We were preparing to leave; our numbers had been swelled by Lombardi's soldiers. We had a thousand soldiers in total. The blacksmiths were excited when I explained the vehicles they had to build and how to do it. They saw it as a challenge and promised that we would soon have mortars, tanks, and even airplanes.
There was a huge amount of explosives, which I now plan to use. I have Lombardi to thank for that, as he uses a crush-by-pressure strategy. His tactics consist of causing disarray among the enemy with explosives, dividing them, and crushing them with heavy units.
But in this case, the main strategy could only be carried out by my men for the most part, since the cities of this world are surrounded by a wall the size of a skyscraper and although it sounds stupid, our objective at this moment was to climb it. The boys had had a lot of training in this regard, in order to be able to prepare for this moment. Upon hearing this, Azumi offered to use her magic to lift Ashley and many others to achieve even greater speed for the assault.
Our plan was simple: take the wall completely, surround them, and finish them off. Then we'd prepare for defense. This time, there was no way to hide, so we had to rely on the snipers to provide cover. Lombardi's machine guns were very helpful, as they would draw the attention for a few moments, but they wouldn't be very effective until we climbed the wall.
This is very different from what we did in the trenches. For starters, the distance being greater meant the noise wouldn't hide us. The wall is also much wider and has many more soldiers, not counting the machine guns that will besiege Lombardi once the battle begins.
The pasture was green, the day was cloudy, the birds were still singing, and the wind felt fresh. The snipers camouflaged themselves with the earth, and Lombardi waited for everything to begin before setting up his machine guns.
As soon as we approached the wall, the alarm went off and the snipers opened fire. Lombardi and his men began firing at point-blank range in distant areas where we were passing and were about to pass, so as not to receive friendly fire.
We returned fire while running, but just reaching the wall was an ordeal. Since its surface wasn't uniform, the wall would have been easy to scale if not for its height, but that wasn't a problem; they had trained for it, and worse, they had done it alongside Mason.
We began to climb the wall. I used my magic to quickly propel myself up. Mason's team put on a show of strength, quickly jumping using their hands. Still, the first to climb was Ashley, who was propelled up by Azumi using her hands, as if throwing a javelin.
For the soldiers on the wall, it was a complete surprise, as many realized we had already begun to arrive in just seconds thanks to Azumi; they couldn't react in time. As soon as they saw the green hair, they were already dead. For a few moments, she was surrounded, but the team arrived to save her; then I arrived, and periodically those Azumi was leading also arrived. Azumi is very fast, even seeming to run along the wall. The enemy, seeing this, focused on her and fired at her. We tried to kill all those who were aiming at her, but she was wounded in the back by numerous bullets. Even so, she didn't stop.
We raced along the wall, advancing quickly, preventing them from forming a defense they could sustain. We had them in disarray and afraid. Fifteen minutes had passed, and all my men had made it to the top.
We reached the central platform, where the first royal route into the city lay. There were heavy machine guns on the wall, and we had to take cover among the enemy's bodies; we were surrounded and in a bad situation.
At that moment, Azumi leaped in front of everyone, still untreated for her wounds, and using her naginata, she slashed the throat of the first person she saw. The group of entrenched soldiers tried to shoot her, but it was too late. Azumi quickly eliminated them without using magic, only with the skill derived from her training.
We ran to give her support, she was shot in the shoulder and fell to her knees, Ashley blew the head off the one who shot Azumi.
We ran towards it, I gestured with my hand for the soldiers to continue cleaning the wall, they opened the gate and Lombardi's men entered through the now-cleaned tower, the guards on the ground didn't stand a chance against the hail of bullets that rained down on them.
"Azumi, how are you?" I asked as I approached her.
"I'm... fine... I can still go..." he replied. She was already bleeding heavily, and the wound on her shoulder was no exception.
"I'll treat you. Everyone else go ahead. This isn't the time to let up on the pressure!" Doc shouted as he laid her on her back.
"You did great!" Ashley added as she ran off.
She was holding a sniper rifle and in an area that really wasn't very profitable, but her aim and agility take great advantage of the weapon's power.
