Beast Barrage

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Going off course from the battle at Brave City.

Mystical beasts were categorised into four ranks. These ranks were based on their ability to manipulate mana and their intelligence.

The Infant rank, otherwise known as Rank 1, was the lowest rank. Any animal or progeny of a mystical beast could fall into this category. At this rank, the creature's body amasses mana past the negligible threshold. However, they are a hundred percent ignorant about the mana being amassed in their bodies. Only a small percent of mystical beasts at this stage could develop enhanced physicality.

The negligible threshold was the boundary that a living being's mana had to cross in order to be considered a mage or mystical creature. This meant that every living being in this world had mana flowing through them.

Rank 2, or the Awareness rank, was the second lowest rank. When normal creatures like lions, dogs, etc. reach this rank, they grow more than three times in size. Mystical beasts also increase in size, but not in the tremendous way normal animals do. These creatures become aware of mana and know that they have to obtain it to evolve. Many creatures at this level become predators and predate on any living being weaker than them.

Mage Beast rank, or rank 3, was the third rank. It was at this point that the high rank began. Mystical beasts at the level developed an additional or two mana based abilities. Predatory Rank 3 mystical beasts were the most dreaded of all mystical beasts because they were commonly encountered. The second reason was because of their additional abilities.

Archmage Beast rank, or the rarely mentioned Rank 4, was the highest rank. Mystical beasts at this level could manipulate mana in any manner. They could assume the form of a human being or even bend with great mastery any of the basic elements of the world. The good thing was that these beasts weren't seen around humanoid settlements. No one was sure if they were predatory beasts. No one knew where they could be found or what they did to obtain mana. What was known about them came from texts from more than 5000 years ago.

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Back to the battle at Brave City

When the dragon attacked with its tail feathers, it would be normal for the other soldiers to abandon the battle and run for their lives. But they didn't. They continued the battle, determined to contain the dragon within Brave City.

The soldiers moved their canon trolley in circles around the dragon. They did this while the canons fired at the fiery beasts. The swirling attacks pinned the dragon to its spot, and it wailed in pain. The missiles were penetrating its thick skin.

Martha yelled, "Protect the Lieutenant!"

She jumped in front of Lieutenant Mark, using her body to try and shield any attack.

Lieutenant Mark was furious with her action. He wanted to join the fray. He was 40 years old and still strong. He still had lots of potential in him. He had never slain a mystical beast. The chance to do that had come to him, but his assistant was preventing him from achieving his desires.

Adding to Lieutenant Mark's displeasure, a squad of soldiers and a canon team swarmed around him.

Martha said to these soldiers, "Take the lieutenant to the closest bunker. Stay there and make sure he doesn't leave."

Lieutenant Mark barked at Martha, "What is this madness you are saying? How dare you make such orders? What the hell is wrong with you."

Martha had her eyes on the Peacock Flamebird. She had noticed a pattern in the beast's attack.

"Let's go. Let's get out of here!" She yelled at the lieutenant and the soldiers surrounding him. She motioned to the men to follow her.

The men didn't hesitate to follow, fleeing from their spot. It was at this moment that the tail feathers of the Flamebird attacked again. A bunch of soldiers and canons were impaled by the sturdy feathers. A dozen feathers struck the former spot where Martha, the lieutenant, and the soldiers had been standing.

After getting a healthy distance away from the dragon, Lieutenant Mark ordered,

"Stop running."

The soldiers halted.

Lieutenant Mark faced Martha and angrily asked,

"What was the meaning of that madness back there?"

Martha escaped answering the question by saying, "I discovered a pattern in the dragon's attack."

She paused. Her words had the intended effect, as the lieutenant didn't go on ranting. He calmly said to Martha,

"Go on."

"The dragon can't fire the feathers at any time. It builds up the momentum for the attack."

As Martha spoke, she approached the lieutenant.

Lieutenant Mark asked with a frigid voice, "Do you have any ideas on how to stop it?"

"Yes, I do."

Martha looked at the lieutenant's feet. He followed her gaze. Unfortunately, it was a trick. Martha capitalised on the opening to knock out Lieutenant Mark with a well-weighted punch to his right-side temple.

The other soldiers stared at Martha apprehensively.

She said to them, "Like I said before, take him to the closest bunker. Stay there and make sure he doesn't leave until this ruckus is over."

Then both parties went in opposite directions. Martha returned to the battleground while the soldiers headed to the bunker.

Civilians of Brave City and City of Flames were evacuated into bunkers. The bunkers were underground shelters made out of mana-reinforced rocks. Emperor Gerald invested a fortune to make sure that these bunkers existed all over mainland Camelot.

These bunkers existed because of the threat that mystical beasts posed. In this era, it was common for a mystical beast or a band of mystical beasts to raid a settlement. This phenomenon was popularly called Beast Barrage.

In almost every Beast Barrage from old and recent times, a lot of lives were lost. Some of these barrages led to the fall of some kingdoms. This led Emperor Gerald to invest in weapons that could fight Mystical beasts and shelters that could protect the lives of Camelotians.