The sounds of bells were the first thing that broke the tranquil silence of the morning, and the boy’s eyes flicked open. Pulling a tunic and a cloak onto his back, Gaius checked his equipment, before jumping out of the window. He looked back at the tower, and like a swarm of bees, other Knights were swarming out of their rooms.

Clouds scattered as the Lifespring’s elites rammed through the fluffy things, revealing the sunrise’s full glory. Gaius narrowed his eyes at that sight. He didn’t know much about these enemies, but from what he could see, they only looked human. It was quite possible that these guys didn’t have the same limitations that a person had…like the need for water. Dehydration, overheating…without the clouds blocking off the worst of the elements, the defenders were at a disadvantage.

Sigils appeared all around Gaius as his fingers flickered, and as the other Knights began to group up, he unfurled the Moonshot. In his current state, where his body wasn’t at peak condition, recklessly engaging in close quarters was not something he wanted to do. The Moonshot’s long range form, coupled with the Astral Wind’s Blink ability that he’d assimilated, was more than enough to rack up kills.

He raised the Moonshot to shoulder-level, and looked through the scope. A hundred plus enemies were charging towards them, the gap between both forces closing rapidly, but it was an ear-splitting crack that scored the first casualty of the battlefield. Without looking away from the scope, Gaius fired another two times, each of them sending two more bodies plummeting into the battlefield below, before relocating himself by blinking away.

His fingers flickered again, drawing out another set of quickening sigils — they had vanished entirely — and as they arrayed themselves in front of the Moonshot’s barrel, Gaius pulled the trigger three times in rapid succession. Another set of Knights fell, and by now, even the slowest of the combatants present had realised that someone out there was busy sniping Conrah’s Knights out of the air.

Three cracks. Three deaths. Gaius glanced at the artefact he’d pasted on his chest — it didn’t follow him when the boy teleported, unless it was on his person — and smiled at the new numbers on it. At any rate, everyone fighting for the Territories was now aware of someone taking out Knights at an insane rate — after all, there were only a hundred odd of such people on both sides each.

Another three Knights plummeted from the skies, and the enemy Knights began to cluster up. Blue bubbles surrounded the group. It was clearly a defensive measure, but in the eyes of the defenders, it was something else. Cheers rang out across the skies, a sound swiftly taken up by the ones manning the defensive lines on the ground as Gaius’ allies began to make strafing runs against the invaders on the ground. Energy exploded — too weak to take out any Knight worth his or her title, but enough to cripple the land-based fodder — but the Knights continued to hold their defensive positions, instead of reacting against such blatant provocation.

The strafing Knights retreated as palpable presences registered on everyone’s minds. The Lords, who had been engaged elsewhere, had fought all the way into the current battlefield, but for the Eastern Lords, the sight of ninety odd Knights clustered and huddled behind a bunch of blue bubbles was something new.

The fighting between the Lords of both sides faltered for a moment, as the newcomers took in the odd sight. One of them — the man who had been speaking to the crowd last night — laughed madly, and punched out viciously at the giant target board, before flinging himself backwards through the air to dodge the incoming attacks.

A dazzling blue light flooded the battlefield as his attack smashed into the azure bubbles, and the sea of blue soldiers below turned into white light as the shockwave from the resulting clash trampled over their fragile frame. Gaius, who had looked away immediately, turned back as the light faded to see an entire host of defenceless, disorientated enemies. His hands flickered again, adding a new sigil into the mix, and the Moonshot shook slightly.

An explosion rang out, echoing across the battlefield in tandem with the artillery guns firing from the backlines. As azure soldiers fell from the sky, Gaius felt a sense of immense danger flood his subconscious.

“Shit.” The Moonshot collapsed into its compact form as Gaius blinked away from his current spot. A giant pillar of azure light appeared near him as the boy reappeared, while the enemy Lords turned to look at the boy. A blue sword shattered as Gaius blocked an attack from his sudden assailants, and his right leg lashed out twice, bringing low the enemy who had struck out at him first.

At the same time, Conrah’s Lords rocketed towards Gaius, only to be forcibly intercepted by their Eastern counterparts. The boy forced his head away from the true threats and dived, dodging a volley of arrows fired by another set of Knights, who had been teleported a bit further away from Gaius. His body shook slightly as a few arrows slammed into his barrier — evidently, the enemy troops were firing in staggered formation.

The Moonshot rang out twice, and one of his assailants fell from the sky, but Gaius didn’t even get a chance to celebrate his kill, as another Knight came slashing in, pitting its full force against the boy. Gaius grunted as the Terminus sliced through the greatsword, his head shifting to the side to dodge the falling metal fragment. The air hissed as the sharp blade skimmed past his defences, and another Knight fell from the skies as Gaius separated his foe’s lower and upper body with a clean sweep.

A dull flare crept into his muscles. It was an insidious feeling, and Gaius instinctively understood that if he fought any longer, his body would begin to break down. He’d taken too much damage when he disrupted the Last Star’s ritual, and the boy had never recovered fully.

Another dull flare assailed his senses — Gaius had used another approaching Knight as a springboard, stamping down hard to change his bearing drastically. His eyes flashed, and the scenery changed as he warped to a spot some fifty metres away, before blinking towards his allies.

The axeman he’d seen yesterday patted him on the shoulder as Gaius dived into the crowd of allies. “You alright?”

Gaius nodded.

The pursuing Knights faltered, but they were a second too late. Sigils trailing behind Gaius’ allies winked out, while they themselves struck out with whatever attacks they had. Qi flooded towards them, a tidal wave of energy that the small group of twenty Knights couldn’t face head on, crushing them on to the spot directly. Meanwhile, the Lords from both sides fought to a standstill, and in a scene that resembled that of yesterday’s, Conrah’s armies began to withdraw.

The boy shivered slightly. His hands were trembling, and it took everything it had for him to stay awake. The Eastern Knights watched quietly as the enemies left, but occasionally, they would glance at Gaius’ chest, where an artefact had been stuck on forcibly.

Forty-plus kills.

It was a number, considering that the battle had been going on for less than a week, was probably more impressive than Gaius thought it would be. Gaius coughed, and pain coursed up his nerves from what felt like a shard of ice in his lungs. His body staggered slightly, and the boy flew back with the crowd.