Chapter 054:

Something hard was poking Anton's face. Trying to rouse him from a deep slumber. It was like a finger but there was something hard in the center. Again and again it tried to awaken him. Whatever it was it was annoying and ruined the pleasant dream he was enjoying. Anton grumbled as he forced himself awake.

The sky above him was still a murky black with a hint of blue. It was not even dawn yet. Not even remotely. He had taken the first watch of the three so he should still have been sleeping. Unless something bad had happened.

He groaned as he looked to where the disturbance came from. Kal was crouching infront of him, resting one hand on her knee. She poked him again, Anton frowning as he looked at her. She squeaked as he brushed her hand away. Nothing about her screamed that they were in any immanent threat. She had hit him to awaken him before, but there was a wolf pack attacking and he refused to wake. Though he was sure that Kal was not going to poke him without reason. Not because she was awake, bored and wanted someone to talk to.

“Good morning Kal.” he said, his voice still tired from his forced awakening. “Is something happening?”

Kal nodded. He was certain that she was smiling underneath her cloth wrappings. During her sleep she had remained virtually still, nothing hinting at what she really was.

“Yes. Alfred and Hemiskr have told everyone that we are to be moving at first light.” she said, her voice a little fluttery. “Verona's just gone to get something for us to eat.”

Anton nodded, though his mind was still not working completely right.

“No attacks during the night?”

“No.” Kal shook her head, moving so she sat next to him with less than a person's width between them. “I climbed onto the roof, during my watch, but I couldn't see the enemy army. It was very quiet night.”

“I suppose that's good news.” Anton shuffled himself upright and stretched out his limbs. He presumed that she could see very well in the dark, though not as well as with his magic. Part of him regretted not doing that for last night. “By the way, why were you poking me?”

Kal jumped in surprise and started to fidget at the ends of her wrappings. She did not answer him.

“I mean last time you just kicked me in the gut to wake me, when the wolves attacked.”

She coughed awkwardly and raised her head high.

“That time I did try to wake you by pushing on your head first. But you didn't seem to want to wake. Verona mentioned that if you weren't waking up quickly, I should try something more direct. Like...poking you in the face.”

He raised his eyebrow at her. Kal shrugged.

“She said she's done that before to wake you.”

Anton chuckled. “A few times.”

He stood up, stretching his back and legs out. Kal stood up as well and stretched out herself. Every movement was followed by the faintest squeak. Anton did not feel so good. Sleeping on the cold ground, with only a thin blanket, was not doing much good for his body. It had only been one night and he felt noticeably worse. He could use his prayer power to heal himself but somehow it felt like it was cheating. Kal, who had spent most of her life like this, seemed fine.

“Do you feel any different?” he asked her.

She cocked her head at him. With the cloth wrappings it was quite hard to gauge her expressions. Thankfully she exaggerated her actions for his sake.

“You've spent most of your life...in the wilderness. Not on a warm and soft bed. Did you ever waking up stiff and cold?”

Kal waited a few seconds before nodding. “Yes. But I had to keep moving to survive. So I just ignored it.” she glanced him over. “Stretches help though.”

“Right.” Anton continued to stretch out his body.

Now that he was more alert he could hear the sounds of a growing and rapid movement throughout the camp. Sounds and smells of cooking began to grow louder and more intense. The smell of salted pork, potatoes and vegetables filled his nose, tantilising his senses. The idea of a hearty and simple meal made him feel very hungry.

“Verona said she was going to get some for each of us.” Kal looked out. “I'm...I'm not....brave, enough to go out there by myself.”

“That's...” Anton did not know how to properly respond. “Well, You...Yes.”

He felt very awkward as a light flush came over his face. Kal chuckled at his embarrassment. She moved happily to the dwindling fire infront of them, holding out her hands to warm herself on what heat remained. The small fire produced a surprising amount of heat. He sighed and relaxed as the warmth travelled through his body.

Another clamour rang out from deeper into the camp. He could see Qaiviel soldiers and mercenaries jostling each other to form a line for the food.

“Do you like cooking?” Anton asked.

“What?” Kal's head twitched in surprise.

“You seemed like you really enjoyed cooking that mushroom soup thing in the forest...So, I was just wondering if you liked to cook.”

Kal went silent for some time, not moving her gaze from the fire. He began to feel that his attempt at creating conversation had turned out for the worst.

“I do.” she spoke softly after nearly a minute of silence. “It was the only thing that could really distract me from what I was going through. Smelling cooking food; meat, warm bread, cooked vegetables...all of it helped me forget where and who I was.”

She turned to him. “I suppose I came to like the only thing that took me out of that place. Made me feel...normal.”

Anton smiled and patted her head. She let out a soft and cute mewl with every stroke.

“When we get back, could you make some more? I would really like to try it again. It was so different compared to everything that we have in the village.”

“I would like that to.” he was certain that she was smiling. “I'll need somewhere to grow the mushrooms, but I don't think that'll be a problem.”

She turned her head towards him. “Do...Do you think we'll make it back?” there was a hint of fear in her voice. “You're going up against more enemies than you have...well, since you arrived.”

If Anton was honest with himself he had a nagging doubt in the back of his mind. He was certain that everyone here in the camp had a similar feeling.

“I do.” he said. Patting her again. “I'll make sure that we do.”

