Third POV
~ Inside Suriyah Imperial Fortress ~
Inside the fortress there was Sakura chained up to the wall inside a prison cell and on the other side of the cell is a fat dark elf who is trying to bring out Sakura's ambrosia.
"Come now...Will you not see reasons and show me this ambrosia of yours? Princess Sakura Shakuntiira Adoniera of Adaar."
Sakura just sits there glaring at him, making him sigh at her defiance.
"I admire your resolve but being too stubborn yields unpleasant results. Keep that in mind."
'Grey...He won't save me from this. I have to do the best I can, alone.' She thought to herself.
Then a quick flashback to where Grey "died" protecting her and Evan taking a beating where one may not even recover from easily.
'And Evan... I'm so sorry, I dragged you into this. I can only hope you're somewhere safe, far away from here.'
~ Back to the Base of Operation ~
"You are here under the command of Major Grey Enfield. But..."
Every soldier just stares at Evan with wariness and vigilance.
Evan sighs internally.
'If this doesn't work then I guess I have to bust into the fortress and save Sakura myself. So hopefully this works, for Sakura's sake.' Evan Thought to himself.
~ Days Earlier ~
"So the subcontinent we are on is Mara?" Asked Evan. "Correct! We are here, in the Port City of Suriyah in Mara" Nia points at the made up map of the world with a stick.
"So, where's Adaar?" Asked Evan.
Nia points and draws a circle below Suriyah and says.
"I think it's around here. And also right now, Albion and Dhala are at war with one another as their colonies grow."
Evan nods.
'From what I remember from Grey, Adaar and Albion were very close allies. Which causes Albion to declare war on Dhala when Dhala invaded Adaar.' Evan said internally.
Then he remembered something else.
"Nia, have you heard of the Lemurian Company?" Asked Evan. "Dunno, maybe it's part of Albion's army?" She said with a shrug.
"No, it's not a military company." Said Evan. "Grey said that it was a colonial management company."
Evan begins to be lost in thoughts as he contemplates.
"Got any ideas?" Asked Nia. "Can you tell me more about this world and its history?" Asked Evan.
After a long history lesson and so on, Evan summarizes that he is on the subcontinent called Mara, it's like a big peninsula that's a part of a continent called Greater Laurentia. There are two industrialized nations on the western edge of the continent, Albion and the Republic of Dhala. They are locked in a race to colonize Mara and there is no love between the two nations. After a bit more contemplating, Evan then turns to Nia.
"Nia, I got a plan." Said Evan.
~ Back to the Present ~
'Major Grey Enfield…I've heard of him, of course, but…' Ligia then spoke. "How can we trust you and what's with the mask?"
"Espionage." Stated Evan. "As for the mask, I'm sure you know the gist of having a mask for such a task. If the removal of my mask is needed I would oblige."
Ligia and the others were silent to his answers.
"However, under Grey's order...no, under his request I am here to save the Princess of Adaar who is being held captive in this fortress. She is the only reason why I am here, to set her free." Said Evan
Everyone was shocked to hear that the Princess of Adaar is held captive in this fortress.
~ Earlier ~
'So, that's the fortress.' Thought Evan.
There stood Evan and Nia as they looked at the fortress from a distance. Then both heard some talking nearby below them and they quickly hid themselves behind some bushes as they listened in.
"They want us to take this place with these numbers!?"
"Yeah I know, insane right?"
'Those jackets, they're Lemurian soldiers like Grey. It seems that they are here to attack the fortress.' Thought Evan.
Then an idea pops into his head. He gestures to Nia that they should go now and they proceed to do so.
~ Back to the Abandon Building ~
"What?! You're gonna pretend?!" Nia Exclaimed. "Kinda." Said Evan.
"What do you mean kinda?!" She asks. "Although I'm on Grey and Sakura's side, I can't guarantee that the Lemurian would help me, so I gotta disguise myself as an ally of Grey to have the biggest chance of having their aid." Explained Evan.
'Even if this plan doesn't work, I'll fall back to plan b.' Thought Evan.
"Wait, wait, wait! This is crazy! And also even if your idea did work for a day or two, soon or later they'll try to kill you when they find out." Said Nia.
"When that day comes, I'll be ready." Said Evan. 'And if push comes to shoves, they'll be in a world of pain.' Evan said internally.
"But do remember that Albion is also a friend of Adaar as well so I'll be fine as long as Sakura can clear things up a bit if this plan works." Said Evan.
~ Back to the Present ~
"While our specific objectives may be different, we are here for the same reason. Take out that fortress. Are we on the same page lieutenant?" Asked Evan.
"We are…" Ligia said while slowly nodding. "Boss...! Are you really buying all of this?!" Protested the Corporal.
He then turned to Evan.
"Some masked man shows up out of nowhere, just when we need it, that sounds very suspicious!" He said. "That's enough corporal, know your place!" Ordered Ligia.
"Feel free to voice your doubts." Said Evan.
Evan then steps closer to the corporal and says.
"What's your name, soldier?."
"Aran Sezac and frankly...I do." Answered Aran. "Understandable." Evan said, nodding.
Before their talk could continue, two panicking soldiers ran up and one of them said.
"Enemy reinforcement! They are approaching the fortress!"
"Re-reinforcements!? So now there'll be more of them than there already is?!" Exclaimed Ligia.
Every Lemurian soldier began sweating cold sweats as their situation can't get any worse. Ligia has no idea what to do now as she tries to think of something.
"I'll deal with them"
Everyone looked at him surprised like he grew a second head. Evan walks towards the two soldiers and orders one of them to lead the way.
"Well, he's got balls, I'll give him that." Said Aran. "I guess all we can do now is see what he's up to." Said Ligia.
~ Pathway/Road to the Fortress ~
There on the road, a lot of soldiers and supplies were being brought to the fortress making Ligia shocked and nervous at the sight as she looks through the binoculars as Evan and Aran look at the faraway enemy soldiers march to the fortress.
'Cartload of ammunition, supplies, and many more. This is as bad as it can get…' Ligia Grimly thought to herself.
Evan took a look around the surrounding environment and he saw something and said.
"We'll move to that overhang." Said Evan as he pointed towards an overhang cliff to the left.
"And then...?" Aran asked doubtfully. "You'll get to see that not all is hopeless as it seems." Said Evan.
When they got to the overhang cliff. The Dhala soldiers kept marching closer to the overhang as Evan stood there, waiting.
"They're at the mark!" Yelled a soldier. "Everyone retreat to cover, this is going to be a bit messy." Ordered Evan.
Everyone ran back to cover, observing him and what he was going to do. Evan stretches his right arm out and opens his hand. Then lightning began to course over his body and travel to his hand, as if Evan was wielding lightning itself when a lightning fully formed on his right hand resembling a spear.
'I'll be borrowing your weapon Zedus.' Evan Said internally.
Everyone was surprised that Evan was a mage but how was a single mage going to turn the tide of favor to them. Evan raised his stance to a throwing stance, as the Dhala reinforcement drew closer.
