out their barrels; they shot them as fast as they could reload them. The Drafeng and chaotic beasts were pressing forward as fast as possible. Seeing that their cover was gone, the Drafeng opened up. Hundreds of chaotic beams shot at the walls, making the archers and the mages duck for cover as they tried to get out of the way of the incoming attacks.
This allowed the Drafeng to get more of their forces forward, taking the fire superiority away from Shivernsin.
The shotguns and the repeating rifles sounded out. Small clouds of black smoke appeared on the walls as the Drafeng’s northern army jumped on the walls and started to climb upward. The chaotic beasts put their mouths in front of the openings in the wall; blasts of chaotic beams shot through, killing those on the other side and sand blowing out sections of the wall.
People screamed as they were tossed from the wall. Rolling wood and stones were hurled from the top, crushing the Drafeng below, but they were boulders before the sea.
The Drafeng had just gotten too much of their force in close. All of them were fresh-looking, new reinforcements from those in the north.
Fysher let out a yell as he stabbed through an arrow slit, cutting through a beast; they let out a yell and tumbled back down the fifty-meter-tall wall.
Gheta kicked her spear and slammed it forward through another opening. Their guards went to work, taking a slit and attacking the beasts climbing up past them to the top of the wall.
Cannons and mortars whistled overhead, hitting as close to the wall as the gunners could get their shots.
A blast of chaotic power killed one of Fysher’s guards and injured three others. Those close enough to feel the power but could still fight shoved their weapons through the hole, killing the beast.
Guardians ran out of Shivernsin, their weapons covered in purple flames.
Mana was gathered and brought together as Fysher saw Claire standing at the peak of Shivernsin. She stood there, a goddess upon Dena—a war goddess with the world that bent to her will.
“Die!” she commanded. With one hand, a black smoke emerged from the wall, covering the Drafeng and withering their bodies down to nothing; the other brought down a storm of lightning. Spell formations appeared in the sky, opening and closing as thunderbolts—the goddess’s own wrath—fell upon the Drafeng, seeking retribution upon these creatures that had walked her lands.
A Guardian leading a number of the dark elves stepped out among a sea of machines and golems.
Each of the dark elves had glowing green magic around them that surrounded the golems and the Shivernsin war machines.
They looked similar to Tommie’s own Gnominator.
The golems and the machines ran forward across the open ground of Shivernsin to join in on the defense of the walls.
There are no pilots in the armor? How is that possible?
“Pull back into Shivernsin!” Anthony’s voice called out. The Guardians all turned from fighting to helping the wounded get out of the walls.
Fysher gritted his teeth. With this newest rush, there was no way that they would be able to hold them all back. There were too many of the Drafeng. They were on the walls and pouring over the battlements. The Drafeng who had looked as if they were retreating had joined in on the press forward and added their weight forward. The cannons and mortars were being hammered at range by the Drafeng, forcing the mages to focus on defending them and their crews instead of dropping their own attacks. The momentum was on the Drafeng’s side.
“Come on, General Fysher. Our fight does not end here!” Gheta grabbed onto him. None of his guards paid any attention; they were like machines, trying to kill more of the Drafeng streaming past the holes in the wall.
Those on the walls turned and fl
ed into Shivernsin—some in ragged groups, others organized. Guardians ran back and forth, saving as many people as they could.
Anthony stood on the top of the wall, leading the Guardians as they barely held on.
Tommie used his Gnominator as an extension of himself, taking on Drafeng elites. His fist tossed one off the wall as he blew a group of Drafeng off the wall with his grenade launcher; his blade cut a chaotic beast that lunged at him.
Anthony hurled lightning and fire. He leaned over the side of the wall and hurled his sword, cutting down dozens of the Drafeng before the sword returned to his grip and he turned in black smoke. A sword missed him and he struck out with his glowing green fist, sending the Drafeng flying off the wall.
“Pull back!” Claire called from the top of Shivernsin.