“Thank you.” she looked back at the fire. “I wa-”

“Hello!” Verona's voice cut in abruptly from far away. “Finally got back.”

Kal stopped and looked over, Anton followed. Verona was making her way through the soldiers, three small bows between here. Tiny wisps of steam rose up from the clay bowls, hinting at the hearty meal within. A wide grin grew on her face as she walked up to them.

“There was almost a fight at the kitchens over there.” she began, handing them one of the bowls.

The bowl was filled with a thick grey and brown soup, a large piece of bread floating on the edge, and a spoon in each. It did not smell as appealing as the mushroom soup that Kal made; the pleasant earthy smell that mixed with the meat was missing. Still, it looked pretty good for what it was. Anton took a spoonfull. It was surprisingly good. Verona seemed equally surprised. Kal raised the cloth until just her mouth was exposed. She raised the bowl so nobody could see her unique teeth as she ate quickly.

Verona coughed, and began to speak with pieces of food still in her mouth.

“Some of the soldiers and mercenaries decided to have a fight over something. Hemiskr had to break it up. It looked like it was a good hit that started it.”

“You didn't get involved?”

Verona laughed.

“No way. Though I nearly got into a fight when they thought I was some sort of beggar.” she looked down at her clothes, then at theirs. “We don't look anything like them. It looks like we're peasants that've just stolen this armour.”

“I've been called worse.” Kal said lightly.

Verona smiled and lent onto his side.

“Can we get some better clothes?” she asked up at him, glancing at Kal. “We could really use some sort of uniform, just like these Qaiviel soldiers, especially if we're going to be taken seriously.”

“I didn't bring much money with me. We've got a few coins from the dead Clansmen.” Anton replied, giving Verona a pat on the head. “We might be able to get something at the end of this mission. If we all wore the same sort of clothing it'll make us look like a proper force. Keep an eye out if we go through any city after we're done.”

Verona gave a quick nod and returned her full attention to her food.

“Though...” Anton mumbled, both girls stopping to look at him. “It'll make things a bit easier for you, Kal.”

Kal remained silent. He was not sure if she understood.

“If you have the same colours as us, and you've just got the cloth wrappings on your face and hands...we've got to find you a mask or something, but, there'd be a lot less questions about you.” Kal slowly started to nod. “They'd just think you're one of us...With some burns or something. Maybe.”

“I...I like the idea.” she said. “But, what would it be?”

“No idea.” Anton replied.

“But something good.” Verona jumped in. “Something that everyone's going to recognise that doesn't look silly. Something simple, and not too expensive.”

They ate in silence for some time. When Anton was nearly finished he heard the footsteps of people approaching. Alfred and Hemiskr approached. They looked a little better than he felt. Had they done something like this before?

“Good morning, Anton.” Alfred began, stopping a few paces from him.

Anton looked up. The sky was only starting to become a dark blue instead of the inky black.

“Good morning to you too...Though, I don't think it's morning yet.” Anton said dryly through a smile. “We continuing our pursuit?”

“We are.” Alfred answered. “We'll be moving very soon.”

“Right. Well, I've got basically most of my mana back.”

“After what you did yesterday?” Alfred asked, a look of stun on his face.

Anton nodded. “Yep. By the way, how many of the villagers decided to join? Was it many or none?”

“Basically all of them.” Hemiskr answered. “The longer the night dragged on the more angry they got, seeing and smelling their burnt village.”

He raised his hands to the burned village around them. “They didn't like what the Orcs did to their lives.”

“I wonder how they feel about the Deweth Clansmen?” Anton said quietly.

“They'll fight them all the same.” Alfred said loudly, Hemiskr had a look of surprise. “They know that without the Deweth Clansmen the Orcs would have never come to their lands.”

“Sounds fair.” Verona mumbled, picking at the edges of her bowl.

Anton remembered that Kal was in the presence of people that did not know her secret. He looked to her to find that she had already pulled down her face cloth over her mouth. A tiny wave of relief came over him, he was glad that she was on top of things. To have survived this long she would have to be.

“We should be expecting even more soldiers to join this morning.” Alfred said offhandedly.

“Oh?"

“These mercenaries we have with us.” he began. “Are not all that the kingdom has to offer. However we were not able to get all of them to Maxill before the attacks started. Last message I received that they're waiting at a place the locals call the Gravestone, before they were to head towards Maxill. I've sent a rider to tell them to wait there. It's a little way to the north west from here. But it'll bolster our army quite a bit.”

“Are we heading to that place....the Gravestone? First?” Verona asked. “Will we get to the mercenaries or run into the enemy first?”

“Some of the scouts are currently looking into that. We'll head to Gravestone first. Boost our numbers before we start any further attacks. We'll need everyone we can get.”

“How many mercenaries are you expecting?” Anton asked.

“If my summons have been listened to, which they should...They still owe me enough.” Alfred trailed off to a near whisper at the end.

Anton and Verona shared a glance, but neither seemed to know much. He knew that Alfred was a former mercenary of some kind, having travelled as far as Seocuria at least one. Surely he could have acquired some favours and allies over that time.

“Should bring our force to well over three thousand. Maybe even more.” he continued. “I don't know how many of my former friends are dead, but the amount of gold that I promised for this job should draw them out of hiding.”

