Magic Made Simple

Chapter 5: Sieging on a Budget

My first mana bolt had been infused with quite a lot of mana. I had wanted to be sure it would take out the goblin I'd been aiming for, and I'd worried it wouldn't be able to cross the roughly 40 meter gap between me and my target. The spell upgrade had proven it's worth though, and the goblins head had still been caved in by the force of the bolt.

I fired off another one, but at this range the alerted enemies had plenty of time to get out of the way. Thinking quick, I instead aimed for the archers who had much less room to move on their perches. I took out one of the two that I could see before the goblin guards were close enough to draw my attention back to them. I sent a mana bolt into the face of one of them, and raised the wooden club I'd been carrying to level the charge of the other.

It's weapon slammed against mine, and we were nearly even in strength. It likely had a higher level, but my titles came in clutch to make up for the difference. I quickly moved my club to the side, throwing the goblin guard off balance and causing him to stumble forward towards me. I placed my hand on the side of his head and cast mana bolt, sending the attack into his head point blank, saving me from needing to use the much stronger mana blast.

With the three guards down, my main worries for now were dealt with. The three from the other side of the wall would no doubt be here soon, but I would deal with them when they did.

I traded out my club for the spiked one the guard had been carrying and began running to the left. The archer I'd killed had been on the right corner, and I wanted to get close enough that I could take out the other archer with as few missed shots as possible. After firing off 3 bolts, I managed to down that archer as well.

The entire city of goblins now seemed well aware of my presence, but that didn't mean the advantage of stealth was completely lost. I backed up into the tree line again, circling the city. I spotted one of the guards from the other side running along the length of the wall, and I figured the other two must have gone around the other way. Lucky me, I could single this one out. I shouted to get its attention, and it turned and began running my way. With a well timed block and a mana bolt, that foe was down too.

I now had another one of the archer perches in my sight, though no archer was on it. They must have at least realized that I was staying far enough away to be out of their range. I grinned, knowing that they'd done exactly what I'd been hoping. I start running towards the walls, getting within just a few meters of it. I ran around the edge until one of the two entrances came into view. It was the one opposite of where I'd initially began my attack, which meant that the guards who'd been here had left to go deal with me, and they still thought I was on the other side.

I try to push open the door, only for it to not budge an inch. I frown, realizing they must have barricaded it. Had the other guards run to the other side? Maybe they decided to bunker down and wait for me to leave, or to try and attack them on their own turf.

Well, I think you can guess which option I chose.

Since the wall wasn't too much higher than my head, all I needed to do was get to one of the corners and pull myself on top of it, right onto one of the archer perches.

My eyes scanned the horde of goblins within the walls. Most held melee weapons, and I shot a bolt of mana towards any that held a bow. Some started throwing things at me, and I began running across the top of the wall.

The wall itself wasn't very thick. Only about 25 centimeters. That was enough for me to treat it like a very thick balancing beam though, and with coordination I knew must have been assisted by my stats, I managed to run across like it was nothing.

It gave me the perfect view of the entire city, and I was still questioning why it was called that. To me it didn't look like much more than an outpost. There were tents scattered around, a few campfires with meat cooking over them, and one wooden building that didn't appear to have anybody guarding it.