Snow had started to fall. It turned red once it hit the blood spattered road, and then melted thereafter.
Fires rose into the air ahead of me. Alisson had already begun. I need to get moving, then.
Our objective is as follows:
Eliminate all Andestinian presence. Secure our mounts that contain the medallion that Tsuhara gave us. That is all.
I pulled my baselard out of the horseman below me.
We’ve drawn out their rapid response units by destroying the northern guard post. I was enough to solely wipe it out. Simple guards are no match for me.
At the walls of the city, I can see a familiar two figures, the hero, and that adventurer; The both of them have gotten in our way enough times.
I started forward. The hero and the adventurer both vaulted from the walls to stop me. I’ll have more options if I fight in an urban environment – The slums of Pūshkinskaya have far more cover. So, I set out to take the battle into the city.
It was an easy affair; I was faster than both the Hero and the adventurer, and they weren’t expecting me to run right by them. I climbed the walls, and was over and into the city with no real opposition.
Now within the city, a few guards tried to stop me. They thought I was just a little girl. Thrown baselards at their knees and multiple thrusts into their necks with my stilettos taught them otherwise.
Around me, I heard screams and shouting, roars and crying. Beasts had broken through the walls of the city, and were now descending on the people. There was nothing they could do. It was a feeding frenzy. People hid under rubble as best they could, praying to not be found and be torn in half. Mothers threw themselves into danger, only for the same fate to beset their children not moments later.
It was such a futile, and surreal sight. I stood in the middle of it all, as if detached. It was all so trivial, and dull. It was nothing compared to damned Jungle.
Beasts seemed to avoid me. Clearly they know that they’re not worth my time.
The hero and the adventurer though, didn’t think that way. They chased me down, and eventually, I was forced to confront them. I honestly didn’t know if I could win or not. That wasn’t a bad thing, I was just curious. I know that before, in cult lands, I wouldn’t have stood a chance against both the hero and the adventurer girl at once, but now? After Freigat?
They haven’t gone through what I have. The scale has shifted in my favor for sure, but was it enough?
I surged forward toward them, surprising them since I was acting as though I was running from a fight I couldn’t win. I threw a baselard at the adventurer. She managed to block it with her sword, but it bought me the chance to attack the hero one on one for a moment. He didn’t sit still, he ran forward to meet me, revving his massive sword for a swing. As he did, his sword clicked and distorted into an odd, curved shape, the blade was segmented. From the newly opened gaps in the weapon, flame burst.
I wasn’t impressed. I dropped low and thrust at the hero’s knee. My stiletto pierced his armor, and I kept my momentum passed him. He kept turning, and swung his now fiery sword at me. I was already out of range, so it seemed a fruitless maneuver. However, when the flames of the weapon seemed to spring out, and surge toward me in the path of his swing, I knew then that this was a legendary weapon I was dealing with. These flames are probably not typical fire.
Not wanting to get hit by the hero’s gout of flames, I rolled out of the way and stood, now facing the two of them down.
“Hero! Already fighting without us I see.”
Two adventurers ran up behind them, and took their sides. These weren’t any old schmuck, I could tell as much immediately. One wore heavy armor, similar to the heroes, and had a sword, which glowed with magic. The other was far lighter in loadout, looking like a pirate with an eyepatch, and had a sabre, which also glowed with magic.
Two heavy infantry, one magically capable. And two light infantry, one magically capable. I sighed. This is probably just the tip of Andestine’s spear. I need to handle them so that Alisson has time to find and secure our mounts. After that, we’ll try and kill as many as we can.
There’s a criminal lack of knights around, but whatever. I flourished my blades, and charged forward. This seemed to take them off guard. I easily weaved around the Hero’s blade, tripped the katana girl as I shoved passed her and then finally thrust at the heavily armored adventurer in the back. He wasn’t expecting me to get up in his face so quickly, but regardless his guard was up. He didn’t have any protection on his head, so that was where my stiletto was aimed.
He parried it, and his sword soared for me. I disengaged and slipped behind him, my baselard about to lop off his head from behind when a sabre suddenly blocked my blade.
