"Did we know there would be this many?!"

"So they were just dimming our defenses first, is that it? Shit..."

"Archers!"

This time there was no need for instructions. Everyone readily took hold of their position and drew from their bow, but just before they could shoot, a sudden light appeared in front of them and struck one of the soldiers down. Followed by a pitiful scream, an archer fell in front of Bill's feet with a gaping wound across his chest, as if slashed by a broadsword made out of thin air.

Before he could panic more of those screams exploded all across the wall, and the thumping sound of bodies hitting the ground followed suit. Soldiers covered their heads and protected themselves behind the ledge as archers crouched and readied their bows, seeing nothing but slivers of light that suddenly appeared in their range of vision only to disappear and turn into smoke after hitting the stone, or the body of one of their partners.

Bill couldn't help but tremble as the thunderous noise of trembling stone overrode the clacking of his teeth, although he couldn't figure out if it was fear or the sudden drop in temperature that had made his jaw quiver. Shards of the wall had begun to fly up and fall in front of them, and dust had settled in as an obvious consequence of the battering against the ledges of the wall. Desperate looks were thrown towards the captains who simply looked back, confused just as much as them.

The senior soldier beside Bill gulped down and threw a glance at him. "I'm gonna look." He said, and ignored the way in which Bill shook his head to warn him off. Although it was difficult, the man turned around in his armor and placed his hand over, then pushed himself upwards despite his trembling legs. A good glance was all he needed, but between the smoke of the palisade's remains and the wall's dust, it had become quite the difficult task.

"Do you see anything?!" The chief yelled at whoever could hear him.

"They're swinging their swords 'round!"

"What?!"

"I can't see a thing!"

Bill pulled from the senior's arm. "Come down!", He said, but the man didn't listen. He took a single peek, lifted his head above the ledge for a few seconds, and opened his eyes to observe the scene. A certain glow appeared on his gaze as understanding dawned on him, and with a smile, he stood up and looked at the officers.

"They're using aura! It's aura slashes! They—"

A wet sound interrupted the senior's voice, then his body fell to the ground. A nasty wound had been opened on his neck and cut through his artery, tainting his whole body crimson. The man extended his hand towards Bill while clasping his neck, but Bill did not even manage to extend his hand back before the soldier's entire body went limp.

"..."

Despite the young soldier's impacted soul, the chief looked at the other side and directed his voice towards one of the other officers. "Had you ever seen somethin' like this?!"

"Fuck!" The woman ducked as stone crumbled by her side. "My soldiers can barely feel a man a meter away!"

"These fuckin' slashes are something else!"

A whipping sound marked yet another strike against the cold stone, arousing a cloud of dust. Like rain, the shards that had been broken up scattered along the wall walk, bouncing off the soldiers' brittle helmets.

"Will they ever run out of it?!"

The chief raised his voice to reach the others between the din, but noticed that his voice resounded clear. No more shaking could be felt against the merlon, and his men had stopped falling to their deaths. Officers looked at him bewildered before the noise of battle replaced the awkward silence that had been created by the sudden peace. They put their heads above the ledge, and to their surprise, they found the horde of monsters clashing against a division from their army.

"They came from the western gate!" Someone exclaimed with a tremulous voice.

Cavalry had come running from the turn on the west side, wielding their war hammers and lances on the side. Only a few of them had come, but it had been enough to break through the enemy lines as they approached the slope. Dozens of monsters toppled down as they received the full force of the weapon, creating enough disorder for the formation to scatter.

Yet another group had come running from the west, foot soldiers carrying polearms on their hands had crashed against the red monsters on the slope, and had managed to break their assault on the wall. The battlefield had become a blend of colors, tainted by the silvery shine of the chainmail and the blood-red color of the monsters, contrasting against the dead, cold grass of winter.

"Allies?"

"They're insiders. Troops that were dispatched from the western gate. It's a strategy too obvious not to follow!"

Happiness and excitement were written on the face of every soldier on the wall as they saw the armies clash, a feeling of safety that could only be attained from behind the sturdy walls of Pontya. They pitied the soldiers on the field, but were glad it wasn't them down with the horde of mindless monsters. Secretly, they enjoyed it like a play, right in front of their eyes.

However, as the rest admired the scenery with rejoicing, Bill observed the development from a different angle: a pessimistic one.

"I haven't seen them kill any hob!" He bit on his gauntlets.

With the sudden appearance of the reinforcements the battle had taken a turn for the better, but it was still a far shot from a guaranteed victory. Bill's eyes had caught how every one of those monsters used the sword as if they were talented students of a swordsmanship school, something that was not at the level of conscripts and half-trained militia. Parries were perfectly executed, and each blow aimed to be fatal. The stockades were each time more dangerous, and the soldiers, human and fragile in their core, could not resist the tempered attack of a fearless monster with the skill of an experienced swordsman.

Soon the others began to take notice of it. Bill began to see more faces of despair pop up between their own lines as they looked down on the situation. The reinforcements that had come to drive the enemy off had taken several steps back, and now corpses were piled up below the feet of the ones moving back. Blood was spilled on both ends, surely, but it felt disproportionate when you looked at it carefully. Was their armor useless? Was their training too scarce?

"Why are we... Being pushed back?"

Their fear culminated in the vision of a monster suddenly jumping on top of a knight's horse after perfectly executing a moving parry, and then beheading the rider of the horse. Those who had come to their aid were now at the brink of retreat, and it pained them like torture.

"I don't want still hands! Archers, if you've still got any arrows now's the time to use 'em!"

