The Elf Saint is a NEET, so I Forced Her to Work in Another World

The Invasion of Cherwoods (Part 2)

***On the 'Gold' sector of the beach...***

The New Elebor-New Guriev regiment was among the second wave of attackers that landed. They were assigned the sub-sector called 'Gold-2', which bordered the port village and the beach. With them were three tanks meant to reinforce the bogged down assault of the first wave. However, once they set foot on the shores of Cherwoods...

"!!!"

"Everyone, maintain formation!"

"Argh!"

"Fuck! I'm hit!"

The first casualties they incurred happened just as they marched behind the tanks. The arrow volleys of the enemy, partly obscured by the defenses and the smokescreen, whittled the magicians' barriers after the second salvo, and everyone was forced to scatter. Just as they were looking for hiding places, the tanks also stopped, effectively putting a stop to their attack.

Glamden and Behrien's squad had landed by then, and they went with a designated magician behind a tank, braving the repeated salvoes of enemy arrows. Glamden, for his small height and significant role as the 'carrier', was given a space on the back of the armored vehicle, as his comrades followed it.

"Fuck!" the designated magician cried out. "My barrier is breaking! Run for cover guys!"

Even before he could finish speaking, the shield dissipated. Then, the arrow barrage hit their friends on the farthest end just as they were about to scatter. Behrien and Glamden watched helplessly as the people they knew died before their very eyes, skewered by hundreds of enemy arrows from head to toe. There were those who survived the initial barrage, asking for help and trying to reach out their hands to their friends, only to be killed by the second volley.

Behrien froze on his feet, watching the fate of his childhood friends.

"Behrien!" his squad leader screamed. "What the hell are you stopping for? You're going to get killed!"

When his senses returned to him, however, the elf saw the skies above him darkened by thousands of arrows about to rain on his spot. Behrien couldn't move; he didn't know what to do, anyway. The tank he was following got quite far to run for cover, and he was at the middle of a field of corpses.

"Damn it!"

"!!!"

He felt someone tackle him, and they fell together, just as the volley peppered them. Good thing the huge bag of spare equipment protected his face from the arrows.

"Damn it, Behrien!" it was Glamden. "Why do you have to just stand there like an idiot?"

"O-Our friends...our n-neighbors..."

"We can't do anything about them anymore," the little elf replied. "Get yourself together! You're not the only one who's afraid!"

The two waited for the next volley to end, and then dashed towards cover when the lull came in. Glamden's pack behind him offered protection against the arrows, though he sacrificed some of the spare equipment as they used it to shield themselves. When they finally reached safety, Behrien gave him a tap on the back, a simple gesture of thanks from his rival.

----------

Everyone was stranded on the beach until the third wave landed.

"Hey! Hey! Look!" someone shouted from the bunch of elves hiding behind one of the stalled tanks. "Isn't that the Duke of Maverny?"

"You must be so scared to see hallucinations!"