While I sit atop the walls with my mind wandering the battlefield in a fierce fight against the others the battle rages on. Though for now only the people with ranged weapons can do anything to the enemy.

All around me I can almost see the desire for the spear wielders to have more options. For most of them the only magic they can rely on the fireball gauntlets and other similar trinkets, but without the versatility of actually wielding the magic and having a proper repertoire, they can’t do anything in the current conditions.

The few who had taken to a bow as their secondary weapon were having more luck, but even that it is still minimal.

Four archers in my field of view shoot high in the sky. Volleys of death try to bypass the walls protecting the mass of their army and fall on their heads. The results are not quite as apparent for the archers, but I see plenty of small nicks and cuts accumulating on the enemy on the edge of my perception field.

The extraneous thoughts float away as I dive in the struggle against the ever increasing number of shamans directly opposing my control of mana. Slowly the dreadful wall protecting the enemies marches forward as I strain my entire will trying to eke out the barest of improvements, the slightly more effective strategy and slow their advance. I dig deep within myself, but barely the fight started and I’m already running ragged.

An unknown amount of time later, the effort suddenly becomes so much easier.

Someone else joined me.

Merlin.

With about 100 meters to go yet and nobody else capable of approaching this range, we work in conjunction to delay their advance. Although the help is much appreciated as it adds another wrinkle in the enemy’s plans and is instrumental in collapsing small segments of the thick four-meter tall defensive barrier, the gains are small. Each time adds a few more seconds and leaves a couple more dead goblins behind.

With a little more of my faculties after Merlin joins me, I feel as the others start to join in. A few at 60 meters, most at above 50 meters and the very last one at 49 meters.

A rush travels down my arm and a smile booms in my face seeing the enemy finally stopping as I had expected.

A good twenty minutes after they arrived their march forward already cost them 500 of their numbers. We also injured a good number, but that has a smaller and harder to judge effect, but the cumulative effect that the numbing agents should be helping us slightly.

Not a large difference, but I will take anything I can get.

Almost instantly and with a ferocity that surpassed all the others attacks before, the mass of their Army rolls over their defenses and charges our walls.

With their slowly increasing stats in each attack, overcoming the obstacles and even the wall is ever becoming a lesser challenge. But regardless of any improvements, in the 4 or so seconds until the first goblin starts climbing the walls, the fireball turrets devastate their chaotic ranks.

Most ignore the light burns from grazing attacks, but a few are hit by multiple attacks dead on in the random calculus of war becoming horrifying charcoal sculptures leaving behind only their dry and blackened diminutive forms.

From that moment forward, the fight progresses as most others before it which was almost familiar by now.

There is no time for thought or much in the realm of strategic thinking for the people in the front lines, and even I rush from one thing to the next. A mad charge with the Shamans trying their best to exert their powers trying to swing the tides in their favor and thankfully failing.

Before the losses start to really pile up, way before other chiefs would have changed their strategy, the Orcs at the back come charging down and the shamans lower the walls for their archers to get better firing lines on us.

As soon as the first volley of arrows is in the air an order comes from Richard.

“Raise upper shields.”

A wave of shimmering translucent hexagonal pattern instantly covers the approach the arrows are taking.

The madly climbing goblins can move unrestricted, but the slightly curving arrows clang mid air and are knocked to become harmless projectiles.

The second volley moves in as the hundreds of broken foot wide hexagons are replaced. Their sacrifice stopped any real damage from the ranged attacks along the wall.

Each segment only takes a couple of mana points to replace. They are not designed to stop powerful attacks but to disrupt them and lessen their effectiveness.

A minute stream of mana compared to the mass required to form barriers hundreds of meters wide heads down the runic formations and every single one of the broken interlocking shields fully comes back.

Merlin’s inventions are coming in handy and this is far from our last surprise. Though as the thought crosses my mind, I stomp down on it. Can’t count my chickens before they hatch, the other surprises may not cover what we need through a simple case of rock, paper and scissors.

As for my own efforts, the enemy stopped trying to advance their hiding place forward, with only a few shamans remaining to shield the central formation hiding the archers and others.

Tall and muscular 9-foot tall orcs lumber forward and hitting the walls with enormous stone clubs trying to cause damage and get in the village that way. Their straining arms wielding weapons of war weighing more than small rams back on Earth.

Each 100 pound blow hits the wall impossibly fast for a melee attack and sends a wave traveling up the walls.

I stop trying to divide my attention and pay attention downstairs. Growing thick roots I try to ensnare a single Orc, dedicating my entire attention to the one closest to me, but it is to no avail.

Each root growth is counter by repositioning, each small or large movement attempting to catch him unaware is expertly dodged and nothing I do corners him. That is until a pair of goblins tumble directly in its direction right at the moment lowers its head in the swing of its weapon.

That small opening is all I need. The orc is knocked off balance and I take the opportunity to hook a pair of inchwide roots around its foot. The orc tries to leverage its strength, but I manage to hold and even add more restraints. I work my way up with my entire arsenal, significantly enhanced given he is inside the range of my subclass skill, [Nature connection].

In ten or so seconds the Orc is firmly tied to the ground as my attention is already on another pair a few meters to the side.