'This amount of power will do.' Thought Evan.
The amount of power he is drawing out is more than enough but he wants to make sure. Then Evan threw down the lightning in front of him. As the lightning fell, the impact on the overhang cliff caused it to explode.
*BOOM*
The reinforcement quickly looks to see the collapsing cliff in confusion as the cliff fell, blocking the path and crushing the unfortunate. The passage to the fortress was now blocked. Such a feat amazed everyone present watching Evan..
"Incredible...!" Ligia said in awe. 'To think that such a powerful mage would be helping us take the fortress.' She thought to herself.
"Now that's done, tomorrow we will take the fortress." Said Evan.
Everyone who witnessed his power and heard his word began to hype up.
"Did you hear that?! With him on our side we can win this thing!" Cheered a Soldier. "Maybe this is it!" Said another.
"Our bad luck is finally turning!"
"We might even survive!"
"Maybe we'll make it after all!"
"S-settle down everyone...!" Said Ligia
As she tried to calm down the excited soldiers, there stood a group behind the soldiers looking on with scowls on their faces.
~ Base of Operation ~
As everyone got back to the camp, everyone saw two hooded figures with a couple crates that had the word danger painted on it. Then everyone raises their weapons except for Evan.
"Who are you two?!" Demanded Ligia.
But before she could say anything more, Evan stepped forward and said.
"So are the supplies that I ordered here?"
The hooded figures nodded before walking away and disappearing from everyone's sight.
"Who were they?" Ligia asked Evan. "People who have orders to deliver certain supplies that we need to make this operation smoother." Said Evan.
Evan walks over to one of the crates and opens it to reveal many small cylinders tied together with a rope attached to one end. Evan picks one up and says.
"Lieutenant, I would like your men to use these for tomorrow's attack."
"What are these?" She asks. "These small things here are explosives." Answered Evan.
"Explosive?!" She said with surprise. "Not enough to destroy the wall alone but collectively it should be enough." Said Evan.
Ligia looks at Evan skeptically.
"Shouldn't you be the one to blow up the wall to the fortress, especially with that power of yours." Asked Ligia.
"Yes I am, however, I would like your men to utilize these as a distraction for those in the fortress before I move in." Explained Evan.
"I see…then what should we call these?" Asked Ligia.
Evan silently contemplates on her question before saying.
"It's called dynamite."
Ligia nods at his answer and dismisses herself. As she walks away, Evan is grateful internally.
'Thank goodness that I have my summons to help me with this kind of thing' Evan said internally.
Then his mind drifts off to a certain genius back home.
'I gotta thank Noel when I come back home, for always dumping a bunch of information on me when we are always experimenting, otherwise I'll be clueless as ever still.'
He can't help but smile at the memories of those experiments despite some of them being out of hand. Especially when Noel does something that shakes the entirety of the Survey Office if not Randall itself. Then his mind drifts off to that small hobbit back at the city that helped him and his summons to make these explosives.
~ Flashback ~
As Evan and Nia walk through an alleyway to find a certain place. Evan used some "borrowed" money to shop for a mask that covers the face. After buying the mask, Evan and Nia venture deeper into the city to find a certain person.
"An alchemist you say?" Asked Evan. "Yep, you wanna get a weapon but there aren't any dwarf shops around here." Answered Nia.
"But I do have a weapon though…" Said Evan. "Can it compare to guns?" Nia asks.
'It can compare so much more.' Evan said internally. 'But then again, let's see how far we can go with this before going with plan b.'
"Anyway, an alchemist is the next best thing we could do with." Said Nia.
As the duo continues walking till they stop in front of a building with a sign.
"We're here." Said Nia.
Nia opens the door and the two enter to see a small girl or child in front of the desk.
"Welcome!" Greeted the Girl. "Hi, I would like to meet the alchemist please." Said Evan.
"Yes, of course." She said,
After a few awkward moments of silence, Evan can't help but ask again.
"So, uhhh...Can yo-"
Before he could finish, Nia drags him close to her and she whispers.
"Shut up, this is the master alchemist! She's a halfling! They're all tiny, and most stop aging when they're young!"
'Huh, is that so?' Evan thought to himself.
The halfling kept on smiling.
"Is there something I can help you with?" She asks.
"Yeah, sorry for that." Said Evan. "I'm in need of a weapon if there is any available."
"I must apologize, dear customer, the Dhalani army ordered a stand order on every weapon and ammunition we produce, so I'm out for now." The Halfling then bows and says. "Again I must apologize."
"Is there any other kind of weapon that is available and not on the stand order?" Asked Evan.
The halfling then puts her hand on her chin and thinks to herself. After a few moments she then says.
"Now that I think of it, maybe there is one. A moment."
The halfling went to the back and brought out a small bottle. She then opened it, took out a small drop, and dropped the sample onto a board.
*BOOM*
"NYAAH!?"
The unexpected explosion surprised Evan and scared Nia. Then the Halfling explains.
"Its power is far more superior than gunpowder. However due to how unstable it is, all it takes is a small reaction to make it explode. So I'm afraid it isn't very practical…"
Evan glanced at the small bottle and back to the board where the sample was dropped.
'Although I'm no expert regarding explosives but I do have a couple people in mind that do.' Evan Thought to himself.
"I'll take them." Said Evan.
Nia looked at Evan with surprise while the halfling looked at him with intrigue.
"How many?" She asks. "All." Answered Evan.
"Then have you thought of a good use for it then Master Marebito?" Asked the Halfling. "Marebito?" Evan said with confusion.
"You are one, aren't you? a Marebito? A stranger from afar." She asks. "To be honest, I saw the fight between you and the Dhalani soldiers back at the docks. And I also heard from that officer calling you someone from another world." Explained the Halfling.
Seeing that there was no way out of this, Evan nods in confirmation. The halfling then asks.
"I assume that you have a way to stabilize this? Some kind of technology?" She asks while glancing back at the bottle.
"In a way, yes." Answered Evan. 'Speaking of technology, do I still have my communication device?' Evan thought to himself.
Evan then reaches into his bag and feels the device in there. After a moment, Evan can't help but sigh internally for a bit because he knew what's going to happen.
'The moment I can reconnect my communicator, the others back home will immediately realize that it's on and will call me. They will have a field day with me and considering the situation I am in now, I don't want to lose a couple years of my lifespan.'
"Something wrong?" Asked the Halfling.
Evan pushed the thought about his communicator to the back of his head and said.
"No nothing's wrong, anyway what's the price?"
"I will sell the liquid to you but under one condition." Said the Halfling.
Evan looks and nods to her to continue.
"I won't take money. Instead as compensation you allow me to examine that staff of yours and answer all of my questions about the place you came from."
Evan went silent as he thought about her condition.
"May I ask your name?" Asked Evan. "Call me Celia Ignis." Answered Celia
"Very well, Celia Ignis, we have a deal." Said Evan.
