Chapter 163: Chapter 1
The terrifying sight made Maxi’s skin crawl. She hugged herself as she took a step back.
Six gray giants with legs as thick as timbers charged from the head of the monster army. Their massive feet stomped on the ground as they swung iron maces. A thunderous roar rang out, followed by a blazing fireball that hurtled toward the barrier.
Maxi turned her gaze to the source of the attack. In the middle of the troll legion was a creature draped in black robes, riding a drake. There was no doubt that this was the necromancer behind Hebaron’s curse, as well as the horde of ghouls.
The drake’s reins were made of chains. The robed monster yanked them, then raised its black-scaled hands. An instant later, a massive fireball formed in the air.
The heat was so intense that Maxi blocked her face with her arm. The scarlet flame hurtled toward the barrier like an explosive, and the violent blast even reached the cliff where Maxi stood. She stayed flat on the ground until the fierce gust died down. Black smoke and dust cleared to reveal the half-melted barrier.
Ogres charged like a stampede of wildebeests once more, swinging their iron hammers. The heavy blows snapped Maxi to attention. This was no time to be watching the battle from afar like a fool.
Sitting on her knees, she searched for the boundary where dirt became rock. The boulder was more firmly embedded in the earth than she had anticipated. After tapping it with her foot, Maxi bit her lip.
The overhang was not as precarious as it had looked from below. Would she be able to push it off with magic?
There’s nothing else I can do but try...
If she could create a small fissure, the rock would fall from its own weight.
Taking a few steps away from the boulder, Maxi placed her hands on the ground. She then circulated her mana along the pattern of the defensive rune. Her mana poured out of her pathways and dispersed left and right, forming an intricate shape. Soon, a faint tremor shook the ground. It cracked open as an earth wall shot up.
Maxi backed away to escape the thick dust that flew up with the wall. The boulder had not budged. Brushing away the strands of hair sticking to her forehead, Maxi gnawed her lip.
Her spell had been for a corporeal barrier that used the surrounding elements. Since it forced the earth to create a solid wall, it was bound to cause a mild disruption. Even so, it appeared that the quake had not been enough to dislodge the rock.
She called back her mana and stored it within her body. The earth wall crumbled like a sandcastle and filled the air with dust once more.
Without waiting for the dust to settle, she immediately summoned another wall. It would have been more efficient if she had formulated a new rune that would directly affect the surface of the soil, but she lacked the skill. Though casting barriers of dirt was a foolish method, it was her only option.
Maxi continued to circulate mana along the intricate lines of the defensive runes. A faint tremor shook the ground each time it opened for an earth wall to spring up. Even after multiple attempts, the boulder showed no sign of falling.
Sensing that her mana was almost completely drained, Maxi anxiously bit her lip. For all she knew, the bottom of the rock might extend far beneath the ground. If that were the case, she would have to summon a barrier hundreds of times to dislodge it.
Maxi clenched her fists. Had it been presumptuous of her to think that someone like her could make the Guardian of Eth Lene fall from where it had proudly stood for thousands of years?
But there is no other way...
The spells she knew were limited to the earth barrier spell, healing and restorative magic, and a spell to create sparks of fire.
She had no other option than to keep trying. In what felt like an attempt to smash a rock with an egg, Maxi repeated the process of summoning and breaking down her barrier. She had just finished her ninth attempt when she suddenly felt light-headed as if suffering heavy blood loss.
Maxi quickly withdrew her mana. Using her supply any further might lead to mana depletion. Out of breath and feeling dizzy, she looked up at the sky. The golden sunset almost made her feel resentful.
A crisp breeze brushed past her wet cheeks as she stared vacantly upward. Her whole body was aching, and her head felt empty. An uncontrollable tremor passed over her.
The result would have been different had it been Ruth or Princess Agnes standing on this cliff. If the squires had taken Ruth out of the city instead of her, he would have succeeded in striking fear into the monsters.
Utterly useless.