I glance at the source of the pair of goblins and see who I had expected over there: Alex and Greg. Each is holding the backline while they weave in and out of the battle line contributing as much as they can while letting the others get the experience they need for the third battle today.

The real battle.

I change the ‘Channel’ on the comm system in my wooden helmet and call out.

“Merlin, wanna help me ensnare a few of the tall ugly things?”

With barely a moment of pause, I can almost feel his thought process with my perception field reaching him just some 10 meters to my side.

I can see the nod even before he answers.

“Hell yeah.”

Leaving the group after a few seconds coordinating everyone’s efforts, we keep the channel open as Merlin’s nature meta magic makes its first real appearance in solo work since the start of the battle and the impossible task becomes… ordinary.

One, two, five, ten disabled orcs. With each foe we eliminate, the strain from our mana reserves and wall integrity is lessened.

They would need a lot longer than this to make any real damage, but with a simple crack in the wall, the enemy shamans might be able to force a breach in the wall if they had a trick up their sleeve and went about it hard enough, and if everyone else can hold their ground, quickly eliminating the Orcs is probably the best use of our time and a good way of shortening the battle and advancing our position.

Waves of goblins and wolves pile on top of each other reaching for the top of the wall and doing their best to confront the entire line along the front wall, the easiest point of attack in our village.

As the waves of enemies batter against the rocky shores, their numbers slowly dwindle in a rather permanent fashion. The problem is that our numbers are also taking a significant hit. Sprained ankles, bruises and cuts bypassing their impressive metal armor are wide spread. Even without getting through the armor head blows and hard knocks taking people’s air take a toll on our forces. There are even the occasional broken sword and cut leather straps failing to hold their armor in place.

Anytime someone loses their effectiveness in battle, another fighter in the backline steps up, but our numbers are starched thin. Though they can get treatment, and most injuries should be recoverable in only a couple of couple hours, they are effectively taken out of the fight and our small edge is slowly eaten away.

If this was our last encounter today, this would be an unmitigated success, but another fight is coming and every single injury is like a stab in my heart.

The enemy chief tries dozens of small shifts in their strategy, though nothing that it does is effective.

Without changing the composition of the army, the conditions of the fight or the time frame, he has little choice but to directly attack us.

He is stronger than any other chief before but it is still not enough.

Alex and Greg manage him well enough. In the fields below surrounding, his downed form thousands of corpses accumulate littering the ground and dwarfing the number of upright enemies.

The trend is heading in one direction in an inexorable and near irreversible pull, but we still pay a price.

I continue assisting where I can, though as the number reaches the double digits, Greg speak:

“Ahhh… I have an Idea. Everybody back off and surround the goblins don’t attack them.”

Hearing that instantly my mind is firing off narrowing on his goal but before I can get a word out Richard is following his line of thought.

“You want to delay the next attack. It’s worth a try.” Switching for the general broadcast he orders everyone engaging the enemy to back off and surround them before calling off the turrets still shooting.

I move around and send a flow of Mana down in a circle around their form and start growing a tall fence around the 2 dozen remaining goblins. Soon all of them are disarmed with a large group surrounding them and my wall of roots just a precaution.

It takes a minute for everyone’s nerves to calm down. After a few minutes most of the others retreat to the village so they can rest and recover as much as possible. Only a group of about 100 remain behind to watch over the remaining goblin dutifully training to get past them even without as much as a bone dagger to their name.

I look back to the hospital rooms and the dozens of stations set up in the street dismayed at the state of our defenders. Over half of them have an injury that impairs them and won’t be healed in the next couple of hours. Though most of them can still fight, if at a reduced capacity, there are at least a hundred who shouldn’t even be manning one of the turrets.

Ludmars’s healing magic is mostly kept in reserve given he can only spend so much mana before becoming exhausted and luckily nobody’s life is at stake. That is only a small comfort given the upcoming thirty attack.

A few more levels and stats from the last battle will increase our battle strength, but not enough to keep up with another attack like this and the next one is supposed to be stronger.

Richard calls everyone for a quick meeting and after a moment of thought, I get up and go to it. Pretty much everyone who can contribute to it comes including Charlie. It takes a minute for the adrenaline and loud voices to settle down, but before the meeting starts properly someone asks:

“I’m not sure we can keep up. We need reinforcements, but we don’t have the time.”

Charlie nods acknowledging the problem but his words settle my stomach: “We already called for reinforcements. At their current pace, the first ones should get here in about an hour and a half. Not soon enough for the start of the battle if our efforts out there are unsuccessful in delaying it, but if the next battle follows the same rhythm, they will be an enormous help near the end of the battle, they may even get here in time for the main confrontation”

Richard speaks: “I think it will work based on what I read about the system, at least for a little while. Though we shouldn’t push our luck. Let's try to add one hour of delay for a total of two hours.”

“Reading and everything… I’m proud of you.” Says the hulking form of Greg who shoulder checks Richard.

Everyone just laughs at Greg’s antics relieving the stress after the battle. The meeting continues for a few minutes before drawing to a close. I look outside on my way out of the room atop our walls.

The day is not over yet and the next trial is going to be a real test of our metal. I just hoped enough of us stepped up to be able to counter anything the system brought to our doorstep.