5 The Strength of the Champions

The holy arrows rained down upon the [Demons], easily piercing thorough their hide and setting them ablaze with the sacred flames. For perhaps the first time, these [Demons] felt vulnerable, and immediately began to scatter.

"It's working!"

"Keep firing!"

One by one, the [Demons] easily fell, and their cries and screams echoed throughout the hills.

We're winning. Our weapons are effective and we outnumber them by at least twice the amount. Logically speaking, they'll never take this fortress at this rate, as it was said that more men are required to take a fortress than to hold it. We have all the advantage and they have none. Even if a Champion were to appear on the field, I'd say there's nothing he could do.

Or so I thought.

All of the sudden, the sky was lit crimson, and with but a glance, I found the scenery familiar, so eerily similar to the visuals I was used to seeing during guild vs. guild events. Reflexively, I turned my hands towards the sky, the instincts nurtured by my experience told me that if I do not act quickly, both everyone upon this wall and myself would be dead in an instant.

"[Frost Ward]! [Mana Wall]!"

Rapidly, one right after the other, I cast these two spells. [Frost Ward] is one that increases the heat resistance of the target, and with the addition of the passive Enchanter skill [Intelligent Wards], it also deals [Frost] damage to attackers dealing melee damage. Meanwhile, [Mana Wall] is a spell that creates a barrier which absorbs incoming damage.

Just as I finished casting those two spells, a giant fire ball fell from the sky, landing precisely upon the wall we are standing on, or at least it would have had it not been for my [Mana Wall] stopping it. This is the offensive spell, [Meteor], something that only a high Level Sorcerer could use due to its high Mp cost. It is also a very powerful area of effect spell that can easily bring the Hp bars of max Level player characters down to the red zone. Considering how taking damage is drastically more severe in this world, I do not doubt that everyone here, including me, would be reduced to ashes in an instant should it be allowed to land.

"Pull back! Pull back!"

As I hold back the [Meteor], the soldiers on our side begin scattering, retreating from the outermost wall and leaving me alone to deal with the massive ball of fire. And while I completely understand that since I am the one who has to be here to keep the fire ball at bay, I was hoping for someone to show some concern for the poor ol' me who has to brave this danger alone. Even just a worried gaze over the shoulder as you run would have been fine, but apparently even that's too much to ask.

Eventually, the [Mana Wall] begins to show cracks, a visual effect not present in the game, but even I know that its approaching the threshold of damage it could take. I can only hope enough damage is absorbed from the [Meteor] for me to survive it with the added resistance from [Frost Ward].

As the massive fire ball finally breaks through, I fear only the worst. It is at this very moment, a figure suddenly appears right before me, a woman with black hair and pointed upright ears akin to that of wolves. She's the soldier often seen with the princess.

"I apologize in advance."

She charges towards me, tackling me off the wall and sending both of us down towards the courtyard below. Honestly, about right now I'm thinking that I would have a much better chance against the [Meteor] than this fall.

"[Feather Weight]!"

However, I was quickly proven wrong. Before we hit the ground, a [Feather Weight] spell was cast. It is an Enchanter spell used to decrease the total weight of one's character, a useful spell if one ever becomes encumbered. Thought, since becoming encumbered is a mistake only newbies would commit back in the game, and being lighter doesn't really affect anything else gameplay wise, it's not a spell I actually learned. But here, in this world, thanks to this spell, my landing was much, much softer than I initially anticipated.

"Are you unharmed, Sir Aurelius?"

"I'm fine."

I quickly stand back up and gaze back upon where I had just been and saw the raging fire and the collapsed top of the wall. Had I been caught in that, I don't think even ashes would have remained.

"Thank you, um..."

"Merida, the name's Merida, Sir Aurelius."

Merida... If I recall correctly, she's a Knight with a subclass of Assassin, not exactly the most optimal build, but I suppose it's not like you can build yourself in whichever way you like in real life. The classes of the people here aren't something they simply chose, but something that becomes them through their personal history and experiences.

"Oh wait, Peter!"

I can believe I forgot about him, Peter was up there with me too. Back in Elysium Online, summoned creatures have their own Hp, and if they're killed they have to be taken to the cathedral to be revived, but there's no such thing as a revival system in this world. If a summoned creature is killed, will they be gone for good?

"Fear not, my liege."

From above, the [Guarding Angel] descends, and in her hands, a small rabbit that is neither shivering nor frozen in fright, and within those beady little eyes, a great sense of bravery can be felt.

"Michaela! Peter!"

Peter leaped into my arms, snuggling up to my chest, as if telling me everything is alright.

However, it's still too early to celebrate, far too early, the battle is still ongoing. While I'm rejoicing at the survival of Peter, the blunt noise of the gate being battered upon is picked up by my hearing.

"Damn they're fast!"

