Chapter 12 Part 1 of 4 (Patreon)

“Advance, shore up the left flank melee! Ranged, take out that tower to the right they’re hitting the hell out of our people!” The medallion around Derrick’s neck shone with formations, projecting his voice to the Adventurer’s Association members around him.

Melee units pulled together and extended their line to the left. The wall had been torn down and the city within was laid open to the assaulting forces.

Mages gathered their mana sending attack after attack at the offending tower on their right flank.

Spells blew chunks of stone free, raining them down on the ground below.

The mages in the tower refocused their attacks in a panic. Hits lit up the mana barriers around Derrick’s force.

“Take out the tower’s corner!”

The hits focused on one corner of the tower. The tower top tilted, falling backwards as stone came crashing to the ground.

Derrick grabbed two force commanders.

“Take your group and push left,” He looked at one and pushed him off to his task. “You take the right.”

They were off and moving back to the reserve units that were pushing up.

Derrick’s sound transmission device went off.

“You have reinforcements coming straight towards you. Push in past the wall and set up a defensive position.” Lieutenant Colonel Zukal’s voice was calm, unaffected by the destruction.

“Yes sir!”

“Push to the stables. I want a defensive position up in the next five minutes. We’ve got enemies coming in!”

The units moved with purpose. Reinforcements flooded through the secured breach and pushed along the walls, sweeping up the defenders and creating a link between the sporadic breaches.

A section of wall exploded inward, covering the area in dust. Spells colored the dust from within as the mages suppressed any defenders that were left.

Derrick and his group had thoroughly suppressed those in the area. Derrick had fought to keep his people back previously. Now they followed his words as if they were orders from their parents.

Winning a small battle they rushed in too many times. Only to be snapped up in an ambush or trap that the defenders laid down.

The veterans made it through and taught the new groups joining the fight. Instead of people piling up, they were spreading out to have room to fight, positioning themselves purposefully. Commanders had come into their own, taking true command of their units.

They aren’t a trained army, but they’re a hell of a lot better than some of the sect armies we’ve fought alongside.

“Riders!” A beast master scout, part of Derrick’s command group called out. “Few minutes out. They’re strong, Fifth Realmers.”

“Shit! Get your people ready,” He turned to a woman covered in armor, one could only see her eyes.

She nodded, raising her sound transmission device.

Derrick contacted higher command.

“Command here, go on,” A man said.

“Incoming force at Echo force’s location. Believed to be Fifth Realmers.”

“Understood, hold one.” There was a pause on the line.

“Get those defences up now!”

Dirt and stone walls were rising out around the stable, using it as a fallback position behind them. The ground ahead was torn up, from the cobble roads to the nearby houses, turning into a rippled mess across their front.

Perfect terrain to sprain an ankle, human or beast.

Melee fighters stood on the rising walls consuming stamina regeneration concoctions and downing water. Ranged forces stood on the rising towers, pulling out the gear they would need. Placing down their mana barriers, changing the settings as they slotted them into larger formations, covering the front of the growing defensive position. Spell enhancing formations were pulled out and activated before mages stepped on them, consuming mana potions.

It was smoother, much smoother than it had been in the past.

A clacker went off, unmistakable compared to the horns and drums that relayed signals from behind.

“Incoming!” Someone yelled out.

“Echo group commander!” A voice on Derrick’s sound transmission device called him back.

“Go!”

“You are cleared for magical support. Share the location for requested long range support. Time from cast to impact is eight seconds.”

“Understood! Echo out!”

Derrick stepped up onto  the wall, climbing the stairs.

“Halt building! Get ready!” Derrick yelled.

The defenses stopped growing as everyone’s eyes scanned the roads leading to their position.

“Spell scrolls ready!” Derrick could hear and feel the aura of the approaching group. He grit his teeth looking at the armored woman.

“Your people ready?”

“Yes sir.”

The group of riders boiled out from a street, visible to the right hand side of the defenses.

Prepared spells and scrolls by the defenders shook the houses on either side of the road blooming against the curved mana barrier.

The shockwave slapped Derrick’s in the chest, as they replied in kind.

Spell scrolls and prepared long range attacks tore up the street and the buildings before it struck the rider’s mana barrier.

“Shit!” Derrick hissed.

The riders came on like a surging tide. Mages among them were using spells to flatten out the ground, pulling it together just ahead of the lead beasts.

The attacks between the two barriers became faster and faster until it was just a blur of light. “Melee, ready yourselves!” Derrick ordered.

The beasts leapt upward, their claws catching on the top of the five meter tall wall.

The melee forces yelled out, fighting back. The Riders spread out along the wall, mana barriers moving with them to protect the flanks from ranged attacks.

The riders cut out with their weapons, using combat techniques they gained an advantage on the walls, pushing forward.

Dead and dying were swept backwards on either side of the wall. The ranged forces filled the gap between barriers with attacks, unlucky riders were cut down in the attacks, but it only slowed the number that were reaching the top of the walls; it didn’t stop them.

Derrick pulled out his map, checking it against what he was seeing. He put down a marker that was transmitted back to the Alva Artillery mages that were backing up the guild.

He heard the hum of an arrow being released. Turning he looked at the armored woman who was placing another arrow on her bowstring and pulling it back.

She fired, her arrow went through the Fifth Realm warrior’s chest plate. He slumped forward; even as his clawed ape-like beast continued attacking, dozens of wounds covering its grey-black fur.

Derrick looked at the left and right flanks of the wall, they were fighting on the ground, the linchpins of his defenses and his strongest units.

They were getting pressured and pushed back.

Beasts rushed the section of wall Derrick was on. He tore a scroll on his hip and drew his swords.

Mana rushed into the air, as buffs covered the Adventurer’s Association members washing away their fatigue and increasing their agility and strength.

A beast jumped up onto the wall. Derrick stabbed out with his sword, a flash of ice shot off of his blade, catching the beast in the chest, piercing its chest and throwing it backwards.

Derrick used his sword techniques, projecting ice blades.

The area got brighter as Derrick heard the sound of rushing air moments before light and sound combined again with the impact of the artillery spells.

Spells pounded the Willful Institute’s barriers one after another. Creating a wave of noise and light.