Brom watched on, hoping against hope that he would see the enemy soldiers stopped in their tracks or that Jack had gained an illusion Skill and that their forces going down was just a distraction, to lure the enemy into a trap. But that didn’t happen. He could see soldiers starting to get up. Animals too, though far fewer.

They were getting up from both sides of their attack, though the one on the left had far fewer survivors. Mrk panickily suspected that the wing with less survivors was the one Jack had led forward. Brom thought that to be true as well.

The soldiers that were nearing them suddenly sped up, spurned on by something unseen at this distance. Two things followed, in quick succession. One was that all the remaining riders, horseless or not, started gathering towards one point. The second was that a massive explosion erupted, blasting apart the first row of soldiers nearing the survivors.

It served as a good enough distraction, since The Barony’s cavalry quickly organized themselves, picking up two or even three soldiers on a single horse and dashing back to their side of the battle. Still, the extra weight made the horses slow. A few more soldiers were struck down by arrows, as Amenor’s archers opened fire again.

Brom and Mrk waited with baited breath as the horses and troops returned. An interesting thing to learn was that a ratling’s sight was better than a dwarf’s, at least when it concerned distances, as Mrk was the first one to call out.

“Jack! Jack is alive. Ava too.”

“Ava too.” The Satyr tiredly said, when she reached them close enough to speak.

“What happened?” Brom asked. “Your plan was unfolding perfectly.”

“They tricked us is what happened.” Jack said, getting down from his horse.

Brom would have asked for more details, but he saw his friend turn to speak to the soldiers.

“Our cavalry pretty much no longer exists right now. How many horses to we have left? And how many archers?”

“Four horses, sir. And nine soldiers, though five of us need healing.”

“…FUCK!!!” Jack cursed, after a moment of shock. “Damn it. You, get the ones in need of healing to Moran’s tent. He’s the healer. Of sorts. Use the horses to quicken the transport. We’ll can no longer afford to use them for anything else.”

“Yes, sir!” the man said.

It would have amused Brom to see others so casually refer to Jack as ‘sir’. It would have amused him even more to see his friend forget to correct them, telling them ‘Jack’ was fine. Would have, but the circumstances made it impossible. They had been delivered a very hefty blow.

“Jack, we have our own wounded. Not many and no great wounds, but since we have been offered a breather, I believe we should use it.”

Jack glanced away at the enemy soldiers and saw they were not pursuing. Yet.

“Alright. Whoever got wounded, use the horses to get to Moran. Mrk, make sure they don’t get on more than three on a horse. And only the ones with real wounds. Light injuries can walk to Moran. …please.” He said, adding the last bit almost as if he half-forgotten to do it.

Not that the ratling minded. He took off, even before Jack finished his full instructions. Jack was looking grimly in the distance, one hand at the back of his head. Ava had gotten off from her horse as well and was keeping him company. Brom thought that this was the saddest he had ever seen their group.

“What happened?” he repeated.

“I think the first wave of their soldiers was just a test. To see how we’d handle. Test our might, Skills, whatever. They sacrificed the first row of their second line as well.”

“The first line that went after us were all rookies.” Brom said. “They died too easily.”

“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “I figured. I’m not sure about the first row of the second line, but they were probably considered ‘disposable’ as well. Fucking Merial.”

“They were.” Ava added. “I sniped a few. When a trained soldier sees a bow pointed at them, they duck or raise their shield. These ones just froze.”

“That that was it. They used levies to absorb the brunt of our attack. Learn our tactics. Then, when we were too close, they attacked.”

“How?” Brom fervently axed. “This was The Barony’s cavalry. They were armed. And Skilled. They shouldn’t have gone down from a simple attack. Not like that.”

“Oh, it wasn’t simple.” Jack grimly smiled. “They must have started getting them into position right after we broke through with our charge. By the time we were running alongside them, they were already aiming.”

“Who?”

