Her arms dropped to her sides as she took a shaky breath, feeling the drop in the mana flowing through her body. She took a step back as she watched her soldiers charge forward into the breach to maintain the advantage she had just won for them.

  If it wasn’t for what the Elder had done, she would have had to put a lot more mana into it to break down that wall, possibly down to the last drop. Thankfully, she didn’t have to. She still had plenty left to use in the upcoming fight.

  She swung her shoulders around as she cracked her neck, looking at the battlefield with a burning intensity.

  Thanks to what she had done, she knew that the other areas would be forced to send bandits to defend here, meaning that her soldiers would have an easier time attacking the rest of the wall. It also meant that she and the soldiers here would be in for a much more difficult time.

  But that’s exactly what she wanted.

  She pulled the battleaxe off her back, the leather buckles snapping open as she did so. She felt the familiar weight of the axe in her hands and tightened her grip on it.

  The axe itself was a thing of beauty. Larger than what would typically be reasonable for the battlefield, but not so large to create a sense of strangeness. The long shaft was made of a dull grey wood that had been carefully treated and taken care of, undamaged despite its frequent use.

  Made of stahlwood, the shaft was incredibly durable, able to withstand blows that could cleave a person in two without leaving a scratch.

  The axe was over a metre long, close to 140cm from the base to the tip of the spike coming out of the top.

  The axe head was a bright silver, with complex markings etched into it. And opposite it was a flat hammer with equally complex markings running down the sides, while the face remained smooth.

  She swung the axe lazily around a few times, listening to the sound of it cutting through the air. Satisfied, she started walking towards the battlefield.

  Her slow walk turned into a jog, then a sprint, as mana coursed through her legs. Her speed approaching the limits of what the human body could achieve as she closed the distance between her and her soldiers in an instant.

  The mana she had been using to increase her speed shifted and exploded out of her feet, sending her flying through the air and soaring over the heads of those fighting below. Twisting her waist, she turned around in mid-air to face the backs of the bandits, preparing her axe as she took this brief moment to study her surroundings.

  Mana flowed through her shoulder, turning into a gust of wind that abruptly halted her assent, sending her crashing down towards the bandits like a meteor. Moving with the momentum, her axe lodged itself into the skull of a bandit in the backline wielding a spear, splitting the head in two.

  She kicked off the person’s chest, using the momentum to pull the axe out of the bone it was wedged in. The body slammed back into the bandit’s frontline, making two of them stumble, making a gap appear in the line.

  Without thinking, she brought the axe close to her chest, just in time to fend off a thrust from a sword. She batted away the sword then swung her axe, cleaving it through the attackers arm, just above the elbow.

  She felt the air heat up around her, and brought the axe back, meeting the fireball that was flying towards her face. The axe glowed as she pushed her magic into it. The axe thrummed like a beating heart as it sliced through the fireball, splitting it into two pieces that flew by either side of her head, singeing a few hairs.

  The fight continued on like this. She was like a hurricane in human form. Her axe rending through flesh. Slicing off limbs, causing havoc in the enemy’s backlines and disrupting them in anyway she could.

  BOOM!

  Off in the distance, a blinding light accompanied the sounds of an explosion and the wall crumbling. Like a miniature sun had detonated nearby, it stung the eyes of everyone who saw it, temporarily bringing a lull to the battlefield.

  A second hole had now formed in the wall, causing a panic among the bandits.

  At the second hole, a tall, spindly man, dropped to his knees, his face as flushed as a ripe tomato. He was dragged behind a tree by two soldiers, while a third used his shield to block the arrows coming their way.

  His vision was blurred and teary, and he feel a sharp ringing in his ear. He felt like his entire body had been rattled by the explosion he caused, and like his flesh was going to melt off the bone.

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  He had really overdone it this time, but he had no choice but to. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to break through that wall. His entire body felt heavy and devoid of mana, while at the same time felt like it was burning from within.

  It was an agonising pain, way worse than what he usually had to endure after casting his magic. The closer you got to depleting your mana, the more excruciating the pain was, and in order to cast that explosion, he had almost used up every last drop.

  The burning sensation and the overwhelming heat he felt was just a manifestation of his element. Each element had its own way of torturing those that were stupid enough to drain themselves, and all of them were painful.

  He wouldn’t die from this. At least, not many people had crossed the line to the point where they would. He considered himself a master of tiptoeing around that line, but admittedly, he felt like he had gotten too close to it this time.

