DF224 - Wall Of Death (Patreon)

Anton leapt up onto the wall, and there were none who could stand against him. Sense Destiny led him right to where Aris was making a desperate last stand. Leaping Attack brought him to her—or at least to the unfortunate Tiatian who was trying to kill her. Quick Attack dealt with three more soldiers in quick succession.

Then the immediate area was clear, and he could spare a moment to look at his wife. She was bleeding from at least two wounds and clutching on to one of her guns for dear life.

“You were supposed to stay out of the fighting!”

Aris grimaced. “It got out of hand too quickly,” she confessed. “I wasn’t expecting… but you’re here now. I got a level…”

Anton shook his head and grabbed a nearby defender. “Get her to the keep, don’t stop for anything,” he told the man.

“Wait, I can take a healing potion—”

“I don’t know if those are safe for pregnant women,” Anton told her. He spotted her other gun on the ground and swept it up. “Go,” he said, giving her the other gun. “You can shoot from the keep battlements.”

That was what Tikin had done, Anton remembered. The fire mage had withdrawn to the keep and left the walls to defend themselves. At least Aris had a longer range. She’d be further from the battle, but she’d be able to shoot the invaders as they came over the walls. It wasn’t the same.

Aris protested as the soldier pulled her away, but he followed his orders. Anton thought that the man might be grateful for the chance to get off the wall. He didn’t begrudge it. Anton would much rather be off the wall. Looking around, it appeared grim for the defenders. The Tiatians had established enclaves on a dozen points along the walls. Kelsey’s muskets worked well as spears, but once the troops reached the top of the wall, the advantage of guns was gone.

The advantage of numbers remained very firmly on the attacker’s side. Anton wondered if he should call the retreat, but decided against it. Suliel had planned on commanding the sea tower, and if he withdrew from the walls, she’d be trapped. He had to get to her.

He couldn’t let it be like before.

He spared a glance back at Kelsey. Strong as she was, she couldn’t match his speed any more and had elected to take a slower path through the enemy troops. She had surrounded herself with low-level versions of her new monster type and was carving her way through the enemy’s back line.

Black Obsidian Skeleton, Level 6, S: 11 T: 11 A: 11 D: 11 P: 4 W: 4 C: 5

They were only Tier Two, but they were significantly stronger than an ordinary skeleton of that level. Not enough to match the enemy troops, who were at least level ten, but good enough to hold them in place while Kelsey finished them off with her pistol.

Anton left a few orders for the remaining troops to support Kelsey when she arrived. Then he was off, running along the top of the wall. He ignored the soldiers below, but leapt into melee with any Tiatian who had gained the top.

They didn’t last long. Anton kept running.

The gun at the top of the tower was still firing, but there was a knot of enemy soldiers at the upper entrance, trying to get past the defenders. The tower was high enough that they couldn’t just jump up, but this close to the battlements, the angle was wrong for the defenders on top to shoot down at the attackers—an oversight.

Anton crashed into them like the tide, downing one, two—

Somebody parried him, flinging him back.

Commander Tian Khor, Level 25, Human, Hundred-Leader, Soldier/Twenty-Leader/Hundred-Leader, S: 30 T: 31 A: 28 D: 24 P: 19 W: 20 C: 18

Anton paused. This wasn’t someone he could roll over. Anton was confident he could win—Commander Tian didn’t have near Anton’s abilities, but he did have eight other men on his side. They were mostly occupied with trying to force the tower door open, but that could change with a word.

Anton pulled back, frustrated at being impeded, if only for a moment. The commander didn’t follow, wary of exiting the shadow of the tower. He eyed Anton warily, guarding his men.

Then Anton remembered he had other options. Stormfang crackled with power as he called on the lightning. Commander Tian got his sword up, but that helped not at all.

The Tiatian screamed in pain as the lightning coursed through him. Anton guessed it wouldn’t kill him, so he immediately followed up with a Leaping Attack. He smashed through the commander’s hastily raised defences.

The other attackers scattered. Fire from above caught some of them, but Anton didn’t care.

“I’m coming up!” he called and started climbing. Spiderclimb made it easy; he was at the top in seconds. Suliel was there, standing strong.

“Anton!” Suliel threw herself into his arms. “You’re back!”

Anton cradled his precious wife in his arms. “Thank the gods you’re both all right. I don’t know what might have happened if I were a little slower getting back.”

“It’s fine. You’re here now,” Suliel said into his chest.

“I’m not sure how much I can do about this situation,” Anton said. Looking around, he saw a lot to be concerned about. At least the East wall, the one he had come over, was looking better. Between his disposal of the attacking footholds and Kelsey’s storming of the back line, the pressure had been greatly reduced.

He could see Kelsey on the wall now. Her pale skin stood out. She had left her black skeletons below, where they would indiscriminately attack any living thing still down there. They wouldn’t last long, but they would disrupt the attack for a little while.

Looking out at the port, he could see the Whiskerwind sailing in, looking as if it had somehow gone through a dungeon made for boats. There was damage to the prow, and the rigging had been set on fire. The sails weren’t needed for the boat’s operation, though, and Anton could see Cheia at the wheel. Her clothes were smoke-stained, but she looked mostly unharmed.

The west side of the town was a different story. The attackers hadn’t taken the wall, but the fighting there was all hand-to-hand. The constant stream of fresh fighters from outside was pushing the defenders to the breaking point.

In addition, small groups had slipped past the defenders and were engaging patrols in the town. It was one of those that had been attacking the tower. The keep was secure for now, but it was only enough time before the roaming invaders gathered enough numbers to make a serious push.

