26.

A kid with one arm, holding a golden spear is standing in front a lot of soldiers. Red flashes of lightning could be seen by the naked eye.

The enemy soldiers looking at the kid, as if they have one mind, retreated tactically. They can't face him with just them. It would be bullying even if they swarm him with numbers. They decided to buy time for the main army to arrive before they swarm him again but with mages for round two.

{1st PoV, Aegis}

I stared at the soldiers slowly backing away. I know that they want to wait for their whole army before swarming me again. I have to reduce their numbers so that even if they join the main army, their numbers won't mean much.

I know that Uncle Wilhelm isn't rash to ran straight at the enemy, he probably made a detour after making a way for himself and he may have disguised himself like a soldier to infiltrate their base.

"Since you're not coming. I will." I brandished my spear and pointed it at my enemies before making a charge towards them.

The enemy foot soldier that was about to be stabbed raised his round shield at me but my spear stabbed through it like butter.

'Not only my reaction speed was fast, my speed was increased as well. It was like I was constantly using 1st step from the 8 steps.' I thought as I examined the changes in my body.

I pulled out Vasavi Shakti from the soldier, the barbs from the spear made the stab more deadlier. Seeing that there's no use in running, some rushed towards me as sacrifice so that many more soldiers could be saved and rejoin the army.

I estimated that there are 3,500 soldiers here but without a mage to counter me or slow me down, they are like sheeps waiting to be slaughtered. They can't even coat the tip of their blades with aura. What can they do against a skilled lancer that was using magic as support?

I activated <8 steps, 1st step> with the help of the Elven magic system and coated myself with wind elemental mana.

I was like a fish swimming in water as I stabbed, sliced, slashed, and cast offensive spells like fireball, and wind blade. I managed to evade some of their attacks with my speed but some of them managed to graze me.

Their numbers dwindled down very fast and those retreating soldiers retreated faster. Seeing them running towards the main army, I quickly made my way towards them by stabbing the opponents head through the helmet and using them like I am doing a pole jump. I landed near them and immediately utilized the Elven magic system.

<Entangling roots>

Roots started to appear and held the enemies by binding their feet with the said roots.

The Elves are quite proficient in using magic but what they specialize in are wind magic, earth magic, and nature magic. They can communicate with plants and the land itself. I don't know how they do it since I don't know much about their secrets since I'm an outsider. I also heard rumors that their Elven Princess was also proficient in using light and healing magic but I can't confirm it since I haven't seen it with my own eyes.

Using the Elves' nature magic, the retreating enemies were immobilized and I quickly did my best to reap the lives of those entangled soldiers.

Seeing the main army getting close, I casted a few more offensive spells before retreating inside the gate, no one blocked my way of retreat and if they did, they would die. I didn't want to use the pikemen to help me deal with the foot soldiers since I want as many soldiers alive to face off their main army.

"Lord Duke!" A commander quickly came rushing towards me.

"Commander Ayze, prepare yourselves. Magic cannons, ready and aim for their mages!!" I said and the magic cannon regiment operated the magic cannons. I ran to the top of the wall to see if the enemy is within reach of the magic cannons and set the timing so that the magic cannons will do the most damage possible towards the enemies' main army.

I estimated that they have just entered the firing range of the magic cannons but I didn't order them to fire it yet. I let them get more closer and when I saw that the enemy mages were grouped up. I raised my spear and quickly send my order.

"Fire!!" The magic cannon gathered insane amounts of mana in the air before firing it towards the main army.

The laser beam was much larger than the magic gun from earlier and caused much more destruction. The mages noticed the laser beam and hastily raised a barrier to defend themselves. Seeing them raise a barrier, a smirk emerged from my lips.

'Not even 5th circle mages dared to block a shot from a magic cannon and you guys want to raise barriers? Good luck with that, you just made my job of erasing a few mage regiments easier.

A magic cannon was a BS weapon but it still has its downsides. It has the same downsides as the magic gun used by the enemy earlier but the down time was much faster. 15 mins and we can fire another volley with the magic cannons.

