I had seen charges on television; the headlong rush of all the characters heroically killing and dying to their enemies in a final clash. The soldiers without ammunition who strap bayonets to the end of their rifles and run into a volley of musket balls. There was something compelling to me about knowingly charging into the shining pikes and ear shattering gunfire that waited at the other side and coming out with blood on your weapon and fire in your eyes.

And, now, I got to participate in one.

Well, not as directly as I would have liked. I stood in the center column with Vendetta and both of Yóulóng’s generals. Insulated by the chafe, my turn would have to wait.

An earthquake of footsteps shook the earth and the blare of the sirens deafened the land. Whoops and shouts and calls to inspire courage into their hearts could be heard all across the front line. Though they would not stay dead, they knew that they may die several times and face a great deal of pain before this was all over.

A squad of Grigori manned the walls above the gate. They pressed their hands against the surface of the bubble and infused their own mana into it. The surface began to shimmer and bubble with the additional magic accumulating.

A beam of raw mana erupted from the surface of the bubble onto the field. The poor farmers and travelers that did not manage to get inside before lockdown were melted instantaneously. Ropes of uncontained magical power dug deep cuts into the ground and snaked towards the main forces. The victims of the attack barely had the chance to scream before they were turned into dust.

As the attacks rushed closer to us, Patience opened their palms and a soft green glow surrounded the center on all sides. The energy tentacles slapped against the translucent cube, creating hairline fractures in the surface and making the tortoise grimace.

An amulet draped around Patience’s neck began to glow and coat the demon’s body in a soft blue light. Cracks were mended before new cracks would form elsewhere.

Before the barrier could shatter, the magic ceased. The squad of mages dropped to their knees with the effects of mana deprivation. Quickly, another group took their place to continue the defensive strikes against the invaders. Swathes of soldiers died in an instant, but there were just too many for them to kill.

The center column split like the Red Sea and the tiger general, Claw, held out their arm. From subspace, an entire battering ram dropped to the ground with a plume of dust. The flanking demons grabbed the handles of the ram and hoisted it up.

With counts to three, the ram was pulled back and slammed into the gates in front of them. The gates rattled and a coating of mana sparked and cracked from the impact. But, they held firm.

1…2…3

The soldiers pulled the ram back, braving the spells and projectiles that poured down from atop the ramparts. Any who perished were immediately replaced by their fellows. They slammed the ram forwards, the jade carving on the front shimmering with a brilliant green. Opposing mana and sin-got surfaces clashed for supremacy. And, just as quickly as the sound of the slam echoed over the fields, the count began again.

The thinner surface of the city’s defenses began to show signs of wear first. Each slam generated less rebound. Fractures that looked like the sky itself was broken formed directly in front of the gate. Large dents were hammered into the surface of the gate and began to misalign how the gate rested.

Dutifully, the soldiers pulled back the ram, held it for a second, and shoved it forwards. Like a levy breaking, it all went at once. The defensive magical arrays broke like stained glass and the gate was knocked over into the streets that it was meant to protect.

“Breach!” Claw shouted.

They unsummoned the ram, leaving a wide open path straight through the column and directly into the city. Their claws popped out of their paws and they disappeared through the gap. The rest of the army began funneling through the narrow chokepoint, the sounds of explosions and splatters of blood could be seen from my vantage point.

“Shall we?” Patience asked Vendetta.

“I go when you say it’s fine to go.”

Patience nodded slowly and moved towards the breach. Soldiers on either side of us began to huddle close and escort us through the breach and into Brunswick.

Like a flood, the sheer mass of bodies pushing from behind stretched out whatever defensive lines the Grigori managed to assemble in the time it took to break through the gate. Though the front lines had already moved down the roads and out of sight, it was a costly move. Corpses piled atop each other to create bloody embankments and suffocate the defenders. The ones at the bottom would likely be crushed to death as soon as they revived.

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“I will hold here,” Patience informed. They opened their hands and expanded their barrier outwards to envelop the gate and the wall above it.

“Split,” Vendetta ordered.

I looked to my side to see Yoshitsune depart with the rhino’s smaller squad to take advantage of the imposing frontal assault and strike the Church’s prisons where they were weaker.

Good luck.

I smirked at the message and followed Vendetta up the main road through Brunswick. Claws tore a path up the main street. Their power allowed for their weaker subordinates to press through in great numbers and overwhelm their enemies more effectively.

But, it soon became clear that the Grigori did not have the chance to bolster their perimeter in time. The true ring of defense came closer to the heart of the city. Spells rained down upon the front of the column and progress ground to a halt. The push from behind forced soldiers to spill into the side streets to avoid crowd crush. Supervisors called out to have their squads regroup and push up different avenues to reach the front.