Anthony raised his hand and a white power flowed from the ground. Stone reached up, creating slides.
Guardians and the last defenders on the wall jumped down it, and rushed toward the entrances to Shivernsin.
Drafeng who had made it onto the walls now opened their maws and fired down on to the entrances, on to the stronghold. Barriers and shields snapped into existence.
Fysher lowered his arm, watching the beams that were just feet from the mages’ hands, their faces covered in sweat as they held back those tidal forces.
The golems and the machines were still fighting. The necromancers had given them souls, making them fight on.
***
Power crackled through Claire. She was surrounded by magical circles with power that rivaled the kinds of spells that would take multiple casters.
Seeing everyone had retreated, she completed her spell.
A bright-green, almost neon, with hints of yellow, beam of light cracked through the ground. The ground shifted and cracks raced through the ground, through the wall of Shivernsin, and raced under the feet of the Drafeng rushing forward.
The commander in the rear must have sensed that something was wrong. The Drafeng started to turn and run back to the camp.
The ground shifted and tilted upward. The light shone through and the ground collapsed, giving way underneath the power of Claire’s spell.
Holes appeared under the ground. The reinforcing runes that the people of Shivernsin had created were inert. Drafeng and chaotic beasts fell. The incline that led up to Shivernsin collapsed. Rocks tumbled down, striking the hidden depths of Shivernsin that had always been there, just hidden from sight.
The rise revealed the true size of Shivernsin, the collapsed ground now the graves of hundreds or thousands of Drafeng. Dust and snow covered the valley, obscuring one’s view of the other side.
Claire took a half-step forward. The power she had used had drawn from her deep reserves and she needed time to recover.
She looked out over at the Drafeng camp. It lay at the bottom of the pass, the wave of dust and snow rolling over them.
The people of Shivernsin were recovering. They had to crack open the cannon doors; the rocks had broken sections.
Claire looked at the Drafeng camp and her relief turned into fear.
The Drafeng camp emptied; they rushed forward over the debris and the rocks that had hidden Shivernsin.
The mortars were red-hot and there were only two that could continue to fire. The cannons weren’t in much better condition. None of them could see the enemy coming for them. The cloud and snow cover was so thick.
“Get those cannons and mortars ready! They’re coming!” Claire called out.
People were forcing the cannon ports open and the mortar doors. The melee forces were working to clear the debris around the base of Shivernsin to have stable ground to fight on.
Right now, Shivernsin was at its most vulnerable and the Drafeng commander seemed to have sensed this, sending in all of his forces. It wasn’t as large as the force that had just reached the walls of Shivernsin but it wasn’t much smaller. The chaotic beasts and Drafeng with their multiple limbs didn’t have a problem with crossing the ground and charging at the stronghold.
The Drafeng changed into their ranged forms and started to attack the walls of Shivernsin. They weren’t aiming, just firing blindly through the cover. Hundreds of the beams hit the stronghold. They might have been blind, but they were still powerful.
Walls were struck; firing ports here and there were hit. A lucky hit pierced a mortar’s magazine. The entire section of wall blew out as the gunpowder detonated. More debris rained down on the defenders who were clearing the ground below.
Claire called up the Guardian mana barrier. The purple barrier covered all of Shivernsin, taking the impacts.
It will allow us to hold longer, but we can’t attack out of it. The Drafeng can push forward untouched.
“We need to hold them back. We need people out there to slow their advance—just a few minutes to get the guns up and running, then take the barrier down and hit them. If we don’t, then the defenders will just get overrun like they were with the last wall.”
Ideas filled and left her mind before she saw a man with wings of gold and fire rushing toward the enemy.
***
“No, you can’t! Anthony, you can’t!” Claire yelled out. Her heart felt as though it were being torn apart as she saw him standing there, a lone man with his sword.
He had the weight of Dena on his shoulders. He bore that weight, that responsibility; he was a joker, a prankster, a fool, a lover, a brother, and a good man.