“Archers.” Ava told him. “Good ones too. The first infantrymen might not have had any Classes or Skills, but these archers did. They weren’t high Level, I don’t think. I haven’t heard more than a couple of attack Skills.”

“I haven’t heard any.” Jack said.

“Yeah. But they probably had low level Skills. Like I do. Balance, sight and reload speed Skills. Come to think of it, I don’t think most of them had Classes. A lot of arrows went wide. But even without Classes…”

“Yeah.” He said, before turning back to Brom. “They had enchanted arrows Brom. Look.”

He pointed to a hole in his chainmail, near his stomach, where Brom could see the bloody fabric underneath it. Jack must have healed his wound with a splash of healing potion.

“This arrow got lodged in my chainmail, but when I tried to pull it out, it flinched and buried itself deeper. I spotted other arrows igniting a small area around where they hit. Other effects too. That’s what we got hit with. An archer contingent that snuck between the infantry lines, hidden, but perfectly in range for return fire. Enchanted arrows. And a number of archers with Classes among them.”

“That’s not all.” Ava tiredly said. “Before I fell, I spotted someone that looked like a high and mighty archer guy. Probably a leader type. I tried to hit him with a red mushroom arrow, but he was protected by a magic barrier. I think that their mages are protecting their leaders and commanders.”

“Or hiding them.” Jack said. “I didn’t see any and with that many soldiers, there’s bound to be a few leaders around.”

Jack thought about it all. They took out the enemy cavalry. Took out an entire line of infantrymen. And one row from the second line. That left the enemy with, what… eleven hundred soldiers? Give or take. From a starting force of two thousand. They managed to take out almost half of their army. Which was incredibly impressive for the small force they had.

However. Jack also had to be real about this. Taking out the cavalry was a lucky shot. It was good, but they didn’t have another ace like that up their sleeves. Amenor’s first line was a test, not a real fight. Jack saw what they were capable of. If he hadn’t used his inflammatory Skill and his remaining mushroom spheres, he didn’t think he’d have gotten out of it alive.

“What was that, by the way?” Ava asked him, breaking him out of his thought. “It was a Skill, wasn’t it?”

“Oh? Oh, yeah. My |Leader| Class went up to Level 8. That was a Skill I got. |Command: To Me|. I mostly used it on instinct. Was it good?”

“It was like a voice in my head telling me I am needed and directing me where to go. I… I’m not sure I could have resisted it, if I wanted it too.”

“Good Skill, Jack.” Brom said.

“Eh. Kind of situational.”

While they talked, Mrk had returned. Jack didn’t know if he should have been worried by his friend’s mischievous grin.

“Moran says he is taking care of wounded. And has leveled. Also says ask about Ava.” Mrk said, before continuing quite gleefully. “Mrk thinks Moran veeeery worried.”

“Ava thinks she’ll reeeeeally kick your ass.”

That had the effect of shutting Mrk up, but also sent the other two into quick laughing fit.

Oh, wow. I needed that.

Though the Satyr seemed to be of a different opinion.

“Let me make this clear from the very start, so there’s no confusion. Moran and I are together. And he’s sweet and caring and you will not make any attempt of humor about any of this. Or I swear on my horns, I will shoot you two through the nether regions and you, Mrk, I will make myself a fur coat out off. Got it?”

They could only nod. Ava could be a real threat when she wanted too.

“Good.” She said, returning to her smiling self. “Now, what’s the plan.”

“I need a minute.” Jack said. “Amenor’s men aren’t moving yet, but they will if we don’t do something. Though… I think they’ll move regardless. Ava, go see Moran. What? Don’t look at me like that, it wasn’t a joke. Go see him, I know you want to. Don’t stay long though and when you get back, grab Nadun. I’ll think of something until then.”

The satyr passed him by, though not before giving him a peck on the cheek.

“Moran and I thank you for your support.”