Upon hearing the agreement, Celia can't help herself but be happy and excited. Then she leaped and hugged Evan.
"Oh, thank you so much!" Said Celia.
"Uhhh, can you let go? Otherwise I feel that a part of my lifespan will disappear."
~ Somewhere Else ~
There stood a feminine figure with other summoners. The red female summoner can't help but stare somewhere else.
"I feel like punching a certain someone right now." She said that as if she sensed something was up.
~ Back to Evan ~
"If you think, even for a second that I'll let you slither out of our deal, you'd be well to think again Marebito."
Celia says that as she hug Evan more tightly. Meanwhile Evan can't help but have the cold sweat due to some "certain individuals".
~ Back to the Present ~
After Evan finished his explanation of how to use the dynamite and went away. As it reached night time, Ligia was bathing behind the boulders by a nearby pond. As she continued to wash herself, she smiled a bit and thought to herself.
"Evan Ashen...a man full of secrets. With him by our side, it seems entirely possible that we will-"
After a brief pause, Ligia blushes and shakes her head a lot.
'No! Don't be such a flighty fool, Ligia! I will NOT be betrayed by another man as long as I live!'
*Snap*
"Who's there!?" Yelled Ligia
A group of people came out from the darkness into her view.
"Whoops. Terribly sorry, lieutenant." Said one of them.
"We sure didn't mean to interrupt your bath time." Said another.
Ligia quickly covers herself.
"Well…actually, we were just about to leave." Said a third.
"You mean you all were about to…." Then it clicks for Ligia. "Are you stupid! Deserters will be shot!"
"Oh, we know. So, we'd better make sure no sure no one sees us desert then, am I right?" Said the first.
"But don't worry, lieutenant…" The Second Deserter said ominously.
Ligia then froze at his next words.
"Before we go, we'll make sure to give you a long goodbye."
They slowly began to approach Ligia, ready to do whatever to her.
"Don't, don't even try!" Yelled Ligia.
Ligia then looked away and closed her eyes as the deserters got closer. But all a sudden, they all stop moving. Ligia slowly opened her eyes to see that every deserter in front of her was struggling to move. Then a figure came from behind the deserters walking towards Ligia, surprising everyone. It was Evan, as he walked towards Ligia, he noticed her uniform hanging on a tree branch and took it off the tree. He then turned to Ligia and handed the uniform to her. He then turned to the frozen deserters who looked at him with a mix of fear and dread. Not only that, his silence was even more dreadful to the deserters. Then he spoke.
"You all would be dealt with accordingly after this operation, don't try to resist or run away or else nothing of you will be left, not even your ashes will remain.…"
Then a powerful crackle of lightning began to spark on his right hand as if he's grasping a weapon. Everyone present noticed the crackles and the deserters were now showing faces of terror. They all know his power, upon witnessing it back then, no one here can withstand his power and perhaps what he said earlier was not a lie, not even their ashes may not remain.
"N-no this-this was just-" One of the deserters tried to say something but he was immediately interrupted as the crackle became louder and the lightning around Evan's hand began to get bigger and violent.
"We're sorry! We shall return to face our punishment!" Yelled the deserters as they ran back to camp.
When the deserters disappear from view, Evan turns to Ligia and says in an apologetic tone.
"I'm glad that I made it here in time, although I should've been faster otherwise you wouldn't have to experience that."
"H-how did you know that they were leaving?" Asked Ligia. "Nia informed me of what she saw. She told me that she spotted those men leaving camp in a suspicious way." Answered Evan.
"I see...thank you…" Said Ligia although the last part was said in a quiet voice.
"We shall move as planned, see you at dawn Lieutenant. Sleep well." Said Evan.
He walks away back to camp as Ligia stares at his back. When Evan got a good distance from Ligia, he sighs internally.
'Dear god, I'm glad that the situation didn't become awkward after routing those deserters…'
Evan's thoughts then drifted to Ligia then he shook his head.
'I should not think of it or else I'm going to pay the price to think of such a thing.'
While walking towards the camp, Evan hears someone talk to him.
"Those men, once the fear settles, I have a feeling that they might scatter off into the night."
Evan turns his head to the direction of the voice and sees Aran.
"If they do and then they have my blessing. It's better they desert than poison the morale and wasting both time and resources." Said Evan.
"Hmmm...I can't disagree with that. Some of the men warned me that they've taken off in this direction. So I came here as quickly as I could, fearing the worst." Said Aran. "But it seems like you beat me to it. So Evan Ashen."
Aran then said with a sincere smile with gratitude.
"You protected the lieutenant. For that thank you. Truly."
Evan nods.
"I assume that I've earned your trust?" Evan asked with a smile.
Aran smirks and says with a salute.
"That you have! At least for a while Sir Evan!"
"No need for formality, Call me Evan." Said Evan. "Sure thing. Evan." Aran said with an amused smile.
Evan smiles as he walks away towards the camp to the direction of his own tent. As he walks, he looks up at the night sky and stares at the two moons and thinks to himself.
'Hold on a little longer Sakura, I'm on my way. Until then everyone...wait for me, I will find a way back home and hopefully you all don't go looking for me so frantically.
Third POV
~ Datra - The Dhalani General Governor's Palace ~
"Wiped out? As in all of them?" Asked Bred.
"No, not all of them, although there are some details I have yet to confirm. But it appears that they were struck by a sudden rockfall on the high pass." Reported Dakris.
"A rockfall with impeccable timing or...an ambush." Bred said with his eyes closed.
Bred's answer shocked Dakris.
"An ambush, sir? You mean someone caused the collapse?!"
"Why not? With a cannon it can cause the collapse." Bred said in a simple tone.
Dakris grips her hands tightly in anger as she says.
"Of course the Duke would want to keep your soldiers away from reclaiming the Adaari ambrosia…"
Then she looks down with regret and anger.
"But to resort to such drastic measures...? I knew I shouldn't have given her up…"
Dakris POV
- Flashback -
Right after knocking the human unconscious and the celianthrope ran off with him.
"Alright men! Let us return back to Datra with the princess!" I said loudly.
Before they can move a voice roars out.
"Stop this at once! Suriyah is Duke Gazuro's territory! Do you have permission to operate here!?" Ordered a Soldier of the Duke.
"Who's your commander!?" Ordered another.
I spoke back to the soldier professionally.
"I'm on a crucial mission given to me by the Governor General Bred Regan, and you're interfering!" I said with a scowl.
The soldiers began to back off till I saw a bigger man behind them who pushed one of his soldiers aside.
"Is that so?" He said.
Then he stepped forward.
"Regan may be the Governor General, but his blood is still that of a jumped-up peasant! And he dares send his lackeys to disturb the peace in the territory of his better?!" Yelled out the Man.
"Duke Gazuro." I said in a stoic tone.
Gazuro took a look at the unconscious Sakura and said.
"Ah, so this is the rumored ambrosia…"
With a greedy face and a drooling mouth, Gazuro quickly took advantage of the situation.