“Three thousand is not going to do much against sixty thousand.” Kal said quietly.

“True.” Alfred politely nodded to her. “But, that was never our intention. We could not win in a straight up fight...So we won't. We may not even be able to stop them at all if I'm honest. Our best bet is to weaken them as much as we can. So the Knights can deal with them more easily.”

That's...That's a lot, coming from someone in your position.

“But, we'll make them pay for invading our kingdom.”

“Do the villagers have much in the way combat potential? Or are they just going to be filling up our numbers of archers?” Anton asked.

“This area is still part of Duchess Belinda's territory.” Alfred answered.

“And.” Hemiskr continued. “The main goods that comes from this region is game from the forest. Meat and hides...I've been asking and they seem to be capable archers. They've lost quite a bit of their gear, but when we meet up with the other mercenaries-”

“My lord! Sir!” a shout came from the north.

A Qaiviel horsemen was charging at them at full speed through the camp. He and his horse looked extremely tired and haggard. When they came close the horse buckled and collapsed. Anton had no idea as to how hard that man had ridden that horse.

Some soldiers tended to the collapsed, though still alive, horse, while the rider ran towards them.

“The enemy is on the move.” he said. “They're coming here, right now!”

Anton tried his best to look out the camp. It was still very dim but he could make out the terrain beyond the light of the camp. Not that he could see anything. Kal looked out as well, remaining silent as she continued to stare into the inky darkness.

“Makes sense I suppose.” Anton said dryly, collecting Verona and Kal's bowl. “By the time they get here it'll be light enough for them to see properly."

“How many?” Alfred asked, seemingly ignoring Anton's comments.

“Ten thousand, I'm guessing.” he replied. “About half are Orcs and the other are Clansmen.”

“Only ten thousand?” Alfred and Hemiskr asked in unison.

The rider nodded furiously.

“Did you see where the main army went?” Anton asked.

“No...Grand Mage.”

Guess that's my name in this Kingdom then.

“I didn't see them. Though, they were only just leaving a large camp site. It looked like the others had already left some time ago.”

“Sounds like they've continued on to the border forts during the night.” Alfred mumbled.

Hemiskr nodded in agreement. “Sending those ten thousand to deal with us.”

Verona looked very confused. “Why not just send everyone? I don't think that we could fight off sixty thousand soldiers...We didn't do that well with eight thousand Yellow Goblins.”

“How many?” Hemiskr asked.

“We'll tell you later.” Anton told him, Hemiskr quite astonished by the number.

“If they attacked like that," Anton continued. "We could use our magic and might be able to take out half of them. Maybe.” Verona frowned at him. “I think I've gotten better at controlling my magic. I'll just summon as many of those flame pillars as I can. That could take out tens of thousands....”

“They're here to slow us down or wipe us out.” Alfred barred and grit his teeth. “We cannot wait here. This is not a good position to defend. Gravestone is far better.”

He turned to Hemiskr. “Tell everyone that they need to move now. If they aren't ready by the time I give the signal to leave, they'll be left behind to fight the enemy by themselves. Go! Now!”

Hemiskr paled slightly, saluted and ran towards the soldiers. He bellowed some orders, quickly followed by a flurry of movement and shouting. Everyone wolfed down food and began packing their up equipment.

Alfred turned to them. “I want you on the northern flank as we advance on the Gravestone. Keep an eye out for the enemy, and keep them off us until we get there. Please don't use your strongest magic just yet....We want them to come at us, so they don't just disperse for us to hunt down later.”

Anton smiled and nodded.

“You got it.”

Alfred saluted, perhaps out of reflex, which Anton returned, and returned to the main camp. Already they were almost ready to leave. He knew this was going to be a big day for all of them.

---[]---

Anton kept his horse moving at a brisk pace, keeping the Qaiviel soldiers on his left and his attention focused out towards the right. To the north. The land was a seemingly endless flat grasslands, as was everywhere in this part of the kingdom seemed to be. He could not see the Orcs and Clansmen approaching yet but he knew they would be coming for them. He hopped they would not be coming from behind, he kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure. Verona and Kal rode beside him. Kal was a better scout than him, constantly keeping her head swiviling about. So far she had not seen or smelt anything.

A cry came out from the front of the army. Anton followed the cry and saw something ahead of them, something large and grey rising out of the grasslands. The Qaiviel soldiers were emboldened by what they saw. 

The Gravestone was a large hill, perhaps fifty meters tall at its highest point and hundreds wide, surrounded by giant upright stones at the base. These were easily a hundred meters tall, ten in all, and standing equally apart. They were partly covered by the hill. Someone had made this, a very long time ago. Certainly not by humans.

“It looks like a crown.” Anton mumbled quietly. “A really crude one.”

Verona looked at him.

“The way it looks...”

“I don't know what a crown's supposed to look like.” Verona said. “Though I'm pretty sure it's meant to be made from gold, or something. Lot's of gems and stuff.”

“The old Kar Kingdom's king, or queen, probably had something like that. Though, I'm pretty sure that it doesn't need to be gold or have jewels adorning it. I'm pretty sure that some used wood instead.”

“So...It's just showing that somebodies in charge?”

“Right. I'm pretty sure that some didn't need crowns to show off they're in charge. It's just-”

“I see something.” Kal said quietly, interupting his ramblings. She pointed to the north east.