…

“Mrk not thinks Ava be less Ava after this.”

“If anything, I think she’ll be more like herself than ever.” Jack contributed to the discussion.

“I do have a hope that Moran would be a good influence on her.” Brom added, before frowning. “Though I admit, it is a distant hope.”

Shaking his head a little, Jack turned his eyes back to the battlefield. He could see the soldiers moving in the distance, though they weren’t advancing yet. Something was happening.

Not a lot of time left.

Their own cavalry got reduced to nothing. What few soldiers of it remained Jack coul see replacing the fallen ones from Brom and Mrk’s groups. Their numbers went down from one hundred to eighty. If the exchange of casualties dealt and received continued like this, they would have a chance of winning the fight. Though… that was a fool’s dream. Amenor’s real fist was about to hit them.

So, he watched and thought and slowly a plan started to form in his mind. Slow enough that by the time Ava returned with Nadun, Jack only had the basis of the plan. Yet it was better than nothing.

“Jack.” Nadun said. “My congratulations on your attack.”

“We… lost.” Jack said, confused.

“You got tricked. That was to be expected. Yet, for such a young man and such a low-level Class, you did better than expected.”

“Uhm, thank you. Mage Nadun, what state are your mages in? Could they continue to give fire?”

“We burned through quite a few Mana Potions. But I believe we have enough to last us the entire fight. Just as long as it doesn’t turn into a siege.”

“Good. Ava, how many special arrows left?”

“Almost all of them.” She said, sounding surprised. “I listened to what you said, only used the one.”

“Right.” He said, coming to a decision. “I don’t think we can fight a defensive battle. Not with our numbers. I thought about changing the formation from a square to a half-circle. Get our backs to Helmrest’s wall. Maybe have the villagers inside act as archers and harass the enemy. But I don’t think it would work.”

“I can see what you mean.” Brom said. “They’re too many for that.”

“Too many and we don’t know what tricks they have. While we already used ours.”

“Then what is it we propose we do?” Nadun asked. “Simply attacking them seems just as suicidal.”

“’Simply’ attacking them is suicidal. Yet we have one thing they do not. At least not in the same quantities. Probably quality as well. We have mages. The Barony’s mages are better than Amenor’s right?”

“Well, of course. Our academies offer a far vaster range of studies and-“

“Honest answer, Nadun.” Jack said. “Our lives might depend on it.”

The mage thought about it for a second, frowning, before answering.

“This would cause a diplomatic scandal to admit outright, but yes, we are better. Better at casting, knowing a greater number of spells. But be warned. I have heard… rumors. Ones that said that Amenor’s mages are trained without mana potions. Those are too costly and coin always goes to the knights and warriors in that kingdom. No, their mages either develop larger natural mana storages or are simply whipped to death.”

“That’s… gruesome.” Jack said.

“It is. But it also means that those mages can keep a shield spell up for far longer than you can besiege them, Jack. Since for this war, Amenor probably handed out mana potions.”

“I see. Thank you for telling me that, Mage Nadun. That… changes what I had in mind. But not by much.”

He looked at them. Friends, allies. His home. Something to protect.

“Alright, listen up. This is what we’ll do.”

***

It must have looked incredibly odd watching it from Amenor’s side. Seeing that… was that even a formation? Seeing that thing advance towards them. Merial watched it, knowing who was truly working behind the scenes. When he had arrived with his forces, he expected to see commander Maleh on the field. He didn’t personally know the man, but he knew of him. Experienced, capable. Dangerous. Coupled with his chief mage, those two could have turned the tide of Merial’s incursion.

Which is why he took him out. Did he feel less of a knight now? Perhaps. But did he feel more of a loyal subject to his king? Very much so. And now, he stood on his horse and saw that terrible young man, leading his soldiers towards his own. His soldiers. As if he had won any right to them.