"Well done, lieutenant. Well done indeed. You may leave her in my care."
Gazuro ordered his men to take hold of the princess and I silently watched with glare, powerless to do anything.
Third POV
- Present Time -
"The Duke knew about the ambrosia and was ready to take advantage of the situation. He took her right out of our hands, sir." Said Dakris.
"Duke Gazuro..."The Pig"."
Regan then lights a cigar and continues.
"Have you heard? For all of his noble lineage, that's what they call him behind his back. But I always thought that to be unfitting. Pigs are quite clever animals."
"But sir…" Said Dakris. "Fret not. Our order to capture the ambrosia hasn't changed, and neither has my plan." Stated Bred.
"Sir...Are you saying that you knew that something like this would happen?!" Asked Dakris. "Let's say that it didn't surprise me. But rest assured that the Pig would be humbled and the ambrosia returned to us." Answered Bred.
Dakris then salutes
"Yes, sir!"
~ Inside Suriyah Imperial Fortress ~
There stood Gazuro with his attendant and along with three beaten figures. The three figures were women who had been chosen to meet Gazuro yet failed to meet his expectations. Which led him to beat them up and now Gazuro stares out a window and in his vanity he yells out.
"Aaaah...! Why?! I'm a duke! I'm a Gazuro! So why am I still stuck here, left here to swelter in this infernal land of idiots and savages, so far away from my beloved home!?"
With a huge sigh, Gazuro turns away from the window and puts his hand on his head as if he had a headache.
"Moreover, do we not live in an age of science? Of progress?! Yet here on this frontier, there's neither! I was sent away from the lights of my beautiful city to search for remnants of forgotten gods in the wilderness!"
"But your grace, the ambrosia…is it not the very thing you were sent here to procure?" Said the attendant as he rubs his hand together. "If you can verify that the girl truly has the ambrosia won't your return home be all but assured?"
"Of course! But she defies me still! She refuses to bring out the ambrosia within her!" Yelled Gazuro. "It seems that she's holding out for help. But she surely knows that help won't come at all." Said the Attendant.
"And I think my patience is at an end. Perhaps it is time to put forth a more forceful argument." Said Gazuro as he bends his crop.
~ Outside the Fortress ~
Everyone was gearing themselves to the upcoming battle ahead while Aran was observing the Fortress with a binocular.
"They've increased the numbers of guards." Said Aran as he puts away his binoculars. "If we show so much as half a nose, they'll swarm us like bees." Stated Aran.
Evan silently observes the fortress alongside Aran, till a soldier came in from behind and said.
"Reporting in! First group is ready for your command and the second group is in position behind the rocks waiting for the signal of the explosion."
"Well, then. Everything seems to be in place now." Said Ligia.
"Evan, this plan of yours...I've never taken part in anything even remotely like this. Are you certain this is how we should proceed?" Aran asks with concern.
"Yes." Said Evan. "I made a promise to my friend Grey that I would look after the princess and I don't tend to break promises that I made."
Aran looks at Evan with silence, still unsure of the current plan.
"I wouldn't go with this plan if I knew it won't work but here we are. So believe in me when I say this plan will work. I promise you all that we will take this fortress and we shall see it through that I promise!" Evan said in a confident yet solemn voice.
After a moment of silence as everyone stared at Evan, someone finally spoke.
"Maybe...maybe we can truly pull it off." Said a soldier.
After the first spoke, many more began to hype themselves .
"Yeah, we'll win this fight! Especially with him." Said another.
Upon seeing the morale of the Lumerian soldiers were lifted. Evan turns his gaze back towards the fortress.
'So, this is how it feels like to be a leader huh.' Evan thought to himself as he closed his eyes and remembered his friends and acquaintances who were burdened with their roles as a leader. Then Evan opens his eyes and lets out his first command.
"Let's begin! Signal group one."
The signal was given and the first group began their part. Two soldiers of the first group that reside on the east side of the fortress lit their dynamite and threw it atop the fortress wall.
*KABOOM*
"What the hell?!" Are we being shelled!?" Yelled a Dhalani Soldier.
~ Inside the Fortress ~
"What's going on out there!?" Yelled Gazuro. "Your grace, it-it seems that we are under fire." Said his Attendant.
"Under fire?!" Exclaimed Gazuro.
~ Flashback ~
~ Outside the Fortress ~
"So what's the strategy?" Asked Aran.
"Considering this is a fortress and there's only two ways of entry to the fort, the gate at the bridge or the wall to the west. But I do believe it is best that when we attack the eastern wall, we can use Evan's magic or the dynamites to create a hole in the wall where our infantry can rush in." Suggested Ligia.
"I'm going to have to disagree with that plan." Said Evan.
Everyone turns their attention to him.
"How so?" Asked Ligia. "Doing an all out attack on one side would bring significant causality." Said Evan.
"Yes, I know but causality is bound to happen regardless." Said Ligia. "Not if it could also be our defeat." Evan replied.
"I have a proposal where you can not only lessen casualties but also have a higher chance of winning."
Ligia looked at Evan for a bit before sighing and saying.
"Go ahead."
"We will split our forces into three groups. Group one will reside to the east of the fortress while the second group will be on the west, and the third group which will be our main force will be to the south near the bridge." Said Evan.
"So we're spreading out?" Asked Aran.
"From a single glance, this is very risky. I will not risk that many soldiers to split up that way otherwise it will be a massacre. Why not use the dynamite to breach the wall or have you used your magic?" Asked Ligia.
"Even dynamite has its limits. The wall is too thick for it to be breached unless we gather them all in one spot but that itself is also suicidal. As for my magic, yes I could use it to destroy the wall but it is best we keep it as a trump card." Explained Evan. "As I was saying for my plan, we can have one of the group of soldiers use the dynamite as a distraction."
"So you're saying that.."
"Yes, with the use of dynamites we can make them believe they are being besieged by a cannon or two. Once they send their forces to the east side, that's where the second group containing a significant amount of infantry will move forward." Said Evan. "But the west side only has a few big rocks to take cover. The men also have to make a long charge through a flat terrain. It be suicide! Plus you also said that dynamite won't work as well even if they reach the wall!" Exclaimed Ligia.
"Yes, you are right. That's why those soldiers won't really charge. Just like the cannon decoy with the dynamites, the soldiers there are just there to draw attention." Said Evan.
"Then that leaves only the bridge...Wait, we're gonna breach the gate? Asked Aran. "Yes, as for the gate, don't worry about that for I got that covered." Answered Evan.
"I assume that you're gonna use your magic to bust open the gate." Said Aran.
"That depends." Said Evan.
Everyone gave Evan a confused look.
"Then how are we supposed to get through the gate if you're not gonna use your magic?" Aran asks. "I agree with him, with your magic you could destroy the gate with little to no effort." Said Ligia.
