Chapter 91 That Was Always The Plan.
“That’s the signal.” Marie said as they all watched the battlefield go back to normal after half of it exploded.
Isaac nodded. “Should I hit the sorceress or the cleric first?” Isaac asked. A sorcerer was generally more dangerous than a cleric when combat was only going to last a few breaths but a cleric could bring back the dead.
“I’ll get the cleric for you.” Marie replied. “Poison probably won’t work on a cleric of a spider deity anyway.”
Isaac chuckled. “You are probably right. Thanks.”
“I’ll attack when you do. Give me sixty seconds to get into position.” Marie instructed him and took off in a perfectly silent run. The sound canceling enchantment in her gear was active constantly allowing her to only have to pay attention to her footing.
Isaac followed after her and flanked around the other side. Isaac finished his count to fifty five and took a deep breath. “Quicken.”
—
The drow soldiers closed the gap under a steady stream of ballista bolts raining fire and pain. The drow wizards were relegated to overhead shield duty, else a stray bolt would detonate in their midst again. The bolts came at irregular but short intervals at seemingly random parts of the formation. Based on the explosions that were sounding out behind them only around half of the incoming ballista bolts were enchanted like the original volley. Presumably to cut down on cost while still keeping the wizards pinned in place.
Drow infantry slammed into the human battle line. Mark caught the first one just like how he and Lenna had practiced. Before he even had time to shove the soldier back Esk was in the air. Esk had one hand on Mark’s shoulder and had jumped while using his teammate’s shoulder to get greater height. Esk’s flaming sword forced its way between the drow’s helmet and collar before scorching a path through the man’s chest and heart. Esk ripped the blade back out on his way back down and Mark tossed the soldier back into his unit mates.
Claus punched forward with everything he had using the tower shield he had been lent. The massive wall of solid steel hit the incoming drow soldier like a wagonload of bricks. The drow’s momentum was entirely arrested as he was tossed back into the man behind him. The drow that tried to slip around Claus’s side was met by a holy sword that was glowing with barely contained radiant vengeance. Michael’s sword punched straight through the drow’s faceplate and dented the back of his helmet before Michael ripped the blade out spraying blood across the ground and his arm.
Edward held his low stance. His hand was on his hilt and his blade was still in its scabbard. The infantryman in front of him looked like he was planning on running Edward over with his shield. Edward drew his long curved blade in a blink and struck the side of the soldier’s shield tossing it to the side. Edward took half a step forwards and jabbed the tip of his blade through the eyehole of the man in front of him before he ripped the blade back out in one fluid motion. He changed stances as he grabbed his sword with both hands. Golden lightning danced along its edge. His blue eyes met the drow behind his first victim’s black ones. The lightning of his blade reflected off of his eyes and the drow soldier knew fear.
Fable crushed the guard of the first drow soldier and brought his other hand up with two of its fingers pointing forwards. “What I seek is thunder.” He spoke icily. Lightning punched through the first soldier and into the one behind him before it was rebuffed by a V’Nova knight-paladin’s aura. His aim had been true and the two soldiers in front of him dropped as their hearts had exploded in their chests.
Lenna slammed her sword down on the top of the shield of the soldier in front of her. The man was forced to a knee and she grabbed him by the faceplate in clear view of the man behind him and a few other drow soldiers. “Let my flames consume all before me.” She chanted and the man in her grasp cried out in pain as his eyes popped and skin liquified under the concentrated geyser of heat and fury.
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The lead squad’s knight-paladin forced his way into engaging with Lenna directly. “Lady V’Nova-” He got out before Lenna turned to the side slightly. Kahtesh’s lightning bolt punched through the man’s aura before it met his sword that was raised to block. His arm seized up from the electric jolt and Lenna took the opportunity to stab at his upper chest. Her blade skipped off the steel and was forced upwards. Her aura and mana enhanced strength eclipsed his as the tip of her sword lodged itself half an inch through his faceplate while barely slowing. Her followthrough ripped the man’s helmet off of his head as the leather strap couldn’t survive the strain. His head was whipped back and his helmet was sent flying back into the formation behind him.
