Chương 872: Chapter 871: Hold The Pass

Aya Bandstone"They are here," said Lt. Holr as the sun began to rise through the sky. They had become visible as they emerged from the trees. It made everyone's expressions sombre as they saw the numbers coming toward us. Knowledge of the size is one thing, but seeing it is entirely different. These are significant numbers, four times as many as us. It is a battalion, consisting of around a thousand men, while mine is a company of two hundred and forty-six people. The difference is enormous.

Meaning they have more mages and higher-level soldiers.

"It is the light armour brigade, led by Lt. Colonel Brewtan." Informed Pollin. Brewtan is Lv—30+ powerhouse. According to information, he is between Lv. 32 to Lv. 34. He is experienced and a veteran of the imperial wars, which are still being fought in the empire. So, he is not an easy enemy; the same goes for his soldiers.

"Any other Lv. 30?" I asked.

"I could not see any, but they are obstructing my view," she replied. It is rare for a brigade to have more than one Lv. 30 in it. Only the special brigades have that, but that's not a guarantee.

"Don't use too many of your spells, conserve your mana," I instructed. With the number of mages the enemy would have, it is wise for my mages to save their mana, because they are going to need every drop they have very soon. Soon, they were barely a mile away when I had decided to address the men.

"The enemies are coming with numbers far greater than us," I said, taking a pause.

"I will not lie, it's going to be a difficult battle, and many of us might die, but that's no excuse to give up and run away like cowards."

"We will fight and hold this pass, because we are the only company in the brigade and the whole damned army that could do this. So, stand your ground and show the enemy what the 9th company is made of!" I shouted, and a moment later, the armoured feet slammed to the ground.

"A little less force would be nice; we don't want to trigger any mines accidentally," I cautioned, bringing the smiles to their somber face. It is also true that heavy movement could trigger the mines. Finally, the army reached us, stopping barely two hundred meters away from us. Right at the edge of our mines and other traps, we had laid out. A man stepped forward; he looked to be in his late thirties, with a handsome face and long hair. He has an envious jaw and pale blue eyes, calculating eyes.

"Captain Bandstone, I assume?" he asked in a thick accent, with a voice that was gentle, but hard at the same time. It's not a skill; the skills could bring such effects, but here it does not seem like a skill, or maybe he is very good at hiding the power of the skill. I have seen people with such control.

"Yes," I replied, to which he smiled.

"I hope the good Captain and her company would lay down your weapons, and I promise you all, on my Lord Marquess ' name, that you all will be treated fairly and no harm will come to you," he said with a gentle smile.

"I, too, have an offer, Lt. Colonel Brewtan. Return to where you had come from, and we won't do anything to your men," I replied with a sweet smile.

"Captain, you should understand the circumstances. You and your company won't last long, and there will be needless deaths," he said, shaking his head.

"I understand it very clearly, Lt. Colonel. That is why I am asking you to go back to where you came from." I replied, and he sighed, before his gentle expressions hardened.

"Attack!" he roared.

"Attack!" I ordered, and two cannons on the hills roared. At the same time, they attacked our cannons, us, and the ground, which began to explode, and destroyed the traps as they moved forward toward us. Their experience could be seen through their efficiency and ease. I looked at the arrows and the spells coming toward us. We do not have archers in the company, and our mages didn't cast any spells either.

"Iron Wall Formation!" I commanded, and immediately, the shields moved forward and skills roared. I activated Shield Wall, Cover Ally, and Redirect Path, which is the last skill I had received when I had advanced to Lv. 29. It's an excellent skill, similar to Cover Ally, but different. I saw many spells and arrows moving toward my people. Many of them are focused toward me, on top of those already targeting me. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"Don't," I said to Pollin, who was moving to cast the defensive spell. He is behind me, but I could feel him moving to cast a spell. I did not want him to; he needs to save his mana. Yes, there are a lot of spells and arrows, but I could defend them. In the past half a year, I had been stuck in Lv. 29, but that doesn't mean my progress had stagnated. I had improved in the other fronts. The attacks reached us, and the first one struck against my shield.

It absorbed the blow with only a mild shake, but the next moment, several of them struck at once. Spells of different elements, arrows with different skills attached to them. A loud sound rang, and I felt the power of the attack striking my shield. Its enchantment lit up, and I also pushed my skills in defending against them. I had defended against a Grade IV spell in the battle with worst gear than this. Now, the shield is triple-enchanted, and I can use my skill more flexibly. Not to mention my training.

I had not only trained my people but also trained myself hard. Still, I am taking on more of the barrage than anyone else, and it is pressing me hard, but I have the skill Reinforced Bones to absorb such force. The volley stopped, and I saw the enemy already covered halfway across the ground between us. I could see their faces through the dust, but they were moving forward, crushing through the mines and traps. Though not without a cost, their mages cast spell after spell to clear the route of any danger.

