The battle continued to rage on the plateau of the island, as more and more people died the ground continued to get soaked by their blood that mixed alongside the bodies that were left lying all around, Layla and Asta were still in the middle of it all fighting all this time, their timely intervention and prowess had definitely shown results as more and more wounded men were able to escape the fighting and make it to the Solium, and as more wounded left the area it allowed those who could still fight to focus completely on dispatching their enemies instead of protecting their wounded allies.

However, the situation remained dire, although the enemy’s barrage had lessened their forces had not shown any sign of decreasing, this fact alongside the fatigue caused by the prolonged fight was starting to show on their own side, the movements of the soldiers began to slow and their attacks less accurate and lethal, Layla and Asta were no different as the entire operation’s length and multitude of battles have taken a toll on them as well, surrounded they took any moment they could to catch their breath and wipe what blood they can from themselves.

As Layla blocked another attack aimed at her with her own blade she quickly spun around and kicked the cultist with enough force to shatter his neck, and the result was clear as he immediately fell down to join the countless others, she paused for a moment looking around the battle with a concerned and confused look.

“How is this possible?” she voiced her frustration “Where are they all coming from?”.

Asta who herself had just finished killing another fool who must have thought she was an easy prey, she pulled her sword from his chest and used her sleeve to wipe some of the blood on her blade, it did not help much as her blade was covered in a thick layer that will require a much harder scrubbing, not to mention the parts on it that were not just blood.

“Indeed” she said “There is no way they could have ferried so many people here without us noticing” She looked around and gave the sky a quick look “I do not see any airships that are supporting them” She paused for a moment looking around to see if any enemy was approaching them but found none for now “perhaps they were here before we came?”.

“Before Marcus’s ship crash landed?” she asked looking at Asta.

Asta on her part simply shrugged her shoulders, ‘no’ Layla thought, something definitely did not feel right with this situation.

As the two were conversing suddenly both jumped backward escaping just in time as a body was flang close to where they stood a moment ago, both drew their weapons to the direction the body came flying from but what they saw made them lower their guard, and relax as they saw a familiar sight throughout the years.

The source? Zindah standing on top of two additional ‘prey’ that she killed, herself being covered almost completely in blood, presumably both her own and the unfortunate fools who crossed her path, she was covered in cuts all over it was clear she did not escape injury though it was rarely the case that she did with her fighting style.

As Layla looked at her she sighed ‘I’ll have to scold them all again later for training her like this’ Zindah after making sure that one of the cultists was dead by reaping his arm and throwing it to the side as if it was a toy that she had outgrown and was now bored with it, began to jog towards Layla and Asta accompanied by her feline companions.

But as they all got closer to Layla, she grew extremely concerned for as long as she could remember Zindah no matter the situation was happy as long as she was able to fight, and the more powerful the enemy the better, as for most of her kind a challenge in strength was as natural as breathing for many, so when she saw the serious look on Zindah’s face and the concerned almost scared faces of her companions something told Layla inside that there was some serious news coming her way.

As Zindah now stood in front of Layla it was truly clear from her face, so much so that even Asta grew herself a look of concern she may not have interacted much with Zindah but she knew her reputation well, and yet there was no smile, instead a serious gaze directed strait towards Layla.

“There are more enemies over there” Zindah said bluntly as she motioned with her head towards the tree line where she fought not too long ago.

Layla looked in that direction for a moment and could see the same scenario that was happening throughout the entire battle.

“Yes, we could tell that much, They’ve been sending reinforcements from that area all this time” she answered.

Zindah shook her head “There are too many” she said “far too many”.

This simple statement sent a shiver down Layla’s spine ‘Too many? for Zindah?’, her concern was growing by the second, ‘could this be their base? No, any of the factions in the area would have found out about this and even the pirates did not know about it.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“This situation is getting worse by the second” It was Asta who brought back Layla’s attention “How do you know this?” she turned and asked Zindah “Did you see where they were coming from?” she inquired.

Zindah simply nodded.

“What exactly did you see there Zindah?”.

But Zindah for some reason stayed quiet and as Layla was about to ask her again, one of Zindah’s feline companions spoke up before she could.

“My lady, we fought the enemy casters as Master Max instructed us” She paused and for a moment she looked unsure but then continued to speak “Zindah pushed too far into the woods to pursue more enemies, we followed after her” She then stopped and took a deep breath “and then we saw them, hundreds, maybe more, and they were just standing there, not moving”.

