Chapter 16: Battle of Caelin

The morning came, the night after Ike reported to the others of the note. In any event, Eubans and his men are likely to assist Laus. That meant if they wanted to ensure the battle was won, at least Darin needed to fall.

Unfortunately, his forces were likely to attack first and not him. Therefore, his generals needed to surrender or be slain. The villages nearby were notified to prepare to evacuate. The Caelin army was ready.

Ike stood alongside Lyn at the West forts, leading the charge to counter with the cavalry. Lucius stood at the standby, with a staff and tome in hand. Kent and Sain stood with their steeds at the ready. They spotted the Laus forces entering the clearing and about to enter the forests.

"Now... Charge!" Ike shouted. The men behind him answered with a war cry.

"""FOR CAELIN!"""

For their homeland, for the lady who stood beside the young commander leading them, their marquess, they couldn't allow any of them to fall.

Darin stood in his tent. He only hoped Bauker and Bernard would succeed in their effort to take Caelin. If that didn't work, then he would only await for Eubans after he and his men have taken back Laus and rescued his son. He still held a soft spot for him even after abandoning him.

Now he remembered those bloody mercenaries from a year ago. To take on Caelin forces led by Lundgren and instill the now Lady Lyndis as the heir of the territory. If worse comes to worst, he had to use mercenaries against mercenaries.

Bauker would approach with cavalry from the West of the castle and Bernard would approach East through their respective sea of trees. Fliers would attempt to fly straight towards the castle to attempt a quick siege.

He mustn't fail here. There was so much at stake.

Erk stood beside Wallace on the newly built platform on top of the castle. Wallace held plenty of javelins and hand axes. Erk prepared his wind tome. Truly, it will stand to be effective against fliers, disrupting their wind patterns mid-flight. Florina flew right above them and as they spotted squadron of wyvern and pegasus knights, she quickly elevated herself with Huey, making a single hoop in the air, and her pegasus dashed forward with blinding speed with her lance pointed towards the enemy. The precious gift Ike gave to her will not be wasted.

STUN

Hitting the center wyvern with its rider mounted on top of it who approached the castle, she watched as the wyvern hit be immobilized.

"W-what in the-... Aaaaaaahhhhh!" The rider voiced out before falling with his wyvern. With the wyvern having been stunned without the ability to move its wings in midair, both the rider and the wyvern fell down to their deaths in the perilous mountains. The other riders saw this and had to advance quickly. Away from the pegasus knight who demonstrated a unique skill.

"Heh, you think any of you can get past me? Just try." Wallace challenged the fliers coming towards him and Erk.

He held one javelin pointing to the sky with both hands, raised it up with both hands horizontally, twirled it up to the sky and grabbed it to throw it towards a pegasus knight.

LUNA

The javelin pierced straight through the pegasus's neck and even the rider. Without a single utterance, they fell to their bloody ends. Erk was not idle, as he began his chants, surrounding himself with winds as he read out his tome.

WIND

Sudden sharp gusts came towards the enemy, with fliers getting hit and their wing patterns disrupted due to the shift in winds. It was similar to a new anima wind tome being developed called aircalibur based on Lord Pent being made privy to its development as a Mage General. However, the language, weight, power and purpose were different. As it was geared towards the attuned affinity to nature's specific element. In other words, anima magic in Elibe sought to master the power of nature as a whole without regard to the elements, the foreign tome of Elibe helped with the mastery of the elements. All with a different purpose, but filled with mystery, fueling the intellectual curiosity of Pent and Erk.

The fliers fell down like their fallen comrades, helpless before the onslaught of the trio who protected the castle. Florina quickly advanced to the next squadron, ready to engage in combat with them.

Not a single flier managed to pass them. In the face of the enemy who demonstrated unique skills and spells, there was no choice but to fall to their deaths.

Bernard stood with his heavy armor at the ready alongside a seventy of his men with spellcasters, archers, and knights behind him. They attempted to trek through the woods towards Caelin in the East. Just as they kept marching, they heard the sounds of a bird. Its screech echoed throughout the forest. Just as they looked around them, a sudden arrow hit a shaman, right through the throat. The spellcaster gurgling in their own blood, not having realized that they've been shot. Just before they could sound the horn, two more men have been dispatched beside him. More and more of his men began to be pelted with arrows.

