The Liberomancer [Isekai Progression LitRPG]

Now that our first line of defense, the Rank Three offensive spells had been exhausted, it was time for us Rank Three Liberomancers to try what other means we had with our mana exhausted.

"Summons!" came a shout from Drake, signifying that the time was ripe.

I had used up my Rank Three summon, and would be saving the Elephant Frog for when things got dire, but anyone else who could summon something, did.

It suddenly looked like a zoo - or a circus had broken free from the top of the city wall. Most summons were too big to actually keep on the wall effectively, and as such, this was deemed the right time to use them as an assortment of bears, wolves, and things like the Elephant Frog appeared at the foot of the wall and charged into the enemy lines.

I couldn't help but feel a small bit of pride at seeing so many Elephant Frogs in the mix of summons that had been sent out. All of them had been from grimoires I had written and sold, and despite everything I felt a tiny spark of joy knowing that this was the result of something that I had created. It had taken about a hundred hours, maybe more, of me making that grimoire over and over to get money and to swap it for other grimoires - it was quite satisfying to see that bear fruit in other ways.

Also, it was amusing somewhat to imagine how the dryads must be reacting to a living cannonball in the form of a giant frog that was suddenly aimed at them.

There were some very unusual summoned creatures like giant scorpions or snakes mixed in, but that was sort of to be expected. Some people would have unusual summons - maybe from grimoires that had been purchased from long distances away, and others being their own personal creations or secret grimoires passed down through their families.

This line of summons ran into the enemy lines with no regard for their own safety. The dryads attacked back - whether with primitive spears or with their own claws, but they took quite a beating as well.

The summons were able to buy us some time, but the truth of the matter was that there weren't enough of them to hold off the enemy for any significant period of time. Also, because the summons were quite different in terms of size and methods of attack, they could not hold a united front or formation without their being large gaps within it. Even while playing defensively, the dryads could often slip in between gaps created in the line, or simply use them to strike at a summon from the rear or a flank.

The lines of summons began to thin out, after which the dryads were able to pick away at the remaining ones and then surged forward.

It was time for the Rank Two Liberomancers to act once the dryads were within range of them, casting [Fireball]. That, along with arrows and other projectiles rained down on the dryads. Their skin was normally quite tough, but it seemed that a lack of blood had caused it to become somewhat brittle and soft. Arrows pierced through them easily now. That was good, but not enough to stop them.

Whenever my mana would recover to the point where I could cast it which took just under half an hour for a Rank Three spell, I would use [Grand Fireball] again, and the enemy line would be broken before surging forward yet again. During this time when I was casting spells I would stand behind the line of spearmen, near the action, but not directly on the front lines where I would be extremely vulnerable. When not doing so I would retreat towards the rear, behind some kind of shelter and hoping that the line would hold.

It was here that I saw another advantage of being a dedicated fire elementalist - because Drake's spells required less mana to cast, he could recover enough mana to use them quicker than I could as well.

Eventually, the projectiles and even the mana of the Rank Two Liberomancers ran out, and the enemy had reached the ditch that had been dug out in front of the city's wall. It was filled with traps, but although there were screams of pain from the enemy, they crawled over each other in an attempt to get over the wall.

Boiling sand and water was cast down, and the spearmen formed up in ranks.

"Liberomancers, get back!" Drake yelled out. I had drawn my weapon, but was pulled back by someone. "Let the spearmen hold the line - recover your mana!"

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Projectiles now came from the other side as the dryads reached the foot of the wall - slung stones, or arrows, or spears. Given the height difference and the walls, as well as the cover provided by where we stood, very few of them made their mark, though a spearman or two did fall over, needing medical attention.

If only things as convenient as mana potions existed in this world. But alas, there was nothing of the sort, which was why mana-raising grimoires were in such high demand in the first place.

I could only hope that the front gate was holding - though since that was guarded by Lance, it should be the part of the wall that held up the longest.