When Layla heard this her eyes widened “What!? She exclaimed in total shock “Are you sure!?” she asked to confirm once more.

“Yes” the feline said.

“And they did not attack you?” it was Asta who asked curiously as up until now the enemy attacked all of their group on site.

It was Zindah who nodded “They didn’t move at us, they didn’t even look at us” she said as she looked at Asta.

As the battle was still happening around them Layla was lost in thought her mind racing about all the possibilities, why? How? How many? Should they leave now? Retreat with Max and abandon everyone? She would be lying if she said that she did not consider this plan before, his life was more important, but to abandon such a battle?.

But her focus was broken almost completely by Zindah’s next words “Lady Layla” She looked at her directly as the word came out of her mouth “I’m scared”.

“I smelled something there… and it’s scaring me”.

“What…” Layla began to ask but before she could voice her question a fresh bombardment hit next to them sending mud rock and debris flying toward them, the group kneeled down and shielded their eyes from this attack.

As they got up they could see in the distance that the enemy regrouped and arranged a new unit of spellcasters in the same area where Zindah killed them, it was as if nothing changed.

As they looked a fresh wave of cultists charged them, all of them raising their weapons ready to do battle with them, the group exchanged glances, Layla knew they had to do something and they needed to change their strategy with this new information but the enemy would not let them, as the cultists drew near the group charged in turn, they must deal with the enemy as soon as possible and get to the Solium.

Back at the bridge leading to the Solium, the situation was equally tense but more controlled, soldiers were actively engaged in moving their wounded comrades to the safety of the ship, and the temporary lull in the enemy's barrage in their area provided a much-needed opportunity to evacuate the injured.

“Move it come on!” one of the soldiers who directed the others shouted at them “We need to get the wounded out of here while they’re not firing back at us!”.

Because of the pause in the enemy barrage, the soldiers actually managed to form an actual defensive line in the area around the bridge with some additional manpower diverted into now supporting their side with spells and projectiles, it might not have been the ship’s guns but every little bit helped.

Meanwhile, as the evacuation efforts were at full speed Max was seen standing alongside Estelle issuing orders to the soldiers, he would send a party to assist in a fight or to bring more wounded, shore up the defense when needed with the help of Layla’s elves, he was truly taking to leadership Estelle thought as she stood there with a small smile.

In the beginning, the soldiers were skeptical about receiving orders from this newcomer, but one glance from Estelle and the fact that the other officers were following his orders to the letter eased their suspicions for now, not to mention that for now, he was coordinating them with the same level of Layla.

As Max and Estelle stood together overseeing the battlefield, the gravity of their situation became increasingly clear by the moment.

“How’s our progress?” he asked her.

“We’ve gotten almost all of the wounded close by, now only the ones deep in the battle remain” She pointed into the areas she believed more wounded were located based on the reports from survivors.

“And from the looks of it Layla’s assistance in the battle with Zindah taking down the enemy casters has given us the advantage” She crossed her hands behind her back as she continued “We’re gaining momentum but…”.

“It seems the enemy is not dwindling?”.

“It appears so”.

Max crossed his hands once again as he continued to look upon the battlefield, while this was his first true battle it felt familiar, as he looked around he pointed towards the tree line in the distance, it was already night time and visibility was dreadful, especially with lights spells and fire all around, it made the tree line especially hard to see, but the periodical greenish light coming from certain locations gave the enemy positions away.

“Was there any news of an enemy airship from that location?”.

“No” Estelle answered bluntly “but I can’t be sure if any of our groups from that area survived”.

He looked at the center of the battlefield where most likely Layla and the rest of her group were engaged with the enemy, the battle was still extremely chaotic, while they managed to form some rudimentary lines where friends end and enemies began, it was still not enough, the combatants were spread thin and in truth, the enemy could overwhelm them in a moment, and yet.

They didn’t.

‘Why?’ this thought preoccupied his mind the most right now.

As he was in deep thought he heard a now familiar voice behind him.

“My lord, we are ready” Marcus said as Max turned around and looked at him, behind Marcus stood a contingent of thirty soldiers, some fresh and some bloody but all with eager faces, they stood in formation of 10 men each in three rows one behind the other, they appeared disciplined as any soldier should though he did find it odd a little as many of them did not share similar armor to each other, some wore very little and some wore full sets, but that did not matter to him, all Max wanted was for them to be willing to fight.

And that they were.

Max smiled behind his mask and turned back to the battlefield “Now we only need to make an entrance”.