Looks like I’ll have to handle the sabre adventurer first.
I bobbed under her redoublement, landing me point blank to her body. They clearly all weren’t expecting such aggression. If I was a blitzer before, then my time in Freigat has made me a berserker.
I stabbed upwards right into her gut with my stiletto. I twisted the blade in her, making her cough up a sudden knot of blood. I had to pull away from my attack however, because a swing from the hero threatened to cut me in half. I sidestepped around the hero, and inflicted a tiny wound with my baselard at his underarm as I did. I tried to attack his backplate once behind him, but my attack simply bounced of his thick armor.
I felt someone behind me, and turned, fearing a blade. Instead, a pair of hands from the katana wielding girl. Not wanting to be grappled down, I turned as quickly as I could and met her hands, locking them with my own, and pushing her away.
I was about to push her down, being far stronger than her, when she leaned in to my ear. I thought she was going to bite me, so I bared my mouth to do the same when instead I heard her whisper –
“I’m a-!”
I’m not going to converse with the enemy. That’s an Alisson thing. I knee’d her in her gut, blowing the wind out of her throat. I managed to throw her away from me with ease.
The girl was probably just buying time – Two swings were coming at me from me from behind, from the hero – a kill shot – and the large adventurer –probably also a kill shot. If I tried to run forward, I’d be killed. Dodging to my sides, not a good idea when I can’t see my enemy’s’ adjustments when they can see me. So, the only choice was backwards.
I backstepped, right into the blades. Thanks to my small stature though, I managed to evade them, slipping right in between both the hero and the adventurer.
With three of my enemies partly stunned for a moment, I can finish off that pirate adventurer. She was defenseless. I turned and pounced on her. She was on her knees, healing herself. She already had her blade raised toward me, a spell already being fired.
Purely on reflex, I ducked out of the way. There was nothing else she could do as I passed her blade and slammed into her. The weight of my body knocked her down, and, being on top of her, I stabbed her repeatedly in her throat and head.
Blood flew through the air and splattered across my face. It landed on the lightly snowed on road, melting the snow that was there.
“Marie’ann!”
The armored adventurer called, and I knew my time was up. It didn’t matter. She was dead.
I rolled out of the way of the adventurer’s retaliatory strike, and stood, only to be met with a remise. I parried it out of the way, and spark flew. The armored adventurer swung again and again, probably out of rage, while I stepped away, parrying him with every step. Eventually, he got too close, and I slipped forward, into his range, and stabbed upward in his sword arm’s vambrace.
Blood flew, but I didn’t stick around to attack further – The Andestine hero was right behind the adventurer. I slipped further past the armored adventurer, hoping to attack the hero when I noticed that he was already swinging for me, only this time, with his hilt. It came fast. I just barely managed to dodge it. The hero then threw a punch at me, which also came terrifyingly fast. I broke away, deciding that it was better to leave the hero for last as being a very dangerous opponent. Before I could get some distance though, I was tackled, by the katana wielding adventurer.
“Listen-!”
She whispered again, angrily.
I didn’t pay her any mind, and shoved her away. The hero’s sword came fast, about to cut my ribcage in two, but a quick roll to the side got my body out of the way and I sprung to my feet as the ground shook with the hero’s strike. As I backed up, the armored adventurer launched a barrage of spells at me, which was then followed up by a gout of fire from the hero. I just barely managed to dive out of the way of being roasted alive, but the edge of my cloak was singed and almost caught fire.
Now staring the three fighters down, I once again prepared to charge them, readying my magic.
Of course, that was before I noticed the hooded figure behind them. In the shade of their hood, was a small smile.
…
Chaos reigned in Pūshkinskaya. Doors were broken down, homes leveled and people ripped in half as beasts ran rampant. The idea to lead a horde of beasts to the city was working well, very well. It had caused enough confusion to act as a cover for Alisson. He’d snuck in to the city from its western side in the midst of the beast attack.