It did not take long, not at all, before they'll be able to breach the first gate. I would barely have the time to retreat behind the second wall at this rate, though I never intend to retreat in the first place. It was fortunate that the spell used to drive us off the outermost wall was a spell that applies a [Burning] effect on whatever it hits. With the top of the outermost wall set ablaze and partially crushed by the [Meteor], the [Demons] cannot scale it and take the high ground, meaning their only entrance would be through the gates, and the single narrow pathway leading into the courtyard.

I stand with fear and anxiety before the entrance, my feet shaking too much for me to move effectively should I be caught in a melee range. However, I am not frozen, I can still move if I must. By my sides are two units of infantry and behind me are Michaela and Peter, and though the princess had been made to pull back with the rest, as she should, I'm sure her spirit is with me. And so while I am afraid, I am not terrified as I face the [Demon] horde pouring in from the gates, and as they begin to spread out once they have arrived at the mouth of the narrow passageway, I make my move.

"[Bind Circle]!"

As its name suggest, this spell creates a circle on the ground which seals the movements of everything caught within. With max Leveled [Speed Casting] and max Leveled [Spell Power], it'll bind the opponents for a full three seconds with a cooldown of ten. For the Enchanter it's the ultimate crowd control spell.

With the [Demons] at the front incapable of moving, the ones at the back have no means of proceeding, effectively clogging up the entryway and stopping their charge dead in its track.

"Fire!!!"

And of course, not missing this perfect opportunity, the commander ordered the men on standby atop the second wall to rain down arrows upon the immobilized horde. The [Demon] who had come without expecting arrows to hurt them brought very little means of protection against the projectiles, and at most, some had picked up logs and pieces of wood ripped either from trees or from the broken gates to protect themselves with. Very few survived the barrage of arrows by the end of the long three seconds, and even for those that did, they would find themselves being burned to death by the sacred flames emitting from the fallen corpses of their allies.

With the corpses and the sacred fire, the entryway is once more sealed. With the [Demon] horde unable to advance, I turned my concern towards the one who casted the [Meteor] spell. Whoever it is, I highly doubt they'll be able to cast that powerful spell for but a few more times, but even then it could be devastating if it hits the right place. We should be on the lookout for the caster and eliminate him if possible.

"Sir Aurelius!"

A cry called my attention towards the gates, and there I saw a figure clad in black armor, strolling through the azure flames without care. Nonchalantly, he steps over the corpses of his fallen ally and proceeds through the entryway, the massive two handed sword slung lazily over his shoulder scraping along the walls as he goes.

Inadvertently, I gulped down the building saliva in my mouth. There is something imposing about that figure standing before me, something about him that oozes a sense of strength and confidence not seen in the common troops, and I'm not just saying that because he has a "Level 200" displayed atop his head. His relaxed stance, his gait, it all speaks volume about how utterly little he cares about the numbers we have here. I have no doubt about it, this one is-

"It's the [Demon]'s Champion! Fire! Fire right now!"

Arrows cut through the air, flying at a speed that could barely be followed by the eyes towards the Champion, but just before the arrows struck, the Champion shifts his stance and with incredible speed, all the while moving his massive sword in front of himself.

Immediately, upon seeing it, I have a feeling of foreboding, as his stance looks highly similar to one of the skills used very often by those of the Knight class, [Guarding Stance], which greatly reduces incoming damage for a short duration. And if my foreboding turns out to be true, then his next move will be...

"Get down! Everybody get down!"

I leap into the ground while yelling, but few followed, not understanding the meaning of my words and actions. Hopefully I am wrong. Hopefully it's just me being stupid. Yet, in spite of my hopes, events proceed towards the direction I feared the most.

After guarding against the barrage of arrows, the Champion shifts into his next motion, and I realize that my fears were all too true. With a single swing of his massive blade, a slash of energy shoots out, slicing through the upper edge of the second wall and cutting right into the archers that stood at the top. This is the follow up skill of [Guarding Stance]: [Counter Blast], a skill that returns the damage dealt by the opponents with added bonuses from the user's own offensive power.

I can no longer hear the commander's yelling and shouting. At this point I can only assume the worst had happened.

Getting up from the ground, I see that some of the ground troops here with me are looking back at the wall, shocked at what had just happened, while others remained guarded against the Champion, their expressions filled with fear and dread.

Then, all of a sudden, the enemy Champion pointed his massive blade towards me.

"__________!"

I can't make out what he's saying, some kind of [Demon] language I presume. But I could kind of guess from his tone. Most likely, he's saying something along the lines of, "So, you must be their Champion," or something like that.

Again, I swallow down a big gulp of spit. I'm not sure where I got all these moisture from, even while I sweat buckets of cold sweat, but what I do know is that I'll probably be in one hell of a ride for the next few moments to come.

***

End of Chapter 5