Spiritbound [Spirit Magic, Military, Progression] (Book 1 Complete)

"Push them back!" Tucker split the golem in half as a green light enveloped his weapon, the metal cutting smoothly through the stone like a knife through butter.

Luka held onto his kite shield and bashed one golem off the wall while kicking another off the ledge. "Stay together! Don't let these bastards pull you off the walls with them!"

"Understood!" Jones gathered the first group and formed a line.

The men remained close together, shoulder to shoulder as the golems hurled themselves over the ledge. Their stone bodies landed between the cannons and released a bone-rattling screech. Yet the soldiers remained unfazed. The first line raised their shields with their swords drawn while the second held the javelins through the gaps and pierced the golems that lunged at them. The stone bodies crumbled one after another as the grey mana crystal shattered into dust.

Auras of various colors flared from the rear lines, and seeing the high morale, Tucker knew he could focus on the foes in front of him. The plan was simple: he and Luka would be at the forefront while the Thirty-First would provide support from the back.

Several more hands gripped onto the ledge of the wall as Tucker glared at the golems. The heat from the cannons sizzled in the background, and the smoke clung to his throat with each breath. He tightly clung to his sword, releasing the emerald aura around his body. As the golems stood on the wall, he dashed forth and swung his blade. The emerald energy came to life and raced outwards in a wide arc, tearing through the foes in half, but as they fell, another line appeared.

He glanced at the other walls, watching as a soldier was dragged over the ledge. Their screams drowned out by the ongoing battle as the golems dug into his body, their hands ripping flesh and flinging blood in a savage frenzy. The gruesome sight caused the men to gulp, but Tucker raised his voice. "Focus on what's in front of you! Liam, I need you to make sure those cannons in the back are still firing!"

"We're almost out of rounds!" Liam replied.

"Then get more!"

Tucker swung his sword and deflected the golem's claw to the side. He stepped back, narrowly ducking a second strike. With the opening created, the men of the Thirty-First thrusted their weapons through the hearts of their foes. Dust emerged from their bodies as the stone crumpled onto the ground.

Luka gritted his teeth, splitting a golem in half with his blade. "How many more of these things are there?!"

"Too many!" Tucker shouted as he kicked a golem back into their cluster. At first, there were five golems appearing at a time, then ten. Now there were over twenty climbing over the ledges at once. He clicked his tongue as his back pressed against Luka's. "We need to create space."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Luka asked.

Tucker cut down several more golems. The numbing sensation in his hands grew stronger as his blade met stone. "We need to re-establish the defensive lines on the curtains."

His friend met his gaze with doubt. "You want us to split our forces?"

"Yes, you take group one to the right. Eric will take group three to the left." Tucker's voice was firm and clear. Loud enough for the other men to hear and they all agreed. Something had to change.

Luka looked away from Tucker and cursed. "God dammit… alright! I'll send the second group up, and we'll make our way to the curtains."

Tucker nodded as the two groups slowly retreated. He kept his gaze on the golems, hacking and slashing away as the skin on the palms of his hands tore. Tucker bashed the golem with the end of his sword. Fragments of earth covered his vision as Benjamin raced up the steps and slammed his great hammer through several bodies.

"How's the gate doing?" Tucker asked with sweat dripping down his chin.

"The gates are fine. It was a wise decision to block the entire thing off with stone bricks." Benjamin glared at the golems through the visor of his circular helmet. He twirled his weapon in his hand before whacking the golems that hurled themselves towards him. "We need to conserve our strength. The Empire is using these toys to weaken us."

"Easier said than done." Tucker stayed close to the second group and raised his blade. "How are we feeling?"

"Better than ever!"

The men kept their shields in front of their bodies and pointed their swords at the stone monstrosities. Their armor shined beneath the sunlight, while the green tabards snapped in the wind. They had formed a steady shieldwall in an instant, but for some reason, the golems stood still. Their movements had changed, and it seemed like they weren't mindlessly rushing at them anymore. Instead, all of them were gathering at the tip of the bastion.

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Tucker scanned the horizon, but through the thick clouds of dust, he couldn't see anything. A silence filled the bastion, one that made the hair on the back of their necks stand. Their side had roughly a hundred men. They had a numeric advantage, but blindly charging their fools didn't seem right.

He looked over his shoulder and saw that the archers had positioned themselves on the rooftops. Their bowstrings drawn back and ready with a single word. Tucker kept his sword in the air, the eerie stillness taking over the chaos. Everywhere around them, men were fighting. Dying for a cause while they were frozen in a standstill. The tension was thick and the taste of iron was heavy in the air.

In the blink of an eye, the golems let out a screech. One that caused the ground to tremble as the men stood still. They rushed forth like an unstoppable tide, but soon met a swift end as Tucker swung his sword down.

"Loose!"