There were still some soldiers trying to fend off against the attack, but mainly they were dead. That had been Alisson’s doing. He’d softened up their defenses. Now, it was a matter of finding out where Andestine was hiding away their mounts. Sticking to the shadows, Alisson made his way stealthily to the Guild hub, and checked their stables, but alas they weren’t there. He looked around for a stable hand he could perhaps interrogate, but he couldn’t find anyone. The residents were being evacuated; a stream of people flooded into the secure citadel of the Guild.
He’d been keeping an eye out for signs of Andestine, but all he’d seen was that familiar summoner. No knights, no battlemages, no cataphract units, not even a centralized command from what Alisson had ascertained. It probably was just the summoner and their hero then. They were probably being used as a recon team. A real Andestine unit was probably lurking nearby, but by the lack of barracks or accommodations, Alisson knew they weren’t operating out of the city or had they had yet to reach it.
It saddened him to say, but they weren’t going to be able to kill swaths of Andestinians like Alisson had hoped.
Alisson thought this as he watched the summoner fly high in the air, ravens circling her in a tense battle for aerial supremacy. The clouds were thickening, and snow started to fall heavier. Soon, the air would belong to no creature but nature.
Numerous adventurers were fighting beasts on the streets. Rudimentary barricades made of rubble had been thrown together. If Alisson or his apprentice didn’t intervene, the city could very well survive this attack – People were being evacuated and a perimeter was being set up within the city. Alisson couldn’t help but wonder why adventurers had taken orders from Andestine to hunt down himself and Celis.
They had a negative predisposition against both Sidonia and Andestine, and thus wouldn’t help either side out of good morals; meaning that the adventurers were probably contracted by the hero-summoner pair.
Thinking on these terms, perhaps the adventurers knew where their mounts were being a stored.
He emerged from the shadows of the alleyways and strolled up behind one of the adventurer-made barricades.
“You have one chance to live.”
He said, and all the adventurers turned back toward Alisson, at first confused. Their confusion quickly turned into panic when they saw who he was. The ones who rose their weapons, Alisson dispatched immediately with quick throws of his knives. The other adventurers got the message, and were frozen in terror.
“Our mounts, where did Andestine put them?”
Alisson asked in a casual tone, one that was far detached from the chaotic surroundings.
“T-there in the ware-”
“What!? Don’t tell him! That’s his whole reason for being here!”
One of the adventurers started, but was interrupted.
Alisson launched off a Pictun spell through the head of the adventurer that had interrupted the first. Alisson looked to the first, and said simply,
“Continue.”
The adventurer looked around meekly, “T-the warehouse southeast of here, the one owned by the Guild! Everything was taken there!”
Alisson strode toward the adventurer, and said slowly, “Thank you very much…”
He then kicked the adventurer right in their chest, sending them stumbling back and over the barricade, right into the embrace of a beast. Alisson turned away, ignoring the screams of the man, and picked up the knives he’d thrown. With this barricade unmanned, all the people funneling down the street in front of Alisson were now vulnerable.
That should make things more chaotic. He doubted there were any guards at that warehouse, but with beasts now running amok, he’d have to hurry – The beasts could attack the horses. Alisson scaled a building and traversed along the rooftops to avoid beasts and adventurers. On the way to the warehouse, Alisson caught a glimpse of an altercation below. Three fighters were corning someone. That someone Alisson immediately recognized as being Celis. The three fighters however…
Two of them were adventurers, strong ones, and the other was that Hero; Shepard, was it? Perhaps one summoner pair and a mercenary really was all that Andestine sent. Regardless, Alisson didn’t like those odds for his apprentice.
A sneak attack would do well – It seemed the three fighters were all focused on Celis. Tunnel vision was something you shouldn’t suffer under the light of day.
Alisson quietly slipped down from the rooftops. With his cloak over his head, he silently approached the backs of the mercenary. They didn’t even notice. Perhaps the thin padding of snow had silenced his steps. Or perhaps they thought him another adventurer.
He tapped the shoulder of the red-haired mercenary girl. She turned only with her head, expecting a comrade. She then gasped. Alisson’s blade flashed and she was sent stumbling to the side, blood flying through the air.
He held Enhérejär high, and stared down the other two fighters.