A slow ripple moved above the grass and below the light blue sky. Coming towards them. He could easily guess what they were.

“They are quick.” Anton said. “I'm guessing that they've sent some scouts forward...Alfred!”

Alfred was near the front of the column of soldiers. He heard Anton's shout and looked to where Kal was pointing. His face drained of colour.

“Move! Everyone Move!” he yelled.

A light groan emanated from the soldiers as they picked up their pace. Anton kept his horse at the same pace as before so they slowly dropped back from the marching column of soldiers. They could take on anyone that tried to attack the army from the side. Eventually the rear of the column passed them by. This was not filled by soldiers in green and white, or unmatched dull armour. These were the villagers. They had whatever weapons they could find; rusty axes and long handled scythes, along with quite a few with bows. Anton smiled as he saw the determination in their faces.

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The enemy continued their approach, far more slowly than he thought. They arrived at the Gravestone when the enemy were still very far away.

As the first Qaiviel soldiers started to climb the hill dozens of soldiers emerged from the peak. All bared dulled swords, spears and bows at the soldiers. The column ground to a halt. They were not Qaiviel Kingdom soldiers but were dressed and equipped in the same way as the mercenaries. Hopefully their mercenaries. Alfred rode forward and the mercenaries lowered their weapons, he gave a wave and the soldiers began to move again.

It was clear that they knew one another; Alfred and one of the new mercenaries threw their heads back in laughter, Alfred patting one on the shoulder. He looked back and caught Anton's eye and waved them over.

The moment the soldiers had started to arrive at the site Hemiskr ordered the soldiers to start dig some fortifications on the hill. They did not have much in the way of shovels or proper tools. Still they persevered as best they could. Shield bearing soldiers took position in a line behind the giant stones and the archers and spearmen behind them.

They made their way through the flurry of running soldiers through to Alfred.

“Anton,” Alfred began, already dismounted from his horse and in the midst of a gathering of the new mercenaries. These looked like the commanders. “I would like to introduce you to some of my old mercenary friends.”

“We're not that old.” one of them said to Alfred, a warm smile on his weathered face.

Despite his words he did not look that young or spritely. He easily looked to be in his sixties. However the rest of his body was clearly in good shape, as was his armour and weapons. Judging by the scars on his face he had seen combat for most of his life. He would not be here, or alive, if his age interfered with his ability to fight.

“So, who are these three Alfred?” he asked, a light frown on his face as he looked them over.

Anton looked down at his clothes. They looked just like the a volunteer villager given some armour.

Verona's right. We aren't going to be taken seriously with these sort of clothes. We look like peasants with gifted, or more likely stolen, leather armour. I wonder how expensive we should go when we find a clothier. Is that the name of them in this world?

“My name is Anton,” he said as he dismounted from his horse, Verona and Kal following.

A soldier came forward and took the reins of both of their horses and led them away. The mercenaries now looked even more confused.

“Name's Verona, and this is Kal.” Kal gave a little bow of her head at Verona's introduction.

“I'm sorry, but I don't recognise your name.” the mercenary looked at Alfred. “You don't seem like you're just soldiers.”

“They've only just arrived in the Kingdom.” Alfred began. “They've come at Duchess Belinda's request. They helped us fight off the Orcs and Clansmen besieging Maxill. I think that without them we wouldn't be here.”

“Well...” the new mercenary leader seemed somewhat impressed. “My name's Conrad.”

He held out his leather gloved hand for Anton to shake. It was a rough and firm shake.

“Alfred and I were both in this company. But, that was an eternity ago. We go back a long way.”

Conrad smiled and looked over at his mercenaries. They looked a little different than the ones that accompanied them from Maxill, more regimented in appearance.

“Ah...This is the White Dog Company...Well, some of it.” he sighed and looked at Alfred, apology plastered over his face. “A third of the Company is still in the south of the Kingdom, fighting off some bandits that have sprout up. At least that's what they've told me. They won't be able to help out this time.”

Alfred looked around as well.

“There were more here when I left.”

Conrad shrugged. “Things haven't always been the best. Some of the other companies are more aggressive in poaching new recruits. But, ours is still the strongest company in the North.”

He chuckled.

“We've got another eight hundred mercenaries to add to your little army.” Conrad looked to the north east. “Though, we seem grossly outnumbered.”

The enemy army had begun to spread out and were now a few kilometres away and closing quickly. Hemiskr was leading a desperate entrenchment, he was even helping out personally. Small ditches infront of their positions had been dug and were continuing to be extended. There were no trees to use to make better defences or spikes. Anton was not sure what they would do against such a large enemy, but any sort of defence was better than nothing. The only defensible aspect of this place seemed to be the hill the enemy would have to charge up, a charge that would sap their strength. It was better than just being out on the plains.

Alfred moved forward and patted Anton on the shoulder, breaking him out of his mental wanderings.

“We've got a Fire and Lightning Grand Mage on our side.” he glanced at Verona and Kal. “And two other interesting women.”

“Him?” Conrad asked.

He seemed very dubious of Alfred's claim. Anton knew that he would be too, if someone had said that about him. His current appearance would always be an issue.

“Yep.” Verona said proudly. “And I'm a Blood Berserker, and Kal's an expert archer and wielder of nasty poisons.”

