Over the next three days, we took the road by the coast of the sea, taking us out of Tamery and into Kengir. Like the major had said, we passed right by Erdu, and we made our way ahead as the road began curving northwest ever so slightly. The desert slowly began to fade into a rugged, hilly landscape before the first mountains appeared over the horizon. Nico moved next to me as we ran with the convoy.
“It’s around here that Kengir ends, and Iona begins. Syressa’s the city closest to the border, and likely where we’ll first resupply.”
Huh.
“Think we’ll see Nisos in there? It’s been a while!” I said.
“Unlikely. Last I checked, he was still studying in the academy, and if he decided to join the Ionian team, then he’d probably be already on his way to Romellus. That said, I do concede that it’s likely he’s participating, given his ambitions of becoming Syressa’s champion. A good showing there would do wonders for his chances.”
While we chatted, the door to the front carriage opened as it hurtled down the road. The major peeked out of the door with her upper body with one hand gripping the edge.
“Contestants! Attention!” she commanded.
As commanded, the twelve of us turned our gazes to the major.
“Travel through Iona is different from Kengir or Tamery; the roads aren’t patrolled due to Iona’s fragmented status, and monsters have plenty of places to hide. I am giving you the responsibility of dealing with anything that attacks the convoy; if there’s so much as a scratch on anyone or anything in this convoy, all of you will Feel. My. Wrath. AM I CLEAR?!” she snarled.
“YES. MA’AM!” we saluted.
“Good. The rest of your orders still stand.” She said, heading back inside and closing the door to the carriage.
Nuhem made his way to Asten, and their conversation was within earshot of us all.
“Lord Hatshepsut, we have three carriages and two supply wagons to protect. How do you want to do this?” he asked.
Asten thought for a few moments before answering.
“Proactively ensuring the safety of the carriages is paramount since we aren’t to allow even a single scratch. We should form an arrow formation at the head of the convoy, with Durreg at the front. You and Kiara should take one of his sides each. Lady Sept will serve as the rear guard, and the rest of our ranged fighters and supports should stay in the center of the convoy to protect it from aerial assaults and ranged attacks. Tor and Lord Rehu should protect the sides of the convoy, and I’ll remain with those in the heart of the convoy to serve as back up or an impromptu strike force where needed.”
He then turned to Nishem.
“Champion of Huros, you should be in command during the chaos of the battle.”
When Nishem nodded, he turned to Nuhem.
“Is this plan acceptable to you?” he asked.
“I’ve no objections. Hopefully this is good enough to get the job done!”
***
Just minutes into the hills and monsters were already attacking the convoy. They were mostly rank C or lower, so disposing of them wasn’t too difficult.
“It seems that this road wasn’t cleared traversed in quite some time if this many monsters are present.” Durreg said, punting away a snake monster that lunged at him.
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The nearby monsters to the side of the road stopped following us and jumped on the snake, starting a small brawl of their own. With a monster attacking the convoy every few seconds, it was slowly becoming a nuisance, but nothing we couldn’t handle.
“How long till we get to Syressa?” I asked.
“A few more hours at least. Just keep at it and we’ll get there before you know it.” Nico answered, drawing a heavy sigh from me.
As we kept going, the monsters began growing in density and the terrain grew more and more treacherous. More than once, the convoy had to go up winding, treacherous mountain roads single-file while being under assault from all directions. Even the ground wasn’t safe with the occasional burrowing monster attack, though Durreg thankfully handled it for us.
Likewise, Netos and Nico were our most effective defenses against aerial monsters, as the archers quickly and reliably bought down any number of airborne enemies with their blindingly fast magic arrows, freeing up the rest of us to deal with surface monsters.
Eventually, rank B monsters such as cyclopes and dryads appeared sporadically, though they were swiftly dealt with. The real problem was that the fighting put much greater pressure on our mana and stamina points, which were starting to flag even with all of our attempts to maximize gains. At this rate, we had less than an hour to go before we completely ran out.
Despite that, the major didn’t say a word, the implication being we should deal with it on our own.
“What now? What are we supposed to do?” Asty asked, her breathing labored.
“There’s no reasonable way for us to fight against the monsters all the way to Syressa!” Nekhtu grunted.
I cursed under my breath. I had already activated my ring of mana regeneration, spreading the gains to the rest of the team before it was gone in nearly an hour. What now?
“Don’t defend yourselves – just take the attacks.” Asten commanded.
I blinked twice, unsure if I’d heard him correctly.
What?
“Let the monsters attack you, and only fight back to stop them from slowing you down or attacking the convoy. Everyone in the middle, fan out and form a perimeter to encircle the convoy.”
“Are you insane?! Are you trying to get us killed?!” Asty yelled, to the nervous agreement of a few of the commoners.
“None of us should die – we’re not taking advantage of our health regeneration to supplement our mana and stamina regeneration. Our health is just as much of a resource, especially since Kiara can move health around as necessary. If anyone else has a better idea, then I am all ears.”
Hearing that, no one could argue against him. The logic in his argument was sound, if ruthless. The people stationed at the heart of the convoy spread out, encircling the convoy. Unlike everyone else, Durreg, Nuhem, and I still had to use our resources to clear monsters out of the convoy’s way.
Immediately, the monsters began attacking, biting, clawing, and stabbing at the rest of the group. While the three of us at the front continued to toss the monsters off the road, the others protected the convoy with their bodies. Our damage output dropped sharply, and the monster density around us began to rise.
And yet, the suicidal tactic was already working.
With an eye on everyone’s resources, I kept transferring mana, stamina, and health as needed, with the former two’s stores already rising faster than they were being spent. While the others weren’t quite at the level of not using any abilities or spells, the occasional ones being activated to chop off a grasping hand or block a magic attack were orders of magnitude cheaper than our maximum damage output.
The only issue was that everyone besides me and Durreg seemed to be under greater mental pressure from the monster attacks on their bodies.
“Kiara, I leave the orders on our damage output in your hands.” Asten said as he blocked a monster’s bite to his throat with his arm.
***
We ended up alternating between butchering monsters and letting them wail on us for hours before Syressa had finally appeared over the hills. The setting sun’s light made the city-state only appear more divine to those of us enduring the monsters’ assault.
Finally, we were going to rest.
The guards atop the gate began to gather as the convoy stopped in front of it while the rest of us formed a half-circle around it to push away any monsters with funny ideas. The people in charge of the convoy spoke to the guards, though I couldn’t be bothered to listen as the monsters, the team’s resources, and the sheer exhaustion gripped me tightly. Eventually, the steel gate was lifted, letting in the carriages one by one. By the time Durreg entered, the gate was hurriedly closed, firmly separating us from the monsters.
Half the ranged fighters collapsed on the ground from sheer exhaustion, their robes and light armor torn and bloodied. Even Asten didn’t come out unscathed, but he seemed to shrug it off as if all was well.
The major stepped out of the carriage and walked towards us while the nearby guards snuck glances at us curiously.
“Tonight, we will rest at an inn. Everyone will wake up at sunrise and have breakfast. You will then be given three hours to repair your gear and resupply, then we will be off. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am!” we saluted, even those who were heaving on the dusty ground.
The convoy then began moving down the road to an inn a guard had recommended, and the twelve of us followed, eager to get some food, water, a shower, and a much needed rest.