Orders?
Kill them all.
Yes master.
With telepathy, their plan was made in seconds, in utter silence. A flash appeared, and cat ears manifested on Alisson’s head. His tails however, were nowhere to be seen, having been destroyed in the fight with the Nursery and having yet to heal. He charged forward at the two fighters, while Celis held back, charging up a barrage. The armored adventurer stepped forward to meet him. Alisson parried, but the adventurer disengaged and remised. The two were stuck in a short battle of bladework before the hero came crashing into their lightning-fast brawl with a swing. Alisson sidestepped around the hero, and stabbed him in the back – Enhérejär pierced cleanly, but not deeply.
However, he held Einherjar within the hero, and launched off a couple spells into him through the length of the blade; At just the same time did Celis fire off a barrage of spells at the two aggressors. The adventurer managed to throw up a protective barrier in time, which shielded them from the majority of Celis’s spells before it broke, and let a couple through, cleanly cutting into the two fighters.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The katana wielding adventurer from before was behind him, and knowing she was going to attack, Alisson withdrew Enhérejär and backstepped right behind the mercenary, slamming his hilt into the girl’s backside. He further withdrew; not before giving a fast cut at the girl’s arm with his blade.
With the hero and his mercenary colliding into each other, Alisson surged for the armored adventurer, the prince looking one that had good swordsmanship. The armored adventurer just barely managed to get his blade up before Alisson took it in a coulé; Enhérejär shot straight toward the adventurer’s neck. Fortunately for the adventurer, he reacted quick enough, and forced his blade down, pushing Enhérejär out of the path of the kill shot that was Alisson’s favorite target.
On muscle memory, Alisson disengaged, and slipped past the man, slicing at his side, however fruitlessly. He turned to meet Alisson and again the two of them were locked in a fierce back and forth of blade actions, both parties taking each others blades, stepping back and forth and disengaging in rapid, lightning-fast motions.
However, with one final action, Alisson flicked his wrist up, and with it, the man’s sword was sent flying into the air. The adventurer only gasped for a moment before Alisson’s blade flew into his neck, killing him instantly.
Fighting beasts isn’t the same as fighting people – Why defend your neck against creatures that don’t know what vitals are?
It was like bullying children; They had great potential, but it was elsewhere, and not in the areas that mattered for them to live.
Meanwhile, Celis had tied down the hero and red-headed mercenary. The hero was putting the heat on, literally, with his flaming blade. The red-head seemed far more reserved, and was now raising her arms at Alisson, staring at him, mouthing something.
Was she surrendering? Just what did she have to say? And why not say it aloud? Alisson’s curiosity was piqued.
Before he could think further, the adventurer girl stepped toward him, raising her blade, cautiously glancing at the hero. She clearly wasn’t acting normally.
Celis however, didn’t notice as much. Seeing movement toward Alisson out of her peripheral vision, she broke off from the hero, and crashed into the adventurer girl.
Celis lifted the girl’s arm up with one hand, and rapidly impaled her side with the other. The two of them fell to the ground, where Celis then proceeded to rain blows down at the adventurer’s neck. Over and over did blades come down at her. The mercenary managed to get her hands in front of her neck in time, so she was defended at first, but then Celis shifted toward attacking the rest of her body, and it quickly became evident that the mercenary, who for some reason wasn’t offering any resistance, was going to die.
“Kana!”
The hero called, and dashed forward.
He was stopped by a quick lunge by Alisson with Enhérejär at his knee. The hero tried to swat Alisson away, but Alisson wasn’t going to let him near his apprentice. Alisson slipped behind the hero in a deft motion, and impaled the back of his neck with ease and speed. The hero turned, visibly furious despite the fact he’d been impaled in his neck.
This was a hero. It was going to take a hell of a lot to take him down. Lady Salchyon had shown Alisson a few tips – Decapitation and severing their body parts seemed to work the best way, but there was no way Alisson had the strength to sever limbs with the Hero’s tough armor. Alisson bobbed under the retaliatory swing of the hero and was about to thrust when the hero let go of his weapon, and stepped forward at Alisson, arms raised, and his fists balled.