We all fought to make our way through the entire wall, it had four gates, one each to the south, north, east and west, we had already taken three, we only needed one more.
The enemy had already unified and responded with great force, forcing us to retreat and take up positions. Their troops were gaining ground thanks to the shields they used as mobile cover.
At that moment, Ashley looked at Mason. He nodded, and she jumped off, dropping a rope. Mason grabbed it, acting as an anchor. Ashley ran along the wall, holding onto the rope, and jumped over.
He fired several times from the sky before hitting the ground, Mason took advantage of the opening and fired bursts that left dozens of corpses in their wake.
We practically rammed into the enemies when Ashley hit the ground, a few soldiers tried to flee, but were shot in the back.
Lombardi was still firing at the soldiers trying to leave the city or enter the wall; we had completely surrounded them. I ordered my men to dig a trench just outside the wall and place remote explosives at the entrances to the city.
Mason's men and I ran to the city's command center, which was actually a base on the outskirts of the city. The base was already suffering heavy casualties, as Lombardi was throwing explosives from the damn wall. Exterminating the remaining soldiers was a simple task.
The sound of drums could be heard, and the people of the city, who didn't know what was happening, were protesting, hiding in their homes.
We had won, we had taken the city in eight hours of battle. The city was indeed enormous. If it weren't for the energy of these monsters, it would have taken us days; Ashley and I could barely keep up.
I climbed up the wall, Lombardi and the red-haired woman who now that I remember didn't tell me her name, were there.
—We intercepted information, three companies of eighty thousand soldiers and puppets are two hours away from here —Lombardi warned.
"How are we doing with the trenches?" I asked.
"We have six lines of trenches now," he replied.
"I ordered them to place explosives both inside and outside the trenches," I reminded them.
"How many explosives per sector?" Lombardi asked.
—Divide them up, put them all in, I replied.
—HA HA HA! Music to my ears. —Lombardi left the tower to carry out my orders.
"That was quite a fight. Aren't you afraid the fire god will come himself again?" the redhead said.
—If so, I'll fight again. Staying hidden or training isn't an option. This was the moment to attack, and I had to take advantage of it.
—Well, luckily for you, he's afraid of me, that's why he doesn't come.
—I don't think you've introduced yourself before. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Sean Dorvin, general of the resistance forces. I fight for a better future where innocent people no longer suffer, where the tyrant can no longer harm people. I do this because I can't stand to see innocent people suffer.
—You can say whatever you want, but I saw your smile, you enjoy it.
—Yes. Of course, it's my victory. I don't enjoy causing harm as such, but I do enjoy it when those who oppose peace are brought to their knees and have to trample on their own pride to continue existing. I consider them scum who deserve to die in the most horrible way possible.
—Still, there are soldiers who died today who were forced to fight, and there will be many more.
—However, what they do and what they represent causes suffering among their own people, treating them like slaves. They didn't seek an alternative, they didn't betray their own comrades. They decided to turn their weapons on us for their own lives. That's selfish and cowardly, because they're not just targeting us; they're aiming to turn the lives of thousands into hell.
—I don't think I've ever met anyone who thinks like you.
—You can't give your all worrying about him, the one pointing a gun at you. They're the enemy, period.
"I am the last Dragon of the ancient era, though I was only a little girl back then. I belonged to a family of dragons who ruled over other dragons, at the pinnacle of power. My name is Jane Drangleic."
—A pretty name, Jane. May I ask why you're going to fight to defeat the fire god?
—He deserves to die and I would hate myself more if I did nothing to kill him.
"Hate you more?" I asked.
—That's not your problem —He ran away from my question again.
The conversation ended after that. The enemy army could already be seen marching across the green steppe, wearing orange uniforms. The puppets were in front, and the soldiers were marching behind them.
We barely had them in range from the trenches when we opened fire, but with their numbers, they exerted pressure, forcing us to retreat towards the walls.
The boys and a few other soldiers, including the white-haired Private Frost, stayed behind to cover the retreat, which was successful. We had wounded, but not many deaths; we still had 900 active soldiers, and although they were already tired, they continued to give their all.