"They're shooting from the trees! Hide yourselves!" Bernard announced.

Wil and Rebecca along with several archers remained in the trees on the branches, upon hearing the signal, they knew they had to feather their enemies. Rebecca felt... uncomfortable upon hearing screams and the gurgling of blood from the enemies. Some of them even slipped on their own blood. But she had to keep shooting. It was either themselves, or the enemy. Wil took a glance at her before resuming shoot off his arrows, being worried for her.

Just as Laus forces attempted to shade themselves from the onslaught of arrows, a man, notably Sacaen based on his appearance, appeared to fire his arrows, felling Bernard's men one by one. He kept firing arrows while on horseback, preventing Bernard's men to take cover. Skillfully maneuvering past the trees and counterattacks of Bernard's men. However...

"Grrr..." Rath grunted out in pain. His face grimacing upon receiving an arrow from an enemy archer.

Rath gritted his teeth and had to keep moving, while Bernard narrowed his eyes at a critical moment, raising his hand axe and throwing it at Rath, who shifted his body. Unfortunately, his left side still received a graze as the hand axe moved past him and stuck in a tree. Soon, two more individuals one who appeared to be a mercenary with red hair wielding a shield and axe alongside a myrmidon from Sacae moved swiftly from behind the horseback archer, to attack Bernard's men, supported by arrows being unleashed from the trees. Bernard could not move quickly to stop them. His attention remained on Rath, who pulled the arrow from his shoulder while his horse remained on standby. Holding the arrow that hit him, he held it up in the air as if it was being held in front of the sun.

"Father Sky, bless my aim."

His steed once again moved quickly, as he maneuvered past the trees, he twirled the arrow that was held up and took aim with it using his bow. As Bernard tried to use his javelin and aim, Rath took the initiative, and unleashed the arrow from the notch.

SOL

The arrow struck at Bernard's shoulder, piercing through the heavy armor somehow. Bernard grunted at having received a critical hit. He once again looked towards his opponent, his eyes widening in surprise. The wounds of his opponent... he could tell. Although blood seeped and stained the skin and clothing, it was as if the wounds were closing up.

'Did someone cast a physic staff?' He thought. But there was no signs of magics at work. The spell would have been noticeable. He didn't use a vulnerary at this time.

Bernard's men and the Caelin forces remained engaged with just two ground troops from Caelin. Soon, a red-haired girl on her steed followed after the troop, going past the pair who were on a standoff. Bernard took a glimpse and recognized the girl... and let her pass. Rath noticed this action and approached closer to Bernard. It seemed he did not wish to harm the girl who was accosted by their lord. He could only respond with proper respect. Rath and Bernard stood at the ready, with the former now taking out his blade from his sheath. An armorslayer it seemed. Facing off one another with their gazes set on one another.

"I am Bernard, Knight Commander of Laus! I would test the nomad who led this impressive attack on our forces!" He announced. Rath nodded to him slightly, having acquiesced to his challenge.

"I am Rath of the Kutolah Tribe. Under the employ of my commander, Ike of the Greil Mercenaries." Rath responded in kind. Bernard raised his brows at the mercenary and their group.

So this was the mercenary force that went out of their way to try to break out Lady Priscilla in Laus. To think it escalated this far to hunt down their forces who made their march on Caelin... No matter, he would continue fighting for Laus, even if they were in the wrong.

Bernard and Rath readied their weapons, for one final clash. Bernard readied his javelin, throwing it at Rath's steed, only for the horse to leap itself into the air, with Rath still mounted onto his horse, raising his blade into the sun.

SOL

Rath struck his blade downward, cutting past the thick armor and caused a great gash on Bernard. Rath's wounds fully healed causing no more distress onto himself.

Bernard coughed, stepping backward at having been fatally hit.

"This is a just reward... for Laus' brutality..." He muttered before closing his eyes. He fell backwards, never to wake again.

Rath then stood silent for a moment, before resuming to help his comrades. Laus forces that advanced fell to about half by this time.

Bauker advanced onward against the Caelin forces. He only hoped General Bernard fared better. The Caelin commanders led their troops with blinding speed to engage with Laus forces. Cavalry one after the other were engaged with the opposing forces.

