Faela! Anna!

Tetsuko shouted to the swordswomen.

At the same moment, Faela brought her sword down. The blade scraped a crow’s wing. It wasn’t enough to chop it off. Nor enough to make a deep wound, not with the bird’s speed. But it was enough to slow down the monster. Without its full speed, it couldn’t pierce the metal shield.

On the other side of the street, also taking cover in an alley, Anna was doing the same as her master. When the birds slowed down, the soldiers sounded it and brought their hollow sword down, killing them.

“There’s no end,” Faela complained after hurting another beast, panting. Though they had killed over a dozen that way, there were still many in the air, circling the red and orange skies.

They’ve learned.

“Yeah…” After losing so many of them, the crows stopped coming down near the alleys and focused on the middle of the street. The soldiers had noticed and moved closer to the houses. “We’re in a stalemate…”

Some of the soldiers still had arrows left, but the birds flew away as fast as they could the instant the archers shot.

“Do you have any idea how to bring them down?”

Before Tetsuko could answer, a few crows landed on top of a house opposed to them. They turned to the swordswoman and spread their wings open.

Faela left the alley and jumped sideways at once.

The crows closed their wings and the razor-sharp feathers came hurling down along with the wind. The walls of the houses reduced to dust, bringing the second floor down with a crash, the dust rising and covering the area.

When the wind carried it away, Faela realized the crows had moved to her side of the street, doing the same thing to where Anna was hiding.

She had seen what they had done and left the place before they attacked. Now both master and disciple were exposed like the other soldiers. They joined Sergio’s men and women, closing the spaces between the shields with the swords.

The birds landed on the roof, observing.

They’re wary, but that one will attack. Its Celeste is too agitated, Tetsuko informed everyone.

Just like she said, one of the birds took flight and circled the air, gaining speed. Then it came down on the soldiers faster than an arrow.

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“Just like I said!” Sergio shouted.

The soldiers thrust the bottom of their shields on the gap between the stone floors. They formed a line of shields.

“Now!” the captain shouted when the bird was close enough.

The soldiers holding the shields jumped sideways as the crow came flying over them. The beak pierced the first shield, but before it could do the same to the second, the soldier stabbed it with his hollow sword. Even wounded, the monster still pierced the second shield. That soldier did the same. By the time of the fourth shield, the bird had no strength to pierce the metal and died when everyone brought their swords down on it.

Another crow screeched and tried the same, suffering the same fate. However, when the third came, the others spread their wings.

“Look out!” Anna shouted.

The soldiers closed their ranks, protecting each other from the feathers with their shields. However, without the line of shields, they couldn’t stop the crow from flying over them. The beak pierced metal and killed the soldiers carrying it. The crow landed on a roof and opened its wing when another took flight to attack.

“Shit!” Faela shouted. “Use the arrows!”

The soldiers obeyed, firing the few arrows they had left. Thanks to that, the crows quickly flew away from the blast range. The one attacking had no protection and was trapped by the shield wall, dying by the swords. They all screeched as another one took flight.

“Faela! We don’t have enough arrows to keep this up for long,” Sergio said as they killed the monster. Another was already taking flight and circling the sky to gain speed.

“We need to get up those houses and kill the crows on the roofs. It’s the only way.”

The crows spread their wings open for another attack, but before they could send the razor-sharp feathers, the soldiers fired the flaming living metal alloy arrows. They flew away and the bird attacking them flew upwards before reaching the row of shields.

At that moment, Faela, Anna, Sergio, and a few other soldiers broke the ranks and ran into the houses still intact.

Hurry up, Tetsuko shouted to her wielder. Some of the crows noticed and are about to flap their wings.

Faela ran up the stairs faster. As she did, something black burst through the walls. However, it wasn’t like before, where the feathers destroyed everything in its path.

They don’t have as much power if their flying, Tetsuko projected her thoughts.

“Even so, that’s gonna hurt!” She ran faster, hitting against the walls as she moved up to the third floor.

Then the feathers stopped. A moment later Tetsuko heard the sound of something exploding. Thanks to the living metal arrow, Faela reached the last floor.

“Where?”

Tetsuko concentrated. There, she shouted, channeling her energy to point her tip in the right direction.

Faela slashed the low ceiling at the same instant. The wood broke and a crow came falling down. She killed the monster before it realized what had happened. Using the cadaver, she climbed into the roof, killing the closest crow.

On the end and on the other side of the street, Anna and Sergio managed to get to the roofs as well. The crows took flight, but bursting arrows made them stay within sword range.

Faela killed the closest one and moved on to the next.

“Kill them all!” Sergio shouted, his voice encouraging the soldiers.