Merial had worked years for this position. He had sacrificed much. His youth, his pleasures, his… no. That was a sacrifice, though not one he would have given if he would have had any choice in the matter. Yet, he had sacrificed much. All for his kingdom. All for his king. All of it so he could rise to where he now stood. And that boy had the nerve to just think he could to the same by-

“Sir?” someone spoke, startling him, though he gave no sign of it.

“Yes?”

“You are, uhm… you are hurting your horse. Sir.”

It was one of his commanders who had spoken. A |Captain|. Higher in rank, in theory, though lower than Merial on the pecking order of this battle. He had been giving this mission by the king himself.

“Thank you, Captain. Tell me, what do you make of that formation?”

The man didn’t hesitate before responding. That was good. It meant that he had no problem with serving under a ‘mere’ knight.

“It is quite odd, sir, yet I know the formation. Used for breaking apart battle lines. Though, I have never seen it used by infantry.”

“I see. It is good that you are familiar with it. All I see is a column of soldiers advancing towards us.” Merial said, trying to add a bit of levity to the conversation. “What should we expect from it?”

“Normally, they would hit our lines at fast speed. The first ranks of that column would be composed of their best fighters. Then they would advance inside our own lines, preventing us from encircling them, since… they would encircle themselves.”

Merial looked at the advancing soldiers. He doubted they would even manage to break apart his ranks. Whatever trick they used with the explosion, it didn’t look like they could manage it again. But even if they did…

“And what would be the benefit of trapping themselves?”

“That is why I mentioned this formation is usually attempted on horseback. See how only the outside ranks of that column are comprised of soldiers? The inside of it must be filled with archers and mages. If they had the capacity of breaking apart our ranks and getting inside our army and managing to do it before we got the chance to reposition ourselves, they could take advantage of our disorientation and rain arrows and spells on us. Perhaps followed by a swift retreat or even by breaking through and positioning themselves at our back. As it is, though…”

Merial finally saw it. The purpose behind the plan. It wasn’t some grand maneuver. It was just a desperate last push. Foolish. Very much like the boy himself.

“Thank you for your analysis, Captain. Your expertise does you honor. Our king will hear of this.”

Smiling, the man retreated, right as the column had entered his archers’ range.

“Archers will concentrate fire to the front of the enemy formation. Send heavy shields to the soldiers right in front of it. Amenor will not let them push through!” Merial ordered and his command was passed down the ranks.

Which was good. It was a fine set of orders, spoken after being informed by an experience captain. A rational set of actions, even if not brilliant in strategy. Exactly what should have been done by anyone in Merial’s position. The boy and his lowly friends would never push through with such a half-baked scheme.

The only problem in this train of thought was… nobody told Jack that.

“Their archers are moving.” Ava called out.

“Nadun. Now.” Jack shouted.

The man didn’t respond, but he must have signaled his mages somehow, for in just a couple of seconds magical, shimmering shields appeared in the air. Apparently, these were easier to maintain than personal shields, which took the shape of a person. They only covered the first rows of their column so far, but that was all they needed.

Now it was time for Jack to do his part.

“Right. Everyone, this is it!” he shouted, so as many soldiers could hear him. “I know this is an unlikely alliance. And I know we all have our own different reasons for being here. Whether we are here for our homes, for coin, for duty or for our friends.”

Everyone was listening to him, because everyone was there. Elia’s villagers, Brom and Mrk’s mercenaries, Nadun’s mages. Every strength they had remaining they poured into this move. And it would work because it had to.

“That doesn’t matter right now. What matters is them and us! They are the enemy. They are the ones we need to push through. And we are the ones who are going to do it!”

Arrows were pelting their shields and even a few Skill shots were attempted, though their barriers held. It was almost time.

“This is our last attack. The last one we can afford. We’re the stupid little ants, trying to tear through a giant. But we’ve done it so far. And we’ll do it again! So I’ll just say this. Tear them up!” he roared and his army roared with him.

