Chapter 42: Defend the gates!

Rand, sprinting much faster than I can run, catches up to me halfway there, reaching the gates both of us together.

“What is it?” Rand asks. He has followed me without asking a single question, not even where we were going or why; how can I not love that of him? His trust in all three of us is absolute.

“Let’s see if the others show up first. I’ll explain then.”

And sure enough, even before I finish the phrase, Lillia dashes to us from the left. Has she gotten faster? I don’t think I saw her move like this before.

I acknowledge her with a nod of my head and resume my thought train. Either she has a new skill, or she has managed to evolve one. If it’s the last, that would be great news. That wou-

“Mike!” I stop to shout his name as I see him wandering around. “Over here!” He seems pretty lost, probably looking for us.

“Then we are only missing Do-”

“Nope!”

“For fucks sake!!” I scream, rather shamefully, while my body involuntarily makes a small jump. With my hands moving all over the place, I need more than a second to process what just happened.

“Can’t you act like a normal person!? How long have you been here?” I’m killing Dorian with my sight.

“Just a little after Lillia. I was evaluating the situation.”

“Whatever!” I dismiss him, trying to regain some of my lost manliness. “Isha told me the king is missing, and she believes they are going for the gate. We must defend it at all costs. If they mana-”

Boom! Have you ever heard a cannon being fired? I haven’t, but I’m sure this is the sound it would make. Instead of a flaming ball or smoke, however, the only thing that follows that deafening sound is the crunching of wood; the gigantic doors shake as the energy and aftershock crash into them.

Shaking might not be the best word, though. Pieces of shattered wood are flying all around. Splinters have impaled some of the soldiers closer to the former gates. Holes all over the doors let both sides stare at each other.

“Mike! Blast them!” I’m sure we shouldn’t just be interchanging sights; we need to make the first move. “Archers!” I shout to whoever can hear me.

Five fireballs reach for the door. All but one manage to get through the various holes. And that one, of course, sets the wood on fire. Some timid arrows, not more than 10, I would say, also cross to the enemy lines. We won’t make a dent in their numbers like this.

Boom! One more ear-shattering explosion originates from the gates. However, this time, the creaking that follows and the metal screaming of hinges don’t augur anything good for us. A huge wooden frame, the former door, starts a free fall towards our defensive lines. Some soldiers will be crushed by it, but more will die at the hands of the rats that enter after it.

“Mike, mana?” Mine is barely at 50, and his isn’t much better.

“At a minimum, maybe ten fireballs.”

Yeah, I guessed. “Here! Take this!” I say as I throw to him one of my mana potions. “Wait until you completely run out of mana. We’ll use my staff at the same time.” Even if it’s two sharing from its pool, coupled with the potion, it should be more than enough to restore us to full.

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We need to form a party; I must keep watch of their status. I hurriedly send the invites and organize us into a 5 man team.

The first rats start to pour in, and the sounds of metal clashing can already be heard; army soldiers have engaged in combat. If I were the enemy, I’d try to make a small clearing, take a defensive position inside Isha’s protective shield and then make those mice mages cast their shadows. It’s a no-brainer, actually. Given their current situation, this might be their last shot at winning.

“Dorian, Lillia,” I relay the conclusion to my thoughts. “If you see a mage, I need you to prioritize it.” It’s the only way to get rid of them; they are agile enough to infiltrate their backline and assassinate them.

“Rand, stand on the front. Charge and try to push them back. Don’t go too deep though, you’ll get surrounded and die.”

He turns around and gives me a thumbs up with the broadest smile ever. As fast as he turned, not losing a single second, he goes back to facing the gate. “CHAARGE!”

Fuck! What charge? I said don’t get in too deep! The thought immediately assaults me; he is going to get all of us killed if he marches in there like it’s nothing.

“Mike, we are moving closer; follow me!”

Rushing as fast as I can, not daring to levitate to avoid wasting any mana, I follow his trail. He’s already losing HP? 164/209, the hell is he doing? By the time I’m at casting distance, barely two seconds after, he has lost more than 10HP more.

“Heal! Rand!?” One more Heal until we have to replenish. I kind of hoped we could delay it a bit more.

Oh man… he’s gotten in the middle of them all. “Mike, fire hurricane!” Let’s try to disperse them with some area damage. “And drink that potion! Heal!” Two heals in close succession, and he is still around 160… He’s losing way too much health.

The hurricane starts taking form and moving towards the densest agglomeration of rats. Close to it reaching the critical point, a fireball ignites it, setting the massive pile of fire in the perfect, unavoidable crash course.

The slowest of the rats, unable to outrun the deadly gusts, get sucked into it. Those who were too invested in the combat fail to notice the impending calamity and meet the same destiny. Good!

“Mike, it’s time!” I chug down my own potion and swing my staff down. Dense mana veins, the thickest I have ever seen, start nurturing us. The combination of the staff and the potion seems to work wonderfully; I can actually feel how it enters my body. It’s…

[You have learned Mana Affinity]

Mana restoration is twice as effective on you.

Has Mike gotten it too? My immediate reaction is to voice my doubts out. “Mike, have you als…” oh, yeah, he has. His face tells it all: somewhere in-between surprise and pure joy. Indeed, for mana-dependant classes like ours, this is a gift.

“Heal!” The unexpected turn of events and the increased effects have given me time to recover enough mana. With some rats running and others burning, Rand has stabilized at about half his health. His health isn’t falling at such vertiginous rates, and my Heals are enough to steadily recover some points.

[Mental Break: A mental attack that amplifies all magic damage taken by 50% for the next 30 seconds]

Flashback of the mines come back. The last time I heard this screech and got this message was when the Shadow Mage cast Shroud. So they went with the plan? They intend to consume all light from the inside.

“Dorian, Lillia! Your turn!”

There are enough light sources all over the city, so it should take a while until their damage becomes threatening. But we better deal with it the fastest we can.

And indeed, the strange melody starts being sung again. Words that I can’t comprehend emerge from within the enemy lines, buried among the multitude. Fuck, I’m useless in this kind of situation. I can’t see them. Let’s hope Dorian is better suited for it.

Tense moments follow. I cast two more heals to Rand. He is punching left and right while holding five rats all by himself. His body is swelled up and emits some kind of fog, which, now that I think about it might very well be his own sweat.

There! One of the voices fades off. Either dead or too busy to keep on casting. And another one! Is it them? It must be; the thought materializes as soon as I see Lillia’s life dropping. Is she in range?

“Heal!” This won’t last long; even with my new skill, it will soon be over, and I will run out of mana once aga-

[Your party member Dorian has died]

“WHAT!!” Rand’s roar silences the whole battlefield, all eyes looking at him. Honestly, though, I’m in the same boat as him.