Her father’s voice rang in her ears. He had been right. Though she had tried her best to be useful, she remained a worthless being incapable of doing anything. It had been foolish of her to think that she could solve this crisis with her incompetence.
Maxi’s face contorted with despair. She felt as though a ball of fire was lodged in her throat. She was struggling to swallow the burning lump when a deafening crash rang out from below. Maxi leaped to her feet and peered down.
Eth Lene’s remaining barrier was crumbling. A thunderous roar rose up from the monster army as they advanced toward the city.
Soldiers released a barrage of fire arrows, and mages hurled blazing flames from the ramparts. Faced with an enemy with regenerative powers, however, their attacks were not enough. Their opponents were essentially immortal.
The monsters rushed at the gates and began attacking. Filled with horror as she watched from afar, Maxi clenched her jaw and lowered her hands once more.
One last try. She would give it one last try.
She summoned her remaining mana and directed it to circulate along the pattern of the defensive rune. As mana flowed out of her, Maxi felt as though she were being drained of blood.
The ground shook and an earth wall fifteen kevettes high shot up. Maxi accelerated the speed of her mana circulation. To cause a fissure deep enough to dislodge the rock, she would have to draw the wall even higher.
Elevating her barrier further and further, Maxi let out a threatening mutter, “Break!”
Despite dredging up the last of her mana and pouring it into the barrier, the boulder did not budge. Maxi struck the ground with her fists in frustration.
“W-Why won’t you break?!”
Burning tears welled in her eyes. She was now out of mana. The moment the influx of her magical resource ended, the earth wall pitifully collapsed in a cloud of dust. She woefully eyed the remains.
Suddenly, a thud boomed below her. Maxi’s eyes grew wide. Unable to bear the weight of the crumbling wall, the ground slowly began to tilt. Dirt and sand began to stream down toward the cliff edge. Maxi whirled away, but her legs were too weak for her to run properly.
As she desperately tried to escape the heaving earth, the cliff edge tilted further, and the ground began to crumble. The landslide swept into Maxi and sent her tumbling. Just as she was about to plunge down with the crumbling dirt, someone caught her arm. Maxi screamed as pain tore through her shoulder.
She looked up into Ulyseon’s ashen face. He hauled her up and leaped over the sinking earth like a wild animal. Maxi forgot about the pain in her shoulder as he dragged her along to escape the collapsing ground.
Cursing under his breath, Ulyseon wound his arm around her waist and leaped into the air. Pain shot through her side, making her breath hitch. Ulyseon landed near a tree, as nimble as a cat, and clung to one of its thick branches. He pressed against the trunk to shield them from the landslide.
Maxi clung to him like a drowning person. A quake as powerful as the primordial schism of heaven and earth shook the ground, and booming thuds continued to reverberate for a long time. When it finally grew eerily quiet, Maxi opened her eyes.
It took a while to understand what had happened. Her blurred vision gradually regained focus, and the full extent of the landslide and crushed monsters came into view.
Maxi blinked in disbelief. When the boulder fell, it had caused the precariously leaning rock face to collapse. She heard Ulyseon’s shocked voice above her head.
“By God...”
As though afraid he would drop her, Ulyseon’s arm around her waist tightened painfully. He fought for breath.
“Do you see it, my lady? Half the monster army was crushed, and it closed off the southern route. The city should be able to hold out now until reinforcements arrive.”
He could only speak in a shaky mumble.
Finally coming to his senses, he pulled Maxi up onto the cliff. Maxi clung to him, barely managing to clamber up the mountain of dirt. He excitedly chattered away as he ushered her to a safe area.
“That was amazing, my lady. Just incredible. But, we should still leave this place at once. The monsters will know where we are by now. If we don’t find a place to hide soon-”
Ulyseon let out a low gasp. Maxi looked up at him with unfocused eyes and watched him hastily rip his cloak.
He reached out to clutch her face. “Heavens, y-you’re bleeding...”
She remembered the goblin blood splattered over her. With great effort, she managed to open her mouth to explain.