Conrad looked at the red swirling marks on Verona's exposed hands. His frown deepened as he saw how many and extensive they were. Conrad leaned towards Alfred.

“Are you sure you want to have one of those on your side?” he asked quietly, “They have a tendency to go a little bit crazy.”

“I can hear you.” Verona huffed, folding her arms and staring deeply into his eyes.

Conrad flushed lightly in embarrassment, coughing to quickly recover.

“They've been a great help.” Alfred told Conrad. "And continue to surpise us all."

Conrad shrugged. “Fine. We'll need everything to survive. I really doubt they'll let us just go now.”

Anton turned his attention to the enemy approaching. They were very close now.

“I'll attack as soon as I can.” Anton said.

“Wait until they're close.” Alfred said, catching an odd look from Anton. “If they see any of your magic before they engage they're probably just going to run. We want to get as many as we can. Otherwise we're going to have to chase them down. And then we'll be the one being harassed.”

“Got it.” Anton replied. “Hopefully they'll bunch together for me.”

“I'm not really sure what you're talking about.” Conrad looked between them. “But, I'll tell the men to get in position.”

Conrad gave Alfred a nod and walked to the other mercenaries. He gave a yell and they burst into motion, racing to the defensive lines. They moved to the positions that were going to bear the brunt of the assault. The center.

Nearly half of the hill had been surrounded, as every enemy continued to advance, none had been left in reserve. Everything was being thrown into one attack.

Is that something to do with their nature? Or is there another reason, like a sort of political reason? That they are forced to work together?

Anton, even without his eyesight enhancement, could see the annoyance and anger on their faces. Most was not directed towards them. The Clansmen and Orcs were almost fighting amongst themselves as they advanced. They seemed more concerned with each other than with them. Did they not consider them a threat? Or, did they just hate each other more?

“Kal?” Anton turned to his side, Kal already had an arrow nocked. “Do see any archers in their ranks?”

Kal surveyed the army, shrugging her shoulders. “I cannot see any amongst the Orcs, but a few of the Clansmen have archers. Though it's less than we have on our side.”

“Maybe they want to get into our face when we fight?” Verona offered, looking at Alfred.

He was silent and continued to look out.

If something that big was going to crash into me...That would be terrifying. A good strategy for them I suppose.

Now the enemy was close to the base of the hill. Surely they should be in range of the archers. Anton turned to ask Alfred, but Hemiskr stopped him.

“Archers! Fire at will!”

Every archer and crossbowman loosed their arrows and bolts at once, the surge of noise was strangely electrifying. The enemy raised their shields to block the arrows as they continued their march. They struck the front row of the Orcs and Clansmen, many falling down in a torrent of screams.

A single cry ran out from the centre of the enemy mass. It was the same as the cry when the Orcs charged at the burning village. Orcs hollored and jeered, raising their weapons and shields and charged. The very ground trembled as they ran. Clansmen around them looked on stunned as they continued in a steady march. Order had collapsed at the very start of the battle.

“There's no organisation in their ranks.” Alfred lamented, punctuated by another volley of arrows directed at the Orcs.

“Two commanders?” Anton offered. “Two commanders, with the same authority but differing objectives...Two different styles between the enemies...I don't know.”

“It's something that we should take advantage of.” Alfred mumbled. “Although, it may make your next move a little more difficult.”

The Orcs had nearly reached the bottom and started to climb the hill, not worrying about the number of their comrades that were falling around them. Arrows peppered the ground, the screams and cries grated at his mind, but they still continued. The clansmen followed behind but continued their cautious marching pace.

“Right.” Anton said as he readied the mana within his mind. “I'll hit the main body and see what happens. Verona?”

“Yeah.” she unfolded her arms and readied her spear. “I'll head to where I'm needed the most...”

She pulled out a thick piece of cloth and wrapped it around her face, like a bandit mask. While he had promised to think of a better way to stop her ingesting the blood he had not been able to try to make anything before they had to leave. He hoped it would be enough. He trusted her judgement.

After giving it a quick strength test, she looked towards the Orcs. They were just starting to climb the hill.

“Seems like they're thickest just infront of us.” She closed her eyes, her whole body began to glow bright red.

Many nearby gasped in shock. Hemiskr and Conrad shouted to focus the soldiers attention on the enemy.

“I'll need some blood.”

Anton offered his hand and Verona quickly took a few drops. She formed it into thin shards, took another deep breath, and ran towards the first line of shield bearing soldiers. They glanced at her, quickly yelled at by a commander, and refocused their attention outwards. Shields interlocked and held firm. Behind them were spearmen and swordsmen, ready to attack anything that reached their lines.

Anton formed as many tethered rings of fire magic he could, twelve rings all tethered to each other in a line. It was the most magic he had used at once. He knew how dangerous five tethered together could be, he was honestly worried at how much damage it would cause.

Nevertheless he pushed the rings past the base of the hill and into the main mass of the enemy just as they started to rise. When he released the magic nearly everything left him. The very breath was ripped out of his lungs as his legs buckled underneath his weight. Even his sight blured and faded for a moment. Kal moved andgrabbed him by the shoulders hard, slowly lowering him so he didn't fall down on his side. He gave a silent thanks as he steadied himself. He barely had a tenth of his magic left. It took quite a bit of mental effort to keep awake.

