Massacreed

Michael casually waits for the small army to walk past him, his Cloak and Dagger-granted invisibility allowing a monstrous advantage over those who have no means of detecting him. The army itself was composed of around one hundred men, all wearing some degree of armour, from hardened boiled leather, to chainmail, to plate mail, everyone in the unit had at least some degree of protection.

They seem far more organized than the other patrols he'd dealt with this night too, with pikemen sitting just behind the shield bearers, musket man on the sides and archers at the rear. Against any regular foe, this would prove to be an unstoppable formation that could only be breached by superior numbers, or a powerful mage... Or, a freak like Michael.

Like he'd done against the smaller units, he approaches the rear of the formation and runs through two archers at once, piercing one through the heart and the other just above it, undoubtedly killing them both.

He manages to get in a beheading slash at another before the group finally notices his presence, but like a streamlined machine, they seemed to be prepared for something like this. Whether or not they knew his tactics, Michael didn't know. But with how fast the enemy was reacting, it was likely they had some idea on how he operated.

The archers all fled into the formations the pikemen lowers their weapons in between them and towards Michael's direction, prompting any possible charge while the archers retreat. While the archers moved away, the musket men were already pointing their weapons at him, fingers on triggers as they waited for all their comrades to retreat. All the while this was happening, the shield bearers separated and started moving around the musket men, performing some kind of two-pronged flank manoeuvre.

These men were incredibly disciplined, Michael mentally noted as he ignored all their efforts entirely by Blink Striking a musket man, appearing behind them and slashing a deep wound into their spine, dropping them.

The others reacted of course, but the more Michael moved around and killed, the more chaotic the situation became for the soldiers, some of them faltering within the formation.

*BANG!*

Black powder explodes as the musket man lose their nerve and start taking potshots, accidentally shooting many of their comrades in the backs with their rather inaccurate weapons. Michael used an unfortunate shield bearer as a meatshield, the man's armour preventing the musket ball from going through his body and striking Michael.

"Shock!" Michael easily chants, causing orange lightning to explode within their formation. Unlike the usual five target limit, the formation was so inclosed that any lightning that went through its target hit the people behind the victim. This allowed his spell to kill almost twenty people before it fizzled out and used whatever power it had left to maim instead of kill.

"HOLD MEN! HOOOOLD!" a man with a huge beard under his helmet roars a command, but he'd just put a target on his back, as Michael blink strikes to him and swipes at his neck.

The man was observant however, knowing what was happening when he saw Michael focus on him. He turns thrusts his shield behind him before Michael even uses Blink Strike, allowing the hardwood to knock him down.

The other soldiers try to skewer Michael while he was on the floor, but he just uses blink strike again on a nearby pikeman, the spell putting him back on his feet as he butchers the unlucky soldier.

Only around fifteen people of the formation were left by now, but the drain on Michael's mana hadn't been insignificant. Blink Strike was more expensive than you'd think, plus his occasional use of Ether Shock, and it'd take a bit for him to regain what he'd used...

Fortunately, he'd stolen enough Agility with Essence Shift that spells were overkill at this point...

Michael's figure blurs as the bearded man turns and strike out with his shield again, only to see a blade explode out from his chest. His opponent hadn't used Blink Strike, but instead simply charged him before the man could react.

"CAPTAIN!" a few men yell while other less loyal men turn and start sprinting away, realizing that this battle was lost.

Michael cuts apart any men that remain, and afterwards scans the area to see if anyone else had turned up... No... I seemed as if that this group was the city's main defence, there were a few guards still running around like headless chickens, but they'd put up less of a fight than a newborn at this point.

Michae's ears twitch as he turns and looks at the sky, eventually spotting the many dark shadows flying towards the town. The Dragon Knights had finally arrived.

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Ralf Kaliker, Commander of the Twenty-Second Unit of Dragon Knights scowls as he observes the surroundings below him. Him and his unit had finally reached Cendri after receiving notice from Earl Tatiana, but it seems as if they were late to the party.

The sky was thick with smoke from the many burning fields and granaries around the outskirts of the town. And even from such a distance, he could see many corpses peppering the place. There weren't any archers remaining on Cendri's walls either, meaning that their enemy was elsewhere.

Another minute and Ralf finally spotted who he assumed to be their target... A short teenager with dirty blonde hair that was tainted with blood, which was probably from the almost hundred corpses surrounding him... Judging by the fact it hadn't yet stopped dripping from his armour and weapon, the slaughter had been far too recent for Ralf's comfort.

His unit follows him as he leads his dragon down to the town, allowing it to hover a good distance above the target. "Michael, the False Familiar!?" he asks with a shout, his wand ready in his hand in case violence breaks out.

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