The Battle of Paniotipa (4)
The golden fields of the Paniotipa Granary began to burn.
"F-Fire!"
"It's an enemy raid!"
"You idiots! Put that fire out now!"
The Paniotipa Granary was a critically important holding for its current master, the Blood King, and for Falcon, the eastern administrator of Palos's Bird who stood behind him. Naturally, a large garrison had been stationed there at all times to defend it. Even if someone set a fire, they should have been able to snuff it out in short order.
Water sloshed from buckets. The flames answered with a hungry roar.
"Aaaagh!"
"Damn it! Don't throw water on it! There's oil mixed in!"
Soldiers who had drawn water from a nearby well hurled it onto the blaze, but the fire only surged higher, swallowing the men who had come too close. When water made the flames leap instead of die, they finally understood: oil had been spread across the fields.
The chaos would not settle. Had the fire broken out in a single place, they would have restored order quickly and concentrated on putting it out. But the fire was not confined to one location. Flames were erupting from every direction.
"Out of the way!"
"It's Lord Armong!"
A mage stepped forward to extinguish the blaze — a 5-star mage. The ground groaned as he invoked his skill, and a mass of earth shaped like a giant's arm hurtled toward the fire.
Hand of the Stone Giant
Advanced-Grade Earth Magic
It was a spell typically used to seize or strike an enemy, but in a situation like this it could have been even more effective.
"...Ghk?!"
The Hand of the Stone Giant never reached the flames. Mid-cast, the spell canceled and vanished into nothing.
"L-Lord Armong!"
"Assassin! There's an assassin!"
Someone had taken the mage's life while he was still casting. With the caster dead, the magic could not be sustained. Every time they tried to put out the fire, an unidentified enemy appeared to interfere, and so the soldiers — and even the Masters and Fairies — could not move freely to fight the blaze.
For the Blood King's subordinates charged with defending the Paniotipa Granary, it was a living hell. Of all times for the enemy to strike — right when the Blood King was away. Worse, he had taken every Fairy of 6-Star and above with him, leaving the quality of the remaining garrison significantly diminished.
"Graaaagh!"
"Is there no one among the Blood King's dogs who can take my blade?! Come and face my sword, you whelps!"
"D-Damn it!"
The few fighters worth a damn were already struggling just to hold back Falcones, Montblanc's Fairy, who was concealing his identity. If things had continued like this, they could have reduced the Paniotipa Granary to ashes without a hitch. But as always, things never went that smoothly.
"Soldiers, throw dirt on it! And any mages who can manipulate earth or soil — use your skills and put that fire out!"
"Yes!"
"Move it, move it!"
Tsk.
Someone had rallied the soldiers and come running to the sector I'd set ablaze, trying to smother the fire. Watching from a tree, I clicked my tongue. I'd already torched my assigned zone. I'd been planning to go meet Avalon with the rest of the party.
Among the Masters on this operation were two named Purge and Klaxon. According to Avalon, they were specialists in stabbing their own allies in the back. Avalon and I had secretly formed an alliance, and we'd decided to hit them before they could hit us. To betray your comrades, you have to be strong enough to pull it off — and these two were considerable powerhouses, with no shortage of Fairies besides. They'd split up for the operation just as we had, so Avalon and I had planned to pool our strength and take them out one at a time.
But now the Blood King's men were trying to put out the fire, and I couldn't leave my post. We hadn't burned nearly enough of the grain yet.
"No choice. Let's go down, Oralisa."
"Okay!"
Oralisa and I dropped from the tree, and I gathered the party members who'd been keeping watch on the perimeter.
"We're going back. Those guys came to put out the fire."
"Mhm."
"Yes, Master."
We headed back to the site of the blaze. In that short span they had thrown so much dirt and sand that the flames had already weakened considerably.
Black Barrage
"Yah!"
"Haaaaah!"
Oralisa, Kanisia, and I unleashed a barrage from a distance at the Blood King's men, who were completely absorbed in fighting the fire.
"Huh? Damn it! Take cover!"
The enemy Master spotted our attack and shouted a warning — but he realized it too late.
"Aaaaagh!"
"Gyaaah!"
The Fairies with real power scrambled out of range, but the ordinary soldiers had no such luck. The men who had been diligently hauling dirt to smother the flames died in an instant.
"You sons of bitches! So you're the ones who did this! What are you waiting for?! Go kill those bastards!"
"Yes, Master!"
At the man's roar, Fairies charged toward us.
"Let's go!"
I led Kanisia and Oralisa and ran to meet them head-on. The distance closed fast.
"...An ambush?!"
"Kyaaah!"