The ground, and the even very air, began to glow red, so much more than he had seen before. Only the Orcs at the front, and away from the rapidly glowing ground, did not stop in surprise.

A moment later everything disappeared in a blinding orange light. Heat blasted over his body as he eyes tried furiously to adjust. A roar defeaned his ears. The seconds continued to drag on while the heat, light and sound refused to recede. Many of their own soldiers cried out in surprise, barely perceptible over the roar of the flame. A hand dug deeply into his arm as it twisted slightly. Kal retreated behind Anton's form to shield herself, he could feel her head pressing against his back. Her senses were far greater than a humans. This must have been torture. He had no idea what was happening around him. Of how the battle was going. Even if it was still going on and their soldiers were being slaughtered in the blinding light.

The Orcs could be still attacking, but I can't see!

Remembering what he had done at the Kobold camp, and his use of the prayer magic to recover his hearing from the lightning bombs, he chanted a prayer to restore his sight by compensating for the brightness. He forced his eyes open and gasped at the sight.

Twelve pillars of flame rose into the sky infront of him, buffeting the small clouds overhead. Even with his magically enhanced and protected eyes he could barely see past the bright light.

I didn't expect most of my mana to be capable of something like this! I...I need to find someone to tell me how this tethering thing works.

Behind him Kal had dropped her bow and covered her eyes completely, using his body to block out the light. Alfred had done the same thing but Anton could see that he was trying desperately to see through gaps in his fingers.

The soldiers at the front, amazingly, had kept their shields up. They moved low to protect themselves from the heat, and those behind them grouped close to them as well. Many Orcs had tripped and fallen on the approach but were still trying to crawl towards them. He did not know how good the Orcs eyesight was but even if it was good they would be blinded.

Anton looked beyond the flame pillars, now slowly starting to die down, and saw what remained of the enemy army.

So many were dead. Anyone inside the pillars and those nearby were dead. Incinerated. Nothing remained of them. Anton guessed that over half the enemy was dead from that one attack. Part of him wondered what Conrad, and indeed everyone else, would think after they saw this destruction.

A few seconds passed as the fires began to flicker and die. The soldiers and mercenaries groaned as they began to see clearly again. Slowly they staggered up.

“What are you waiting for?!” Hemiskr bellowed. “Archers! Fire!”

The archers forced themselves alert, despite the still bright light, and fired a volley of arrows at the Orcs. They had just started to stand up themselves, receiving a volley of arrows and bolts at their unguarded forms. They did not have time to raise their shields and received most of the volley in the back.

“Shit...” Kal mumbled, rubbing furiously at her covered eyes.

The devastation was greater than even he thought. Shallow craters were now where the flame pillars once stood. The base of the hill was now a bubbling red mass. A hundred meters away from that were charred remains of people. They were only sticks, spindly black bony remains of what was once a human or an Orc. Flesh and fat had melted them together in twisted forms of excruciating pain. Beyond that were hundreds of wounded Orcs and Clansmen. They looked at each other in fear in disbelief as they desperately tried to make sense of the situation.

“Half of them are dead...” Kal said in a hushed whisper. “The rest...How?”

Anton collapsed deliberately onto his hip, Kal immediately moving and held his shoulders and prevented him from falling any further. The claws in the tips of her fingers could be felt through her cloth as she desperately held onto him.

“I...I...” Alfred stammered out. It seemed that Hemiskr could handle this destruction more easily than him.

He shook his head violently, looking at the right and left flank. Those had not been too badly affected by his magic. And the surviving Orcs and Clansmen were quickly rallying. Somehow. What looked like Orc leaders were shouting at the Clansmen to attack, though it was slow to have an affect. Many of the archers were being withdrawn from the center to bolster both sides. Nobody could perform such magic again, at least the enemy seemed to be what they were betting on.

The silvery head of Verona rose up from the mass of soldiers and looked back at him. She looked very angry.

“You could have told us that you were going to do that!”

“I didn't want to give it away.” he replied, looking either side to the continuing battle. “We're still not done yet.”

Verona looked towards the north and saw the Orcs and the surviving Clansmen driving up the hill towards the defenders. Reverberation of metal shields rang out through the air as the first Orc's axe struck.

“I'm on it.”

She ran with all her might, pushing past soldiers, and lept into the fray. Like with the Yellow Goblins siege she ran up the back of the soldiers and dove into the Orcs. He could just make out the looks of stupefaction on their faces as she plunged her spear into its face. A wild smile drew on her face as the Orc's face crumbled inwards. Before the next could react she had already withdrawn her spear and had drawn up even more blood. They formed into thin shards and threw them forward. Screams, and the odd cheer from the Qaiviel soldiers, followed.

She'll be fine. I hope.

He took one more glance over to her, seeing many shards driving down into the enemy.

That area will be fine. The center should still be fine....Just the flank to the East.

The defence lines to the east were not doing so well. Enemy forces there had not been stunned for long and were already battering down on the shield wall. Despite the dersperate thrusts of spears and swords, and the arrows that continued to storm into them, they continued their attack.

“Kal, you're with me.” he said, running towards the east.

He could just make out the sound of her feet over the cacophony of the battle.

“Anything I should be looking out for?” Kal asked as she nocked an arrow.

“Anyone that looks like a leader.” he replied, readying several lightning bombs. “We need their will to shatter. They'll be easy prey then.”