To be honest, it wasn’t that good of a speech. It was boastful and the motifs kind of repeated themselves. The last line needed to deliver more impact too. But that was for the literary analysts. For Jack and the rest, it was enough. Since it was a fine enough speech to use his Skill on.

|Rousing Speech|

All around him, the soldiers were hollering and yelling. They felt more powerful. They felt fearless. They were going to tear Amenor a new one and stuff that wannabee knight into it.

“Spheres, now!”

Brom, Mrk and Ava were the ones at the head of the column. And they threw all of their remaining red mushroom spheres in the air, towards Amenor’s line. Now, by themselves, those wouldn’t have made much of an impact. But Jack hadn’t been idle. He had used everything he had to make up a plan.

|Eye for Flow| actually worked on an army. Poorly, as it was to be expected, but it gave him a sense that the place where his cavalry had split in two was guarded by the weakest archers. Only normal, since the fine ones ran after their two wings, trying to shoot them down. Which… they did.

Even so, that was the place to attack. But with what? Well, they didn’t have another trick, so why not use the old one? True, their number of red spheres was just four, but Jack had learned a new trick that day.

Magic is might.

“|Fireball|!” a dozen voices chanted at once, while the rest cast what other fire-based Spells they knew.

The clay spheres had yet to land when the twenty or so spells hit them. And since the more magic was added to the concoction, the bigger the effect, Amenor’s soldiers were met with a gigantic fiery explosion.

Not as grand as the one that took out their cavalry, not by a long-shot. Not as damaging. But much more concentrated. Their column was almost atop Amenor’s army when the smoke cleared and Jack saw the missing chunk of soldiers that were supposed to stand in the enemy line. The perfect entry point.

“|Basic Charge|! Forwards!” he screamed and in the column went.

***

“What was that? I thought they were out of those things?” Merial snarled.

“Sir, our officers report a smaller number of artifacts used. However, our mages report that the artifacts have been triggered by fire-based Spells. An entire volley of them.”

“Then return fire!”

“Sir, our mages do not compare to theirs, in quality or numbers. I respectfully ask that they are kept on shielding duty.”

The man almost turned around and slapped his captain. They had to do something! That damned formation wasn’t supposed to make it through. Merial had been prepared to give out orders to encircle it the moment it got bogged down. Instead, they used the same trick as before to blast away his men. And now their entire column had forced its way inside his army. Inside!

“What are they doing?” he asked, keeping his voice in check.

His captain looked at the shimmering lights appearing in place and came to a conclusion.

“Their mages are locking shields into place. One second. |Eagle Eye|. Yes, their mages are creating magical shields to protect the center of their column. All their warriors are on the outside. The inside is filled with only archers and mages.”

“I though all of The Barony’s forces were archers, captain.” Merial grunted.

“They are, sir. They’re also equipped with short swords. And joined by mercenaries, if our scouts are correct.”

Merial dearly wished he had seen this tactic before it played out, but he was a knight. Not a commander. His captains should have warned him. Worthless fools. He gave no outward sign of what he was thinking, however, letting the man carry on.

“But… sir. It looks like only half their mages are attending to their shields. The rest are… chanting.” His captain said, before his voice taking on an urgent tinge. “Sir, I believe they are preparing for a mass ritual. I advise urgent action.”

“We are already taking action. Their flanks are being engaged by our soldiers and our archers are peppering them with arrows.”

“Sir… respectfully, our archers are not managing to break apart their shields. And our infantry isn’t managing to break down their lines.”

“…what do you recommend, captain?”

“Restrain fire for our archers. They need to recharge their Skills, those who have them. And concentrate our lines in order to overwhelm them. They have finer blades, but we have the numbers.”

“I see.” Merial smiled. “A fine suggestion, captain. I would improve on it. Send out the veterans. Have them batter down their formation. Get to their mages and take them out.”

“Sir, should we not use our Skilled soldiers for the proper attack on Helmrest?”