With three seconds left before impact, Aquaril and Sonic exploded out of hiding on either flank, moving like lightning. The enemy Fairies were no pushovers — we couldn't drop them in a single blow — but we carved through arms and legs, leaving them wounded.
"I'm counting on you!"
"Leave it to us!"
Leaving the injured Fairies to my party, I charged straight at the enemy commander.
"Kh! Damn it! Get the hell away from me!"
Seeing his Fairies wounded, the Master flew into a rage and swung his axe to drive me off. I met it with my sword.
Clang—!
"Hngh?!"
Sword and axe collided, and the enemy Master was driven backward. His eyes went wide at the unexpected strength in my arms. Having seized the initiative, I pressed the advantage, swinging wildly and driving him back. It was sloppy swordplay, but the force behind it was anything but ordinary, and he staggered this way and that.
"This is bad! Go help Lord Andor!"
"Yes, Master! Hyaaaaah!"
So the man I was fighting was named Andor. A mage Master who'd been using magic to fight the fire ordered his Fairies to assist, and they came charging at me to reinforce him.
"You will not reach my Master!"
"I am here as well."
Aquaril and Sonic burst forward and blocked their path. I glanced back. The Fairies we'd wounded in the ambush were already dissolving into light. Surrounded and under concentrated fire while already injured, they hadn't stood a chance.
"Aaaaagh! My Fairies!"
Andor, the enemy commander, screamed at the deaths of the Fairies he loved.
...Tsk.
It was hypocritical to think this now, but I felt sorry for him. Somehow, it didn't feel like someone else's problem. Fairies are not the only ones who despair at a Master's death. A Master who truly loves his Fairies will scream and break just the same when they die. The sight of the enemy commander weeping over his Fairies didn't look like a stranger's face. If I lost my Fairies — or Kanisia — I would scream and despair and weep just like that.
...No. I'd be even worse.
If that moment ever came, even I don't know what I might do.
Get stronger.
I had to become strong enough that that day never arrived. We all had to grow stronger together.
"Aaaaaagh! Die! Die! Diiiie!"
Andor swung his axe wildly, tears of blood streaming down his face. He should have had the Master of Destruction (Normal) trait, but his axe work was crude and indiscriminate. Rage and grief had eaten his mind, and he couldn't draw on the trait's power at all. Attacks like that were bound to leave openings.
Shnk—!
"Ghk! D-Die...!"
I swept my sword upward from below and knocked his axe high, then drove my blade through his heart. Even with steel in his chest, Andor was so consumed by rage that he swung at me again. I let go of the hilt and moved. My left hand seized the arm holding the axe. My right hand closed around his throat.
Crunch—!
I crushed his neck with raw strength. Andor, who had been weeping tears of blood over his Fairies, returned to their side.
Having killed him, I turned to deal with the remaining mage. I didn't need to.
"G-Ghk...!"
An arrow was buried in the mage Master's throat. He clutched at it, trembling. A moment later his strength gave out and he toppled backward.
"Aaaaagh!"
"M-Master... Kyaaah!"
The mage Master's Fairies, still pinned down by Aquaril and Sonic, didn't last much longer. They were already at a disadvantage, and the devastating psychological shock of their Master's death left them no chance of holding on.
I collected the weapons and armor the dead Masters and Fairies had been using. These would fetch a decent price if I sold them.
"Aquaril. Go pour some more oil."
"Yes, Master."
"I shall assist as well, Lord Alan."
"Do it."
I pulled oil drums from my inventory and handed them to Aquaril and Abraham. They poured the oil and stoked the flames higher.
What now?
These wouldn't be the last of the enemies. Hadn't Zoldik said as much? The Blood King, master of the granary, had left with his subordinates — but he'd left behind an even larger defensive force in his place. The moment we left, others would show up to put out the fire. If I wanted a proper reward from Montblanc, I couldn't let these flames die.
"...No choice. Kanisia!"
"What?"
"We're splitting the force in two."
"What? Splitting in two?"
We only had six people to begin with, and now I wanted to divide even that. Kanisia looked stunned. But there was no other way. The more reward we earned, the faster we could grow stronger.
"I'm taking Sonic and heading out for a bit. You stay here with the others and hold this position."
"Where are you going?"
"To stab a bastard in the back."
"What?"
"Anyway, hold this place. If anyone who looks dangerous shows up, just run. I'm counting on you."
"Hey, Alan!"
"Let's go, Sonic."
"Yes, Master."
"Hey! Alaaaaan!"
Kanisia shouted after me from behind, but I didn't look back. Sonic and I headed for the rendezvous point.