Lenna recognized the man in front of her. He was one of her uncle’s retainers. A good soldier who followed orders and took his job very seriously. Too seriously. People like him needed to let off some stress after work. Something he did very often. Unfortunately his favorite version of stress relief involved young slave girls, the younger the more he enjoyed it. Lenna felt no sympathy for what she was about to do. She brought her sword back down as he staggered backwards to keep from falling over. Her sword split the man’s head down the middle and she focused more aura and mana into her blade. Her sword flared so brightly that she saw spots but it had done its job. The man’s head exploded, from the sudden vaporization of brain fluids, showering his men in its contents.
Lenna locked eyes with the wizard behind the falling corpse of the man who had once been a distant relative. The wizard’s eyes went wide and she spoke a quick incantation. A small reality shield flashed into existence just in time to stop an arrow that had been fired by the bone drider behind Lenna. The wizard still had her other arm raised to maintain the overhead reality shield so the best she could do was defend against a rapid barrage of arrows from the bastardized skeleton of a divine creature. Fear, horror, and rage warred on her face but she could only back up a step and let the rest of her unit move around her to engage Lenna, and the pair of demons in human skin flanking her.
Lenna cut down another three infantrymen, caused one to retreat with blood gushing from the side of his neck, and knocked another one out from a flame and aura empowered punch to the face before something drastically changed. “LENNA!” A familiar voice roared as a set of plate armor with seven white stripes painted along the left cheek came into view. Lenna’s eyes went wide and she couldn’t keep herself from taking a step backwards.
—
Isaac and Marie were about to launch into their attacks when Jallen’s voice trailed off. “Is something wrong, my Lord?” The knight-paladin across from him asked. Before Jallen could respond, chaos ensued.
Isaac drove his sword through the back of the sorceress’s cloak with one hand as he slammed the lethal end of one of Marie’s poison spikes into the side of her throat. His blade met a reality shield that appeared before his blade even made contact with the back of her shirt but unfortunately for her it couldn’t stop the massive needle full of enough poison to kill fifteen grown, human, men.
No sooner had the needle-like spike entered the sorceress’s neck, mana started to build inside of her. Isaac didn’t have the luxury of wasting anymore time on her and was already moving towards the paladin across from Jallen.
Marie had sliced the cleric’s head clean off with a black dirk that seemed to promise instant death. That promise was further emphasized by the acid trail that had been left along the entire length of her cut. She danced back while throwing two more acid vials at the back of the falling cleric. She hit them with a pair of throwing spikes before the man’s corpse even hit the ground. The acid exploded before burning and eating its way through the man’s robes and body alike.
Isaac was already on top of the paladin before Marie’s throwing spikes had even left her hand. He jammed a pair of poison spikes through the paladin’s helmet’s eye holes as deep as they could go. Before the man could even take his first staggering step back Isaac had buried another pair alongside the first. Isaac twirled around the falling, quickly dying, knight-paladin and launched himself at Jallen’s legendary shield just in time to miss a flying table and catch sight of the sorceress vanishing from a teleportation spell.
Jallen hadn’t been idle while his advisors were being taken apart by invisible foes. The first thing he did was kick the table in front of him at the man across from him. The second was a quick step towards the cleric before he realized that he was already too far gone for him to save. He turned to find his shield just in time to see it move on its own.
Isaac grabbed the shield with both hands and spun while flinging it as far as he could. The shield was launched at incredible speed for its weight away from its owner. Jallen growled. “Show yourselves cowards!” He roared and threw his aura out before clamping it down as if it were his fist.
Marie’s Invisibility dropped as she staggered. Her and Jallen locked eyes. “Darkness, I leave this to you.” She said and took a jumping step backwards that carried her a dozen feet before she broke out into a run away from a very angry Jallen V’Nova.
Isaac appeared for a brief moment. He had let the shadows on Marie’s and Shy’s faces fall away as Marie’s Invisibility had dropped. She had warned him that something like what had just happened was likely based on what they knew about Jallen’s aura. The plan of letting Jallen hear her voice as she told Isaac that the rest was up to him was part of the plan of informing Jallen that it was a one-on-one and any mana Isaac could save was a blessing. If Jallen believed that it was one-on-one then he was a lot less likely to try and get assistance. His pride couldn’t survive losing in a duel, especially to a human. “That was always the plan.” Isaac purred and Jallen’s eyes snapped to him. Jallen was only able to see Isaac’s grinning white teeth and silver eyes before Isaac was gone again as if he hadn’t even been there.