Our own archers were climbing up the watchtower ladder with bows and quivers out of concern for me, but I wasn’t sure just how useful they would be. Arrows didn’t do much to stop a zombie; I thought it’d be better for them to be on the ground with a sword in hand. Although, hmm, a well-placed arrow that hit a joint or bone could slow our enemy down. Plus, the archers could be my eyes from up here and let us know if the situation changed even after I came down.
“We have ammunition aplenty. Give them hell,” I said.
“We ain’t Big Sis! We can’t hit them all the way from here!” one of my Fellows replied.
They quibbled, but I wasn’t asking them to hit every shot from over one hundred paces away. The enemy was firing at random, hoping the suppressive fire would spook us more than harm us. We needed to fake the image that we didn’t want them getting close.
“Who cares—just pray for a random hit! There’s meaning even in missed shots,” I said.
“I ain’t much of a god botherer, Boss! My mom had to drag me to the temple as a kid, but since leavin’ home I’ve never been back once!”
A good subordinate was one who, despite their complaints, followed their boss’s orders. Talking shit could even help with morale.
“Then you’d best start making up for lost time! Even if you hop on the bandwagon late, the God of Trials will still respect a valiant attempt!” I said.
“Screw that! I don’t want that bastard’s respect!”
As I struck away the buzzing arrows that haphazardly came my way, I heard a bodiless voice in my ear. It was something I had grown totally used to in Berylin, but something I only used for emergencies nowadays. It was a Voice Transfer spell. The voice was Kaya’s; she must have followed the vanguard at a distance.
I looked over to the source of the mana waves and saw her positioned behind the front line, where some Fellows—equipped with large shields to fend off arrows—were forming up. This wasn’t our usual situation. Kaya was dressed in her usual chartreuse robe, but on top was a belt which contained bottles of all her various concoctions. At her waist was what looked like an ammo pouch that was full to bursting—she was ready for battle.
“Launching the Arrow Ward!” she cried.
Kaya pulled out a bisque bottle from her pouch and set it in the sling affixed to the end of her staff. Her staff had received a number of enhancements from her adventures, and she, too, had improved her skills. Now she could easily set the bottle and launch it in one graceful movement. Despite her slender frame, the bottle flew an incredible distance.
It was damn impressive. She had been practicing her launches, and the results were showing. From the bottle came a concoction that activated as soon as it touched the air, temporarily rewriting the laws of the world. Suddenly a gale started blowing, sweeping over the zombie army and redirecting their arrows.
Buffeted by a wind strong enough to steal the breath from your lungs, the arrows—fired off haphazardly to begin with—began to scatter. This was the textbook example of Arrow Ward, a must-have for mages and magia going into battle, doing its job. It gave our own arrows extra range while nullifying the enemy’s. This spell was often used as an opener in battles and was almost a given wherever archers were in play, though it wasn’t a completely infallible strat if the enemy had mages of their own. Anyway, I was happy that I didn’t need to do anything myself.
The archers that had followed me up the watchtower were pelting out arrows as fast as they could. However, with the combination of the twinkling setting sun and the deepening shadows, it was difficult to see well. My own Cat Eyes worked poorly in conditions like these, so even I was having difficulty getting a full grasp of the situation.
Back in Berylin, I had thought about amplifying available light with magic, but Lady Agrippina had warned me that even the faintest miscalculation could burn away your retina, so I’d shelved the idea. All the same, I wished I’d developed something that would let me see things as if it were daytime even under the starlight. It was a real pain trying to lead from the front without being able to see.
I felt a dinging in my earring—a memento and a useful tool that I always kept on. Having finally successfully managed to enchant it with Voice Transfer without harming this precious keepsake, I could communicate with my partner even across distances.
“They will reach the traps before too long,” Margit said.
“Thanks! I’ll be down in a jiff,” I replied.
“Please. They have raised their pace now that they have realized their projectiles are ineffective.”
“Got it. You fall back too. I don’t want you getting caught up in them.”
Margit had been even farther ahead than the front lines, lying in hiding as she kept tabs on the enemy’s movements. We’d had a discussion beforehand that if the enemy were to finally begin the march on us, I wanted to know more about their formation.
“Keep firing, but watch out for any strays!” I said.
“Yes, Boss! Good luck in your own battle!”
I hopped down from the watchtower and stood in front of the two lines of soldiers. The first line was made up of smaller folk, with the beanpoles taking up the rear line. There was quite the height gap between the two lines, but this formation helped keep it from looking a bit too slapdash. Despite the rush getting everyone prepared, they looked pretty reliable with their round shields and spears in hand. It was almost time to put the fruits of their training into action, but I decided to hold out just a little longer.