How?That was the question on Remian"s mind more than anything else.
How to fend off the Beast Wave, for sure, but even before that…
How did the Wilds know that this was the time the town was vulnerable? That the Legion was full-swing in celebrations today? How did they know to rush the Beast Wave a day early, and to hurry over even at the expense of their slower fighters? How did they know now was the time to strike?
The fact that they struck now, like this, told Remian two things.
First, somebody, somewhere, had told them. There was a traitor in town, probably one of the Wilds, possibly one of the wolfcats in Carrie"s pack.
Second, somebody, somewhere, was controlling them. Somebody decided to rush the Wave so that they would attack during this one vulnerable day. It had been a deliberate decision.
Similar to Shadowflash, there was another lord of the Wilds out there commanding the Beast Waves.
And if the Waves could be commanded, there might, just might be a way to talk to that commander.
But that was a consideration for another time. Right now the more urgent question was how they might survive this early Beast Wave.
The Darkbok stumbled into the Legion"s Tower with a pained screech. For the third time, the Ballista chugged; that was it. All three spears shot into the same Tier 4 Wild and it still managed to scramble about… given the pained sound in its voice, Remian felt reasonably sure that this much damage was done with the help of the mana poison, likely with the Wind Blessing added on. Candice wouldn"t skimp out on adding even that bit more firepower no matter how close her target was. Not when it was a Tier 4 she was shooting at.
Meanwhile, the Tier 3 Wilds had reached both Towers. All of them had javelins stuck on at some point or the other, but none of them had been stopped outright. The Legionnaires had taken up formation right next to their Tower, so that they had one flank protected while the other was under the cover of the Adventurers Tower.
If they only had more time, if the Beast Wave had come after the next airship trip, if Remian had the money to buy the crossbows and such… this Tower could have supported them with a fully armed Ballista and a squad"s worth of Tier 3 crossbows. But right here, right now, all the Adventurers Tower had to support them was one Brutus who already spent all his javelins, and Remian himself, without any Tier 3 weapons whatsoever. He didn"t even have the Fire Ball Wand.
All he had was desperation. "Fire!"
This time, what emerged was just a short stream of flame, like a spear, or one of those Legionnaire javelins. It struck a Spiked Cheetah, and the creature fell, wildly clawing at the wall of shields presented by the Legion"s formation for a couple of seconds before it lay still for good.
That was it? That was the best his overpowered Fire Bolt could do now? Just a Fire Spear? Not even a continuous stream like last time? After all his learning and study in magic, that was the best he could manage?
Perhaps it had something to do with his emotional state. Although the current situation was bad, it didn"t feel as scary as the first time he"d ever faced a Beast Wave. Maybe he was just getting used to it…
"Scatter formation! Full melee!" Markus shouted. "Don"t let anything through!"
Markus was getting used to this too. The Legion engaged the Wilds three to a Rabbit or a Cheetah as Markus himself took on the Darkbok.
"Fire!" Remian sent a fire spear hurtling into the Darkbok as it tried to gore Markus. He glanced at the incoming Second Wave. They were picking their way through the traps, avoiding them in ways Remian had never seen before. The traps were largely ineffective this time around, succeeding only in slowing the Wilds down a bit.
They were rapidly running out of time. Remian targeted another Cheetah, hoping to free up three Legionnaires. "Fire!"
Crossbows tw.a.n.ged. Candice and Denise, having no more ammunition for the Ballista, had taken to their trusty crossbows again. They shot true, and they shot fast; sadly, their old Tier 2 crossbows just didn"t pack much stopping power, not even Candice"s heavier arbalest.
Blast it, where were the gangs? The Burning Steel and the Secret Waves should have sent someone by now! Didn"t they have an agreement to help?
"Everyone, hurry!" Markus clobbered the Darkbok, making it stumble even more. It was on its last legs, but it still kept trying to break into the Tower.
"Aargh!" one of the Legionnaires went down, a Cheetah"s teeth embedded firmly in his thigh. The others fighting it charged; they practically took its head off in retaliation, but that head still bit into the man"s leg; even in death, the Wild"s jaws did not let go.
"Medic! To the church!" his partners cried.
"No time! Put him up in the Tower!" Markus barked. "Finish off the Blood Rabbits, quick!"
"Fire!" Remian speared the nearer one through with flame.
Time ran out. The second Wave arrived before they could clear the first wave or regroup the formation.
"On guard!" Markus yelped, still dodging and stabbing the Darkbok.