"Like I said earlier it will depend on how this operation is going. If I use it to destroy the gate, the explosion will attract the defender's attention from both sides. So instead the gate would be opened silently for us to land a surprise attack on them." Explained Evan.
"And how will you do that?" Asked Ligia. "I have my ways, I wouldn't be suited for espionage if I didn't have the ability to do so." Replied Evan.
Aran and Ligia look at each other for a bit before coming to an agreement on what Evan said and nods. Then Aran said with a concerned voice.
"When we manage to get in, our forces will be too thinned out. Once the enemies notice this, they will turn around to face us, and we'll be crushed."
"That is something of concern, however that is something that me and my companions had covered for." Answered Evan. "Secondly, once the princess is located and safely brought away, it doesn't matter if the enemies had the number advantage. I will ensure that we will win."
"Very well then. But for this operation you will take command since this is your plan." Said Ligia.
Evan nods at her before mentally preparing himself.
'Let's see how good your skill as a leader is Evan.' Evan said internally.
~ Back to the Present ~
"Soldiers to the east! Silence that cannon!" Gazuro ordered the nearby soldiers.
"Yes sir!"
Upon seeing many of Dhalani soldiers running and taking their position and aiming at the Lumerian soldiers who threw the dynamite.
"They're shooting!" Yelled a Lumerian Soldier.
*BAM* *BANG* *BAM*
Then he signals out to the main group that they got the enemies distracted for now.
"That's the signal." Said Aran as he lowered his binoculars. "Signal the second group." Ordered Evan.
A soldier quickly took out a small sign and went over to the west side hidden behind a bush and he waver over to the second group signaling them.
"Engage!" Yelled the Leading Lumerian Soldier.
*BAM* *BAM*
"What The!?"
A Dhalani soldier quickly took his binoculars and looked to see a big group of Lumerian soldiers charging.
"Enemies to the west!" Yelled the Dhalani Soldier.
~ Inside ~
"Your grace!" Yelled the Attendant as he ran into Gazuro's room. "What is it now!?" Demanded Gazuro.
"Enemies are now attacking the west side with a significant amount of infantry!" Said the Attendant.
"Oh, is that so…I see now…" Gazuro said while holding his chin. 'The shelling was a decoy! They want us to draw to the east so that they can breach the west but it won't work!' Thought Gazuro.
Gazuro quickly turned and gave his order to his attendant.
"All those who are not suppressing the siege cannon, to the west wall! Do not let these bastards even touch my ramparts!"
"Yes sir!" Said the attendant before he quickly ran out the door to give out Gazuro's order.
~ Outside ~
As Evan's group observes the bridge gate and wall to see many more Dhalani soldiers running to the west wall, leaving the bridge gate and its wall least defended.
"They're moving!" Said Aran. "This is our chance now!" Said Ligia.
Evan raises one hand up signaling them not to go yet.
"Why are you stopping us? This is our chance!" Said Aran.
Evan then pointed over at the gate and said
"Wait."
Everyone turns their attention from Evan to the gate only to see the gate magically open, surprising everyone.
~ Few minutes earlier ~
As the many Dhalani soldiers moved to the west wall, leaving the few to watch the gate, a hooded figure was hiding behind the shadow. As soon those soldiers were gone, the hooded figure made its move. Slowly it sneaked behind the few guards that were keeping watch. Seeing there were four guards keeping watch, the hooded figure made its move. While none of the guards were watching each other, the hooded figure quickly wrapped one of its arms around a guard face.
"...?!"
Before the guard could even say anything, the hooded figure quickly stabs from behind where the heart is at with a blade gauntlet ending the guard's life. Then the figure dragged the body back leaning it to a wall and leaving the leg poking out on purpose and quickly hid. Another guard thought he heard something and went to investigate the noise only to see a fellow guard's leg poking out. Then the guard thought he was slacking off and went to him. As he got closer and was about to turn the corner only to be greeted by a hand that covered his mouth and a blade that stabbed him in the heart. As his body dropped dead on the floor, the figure quickly walked out of the corner to show himself to the other two guards who quickly noticed his present. Before they can raise their gun and the blade gauntlet of the figure quickly transform into a whip blade that quickly ends the two remaining guards, after the two guards fell the figure then walked to the lever of the gate and pulled it, bringing the gate up.
'Objective complete.' The Hooded Figure spoke internally to Evan. 'Well done Kuda.' Responded Evan.
"Now we go." Said Evan. "All right, boys! The gate is open! Time to show them what you are made of!" Yelled Aran.
The soldiers in the group roared and everyone charged the bridge.
'Time to enact the next step.' Evan said to himself. 'Kuda, prevent any reinforcement coming from the east side while Rowgen got the west.'
'Will do.' Replied Kuda.
Evan then steel himself for what's to come when they get into the fortress. Once the group got inside, intense close combat and point blank shots ensued. Amidst the fighting, Evan sees a Dhalani soldier charging with a bayonet behind Aran who was currently busy finishing off a Dhalani soldier. Evan then summoned out one of his pistols and quickly took aim.
*Bang*
With a quick but accurate shot, the bullet flew and hit the soldier from the back, bringing him down. Aran then looks behind him and sees the fallen Dhalani soldier then looks up at Evan then smiles at him.
"Thanks!"
Evan nods, as he and Aran proceed to resume their part of the fight with the rest of the group. With both sword and gun in hand, Evan took a stance similar to a hero back from his world that used both a blade and gun, swiftly taking down many enemies.
"Evan! I got the princess's scent! She's close! Follow me!" Yelled Nia.
Despite him telling her not to come but she insisted that she came because if not for Sakura, she'll be perhaps still a slave in chains or worse and that she gotta pay back her debt, so he reluctantly let her come along. Evan nods at Nia and runs to Ligia.
"Lieutenant, can you and your men hold out until I get the princess out?" Asked Evan.
Ligia turns to Evan and nods.
"We'll hold out as long as we can!"
Evan nods, turns around and follows Nia as she leads the way.
Sakura's POV
I did not know what was happening out there but some large commotion was happening out there when I took notice of how my cell guard was hurried by his superior.
"Could it be..."
After a few seconds of silence, I shook my head.
'No...I keep hoping for help even though no one will come…' I told myself.
Then I heard something.
"Halt or I will-"
*BANG* *THUD*
A gunshot rang, followed by more commotion.
"Why yo-aah!"
"Go get the princess! I'll stay here and watch for danger!" Said a familiar voice.
'Could it be…' I thought to myself.
*THUD*
There stood Evan after he pushed through the door, scanning the room until he spots me.
"Sakura!" He cried out.
Evan quickly ran to the cell I was chained in and quickly opened up my cell with keys from the prison guard from earlier. As he got closer to me and was about to release me, I began to cry, making him pause his action as he looked at me with concern and confusion.
"Why...Why are you here?!" I said.
"..."
"You're supposed to be far away, somewhere safe! You have nothing to do with this! I don't want you to be caught in all of thi-"
Before I finish my emotional rant, Evan puts his hand on my head before saying with a reassuring smile.
