The grass in the battlefield was colored red as the cold and swift movements of Kiano and his blade claimed one life after another. He was like a reaper lopping off the heads of these beasts without any remorse or fluctuation of emotion.
This was just another day of work. A really sh*tty day of work.
The torrent of orcs was bound to soon stop after so many of their own being killed, and under the opportunities of his fellow brother in arms progress towards their escape was going smoothly.
An explosion resounded in the immediate vicinity, Kiano remained unfazed. The settlement wall which was originally up to Tarin to open up was blasted open by Siar instead.
"Let's go!" Siar proceeded to shout before the debris had yet to even settle. He was very eager to escape from the settlement that had only brought him misfortune. If he was a knight rather than a mage and he lost his arm... Siar did not dare think about it.
But some of his comrades were living such a nightmare, so perhaps he didn't need to think about. Even though most of them managed to hold onto life, they didn't do so unscathed. The knights all looked orderly as they retreated through the hole but the faces hidden behind their helmets could not paint an uglier picture.
Their weary mind and tired body was forced to slug forward with their usual discipline and strength. Some orc women would occasionally get lucky and land on them a strike only to have their lives ended.
It was a miserable fight for both ends and these knights had lost much of their pride. Though their clean armor also allowed them to recoup at least an ounce of it, some still looked like flushed rats. Nevertheless, most of them started to become hopeful thanks to this single ounce. They were growing more confident in their escape.
The hole in the wall was blocked by stone dust and debris making it impossible to see right through it. It was no surprise that the humans froze on the spot after crossing through. There were one too many cannons!
"Mages!" Someone in the group of knights shouted glaring at the orcs manning these devices. These were too advanced for such a barbaric civilization! But the knight had to hold in their anger.
Before the mages could react and set up their paper-thin defense measures the cannons all shot out their respective elements. The knights who were at the front were naturally unwilling to take these shots head-on so they brandished their weapons.
The air was cut apart as the thrust of a spear intercepted a raging ball of fire. The human responsible was blasted by the aftermath, but their armor took most of the brunt.
The ball of earth shot at shocking speeds was cleaved in half by none other than Kiano. He had at some point managed to get to the front to try and save as many members as possible.
Unfortunately, there were more than one earth cannon. It became impossible for him to attack multiple shots at the same time. The screams of some knights beside him who lacked either the strength or speed to intercept the balls of earth stung his ears.
A high-pressure jet of water was also shot out of some cannons. These jet of waters could not be blocked by metal gear, magic was in order.
"AAWWAWARGH!!!" But the mages could not possibly cast any spell in time and those that succeeded did nothing but relieve themselves of some mana. The confidence of the remaining company members was instantly taken down a notch.
The exhausted earthen mages had no choice but to wring out some strength to create natural barriers against all of these. They also had two ice mages miraculously still alive and though they had more mana than the earthen mages they were still just two people.
"Damn it! We can't escape like this!" The orcs were too prepared! How could they have known this?! Worst of all, the passing calamity from before had yet to appear. The helplessness of the situation had reminded them of this hidden threat.
"No more…" It was Siar who through gritted teeth uttered these words. If they did nothing they would lose miserably. They had to do something quickly.
But what could they do under these circumstances!?! What could he who had even lost an arm do to turn around the situation!? He, Siar, was a man who never even reached the peak of the B-class!
Was he supposed to suddenly find inspiration in battle and jump classes!? Was he expected to do such a thing? Well, in truth, no one expected anything of him. Even though he was now a squad captain, he was still invisible.
The loud bangs as the shots rang out and collided with the walls of earth and ice, the sound of battle cries coming from the hole whence they came. There were all sorts of sounds that informed them of danger. He had been numbed to these sounds through many expeditions.
Funnily enough, he had joined at around the same time as Fox, the previous squad captain. The two had been acquainted but he could never match the talkative Fox. He had always remained… invisible.