“Helmrest is full of only villagers. Once they see their… ‘defenders’ broken down, they will open their gates. You have your orders.”

“Yes, sir. |Battle-Wide Command|. Archers, halt fire. Await further instructions. Infantry, step down. This is an order for all veterans and infantrymen with direct attack Skills. Concentrate on the enemy lines. Break through their defenders. Artifact and potion use is authorized. Once through, take out their mages. Archers, once the shields are down, you will provide support fire. That is all.”

He lowered his voice then and spoke to the men around him.

“Use Skills in order to quicken their actions.” The captain said.

“Sir!”

Merial heard the Skills spoken by the officers around him. Even a Captain. |Rapid Deployment|. |Quick Pace|. |Company: Raise Morale|. All Skills to help his soldiers move faster and with purpose. He even saw their effects in action, soldiers moving around fluidly and quickly. He didn’t care. His focus of attention was that formation.

It was an odd one. Yet it almost managed to punch through their entire army. Like a straight line, separating their army in two. Merial had to admit, it made some kind of sense, since it reduced their numerical advantage. He had already given orders to surround their group on all sides, yet the ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ of their column was almost impervious, since it offered a small target for attack and it allowed them to concentrate fire.

The sides could be attacked, true. The sides had been attacked and were about to be attacked harder. But his entire army couldn’t attack at once. Only the soldiers near their formation had the chance to delve into the fight and only the nearest archers could send out fire.

It was a stupid formation. It had no right to actually work. So why had it?

Merial was pondering this furiously, when he saw the magical shields wink out.

***

“This is quite undignified.” Nadun whispered.

“Eh, you’ll get over it.” Ava chirped. “Now keep mumbling.”

Jack and his friends had ‘retreated’ to the center of their formation, right next to Nadun. The Mage Sergeant and half his mages were currently putting into action the second part of Jack’s plan. Namely, faking the shit out of it.

“I am still surprised Amenor does not know the capabilities of The Barony’s mages. Even my own kin know that mass rituals are not so easy to conjure.”

“The Barony may have leaks, but we tend to our intelligence.” Nadun whispered. “And Amenor isn’t exactly known for its stellar |Infiltrators|.”

“They have those?” Jack asked.

“No. That’s the point.”

Jack almost laughed, but he kept on a serious face, gravely observing the ‘ritual’ in the making.

Meanwhile, Amenor was behaving about as well as it could be expected. The soldiers they sent towards them weren’t rookies, but they weren’t high-level behemoths either. Yes, they dealt quite a lot of damage, but the mercenaries and The Barony’s soldiers held, while Helmrest’s archers showered them with arrow fire. And the wounded had an unexpected helper too.

Elia.

The woman had come with them, both to help and to inspire courage in Helmrest’s future Village Watch. She might be the Village Head, but she was currently using her first profession. She was acting as a |Herbalist|, mixing shrooms and making poultices and applying them to the soldiers in need.

Jack would have wanted Moran to do the healing, but he had enough wounded already and Ava had been adamant about him staying back at the village.

“I’m going to get a healer Class if I keep at this. And I don’t want one.” The woman mock complained.

“Then don’t take it.” Jack said, still trying not to openly smile.

“Jack!” Ava suddenly called out. “It worked. Just like you and Brom said. They’re coming!”

Jack would have really liked for her to whisper, but since the next move was already in play, he decided to drop the act.

“Got it. Nadun, that’s enough, thanks.”

The man had been using one of his |Sergeant| Skills. Since he apparently had that Class. |Command: Mimic Actions|. It meant that his mages had been ‘helped’ by his Skill into mimicking his actions and gestures. So when the chief mage stopped humming and flaying his arms around, his mages did too.

The silence was quite noticeable. Noticeable enough that the veteran soldiers, Amenor’s real infantry, who had been steadily advancing towards their formation stopped, perhaps fearing a trick.