He glanced back to the horsemen. Alfred had not moved them so far, and the beasts seemed quite calm despite the blinding light just a few seconds ago. Their own horses were close to them, a soldier staring, stunned. He needed a Karak fruit if he was going to be any more help. However his legs were not moving that quickly.

“Kal, can you get me a Karak fruit?” he asked. “I can't move that fast...”

Kal nodded, ran to the horse and retrieved a fruit. The soldier barely noticed her presence. She handed it to him and bit down onto the sweet flesh. One fruit would not be enough to restore his magic entirely but enough to keep him fighting.

“I hope that Alfred will send the riders to hunt down anyone still fighting at the end.” he mumbled aloud. “Kal, take out anyone that looks like an officer or a leader."

“Right!” Kal exclaimed. She moved back to the highest point that she could find and surveyed the enemy.

Anton did not know what a high ranking Orc or Clansmen would look like but trusted Kal's knowledge and instincts. Very quickly, she drew back her bow and fired at an Orc. This one was slightly bigger than the rest and had a slightly better set of armour on him. Instead of jet back a few blues and orange adorned his armour. Her guess was as good as his when it came to hunting down the commanders.

Time to help out.

There was not much mana left in him, a tenth at most. However he still had enough mana to make one lightning bomb at a time and use that. His own recovery, and with the mana recovered from the fruit, seemed enough for him to continue fighting for some time.

He threw the first lightning bomb, two Orcs caught in the explosion. Now there was real fear on their faces. Now they knew that there was still more magic coming their way. Again and again he summoned up a lightning bomb and threw it at any enemy he could see.

Another arrow flew by, one launched from Kal, and struck a Clansmen leader in the neck. As he fell to the ground the Orcs and Clansmen visibly paled, their attacks loosing their ferocity and guidance.

Combined with the furious defence of the Qaiviel soldiers and mercenaries the Orcs began to falter. Even the Clansmen were starting to loose their intensity and looking to flee.

A cry came out from behind. For a terrifying moment he thought that the lines were broken. Hemiskr and Alfred, on top of their horses, charged through a gap in the central defences. The soldiers stationed there cleared a path and the horses poured through. They split into two forces, one led by each man, and cut into the rear of the enemy force. It was only a hundred or so horsemen each side but it caused panic and fear.

The Orcs and Clansmen collapse became total now that they they knew they were completely surrounded. They tried to run as away but were cut down the moment they exposed their backs. Somebody yelled for them to surrender, Anton was not sure of the voice, but they began to drop their weapons. Many did not and continued to fight on. Even as their comrades fell like flies around them.

Anton readied another lightning bomb but the Orcs and Clansmen threw their hands up in surrender. The soldiers passed those that had surrendered and continued to attack those fleeing. Cheers resounded throughout their lines as the surrender spread.

A few minutes later everyone that was willing to surrender had. Everyone else was dead.

Anton could see the look of complete and utter resentment on their faces as they laid down their weapons. They knew they had been beaten badly, but not in a way thought possible. A mage, with magic that seemed impossible even to him, had beaten them. Not the army they had expected to find. Such a reversal, of a unilateral defeat, eluded their comprehension even now as they were herded together, the soldiers jabbing them with their weapons. Only when they were forced to sit together did it truly start to sink in.

The soldiers let out another cheer as the last survivor officially surrendered. There were almost a thousand that survived.

“Well.” a voice said, coming close to Anton. “Looks like I owe you an apology.”

It was Conrad. Some parts of his face were red from the heat of his magic. He, and everyone else, seemed relatively fine after being exposed to such a source of heat. A few days and they would be back to normal, though it would not impact on their fighting ability. Hopefully.

“Why's that?” Anton asked.

Conrad nodded to the line of burnt bodies at the base of the hill. Anton hummed, looking back to him.

“How much did Duchess Belinda pay for someone like you?”

Anton shrugged, though he held back a smile.

“Quite a bit.” he replied. 

“Did you get, whatever that means, as part of your contract?” he asked, confusion palpable on his face.

“No. We just agreed to it. Nothing in paper yet. I don't think she'll try and back out though.”

Conrad still looked confused, like it was utterly incomprehensible that he would just agree without written words. Behind him he could see Verona approaching. She was covered in blood but her face was free from the red liquid. With a flick of her wrist the blood covering her body was drawn towards a small sphere infront of her. She took enough to fill a clay pot and let the rest fall onto the grass. As Verona walked past Conrad he gave her a wide berth.

“I did it!” she triumphantly exclaimed as came forward for a hug. “I was in a battle and didn't loose myself.”

She pulled him down and kissed him frantically. There was an excitement about her, one that he hoped was just from the battle and not from her power.

“Not even a bit.”

“I'm very proud of you.” Anton said, giving her a squeeze. Verona giggled in delight. To anyone hearing what he just said, and seeing the carnage she had caused, they would have been quite disturbed by his words.

Verona laughed and looked at Kal who was still surveying the north.

“Kal!” Kal turned around. “How many did you get?”

Kal took a final glance towards the north. There was nothing to the north, and he did not see anyone escape, though one might have.

“I'm not sure.” she replied, coming up to them. “I was told to get the leaders of the army.”

“How many?” Verona asked excitedly.

“I think about ten...Maybe fifteen. All commanders.”

