A blast of heat hit me in the face as the chain of fireballs went off. There was a total of ten rows of ten summoned beings and the fireballs had hit directly in the center of the front row. I was seven rows behind, but that was still enough to make my exposed skin feel like it had a bad sunburn. The people at the front of the formation were just gone, turned instantly to mana vapor and blown away. For three rows behind them, nobody survived. The fifth row was badly burned, but not bad enough to unsummon them. The row in front of me, the sixth row, was scorched but not seriously.

“Forward, scale the walls and then seek out and kill the enemy if you receive no further instructions,” our summoner demanded over the link. Having zero autonomy was unsettling, especially after being able to pretty much do what I wanted with Sharnlynn’s summoning.

We marched forward, and I estimated there was about three hundred yards we had to travel before reaching the wall. My focus was on the objective, but I was able to look around a bit. Several other blocks of summoned beings were doing the same thing we were, marching toward the wall. All of us were about the same, unarmored, and only a few with weapons of any type.

Behind the mobs of summoned beings, a strong force of armored warriors waited. These must be the true soldiers, not summoned creatures. They were waiting for us to create a breach in the enemy defenses that they could exploit. Our summoner must have been extremely powerful to summon so many at once. Maybe there were multiple high ranked summoners, but I couldn’t know for sure.

From behind me, another block of summoned creatures appeared, this time, they weren’t all humans. This mob was comprised of various beasts, mostly large dogs and giant rats. Without opposable thumbs, I wasn’t sure how they were supposed to climb the ladders, but that was my summoner’s problem, not mine.

Crossing the two-hundred-yard mark, we started to see bodies of both attackers and defenders as well as some fixed defenses. It looked like the defenders put up a strong fight outside the walls and must have retreated back behind the wall’s protection only recently. Arrows now began to land among our formation, but the enemy’s accuracy wasn’t impressive at this range.

Despite the inaccuracy of the archers, some arrows found their mark, and without any armor, we started to suffer more losses. I’d estimate our formation of a hundred was down to fifty survivors when we reached the one-hundred-yard mark. Now we started running into obstacles and traps.

Many of the traps had already been triggered by the formations that had gone before us, but there were enough still lurking around that a few people fell into spiked pits or broke their legs in small holes covered in grass. I had avoided any problems so far, but a large patch of ground in front of me didn’t look right, and I figured it was another pit trap.

“Watch out to my front, I think there’s a pit trap up ahead,” I warned. The compulsion that drove me forward gave me little leeway in my approach, but I was able to angle my march a bit, just enough to make it past the pit trap. The man in front of me wasn’t so lucky and as he marched over it, the ground collapsed, dropping him into the spiked pit.

It turned out things were worse than just a pit trap, as something from inside the pit reached up and snagged another summoned being that was walking right on the edge. Another clawed hand reached for me, but it missed by a few inches. I caught a glimpse inside the pit and monsters that resembled werewolves were trapped inside, waiting for another victim to come within reach. Given their muscular bodies and thick claws, I was pretty sure they would climb out eventually now that the pit was open.

For the time being, the monsters were content to snag victims that blundered near the trap. At my current pace, it looked like I’d be long gone before they needed to seek fresh victims. To my right, another fireball landed, taking out a half-dozen summoned beings along the back corner of the formation.

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Arrow fire became more accurate, though the number of arrows flying was diluted with some archers trying to thin the newly approaching forces behind us and some targeting those already climbing up to the wall. I was getting close to the wall now and could see a small crowd forming at the bottom of the ladder. My group of about thirty survivors would have to wait for the others to climb up before we got our turn.

I was fine to wait as long as I could, the summoned beings at the top of the wall were being cut down almost as soon as they arrived. Well armored defenders, archers, and a few mages were holding off the assault. The ramp that had been pushed up to the wall was now on fire, but that didn’t stop the nearest summoned beings from charging up it.

There were only a few people ahead of me waiting for the ladders when the ramp collapsed in a pile of burning lumber. Screams were heard inside the wreckage as more summoned beings met a gruesome fate. I was certain that a lot of the smoke rising from the fire was mana vapor from the summoned beings that had died.

“As you climb, grab a beast to take with you,” the orders came from our summoner. The next group of summons, the dogs and giant rats that had been summoned behind us were now reaching the ladders. They were probably supposed to run up the ramp, but that was no longer an option. Now, the humanoid summoned beings were going to have to each haul a beast up the ladder with them.

Picking up an animal that didn’t want to be carried was almost impossible. These animals had been commanded by our summoner to let us grab them, which made the impossible, possible. I wanted to get a dog to carry, but the animal that ran up to me was one of the giant rat things. At least it was smaller than a dog, and probably weighed less. Hauling it over my left shoulder. I used my right hand to start ascending the ladder.

The summoned being in front of me was struggling with a large dog, making me glad I had the rat, despite the horrible smell the thing was giving off. It was slow going and given that the wall was over thirty feet high, my journey was going to take a bit. By the time I approached the top, my arms were burning, and my legs were starting to also feel the strain.

I’d only just started to up my workout regimen, so I wasn’t even close to the type of shape I wanted to be in for this type of thing. The man in front of me finally reached the top, first tipping the large dog he carried over the battlements before heaving himself over the edge.

I tried to follow his lead, pausing on the ladder as I wedged my feet in the rungs before tossing the giant rat over. The oversized rodent landed directly on the head of a defender that chose the wrong moment to look over the wall. My rat buddy had been placid while I held it, thanks to my summoner, but once it hit a valid target, it went completely bonkers.

Clawing and biting, the rat blinded the man it had been hurled onto. The man tried to pry the rat off, screaming for help. Two other soldiers tried to render aid, which gave me time to get over the wall and draw my dagger. I stabbed out at a spearman who was trying to skewer the rat. It wasn’t a great hit, the enemy soldier’s chainmail put up enough resistance that the blade only sunk in an inch or so.

Before I could strike again, something pierced my side, causing horrible pain as I felt steel scrape across my ribs. Another soldier had stabbed me when I wasn’t looking and when he pulled the blade out, blood started pouring from the wound. I didn’t have much time, and I needed to make this summoning count if I wanted to get the prize of hitting rank five.

I charged the swordsman who had attacked me, his blade striking once more to pierce me in my stomach even as I grabbed onto him. With a final push, the pair of us stumbled off the back of the battlements and dropped thirty feet to the frozen ground below. As my body impacted, I left the battlefield and returned to the void.

You have died due to fall damage combined with several stab wounds.

Your performance rating is calculated as Good.

Your rewards will reflect the summoning tier of 0, rank 4, and your performance rating of Good.

You have earned 5 experience points.

You have earned 3 summoning points.

Congratulations on reaching Tier 0, Rank 5.

You have unlocked an ability slot.

Your status is as follows:

Rico Kline, Summoned Being.

Tier 0, Rank 5.

Experience/experience needed for next rank: 0/15.

Summoning points: 29.

Prepare to return to your personal space.