Cold sweat poured down Brad’s back as he stood outside the hole in the fortress wall, swarms of enemies heading his way. “It’s a little late to regret it now, but I kind of do.” He shook his head. “No, I can’t let myself regret it. That would reflect badly on me.”
Brad fired his lances at the throng of encroaching monsters. The missiles flew and spun through the air, impaling creature after creature in the process. His Armor held the same type of lance in its two hands, but his real weapons were the six he controlled remotely.
“Don’t assume you’ll get past me so easily,” he said.
He manipulated all six lances at once with such effortless precision that one might mistakenly assume each had a will of its own. They plowed through the monsters around him, clearing the air.
Soon enemy Armors joined the monsters, targeting him.
“We won’t let you kill our families, barbarians!” an enemy knight bellowed. His superiors had probably informed him that losing this war would necessarily mean the death of his entire family, which explained his zealousness.
“Then you should understand we can’t back down and sacrifice our families!” Brad shouted back at him.
As his opponent approached, Brad lifted his left hand. The gun built into it blasted through the enemy’s cockpit at point-blank range. Its pilot gone, the Armor rapidly lost altitude.
While Brad dealt with the knight, his lances were still busy dispatching enemies around him. There seemed to be no end to them. Just the opposite, in fact; their numbers were increasing.
“This is insanity.”
Jilk sniped at the enemies from his spot inside the fortress, prioritizing the most dangerous ones. One of his bullets had just shot through an enemy ship’s bridge; the next pierced straight through its engine, sinking it. The drones Luxion had left behind engaged the imperials as well. Brad found the support from the drones and Jilk reassuring.
“Your sniping skills come in handy in this kind of situation,” he told Jilk.
“Happy to be of service,” Jilk replied. “That said, these numbers are a bit daunting even to me. All we can do is pray Leon takes that reactor out as quickly as possible.”
Victory could be theirs if they held out long enough for Leon, Julius, and Greg to carry out their mission.
“I only hope that’ll stop them,” said Brad, anxiety twisting in his gut.
Destroying the reactor would stop Arcadia, of course, but the imperial army was a different matter. There was no guarantee that they’d back down once Arcadia was out of commission. That might galvanize them instead. Plus, Jilk and Brad weren’t the only ones out here fighting with their lives on the line. According to Luxion’s predictions based on information he’d gathered earlier, around two hundred royal ships had probably sunk already. Even if their mission succeeded, it would be pointless if none of the royal army remained.
“I figure we’re only holding on because of the Republic and Fanoss. Not sure how I feel about Fanoss’s help,” said Brad.
His family, the Fields, occupied territory at the border with the former Principality of Fanoss and had been saddled with the duty of defending against them. The Fields’ struggles with Fanoss had gone on for decades. It was a cruel twist of fate that their very survival now depended on Fanoss.
“The Republic’s putting up a good fight too,” Jilk reminded him.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect them to come help us out.”
Brad’s mind went back to his time in the Alzer Republic, where aristocrats had assaulted and tormented him. They’d treated Leon and the others horribly as well, yet here they were, fighting alongside Holfort as allies.
“Well,” said Brad, “if they’re putting up a good fight, we need to show them we’re made of tough stuff too!”
As monsters closed in on him, Brad deployed several magic circles, launching wide-range offensive magic. Flames swallowed the monsters, which disappeared in puffs of black smoke.
We’re up to our necks just dealing with the enemies in front of us. I feel bad for our allies, but for now, they’ll have to find a way to hold out on their own, he thought. It was all he and Jilk could do to defend themselves. At least we can buy some extra time.
Just when he thought they could withstand the constant onslaught, a large group of Demonic Knights reached him, their forces separated into several squadrons. Brad’s stomach sank. He had a bad feeling about this.
“Hey, what’s with this? You guys have a completely different demeanor from the other Demonic Knights we’ve faced,” said Brad.
The others had excelled at one-on-one combat, but this group moved with heretofore unseen cohesion.
As Brad’s hackles raised, Jilk assured him, “They may be Demonic Knights, but remember, we have equipment made specifically to combat them. There’s no need to be so worried.”
Jilk wasn’t exactly wrong about that. They were certainly well enough prepared to take on Demonic Suits in battle. But that didn’t change how big a threat the group in front of Brad presented.
“No,” he said to Jilk. “These ones will put up a tougher fight than the rest.”
The group’s leader seemed to hear them. “So you recognize that we’re a threat,” he said, his voice intrigued. “You’re right to be wary.”
“Good to know.”
“My name,” continued the leader, “is Hubert. Hubert Luo Hein.”
“Brad Fou Field,” said Brad in turn.
They’d likely bothered to introduce themselves because they sensed a common thread between them: an affinity for fighting multiple opponents. Brad’s intuition told him that their battle strategies were similar.
Brad manipulated his lances, keeping his guard up against Hubert and his knights.
“It seems the goddess of luck really does love me,” he noted. “If anyone else had to face you, they’d be in for quite a tough time. I made the right choice staying behind.”
Hubert scoffed, a sign of his disappointment. “Your arrogance is one thing, but the way you talk, it sounds like you actually think you can defeat us.”
“I will win.” Brad grinned. “Fate loves me too!”
“You’re a real narcissist.”