The destruction caused by the magic cannon scared the main army and the soldiers were panicking causing mayhem and disorder in their formation. Seeing their chaos, I quickly got down, passed down my orders to buy time and hold out for as long as possible until I return. I then headed towards the back of the territory where the healers' tents were placed.

Since my territory was constantly facing the invasion from the west, the Royal Family granted us 5th circle mages who can use healing magic. Uncle Gilltian sent a few more healers to support us alongside the 10,000 royal guards.

"Lord Duke, what happened?" The Healer grimaced at the sight of my injuries.

"Just a scratch, nothing serious about it. Can you help me return it to normal?" I asked and he nodded.

"I can but I need someone to tie you down. It will feel like hell." The healer said while I chuckled.

"I've been through hell twice. I can keep on coming back if you ask me." I said the truth but the healer thought that I was just joking.

The Healer then quickly called for assistants. I was surprised when the assistants came to help out. It turns out that they were students from the Hebrion Academy who volunteered to help in the war.

And in those assistants, I saw Bridgette among them.

"Duke Blackwood, what happened to you?!" Bridgette blurted out which surprised the other students from the Academy.

"You know each other?" The healer asked me.

"Yeah, we met quite a few times in the Royal Palace." I said which baffled the students but Bridgette care none for it.

"How did you get this serious injury? Aren't you afraid you'll bleed out?" Bridgette asked me but I just waved my hand.

"Its fine. I sealed the wound with the help of Uncle Wilhelm." I said to Bridgette.

"Alright, you can talk later, I need you to hold him down real hard. He will surely struggle from the pain." The healer said and Bridgette shut her mouth and focused on helping the assistants to tie my right hand, two legs, and my upper body.

The assistants then pressed my hands and legs hard. Seeing that they did a good job, the Healer immediately casted a healing spell of the 5th circle magic. <Regrow> its a healing spell that can regrow body parts in exchange for the pain and torture that the patient will have to endure.

Waves of pain started assaulting my mind as I gritted my teeth so hard. I felt like my mind is being stabbed from all angles then withdrawing the needles then piercing it again.

I didn't struggle for the first ten minutes but when I reached the 15 minute mark, I began to struggle with my arms and legs. The assistants did their best to clamp me down and even used body enhancement magic to secure it much better.

'What raw power from his body alone!' The assistants exclaimed as they did their best to make sure that I won't get out of my restraints.

At the 25 minute mark, the pain was so unbearable that my upper body started thrashing the table that I was tied into.

At the 30 minute mark, the healer stopped channeling mana and I could feel a searing pain coming from my left side of the body. At the 40 minute mark, the pain subsided and the healer looked at his work in satisfaction.

"You're alright now, Lord Duke." As soon as he said those, the assistants slumped down as they felt exhausted, Bridgette excluded.

"As much as I wanted to catch up, I need to return to the battlefield and lead." I said and grabbed my spear leaning on the door of the tent before running back to the front lines. 40 minutes was such a long time and many things could happen in 40 minutes so I need to help reorganize the troops, strategize, and chase the enemies away from my territory.

"You never told us you knew the Duke." One of the students of the Academy said to Bridgette.

"We just met for a few times when I was teaching his highness' daughter." Bridgette replied with an exhausted face.

"But still you know, if you manage to charm the Duke, you'll be set off for life." another student said but Bridgette shook her head.

"Duke Blackwood is not the common nobleman you know. His eyes looks like he could see through you. He is far more intelligent than those nobles in the academy who treats the place like their own playground. As you can see, he's still a child but he never denies his responsibility for his territory. He even evacuated the citizens ahead of time to avoid them being a casualty of war. Compared to the nobles in the academy, he is way better than them." Bridgette explained seriously but a female student and a friend of hers teased her.

"You seem to view him in a higher view than those nobles trying to court you. Its even rare to hear you praise someone." She said making Bridgette blush slightly but she was just explaining what she saw and felt from their small conversations.

"Enough, go help out on the other tents." The healer dispersed the gossiping students. The students started teasing Bridgette but she just brushed it off since they were just teasing her.

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Gonna wrap up this arc in maybe 4 or 5 chapters more.