Even as he tried to act tough and strict, as he tried to get his subordinates to obey, he remained… invisible. Siar was never an ace when it came to his elements, but if it was the element of surprise… then perhaps…
Siar who had been taking cover behind one of Tarin's walls of earth suddenly squeezed past some knights and mages in the area. He started to make his way towards the back and even managed to avoid the gazes of the orc women who had followed after them through the hole.
From there he stuck to the settlement wall and weaseled out of the battle. He was the new leader of the magician scouts, a scout had to be both sneaky and agile. Because he was the leader of the magician scouts he also could not escape.
The fierce bombardment of his allies continued, it was surprising that these orcs had so many crystals. But that all meant nothing in the end after Siar circled around everyone and emerged from behind them.
He waited for the orc to fire, and then…!
<"Urgh!"> Using nothing but a dagger Siar stabbed the neck of the orc with his sole remaining arm. As a mage, his strength was laughable, but the knife had been coated in elements of fire and seared inside the orcs body disabling him almost instantly.
The timing… it worked out impeccably! Siar's heart raced as he sneakily sprinted towards his next target.
"Die!" He screamed out before feeling something had gone wrong.
"Where… did the warmth go?" He asked himself in a mutter before looking down into his stomach area. The protective chest plate hardly allowed him to get a visage of anything, but the blood that spilled past the openings allowed Siar to understand plenty.
He spit out a mouthful of blood before falling down onto his knees and soon becoming a cold corpse. Dakgu who had done the deed couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"That wasn't worth the effort…" He had to sprint over there under the orders of Sharog as soon as they caught sight of this sneaky human but in the end, the man was too caught up inside his own head.
"Hm? Dakgu, why…" The orc manning the cannon was about to ask before noticing something odd at the front.
"The humans… they are running over here?" The orc said noticing the figures of many knights sprinting madly not at all weighed down by their armor. These knights were also taking the blast from their cannons head-on or dodging at the last moments before they fired.
The greatest strength of mankind was their adaptability. Stalling them with cannons meant giving them time to acquaint themselves with the rate of fire, angles, power, etc of these devices. It was only a matter of time before they devised a plan against them.
Dakgu who was about to explain himself stopped and dashed off without saying any more words.
<"Press forward!!!"> Kiano shouted a sword raise high into the air as he boosted his legs and stepped aside from a jet burst of high-pressure water.
He was of course screaming this to the ones that had remained behind them in the barriers. They had drawn the attention of the cannon fire and using this they could try and press forward even if it was to cost a couple of lives.
Shortly after this shout, Kiano's distance to the cannoneers was negligible. The distance between themselves had not been that great since the start. The area surrounding the settlement was mostly flat, so the cannons could not be placed too far.
Taking advantage of this situation, Kiano's sword started to emit grayish steam. This steam started to quickly permeate his body before he suddenly jumped and slashed horizontally at the empty air.
The gray steam circled outwards following the trajectory of the slash and started to cover and block the sights of all the orcs. The knights who had reached these orc cannoneers were suddenly able to easily close the distance and take a stab at the exposed orcs.
The suffocating steam had left some orcs unable to react appropriately even after picking up their axes to fight. Their sweat-coated bodies fell down to the ground without resistance after being attack. This happened under the cheers of other humans.
Suddenly, streaks of sporadic blue light started to seep past the steamy curtain.
<"A A A A A A H!!!"> The people in the area started to feel static course through their body while Dakgu the originator of this lightning remained unfazed. He lunged out with a dagger towards the Kiano who had also been temporarily stunned.
Kiano tried to intercept it as soon as he noticed the attack and while he was well en route to parry the attack... Dakgu's hand suddenly snaked past the sword.
<"What- Urgh!"> Kiano grunted with some indignance. Yet, he had to admit these orcs were tricky opponents. Still, it didn't matter.
<"We are getting out of here!"> Some knights shouted after sinking into the steamy fog and disappearing at the other end.
They were entering the forest where they were bound to find safety! Kiano had no regret, he could die right then and there if so!