The assailants reached them within only a few heartbeats. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed in the forest, startling the animals living in the upper branches of the ancient trees.
The battle was chaotic and without flow, and Midhir soon found himself separated from the others. From the sounds he heard, he could guess he wasnât the only one. They were vastly outnumbered and somewhat battered already. This was going to be an uphill battle.
Looking at about half a dozen people coming for him, he quickly decided that standing his ground wasnât an option â he could perhaps defend himself against two somewhat experienced fighters. Any more was simply impossible.
He retreated behind the nearest tree as they chased him, and immediately circled around it, ending up behind the group. His blade glinted with the blue light of the wildlife as he struck the unsuspecting man at the rear of the group.
He reached behind him, covering his mouth as he quickly slit his throat. The muffled gurgle of his victim wasnât loud enough to overcome the sounds of battle echoing in the forest. He put the body on the ground, then ran towards the next tree.
âThere!â He heard them shout, unaware that one of them had fallen already. He hid behind another tree, his ears perked as he listened to the approaching footsteps. Just as the first of his pursuers circled around the tree chasing him, he dug his blade into the manâs chest, piercing his lung and heart. As his victim let out a surprised grunt, he kicked the manâs chest, pulling out his sword and causing his dead body to fall on the remaining pursuers.
While the remaining four pursuers scrambled to get out of the way of their fallen ally, he tugged at the thread of spiritual power within, directing a steady amount of it into the augment embedded in the hilt of his blade.
Crimson flames lit up the forest as fire danced on his blade. He raised his hand, directing the resonance into his palm. Then, as if he was throwing a handful of mud, he hurled the burning sphere towards his pursuers.
The ball of flames hit one of them, then exploded, catching the robes of the remaining three. Pained screams echoed in his ears as they threw themselves to the ground, trying to douse the flames in vain.
He was quick to end their suffering. No one deserved such a cruel and painful death after all. Once the last of them was finally silence, he stopped feeding more of his power to the flames, and rushed back towards where Alistair, Captain Rianne and the others were fighting.
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They were once again surrounded, but by no means helpless as Alistairâs resonance wrecked havoc among the assailants. It looked like a whole river had been ripped away from its bed and was obeying him. Water splashed against the assailants, sending them flying towards the trees, it surged from beneath the network of roots covering the ground, knocking them off their feet.
Out of the four guards, Midhir only spotted two still standing next to Alistair and Captain Rianne. The other two must have been separated from them just like he was. He could only hope they survived as he rushed towards Alistair and the others.
He was still too far away when he noticed Captain Rianne struggle with her unruly captive. The woman she was holding in a deadlock had begun to struggle again in an attempt to break free. With one hand she tried to pry Captain Rianneâs arm off her neck, while trying to awkwardly punch the woman with the other.
He soon reached the rather chaotic battlefield, circling behind the assailants to catch them off guard. While they were busy trying to avoid Alistairâs resonance â the raging river he had somehow summoned â Midhir easily snuck up to the nearest one. A single cut was all it took to take his life, and Midhir didnât hesitate.
A few of the assailants noticed him. They directed their attention to him, only to be caught in Alistairâs resonance. The battle continued, despite the young nobleâs powerful resonance casting. There were too many enemies for Alistair to finish off alone, so Midhir and the remaining two guards fended them off, keeping them away from Alistair and Captain Rianne.
As he pulled his sword out of an opponentâs chest ad let his lifeless body fall to the ground, Midhir stepped back for a moment of respite. He looked up, longing for sunlight as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
The branches covering the sky seemed to rattle momentarily. He narrowed his eyes, confused for a split second as he tried to see beyond the leaves. Was there a larger animal above them?
It took a blue glint on a metal surface for him to realise it wasnât an animal.
âAbove us!â He shouted at the top of his lungs, but he was half a second too late. Three people dropped from above, one of them landed behind the two guards. Blood splattered on the ground, but Midhir didnât have the chance to watch, as the second assailant tried to tackle Alistair from above.
The young noble spun his spear, turning its sharp side up, impaling the dropping man.
The third leapt on Captain Rianne, knocking her off her feet.
His eyes widened as he watched the captainâs captive easily weasel out of her grasp and grab the dagger on her belt. She held the dagger unceremoniously, pouring spiritual power into its bejewelled hit. The green gem embedded into its hilt blowed a bright green.
Strong winds whirled around her. Something invisible whipped against the trees, smashing their trunks and ripping off the lowest branches. Before anyone â even the womanâs allies â could react, her power exploded outwards, sending them all flying in different directions.
He found himself flying, then hit the ground beneath a blue sky, partially covered in chalk coloured stone.