A brawl? I’m afraid I’m not so well versed.
Alisson wasn’t going to indulge in the death throes of a hero. He simply stepped back, and out of the way of the hero’s rapid fire punches, one by one evading them. Getting close to the hero was risky, so Alisson simply kept his distance until…
“!?”
Celis grabbed him from behind. The hero would have no problem breaking free with just a small amount of struggle, but that still bought Alisson the time to step forward, and with a slice of Enhérejär, cut off the hero’s head. And that’s exactly what he did. The hero’s head flew through the air.
With that, all four of the aggressors were dead. Well, other than a particularly large dog that now ran at them, barking loudly. Behind it, a crowd of people came running, adventurers and guardsmen alike, fury in their eyes.
Alisson clicked his tongue. They couldn’t ride through an angry mass of people like that.
Go. He spoke to Celis, I’ll deal with them. Our mounts are located in the large red warehouse south of here. Retrieve them, and we’ll ride out of here before this city burns to the ground.
Yes master.
Celis, covered in blood from ripping out the throats of two fighters, bowed, and quickly scaled a building, vanishing into the city.
Now then…
Alisson looked toward the terribly angry mob rushing toward him. Guardsmen and adventurers. What did they think they could do? They were trained to kill beasts, not other weapon wielding humanoids. Alisson sighed. A slaughter it would be, then.
If they had this many men to spare, then the city must be more locked down than he thought. But by the same coin, if this was it, a group of monster experts, against him, they were terribly lacking. Local adventurers and guardsmen were not going to chase Alisson down. That was Andestine. The last hint of Andestine in the city was now the summoner of the hero that he had just killed. She seemed to know her place as a magician, and wasn’t present. She had no powers against him.
The dog that had brought the crowd with its barking now lunged at Alisson, teeth barred. Alisson stepped to the side and gave it a hard kick into the side. With his Opensen, the dog was sent limply into a nearby wall. He rose Enhérejär toward the encroaching mob.
“I have no business with you all. If you attack, then you forfeit your life.”
“Go to hell Sidonian scum!”
A guardsmen thrust their spear at him.
He easily bobbed under and impaled their neck.
An adventurer swung at him.
Alisson easily weaved around him, and lopped of his head as he did.
As he stated, everyone who attacked him died shortly thereafter. Their blade taken, pushed aside, and a white rapier became very familiar with the inside of their throat. In, out and around, above and under, side to side, a vector of liquid mercury seeping between rocks. Each of those rocks cracked and fell without fail. It wasn’t even a matter of getting around their blades anymore; he had too much momentum and breakthrough capacity – No one knew where the hell Alisson would come from – That’s how much chaos was caused by a single powerful fighter breaking into a formation.
They were being thinned out. It was taking time yes because such is the nature of fighting numerically superior opponents. It didn’t take long however, for Alisson to notice their fear. Sweat mounted on their foreheads, their eyes darted, and their weapons followed shakily their vision. Only for them to break out in terror when Alisson appeared in their sights for but a second and all their terror broke lose. They weren’t able to manifest that terror into physical action before they were dead.
Even beasts started joining in, clearly brought in by the smell of blood. They avoided Alisson, somehow knowing that he was the one who’d wrought all the blood, and focused instead on the adventurers and guardsmen. These, the monster experts had an easier time of fighting, and they didn’t crumble so quickly. They held out, killing beasts left and right, locked in place, before Alisson swooped in, ending their fruitless efforts.
The snow that had mounted on the road was splattered with red, but now it was dense enough to where it didn’t melt immediately. However, due to the shear amount of blood, the street was cleared of its white covering quickly.
It didn’t take long for the men to not want to fight him anymore. As the remainder of the men saw the shear amount of corpses that now littered the street and the rivers of blood that flowed down it, they thought twice about attacking Alisson Vi Nuam, the Fairy of the Battlefield.
They started to run, flee in terror at the sight of him. Alisson took special precautions to make sure that these men especially died. Survivors are detrimental for a number of reasons.
