Another general wearing golden armor joined in, he was from the beastfolk, his lion face struck fear into anyone.
Everyone was attentive, as well as cautious, the best thing would be to attack with everything, but at the same time it was risky, the enemy could be far greater in number than expected. Maybe the enemy was watching and waiting for everyone to get tired so they could send the royal troops.Or it could just be these monsters, I don't know.
The amount was at least double the first attack, at least I thought so, since I only saw some piles of corpses and I wasn't there for the first attack.
The generals were talking, they were serious and seemed to be discussing some plan.
"You should test your sword at some point, it'll be good to get back to training, especially now that you know you have a duel."
"You're right, but first I'll give cover and, when I run out of mana, I'll join the fight."
More people came and joined the fighting force.
"There are children here," said a woman with a bow.
She wasn't just talking about Jasly and me, there were several other children, though being 12 years old isn't that much of a child, three more years and I would already be of age.
"That one there is stronger than you," a man said, pointing at me.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you blind? Look at his medal, it's gold and yours is silver, so he outranks you in the guild hierarchy."
The woman stopped talking. She stood next to me on the wall, I didn't feel uncomfortable, but she seemed to.
The attack began, the monsters started coming toward us, they were running and some carried weapons like bows, axes and pieces of wood. Even with weapons, it's hard to defeat an enemy that is strong and greater in number.
"Mages and archers, attack and give cover to the knights and warriors," the lion-headed general shouted as he charged toward the enemy.
"I was never very good with aim, so I'll make the fireballs smaller," I said, looking at Jasly.
"You, always neglecting the basics."
"You're not good with smaller attacks either."
"Yes, I'm neglecting them too," she laughed.
She managed to alternate her attacks, she used some tornados at longer range, which helped slow down the enemy troops, then used wind magic to slice the limbs off some nearby monsters, that way she was quite useful.
I used fireballs and fire arrows, explosion magic was risky, so I focused on smaller and closer attacks, but I missed some, then I shifted to longer-range attacks and managed to cut down the enemy numbers a bit. But I was much slower compared to Jasly, she kept firing attack after attack, she never stopped, it was as if she never got tired and had an endless supply of mana.
Little by little I was getting tired and the number of monsters didn't seem to have decreased.
So far we had no casualties, only wounded, but the healing mages managed to ease the pain and injuries, though they would still need further care. Mana is a scarce resource, at least for some, Jasly was the exception.
Then, two guards were killed, they couldn't be healed, the monsters tore them apart.
A third was hurled against the wall, the force was so great that he was completely crushed.
The battlefield was cruel, at the beginning it was easy, just injuries, but later, people dying.
"I'm almost out of mana, give me cover," I said as I jumped and pulled my sword from the item bag, it felt lighter, or maybe it was just my impression.
My movements were faster, my strikes light and precise, I missed this.
With magic I hadn't killed more than thirty monsters, but with the sword I managed to cut down at least fifty in less time. It was as if the sword was controlling my arm, I didn't feel like I was in command, but at the same time, it did everything I wanted. It was strange, but it was exciting.
I was rusty, even with training, I had been away from the battlefield, no longer fighting for my life nor for the lives of my companions. So it had been only fights without much value, just training, that's how I saw what I did. That's why this moment was different, I felt alive.
I kept attacking, little by little my movements grew slower, my body was tiring, so I started to move more slowly, but it felt like my body disagreed. Somehow, my body knew what was best for me, more than I did myself.
"Kill, keep killing, your body will be healed if you kill more," I heard a female voice say. I couldn't see who it was, but it was surely some crazy healing mage.
I kept slaying, little by little my body was being renewed, the fatigue was fading, it felt like I had received some healing magic with a status boost, or something like that. I remember Bedelia had already used something like that on me.
I couldn't see who used the magic, I wanted to thank the person.
I kept on attacking, more and more the enemies were dwindling, I didn't stop, I kept advancing. I didn't look to the side, I just felt where I should go and let my body use the sword. It was like a dance.
"Advance further!" one of the generals shouted.
The warriors and swordsmen were charging at the monsters, but the monsters were fleeing.
The archers and long-range mages finished off some of the remaining monsters.
At least the southern gates were safe, now the others...
"You did well, you showed you're a true swordsman. Bedelia did a good job training you," Jasly said as she placed her right hand on my shoulder.
"Just thinking of her makes me tremble, I feel a chill down my spine when I'm next to her, I think I've never felt that in any other situation."
The woman with the bow kept looking at me, she felt embarrassed, but said nothing, just looked and then left with the man who was with her.
"I hope I never see that woman again, all she does is offend, but you managed to leave her speechless."
"Who are you?" the lion-headed general asked.
"I'm Lian and she is Jasly," I replied, the man was a bit intimidating.
"What you did on the battlefield was incredible, anyone else would have collapsed from exhaustion, but you held on," he said looking at me. "You too, from what some mages described, you have infinite mana," he said looking at Jasly. "If you ever want to join the royal army, you'll be welcome."
I was lying down, thinking about that man's words, it would be very interesting, to say the least, to join the royal army. Many privileges, but also all the work and the risk of dying in battle. In fact, I was already running that risk as an adventurer.
"Still thinking about it?"
"Yes, still thinking about the offer. But I won't accept, at least not yet."
"Not yet?"
"Yes, I plan to enter the Academy, so I'll have to wait. But I might change my mind and not even consider joining the army."
"I really hope you change your mind and don't join, because I don't want to join."
"Would you feel obligated to join if I did?"
"You're a bit slow with some matters, aren't you?"
She stopped talking and I kept thinking about her last sentence, I didn't understand.
I pulled the sword from the item bag to clean it, actually for Jasly to use purification magic on it. I didn't want to have to clean a sword, but that was necessary. Dirty swords usually rust and lose their edge faster. I wanted to take very good care of this sword, since it was the most beautiful I'd ever had.
But the sword was completely clean, not a drop of blood. I kept looking for some stain, but nothing.
"What happened?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to clean it, but it's already clean."
"It must have some crystal programmed for cleaning, or dirt absorption, like the one Bedelia uses."
I hadn't thought of that, but it was true. For the price, the sword should have that and also some enchantment to always keep it sharp. That's the only way to justify the cost. Even though it was a rare metal, it was still very expensive.
I let it go, Jasly had already used purification magic on me, I was very clean and just wanted to sleep. On the battlefield I hadn't felt tired. Actually, I did feel very tired, but the fatigue vanished and decided to come back now.
I lay down and blacked out.
I had a strange dream, I was in a field of flowers, then I was on top of a waterfall, I was sitting watching the sunset, I stayed sitting and watched the stars appear and then the moon, it was very bright, but its color kept changing, little by little it turned blue and finally, it became a vivid blue. It brought me great peace.
The silence of the night was interrupted by a woman, she was floating in the sky, with long black hair, the strands were straight and floated, as if they were dancing to some melody only they knew.
She wore a tiara shaped like a moon, covering her forehead, in her right hand she carried a fan, it looked fragile, but at the same time it gave the impression of being a weapon, there was some thirst for blood in that fan. The cloak looked light, it floated and some star patterns seemed to move, like the sky itself. All her clothing contrasted with her pale skin, she didn't seem alive, but at the same time, the beauty she had was not of a dead woman.
"Celdri, you need to wake up," she knew my name, not the human name my human parents gave me, she knew my true name. A name I almost never used, I was always called Demon Lord, even by my own demon parents.
I woke from sleep and felt my body being pressed.
"What are you doing?" Jasly shouted, when I opened my eyes I saw the woman from my dreams, but now she was naked and on top of me.