NOVEL NEXT 230 – Retaking the Fort (Part 2)
“Down, down! Gather at the citadel entrance as planned!” yelled Alissa to the rest of her group when she noticed the second fourth tier demon on their side of the wall jump down and flee towards the citadel in the center of the Fort complex. She herself put her words to actions as she shifted to the right, shoving away a pair of weak demons in her way, then jumped straight down from the walkway she was on.
In her previous life – she had gotten more used to thinking of her life in the previous world that way – she would never have considered such a leap. A fifty-foot fall or thereabouts was more than plenty to kill a person barring exceptional circumstances, yet the way she landed on her feet and simply flexed away the impact of the landing with her leg muscles further hammered down in her mind just how inhuman her body had become.
Not that the rest of her party was any lesser than she was.
Nadine, Moira, and Maribel all landed directly on the ground like Alissa did, the first two bleeding off the momentum of the impact the same way she did, while Maribel twirled around like a dancer and settled down far more gracefully, if taking a bit longer to do so. Ormont was clearly not confident in doing the same, so he hopped down to a landing halfway down the wall and to the ground from here instead.
They rushed to chase after the escaping demon, but the demon was far ahead of them by that point, so instead they headed towards the citadel while slaughtering the demons on their way. Above, on the walkway, the third tiers allocated to support them already reached the breach they formed and were pushing the demons back, and similar sights could be seen on the other walls other than the southern one.
Alissa also noticed how two more demons fled from Ethan’s side of the wall, shortly followed by Ethan’s group themselves. Apparently they also only got one of the demons on their side of the wall like Alissa did. It was a bit of a shame, as she had hoped to be able to take down more of the fourth tier demons on the wall where they have local superiority, but taking two down was better than none, she guessed.
As Alissa fought, she noticed how Mother Magdalene led a detachment of fourth tier priests and guards from the temple, the old matron directly jumping down from the northern wall’s walkway and continuing her rush into the throng of demons before her without missing a beat. The shield and mace in the old woman’s hand clearly no less deadly on account of her age, given how she made short work of every demon before her, with at least two fourth tier demons fleeing her wrath.
Even the temple’s elites had a hard time catching up with the old matron, who advanced at a downright reckless pace in her fervor, though Alissa had to admit that Mother Magdalene had what it took to maintain such a brutal pace.
Sir DelVillar led the strike team that breached the eastern walls and landed heavily, ensconced within his armor of stone as usual. He led the fourth tiers with him on a steadier pace rather than rush out with the militant fervor shown by Mother Magdalene, ensuring that everyone was following behind him rather than rushing out.
As for Sir Inolet, he was not present because he led the ambush team to the south of the fort. Out of the veteran fourth tiers present he was the one most capable in delivering powerful attacks over a large area. Magus Drummond went with him, as did other fourth tiers who were suited to the ambush team and others to support them.
The three strike teams converged a short distance away from the citadel, where even from the distance Alissa could feel the mana of many strong demons, likely in the fourth tier themselves. The demons had stationed themselves on the defense like the humans once did back at Fort Silvia, with a few fourth tiers on each wall and the rest on standby in the center, and that failed on them.
Because of course the Kingdom’s side would have thought out countermeasures to their own tactics, for when some smart demon thought to adopt them for their own use.
“How many did you get on your way here?” asked Sir DelVillar as the strike teams gathered together, forming a thirty-strong group of fourth tiers likely capable of flattening anything in their path, unless faced with a similarly powerful team. “We took down three on our side, but another three got lucky and escaped our grasp.”
“Two,” stated Mother Magdalene, almost spitting her next words with vehement disgust. “The cowards fled before one once we killed off the nearest one. There should be three of them escaping here as well.”
“Also two on our side,” volunteered Alissa. “Similarly, three escaped. They were too far away for us to catch up to.”
“So what’s the plan now? Do we barge in or do you have another thing in mind, Sir DelVillar?” asked Mother Magdalene as she rested her hefty mace – the mace head was as large as her own head – on her shoulder. “There shouldn’t be more than twenty-five of them left inside, if that. I am pretty certain we got a few on the way here.”
“As you said, Mother Magdalene, we barge in,” said Sir Delvillar with an amused tone. “There’s no point for fanciful tactics or maneuvers now that we possess a decisive strength advantage. Everyone good at breaking doors down, gather by the citadel’s gate, please!” said the old knight right after. “We would have to trouble you to open the door for us.”
Ethan and Mother Magdalene herself, amongst others, walked over to the closed gate of the citadel, along with three other fourth tiers, all armed with heavy bludgeons, mauls, or maces. The five of them lined up next to each other and exchanged a look before they started hammering on the closed gates of the citadel with all their might, the five synchronizing their timing to strike together.
The first strike caused a deafening sound to echo and shook dust seemingly off the entire side of the citadel, bathing the group below with it. The second strike made an even louder noise, as well as the tortured creaking of metal being forced to its limits. The third strike directly blew the gates right off its hinges, leaving the entrance wide open for use.
As the group had predicted, the surviving demon fourth tiers – and a group of demons who were at the cusp of reaching fourth tier as well – were gathered in the citadel, and a storm of magic and projectiles welcomed the group as they entered through the breached gates. Those skilled in defense stepped to the front and took the brunt of the assault with their shields and barriers, however, causing the attack to peter out impotently before them.
Sir DelVillar himself was leading right at the front, relying on his impenetrable stone armor to directly take on multiple spells and strikes without a care. He swung his polemace and pushed one of the demons back, as the other fourth tiers behind him charged out from behind the cover of their allies and joined the fighting as well.
Within moments a chaotic melee took place within the citadel, but the demons were quickly pushed back, as they were fewer in number and weaker in power. None of the demons were able to match up with the likes of Sir DelVillar or Mother Magdalene, which allowed the two to rampage amongst them like a pair of lions set loose amidst a flock of sheep.