"You're right." Said Evan. "But this is my choice."
"Besides, I still have my promise that I made with Grey and remember that I'm not the type of person who breaks promises."
"You're...such a fool." I said with a quiet voice with tears falling down.
Evan's POV
I took my hand off her head.
"Well, I was always a fool." I said with a smile.
Then suddenly Sakura's entire body began to shine and I covered my eyes only to hear Shakuntiira.
"No...thou art far more than a fool. Thou art an idiot...indeed thou art…THE MOST USELESS SERVANT EVER!"She yelled. "What manners of lout keeps his lady waiting like this!"
She got me to lean back a bit from her rant while I scratched the back of my head.
"You're still claiming that I'm still your servant even though I did nothing that got me to be in a contract with you. I said. "Although you did not accept the pact, you were still summoned by Sakura who by extent is me, so you are in a way her and my servant even not by pact." Replied Shakuntiira.
"Right…anyway, let me get you out of those chains." I said.
~ Outside of the Prison Cell ~
Third POV
"It's just one unit! Flank and crush them!" Yelled a Dhalani Officer.
After Evan and Nia went inside, the fight began to become very disadvantageous to Ligia's unit as they were pushed to a corner and were fighting behind whatever cover they could get to. Even though there was no Dhala reinforcement coming from the east and west side of the fortress, the numbers between the two forces was still apparent.
"Rubei! Ammo count!" Yelled Aran.
A blonde Lemurian soldier named Rubei crouches down to Aran and says.
"About ten per, Corporal!"
Aran then turned to Ligia and shouted to her as she took down another Dhalani soldier.
"Boss! We're running low!"
Ligia shouted back.
"Make your shots count!"
Then two more Dhalani soldiers charge her with their bayonet only to be swiftly taken down by Ligia. But like Aran and the rest who're running low on ammo, she was also getting tired from the constant fighting.
'Was I deceived again...?' She thought to herself.
However she quickly shook off such thoughts.
'No! Sir Evan not only risked his life to save the princess but he also risked his life to help us as well.'
"Arrgh!"
"Rubei!"
Aran saw Rubei get shot in the stomach and quickly came to his aid. Aran then quickly dragged Rubei behind cover.
"Don't worry, you'll be alright!" Said Aran.
Seeing an opportunity, the Dhalani officer orders his men to crush them once and for all.
"Charge!"
Seeing them charge at them, Ligia and everyone else who is able, brace themselves.
*BOOM*
Everyone heard the sound of an explosion yet there was nothing to be seen but a gaping hole in the Dhalani officer who ordered the charge. Then everyone looked up at the tower behind Ligia and the others where the sound rang to see a robed figure with a strange gun. However if the gun was strange to look at then what made everyone froze up a bit was the robed figure's face that shone a bright purple from one of its eye sockets under the hood. Then everyone heard and saw what seemed to be bolts of lightning come flying to the next nearest Dhalani soldier giving him a gaping hole in his chest. This drove the Dhalani soldiers to take cover from the unknown assailant and those who were close to Ligia and her unit charged at them in hopes of crushing them and taking care of the unknown sniper. However such thought was rendered useless when the sniper began shooting in quick succession.
*BOOM* *BANG* *BANG*
Ligia and everyone in her unit let out a sigh of relief when the sniper began firing on their enemies and proving that it was on their side. And from what they could think of, this sniper must be one of Evan's companions that is partaking in this operation. However their fight was not over as the sniper can't take them all down so they ready themselves to engage any enemies that slipped by. Then another gun rings out.
*BANG*
Taking down another Dhalani soldier from the side where the prison tower was at. Ligia and everyone else turned to see Evan running towards them and he said in an apologetic tone.
"Sorry for being late."
Ligia sighed and said.
"Any longer we may not be alive anymore."
"Yeah, sorry about that, but now that I'm here, you should tend to your men, while I protect you guys okay." Said Evan.
"How are you gonna-"
Before she could ask, Evan reached for something in his utility bag and pulled out a fragment of a crystal and then tossed it in front of everyone in Ligia's unit. Then the crystal began to glow alarming everyone, then suddenly a barrier began to form and expand around Ligia and her unit.
"This should protect you guys while I fight out there." Said Evan. In everyone's imagination, would they ever thought that they would ever see magic of old from the age of gods. This revolution shocked even the Dhalani soldiers who were present to see this happen.
"And here take this to treat your men." Said Evan.
Evan hands out a couple of green potions to Ligia before turning around to face the awestruck enemies.
'Ready when you are Rowgen.'
The sniper nodded to Evan's response and readied his gun once more. Evan took a deep breath and then breathed out. Then he charged at the Dhalani forces at a fast speed, surprising everyone. The first soldier was quickly felled by his sword, followed by another with a quick shot to their chest. While Evan fought the enemies in close to mid range combat with his sword and pistol in each hand, Rowgen was taking out the enemies from afar and covering Evan's back. Both Evan and the robed sniper were synchronized so well that they were eliminating Dhalani soldiers left and right in seconds.
"How much were you holding back...?" Muttered Ligia as she looked on in awe with the rest of her unit.
While Evan and the sniper's rampage on, Ligia and her unit heard a familiar voice call out.
"Lieutenant Ligia!" Called Nia
Ligia turns to Nia and sees a pink-haired girl to whom she thinks is the princess that Evan had rescued.
"I guess you're the princess he was speaking about." Said Ligia. "You guessed correctly, I am Sakura Shakuntiira Adoniera. But call me Shakuntala if you want to. I was told thou hast worked hard and risked much to rescue me. Thou hast my gratitude." Replied Shakuntiira.
Ligia nods but can't help but think that the princess is far from the description of what Evan told her about the princess. Then two of them turn back back their attention to the fight where Evan who was fighting in sync not only with the sniper but also with both sword and pistol, as he swiftly parried a bayonet and yet at the same time hitting his foes with ricochet shots from his pistol as if he knew where they would go. Then Shakuntala said with a smile.
"It appears that servant of mine is getting more and more surprising."
"Wait servant?!" Exclaimed Ligia. "Correct." Answered Shakuntiira.
Although Evan was fighting, he heard what she said.
'Not her servant!' Evan said internally.
Evan then ducks under a swing of a sword from an enemy, only for the enemy to be shot by Rowgen.
"I'll be honest though, I did not expect him to pull something like this magical barrier up from a fragmented crystal he took out. But enough talk, I believe there is a battle to be won?" Shakuntiira asks Ligia.
"O-of course! Corporal, how's the wounded?" Ligia asks Aran.
"Aside from those that can't fight, we're good. Those potions that Evan gave are really life saviors." Said Aran. "I see, then some of you will stay here to guard the wounded and the princess, while the rest of us will make use of this chaos." Said Ligia.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Now then, let's go!" Said Ligia.
~ Inside the Living Area ~
"The princess escaped!?" Exclaimed Gazuro.