Midway through impaling someone, Alisson’s ears atop his head twitched. The hooves of horses. Could that be Celis? He lifted his head down the road.
He was dead wrong.
When Alisson saw the bright sheen of armor down the road, he knew immediately that he was had.
A cavalcade of knights rode toward him. Bearing Andestine insignias, fully kitted and geared, there was no doubt: they were reinforcements. There were so many of them: Alisson was promptly left staring, sweat on his forehead. There had to be at least an entire battalion.
It was time to run, now. There was no ‘biting back’ at an enemy that was so superior. Even Alisson knew when to draw the line and that time was now. A dozen platinum knights was a conceivable a opponent, but a battalion? Multiple companies of the highest ranked unit humanity had to offer?
Alisson saw the blots of rising figures behind them, rising into the sky, clad in battlemage armor. They had casters. Lots of them.
Someone wanted Alisson dead. That was for sure.
He canned his train of thought there, and sprung into action. There was no escaping so many cavalrymen without a mount of his own. He couldn’t escape to the buildings because the aerial mages would…
Alisson eyes widened. The aerial mages. Enhérejär. Whoever had sent these reinforcements, they weren’t aware of his redirection. Either these troops weren’t sent to specifically kill him, or they didn’t know about his power.
Alisson broke into a malignant smirk. He did have a way to bite back. All he had to do, was draw out a magic barrage.
First, nullify their cavalry. That’ll force their mages to act.
Alisson promptly scaled a nearby building. He didn’t try to run from aerial enemies, and simply sunk into stance, Enhérejär poised at the oncoming mages. The mages halted a good distance from him, and pointed their staves and openned gauntlets at him.
“Surrender at once Alisson Vi Nuam! We have you surrounded! There’s no escape!”
Alisson didn’t reply. The mage’s resolve was put to the test, and they were about to fire when another mage came soaring in.
It was the little summoner girl. “W-wait don’t fire he can-!”
She was too late, however.
The mages fired. About a dozen of them unleashed their cocktail of spells at Alisson. The Andestinian Aerial Mage Corps were used as heavy field artillery, combining their mana into devasting tactical strikes and magic shields. When push came to shove, these mages could fight viciously with other aerial units, equipped with their own swords and armor and with a mana capacity to stay airborne for extended periods.
All of that didn’t matter. For their attack had just become Alisson’s escape.
Alisson stepped forward, and as the first of the spells came toward him, swung Enhérejär forward as he twisted his body around like a dancer. The first chunk of spells were caught, and sent back toward the mages, but there was still plenty more to redirect. Enhérejär’s range in its redirection was quite shallow, so he had to make numerous slicing motions, catching handfuls of spells before throwing them back at the enemy.
The barrage itself was short and condensed, so the packs of spells he did send back, were densely filled with death.
He spread out the spells as well, littering them through the knights below mostly. When he was done, Alisson stepped forward off the building, into the raging fires and plumes of smoke.
Most of the mages had deployed shields in a skillful reaction, to defend themselves, and their fellow mounted knights below – Alisson’s redirection was merely kicking dirt up in his opponent’s face. The adventurers and guardsmen who’d rallied along with the knights weren’t as fortunate however. They were probably all dead now.
Alisson turned and ran the opposite direction from the knights. Hopefully Celis retrieved their mounts, and would escape from the city on her volition-
A pair of clopping hooves sounded deathly near, and Alisson was about to turn to meet the supposed aggressors when…
“Hup!”
Alisson was grabbed by the collar, and pulled up and onto a horse. Through all the dust and the smoke, he couldn’t tell who’d yanked him up until after the horse he was riding left the clouds of black smoke.
Before him, bobbing up and down to the tempo of the galloping horse, was Celis’s small frame. He was overjoyed at her appearance, but at the same time a little terrified at her apparent strength.
…
Arciel coughed, black grime and dirt covering her face and her robes.
“…D-damnit!”
Before Arciel could compalin, she saw the smoke clear, and saw a familiar red-headed body laying across the ground, covered in an abnormal amount of dark red. Near the body, was a large dog, whining.
“K-kana?”
