Under Fire

Medrauta and Viviane found themselves in a dilemma.

Still perched on the side of the mountain, the two of them were relatively far from the human army. The rockslide had stalled the army’s advance, causing them to set up a solid shield wall outside the mountain pass while the witchspawn busied themselves with being buried.

Although their position was now solidified and the witchspawn army’s numbers crushed, victory still remained out of sight. The ground shuddered as the behemoth advanced toward the neatly formed row of shields, undaunted by the human army’s now-superior numbers. As it brandished its titanic weapons, it was obvious that there was no need for the behemoth to feel fear.

Even if it possessed emotions, it would no doubt feel nothing more than an overwhelming sense of superiority at the tiny humans who dared stand in the way of its conquest. The behemoth brandished its weapons proudly, their pointed tips and jagged edges swiping through the air like the gaping maw of an impossibly large dragon.

The soldiers faltered at the sight, but they continued holding their position bravely, their courage restored by Scarlet’s clarion voice. A single swing of those twin swords would no doubt annihilate them with ease, and though Eris now stepped in front of the shield wall, the daggers she held looked pitiful compared to the sheer scale of the behemoth’s blades.

“...We have to get back there.” Medrauta said, an anxious look on her face as she watched the behemoth take another earth-shaking step toward Eris.

“If we go now, the army will be doomed.” Viviane said, gesturing to the cannonspawn below them. Already, the cannon-shaped witchspawn were beginning to climb up the debris of the rockslide, slowly making their way through the mountain pass. Given their forms, it wouldn’t be long until they could start firing on the shield wall.

Medrauta bit her lip, glancing at the behemoth, then at the cannonspawn, and back again. Had the rockslide managed to catch even half of the surviving cannonspawn, their bombardment might not be an issue, but as it stood now, a coordinated volley from their ranks would no doubt spell disaster for the human army.

At the same time, a single swing from either of the behemoth’s gigantic weapons would result in instant defeat for the soldiers should the massive creature manage to slip past Eris. Medrauta frowned as she watched the blonde-haired knight flit around the behemoth, striking quickly and efficiently before darting away from the behemoth’s crushing counterattacks. Although she was small and her weapons were barely capable of making even the slightest incision in the colossal monster’s body, it seemed strangely focused on the knight.

“We’re the only ones in position to stop the cannonspawn,” Viviane urged.

Medrauta hesitated for a moment, her eyes lingering on the tiny form of Eris fighting the behemoth in the distance. As a knight, she felt a certain sense of camaraderie with Eris, and to allow her fellow knight to take on such a dangerous enemy alone felt wrong. But at the same time, she knew Viviane was right.

“...Alright, Vivi. How are we gonna do this?”

Viviane nodded her thanks, grasping Medrauta by the arm and giving it a gentle squeeze as a gesture of gratitude. Though she was no knight herself, she knew how difficult it was for Medrauta to have made that decision.

Medrauta returned the gesture with the best smile she could manage before the two turned their attention to the swarm of cannonspawn who were still clambering across the uneven boulders. Their four-legged gait was rather awkward given their lengthy bodies, making their advance much slower than the rest of their misshapen ilk. However, this did nothing to dissuade their crawling march forward.

“At first, I was thinking of triggering another rockslide, but if we do that, we’ll cut ourselves off from the army.” Viviane said. “I’m fairly certain the only course of action we have left is the old-fashioned way.”

Medrauta nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. No fancy plans or anything, just you and me.”

The two of them made their way down the mountain, Viviane remaining on the slope as Medrauta completed their descent. With her sword drawn and still glowing silver, Medrauta dashed toward the cannonspawn, cutting off their advance. Even as she pulled ahead of the frontmost cannonspawn, she could hear the familiar high-pitched shrieks that the witchspawn emitted whenever one of them perished, courtesy of Viviane’s high-speed shooting.

The cannonspawn’s advance stalled immediately as they registered the newly arrived threats, pointing their “heads” toward Medrauta and tracking her with pinpoint, mechanical accuracy as they let loose a tremendous volley of cannonfire.