...
“I-It’s goblin blood. I-It got on me w-when...”
“No, my lady. It’s-”
Without finishing his sentence, Ulyseon pressed the torn fabric to her nose. Only then did Maxi realize that something warm was streaming from it. The metallic tang of blood was on her lips; she must have been bleeding quite badly. Still, she was embarrassed at having shown Ulyseon such an unseemly sight.
Nausea washed over her, and she suddenly felt cold and dizzy. She realized that her limbs had been shaking for some time. The color drained from Ulyseon’s face as he sensed that something was gravely wrong.
“You’re bleeding a lot, my lady. Hold this against your nose until it stops.”
With a trembling hand, Maxi managed to press the fabric beneath her nose. Ulyseon crouched down with his back to her.
“Let me carry you, my lady.”
Remaining on her feet was already a struggle. Maxi obeyed the squire’s direction and allowed him to carry her on his back. Ulyseon hoisted her with ease and darted through the trees like a winged creature.
“Hold on. I will find a safe place for us.”
The squire’s voice sounded distant. Stifling a moan, Maxi desperately clung to consciousness. She would only become more burdensome if she were to black out now. She was grappling with the little energy she had left when Garrow’s voice called out.
“Uly! What happened?”
...
“Her ladyship destroyed the rock face, and I think it depleted her mana.”
Garrow hurried over to them, mouth agape in astonishment.
“A-Are you all right, my lady?”
Maxi looked up at him with bleary eyes, and Garrow’s pale face came into focus. How ghastly did she look for the squire to be pulling such an expression?
“We must hurry and get her ladyship to safety. The monsters saw us. Those that survived the landslide will be coming after us.”
“Are we going east as planned?”
Ulyseon shook his head. “Her ladyship won’t be able to endure the journey through the wilderness in her current condition. We have to return to Eth Lene Castle.”
“But the battle...”
“The southern route was completely closed off by the landslide, and there are about a hundred monsters at most trapped between the city walls and a barricade of rocks. The remaining forces should be able to handle them. The problem is the surviving monsters. It’s difficult to predict what they’ll do.”
“How many of them survived?”
“Around six, seven hundred... No, I can’t say for certain. More than half of them were crushed, but with their regenerative abilities, most will likely get back on their feet unless they were killed instantly.”
Ulyseon lowered Maxi to the ground when they reached his horse. She whimpered in pain as her rib and shoulder made contact with the earth. Ulyseon gazed down at her as though he were at a loss for what to do.
“Do you think you can still ride, my lady?”
Maxi limply shook her head. “M-My left a-arm...”
It took a moment for the squire to realize that her left shoulder was dislocated. Biting his lip, he gingerly lifted her on his back again.
“We’re going down on foot. Just take enough of the provisions.”
“Are you sure?”
“If we can’t ride the horses, it’s better to abandon them. Don’t you remember what Sir Riftan said? It’s hard to erase horse tracks. The monsters would find us in no time.”
Garrow unhitched their luggage from the saddle and freed the horses. They then began their hurried descent. Slumped on Ulyseon’s back, Maxi had to fight past the searing pain tearing through her body.
This pain was greater than when her father had broken her back. It stabbed at her shoulder, and her ribs ached. Her knees were scraped, her buttocks were bruised from falling off her mount, and her limbs were fatigued... Every part of her throbbed, and shivers racked through her as though her veins flowed with ice water. Maxi whimpered as she trembled.
“Damn it, maybe we should find a safe spot to rest...” Ulyseon muttered anxiously.
“Her condition might worsen if we waste any more time. We have to take her to a healer as soon as possible.”
“But she’s in so much pain...”
Maxi’s lips quivered. Although she wanted to tell him that she was all right, the only thing that escaped her lips was a low rasp. The symptoms of mana depletion were growing worse; the coldness had now set in her bones. Sensing her agony, Ulyseon’s steps grew more urgent.
“This won’t do. We should at least splint her shoulder to lessen the pain. Search for a cave.”
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