Projectiles flew against the monsters to no avail, but the showering of iron relieved the reinforcements somewhat, opening moments in which to attack. Not much good could be said about the soldiers fighting the newly-appeared monsters at the edge of the forest. They had begun to retreat in their horses as the monsters had put up quite the resistance even against the cavalry, a finite human resource that could not be lightly squandered. Morale had begun to plummet and fear had set in, until a soldier on the right side of the wall called for everyone's attention.

"The river...!"

"From the river!"

Planks had started to be placed from one side of the river to the other, and soldiers had started crossing it with weapons ready. Three hundred soldiers headed towards the ones closest to the gate, and another five hundred ran towards the ones coming from the forest. The hobs closer to the wall had been trapped in a pincer attack, and unable to defend both sides, their lines quickly toppled and crumbled.

On the other side, circles of soldiers had formed around a single unit per squad: a formation meant to protect mages as they chanted their spells before firing.

The circles opened and gushing flames erupted from the hands of the mages, assaulting the lines of the enemy. Flames engulfed not only the target but its surroundings as well, and with every single spell, dozens of monsters turned into living candles.

"That's magic casters for ya..." Someone mumbled under their breath.

It was true that magic could create big gaps in the enemy's defense and ultimately, if used correctly, it could determine the result of a battle. However, it was also true that most magic casters would be rendered useless after using a single first-tier or second-tier spell, and as such, they were mainly used as part of a more complex strategy to demoralize or corral the adversary troops.

After having used a first-tier [Fire Crack], the magic casters swiftly escaped through the back of the formations and took off from the battlefield, while the cavalry took the opportunity to assault the sections that had been thrown into disarray.

Soon, the section of hobs that had come out of the forest, which had been a reason for terror a few minutes ago, suddenly began to retreat and regroup to no avail. The other side of the field was not developing much better for the enemy, which had been pushed into a disband by the constant attacks from three fronts, and had completely crumbled apart. Stray troops ran around and fought the soldiers of Pontya like savages, but were overwhelmed by numbers and aerial support in no time.

"We might actually win this..." Bill's words came out of a tight, nervous smile.

Suddenly, as if interrupting him, a loud horn sounded in the distance. Every soldier on the wall raised their head to look at the origin of the thunderous noise, only to find a crimson fluttering spark in the sky. Their eyes agape, they observed as what looked like a coated man grabbed the horn on his hand once more, and played it again.

Nobody could hear the words he said, however, as he whispered them only to himself.

"Skill master." He stored the horn away. "Share [Steel Skin] with every linked soul in a five hundred meter radius for 5 minutes."

He was too far away from the wall. Bill could not read his lips. However, judging by the sudden shift in movement below, he had ordered a retreat. The monsters began to run away from the units.

"A retreat in this situation?! Don't they get that they're cornered?!"

"They'll get struck before that happens!"

Archers shot their arrows towards the running beasts, but sooner than later, they began hearing the teeth-gnashing sound of metal colliding against metal, instead of the usual piercing of skin. Sword stockades and backstabs seemed to do nothing against the fleeting enemy, and even, their counterattacks became more vicious and unpredictable. Every attack directed towards them seemed to bounce off. Every action became futile.

However, even though they were attacking as they retreated, it was still a step backward and not forward.

The field officials from the army's side began to order a retreat as well, seeing how the enemy had lost their will to fight. Cavalry units were the first to push back and head towards the wall, followed by the militia. Struck still by uncertainty and confusion, the soldiers watched their enemy delve back into the forest, turning into shadows that quickly lost themselves in the cold colors of the balding trees.

A crimson streak painted the sky for a short second as it trailed off into the distant forestall hills, a shooting star in the midst of the day.

"Huff."

Clank!

Many soldiers fell to the ground as they sighed in relief, some laughing about how lucky they had been, others mourning their fallen allies. Bill, on his side, was simply trying to gather himself after becoming subject to his tremors. He really had survived. He could not believe it, but he was still alive.

"Don't slack off." The chief said as he cleaned his face, covered in sweat and dirt. "We stay on guard 'til we've heard the word surrender."

A courier quickly departed from the wall with the compiled information of the short battle, headed towards the citadel. He arrived not much later to the inner wall and was hastily ushered to the castle, where he met the general and the leader strategist of the army, who upon hearing the report, became more and more visibly troubled.

Details about the displacement of troops, used resources, and efficacy of their strategies were first. Then, the courier read about the enemy, their numbers, strategies used and things alike. Nothing bothered the two leaders of the army until the report began describing the near-indestructibility of the monsters at the end portion of the fight. After the papers were all read, Miel was visibly sweating cold beads, and Loposia was damped.

"Are you telling me they all have... The same power as Thom Arburson?" The general gritted his teeth, short of breath.

"W-We cannot confirm anything yet, my gen— my Lord! It's... A complicated situation, but, even if they can fend our attacks, they still can't breach the gate."

"Why did they use only a thousand soldiers...?" Loposia frowned, dabbing his face with a handkerchief. "Petyo's report stated there were over four thousand hobgoblins of four different colors. Could it be only the red-colored fight?"

"Fuck." Miel gripped his seat with visible anger. "It's cold... It's too fucking cold, I can't even sleep and now I've got to deal with this shit..."

"We could always ask for support from the neighboring counties..."

"Is that a joke?" Miel smiled wryly. "I don't want to hear that ever again. Asking the minor nobles inside the duchy was enough of a pain in the ass."

"Then...?"

"Nevermind that. We can still do this." Miel stood up and looked at Loposia. "Prepare the formations however you think it's best. We'll place half our troops outside the north wall."

"... Yes."