With a single word, countless arrows rained down from the sky. Their arrowheads gleamed in the light as the feathers tore through the empty space.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Each aimed true, piercing into the bodies of the golems as they fell one after another, but the moment the first wave fell, the next rushed forth. Their stone bodies hammered against the shields of the Thirty-First. Tucker stayed by his men and infused his aura into their bodies. His metal boots skidded back several inches as they braced themselves.

They were being pushed back. Little by little, they were losing ground. It didn't matter to the golems how many fell, as more would rise and take their place. They had stopped for a bit only because they wanted each wave to be filled to the brim.

Tucker gritted his teeth. He needed to do something. Gale was still circling in the sky, but his companion by itself didn't have enough power to consistently tear through the golems. His heart raced as he searched for answers that didn't come.

It was at that moment a shadow loomed over them. His eyes shifted up, and all he saw was Benjamin leaping through the air and directly into the cluster of golems. The hammer in Benjamin's hands crackled with thunder. It seemed as if something had manifested behind the Knight Slayer, a ferocious beast with sharp claws and fangs that sought to tear apart everything in its path.

Golden strings of essence were raging above them, and with a loud bang, the golems were blown off the bastion. Their bodies flying in every direction as Benjamin lifted his hammer from the scorched rubble. He gazed at Tucker and shouted. "Captain!"

Tucker's focus snapped back into place as he rushed forth. "Charge!"

The men yelled in unison as they rushed forth, slashing at whatever foes dared to climb over the wall. Tucker cut down whatever he could and pushed with the Thirty-First until they grouped up with Benjamin. They had reclaimed a section of the bastion, but no matter how many they destroyed, more kept climbing.

Tucker gritted his teeth. There wasn't a point in saving his essence and the only thing he could do was manifest the single thread he could in his free hand. He carefully condensed the thread as the soldiers desperately fought to gain ground. Their screams and blood dying the battlefield in chaos. The protective armor they wore was slowly being chipped apart piece by piece and soon would lose their power.

Tucker finally connected the thread as he steadied his breathing. Before the sixth wave could scale the ledge, a tornado manifested at the end of the bastion. Pulling whatever it could into its embrace.

"Hold!" Tucker shouted as his men grabbed onto one another and wedged their blades between the stone bricks. The tornado was slowly moving away and pulling a large portion of the golems away, but that could only buy time. He didn't have a way to destroy them.

Tucker swallowed his saliva and struggled to maintain focus. His gaze shifted to the curtains but was soon blocked by Benjamin.

"Trust your men," he said. "They will carry out their orders. You just need to focus on this."

Tucker nodded, and soon he saw Benjamin hover his hand over the wind thread that consistently spun in place. Before he could even react, a new golden thread shimmered into existence above the palm of his hand.

"This…" Tucker stood there in confusion and stabbed his sword into the ground before placing his hand over his heart. "There's no pain?" He stared at the tornado that crackled with electricity in confusion, then at Benjamin.

"Mixing spirit essence causes conflict, but when threads exist in harmony, then the impossible becomes a distant dream." Benjamin gazed at the few golems that remained, nodding in approval as the soldiers cleaned up the mess.

Tucker watched the veteran raise the hammer and rest it over his shoulder. The old man's gaze remained fixated towards the Empire. Dust and dirt covered their bodies, and all around the walls, they were slowly gaining ground. The cannons at the rear of the bastions continued to hammer away at the golems, leaving a mountain of pulverized stone at the base of the curtains.

It felt like a victory, but Benjamin didn't relax a single bit.

Tucker stared at the clouds of dust and shouted. "Form up on the walls! I want everyone on guard!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Thirty-First formed their ranks as the archers on the rooftops went to support the men fighting on the curtains. From the corner of Tucker's eye, he could see Jess and her squad swiftly moving through the back of the walls, carrying any injured soldier they could find.

He didn't know why Benjamin was so focused on the front, but soon a chill ran down his spine. Through the sounds of steel meeting stone—through the sounds of yelling and cannon fire—drums were being struck in a steady beat. The tornado in front of them obscured their vision and destroyed hundreds of golems. It roared but soon split apart like someone had cut it clean in half.

Tucker gazed at the threads that faded from his hand, his heart pounding. Out of the rolling clouds of dust, large rectangular towers emerged like giants from a waking dream. The groaning structures of timber and iron scraping against the stone rubble beneath the fortress. Armored soldiers stood along their tiers without uttering a single word, as hundreds of bowstrings were drawn from the top of each tower. Crimson flags fluttered in the wind with three crossing swords and their own respective insignias.

The men at the front desperately rushed forth to man the cannons.

"No!" Tucker reached out his hand, hopelessly shouting to stop them, but it was too late. The arrows shrouded with aura pierced through their bodies one by one. Their dying screams echoed in his ears as blood seeped out of their wounds.