Chapter 148: Whitefall V

Chapter 148: Whitefall V

I ignited my sword. Violet flame radiated, and the center grew red. Bolster the first group with the rank-and-file.

Maya stared at me, dumbfounded. Help the well-organized contingent of men that isnt struggling, while you get yourself killed aiding the second group? I dont need your protec

Its not like that. I shook my head. Whatever our issues, for the moment, we needed to bury them. You have the harder job by far. I thought it was odd from the beginning that only half of my fathers bannerlords are here. Combined with what you said about the talk of sedition? This wasnt an accident. They have orders to leave the nobility out to dry, Id put money on it.

The King knew this was going to happen? Maya gave me a look of disbelief.

If Im right, this was the plan for the assault on the enclave. To thin the herd. Theyre just acting on old orders. I looked at Maya, all too aware of the difficulty of what I was asking. I need you to find a way to push them toward the center and force a merge.

Mayas brows knitted together. Thats a tall order.

I know.

Can you give me cover?

Between us and the men?

On the men themselves.

I nodded. Slowly, I drew in as much mana as I could, weaving the pattern for air in every thread. The threads grew taut within me and frayed. Still, I wound the mana tighter and added more. And more. And more.

At my limit, I turned towards the smoke and raised an arm, releasing the pressure. A cyclone shot from my hand, becoming visible and gray as it took in the smoke. Before it dissipated, I guided it towards the first group.

Maya chased behind it, Kastramoth running alongside her.

When I finally released the spell, the column of smoke dissipated into a cloud, drifting over the men like morning fog. Maya disappeared within it, the xescalt staff in her hand glimmering before it vanished into the dark.

I considered the group with my fathers bannerlords. They were falling back towards the edge of the Everwood. Several nobles had already turned tail and fled into the forest. And as my father himself was fond of saying, only a fool fought elves in the forest.

Circling to join them from the rear would take too long. At this rate, what little defense they had could crumble in minutes.

I needed to go through. nove(l)bi(n.)com

I poured mana into the inscriptions on my legs, granting myself as much speed as possible, then charged directly at the center of the enemy forces, a wave of violet fire in my wake.

Sweat poured down my face as the enemys back grew ever closer. There were thousands of them.

Heart, throat, chest.

Itd been a long time since Id fought anything resembling a human. There were too many creatures in the sanctum to know every monsters weak point by memory. Some even had contingency organs that would function should the primary organs fail.

Heart, throat, chest.

Maybe it was natural that the artful dance Cephur taught me years ago had fallen by the wayside, in lieu of brute force. The sword was a brush. But it was also a bludgeon. Sometimes technique didnt cut it, and the only way over a wall was smashing straight through.

Heart, throat, chest.

One of the drephinic elves, a male around my age, turned, probably sensing the sudden shift in temperature. He opened his mouth to shout a warning.

I slipped my sword beneath his sternum. It easily pierced his torso, the blade exiting his back. He coughed blood onto my shoulder.

With a burst of mana, I let the flames overtake him and planted a foot against his chest, sending him careening into the mass, creating an anchor point of violet flame to draw from as it hopped from person to person.

Then the wave of fire hit, setting the entire cluster of drephin ablaze.

Im not sure what exactly I expected. From the way Maya described them, Id opted for caution. Unleashing everything I had. But now, as I struggled for air amid the inferno, my mana spent, a queer sickness came over me.

The elves burned the same as anyone else.

A blackened and charred figure, barely on his feet, staggered towards me, sword upraised. I knocked it aside, and he continued to stagger forward, ruined fingers clinging to my plate.

Help me

I drove my sword into his heart, a quick death the only mercy I could grant. Violet embers filled the air.

The panic on the back line faded quickly. Id felled dozens with the opening move, perhaps a hundred. But as the flames spread, the elves further up shifted. Their skin bubbled, bones deforming as the burning pelts on their backs fused with their skinnot a result of the fire, but of something else. As their features became more feral and canine, the fire died.

Maya rode Kastramoth out of the smoke at their rear.

Even in the pain, I had to smile. Shed used the gruesome appearance of her demon to herd them. Thousands of armored, disciplined soldiers, reduced to cattle.

The man above me scowled and pointed his staff in Mayas direction.

There was a flash of steel, and the elfs head plummeted to the ground. Erebus vaulted over the decapitated elf, knocking his body aside, dispatching the onlookers before they could stir from their trance-like state. Kerai stood over me and roared protectively.

Pardon the intrusionElphion Erebus trailed off, eyes widening at my wounds.

Just shortly behind him, a thick man with a bushy red beard wielding a broadsided axe covered his left. Another of my fathers bannerlords. Watch your back, idiot. He yelled to Erebus. With a loud grunt, he cleaved through two elves in a single blow, then glanced at me. The prince?

Erebus shook his head.

Raugor tore an elfs throat out and grinned at me. What a show. Youll be eating well in Valhalla tonight, boy.

To distract myself from the pain, I tried to recall Raugors house. Even his first name. But my mind was too foggy.

Suddenly, Maya was there. She knelt beside me, her face a mask of anger and grief. I failed you. Again. Her hands glowed green.

Dont!

Maya recoiled. I repeated it, softening my voice. The darkness spreads. Stay clear. Understanding dawned in her expression, and she pressed her hands to my chest and the left side of my stomach, well out of reach of the encroaching black.

Panic filtered in. I cantI cant heal this. Theres too much damage and the spellwhatever it is, it lingers. The best I can do is help with the pain.

Its alright. The fire in my nerves was likely the only thing keeping me awake. Around us, the sheer brutality of the carnage was horrible. Mangled bodies were scattered everywhere. The number of charred elves was too many to count.

I looked away. The cost was too high. We need to find a better way.

Very well, Maya said. She seemed to center herself, ruthlessly reining in her emotion. The grief in her expression faded into cold stoicism. Their magic seems similar to their sister races. Mystical. And theyre not weaving as far as I can tell. Fewer casters than us, more potency.

Would you be able to heal this, if youd caught it early?

Hold it at bay, perhaps. Not reverse the damage. Id need an assistant to slice the blighted flesh free and regenerate it piecemeal.

So dont get hit by it.

Yes. Maya let out a choked laugh and fell silent.

Erebus. I called to him. The bannerlord was standing guard nearby, pretending not to listen. He knelt at my side.

Yes, your grace?

How did you identify the leader? By his staff? I asked.

Erebus shook his head. There were more than a few staff-wielders amongst them. It was the pelt. The leader was the only elf wearing a white pelt.

Did his death factor in the retreat?

Erebus nodded Almost definitively. After he fell, their fighters grew disorganized, their morale broken.

How many of them were there? Best guess?

A few thousand. Erebus mused. His expression grew dark. If they hadnt whittled us down at the beginning, I doubt they would have dared to attack so brazenly.

Thank you. I said.

Maya stared down at me with eyes of stone. Her fingers brushed my cheek. Dont leave me behind again. Please.

I tried to give her a reassuring smile. It wont be like last time, Nilend. Ill see you soon.

Finally, the darkness took me.

In the endless black that followed, a familiar voice spoke.

Again.