I certainly hate these moments, between when I have completed my work and when I have to see it pan out on the battlefield. A thousand things that can go wrong and a million things going on in your mind, it is not a state that I enjoy.

Well, I guess that I should explain what the trap does before I enter into the fray. Our trap is going to begin with the southern gates falling. At least that is what it will look like as the soldiers have already loosened the hinges of the massive gate. With the iron skin withdrawn it should be enough to cause the entire thing to collapse quite nicely in a while. At least that is what I hope but I can't say for certain until the thing does fall.

From there we will have a troop of soldiers acting as bait, slowly retreating until they reach the corridor that I have designated for this task. It is a tunnel connecting the armory to the soldier barracks. It is a surprisingly long and wide tunnel. I think that four soldiers will be able to fit in it side by side. This tunnel is something that is meant for the absolute worst case, when everything else has fallen. The armoury would be the best place to turtle up especially with the tunnel acting to separate them from the enemy.

The ice beasts are significantly thinner so we are assuming that more of them will be able to fit. Even with that, it is going to be a tight fit. The soldiers are going to go from the barracks to the armory, trapping as many of the creatures as possible, while I set the trap. If it goes well all of the damn creatures should be dead.

What I want to do is make use of the water spears to cut the limbs of all these creatures. (I could try and kill them all, but Shamon has pointed out that there is a chance quite a few of them would survive such an onslaught.) It has been a pain to set up the ballista here and is going to take nearly half of my water spears in the quiver. Ten spears were set up all through the tunnel to react to touch.

To these water spears, I have added a few more runes to control their release to when pressure is applied to it enough to blow up the legs of any creature that is stepping on that water spear (well, I did try to make sure that the spell could retain its spear like form, but I failed at that. This form of the spell is essentially an unstable mass of mana.). It is not even a formation so I know the things that can go very wrong. Spells are not meant to be modified like this. In the hands of most non formation mages, it would explode. Even with a formation mage like me, who knows the structure of spells better than most, it is a gamble.

Still, as long as even five of these spears explode, the beasts it will hit should be enough to stop the entire group at once, which is where I come in. Right now I am hiding in the barracks under one of the beds. The moment the traps are set, I will come out and use the ballista to shoot the damn creature's legs off. The ballista is already set up at the other side in the armoury. I will be activating it using formation control the instant that the enemy has paused in the tunnel.

After that, the soldiers in the barracks will quickly take care of the delimbed creatures that are in that tunnel. Meanwhile, I will take care of any stragglers. That is the entirety of my plan, simple according to Shamon and too complicated according to me. Fuck, so many things can go wrong here.

The other side can sense my presence while they enter the barracks, they could be smart enough to sense the spears in the tunnel, they could not all fit in the tunnel, formation control could fail at the last moment or one of the soldiers might end up stepping on the traps even with the red color I have painted on the walls next to the Spears to warn them (I don't even know why they had that paint.). Heck, the red colour could end up warning the icebeasts of the Spear's location. The soldiers have assured me that this won't be happening though.

The spears could explode at any moment because the runes I put on the spell could not handle the mana of the spear.

These are all thoughts running in my head, causing me to want to get up from my present position and recheck everything. With the gate about to collapse any second that is a risk that I am not willing to take. Still, being cramped like this under the bed is not nice. I can feel my leg cramp up due to the half kneeling position I am under here. I cannot lie down unless I want to end up losing the ideal opportunity to cut the limbs of these bastards.

I can feel the burning sensation in my leg as I try to hold my pretty weird position. I can pass mana through it to keep the burning at bay but that is not a risk I want to take, after all, if the creatures can sense it then a lot of them will stop to deal with me. Right now I am like a spring fully coiled to take the correct position the moment the spears are triggered.

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Regardless, I am finally relieved as the gates fall with a bang. (Don't get me started on that. It was a nightmare to make the southern gate fall. I would get into it but now is not the time for that. I have nearly three hundred beasts to kill after all.)

I can feel my thoughts slow down as I enter into a state of focus. Things might go wrong here but thinking about that now is not helpful. Now is the time to act. Well, the soldiers should be already making their way here. It takes roughly one minute for the soldiers to make their way here from the Southern gate.