Too slow. The second Wave crashed into the scattered Legionnaires and broke through the defense line in seconds. Both Tier 4"s split up to either side of the Towers and dashed past before anyone could stop or engage them. One of them was an oversized snake, half a meter wide and at least twenty meters long. The other one was a burning bull about the size of a house. Neither of them so much as slowed down at the defense line.
"Fire!" Remian and the Legion Trainees tried their best to stop the Second Wave, but only managed to hinder or halt six of the Tier 3"s. The other two got through. Two Tier 4"s and two Tier 3"s dashed straight into town and n.o.body could do anything to stop them.
Meanwhile, the third Wave was coming in, ten of the heaviest, toughest Wilds on tonight"s menu. As for the defenders side, none of their reinforcements were anywhere to be seen. The gangs just weren"t showing up at all!
"The shop house… the supplies… the kids…!" Remian gasped.
"Go!" Brutus gritted his teeth. "I"ll manage!"
No, he wouldn"t. This had already gone beyond any of their managing. But Remian didn"t spare any time for debate. He scrambled down and out of the Tower, threw one last Fire Spear into the nearest Wild, then bolted for town.
There was a tumult of shouts and screams at the town center and then a terrible cracking sound. Remian arrived in time to see the church collapse on top of the burning bull. Meanwhile, the gigantic snake was wrapped around the Open Frontier Inn. Kage and Mandy were trying to fight it off, and it was lunging at them through the windows.
"Mandy!" Remian went for the inn. He targeted the snake"s body. "Fire!"
The fire spear splashed against the snake leaving a blackened spot.
That was it. No blood, no pierced Wild, no instant kill, nothing. Just a charred patch of scales. "Mandy, get out of there! Run!"
"No! We won"t give up!" Mandy shouted back. "Keep fighting!"
"We can"t stop them!" Remian panted. He aimed at the snake"s head, hoping to hit an eye. "Fire!"
The snake dodged. The fire spear left a streak of black over its skull, but did not manage to hit its soft target.
"This is our home!" Mandy shouted. "Our shelter! This is the place we come back to! I"m not giving it up! I won"t!"
"What?" Remian was completely baffled and panting for breath from all the running. Still, he attacked the snake. He didn"t waste any more time or effort arguing. Pressed by urgency, he started drawing sigils with both hands. "Fire! Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire!"
That seemed to draw the snake"s attention. One burn was small annoyance; ten was a big ordeal. It hissed, then lunged at Remian.
Remian stumbled, trying to get out of the way. He suddenly realized that he was standing out in the open, with no shelter, no shield, no protectors, and no armor whatsoever…
"Light!" He yelped, flinging his hand out.
Only then did he realize something important. He"d neglected to draw a sigil.
Oh sc.r.a.p. I"m dead…
In fact, he didn"t even know what he was doing. He was so panicked, he"d acted more on instinct than anything else.
But in that instant, light bloomed. A gleaming barrier lit up the night, three meters high and even wider than it was tall, practically dividing the town center into two. There was a heavy THUD on the other side, but the barrier didn"t even twitch. The Tier 4 Wild trying to kill him could not get through.
How?! Remian stood there, too stunned to feel his exhaustion for a bare moment. He was very clear on the matter; he had NOT drawn any sigil whatsoever. Yet there it was, a barrier of light so strong, even Tier 4"s couldn"t break it.
On top of that, the snake seemed to be running away. Remian saw it uncoil from the Inn, heading farther out to the east side.
He gulped. The Secret Waves were in for it now. He didn"t mean to send it to them, but it looked like the Tier 4 snake was going to be their problem from here on out. Even without sending any troops to the defenses earlier, it seemed, the Secret Waves gang still had to take part in the fighting in the end.
For a moment there, Remian toyed with the idea of chasing the fiery bull toward the west in the same manner and letting the Burning Steel deal with it.
But no, an accident was one thing. Deliberately setting Tier 4 Wilds on them was just too much. Especially since the kids were out there somewhere trying to haul spears to the Towers as Ballista ammunition. A rampaging Tier 4 Bull on the west side could very well end up trampling them.
No. If he were to drive the Wilds anywhere, it could only be to the place without people. That is… he had to drive them north, through the town, and through the airport construction site.
Hopefully, they wouldn"t destroy too much of the construction site in the process.
"Light!" Remian called. He drew no sigil. He just raised his hand, fixated the barrier in his head, and called it into being.
The bull slammed into it and sat down in shock. It stared at the Light Barrier in front of itself, stupefied by its sudden appearance. Remian likewise, found himself stunned. That Barrier had risen on the other side of the town center, far from himself. It took shape exactly where he wanted, when he wanted, without him drawing a single sigil, or even being near it.
How…? Remian didn"t know. But he most certainly wasn"t going to stop now.
"Light!"