Chapter 190: Chapter 190 - The Battle of Steelgarden (4)
PoV: Yaci
The beastkin never had a system to get used to, so they wouldn’t get affected by the excommunication.
By now, most of them, and all the human soldiers of the hidden army, are proficient in systemless magic.
One of the few members of the army that is still mainly a melee fighter is the leader of the fox beastkin, Yaci.
For that very reason, she’s the one in charge of organizing the troops that came from the main army.
"RELOAD! HOOOOLD!"
According to Aurea’s strategy, every soldier of the hidden army was given a crossbow and enough ammo, no matter what their role was before.
"CHANT!!! FIRE!!!"
The bolts fly through the air and, before reaching the midway point, go through some elemental transformation. Some catch fire, some turn into icicles, and some crackle with electricity.
Yaci smiled yet again at the effectiveness of these attacks on the army that was almost reaching the walls at this moment.
:::
"But won’t there be some bad feelings for them to lose their normal roles?"
That was an important question, voiced by Shalia, the head of the information agency under the Crown Prince’s command. She was the one responsible for passing the torch of the main army to Aurea’s command.
"We have to work with the assumption that everyone inside this fortress will be excommunicated during the battle, and very probably at the beginning. What will happen if they suddenly find out they can’t use their skills anymore?"
"There will be lots of confusion, of course."
"But if they are focused on doing something else, that is also effective. Will the sudden cut of their access to the system put their ranks into disarray?"
Shalia took some moments to think, putting a hand on her chin in a graceful manner.
"No, you’re right. It would be easier for them if their attentions were diverted. But still, crossbows?"
"Yes, crossbows. But these bolts aren’t your normal kind. Look."
Aurea took one bolt in her hand and chanted a short aria. The tip of the bolt caught fire.
"The tip of the bolt isn’t made of simple steel, but it has a magistone embedded and a little spell that is activated by a simple and easy-to-learn aria. One that they will be able to chant even without prior training."
"I see."
"But the biggest hit will be to their morale. Let’s say, if we let the mages of the regular army blast them with spells, what will happen to their firepower when the excommunication hits?"
"They won’t be able to cast spells anymore."
"Exactly. And our firepower will take a visible hit. One that will embolden the enemy."
"I see... if only the systemless casters were unleashing spells from the beginning, then the enemy wouldn’t notice any difference."
"Yes. And it will sow doubt among their ranks."
:::
Yaci shouted, commanding a new volley to be reloaded, as she smiled. It’s things like this that make her heart flutter when she thinks about Aurea.
"It seems that their priests are gathering to cast the excommunication spell again."
Shalia is near Yaci and took a pause on the barrage of spells she had been casting to take a good look at the battlefield.
"Ha! That’s the best-case scenario coming true. They thought that the first spell didn’t work and are going to waste their time and mana doing it again. CHANT!!! FIRE!!!"
"Did she anticipate this?"
"She said that it was the possibility that we should hope for, but that it wouldn’t be very likely, because they would need to be quite stupid to fall for that at that level. RELOAD!!!"
"Never underestimate a person’s stupidity."
Shalia giggles and launches yet another fireball at a group with a big ladder that was getting too close to the wall.
Less than a second later, an arrow hits her in the shoulder, sending her reeling.
"Shalia! Are you okay?!"
"Yeah. I got too visible, I guess. But don’t worry."
Shalia stands up again and takes the arrow from her shoulder with a grimace of pain.
Right after she does that, the wound closes completely, leaving only the blood-soaked hole in the uniform to tell the story.
"The Saint’s healing is something else entirely."
Yaci only nods as she keeps shouting orders to her troops.
:::
PoV: Aurea
Damn, they heal too quickly! And now they are wary of my lightning.
Maybe gravity? I don’t know what kind of effect they are using to step in the air like that. But maybe if I increase their weight...
Like this...
No, they are slowed, but just barely. They keep coming. It looks no different from if they were standing on solid ground.
Is that a reality-altering effect? Something similar to Mom’s healing?
Mother is standing on the battlements of the wall, surveying the battle. From where I stand I can see her face only partially, but I can tell that she is serious and worried.
"Mom! What effect is that one they are using to step on the air like that?"
"They are simply willing the air where they firm their feet to behave like ground."
"Hm... Does it mean that it’s activated by firming the feet in a position?"
"Yes."
She answered my questions without moving or looking in my direction. I guess that sustaining both Lovelace’s mana and the healing area takes a good part of her focus.
But it’s okay. I know what to do now.
If their feet are the ones controlling the behavior of the air...
What I’m about to do is very crude and unrefined. Ingela would be able to do it cleanly in the bat of an eye, but I don’t have that finesse.
I form an aria in my head and chant it silently.
A blade made of pure spacelessness slashes forward in a horizontal arc, aiming for the lower part of their legs.
The shouts seem to be more of surprise than pain or panic, as they are robbed of their literal footholds and plummet to the ground.
A collective gasp comes from the people on the ground, followed by a sudden commotion. The crusader army begins to crumble and rout.
Is this what victory tastes like? I love it.