Chapter 94: Battle At The Forth Desert Ring

Two forces stood opposite to each other. The three generals had set their formation atop a large desert hill, one they had terraformed themselves. Ordinarily, terraforming large pieces of land was incredibly expensive if the mages weren't well versed in terraforming magic. However, the dunes of the Oasis were simply rearranged as even the mana that existed within non-living things, in that place, was weak.

Berdek knew her opponents were well prepared but as long as some of her stronger units managed to break through, or even herself, it would be her victory. The three generals that stood opposite to her were not hero ranked warriors but they were close enough to Berdek in skill, that the three of them together could halt her movement, otherwise, she would have simply recalled her troops and broke through all on her own.

The four leaders of these two forces eyed each other while sending directions to their armies; the battles in the world of Orana were different than those held in Scitus’s world, however, the outcome was more or less the same. To avoid casualties, Generals would refrain from entering battle until it was absolutely necessary.

The first lines of the two armies met, the sound of thunderous impacts resounded against the massive tower shields which held firmly like powerful walls made of pure titanium. The riders at the back of Berdeks army moved forward at a slow pace but their steps shook the world beneath them, even the sand couldn't suppress the shockwave of their steps. The three generals looked at these behemoths and then to one another as if coming to an unknown unanimous decision.

A line of purple and black-robed men stepped forward, their steps having a grace only mages possessed. These mages formed groups of twenty and moved into a circular formation. In each group, 4 mages would directly face the opponents: the mages then began their onslaught of [bomb] spells which flung from their wands and towards the behemoths ahead. Once a mage cast a spell they would move right and begin charging their spells, as they were replaced by the mages to their left who had fully charged their spells by that point; this system formed a relentless line of explosion after explosion. These relentless attacks were also a form of intimidation, but their opponents were no ordinary warriors. They were facing Berserkers, relentless fighters who would only stop when their heartbeat did.

The riders pushed forward, ignoring the attacks. "HAHAHAHA" one rider laughed as he ridiculed the pathetic mage offensive. "You'll never take us down before we get to you!!!!" Suddenly a large bright yellow projectile reached his position. With BOOM, His body was nearly obliterated by the powerful spell, but his armor was being reinforced by the golem-elephants mana core. His eyes furrowed taking the mages a little more seriously. "DAMN YOU!!! Once get close, I'll drag you all down to hell!!!" He shouted as he controlled the elephant's trunk to smack any [bomb] orbs approaching him.

Berdek was mildly impressed by the systematic bombardment, her focus was elsewhere; a group of mages with similar apparel appeared to be on standby a few hundred feet behind the Bomb-mage line, but the idea of reserved force never crosses her mind. “a reserve force would be positioned differently and their numbers aren’t enough to fill in a lost mage line. I may have slightly underestimated Gin’s forces.

“ All riders, concentrate on the center battalion.

"Whatever the case, as long as we can break their center force, I can send in the combat mages and mind mages to open it wider. Now, what to do about their riders?”

On the other side, the 3 generals were discussing their next moves their shield troops firmly held their lines.

"Left formation is starting to break." One general said as he moved his bomb-mages a few yards back, while simultaneously maintaining the barrage of attacks. "5 minutes till twilight," the center general said to his the other two. This man wore a black jacket which on closer inspection was made of black steel and then magically enhanced to move like fabric. This center general had some authority over the other two; he ordered them to move into, "midnight position" another code word for their secretive tactic.

On the battlefield, communication was integral to success, and while communication mages were often there to encrypt messages and decode them for their leaders, it would only take a single communication mage with sufficient hijack messaging skill, to read their every word. That was why they also communicated in code when a movement was integral to the success of the battle.

"the twilight maneuver," The center general thought, "We haven't had a chance to use it like this in a long time." The general recalled the times he had used the twilight maneuver against his enemies, it was often devastating, but that wouldn't be the same, "It's unfortunate that it won't win us this battle. ”

"The Golem riders will reach us before Twilight is set up." The rightmost general warned.

“Don’t worry, if it comes down to it we'll enter star formation." The three controlled their surprise. that position was risky if formed alongside twilight. But none of them feared death, they feared to dishonor their King. "star position it is." The right and left general said in unison.

The center general simultaneously watched the berserkers trying to break their lines, as he watched the combat mages forming into groups behind them. The general turned to his riders, grey eagle riders. These men flew atop massive eagles that could swallow humans whole. These men were armed with special javelins that returned to their hands when thrown. They also possess a massive spear long enough to attack from atop their steeds, and strong enough to shred armor. They were being held on standby, their purpose was only to prevent any mages from escaping the battlefield.

The onslaught of attacks on the Berdek riders was beginning to take its toll as massive shards of their stone frame collapses atop the berserkers and combat mages below. Some of the less prepared soldiers were crushed beneath the weight of these stone shards. However, the Shield bearers were losing strength and the spearmen men behind them were unable to land killing blows on the rampaging berserkers. Normally these spearmen were supported by the bomb-mages but their focus was elsewhere, forcing a lot of pressure on these spearmen who were more accustomed to wearing down opponents, then killing them. They aimed for joints, tendons, and other body parts that would normally cause immobility; unfortunately for them, the berserkers had a certain degree of regeneration ability and were managing to persevere. Although the berserkers were pushing the lines, they had yet to draw blood on any of the opponent's army, even they were growing frustrated, they were being denied what they loved most about battles, bloodshed.

