Nuhem Serapis
“We’re almost there. Remember the plan: strike fast, strike hard, then get out.” I whispered, and the rest of the team nodded.
The moment we were teleported to our starting location, we immediately knew that there was no way for us to defend. Our team resembled a traditional adventurer’s party in composition, so challenging the nobles at war games and siege tactics was never going to go favorably.
Instead, we decided to play the game on our own terms.
After our cleric Nishem set a delayed magic signal at our flag’s location, we completely abandoned camp and decided to move in force and take the enemy flag. Fortunately for us, the enemy team boldly revealed their position with the fortress they built and the landscaping project they undertook – a sign of their confidence in a direct engagement.
As we moved past the last bush, we came upon a massive clearing. Surrounding the fortress was a moat and a litany of trenches, stakes, and even walking golems. Between the clearing and the edge of the forest we stood on was a bizarre array of torn-up trees. Upon seeing the sheer monstrosity ahead of us, the party froze.
“…Maaaaybe we should retreat and come up with a new plan.” Netos, our archer, chuckled.
Before anyone else could respond, Nishem instantly raised her hand and activated a spell.
“[Sanctuary of Tranquility]!”
A stream of water emerged out of her hand and spread apart over us, forming a dome over our heads. Not a moment too soon, a sea of flame engulfed us, burning everything outside of Nishem’s protective spell and sizzling sharply against it.
“AMBUSH!” a familiar voice yelled from above before as the flames finally petered out.
“Dodge!” I yelled jumping through the water forming the shield.
Most of the party followed, but Nekhtu was still processing the command. That moment of struggling to comprehend the situation was his undoing.
“[Fist of Justice]!” the voice yelled from above, slamming right through the shield and Nekhtu with it.
With the sheer momentum behind the magic construct, our mage stood no chance as his body exploded into raw mana particles.
“Shit, fight back!” Aui yelled as she began playing her flute, her magic imbuing us with boosted attributes as well as increased MP and SP regeneration.
Nishem cast a defensive buff of her own on us before joining Netos in driving away our overhead attacker. Kiara dodged spell and arrow alike before launching spears of ice, which Nishem countered with a spell of her own.
While our ranged fighters fended off Kiara, I moved to do my own job. Feeling power surge within me, I stepped forward ahead of the party with my shield raised towards the incoming enemies.
“[Greater Anchor Howl]!” I yelled, activating my taunt skill.
Anyone who forcefully tries to overcome this taunting curse was going to suffer debilitating status conditions for the rest of the fight unless their mana core successfully resisted the curse itself.
As expected, the coming golems, Kiara, and Lady Sept all turned their attention to me, though the latter two did so with irritation clear on their faces. Two of the golems had apparently entered within range, because they raised their arms and fired a stream of flames and earth bolts my way respectively. Lady Sept sent a barrage of arrows burning with a radiant flame at me as she rapidly closed the distance, while Kiara activated a skill that nearly lifted me off the ground.
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I clenched my teeth and activated my own defensive skills on top of Aui and Nishem’s, digging my legs into the ground and further strengthening me while redirecting the coming spells to my shield, which shone brightly with all the mana saturating it.
All the attacks slammed into my shield with a mighty crash, rapidly diminishing my mana as I held my ground against the onslaught.
“Retreat! We need to- Urk” I stumbled forward, with a burning sensation in my stomach and blood rising through my throat.
I looked down and found a sword sticking out of my stomach, which was pulled out as I was kicked and fell face first into the ground.
‘Who stabbed me from behind, and how did they get there?’ were the last, barely formed thoughts I’d had before my vision faded.
***
As Nuhem’s body exploded into mana particles, Durreg turned his sword towards the rest of the commoner team. With the three of us against the last three enemies, none of whom seemed to be melee fighters, victory seemed assured.
…Three?
“Guys, turn back!” I yelled in a panic, though it was too late.
My mana sight picked up another explosion of mana particles from the heart of our fortress, and Astekhu’s signature disappeared with it.
The remaining three grouped together before the cleric activated a spell.
“[Bail Out]!”
A sphere of arcane mana covered the three before it glowed and vanished.
“Forget them, secure the flag!” Nico yelled, rushing straight back to base.
Durreg and I followed straight after her as we flew over the defenses and blasted the walls separating us from the pedestal room in a rush to keep the flag safe, but we were too late. The flag was gone.
Nico closed her eyes and clenched her fist.
“After them! Tear apart the forest if you have to and take back our flag!”
***
Nearly a kilometer deep in a direction away from the forest, a man wrapped up in black clothing like a mummy emerged from the shadow of a tree with a stick half-wrapped in blue cloth in hand. With a flick of his free hand, the clothes on his body transformed into a ghillie suit covered in vegetation and shrubs.
With a few looks to the left and right, the man dove into the heart of the forest, each step carrying him away from the fortress making the chances of the nobles’ team finding him even smaller.
***
The three of us scoured the surrounding area from the sky, but we found no trace of the sixth enemy. The fight had started nearly an hour and fifteen minutes after the match began, and it was going to be another forty-five before Astekhu was coming back to give us any clues on our target.
While we did that, the logs we’d placed around the fortress were burning far too early because of the magic exchange. We’d intended on using them to create a wall of fire around the fort after both flags were secure, giving us a steeper advantage when trying to defend until the time limit, but that plan went up in the flames of the forest fire that just started. With our attention grabbed by the hunt, we were forced into allowing the fires to grow beyond the hope of extinguishing them.
A silver lining to all our preparations was that the trenches served as a bulwark against the spreading of the flames, keeping the fort from being devoured as well.
By the time Astekhu was back, we finally accepted that the enemy slipped through our grasp.
“I am sorry. Protecting the flag was my job and I failed miserably. My traps were worthless.” Asty said as she sat against the wall and held up her knees to her chest.
“No, Astekhu. The failure was mine. I treated the opponent like a conventional military belligerent, and we all paid dearly for it.” Nico said, her fist still clenched.
Knowing Nico, she was likely being incredibly harsh to herself.
“You’re both wrong. The critical failure was mine.” Durreg shrugged.
“It’s not reasonable to expect the commander to anticipate every possible scenario, and neither is it reasonable to expect an alchemist to fend off an assassin’s blade alone. If I’d remained in the fort with Astekhu, I could have defended it. Our job in that fight was to protect the flag, not to kill the opponent.”
I started chuckling, getting raised eyebrows from the others in response.
“Look, if we’re going to be going over things we messed up, then I did too. If I spotted the enemy earlier, we’d have been much better prepared to deal with them. Instead of dwelling on what we did wrong, let’s focus on what we can still do.”
“That’s a charitable interpretation of your errors, Kiara. I’d say setting the whole forest on fire was a bigger mistake.” Nico said with a smug grin.
Durreg snorted and Asty started giggling.
My answer and Nico’s jab were the kick in the rear the team needed to stop moping in self-pity and start thinking again. We still had three hours before the match was over.
“While we can’t figure out where they went, we know where they’ll be. They have to return to their own pedestal to place both flags at some point if they want to win, and we’re going to pay them back for this humiliating loss a hundred-fold.” Nico said with a vindictive tone.
“Aye, aye, captain!” I saluted and received a flick on the forehead for my efforts.