He looked back and smiled.
Seeing that look in his face, she could feel him looking into her eyes. She could feel the care, the love in those eyes.
“In my eyes, you have always been a Guardian.” His voice was carried to her ears by Solomon.
She couldn’t help but choke up. She was unable to cry and she hit the ground, making the rock crack. “Come back to me! Don’t do this!” She looked at the Drafeng who were getting ready.
“We fight the strong and the armed.”
She coughed on her emotions, those words she had so proudly said in front of others centuries ago.
“We stand beside those who would stand beside us.”
She thought of those she had fought beside.
“We stand for those who can’t stand for themselves.”
Those she wasn’t able to save—the regret that tore at her from inside.
“We teach justice, not war.”
How she had wished for it to end, for there to be no more death, no more friends she had to bury.
“We drive for peace, not destruction.”
How she had hoped that the Drafeng would never reappear but prepared for it.
“We will not look away from the world, whether it’s darkness or it’s light.”
Even in Dena’s darkest hours, heroes had been made and people had stepped up.
“We are the harbingers, the peace seekers, the blood letters, the god killers, and the farmers.”
Her heart stilled. It was no longer Anthony’s voice, but the voice of all the Guardians with Shivernsin. They helped the wounded, they manned the defenses, they did their duty, and they bore witness to their fellow Guardians’ deeds.
“To those who know these words, they know our oath.
“You have heard a warrior’s words.
“A Guardian’s word is their law.
“We do not give it freely and do not accept it without understanding.”
Anthony’s voice was deep and powerful, mixing with the voices of the remaining Guardians of Shivernsin.
Anthony’s familiar tattoos blazed to life: A green bull on his left arm. A golden dragon on his right. A phoenix on his right leg. A shadow on his left. A white tree appeared on his back.
The power of Dena gathered toward him and he charged forward, gold and red wings leaving a trail behind him.
Claire turned and ran into Shivernsin. She cut past the people there and saw Aila and Tommie, as well as Ramona, Ryan, and Rachel.
They looked at one another; they had all seen Anthony charge ou
t there.
Claire jumped up onto Ramona and turned her toward the doorway that had been Shivernsin’s main entrance to the northern pass. “Come on, girl. Trust in me.”
Ramona snorted and charged forward. Ryan and Rachel followed, carrying Tommie and Aila.
People called out in alarm as they charged forward.
Claire’s hands filled with power as blue wings appeared from Ramona, Rachel, and Ryan’s bodies.
Not today. Not this time. I won’t leave you out there again!
***
Anthony gripped his sword tight, feeling all of his familiars awake now.
He was coming in low and fast. The Drafeng were pushing hard, charging forward.
He shot out of the smoke and snow, to the edge of where the pass had once been, giving him an unobstructed view of the enemy.
Anthony’s wings disappeared as the tattoos on his body escaped his body, transforming into his different familiars: A bull kin covered in green tattoos holding a hammer. A humanoid phoenix with a ruby mage’s staff. A dragon with a golden bow. A purple-and-black suited butler with a mask for a face and daggers made of shadows in his hands.
Finally, Wendy stood there, wearing a white-and-silver suit of armor, with a sword in her hand. “Seems these Drafeng don’t learn.”
Wendy grew taller, to the size of Anthony. On the back of her armor, there was a tree. Instead of green and browns, it was made from vibrant blue leaves wreathed in golden light, the body of the tree silver and white.
Standing beside each other, the backs of their armor seemed to have been carved by the same artist.
“No, they don’t!” Anthony let out a yell as he raised his sword. Purple runes traced over his armor and up his sword. He crashed into the ground, throwing up a shockwave of purple flames that crashed into the Drafeng.
“Seems like a few things have changed while I was sleeping.” She smiled as a white spell formation appeared in front of her.
A Lich's Love (Death Knight Series Book 5) Page 16