Near the mercenary was also Shepard, beheaded. Arciel set down next to the limp adventurer, her eyes wide. Pat looked to Arciel, as if pleading. Arciel shakily wrapped her fingers around Kana’s wrists.
Arciel heaved a sigh, and got to healing, and quickly called over a medic.
She was alive. Barely.
First Shepard’s summoning stream fades, then she arrives to sees her fellow country almost obliterate themselves; then she sees Kana on the brink of death. It was a good thing she was there to quell all three of those catastrophes though. She managed to warn the 153rd in time and they managed to pop their shields to at the very least minimize casualties. She’d stabilized Kana, and brought her to a field medic. And Shepard…well that idiot would come back after Arciel had the mana to spare.
Hey! I can hear you!
Oh shut up.
Still though; As the smoke cleared, she saw for herself the mess that the Sidonian had caused. Some men had been blown apart, and their entrails lay scattered across walls. An unfortunate guardsmen walked through the street, holding his detached left arm with his right arm. This in combined with the gore from the prior battle with the Sidonian, had left the street as a hellscape. Knights had fallen from their mounts, coughing profusely.
“Freudlin!”
Arciel, having stabilized Kana, sought out the commander. She was careful to tiptoe around the pools of viscera as she tripped over herself to reach the commander of the 153rd.
“I see Alisson’s not too happy about our arrival.” Freudlin remarked from his steed. “Garnin company; Tyzisch company; Lelo company; Pursue! Everyone else watch for beasts and protect the wounded!”
Arciel didn’t fall under any hierarchy, so she still stood before the commander. “Kana’s out of commission and so is Shepard. That barrage wasn’t from Alisson – it looks like he can redirect our spells freely like we theorized.”
Freudlin’s cerulean helmet tilted to her. “It's a shame our rear-guard is so far behind us - We'd have more options with them here.”
Arciel was about to ask what Freudlin meant, but he yapped another set of orders before she could ask.
“All units! Do not use offensive magic against Alisson! Mages! Heal if you can! But if not, spread out and track down Alisson! He’s as good as dead with us on his ass!”
“Sir, yes sir!”
…
“They’re giving chase.”
Celis said, peering back past Alisson.
Feeling embarrassed about riding behind his own apprentice, Alisson deftly jumped onto his stallion, reacquainted himself with his mount, and then took the lead.
“There’s no use fighting them – We won’t stand a chance. We’ll escape from the city.”
Then, we’ll move in random directions until we lose them. We can’t let them know the direction that we’re traveling in. We can’t let them know that we’re heading west to Scratskoslovotskaya.
Alisson said the last of what he wanted to telepathically, scared that someone might be listening in on them.
Yes master.
Alisson quickly dug around on the packs beneath him, and sighed in relief when he felt that nothing was missing. The medallion was there. They’d be able to receive help from the Kitsune; the secondary task was accomplished. Their horses being alive was a plus as well. Alisson missed their speed and endurance compared to the normal breeds in these parts.
Alisson watched the half dozen knights riding behind him out of the corner of his eye. They were keeping pace, but weren’t catching up – Not when their horses were more heavily armored, and their riders, also more heavily armored. There wasn’t many more knights than a single squad – They must’ve split up to head down different roads to cut off Alisson. It also had the benefit of baiting Alisson into fighting a battle that seemed winnable. However, reinforcements would quickly encircle them as soon as he was pinned down.
On that note, he begrudgingly abandoned the primary objective of this exercise. He set out to destroy their pursuers, of whom Alisson was expecting to be a small black-ops team like last time. This time however, Andestine was really putting the hammer down. Whatever that structure was, it must be important – the politician swine behind these knights must be getting frustrated at Alisson’s success.
Beasts leapt over rooftops above, and small holdouts of adventurers cropped up here and there. But above all else, there were a terrific number of gored and mangled corpses, of both beast and human, combatant and resident, alike. Snow had started to covered their bodies. In a few hours, there probably wouldn’t be any trace of blood in the city.
It didn’t take long for the knights to outflank him and Celis. A dozen knights rounded a corner in front of them, and charged toward them. With their swords brandished, sheening in the light alongside their bright armor, it was an intimidating sight.