The fight now turned into an odd slug fest with the spearmen desperately trying to keep the dryads off the wall. The dryads possessed strength greater than that of a human or lizardmen individually and were also bigger than most humans, but they were hindered by their position as well as gravity. Not only that, but the spearmen had the advantage of numbers and a tight formation on their side.

I, and the others, cast [Grand Fireball] whenever we could, after which there was usually a lull in the fighting before more dryads poured in.

Seeing how the tide of battle was going, it did look like we would eventually prevail. But people were falling over left and right, most of them ordinary soldiers, but occasionally a Liberomancer as well.

I had felt fear before, in the earlier skirmishes as well, but this was something entirely different. Earlier, I had been casting spells from a very safe distance while the enemy was reduced to cinders, now, the enemy was practically in my face.

If it weren't for the fact that there was nowhere to go, I won't lie; I might've ran. I had never been in a serious fight before this, let alone a full-scale battle, and the adrenaline was all that was keeping me from potentially keeling over.

And so the rhythm of the battle continued. None of the dryads had managed to get any of their members on top of the wall for more than a few seconds yet, which was good.

At some point in the fighting, a claw would've scratched off a good portion of my face while I was aiming and casting [Grand Fireball] - it was thanks to [Paper Armor] that I ended up taking no damage, but that was an ability that only lasted once a day. I couldn't rely on it again for the rest of the fight. I still had not mastered [Ansoon's Blessing] so using that was out of the question despite how useful it might've been.

Time seemed to slow down as minutes felt like hours, as my heart raced so hard within my chest that it felt like it was going to burst, as I heard screams not only from the enemy, but my own side as well.

Images seemed to meld together into one jarring array of pictures as the fighting continued.

A soldier who was dragged off the wall by a dryad and was never seen again.

A novice Liberomancer who had not aimed a [Fireball] correctly and nearly caught some of our own soldiers in his spell.

The face of an angry dryad as he was pushed off the wall.

The sight of a ladder that had latched onto the wall, with soldiers desperately trying to dislodge it.

Volleys of enemy projectiles would occasionally materialize like sudden bursts of rain on a sunny day causing everyone to duck.

A strange scent filled the air - I took in a deep breath only to realize that it was coming from someone who had soiled themselves. Actually, multiple people might have.

Punctuated through all of this were the blasts of [Grand Fireball] which were always remarkable for the huge explosions they created - and the large gaps in the enemy line they could make. The dryads were always pushed back greatly whenever one of these spells were cast. No wonder every Rank Three Liberomancer was needed for the fight - a few blasts of [Grand Fireball] could oftentimes buy everyone a few minutes, and no doubt had saved countless lives.

The draftsmen were loyally buying time for us to constantly regenerate mana as they kept up a shield wall. I don't know if they resented us for that, thought of us as cowards for hiding behind them, or thought of us as incompetent for being unable to hold back the tide completely in the first place despite how much we touted our expertise as Rank Three Liberomancers. To their credit not once had the line broken as of yet.

The sun seemed to move painfully slow across the sky, as if it knew that we were hoping for nightfall and it was eager to drag out our misery for as long as possible. The weather would've otherwise been quite nice with a cool breeze blowing, but I had already drenched through my clothes completely from how much I was sweating. I had barely had a few mouthfuls for breakfast, and had not had lunch but the adrenaline kept me going without a care for such.

I had also accumulated a number of small injuries- a scratch over my face, I was sure one of my toes on my left foot was broken, and I was likely sporting a bruise on my right shoulder from when an arrow had struck it, though thankfully my armor shielded me from the worst of the blow.

The tip of one of my fingers had been cut off by a stray arrow, and it somewhat bothered me how little it hurt, perhaps because of just how much my mind was caught up in the fighting. My mana was still gone, but a medic was nice enough to patch it up so that the stump stopped bleeding. [Regeneration] would take care of the rest, or I could find a proper healer after the fighting was over to patch that up.

I did not bother the healers on duty with my small wounds. There were others far worse off than I was, people who had lost limbs, for example. And every drop of my own mana had to be committed to offense.

Through all of this, the dryad tide did not seem to thin at all, as for every one we struck down, another dryad quickly took its place.