"Yes, your grace! It was just reported to me! And furthermore…"
The attendant explained further of the situation to the Duke and the Duke was livid and he ran towards the window to look out to see a masked individual who was signally handling the majority of his forces along with a robed sniper that he heard from his attendant. Not only that, the Lemurian are also making use of the chaos to gain ground against his forces.
"Those fucking Lemurian! They dare steal my ambrosia!" Gazuro screams with anger.
The masked individual was fired upon by Gazuro's forces but he was quick to dodge all the shots. Then he threw something towards them and then shot it with his pistol. The small thing he threw and shot at blew up into smoke obstructing Gazuro's men from seeing him. Then several loud booms rang off.
*BOOM* *BANG* *BOOM*
As the smoke cleared itself, Gazuro turned to the side to see three large gaping holes on the side of a tower where his men were before the tower collapsed.
"Must I do everything myself! As a Gazuro I will fight fire with fire, poison with poison, and savagery with savagery!" Yelled Gazuro as he marched to somewhere.
~ Back Outside ~
"Ugh!"
*Thump*
After finishing off this soldier, Evan took a look around to see that he is now in some kind of front yard, he sees all kinds of plants, neatly white concrete on the ground and a fountain spraying water out into what seems to be a pool below it. In front of him was a mansion.
'Huh, this must be where the important people live, I guess.' Thought Evan.
Then he heard someone yelling from behind.
"Keep following!" Ordered Ligia.
Evan turns to them as Ligia and her unit catch up to him.
"I thought I told you guys to stay behind." Said Evan. "I mean we were taking advantage of the chaos being caused by you and your friend. Besides, we have some people stay behind to guard the wounded." Responded Aran.
Evan nodded, then everyone heard something opening and then turned to the gate and everyone saw a fat Dhalani in some kind of big mecha golem surprising everyone.
"What the fuck is that!" Exclaimed Aran.
And out of nowhere Shakuntala spoke from behind everyone with a frown.
"A golem. A truly ancient weapon from the age of gods and one of the very few that remains."
Gazuro then shouted.
"You see now what you made me do Lemurians!? I am sworn to guard the way of civilization and I will not forgive this insult and transgression against my honor and I will have the satisfaction by crushing you all!"
Then the golem head closes shut and beamed. Everyone readied themselves, especially Evan who's in front of the golem.
"Now die!" Yelled Gazuro.
Gazuro then threw one of his fists towards Evan who quickly dodged his attack and threw a smoke bomb at the Duke's face obscuring his vision. Evan took this short time to analyze the golem.
'Aside from the armor plating of the golem, the joints between the armor seem to be made of something weaker and should be easy to break down with several of Rowgen's shots.'
The smoke cleared from the Duke's face and he yelled out.
"You dare use such tricks!"
'Got to give Rowgen an opening.' Thought Evan.
Evan then charges Gazuro, who throws another punch at Evan. To which Evan quickly dodges to the side only to be met by another fist coming towards him but firmly blocks the fist with the flat side of his sword with two hands. Evan can feel that he's being pushed back a bit by the force of the punch. But this was intended as a loud thunderous sound rang once more.
*BOOM*
The arm that Evan blocked took a shot to its exposed joint, shaking Gazuro a bit from the force of the shot. Seeing an opportunity Evan let the fist slide by his side to land a strike to the damaged joint with his sword.
"Why you!" Gazuro yells with anger as the golem's lens shone a bit.
*WHHRRR*
Evan's instinct suddenly made him sloppily dodge what seems to be some kind of beam attack from one of golem's arms but with how sloppy his dodge was, left him open to which Gazuro took.
"Urgh…"
Evan took a hit to the chest from the golem's fist sending him crashing through the wall of the mansion.
"Evan! Fire everyone!" Ordered Ligia.
However everyone's bullet deflects off of the golems armor.
"How quaint." Said Gazuro.
Then he charged up another beam attack and fired.
*BOOM*
The attack brought Ligia and everyone down as the attack decimated the wall behind them.
*PING* *PLINK*
Gazuro turns around to see more bullets bouncing off of him and sees another group of Lemurians firing at him.
"Do you really imagine that your little gun will do any kind of harm at all?" Questioned Gazuro.
He then charges his beam attack again towards those soldiers who quickly try to scramble away from his attack. Before Gazuro let out a shot, a thunderous shot rang.
*BOOM*
The bullet hits his arm with enough force to push his arm to shoot to the side, missing his targets. Gazuro then stares at his arm that was shot and sees that golem arm was smoking from the shot and sees visible damage on the armor, although it was not much but the damage was there. Everyone in the Lemurian company who saw what happened sees that there is hope in defeating Gazuro. Then another shot rang out hitting Gazuro in the chest pushing him back a bit. But then Gazuro quickly fires a shot towards a tower where his assailant is at, destroying the tower. Gazuro then scoffs before saying.
"Hmph, now that pesky insect is out of the way, and where was I? Ah, right I was gonna blast you all to dust."
"You think you can get rid of me that easily?"
"Hmm?"
Gazuro and everyone else present turns to the destroyed tower to see a black armored man with a shield and a strange gun standing on top of the rubble. Rowgen then spoke again.
"The fight is not over yet."
Then he suddenly disappeared in front of everyone and a gunshot rang, hitting Gazuro in the back.
"You-!"
*BOOM*
Before Gazuro could even speak more, Rowgen fired another shot hitting Gazuro in the shoulder causing him to stagger a bit. Then Gazuro fired his beam at Rowgen but Rowgen phased out again avoiding the beam and reappearing at the duke's flank and fired at one of his exposed joints. Rowgen then reaches out to Evan.
'Evan, I'll keep him busy as long as possible till you get back up.'
~ Inside the Ruined Mansion ~
Deep inside amongst the rubble, Evan pushed aside the many debris on him.
"That's gonna leave a mark."
Evan then took off his mask and looked at it only to see the mask was badly damaged. Evan sighs before saying.
"Well there goes my mask."
*BOOM*
Evan looked at the direction where the Duke and the others were at and stood up despite the lingering pain to his chest, He then took out a potion and drank it healing and dulling the pain to his chest.
'It doesn't matter if they see me with or without a mask, what matters most is dealing with the duke right now.' Evan thought.
His hand began to glow blue color then a red magic circle with runic writing appeared on the ground and then the being Evan summoned popped up. A large wolf with black stripes around its body of crystals and with two tails made of crystal heeds his call for it. Zolf approaches Evan and lowers himself so that Evan can get on him.
"Let's go!"
Zolf runs to the direction of the duke.
~ Front Yard ~
Few Minutes Earlier
"Stand still!" Yelled Gazuro.
Gazuro then fired his beam but was swifty dodged by Rowgen. And much to the Duke's frustration, Rowgen was hitting every shot each time Gazuro missed him.
*BOOM*
"Ugh!"
Even though the golem was holding up to Rowgen's attack, his attacks were wearing down the golem. After firing his shot Rowgen phases out again from Gazuro's vision, only to reappear again at the Duke's flank to fire upon the Duke.
