the chill has been quite the torture and I have to admit that I have been underestimating the deadliness of it by quite a bit it turns out.
The most insidious part of the chill is the freezing of mana channels in my body. I noticed it only when I was actively purging the chill. The chill essentially settled in my mana channels, freezing that region of my body and killing that part of my body. I am surprised that nobody bothered to inform me of this, then again a majority of the people I have met are like Shamon, who do not actively channel mana.
The mana channels are a system of channels that exist in a living body, allowing for free flow of mana in the body so it is accurate to say that it is a key part of our combat strength. Without the mana channels, I will not be able to move even a tenth of my mana when it comes to a fight.
Right now, I can't even channel mana into the frozen part of my channels. Even now I can feel my mana colliding with the frozen parts of the mana channels in my body, barely able to crawl in there. It would be quite easy for ice mana to flow in it. That means the chill has changed the very nature of my body.
Well, other than the frozen channels I have managed to pull out a majority of ice mana in my body, though it is going to take quite a while before the damage is fully healed. Well, I guess that I should be focusing on the enemy in front of us.
Unlike what I was expecting I think that the entirety of the enemy forces have made their way to the fort, fighting us in what is the closest thing we have to a home ground in this area. Even now, I can see the legions of beasts charging and being held back by the soldiers throughout the wall.
That is not the surprising part though, the surprising part is the fact that the troop leaders are also on the battlefield. Granted, they make sure that they are at the very edge of the battlefield, where the water bolt will be half frozen before it can reach the enemy. The fact that they are returning to the battlefield is surprising. It is almost like something is pushing them forward, pushing them into a corner. I don't want to be fighting a cornered beast.
I was expecting them to use their presence as a deterrent force, that is a force that is meant to make sure that I don't act. Intimidation is usually the strategy of operation with formation mages. Engaging us is often a waste of resources. A formation master with a formation will be very good in battles of attrition.
That means that we are in something of a stalemate. The soldiers can fight on roughly equal footing without our interference. In that regard, we are a bit inferior, but it is something that can be managed. At least that is what Shamon assures me. I can see the soldiers are being pushed to their brink with each day of fighting. For now, there are no serious injuries.
Right now the main problem is that the formation base has already been sealed, to be a bit more efficient. That will introduce a bit more lag to the formation and it's functioning if I were to need it. It is a risk worth taking, After all the enemy is least likely to attack us immediately after an attack and it will give me the best window to inscribe in a new formation. After all, what I am doing is taking quite a bit of risk. I have to make sure to minimize it as much as possible. Being disturbed in the process of inscription is quite deadly I assure you.
Thankfully, I managed to complete the quiver formation roughly half a day before the formation fully closed. I am personally surprised that I have managed to do this, this is a personal best even if it is a basic formation. If I pull it off a couple of times more, and make sure it is not a fluke, it might just end up as something that I can boast to my master you know.
In that period between the formation being created and the formation base becoming ready to be closed, the water bolt formation has managed to produce 23 water bolts which are stored in the quiver ready to be released at a single thought. That means that at the moment I can attack the annoying troop leaders by surprise if they just come into range.
Of course, after that though these people will become more wary and I simply will not have another opportunity to attack them using this. I cannot forget that these people have a master behind them. I still am kind of hoping that this time at least I will get a kill. it is getting kind of annoying now you know, to be so passive and careful about everything you know. If this is how formation mages have to exist in most cases, it is not surprising that we always end up so cranky.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
These water bolts, I wish I could use them. After all these bolts were the reason that I had made such a daring plan you know, even sacrificing a class nine formation core in the process. if it means that I get to create another class eight formation that too on the battlefield it is worth it.
As I am thinking all of this, the troop leaders finally make a move. There are only three of them this time which means that my victim last time was seriously injured and could even be dead. it is nice to know that the attack was not a waste at the very least. This time too their plan of attack is quite similar to last time but this time they are splitting themselves into groups of three with two of the beasts going to the other side of the fort and one coming here to keep me busy I guess.