“Are those wings for show or have you learned to use them?” Vendetta asked pointedly.

“They work enough if you are interested in a leisurely flight,” I answered and gave my wings and single flap to show that I had the equivalent of a learner’s permit.

“Take me up on the roof,” she requested.

I stood behind Vendetta and stuck my arms beneath hers. I wrapped around tightly and felt my scales heat up from direct contact with the woman. With a few large flaps, I lifted us both off of the ground and landed on one of the taller buildings along the street.

“Wait for me,” Capitaine requested as the hyena lugged themselves up on top of the roof. “How am I to support you if I am not there?”

We quickly moved from rooftop to rooftop to get closer to the front of the column. Bodies of dead flying combatants rained down from the sky and splattered against the stone buildings. We had to keep one eye skyward to avoid these meaty projectiles and stray attacks while powerful spells and attacks shook the ground and boomed over the sounds of the siren.

Each prong of the attack had reached close to the ring of Grigori that protected the Church’s plaza. These elite members of the Church packed a lot more firepower than the hordes of enemies and used their powers to great effect against the weak attackers. Entire squads of soldiers were destroyed with singular spells with only the Supervisors and a few hearty demons surviving.

But, those heinous losses were not bad. The legions of dead began reinforcing from the rear and filling the gaps their dead comrades left. There was no way for the defenders to reach the bodies of the invaders and prevent them from reviving. Mana wasn’t an infinite resource and those explosions of fire, streaks of lightning, eruptions of earth, and blizzards of ice could not be maintained indefinitely.

A purple flash coated the sky and the sound of a nuclear bomb rumbled through the air, carrying a shockwave that buffeted us with strong winds and debris. Eviscerated bodies were sent skyward and a red mist covered the intersections where fighting occurred.

“Sir Leal has joined the fray,” Vendetta remarked. “Go ahead and say hello. I will make it the rest of the way myself.”

I had already begun moving before she finished her sentence with a huffing Capitaine quickly left behind. I was a blur of black and I made my way over the rooftops. Only small flaps of my wings were used to bridge some of the longer gaps.

Another flash of purple and more death paved my way forwards. Adrenaline coursed into my veins to fill me with the chemical high that I always chased after. Not skydiving nor driving fast cars nor anything else I tried could replace this feeling. Simulating death was nothing compared to facing it myself.

I came across a grisly scene. Stone walls were painted with splatters of blood and viscera that were slowly trying to reform themselves. Those that did survive were sent flying and were desperately trying to regroup themselves under the screaming orders of their shell-shocked supervisors.

In the center was a classic battle of dog versus cat. The tiger that once showed an abundance of bravado was left bleeding from several wounds. Their arms were bent at a strange angle and a few of their claws were cracked.

Sir Leal was a blur of purple-coated fur. Their transitions between weightlessness and black hole density was nearing to be too much for Claw. Especially since the dog knight was being more effectively supported by the spells of his fellow Grigori.

But, none of that was relevant. My eyes spotted their target and they dilated in anticipation. With several flaps of my wings, I flew high into the air. Another rumble from below snapped my eyes to my target. I pointed my face towards the ground and plunged myself directly downwards. Air blew past my face as I dive-bombed the dog below. I spread my claws out wide and opened my jaw in anticipation of doing as much damage as possible.

The quick-moving Sir Leal saw me at the last second. It was no longer possible to dodge, however, they went from light to extremely heavy to intercept my attack. I slammed into the equivalent of a brick wall as I blasted the dog into the walls of a nearby building, demolishing it in an instant.

A defensive slam of the hammer sprayed dust and debris into my face and prevented me from following up on my successful attack. I took a step back and wiped the powder from my eyes.

“Attack!”

Sounds of Capitaine’s gunfire accentuated the order as a rain of bullets descended atop the Grigori. Claw took the chance to heal their arm and press forwards with renewed vigor. The Grigori were now pressed from above and the ground, stretching out their defensive coverage more.

As the army passed by, I took a big bite out of one of the low-ranking demons to allow myself to replenish from the damage of the impact. Yoshitsune wasn’t here to watch me. I could do whatever I wanted.

“I’m going to break you.”

The silhouette of Sir Leal appeared through the settling dust. Hatred and bloodlust blazed in their eyes, a mirror to my own feelings. Their purple aura covered their body as their muscles tensed to attack. I could only grin in joy.

“Let’s go, motherfucker.”