Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Pitched Battle (III)

For hours, the Guardians of the Northern continued to advance at the same pace, as the corrupted army dwindled. Driven by instinct, and often hindering each other, the losts were unable to demolish the defensive wall of shields and mana. There may have been more of them, but they couldn't all attack at once.

The guardians had managed to reduce the enemy's number by half, but they still had the other half to defeat. However, they weren't tired.

At first, the guardians had limited themselves to some reliefs, but later, they had gone further. The city gate was now half-open, and they had created a caravan of wagons that went to the battlefield and back.

They were filled with warriors. They were sent back to the city, where the miasma couldn't enter. There, they could recover their mana, as well as rest and eat. After that, the warriors were taken back to the front.

The army's defensive perimeter had been adjusted to allow for these comings and goings, to always have enough troops to deal with any eventuality. It was a slow but unstoppable roller.

"Cahildya, get ready! We're close enough, we're going to set up the bridge!" one of the commanders announced.

She nodded, nervous, anxious. Many long hours had passed, and it was highly unlikely that they had survived. However, they had to try. At least, they had to recover the corpses of the heroes, or give them rest if they had been corrupted. Just thinking about it made her heart shrink, but she had to go, to see it with her own eyes.

Once again, a Wind Path was formed, and the same group that had attacked Cahldor climbed onto it. Although, this time they weren't the only ones. Others followed them, more slowly, as they were protecting themselves from the ranged attacks that the first group had dodged with their speed.

The Wind Path grew longer and longer, until it reached the fortress. It had practically become a bridge, which led them on top of the tower. There, the catapults and ballistas that had been used earlier during the siege could be seen. They were practically intact, as the corrupted beings had no interest in inanimate objects.

The tower was filled with flying losts, some of whom were pushing to get in through the stairs or the holes that had been created. Others were pounding on the rock to continue crumbling the tower and reach the living.

They had orders to attack the living in the fortress, so when the guardians arrived, many enemies turned to them. They didn't even wait for them to set foot on the tower.

However, the newcomers were prepared. Mana bombs made before their departure left their hands one after another. Many mages had put their mana into them a few minutes before, to give their allies the necessary weapons to face their enemies.

It was more efficient to cast the spells directly, but the number of troops that could go through the Wind Path was limited. They had even added wind spells to their backpacks, so they wouldn't weigh them down.

The losts were all together, tightly packed, so the impact of the bombs was as destructive as it could be. However, there were many of them, and their deaths consumed the destructive power.

They continued to throw bombs one after another, until reinforcements arrived, with more bombs and spells of their own. For a while, it was practically impossible to see what was behind the continuous explosions, but those didn't stop until they couldn't sense their enemies.

When the mana and smoke cleared, a half-ruined tower was left before them. Of the catapults and ballistas that had survived until then, only a few pieces remained here and there. Their sacrifice would be remembered.

"Let's open a path! Those losts were going in here! Let's follow them!" Cahildya ordered.

It wasn't an easy task to make their way through the rubble, but the fourth squad deployed for that mission was specialized in this. When they finally managed to open a path, they advanced without hesitation.

"Do they never end?" the guardian cursed, after recovering her spear.

The Shards that had pierced the flying reptile had fallen to the ground after it disappeared. Most of them were weak enemies, some because of their level, and others because they were winged. However, that didn't stop them from being dangerous. Besides, there were many.

The advance was slow, eternal. The corrupted beings were crowded together, as they wanted to advance on each other. It would have been ideal to throw more bombs, but it was dangerous. The tower could fall on them.

They had also found terrestrial losts, some quite dangerous. Cohjiyo had just cut off one's head with his axe, after Cahildya had called its attention with a reduced-power Fire Beam.

"There can't be many left. We're almost at the bottom," her companion reported.

With her wind power, she was able to explore the depth of a cave, or, in this case, the tower. Given the enemies around, it was only an approximation.

Everyone was anxious, although without much hope. The number of losts they had found foreshadowed the worst. In addition, a lot of time had passed. Their peers had been fighting since before they had woken up.

It hadn't taken them long to organize and leave the city to fight, but even then they had needed a few hours. Not to mention how long it had taken them to advance enough to create a Wind Path. To say that hope was remote was being optimistic.

It is true that the corrupted beings had to overcome the thick walls of the fortress and get there. It is also true that they had succeeded.

They finally reached the bottom of the fortress, and got rid of all the losts pushing against the walls. Curiously, the door had resisted, but not the rock. Cracks of all sizes could be seen everywhere.

A spear pierced a corrupted raven from side to side. Another spear and an axe finished off a grasshopper from behind. Two swords stuck in a corrupted puma's back, which suddenly turned towards the one wielding them.

The spear that had pierced the raven stuck in the feline's side, while a Wind Blade created a deep cut in its paw.

The puma opened its mouth to launch a miasma attack, but a Fire Beam entered its mouth before it could do so, and incinerated it from within.

Cahildya was the first to enter, and what she saw left her speechless for a few seconds. Before here, there were the defenders of the fortress, badly wounded, visibly exhausted, but at least some of them were still breathing. They didn't know how many, but their gaze was too focused on a motionless figure to care about anything else.

"Menxo!" she called him, as she was running towards him.

"Ca...hil..." he murmured weakly, visibly surprised.

He wasn't sure if he was delirious, or if they were both in the realm of the dead. However, her embrace was so warm that it seemed real. So much so that he allowed himself to relax, his eyes closing.

Meanwhile, a pair of spears flew towards the ceiling, to stick into a lost which was peeking out. There were still some left to clean.