Several dwarves had survived the attack on the guild. I’d thought the guild had fallen so easily because only low-ranking adventurers had remained, but as it turned out, the survivors were guild staff; the adventurers had already fled.
Part of the reason the staff had held their ground was likely a sense of dwarven solidarity, but I figured Jaysha and Jilgan ran a tight ship too. The survivors said they’d protect Cutlass as members of the Hogroth even if the guild was no more.
Lawless though this place was, some people still had principles and pride. They had their reasons to fight. I did too, and so I left the guild to pursue my own objective.
“So many fires...”
Flames rose all over town. Based on how many smoke columns were rising in the distance, I wagered that the number of dark elves who had taken part in the attack was significant. Add in the Reezan, and it had to be hundreds.
Many merchants and townspeople were attempting to flee, but others were fighting back, brandishing hatchets and hammers against the attackers.
“Ngah!”
My pendulum sliced into the arm of a Reezan member who was fighting a group of townspeople, making him drop his weapon.
There was nothing I could do for this town—but I could brush off the sparks that happened to fall on me. I used my pendulum to injure the limbs and faces of any Reezan and dark elves I came across, which spurred the surrounding residents to swarm and take down the assailants. Watching them do so, I could see the true strength of the people of the desert. Their town’s fate was secure in their hands.
I—no, we—would escape this place. That was what I had to do to safeguard Elena’s life and her wishes. But until then, I’d do what I could.
Like a typical town, Cutlass was surrounded by walls, but several sections had collapsed, leaving gaps open to dangerous, monster-ridden areas—which were also where poor people and orphans like Chaco lived. I climbed over the collapsed walls and headed to a nearby watchtower.
There were many watchtowers dotting the perimeter of the town. Some, like the one we used as a base, were in ruins, but about half remained active. Supposedly, those towers existed so that the town could be alerted if anything happened in the ruins. Silence had to mean either the monster rampage wasn’t visible yet, Jaysha’s group was keeping it contained, or...
“Hey! Halt! Don’t come any—”
“Out of my way.”
My throwing knife pierced the forehead of a dark elf bowman. He wore black armor—so the demon army had occupied the tower after all. I recovered the knife from his corpse and used my pendulum to slash the eyes of a Reezan member who came running when he heard noise. Then I closed the distance and stabbed his heart with my blade. Others fell in turn.
“W-We’re under attack!”
Cries of agony echoed within the tower as I leaped in, and several Krus people came running down from the upper floors.
Typically, in close combat against an evenly matched opponent, those who held the higher ground had the advantage. But magic changed that equation.
“Pain.”
“Argh!”
The last man to descend, who had been slowed by his heavy weapons and armor, was stunned by the sudden pain and tumbled down the stairs, crushing several of his comrades in the process. I ran up the walls of the spiral staircase and stomped on the larger man’s neck, using it as a foothold.
After finishing off the survivors, I ran up the stairs at full speed.
“Stone Shot!”
“Dark Mist.”
The moment I reached the top floor, both the dark elf waiting there and I unleashed spells simultaneously. Though one could aim magic at the presence of an unseen enemy, hitting was another matter. The Stone Shot, unleashed only after the caster had visually confirmed where I was, pierced through the darkness.
I’d leaped to the ceiling. Maintaining momentum, I kicked off and struck the shocked man’s face with my bladed heel.
A Rank 3 water-elemental spell like Waterball could’ve been very dangerous in this situation, but the caster’s foolish obsession with guaranteeing kills over strategically using lower-power spells had handed me the win.
I finished off the others inside the tower, then directed my enhanced vision toward the ruins. Dust clouds blurred the scenery in the distance, but a group clad in black was hazily visible within.
If the demonic army had gotten this close, that could only mean one thing: Jaysha’s expedition had failed.
They could’ve survived by retreating, but knowing Jaysha and Jilgan, they would either fight to the death or sustain heavy injuries.
Still, the fact that I couldn’t see many monsters meant the adventurers had at least accomplished something. But with the defeat of the Hogroth, the town’s fate was practically sealed.
I estimated the demon army to be about two thousand strong. That number was small compared to the armies of major nations, but the true value of their troops was in their quality, not their quantity. Most human-nation soldiers were ranked 1 or 2 at best, with skilled soldiers and knights hovering around Rank 3. But in a war, most fighters would be conscripts, with hardly any combat skills.
In contrast, the demon army had no weak soldiers. Among fighters and sorcerers, most were Rank 2 or higher, and their loyalty and fighting spirit meant retreat wasn’t an option. It wasn’t surprising they were feared.
“This is bad...”
Sweat trickled down my cheek as I noticed the direction they were advancing in. At this rate, they’d pass near our watchtower.
I began looking around this watchtower. Sending messengers each time would have been inefficient, so I knew those manning the towers had to have some other means of communicating with the town. I found what I was looking for in the back: a basket full of massive amounts of dried succulent fiber and several ceramic bottles. Immediately, I threw a few bundles of the fiber into a fire pit and lit them with practical magic. Then, I poured the contents of a bottle over the burning bundles, which produced a column of red-black smoke.
I’d come here hoping to inform Camille of the situation in case he wasn’t in town. Hopefully Ron, back at our watchtower, would also notice this beacon and understand the condition the town was in.
And any residents who took this as a sign of outside attack could evacuate—
I gasped as a sudden chill ran down my spine.
From behind the dust clouds thrown up by the demon army’s advance came an earthshaking rumble, and barreling right through the dust clouds, with enough force to clear them away, a giant ball of fire shot toward this watchtower.
Immediately, I leaped out the five-story-high window.
A moment later, the top floor where I’d been was incinerated with a thunderous roar. I kicked off the outer walls, avoiding the falling debris and riding the shock wave. When I neared the ground, I spread my cloak to decelerate and landed on the desert sand. I rolled forward repeatedly to soften the impact and, after taking considerable distance, finally looked up.
The stone-built tower wasn’t sturdy enough to withstand the impact, and its upper half was about to collapse. Had I chosen to run down the stairs, I’d be dead. It had been pure coincidence that the blast had helped me slow down and break my fall. Not only that, had the ground not been soft desert sand, I’d have been seriously injured.
That ball of fire had probably been a breath attack from the earth dragon. But it had come from behind the demon army. They didn’t look like they were running from a dragon. So were they controlling it...?
“High Cure,” I chanted to heal the damage from the fall, then spat out saliva mixed with sand.
▼ Alia (Alicia)
Species: Human♀ (Rank 4)
Aether Points: 178/330
Health Points: 195/260
Overall Combat Power: 1,497 (Boosted: 1,853)
I had about sixty percent of my aether points remaining. They wouldn’t naturally recover past seventy percent at this point, and using more aether potions would only make them less effective—not to mention interfere with my aether control.
Chewing on nutritional pellets from the pouch at my waist, I rewrapped the cloak—now spattered with blood and riddled with arrow holes—then ran out into the desert again.
With the demon army able to attack from such an astounding range, aerial escape was dangerous too. Neutralizing that threat would have been ideal, but I had to keep my priorities straight. If we were going to escape, we had to get going now or we wouldn’t make it.
And I already knew what I was willing to do to ensure that, if necessary.