I was expecting another attack, but the Lt. Colonel is smart. Seeing how we have defended against the first volley, he decided against launching another attack. Still, they are launching attacks at the cannons, which are relentlessly bombarding them. If not for the shield constantly defending against it. They would have caused many casualties. They are trying to strike the cannon, but it's hard, considering the protective guard around it.

It limits the cannons' mobility, but they have only a small area to fire from. So, it's not a significant compromise. I thought a company or two would split off to charge toward the cannons, but it's not something even they want to do, which is regretful. We have put quite nasty surprises in there. Even with the help of mages, climbing the hill would be nasty. A second passed after another; the mines blasted, the traps broken, the enemy moving forward.

Their forms are enveloped in dusk, but I could feel them getting close. Finally, they came out of the dust, with barely ten meters between us.

"Last chance, Captain," he said, and now there is no smile on his face.

"The answer is the same, Lt. Colonel," I replied.

"Then don't blame me for what happens next," he said, and came at me. There was no roar or words, but his army moved efficiently and with experience. The spells came along with arrows and with the men behind them. Now, we cannot hide behind the shield. We have to defend against the spells and arrows, but also against the company that is descending on us.

"Holdfast formation," I commanded, and the shield moved forward in the first line, but also with a gap for weapons. My mages finally acted, filling the gaps in our defences with the defensive spells. I am glad I chose the mages with the array of defensive spells. The attacks are good, but that's what we armoured soldiers are for; the mages' job to defend us against the attacks, that we cannot. The spells and arrows struck against our shield; I defended it with the Shield Wall and shield enchantments.

By the time, I defended against the last arrow. They have arrived in front of us; the enemies are in formation like ours, but we are in a better position. The pass is narrow, so that only around fifty people can pass through at one time. Which is excellent for us armoured warriors. Our purpose is not to kill or even to win; it is simply to defend the pass. Brewtan looked at me and attacked without hesitation. His blue enchanted sabre gleamed under the sun as it came at me at incredible speed. This is a Lv.

30+ warrior. It is powerful. I responded immediately and swung my blade, activating Heavy Slash and Edge Blade. His blade shone brightly, flashing that light into my eyes, turning me blind. I do not have eye skills, so I closed my eyes, letting my feelings guide my blade. At the same time, Shield Wall was activated. My blade clashed against his sword, while a long lightning bolt and a large fireball hit my shield, both of which created a shock powerful enough to break my bones.

Thanks to Reinforced Bones, they didn't, but shock affected me. He used that and attacked again, but a moment later, a faint surprise flashed in his eyes. Likely because of how quickly I had reacted or the speed and power of the attack. I do not have a reflex skill, but I have been told that my reaction speed is greater than that of an average warrior. Though I believe it is due to power and speed. It's equal to that of average early Lv. 30. Iron Rebuttal.

The skill gives me half the power of the enemy attack to attack them immediately after taking their attack. It's a fantastic skill; I don't reveal it early, but here, there is no other choice. My blade clashed against his, while at the same time, spells crashed against my shield. They are targeting me. This time, I didn't use the Cover Ally. Instead, I used the Redirect Path. So, they would hit the shield, not me.

"Your information; it's true," he said, sounding surprised. I am surprised as well. I don't think the enemy has enough information about me to be surprised. It kind of made me feel weird. I didn't reply and just watched him, while defending the spells with my shield.

"You might be good, but nothing is going to save you today, Captain," he said, and attacked me even faster than before, and there is a twinkle in his eyes that made me feel like he might try something. Our blades clashed, and with it, something hit me along with the sound and force. Weight. Suddenly, I felt my body's weight increase by 100 kilograms. It is huge when I am already wearing full-body armor, a tower shield, and a great sword. He grinned and attacked almost immediately.

These kinds of skills are powerful, but they come with a timer; he will have at most a second or two before he has to attack me again, or the weight will start to increase. I moved my sword and could see the surprise in his eyes, not because I am swinging with Iron Rebuttal, but because I am swinging it, despite the weight. Our blades clashed, and I looked at him. He will have to do better than use a mental skill. It would have been effective if the skill had given me real weight rather than just mental weight.

Before the medication, every movement was torturous for me; I had struggled to harness every bit of strength. Compared to that, this is nothing. He didn't say anything and attacked me once more, and I defended before attacking with the power of Iron Rebuttal while defending the spells with my shield. I am doing well, so is my men. We are fighting with discipline, holding the line steady against our enemies, even though they have a larger number and greater strength.

'All that bone-breaking training is paying off,' said Lt. Pollin from behind. I couldn't nod, since I am fighting the enemy, but I did smile a little. I had pushed my people really hard, so some transferred out of the company, but those who stayed trained, and the result is now visible to all. It couldn't help but make me proud of them. A minute passed, and then another. We kept fighting, when I noticed something. Brewtan's lips curved ever so slightly, and all the hair on my body stood up. I could feel it was bad.

I have been watching him, and this is not a change without a cause.

'Everyone, be careful, something is coming,' I warned. The next moment, my Dangersense blared, and the moment after, they descended on us.