We moved all over the trench, delaying the enemy, making their lives impossible. The enemy ran all over the place trying to avoid the hail of shrapnel raining down on them from the wall, so for us it was simply a hunting task.
Frost and his friend were also moving quickly, keeping up with us with great determination.
However, Mason, Ashley, and I were on a whole different level. Mason was laughing his head off as he crushed enemy skulls.
Although they tried to surround us, they barely showed a finger, we shot it off, they couldn't even get close, we ran through the trenches cleaning them, but the puppets advanced outside the trench, barely resisting the rain of bullets.
We had to retreat to the wall and close the giant gate, we had a siege before we could enter the city itself.
I didn't expect them to bring explosives and break down the door; they still had so many numbers left. I ran up the endless stairs to get to Lombardi and give the order.
"Now!" I yelled at Lombardi.
He nodded with a smile, and with a magical pulse that shot from his fingers, we blew up the entire battlefield. The wall itself trembled and nearly collapsed. Several buildings near the wall were damaged by the explosions, the trenches disappeared, and what had once been a green field was now ablaze and littered with corpses.
We threw ourselves down the wall, I used my magic to soften my fall, though I regretted doing so because of the pain in my ankles.
Mason helped Ashley and we went back through the flames to rescue the survivors.
The army of eighty thousand had almost disappeared, having completely consumed the explosives in such a frontal attack; even so, around four thousand soldiers managed to gather in several craters.
"I smell fear," Mason said, throwing grenades into the craters and shooting at anyone who looked out.
Searching the outskirts of the city for surviving soldiers, we found three soldiers on the roof of a two-story house. They were holding a little girl and two women, approximately nineteen years old, hostage, pointing their rifles at them.
"Let us go or we'll kill you!" one of the soldiers shouted.
I gritted my teeth in anger and for a moment it controlled me.
"Hurt them and I swear you'll wish you were dead!" Not only did my soldiers come forward to provide support, the people in the surrounding area came out and started throwing rocks.
"Leave them alone!" was heard in the background among the thousands of insults and complaints.
"Shut up, we're not playing!" The little girl was shot in the arm.
The bullet pierced her completely, exiting cleanly from her small arm, which immediately began to bleed. The girl burst into tears.
Everyone stopped shouting insults and throwing stones. My eyes widened, my face filled with horror along with the others. My face distorted, and I showed the rage that had me trembling. I snapped my fingers, and dozens of spears appeared around me.
I magically improved myself and prepared to charge at a speed they couldn't match, but two people reacted to me. A bullet pierced one of them through the head, and I drove so many spears into the other's body that I left him unrecognizable. But the one who killed that soldier who attacked the girl had red hair. He used his own body to support the girl and even prevented her from seeing the decapitated head of her oppressor.
It was Jane. Our eyes met. I think that was the first time we ever looked into each other's eyes. Her red eyes were filled with anger. I dare say she's angrier than I am. She quickly looked away.
"Please, leave me alone, I'll take care of it!" Doc said as he approached.
Jane pointed her katana at him and glared murderously; however, she didn't look into his eyes, but at his chest.
"We need to treat the girl now. According to what you said yourself, you can't cure her like you did to me. If one more second goes by without treating her because you won't let me, then I don't care that you saved my life." I pointed all my spears at him, still floating.
She let go of the girl.
"I didn't mean to." He sheathed his red katana.
The girl fainted from the pain, Doc rushed her somewhere else to treat her wound.
The women became desperate for the child, so someone guided them to Doc's infirmary. Jane left without a word, and after that, we had no major problems.
Within ten minutes, we had killed all the survivors; none of them gave up, or rather, we didn't give them time to do so.
"We did it!" I shouted, raising my fist. All the soldiers shouted with joy. Victory was ours.
Lombardi and Defalco came down from the wall to welcome me, and we arrived at the central plaza, where there was a platform with inscriptions of ancient leaders who were part of the history of this city.
"People of Libri! You are free!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
I realized it was showing up on screens all over the city. Defalco had some kind of camera.
Residents came out of their homes to confirm the situation. The streets were filled with people, all dressed in threadbare clothing, and exhaustion was evident on their faces.
