The Lord, if the duke’s suspicion was correct, screeched and slowly flapped its large wings. Lancecain grimaced as he saw a wall of snow and ice coming toward him, swallowing everything in its wake. It was too large to dodge. All he could do was grit his teeth and hold his arms before his face for whatever meagre protection they could offer. He shut his eyes but the cold and force he expected never came.

“Lancecain.”

He opened his eyes to find the duke standing before him, sword drawn. Snow and ice were piled on either side of them, the wall of winter having parted before the ruler of the north. Lancecain felt a surge of pride and warmth when he realized the duke had protected him. “Go. Wait for the us to distract the birds before you evacuate.”

“I can help.”

“This is a fight for seniors. Masters, at minimum.” Lancecain was skilled but he was far from a master. “If you can, wait for a lull in the enemy’s movements. Do not cross the fort directly, you will be easy targets. Move to the wall and follow it to the south gate.”

“…understood, my lord.”

Above them, the Lord screeched. Lancecain tensed, bracing himself for an attack, but it never came. With another powerful flap of its wings that stirred the snow, it launched itself into the air, nearly breaching the clouds. Another flap and it soared over Victory, heading north. The young knight’s legs shook with powerful relief as he watched the enormous manabeast disappear, becoming certain as the distance between them widened that they would not have to fight the monstrosity.

“It’s too early to relax!”

The admonishment brought Lancecain back to his senses. The Lord might have flown off but there were still thousands of angry doomhawks circling above them, a dire threat on their own. Remembering he’d been given orders, Lancecain turned and ran, sprinting for the Bleak Moons’ base.

He arrived to find several knights standing in a crescent facing the mountain and many more positioned on the building’s roof. He was surprised to find Thomas standing amidst the ground forces, his light blue armor standing out among the darker knights surrounding him. A heavy frown made the lines in his face more prominent and he stood with crossed arms, a simple but hefty spear resting in the crook of his arm.

The old commander noticed him at the same time and waved him over. “Lance. What’re you doing here? Should be on the wall, looking to take down one of those fat elders circling around up there.”

“The duke determined I would better serve fighting alongside the trainees.”

“Ah. I’ve got most of them with the civilians. No use in them dying in a fight without a proper chance. The ones that can cast a decent spell are on the roof.” He tilted his head, letting out a huff of breath. “Ancestors know we’re going to need every drop of mana we can get. One way or another, we’re not letting a bunch of arrogant flying rats run us out of our own home. Are we?”

The knights around him let out a war cry that was quickly taken up by the others on the building’s roof. Lancecain grinned. Only the knights of the north could sound so enthused when in a completely hopeless situation. He decided then not to mention that he was also here to lead the retreat.

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They would need every bit of morale they could get as well. He understood that the duke was just trying to save lives, but it could be mistaken as a lack of faith in his forces. The northerners were hardy, but they were still human. It would be strange if no one fled in the face of overwhelmingly negative odds.

“If you permit it, I would like to join the ground forces.” His spells were strong, stronger than corresponding ones from weaker basic affinities, but the light affinity was not without its weaknesses. It had more power and precision than the fire affinity, but his spells became intensely more expensive in mana the larger the distance variable. Ridiculously so. It was the main reason his master’s penultimate spell involved making himself a powerful projectile rather than launching a beam of light. Lancecain was at his most effective within the range of his sword.

“Granted but keep to the back. I’m too old to defend myself against your master if I lose you and he’s too old to look for another heir. Can you imagine him trying to poach the James girl?” The old man chuckled. “I don’t think her wife would take that kindly. Hah! Ancestors. Wife marrying a wife. Thought I’d seen it all but life still has a few surprises for me. To think I might get my chance to fight a legendary monster like a Lord. No better way to go.”

“The Lord has departed.”

“You’re going to have to think more than that if you want to be a field commander someday, boy. When the beast finishes its business, it’ll be back. Maybe it’ll be hungry. If so, we’ve got a fort full of tasty snacks. Or maybe it’ll just be pissed off. Or annoyed. Manabeasts don’t need good reasons to attack people. Something that powerful doesn’t even need to acknowledge us to destroy us. That thing looks like it can cause a storm strong enough to swallow the lot of us if it sneezes.

“Or, if you really want to imagine a fun scenario, imagine what happens if the thing doesn’t come back. When a territory is abandoned, something comes to claim it. One Lord is bad. Being caught in the middle of a war between several as they try to claim another peak? Dealing with the losers and their lackeys as they’re driven from the mountains? We’ll be drowning in monsters. Mark my words, boy. This shitfest is just the start.”

It was a harrowing thought. One that made Lancecain think a simple evacuation might not be enough. Thomas’ words made sense. Worse, Lancecain could see the crisis continuing to escalate.

If so, Victory alone wouldn’t be enough to hold back the monsters. They’d need all of humanity to cooperate, something much easier said than done. Harvest wasn’t the united force it used to be in the time following the Great War. By the time the crown was convinced of the threat, the north would be overrun and they’d have a terrible time trying to reclaim it.

“Looks like it’s starting!”

Near the western wall, the screeching of flock reached a crescendo and the first of them dived. As usual, the smallest were the first, forced to sacrifice themselves or face the stronger members of the flock. The knights on the wall were ready. Fire met them, knocking them out of the air and sending them careening into the nearest snowbanks.

“Look alive men!” Thomas shouted, his voice carrying. “I don’t know what the other orders teach you, but I better not see veteran knights wasting good mana on a bunch of starving chickens. You’ve got blades, I want to see you bastards using them! At least until the big ones come down for a bite.”

Lancecain shouted an affirmative along with the rest of the knights and put a hand on the hilt of his sword.

The fighting intensified. As more birds dived, magic filled the air. Spells from all four basic affinities decimated the flock. Corpses rained from the sky like falling snow. Soon, they’d present obstacles to the knights on the ground. Lancecain was already lamenting having to fight while leaping over corpses, especially since Thomas wanted them to preserve mana. The longer the fight dragged on, the more strenuous it would become.

“Time for us to join the fun!”

Thomas took his spear in hand and Lancecain tensed as the first enemies dove toward them.