Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Pitched Battle (I)

While a small group went after Cahldor, the Guardians of the North deployed in front of the gate. Once the maneuver was complete, they advanced in an orderly fashion, and left space behind for more guardians to occupy.

They all knew what their role was, where they were supposed to be, what they were supposed to do. This was a well-trained army, which was making its appearance again after a long absence.

The losts still remaining in the vicinity began to launch their ranged attacks against the guardians. They had orders to attack the gate to open it or break it down, but it had opened on its own. Without further orders, they attacked the living without hesitation.

The guardians in the vanguard placed their small shields in front to block the miasma spells and projectiles. They were barely the size of a dish, so they looked rather ridiculous. They were barely covering half of their forearms.

However, those shields weren't so simple. Thanks to mechanisms powered by mana, metal plates began to emerge from them. They extended and fitted together to form imposing rectangular shields. Now, they completely covered their bodies, rising up to two meters and a half.

The final sound when all the pieces fit together wasn't very loud, but when hundreds did so at once, it was a small rumble. As it was impressive the sight of hundreds of shields next to each other without leaving any gap. They were purple, and bore identical emblems. That sight had, in the past, caused panic among their enemies.

It is true that the shields weren't enough on their own. Many attacks from the losts passed over them, towards those behind. However, thanks to a joint spell from all the shield bearers, the protection was projected upwards a few meters, and then back. It covered the entire army.

The explosions followed one another over the firm defense, without even making it tremble. It protected the advance of the army, which didn't take any other action until everyone had finished leaving the city.

The gates closed to protected their home and those left behind. They were a warrior race, but that didn't mean they were all warriors. There were also children, and inhabitants who couldn't fight due to their advanced age or health.

"Archers, set your targets!" a voice ordered.

The archers took up their bows, while a trail of mana went from them to the losts which were attacking them at range. It was almost impossible to see from outside, but everyone there knew the method to observe the different colors of mana.

Some targets received too much attention, and others little or none at all. The lighter colored ones were the first to change, and then darker and darker colors did. Until all their targets were evenly distributed, or completely ignored.

"Red platoon! Open!"

"Blue platoon! Open!"

"Green platoon! Open!"

"..."

One after another, the orders came, although not exactly at the same time. The officers in charge waited for the best opportunity between their enemies' attacks.

The barriers covering the various platoons opened above them at the right moment. The mages set up small barriers to contain the enemy spells and attacks. Although they had chosen the best moment, it was almost impossible for there to be no attack.

The archers began to fire their powerful arrows. They were imbued with purification and fire magic, by the mages. The purification was certainly more efficient, but there weren't many who had mastered it. Most of those who did weren't even warriors, but they could imbue their power into the projectiles.

They concentrated their power on a few enemies, and the result was the virtual annihilation of these. About 10% of the attackers had perished, and a few more were seriously injured.

The barriers closed over them, as they unsealed the next arrows. Again, they chose their targets. Again, the barriers opened. Again, a flurry of projectiles fell upon the losts.

They continued to advance, eliminating enemies, without them being able to react. The shadow that directed them had left, so they were only acting on the instinct of attacking the living no matter what.

Soon, the pressure on the guardians was considerably reduced. Almost all the enemies that had remained near the gate had been killed, no matter they had been dispersed to avoid the catapult attacks from the fortress.

The others had gone to attack the fortress, although most were returning, with the order to attack.

"Prepare for impact!" a voice was heard.

The shields in front were then projected forward in unison. The corrupted beings were charging at them, regardless of whether they were ranged or melee specialists. A certain shadow had had to organize them, but had left before completing its task.

As if it were a huge mattress, the projection of the shields was giving way while slowing down the run of the losts. As expected, this caused great chaos among them, as those behind collided with those in front. It slowed them down, and then the same happened to those further back.

Some were crushed against each other, or pierced by horns or fangs. Although, most survived. They had lost their inertia, but not their stubbornness to attack the living. There were orders as much as their instincts.

"Mages, area attacks! Archers, identify those ranged, and eliminate them!" the voice ordered.

The mages used the same tactic as the archers, thus marking their attack zones. In this way, they avoided too many in one area, or too few in others. However, the first attacks were reduced to a maximum of two per area. They wanted to check the result of their spells to optimize the use of mana.

The archers also marked their enemies as soon as one of them fired a projectile or spell. They rarely managed to cast a second.

The barriers over the mages and archers opened and closed, as mages specialized in defense took care of the incoming attacks when they were open.

After a second round of attacks, the losts in front of the shields had been decimated to almost fifteen meters back. Only a few had survived in the middle zone.

"Change! Advance!"

The shields then turned. Each one revealed two guardians. One held the shield. The other was armed with a halberd or spear, and advanced to face the surviving corrupted beings. Many of those were seriously injured.

They didn't hesitate to use their spells and skills to eliminate them quickly. Armed with a kind of magical crossbows, their companions in the second line supported them by riddling their enemies.

"Return to formation!" the order was heard a little later.

The halberdiers and spearmen retreated to their shields, and the shields turned again to block the approaching enemies.

The wounded were replaced so that they could be healed. Those who had spent too much mana were also replaced so that they could recover it. The entire army advanced uniformly a few meters, until they met up with the losts again.

"Mages, area attacks! Archers, identify those in range and eliminate them!" the voice repeated.