Chapter 96: City Fighting
"Ha! Is that all you got, snowflakes? Without the power of your Magister, all your unity is nothing!"
Melchior, who was standing on the roof of a city watch tower, laughed and pointed with his hands below. After only a few magical gestures, a flock of glittering ice skylarks flew from his sleeves toward the Order of Snow magi on the streets below.
Benedictus landed on a roof opposite the watch tower at this moment. He was holding the Sceptre of Command in both hands, and from its tip was coming a massive ice pike. Frost armor was covering the magus’s entire body.
He had just enough time to protect his order brothers from Melchior’s spell, but instead he lunged for the distracted opponent himself, abandoning the weaker magi to their fate.
Amelia saw this happening from below, where she was fighting together with a few of her people from the Children of the Frost. When the fighting began, they used their secret signs to search for each other.
Now, some of the magi from the Order of Snow were still watching in disbelief at how their magister abandoned them so easily—especially those who were too weak to muster a meaningful defense themselves.
Amelia raised her hands and shouted to those around her:
"Prepare shields or take cover!"
It was just in time. As magi ran inside the nearby houses or created ice shields, Melchior’s skylarks dove at the people on the street without discerning his own people from the enemy. Upon hitting anything, they exploded with a burst of ice shards.
It was an entire bombardment, and Amelia’s shields shook under its power, although she was a Final Cycle Albedo magus.
But neither she nor the magi near her suffered at this moment, and then Melchior was too distracted to do the same thing again.
Instead, there were only magi from the Order of Winter who saw Amelia and tried to kill her.
She fought them like before, casting spells and making secret signs to her allies. In the chaos of the street fighting, Amelia directed a large part of the Children of the Frost to hide in the empty houses until the signal.
It was impossible to say who was winning as the battle progressed. The chaos was too much. Just when she was walking down a seemingly empty street, Amelia was attacked by a pair of Order of Winter magi who ambushed her by jumping from inside a house.
They died quickly when her ice vines broke their necks. Then Amelia took their hiding place, suppressed her aura, and watched from the second-floor window at the ongoing battle between Melchior of Winter and Benedictus of Snow.
They were fighting on the rooftops, as Melchior preferred large, flashy spells. He was running around and throwing them left and right, while Benedictus chased him in melee with summoned ice weapons.
Below them, some magi were trying to support their magisters, but most of them could just fight their own battles. Auras of Citrinito magi were so powerful that they could completely suppress the ability of nearby Nigredo magi to use magic at all!
Benedictus was relentlessly attacking, and Melchior already had some shallow wounds. With a sudden recklessness, Benedictus threw his Sceptre of Command at Melchior when he was casting a spell.
It struck Melchior’s shoulder and pierced the armor he wore under his robes, but his unfinished spell exploded in his hands. Melchior screamed and fell off the roof, landing somewhere below.
Benedictus immediately jumped after him to finish off his opponent.
Amelia couldn’t see them anymore, but she knew that this battle was going to end very soon. She pulled out her Repeating Bird and activated it.
"It’s time. The magisters have almost stopped fighting. Tell the soldiers to move in!"
***
"It’s time!" Reynard exclaimed, putting the Repeating Bird away from his ear.
The mayor, who has been standing with a spyglass pointed at the city the entire time, nodded and put it down.
"Yes. I have seen it—Magister Benedictus struck a decisive blow to Magister Melchior. When he dies, the spirits of the Order of Winter are going to be crushed, while the Order of Snow will be too distracted. And this will be exactly when we will reach the place!"
"’We’?" Reynard asked sceptically. "Well, if you want to risk being collateral damage, mayor..."
"I’ve come here today to lead my people toward freedom! Everybody who didn’t wish to fight stayed home. If I can risk my life for Darland, so can any of my soldiers!"
Mayor Matily made a broad gesture at the warriors and magi in front of him. His words inspired more confidence in these people, especially in the soldiers. The mercenaries were still mercenaries.
"We advance!" Marien exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. "And let nobody dare to run away! They will never have another chance at taking part in something like this—a conquering of an entire city! Power and riches will be ours!"
This speech did much more for the mercenaries’ morale. Some of them even cheered in response before turning to march toward the city gates. Only the mayor looked a bit sour, since Marien just took the command from him.
Row by row of soldiers walked downhill, then toward the gates. Empty streets greeted them. Everybody who wanted to leave had time to do so already. Now there were only abandoned street food stalls and items dropped during the escape.
"We will go directly toward the fighting. This is where the strongest magi of both orders are now. Until we defeat them, it will be pointless to attack the headquarters of the orders—they will just take them back," Mayor Matiliy said. "Kill as many as you can! Take no prisoners—our occupiers deserve no mercy! Our magi will attack first, then the soldiers will walk around the streets and take them under control."
’No prisoners? That’s... Well, I doubt this plan will survive until the battle ends. Just like the mayor...’ Reynard thought, glancing at the man.
As the army advanced deeper into the city, they were forced to split into smaller groups to walk down the narrowing streets. Even the magi mercenaries were so weak that they couldn’t even jump from roof to roof.
Reynard and Marien were the only ones who did this and had the advantage of seeing from a distance what was going on ahead.
’Amelia is there somewhere, too... Someone like her would definitely be alright, but I still can’t help but worry,’ Reynard thought.
Soon, they saw the first magi from the orders. Two groups of Nigredo magi were fighting among abandoned and demolished market stalls, exchanging elemental bolts.
Some heads turned as the approaching group of mercenaries.
"Look! They don’t have our markings!" someone shouted. "Those must be enemy reinforcements!"
"Watch out, don’t let them flank you! Attack!"
"Don’t waste bullets on the trash of your level!" Reynard shouted, jumping on the roof right above the fighting. "Crush them and get moving!"
He cast two spells in quick succession, and a pair of Thornshooters began to spit thorns at the magi below. Marien moved to a different side of the battle and began throwing bolts of lightning into exposed backs.
The mercenaries followed enthusiastically, pelting the enemies with their weak attacks.
Soon, this group of enemies was gone—but the noise attracted more. Five First Cycle Albedo magi vaulted over a roof. All of them were battered, and it was hard to tell which order they were even from.
The ice birds that two of them summoned immediately swooped upon the mercenaries, whose weak spells couldn’t even shoot them down. A man screamed as an ice owl’s claws tore at his arm.
Reynard pulled out his Golden Gun.
"Don’t just scream. Fire! Those are the targets!"
BANG!
The nearest enemy magus fell with a hole in his head. Reynard grinned at the lucky shot.
It also served as a great example for the other magi nearby, who pulled out their own guns and began pelting the enemy with bullets.
The cacophony that began left no chance for someone not to hear the fighting—even now, when most of the sounds were swallowed by the howling wind and the noise of the fighting all over the city.
The mercenaries’ aim was much worse than Reynard’s, but there were a dozen of them just on this street, and of course, they used their ammunition as if they didn’t pay for it (they didn’t).
Under the volley of bullets, even the Albedo magi fell with wounds in their eyes, neck, stomach, and other soft parts.
Of course, Reynard and Marien also helped with their spells.
"Reload and keep advancing!" Reynard shouted as soon as the last enemy stopped breathing. "There will be more soon!"
He already sensed auras ahead. Pockets of fighting were everywhere. On side streets, the mayor and other nobles led their own parts of the army.
When his own group had reloaded, Reynard directed them deeper into the fray. More magi needed to be defeated...
