Marionette

Chapter 16

The King's Guard was an elite heavy infantry unit. Thus, they did not have any Archers and Mages among their ranks. 

We, on the other hand, did. 

Captain Arne ordered our ranged troops to step forward. 

He then yelled loudly so everyone could hear. 

"Archers and Mages! On my command, unleash hell!" 

Yui, dressed in her new navy-blue cloak, now stood a few feet away from me. 

She didn't even throw a glance at me, though. Looking gloomy, she just stared down at the enemy's position. 

It was not hard to understand why she seemed so melancholic. Yui had never attacked or killed other people. None of them had. 

I could not see the expressions of the Warriors around me as their faces were hidden under their helmets. Still, the Mages and Archers seemed uneasy, so I bet the Warriors were, too. 

Their reaction was completely normal. I was the weird one. 

"ARCHERS NOCK! MAGES CHARGE YOUR POWERS!" roared Captain Arne, moving up and down the line. 

Obeying his commands, the Archers drew their longbows, and the hands of every Mage glowed in various colours. 

"LOOSE!" 

Hundreds of shiny arrows, charged with magic energy, pierced the sky. Followed by an even brighter barrage of magic spells. 

Anything from fireballs to giant flying icicles and laser beams. However, the scariest-looking spell was Yui's. 

Dark clouds charged with her magic power gathered above the Guardsmen, bright lightning crackling loudly; moments later, a massive, deafening, blazing pink thunder fell upon them. It was as if Zeus himself had struck them. 

BOOM!

The shockwave was so immense that it nearly knocked me down. 

Yui had literally dropped a nuke on them. 

There was no way anyone could have survived that, and if some of them by miracle had, the rest of the arrows and spells would pick them off one by one. 

A cloud of dust covered the Guardsmen, so I could not confirm it yet, but I was sure we were done here. 

I was beyond excited. We had finished the job with basically just an airstrike. 

It was unfortunate for the Guardsmen, but at least we won this battle without losing a single Legionnaire. And that was what ultimately mattered. 

We were puppets caught up in all this. We did not have a say in these matters. They just pointed their finger towards our new enemy, and we marched to execute them. The least we could do was preserve our lives since we were unwilling to lay them down for righteousness by refusing to follow orders. 

The shockwave from Yui's thunder had brought me to one knee, but I jumped back up, smiling widely like a child who got their Christmas present early. 

Yui stared at me, then her eyes rolled backwards, and she fell on her back. 

"Yui!" I shouted, rushing to her. 

It was only then that rest realised she had collapsed. Mesmerised by her strength's frightening display, none noticed until I yelled her name. 

I fell to my knees again and brought her into my arms.
Her eyes were closed. 

With trembling fingers, I checked her pulse. She was alright, just knocked out cold.
I wiped the dirt off her face.