“Gah!” Medrauta threw herself to the ground, rolling forward and onto her feet as she quickly recovered to dodge the next bombardment. Had she not been empowered by Viviane’s Crest, the volley likely would’ve struck her.

This was the very first time anyone had actually seen the cannonspawn fire, and Medrauta was unlucky enough to witness the spectacle up close and personal. While dodging arrows was one thing, the black-red spheres that the cannonspawn spat from the depths of their barrel-like bodies flew at incredible speeds that were nearly impossible to dodge at such a close range.

Even more terrifying was their uncanny accuracy that could almost give Viviane a run for her money. Pinpointing Viviane’s shooting location almost instantly, the cannonspawn that she had been picking off had begun returning fire, their shots landing dangerously close to the small alcove of boulders she had been shooting from.

The explosions from their shots shook the mountainside, nearly causing the noblewoman to lose her footing before she managed to catch herself on a sturdy outcrop where she quickly dove into cover, waiting for the cannonfire to cease. Not used to dealing with such terrifying sounds coupled with return fire from enemy units, Viviane’s entire body trembled from the experience.

Her breath came short and rapid as her heart beat violently, threatening to burst out of her chest as she gripped her bow tightly. She shook her head, attempting to clear it and refocus her attention to leap back into the fight and support her knight. The thought of being bombarded again terrified Viviane, but the prospect of losing her knight terrified her even more.

Medrauta swore under her breath as she dove forward, narrowly avoiding a black-red cannonball that blasted past her head, mere inches away from her face. The force of the passing sphere was immense, the wind that it generated causing the sweat on Medrauta’s brow to be pulled free.

The knight dove forward, her silver hair streaming behind her like the tail of a fearless comet breaking through the atmosphere with all its might. Her sword flashed through the air, a glittering pinwheel of light as it caught the rays of the slowly setting sun. With a single slash, she felled at least a dozen cannonspawn, their tubular bodies at the mercy of her blade once she managed to close the distance.

Meanwhile, Viviane had returned to the fight after her brief respite, pouring arrow after arrow into the cannonspawn formation. Before separating from the army, she had brought six fully loaded quivers along with her, and she had already emptied three with the sheer speed of her rapid shooting, each of her gleaming arrows finding their mark with ease.

Despite the rough start, the fight was beginning to ease up now that Medrauta had managed to close distance with the brunt of the cannonspawn forces and Viviane had found her rhythm between shooting volleys and ducking into cover. More importantly, the two had quickly managed to figure out the reload cycle of the cannonspawn.

As the cannonspawn were modified witchspawn and carried no ammo, the deadly spheres they shot were formed within their own bodies, depending on relatively time-consuming cycle that required a reloading cannonspawn to remain stationary as it drew mana from wherever Amelia had placed her power source before converting it into a cannonball. While it was possible for them to generate ammunition using the mana that formed their bodies, such a practice would not be sustainable, forcing the cannonspawn to draw from the primary power source instead.

Because of that, Medrauta and Viviane were able to take advantage of the lengthy reload period to drive further and further into the cannonspawn formation. With only a single knight and lady, it was virtually impossible for the two of them to cull the entire force, but they were making decent progress in stalling their advance at the very least.

With each passing second, more and more cannonspawn began leaking past Medrauta’s onslaught, crawling closer toward the behemoth and the human army that was bravely supporting Eris’ efforts.

As she took cover from the cannonspawns’ most recent bombardment, Viviane took the opportunity to look back at the behemoth and the human army, hoping to see some sort of positive development. Her eyes strained, a frown touching her face as she watched Eris continue to duel the behemoth.

The human army had surrounded the great beast, and it seemed a number of soldiers in the rear were being directed by Scarlet, putting together some sort of contraption while Eris and the five knights from Spinel kept the behemoth busy.

A sense of longing clutched at Viviane’s heart as she wished dearly to lend a hand, but the sounds of Medrauta fighting in the mountain pass quickly dragged her back to reality. She nodded to herself, taking a deep breath.

Then, she stepped out of cover and let loose a rain of silver once more.