Chapter 135 Confusion
Amid the bandits at the back of their ranks, a man with his face masked behind a scarf furrowed his brows in bafflement as he said to the man beside him, "They have awakened ones and so many at that. Something isn't right."
"Boss, it's possible that these mercenaries have the awakened ones. We did expect some awakened ones in their midst."
The so-called boss narrowed his eyes and said, "Send our awakened ones as well. Fire more arrows and break their defense. Do it quickly!"
The man nodded and began shouting out orders all over the place and the bandits obeyed, hundreds and hundreds of them galloping their horses with weapons in hand raging and screaming as they launched an all-out frontal assault.
On the battlefield, both sides were engaged in a chaotic battle from horseback. Swinging their swords and rapiers as well as jabbing and thrusting their spears at the enemies.
The battlefield was messy and chaotic however one could easily make out an important difference between both sides as the bandits ran their horses randomly in hopes of slaying anyone unfortunate to get in their way but the mercenaries fought with harmony and discipline as they maintained an interconnected tight formation, keeping each other from being isolated as well as not allowing the enemy to breach the defensive line.
"Shoot!" Suddenly, the sound rang once again as the noise of bowstrings resounded and arrows flew over in the sky falling right amid the mercenaries.
However, just as the arrows were about to fall and strike down the mercenaries, suddenly the wind blew violently, knocking away the arrows completely out of the trajectory.
Out of the blew, more sounds of arrows being released rang but this time something was different as the sound wasn't saturated at all.
Then suddenly, multiple mercenaries screamed and collapsed dead on the ground as arrows pierced through them in a blink of an eye.
Seeing this, the mercenary leader cried out, "Careful! They're targeting individually from random directions!"
The mercenaries immediately became more alert trying to sense if arrows are shot from somewhere they couldn't see.
Everyone began looking around for potential threats and then suddenly the sounds of whistling rang again as arrows shot out from random directions.
However this time, the mercenaries were ready as just as the arrows were about to hit, they swung their swords with great precision, knocking down the arrows before getting hit.
Nonetheless, this did create blind spots in the defensive lines as the bandits began piercing through the defensive ranks, getting closer and closer to where Klein and Clovis were.
As the swords swung at the forefront in all directions, blood splattered across the rocky land and heads began rolling. The battlefield was filled with screeches and battle cries, everything getting completely out of control.
The convoy that was encircled from all sides seemed it would not last long as the archers created chaos among the front guards and the bandits outnumbering the mercenaries pushed in, attempting to take Clovis and his family as hostages.
As the bandit's boss observed the battle from a high ground in the distance, he noticed the group of awakened bandits heading straight towards the mercenaries who had used the blessings of wind to deflect the volley of arrows earlier.
On the other front, he noticed the mercenaries getting pushed back toward the convoy due to an overwhelming numerical disadvantage and it seemed only a matter of time before the victory would be his.
However, the man couldn't shake off this eerie feeling as if something was wrong on the battlefield. No matter how keenly he observed, everything seemed to be going to his advantage.
"Engage their awakened unit and restrict them from operating and focus on that vulnerable spot right there! Pierce through them and launch an attack from the inside out!" The boss man ordered smugly like some kind of mighty general with a boastful pose.
The boss's sidekick also laughed in delight as he bowed and passed on the orders to the front line. Soon enough, the bandits became even more fierce as all of them on the eastern side focused on one particular spot in the formation that seemed to be weak.
On the left and right flanks of the convoy behind the protective line where the mercenaries with the power of blessings were placed, a battle of mystical powers raged fiercely.
The unit of awakened mercenaries had the blessings of wind, earth, and fire with an apprentice-level comprehension of the elements. So even though these people weren't powerful individually, they were adept at working in a group as a single entity.
The bandits had their people who could use the mystical powers of blessings and at one glance, seemed equally powerful as the mercenaries.
The bandit's cavalry paved a path for the awakened ones to enter the mercenary guard's flanks. After coming face to face, both special units immediately broke out into a massive spectacle while being protected by their respective cavalry.
The harmonious chanting of incantations rang on the battlefield as the elemental particles revealed themselves to the naked eye.
Slashes of wind sliced through the skies heading at the enemy only to meet the earthly boulders in mid-air. Then the sharp rocky shards manifested out of nowhere protruding from the grounds as the awakened bandits chanted the blessings of Goddess Gaia.
The many sharp rocky shards and spikes shot out from the ground like missiles in a counterattack heading to their predestined targets. But then the sounds of incantations rang again as the fiery red flaming particles danced, creating small fireballs that then flew off, colliding into the shards and spikes.
In response to this, the bandits blessed with the blessings of fire yelled out,
"By Agni's might, I call forth flame
Burning bright, a fierce refrain
Enemies tremble, as fire reigns
Agni's fury, scorching plains!"
As this incantation rang in everyone's ears, a large influx of fire elements danced in front of the bandits. The elements then soon converged into a small inferno that spewed scorching yellow frames indiscriminately, burning some of the cavalrymen who were providing cover.
As the flame began heading toward the mercenary flank threatening to burn everything to smithereens, the mercenaries seemed panicked as there was not enough time to prepare a spell strong enough to neutralize the inferno flame.
Seeing the panicked mercenaries scrambling to prepare countermeasures, the bandits grinned in excitement at seeing their enemies burn.
And it was at this critical moment, a single voice muttered the incantation, their voice curtained behind the chaotic sounds of battle in complete obscurity as only the blue particles manifested out of nowhere, drifting along the vicinity like flowing water as the person said,
"From water's source, I call thee
To quench the flames, with force and sea
Neutralize the fire, calm its spree
Waters pure, by my decree."
Then out of nowhere, the distinct sound of water from upon everyone's ears as the trees all around wilted, the ground trembled and dried, and the little grass that had survived was now no more.
The bandits, seeing this drew long breaths of shock as they stepped back in fear while the mercenaries showed hints of mocking smiles on their faces.
Then out of nowhere, the drifting azure-blue water elemental particles became alive with the vitality and life of dew water droplets. At another second, the droplets converged as if becoming a wave and abruptly swooped in the direction of the flaming inferno like a tidal wave washing away trash from the shore.
Seeing this spectacle, the bandits in the nearby vicinity were also shocked. The bandit's supposed boss also saw the powerful water mystic spell from his high ground and narrowed his eyes, supporting his chin with his hand in a pose of contemplation as beads of sweat began surfacing on his forehead.
"Could it be that this was a trap? How could they have such strong forces? Was this a mistake? Perhaps we should retreat, no! I can't after coming this far! It should be fine… Yes… We still have more people!"
The man muttered under his breath in a soft voice with a grim look on his face. Raising his head and narrowing his eyes in alarm, he stretched his right hand and anxiously fired off more commands.
As he gave more commands, the battlefield filled with the sizzling sound of fire cooling off as the sea of inferno flames met the water wave.
As if slapping off the flames out of existence, the inferno completely disappeared into the wave as warm streams lifted into the skies.
The bandits and the mercenaries alike coughed almost choking on the streams while the horses neighed in alarm as they jumped about violently.
Seeing the stream coming off from the distance, Klein who peeped out of the carriage smirked slyly.
A/N - I apologize for the inconsistency but bare with me. I have fallen sick and my uni's final exams are in days. Will do my best to update as much as possible. Thank you.
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