Which, to be honest, was perfectly understandable.

“Soldiers looks wary.” Mrk said.

“Yes, yes, our glorious leader tricked them again.” Nadun muttered. “Now can we get on with it? I need to drink a Stamina Potion.”

“That’s the spirit, magic man.” Ava laughed. “Let’s not wipe these experienced soldiers out because we need to. Let’s do it because we need to hurry up.”

Brom said nothing, though he looked itchy for a fight as well.

“Right." Jack said. "Pleasure to be fighting with you all. Alright, final part of the plan. Let’s go.”

Nadun nodded and cast a levitation spell, flying out four spherical objects. Their last remaining mushroom spheres. Other than Ava’s prized arrows that is. Now, one might be wondering what four of those pseudo-artifacts could do. Yes, the red mushroom spheres had punched a hole in the enemy line. But it punched a narrow hole. What could four green spheres do against an army?

Honestly, Jack had been wondering that himself. Nadun had too.

“First line.” The mage called out. “You will cast the first volley of Spells aimed at the floating orbs. I will help you.”

The enemy soldiers heard him and most likely remembered what volleys of spells meant. Since they saw how effective they had been until now. Even so, they stood their ground. Some of them kneeled and raised their shields. Others activated scrolls and raised walls of dirt or roots in front of them. Other just used Skills.

Jack respected that level of dedication. But not enough to stop Nadun.

“Second line. Once the first volley flies, you will stop casting the shielding Spells. You will then cast the second volley. You will finally drink Mana Potions and recast the shielding Spells. Prepare yourselves.”

A tremor shook Jack. He realized it was his own pounding heart.

This is it. All these tricks, everything for this.

“|Guided Shots|.” Nadun yelled. “Fire! |Acid Orb|!”

A wave of spells, helped by his Skill, shot towards the floating spheres. Jack waited with baited breath to see the effect. He was acquainted with the effect of fire mushrooms meeting fire and the destruction that followed. This, however… was new.

The Spells hit the spheres all at once and broke them. They didn’t detonate. Instead, a glowing, green, viscous ball started to rapidly expand. It looked like a huge orb of mucus.

“Second volley, now! |Wind Blast|”

The second volley wasn’t guided. It didn’t need to be. The four huge orbs were blasted apart, liquid flying everywhere on the enemy lines and Jack heard screaming.

He felt sick to his stomach. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Elia throw up.

This… this isn’t like before.

It wasn’t easy to ignore what fire and explosion did to human bodies, but it was doable. This wasn’t. The |Acid Orb| Spells had exponentially increased the green mushrooms sphere’s effects. Both in intensity and in size. And when that liquid touched the enemies…

Jack saw half-dissolved bodies toppling down. Soldiers screaming, while their helmets melted atop their heads. A woman tried to scrape the liquid off her chest, but only managed to melt her fingers to the bone. Green mixed with red on the ground.

Yet Jack had obtained his desired effect. More than that. Not only had Amenor lost its best infantrymen, its remaining soldiers were now shocked. Afraid. Though, Jack’s army was almost as shocked themselves.

Fuck you, Merial. And fuck your lord for making this happen.

The ground before Jack’s first lines had formed puddles of green liquid, quietly eating away at the corpses and their armor. It was an impassable obstacle. Now, Jack’s soldiers couldn’t be assaulted as easily as before.

Infantry couldn’t reach them without sacrifice. Amenor’s archers couldn’t shoot through their mage’s shields. And now Helmrest’s archers had been joined by The Barony’s archers, leaving only the mercenaries to guard their lines, since… the green barrier did the rest.

The almost perfect defense. A ranged attack force formed of archers and mages. The perfect deathtrap.

And fate seemed to agree with this too.

|Class Level Raised: Leader|

|Class Level: 10|

|New Skill: Kill Zone|

“This war has gone on long enough. For both us and them. Let’s end this!”