  The three soldiers with him were long used to this, having seen this situation unfold countless times. One poured water down the man’s mouth, while another then condensed a thin layer of ice around him to help ease the pain. And the third continued to protect them.

  The ice melted and refroze over and over again, keeping the ice mage entirely focused on this and unable to respond to anything that might be going on around him.

  Their squad was usually responsible for this kind of job. They would destroy any important defences, then leave the rest of the battle to everyone else after their job was done, while they made sure the fire mage didn’t die.

  He sat their against the tree for several minutes before the excruciating pain started to ease. It was still their, but was now overshadowed by that feeling of emptiness. Mana was only now starting to trickle back into his body, and it would be several hours before he could get back up and into the fight.

  He didn’t know how long this battle was going to last, or whether he would be able to participate beyond what he had already done, but for now, he couldn’t even stand, let alone fight. So he closed his eyes and tried his best to quicken the pace of his recovery.

  Captain Vernon’s squad was far away from both holes, unable to make use of them, so they had to find another way. Thankfully, there were now less bandits manning the walls on their side because of said holes.

  The mages and archers picked off the bandits they could see, while several soldiers came forth with newly constructed siege ladders and used them to scale the wall.

  Lucien waited for the others to scale the wall first, as to not slow them down. He waited with the ranged soldiers while a defensive line was being established inside the walls, then began climbing the ladder once they were signalled to do so.

  Dropping down to the ground inside the wall, he held his sword tight, his eyes darting around to see where he could help. The battle was chaotic and scattered, but a strong enough defensive line was being held so that the mages and archers could freely enter the village and offer their support.

  Lucien’s eyes locked onto a nearby soldier, who was being pushed back, forced to drop his sword and use both hands to bear the weight of the attacks on his shield. Lucien stepped forward, thrusting his sword through a small gap and leaving a cut on the attacking bandits sword arm.

  This cut caused the bandit’s attacks to weaken, and with Lucien’s help, the soldier was able to finish him off and even manage to pick up his sword.

  Lucien nodded at the soldier before looking around for other places where he could help. He couldn’t help by being in the shield wall, so he tried his best to pick out weaknesses in the opponents defences instead.

  He darted around the battlefield, never staying in one place for too long. His sword zipped over, under, and around his fellow soldiers shields, applying pressure to the bandits. He could only perform simple thrusts from where he was, but that was all he could do to help at the moment.

  The battle continued on like this for a while longer as more and more bandits flooded towards them. Seeing this, Lucien felt like their three thousand people might not be enough.

  No. He shook away that ridiculous thought as he plunged his sword into a bandit’s chest. It’s only because we’re so spread out. There’s no way their numbers come anywhere close to ours. This will slow down soon, it won’t be long before we wipe them all out.

  Lucien calmed his heart when he noticed a flicker of something familiar darting between the nearby huts. He tried to follow it, looking through the gaps that would occasionally appear between the bandits.

  Off in the distance, shuttling between the nearby houses, a man held a struggling child in his arms. The child kicked and slammed his fists into the man’s back, but stopped when he felt the cold steel of a dagger resting against his neck.

  Roddy! Lucien’s mind went blank as he watched the bandit disappear behind another house. Even from here, he could see the tears in Roddy’s eyes, the bruises on his body, and the thin stream of blood from where the dagger was pressed against his neck. He had never seen Roddy in such a state. And he didn’t want to see it ever again.

  I need to save him! I must.

  He looked around desperately for a way to escape and chase after them. His heart, that had only just now settled, was once again beating furiously.

  Captain Vernon noticed his state, pushed the bandit she was facing back with a gust of wind, and stepped back to Lucien. The gap she had left already filled by another soldier.

  SLAP!

  Lucien felt a searing pain in his cheek as he looked at her in a daze.

  “What’s gotten into you? Focus!” she bellowed harshly.

  The pain in his cheek, mixed with her shout, was like a bucket of ice cold water dumped on his head, forcing him to calm down. She’s right. I won’t be able to do anything in this state.

  He followed up her slap with one of his own, now feeling a stinging pain in both cheeks. “They’ve taken my nephew hostage. I have to get to him.”

  She looked at him for a moment, and seeing that he was now calm, softly sighed. “Okay. It’s not like you’ll be of any help to us here.” Her words were harsh, but Lucien accepted them with gratitude. “Give me a moment. I’ll make a gap.”

  “Mm.” Lucien felt grateful for her help, and settled in behind her as she got back into the battle.