"My name is Sean Dorvin, general of the Resistance. Our goal is to assassinate the fire god and reclaim the happiness that was stolen from you. I repeat, you are free. But the fight is just beginning. There are still many cities to reclaim, and we still have to assassinate the fire god." I continued with my speech.
The silence was sepulchral, the inhabitants were too afraid of the god of fire.
"I know you're afraid. I know the fire god is strong, but I've already fought him." My own men interrupted me, shouting with joy; one by one, the inhabitants were regaining their spark.
"We will reclaim what was lost, avenge the fallen, and build an empire that will never fall again. I, Sean Dorvin, swear to you that this is the beginning of the rebirth of an empire." I placed my hand on my chest; Ashley and Lombardi did the same. "We will all fight together as brothers! To enjoy a future where our children can smile!" I shouted.
The city erupted with joy; I had gained their trust, but we still had a huge task ahead of us.
I climbed the wall looking for Jane, I saw her in one of the towers.
"I haven't asked you how you saved my life yet," I told him.
"It was a blood technique, only I can do it and only you can take advantage of it effectively, however, if any of your organs had stopped functioning, or you had been sliced in two, I'm afraid you would have died right there," she replied in a cold voice.
"Interesting. Can I ask you a favor?" I asked.
-What is it?
"I want you to be my teacher," I smiled at her.
"Why?" he asked.
—You're very strong, I saw it with the girl, I couldn't even follow you with my eyes.
—I'm not the one for that.
"But you're the only one. Besides, we both share goals." I placed my hand on her shoulder, a sign of confidence, but she jumped like a cat and drew her katana.
The blade of her katana was red and so sharp I think it could cut me just by looking at it. She was upset.
—I'm sorry if I did something to upset you.
—I... Just don't touch me —I sheath the katana.
"Is it because I have the blood of a god? May I ask you not to look at me like a god?" I showed a hint of despair.
—It's not because of that... Just stay away from me.
"Don't you have someone who cares for you?" I asked curiously.
—I don't have anyone... I'm better off alone.
"Someone hurt you, didn't they?" I asked.
Throughout my military career, I'd developed a knack for detecting trauma; after all, that's common in war. She drew her sword again, trembling as she pointed it at me.
"How long have you been alone?" I asked.
—Shut up if you keep sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, I'll put an end to this whole charade of yours right now.
—Go ahead, kill me. Why wouldn't I stop? You're not even aiming at me properly anyway. Even if you launched the attack, you'd cut off one of my ears. You can't even look me in the eye.
"Why can't you just shut the fuck up?" She bit her lip.
"Why did you say you wanted to fight me? Since then, you're no stranger to me. Even though we haven't drawn swords together yet, I'd give a thousand lives if necessary. After all, you saved me." I smiled at her.
"You don't know me," he replied.
—I don't even know most of my soldiers, but I would gladly give my life for them.
—I'm not one of your soldiers. Enough! You're not going to get anything out of me!
—I don't want to take anything away from you, I don't understand what you're saying, because you haven't told me anything, look at the situation, I offered you my help and I'm willing to listen to you, however you're the one pointing a katana at me or rather trying to point one at me and saying that I'm the bad guy.
"I..." He sheathed his katana. "You don't have to know." His expression was sad.
—Are you going to explain what happened to the girl earlier?
—Why do you insist so much?
—Because I want to help you.
"But why do you want to help me?" he asked again, this time his voice cracking briefly.
"Because that's who I am." I smiled at him.
She sat on the ground, looking at the wall, hugged her legs and hid her face in her knees, I sat next to her.
"I was hurt... And I can't recover from it. I've been wandering ever since. Being around people makes me uncomfortable, no matter how hard I try. What happened is seared into my mind. I've ended up wandering alone in the woods for too long... I can't even stand being touched." She took off her tunic; her clothes were scraps of fabric sewn together by a very poor seamstress.
—I'm not going to leave you alone, remember that. I want to help you because you seem like a good person to me. If you weren't, you wouldn't have healed me against your peace.
—Okay... I'll be your teacher —I whispered in a soft voice.
"Relax, I'll wait until you're ready." I reached out my hand to her.