Verona nodded and smiled. “Awesome."

She moved forward and gave Kal a light hug. Kal didn't try and resist.

Alfred and Hemiskr soon joined them. A mixture of exhaustion and surprise plastered over their faces as they looked at Anton.

“I'm glad that we brought you with us.” Alfred said, a wry smile on his face. “I'm even more glad that, when we first met, you didn't just burn down Maxill.”

He looked at the bottom of the hill. Smoke still emanated from the charred ground and spindly corpses.

“It seems that you wouldn't have much of an issue.”

“The Duchess did not pay enough for you.” Hemiskr said almost in awe. “I think you could make a mountain of gold by working for the Royals.”

“If I ever get that desperate for money, I might take that option.”

“What happens now?” Kal asked, looking towards the north. “A few of our people have died, but the main force is still heading north. They probably didn't even stop for the night.”

Alfred nodded, turning to Hemiskr and Conrad.

“Gather the men and get them ready to move by midday.”

Anton looked up towards the sun. That would be an hour or two at most. Everyone would need to get whatever rest they could spare. Both men nodded and moved to their soldiers. At hearing the news most soldiers visibly relaxed. There would be no forced march for a little while at least.

“What about the prisoners?” Anton asked.

Alfred looked to the hundreds of Orcs and Clansmen they had captured. The look of anger and ferocity, that they first saw, was completely gone. Only a handful of inattentive guards were watching them. Their will to fight on had been completely broken.

“Conrad?” Alfred shouted to the rapidly disappearing man, stopping and returning to him. “How many soldiers would we need to spare to keep these properly guarded?”

Conrad looked at the Orcs and Clansmen.

“As they're sitting there, right now, not many.” A frown formed on his face. “Though once they get their pride and confidence back, I'm not so sure how many we'll need. Too many taken away for this campaign of yours to succeed.”

“Understood.” Alfred mumbled.

The implication was clear was in his voice. They could not take them with them and to keep them as prisoners would take too much in the way of manpower and resources. The same thing that happened at Maxill was about to happen now.

Anton looked over at the prisoners. They did not even bother to look up at anyone. He could not help but feel pity for them. But, he did not deal with food supply or handling of prisoners. He did not know how much food they actually had with them.

“They didn't show any mercy to the villagers.” Alfred said. “We would have been killed like those poor people.”

“Sounds about right for them.” Conrad turned to the prisoners. “Clansmen don't give out much mercy....The Orcs though...These aren't the same as they...Oh well. We'll handle this. No need to bloody your hand. Not the first time we've had to deal with something...difficult like this.”

He jerked his head towards the prisoners, brandishing a short sword. The mercenaries of his company followed behind.

Verona groaned and turned Anton away from the scene, quickly nestling herself in his arms so she wouldn't have to see. Despite her carving her way through the screaming mass of Orcs and Clansmen, killing those that wanted to kill her, she was having trouble with this. She used his hands to cover her ears while she closed her eyes.

I suppose there's a difference. Though...I don't feel that bad about it. Perhaps just a little...upset. We had gotten them to surrender. It feels, wrong.

He glanced over, seeing the prisoners tensing in fear. Something in him told him to look away. Kal was watching but turned away at the same time as him. She looked away as well as folded her arms in a huff. He could hear her breathing heavily as she moved closer. Though she seemed more comfortable with it than quite a few of the Qaiviel soldiers.

The screams carried on for some time, and then the deed was done. He glanced over, just to make sure, and saw the bodies dead and slumped over. Conrad and his company seemed completely unphased by what they had just done. How often did they do something like this? Was this the reason why their Company was meant to have diminished over the years?

“Job's done.” Conrad said, wiping the blood off his blade. “I'll go tell the rest of the Company to get some rest.”

He turned to leave, stopping and looking back at them. “I think all of you should as well.”

“He's right.” Alfred said. “I'm going to check on the soldiers. You, Anton, should definitely get some rest. Everyone's going to be talking about this for a long time.”

A warm smiled grew on his face. “You're going to be quite famous after this. A Grand Mage...You'll definitely be getting hundreds of proposals once they find out it's the truth. They'll be throwing themselves at you. You could probably marry the Queen's daughter if you tried.”

Verona, still in his arms, growled at Alfred. Out the corner of his eye he even saw that Kal's body looked quite angry. Her fingers gripped tightly into fists as she held them rigid by her side. Alfred chuckled and moved away without another word.

Verona sighed and freed herself from his embrace. She glanced over at the dead prisoners, sighing and shaking her head.

“I suppose it's war...”

“Have you never seen something like this before?” Kal asked quietly, moving very close to them.

“No.” Verona said quietly.

“I don't think so...Apart from what happened in the mountain.”

Kal sighed. “These things happen in war. All the time. Quite a few things that I used were taken from dead peasants, after a group of bandits or fighting armies moved through an area.”

She looked at the dead prisoners again.

“Better not think too much about it. We've got a lot more fighting to do.”

---------------------

Hello!

Second big battle and the enemy is wiped out. Anton's magic is a bit overwhelming, but Alfred hinted at how most people deal with powerful mages, like killing them by stealth. Something to look out for.

Realities of war, like not being able to keep prisoners, crop up. It's...just one of those things.

That's it.

Thanks for reading, and any and all donations!