The only indicator of their presence would be their footsteps which will echo in this empty part of the fort. Almost like the clockwork, I can hear the soldiers running. I stop breathing and try to be as still as a statue. Now, I need to wait for the deformed spears to activate.

This state seems to continue for an eternity as I try to will the beasts from noticing my position. Finally, the first Spears activates, resembling a flood of water mana in my mana sense. I wait for a second for the other Spears to activate, which does not happen for a heart freezing second.

I am jumping from my hiding place the second that it does occur. the scene in the tunnel is roughly what I expected it to be, as the ice beasts have stopped there for a confused second. That is all I need as my mind kicks into overdrive looking for the best spots to strike the enemy.

It does not even take a second as the spears fly true to their targets leaving a trail of carnage as many of the ice beast's limbs are ripped cleanly from their bodies. I might have missed a couple of them, but I will have to leave them be. The soldiers can handle the stragglers.

I remove my sword as I finally notice that not every beast had entered into the trap. Almost half a dozen ice beasts are in the room, taking position around me, with a couple still entering the room.

A number that I can manage but will take my full focus. Entering into a defensive stance I wait for the creatures to make the first move. There are too many here, my major goal, for now, is to ensure that they don't end up surrounding me while I try to separate them and take them out.

One of the beasts is the first to make a move. The creature tries to swipe at me with one of its claws. I could have killed it instantly but that would mean that I would not be able to block it. It might not be able to induce a chill in me, but with seven of these creatures in the room, it is not a risk I want to take.

I hit the creature with the flat of my blade, using all of the strength of the strike to push the creature backward. That gives me a moment as I look at the room. I am in the barracks, with nothing in the room other than beds and chests. The chests are the flimsy kind, which means that the only tools in my belt are the beds.

Well, the creatures are also studying me while I formulate a plan. Finally, the creatures move into action, with three of the creatures acting as a vanguard who will charge at me. The remaining four will adapt according to my actions. Good, these creatures tend to make pretty obvious plans at the very least. (Well, I have been studying them during the patrols so it seems quite obvious.)

I jump to the side, to the bed that is nearest to me. It is a bed meant for utility, with nothing other than a wooden frame and cushions that would work better at bashing somebody's head in. Anyway, with my full strength and quite a bit of mana, I kick the bed.

My world goes blank for a moment as a wave of pain takes my every single thought. what the hell did they make it with? At the very least, the bed flew taking the four creatures with it. Well, that brought me a few moments at the very least.

Shifting into a more offensive stance I turn to the icebeasts attacking me, who are still in the process of turning around. I don't have long as I charge towards them. My leg feels as if somebody is hitting it with a hammer. My sword enters the creature's heart as I duck under it, sliding to the second wolf. This one is a bit more ready as it shifts its position as my sword hits one of its ribs.

The force of my strike is enough to shatter its ribs, which I think has struck something vital as I can feel the creature weaken, though my sword is stuck, at least for the moment. Leaving my sword, I jump to the position of my final victim. Pooling mana into my arm I enter into a grappling stance. The creature's teeth pass me by inches as my arms wrap around its throat. The creature struggles for a few seconds as its spine snaps with a clear pop.

With this, I let myself look at the four ice beasts struck by the bed, the creatures have already taken a defensive posture, getting ready to retreat. Their death trance has been overpowered by their survival instincts.

Well, I would not be worthy of my position as a mage if I were to let these creatures escape now. Freeing my sword from the corpse of the icebeast and pushing mana to my legs I jump towards the four creatures, which did not expect my burst of speed.

I still struggle to make use of this particular skill, which the legion likes to call a dash. It is a simple application of vital mana, which any of its practitioners are supposed to know, but it still takes a lot of practice to use it perfectly.

Well, I won't bore you with the result as I am already in the process of gutting them. That is how I can tell that these creatures are the top predators in their environments. They don't even know how to run away from a stronger opponent. At the very least the pulsing in my toe has reduced somewhat. Honestly, what is that bed made up of?