The paladin pair were even more impressive. Even when wounded, they will quickly heal upon raising their weapons to the sky, sometimes for certain weapons, twirling them before unleashing them on their enemies. Almost as if they were like living Nosferatu tomes... Laus forces were quickly losing their morale upon witnessing their prowess. He assumed the bishop was healing them, but it was clear the woman (as he assumed) was more preoccupied with unleashing her light spells. The Caelin forces were far more organized and prepared for their invasion at any rate. It was a matter of time before they needed to fall back.

Ground soldiers kept their distance from the mercenaries they had on hand with javelin in the woods as well as the fort if they got too close. At any rate, they couldn't continue.

As he was ready to sound the retreat, he noticed a single spiky blue haired boy approach him, with his armorslayer in hand. This... this was the Greil Mercenaries that made their lord's son, Erik, fall along with a significant number of their army. They must have reached Caelin before Laus had. Ike had wound and scratches on himself but nothing fatal.

Bauker gritted his teeth, there was no chance of him outrunning the boy and his forces. Preparing his steel lance, he stared down the boy in front of him.

"Prepare to fall before your master!" Bauker called out. Holding his lance and pointing it towards Ike in a stance.

"I hate to break it to you, but I'm just a mercenary. Here to earn my pay and give my employers their money's worth. Moreover..." Ike gripped his blade tighter as he spoke. "Seeing you invade other people's homes and not protecting your own, really speaks volume on your priorities as a knight."

Bauker grimaced at his statement. They were only following their lord he thought. But like Wallace once said, knights should take action that best serve their liege.

"Ike!" Lyn called out, with her Mani Katti at the ready. She stood near him, ready to attack.

Ike glanced towards her for a moment, and nodded. Having observed Raven's technique a year ago and observing the techniques that Rath had done with the occultic scroll, he knew what to do.

Pointing his blade at the knight, he launched his blade up in the air, confusing the knight with his sudden actions, the blade twirling itself under the rays of the sun, Ike then somersaulted himself forward and grabbing the blade midair. Bauker widened his eyes, realizing it was actually a preparation for an attack.

SOL

Ike spun himself downward, his blade aimed towards Bauker with great centrifugal force. Bauker could only hold his lance up to block, only for the lance to break upon clash due to the sheer force of the technique. The general's armor suffering a major cut vertically across, with it, a gash down his chest.

"Gah!" Bauker voiced out. All the while Ike's own wounds appeared to have healed themselves.

Lyn prepared herself as the enemy was staggered. Ike quickly shuffled himself back away from Lyn's range. Her blade sheathed at the ready, she advanced forward, slashing diagonally at Bauker causing his armor to be cut straight through, then maneuvered her blade to create a cut perpendicular to her first, and finally...

ADEPT

Twirling herself to make one final cut using the spin to allow for the centrifugal force of the blade to

cleanly slash Bauker horizontally. All while the blade once again remained clean. The attacks happened within a single breath. Bauker stepped back, coughing out blood upon receiving one wound after the other.

"We've been... defeated? Such... a shame..." He muttered. Bauker fell forward, breathing his last.

Ike looked around the battlefield. The battle was done before he knew it. Enemy bodies strewn about. None of the forces on their side suffered major casualties. He soon heard galloping of a horse coming near him.

"Ike!" Rath rode up to him as he called out. "The remaining forces have either retreated or have been cut down. Guy and Raven are currently being healed by Priscilla. None of our men suffered casualties. Erk and the others held their ground."

"That means..." a cavalry suddenly voiced out from behind them.

"We drove them off!" Another soldier cried out happily.

Everyone cheered and applauded save for Ike and the commanders. Ike, Sain, Kent, Lyn and even Rath held worried expressions. The cheers suddenly went silent the next moment.

"Stop! The battle may be won but not the war!" Kent announced. "Laus may very well attack again, with greater ferocity. Do not lose your diligence. It could prove fatal!" Ike stepped forward upon Kent's protest.

"He's right, who knows what Darin and his men may do out of desperation. For the safety of Caelin, your lives and the civilians... I suggest everyone prepare yourselves for the next battle to come." Ike added. Everyone became alert upon hearing their warning.

They won against the siege by Laus. But it may not end there. The true battle had yet to come. Especially when Darin's mercenaries come as reinforcements. It was far too early for celebration. Whatever Laus had left in store, it would only prove painful.