I block their attack by channeling my mana, making sure that not even a bit can touch me. Naturally, this time I do not jump down but keep to the fort. I am tempted to use a bolt from the quiver and get rid of this beast instantly but that instinct restricts me. It is very easy to forget but these creatures are not my true enemies.
Activating the formation base, I can feel the formation taking my mana. It is a steady and sizeable drain on my mana, but I can run it for the duration of a fight, I am sure. I use the bolts formed here to fight. The bolts in the quiver I shall only use when they push me to the brink.
The beast down there tries to provoke me by snarling and taunting me I guess. I am not stupid enough to do that again though as I lazily direct one of the freshly formed bolts at the creature. Rather than dodge though this creature swipes at the bolt with its claws. That blow was enough to bloody its legs, but the creature made use of this opportunity to strike at me. A compressed shot of ice mana aimed at my head I am sure.
Fuck, I did not expect that to happen as I tumble down, the ice bolt passing inches from me. The creature retreats at the same time into a group of ice beasts( you have to remember the ordinary soldiers are still besieging us). I can sense his presence but I can't see his exact location.
Seeing that I turn my focus to the other two troop leaders, who I am sure are up to something that I do not want to know about. I can sense their position roughly which I hope is enough for what I am about to do. I throw a couple of bolts in their general vicinity, to do nothing more than to scare them. Can't do that too many times more though. A tenth of my mana was shaved in three bolts.
I will need to get rid of the one in front of me quickly. these bolts are not very costly but they still have a cost. I can assume that I have roughly 300 units of mana in me and each bolt costs 10 mana. the formation base the last time I opened it had almost 2000 units of mana and now I estimate it to have a thousand. That is just how wasteful this formation base is. Thankfully it is why it was so good at hiding my mana while inscribing.
I don't know the success of those two bolts, as I feel the beast below me shoot another ice bolt. I dodged this jumping to the side, which turned out to be a mistake, the creature shot out another ice bolt. Thankfully I was already shooting a water bolt in that direction causing both spells to collide.
Getting up as quickly as I dare, I shoot another water bolt at the creature which hits one of its soldiers. Okay, looks like I will have to take another risk in this fight, which well is kind of becoming common with me nowadays. I prime three to four bolts to be ready as I begin to condense all of my mana into the mana strings.
What you are looking at is a prime example of formation control. What I am about to do is redirect the bolt so that it will hit the enemy head-on. Now, I do not have a perfect track record with spell redirection but I do not have the option of trading blow for blow like this also. Also, I do not even want to imagine the damage that the troop leaders behind me are doing to the soldiers there.
The strings of mana extend from the formation into the water bolt that it has constructed, as I wait for the creature to try and hit me again. I do not need to wait for long, though this time I do not get to dodge it(I cannot move while formation control is active, which is why I have not used it till now.)
The water bolt flies in its usual trajectory at the beginning as the spell flies into the air going towards the ice beast. The creature dodges the strike this time by jumping forward, with the bolt passing harmlessly behind it. I interfere at this moment, using the full strength of my mana strings to essentially pull the spell forward.
Just this bit of redirecting nearly takes all of my focus and my mana but the result is immediate. The bolt changes direction hitting the beast in front of it right in what I think is its guts, spilling out all of its innards and what I think is its last meal as the creature crumples to the ground. It is quite disgusting to look at the very least.
After that moment the battle continues for about an hour, and I keep harrying the remaining two troop leaders who have already retreated from the battlefield and are busy directing the remaining troops. After the hour though, the two leaders retreat with their soldiers. That is good as after the spell redirecting, I had become a paper tiger. I have enough mana in me for five maybe six bolts. It was mainly the fear of another spell redirection that kept them away from me.
With this retreat, there should be enough time for me to at least begin on the trickiest component of my formation. Granted, the enemy is very likely to be able to sense it but I am banking on their caution for this particular piece of my work. They seem like a cautious bunch at the very least.