"Combat mages, Left line," Berdek said in her coded language. A sudden burst of powerful robed figures jumped over several berserkers and slammed their powerful magically powered fists against the magic shield barriers, causing them to shatter.

"HOLD!!!" The leftmost general commanded his troops; They did so as best they good but the rush of berserkers began to quickly slaughter them. "Bladed Star formation!!!" the left-most general shouted and quickly the shield troops regrouped and formed pairs with the shield warriors. The shield bears perfectly worked with their spear pair, forming a powerful attack defense combination. However it wasn't just their individual teamwork that was impressive, it was their battle wide teamwork which astounded to Berdek. Her berserkers and combat mages were slowly guided into an unfavorable position and before she could send out the order for them to fall back, A large group of berserkers and a handful of combat-mages had been locked inside a star-like formation. Inside the formation, the shield bearers locked them in, simultaneously slamming their shields against the berserkers and combat-mages. The spearmen used the small spaces between the shield bearers and lunged their spears inside, shattering the skulls of some of the berserkers. The combat mages were more well off, but the constant barrage of spears prevented them from properly attacking the shield bearers. Seeing that it was useless, these combat mages leaped upward, attempting to escape through the skies.

“AGH!!!” one combat mage screamed as his entire body was impaled by a line of spearmen just outside the formation, seemingly ready for any foolish fighters trying to escape. The combat mages fell from the sky like birds shot from their flock.

“Fall back!!” Berdek’s orders finally reached her soldiers. her orders had been delayed by the three generals communication mages and its effect was devasting. Berdek had never though a few lost seconds would have such a powerful effect. But in her mind, it no longer mattered. The golem riders had finally reached optimum positions.

These riders numbered 10 in total and side by side, they stretched nearly a quarter of the battlefield lines. The Golem riders whipped their trunks against the shield bearers, instantly shattering their defenses; some shield bearers exploded from the impact, not even getting the opportunity to scream.

" First Star Formation!!!" The center-most general commanded as the three generals simultaneously moved to the front lines. With a single leap, they cross the entire line of soldiers and reached its front. The center general, with a single fist, tore off a Golems trunk, shattering it to pieces and then flinging its remains onto the enemy battlefield.

“so you three have made your move.” Berdek narrowed her eyes and before he guards even realized she had left, they saw her fighting against the center general.

"do you three really think, you'll stop anything!!!" She shouted as the centermost general held on to his chest; His chest had nearly been crushed within a single blow. The other two joined him and together they formed a spear-like formation, with the center general as its head. "Our nation was built on stopping invaders." The center general uttered as he straightened his back, and balanced his flying. “Onias always gets his way!!!! Always!! Now get out of my way you pathetic weaklings. ” her sharp tongue demeaned the three generals with wit and truths. But her mental attacks, even with the support of the mind mages that had been casting spells against them and their army, these three men wouldn’t budge. “We are part of the Miar Kingdom. None of us lack courage.” The center general said before suddenly lunging forward and coordinating his attacks with the other two. Berdek cast a shield spell that covered her from the heaviest blows and the weaker blows, she blocked with her steel-plated forearms.

Below them, there were constant shouts and war cries. Even as the four of them fought, they were still leading their forces. The combat-mages she had held in reserve, suddenly dashed right and left; whichever direction was furthest from the battlefield. Their speed was blinding and soon they were beyond sight. However, these 100 or so combat mages, had not escaped. The grey eagle riders that had been sitting back the entire battle suddenly took to the skies and chased after the combat mages. "you really should change your tactics, you are becoming too predictable.” The center general mocked as Berdek attacked him, only to be blocked with the three joint shield spell.

“simple tactics…” Berdeck leapt backward, “maybe be predictable,” she changes her stance, crossing her arms half a foot in front of her, and rammed with all her might. The three men’s’ formation shattered, as the center general’s chest caved in, nearly killing him, and sending him flying far into the distance.

“but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to deal with it.”

The center general landed far in the distance; his body stopped by a large sand dune. The general quickly cast some remedial magic healing to keep himself alive. He forced himself up but his legs refused to listen to him for longer than a few minutes, battle in his condition was impossible.

“I didn’t think she’d be so strong.”

Casting his flying magic, the center general flew back towards the battlefield, but when he arrived, Berdeks army was retreating and his two generals were completely unharmed.

“what happened!!!” The center general shouted, causing his lungs to spew blood, and forcing him to fall several feet; he had nearly hit the ground in the process.

“She teleported away.”

“then follow her!!!”

"We can't, it was an encrypted magic circle teleportation spell; she could already be in that god's city for all we know." The left general said with a dark grimace.

“that’s impossible, what about the barriers we set up…” suddenly, his heart went cold.

“another traitor?”

The center general’s expression contorted into that of the devil. “send a message to Minvaral.” His gaze then turned to the fleeing Berdek forces. The golem riders had already packaged the mana cores and used movement magic to escape. They were the fastest out of all the army, when off their golems.

“as for them, we'll make Berdek regret abandoing them… Twilight.”

When that day was over, Berdek’s army, was obliterated, and for a long time hence, a massive cylinder, half a mile across, composed of glassed sand, stretched for several miles across the fourth ring.