Then, Alisson saw with his own eyes – the Andestinian cavalry tightened, and completely blocked the road in their charge. There was no going through them. The only thing that stopped the definition of charging this formation being considered suicide was the fact that they weren’t equipped with lances. Still, those heavy warhorses would trample Alisson’s stallion and Celis’s mare in a heartbeat. They needed to evade. Alisson was quick to veer off into an alley. He quickly passed out of the shade and back into the light, only to see:
More knights, chasing him from the other road, as he thought.
From there on out, it was a game of cat and mouse. Only, the cats knew exactly where the mice were at all times thanks to all the mages circling above relaying their position to everyone in the city. They didn’t shoot once, evidence that Andestine had learned their lesson. Alisson and his apprentice fired back at the mages sporadically, but their weak, hastily aimed spells did nothing against a prepared Andestinian Aerial Mage’s shield.
Eventually, they reached a gate. It was completely overrun – It must’ve been the western gate, from where Alisson had lead the beast horde to. There were not guardsmen in sight, just a toppled wall and plenty of corpses. The gate itself was collapsed, and rubble was blocking the way.
He placed a hand on his stallion.
Please.
With that, he raked its reins, and spurred the horse forward. The horse, to his surprise, didn’t slow to a halt. It was going to jump. Alisson broke into a smirk.
The Andestinian calvary was heavier – They should be caught up clearing the rubble for a least a minute.
Their two horses approached the destroyed gate at a thundering speed, and, with a large jolt on Alisson’s end, jumped over the meters of debris blocking the way. The two horses landed with a thud, and their hooves dug into the soft mud of the road. They were now out of the city. If they could shake the mages trailing them, then they’d be home free.
We can lose them in the tree line.
Alisson veered off the road, and into the nearby woods. The dozen mages swarming at their backs were quick to follow, but soon the branches of trees threatened their vision. They could either sink closer to the floor, and be susceptible to attack from him and Celis, or they could rise, and have the canopy of the forest block their vision. They chose the ladder.
The snow that had began to fall at the onset of Alisson’s assault on Pūshkinskaya by this time had mounted significantly across the canopy and the forest floor – And more was coming. If this flurry turned into a blizzard, him and Celis would be able to easily lose Andestine. So, buying time was what Alisson needed. He moved in random, erratic directions in the forest, never keeping one path for too long.
The mages tried firing spells down here and there, but they were either redirected by Alisson or were too far away from him to cause any damage. The mages had their hands full just keeping up with two galloping horses – They were slowly losing their chase by speed alone. See this, Alisson went straight, which only exemplified the speed disparity.
The clouds above thickened, and the mages had an increasingly harder time keeping up with him as the snowfall only seemed to increase as time went on.
It happened suddenly, and without warning.
Only when the snow was inches high, with large throughs of it being kicked up by every step of his stallion; only when the wind seemed to be the only sound, and only when the sun was totally blocked out by the thick, dark clouds above; Did Alisson turn, and not see any mages. The blizzard now surrounded Celis and him.
“Thank Sidonia for this storm – We’ve lost the Andestinians because of it.”
Alisson remarked, and Celis nodded her head. He couldn’t feel too happy though. It was freezing cold – And neither him nor Celis had had the chance to repair their armor in the city. He was struck with an odd melancholy as they exited the forest, only to be met with a snow covered moor ahead of them.
“Come on.” Alisson dug into his pouch for his compass. “The enemy doesn’t sleep. We need to get as much of a lead on them as we can.”
Heavy winds blew against him as he stared at the compass, and orientated himself west.
“The snow will leave tracks – But thanks to the storm – It should all be covered up before Andestine finds anything.”
Alisson thought aloud through the loud winds howling at his ears. As Alisson looked up, toward the empty plains of snow before him, that sudden pang of melancholy assaulted him once more. He turned to Celis. She tilted her head.
“S-sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were there.” Alisson said, quickly turning away.
There was just something sad about snow. About clouds that rained it, and about the wind that howled with it, and about the blood that melted it.
***