Anton was no general, but he knew that invaders roaming the streets freely was an almost certain sign of defeat. At least, unlike the Elitrans, they seemed uninterested in civilians. The discipline of the Tiatian troops was not just a rumour, it seemed.

It wasn’t like last time.

They want to capture the town, Anton reasoned. Every townsfolk who lives is a future subject of theirs.

The cannon fired, the intense noise snatching Anton out of his reverie. His head whipped around to see what it was firing at.

“Where’s the fleet?” he asked. He could see shattered and burning hulks in the water, but the main fleet was gone. Then the cannon shot splashed into the sea, far, far away, and he made out the distant fleet.

“They pulled back,” Suliel said proudly. “Our last three shots have been against stragglers. I don’t think they’ll be coming close any time soon.”

“That’s amazing,” Anton said. “We need to do the same for the land forces.”

He looked out to where the shell had splashed down. His mind drew an arc, tracing a path away from the sea to where the enemy command post was, hidden by hills and forest.

“We need to send some shots that way,” he declared, pointing.

“We can’t fire behind the wall,” Suliel objected. “The shells don’t arc that way.”

“No, no, further back,” Anton said. “Where the commanders are.”

“We don’t have a line of sight to aim.”

“It doesn’t have to be accurate,” Anton countered. “A command post is a pretty big target, and we don’t need to even hit it. Just… discourage them from staying there.”

Suliel’s face went blank for a moment. “Kelsey says it might work, and she can spot for me. That just leaves getting the cannon into position. It’s placed to only fire out at the ocean.”

Anton eyed Kelsey’s device. It had a heavy, metal contraption that let it turn from side to side, but not as much as he needed it to.

“It’s just heavy, right? Not fixed in place?”

“That’s right,” Suliel reported. “But it’s really heavy. Kelsey doesn’t think even you can move it.”

“Fortunately, we have some soldiers up here that just got some new levels,” Anton said. “Ready to do some moving?”

“Aye, sir!” the troops chorused.

Many hands made light work, especially when Strength had been a part of their advancement. Not a one of them had Strength less than twenty. With a grinding of stone on stone, the cannon was repositioned and readied for fire.

“Four shots,” Anton said. “If that hasn’t started a retreat, I’ll come back and evacuate everyone to the keep. Aris is already there.”

“And the cannon?”

“Don’t let Kelsey trigger the self-destruct until the tower is fully evacuated,” Anton ordered. “Even if I’m delayed.”

He looked down at the fighting. “I’d stay here to see how it goes, but the west wall has almost fallen.”

“I understand. Good luck, my Lord. Come back safe,” Suliel said. She turned to the crew. “Fire.”

Anton didn’t pause. He couldn’t see the result from here anyway. He raced down the side of the tower. He was only halfway down when he spotted his first target.

Leaping Attack. The hapless Tiatian went down instantly, cleaved in half by the combination of Anton’s momentum and strength. He didn’t stop, racing towards the wall. He killed another soldier to get to the top, diving into the chaos of the desperate battle.

There wasn’t anyone here who could stand against him. These troops weren’t fodder, exactly. But the elites had been sent after Kelsey, or had accompanied the Lioness of Tiait. These troops were lower-level, expendable. The survivors would gain levels and importance and eventually become elite themselves.

The army must still have higher-level fighters, but they were being held back, waiting for someone like him to show up. They would come; he had to do as much as he could to halt the tide before they arrived.

It’s not like last time. This time, I have enough strength to protect everyone.

A burst of fire bloomed out in the forest. Anton grinned savagely. The elites would come, unless their commander were distracted by his own need to survive.

That’s the second shot.

Anton managed to exchange a few words with one of his men, finding out where Commander Rynmos was supposed to be. He headed in that direction. Calling the retreat was the commander’s call, and Anton was a little surprised that he hadn’t made it. Inexperience made him reluctant to override his commander without information.

Maybe this was survivable? A third shot exploded in the forest. Anton wasn’t in a position yet to see how close it came to its target.

He heard the distinctive crack of Kelsey’s pistols before he found the commander—she was approaching from the north, clearing a path with her endless supply of ammunition.

Then he saw Rynmos. The commander was slumped against the battlements—not dead, but dazed from a blow to the head. Blood was running down his face, but he was still conscious. Two soldiers were with him, half guarding, half supporting him.

“Rynmos! Are you still in charge?” Anton yelled over the screams of the dying. The man stared at him blankly, so Anton pulled out a one-minute potion and poured it down the commander’s throat. He struggled when he realised what was happening, which wasn’t unusual. Most non-adventurers avoided potions like the plague.

“Sir!” one of the guards protested, but Anton wasn’t in the mood for objections.

“Is he still in charge?” he asked, pointing at the commander, now curled up in pain as the potion did its work. “Why hasn’t the retreat been called?”

“Um, probably, and I don’t know, sir!”

Anton cursed and looked over the battlements. There were a lot of flags waving out there. Then, nearer to the walls, horns started to blow.

Did it work? Anton wondered. Another explosion bloomed in the forest, continuing the pressure.

The response wasn’t immediate, but as the moments went past, Anton could see the pressure relenting. The tide was falling back, leaving soldiers cut off or unsupported from below.

A groan came from near his feet as his commander recovered. Anton poured some water on the man’s face and dragged him to his feet.

“Look alive, Commander,” Anton said. “It looks like we’re going to survive the day after all.”