"I have enough of your charades!" Gazuro yells with anger.
Gazuro then pointed his beam at Shakuntiira and the others with both arms ready to fire. Everyone froze at his actions. Then Rowgen appeared in front of them ready to take the brunt and retaliate back. But before the Duke could fire, out of nowhere everyone saw a large wolf jump from behind Gazuro on him.
"What the! Get off me!"
However before the Duke could grab the wolf, the wolf jumped off of him and landed in front of him growling. If a large wolf with two tails and half the height of the golem was surprising, then they were even more surprised by the person riding it. There on the wolf was Evan.
"You! You're not dead!" Exclaimed Gazuro.
'Rowgen, which spot on the golem is the weakest right now?' Asked Evan. 'The joint of the right shoulder is very weak and the duke seems to know that and is protecting it vigorously, aside from that there are multiple scratches and dents on the armor that we can take advantage of, so it is likely we will need something that can pierce those damage sections.' Replied Rowgen.
'Alright.' Said Evan.
Then Evan readied his sword.
"Everyone!" Yelled Evan, catching everyone else's attention. "Get back a bit, this is gonna get messy."
Everyone starts to back from the general area.
Then in an instant Zolf charged Gazuro, whom the latter tried to fire both of his beams at Zolf and Evan but one of his arms was interrupted by Rowgen's shot and made it easy for Zolf to dodge Gazuro's projectile. As Zolf got closer to the Duke, Gazuro braced himself as Zolf leapt at him. There the struggle began, Gazuro was trying to get Zolf off of him but Zolf was clamping down on one of his arms and using his weight to keep it down and trying to expose the weakened joints. Before the duke was able to strike down both Zolf with his other arm, Rowgen fired a Precise Bolt at the incoming fist, interrupting where the fist was going.
*BOOM*
The fist barely missed Zolf, however such a miss gave Evan the opportunity. He lept off of Zolf and raised his sword that began to glow.
'Grand Slave'
With an overhead strike on the exposed arm, Evan severed the arm.
"What! How dare you! I'm gonna make you pay! I'm gonna make you all PAY!" Gazuro screams with anger.
Now enraged even more Gazuro did something that began to make his golem to charge up. Zolf quickly lets go of the arm he was holding down and backs away along with Evan.
"If I can't have the ambrosia then no one will!" Yelled Gazuro.
Evan silently watches on before sheathing his sword, confusing everyone. Seeing how Evan acts, Gazuro then suddenly felt very tense at what he's gonna do. One of Evan's began to crackle as electricity began to appear.
"It's over." Stated Shakuntiira. "I come to agree with that statement." Said Ligia.
A familiar lightning spear appeared in Evan's hand however this time instead of being covered with electricity, its real form was revealed. Argeus was its name, a spear wielded by Zedus the leader of Athensphere.
'A magical weapon?' Thought Gazuro.
And without any warning, Evan charged the Duke and unleashed its power upon Gazuro.
"I suggest you all look away and cover your ears." Rowgen said to everyone present.
The Duke tried to strike Evan with his remaining arm but he easily dodged the strike and when Evan got close enough, he thrust Argeus with both hands towards the chest of the golem. Gazuro made no attempt to block the attack, confident that the spear despite it being magical or some sort won't be able to penetrate.
*Ting*
"...?!"
When the spear made impact to the golem, nothing seemed to happen but suddenly at the tip of the spear, a huge stream of electricity pushed out. Gazuro, who is inside the golem, starts to notice that the hull of the golem is giving in to the spear's power.
"Impossi-"
Before the Duke could even finish, Evan pushed one final time and Argeus proceeded to disintegrate the whole upper body of golem along with the Duke. A beam of lighting continues to flow into the sky till it starts to thin out to nothingness. Whatever remains of the golem collapsed to the ground as Evan stood there unsteady from the Argeus attack but did not show his condition to everyone present. Evan quickly steadies himself and dismisses Argeus, and then turns to everyone who was watching on silently with awe. After a moment of silence, Evan broke the awkward silence.
"Victory is ours!" Yelled Evan as he threw his fist to the sky.
Everyone in Ligia's company looked at each other before letting out cheers of victory. Seeing that everyone wasn't paying much attention, Evan quickly sends his orders.
'Rowgan, Zolf, Kuda, time to disappear now.'
Hearing his order, Zolf and Rowgan silently and quickly withdraw from the cheering crowd without anyone but one noticing their departure. And Kuda who had dealt with the other reinforcement also disappears. As everyone was done cheering, Ligia began to order her men to gather the survivors and release any prisoners in the fortress. While everyone was doing their job, Evan tiredly sat down on a big rubble of stone.
'Just like Dandelga, Argeus seems to have taken more out of me than I initially thought. But that's expected of a weapon from the leader of Athensphere.' Evan said internally.
Then he heard some footsteps and looked to the side to see Ligia, Aran, and Shakuntiira approaching him. So he stood back up and turned to them.
"So this is what you look like." Aran said with a small smirk. "Yeah, but to be honest I don't really plan to keep my face a secret for long anyway." Replied Evan.
"From what I see, are you from those legends? The stranger from afar?" Asked Ligia as she noticed Evan's lack of features of the natives of this world. "Yes, he is. He is the stranger summoned by Sakura." Answered Shakuntiira.
"Huh, who would've thought that we won with the help from a legend." Commented Aran.
"Seeing that all is done, I'm going to return back." Said Shakuntiira.
"What do you mean?" Ligia asks.
Shakuntiira's body began to glow and then transform into a smaller and familiar form.
"...?!"
"I am princess Sakura Shakuntiira Adoiera and like what Shakuntala said earlier you all have my gratitude." Said Sakura as she bows to Ligia and Aran.
Then Sakura turns to Evan and says,
"Thank you Evan...for coming to save me."
Evan smiles and pats her head to which Sakura blushes a bit. Then he asks Ligia.
"So what do we do after this cleanup?"
"We'll move to a friendly base at Kaser." Answered Ligia.
Evan nods and before anyone resumes their task. A bright green light appeared from above, shocking everyone.
"What's that!?" Exclaimed Ligia.
Evan's eyes widen at the familiar light and mutters quietly that no one heard him.
"Tilith?"
As the light dims down, everyone sees a figure coming down...No rather the figure was falling down at fast speed!
"Evan!"
Hearing that familiar voice confirms Evan's thought.
"Tilith?!"
"EVAN!"
"GAH!"
Tilith fell upon Evan with more than enough force to knock the tired summoner unconscious. Tilith who was on top of the unconscious Evan then realized what she did.
"AH! Evan! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm- "
Tilith stops when she notices everyone looking at her and the unconscious Evan.
"Uhhhh...Hi?"
Author's Note
Holy I'm finally done with this chapter and one more chapter left. A short one at that. After that I can finally resumes my works on the other stories.
I hope you all have a nice day or a good night.