Battle of the Lakeshore

Tonight the moon was full, as if falling atop their heads, and coupled with the natural glow of the Golden Tree, it wasn't hard to see a dozen or so small boats rowing in the lake, each loaded with several soldiers.

In the small pond that is Liyenia Lake, there was no concept of a navy. These boats must have set out from an island in the lake, intending to join the battle at its peak.

This couldn't be classified as a sneak attack; these dozens of Budgie soldiers had no intention of using subterfuge to take control of the manor.

"But if they breach the manor from the back, wouldn't that cause alarms and panic?" Daon was quite familiar with this tactic. Battle is not always about killing the most men; sometimes it's all about sustaining one's morale—the first to lose it, loses.

The countermeasure was to have a sufficient reserve force, and if the Carya side had adequate manpower, they wouldn't have stationed just five people to guard the shore.

Just as they lined up on the lakeside, Duke, the sword and shield bearer, cried out unexpectedly:

"Look, what's that?!"

Daon quickly looked up, his pupils shrinking upon sight. A shadow was speeding towards them against the backdrop of the full moon. The shadow was about ten meters long; its grayish-brown scales reflected the moonlight, and its slender tail was covered in reverse spines.

That was... a dragon!!

An overwhelming aura was rushing towards them. This was definitely not the chained, broken Sakura Dragon they were familiar with, but a Western Wyvern soaring from the sky with its giant wings spread out.

Land and air coordination? Are we even in the game?

Daon gripped his sword tightly. He felt the Dragon fall from hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye. Its wings spread out, its massive body blocking out the moonlight, its elongated and menacing dragon head, with blue flames gathering in its mouth.

'Shimmerstone Dragon' Smarag!

The colossal pressure came from above. Daon gritted his teeth at the oncoming hum of Shimmerstone flames. With an area of impact of around a hundred square meters, he hastily grabbed Ano's clothes who was standing next to him and dodged backward. Still, he saw a large number of blue particles floating in the air, and a dragon with a head covered in numerous Shimmerstone crystals impeded their path.

Boom!!

Two dragon breaths collided in the mid-air, and the ensuing cascade of fire illuminated the lakeside as bright as day. As quickly as it had appeared, the dragon's breath dissipated. The second dragon, with a moonlight giant sword in its mouth, slashed violently upwards.

"It's Lord Adula!" Lera growled from next to him. Seeing Smarag retreating a hundred meters to avoid the light sword, she pounded the ground with her lance.

What a pity, they didn't manage to cut off the head of that vile dragon!

"But that's not our concern! We have our own mission!" Karin shouted as she shot an arrow towards the lake. She roared at her surroundings, "Prepare the flame pots! Don't let these damned Budgies get up here so easily! Even if it kills us, we must defend this place until reinforcements arrive!"

At Karin's cry, Daon refocused his attention. To be honest, there really wasn't much to see in a dragon fight. They clawed, whipped their tails, blew dragon breaths at each other, the fight descended from the sky all the way to the surface of the lake. With a 'boom', a huge column of water exploded from the lake, killing who knows how many fish.

Looking back towards the lake, the dozen or so small boats were just a hundred meters from the shore. Karin held her bow, and Ano and the others fired their crossbows continuously, sparking off the erected shields.

If Daon were a powerful mage, a single Yazle comet would have sent all the Budgies into the lake to feed the fish. But, after all, he was an apprentice. He had to lift his staff and concentrate his energy.

Shimmerstone Grand Mage Rubble!

The spell's warm-up period was longer, but the released light group was also bigger. Two magic rubbles the size of fists hammered mercilessly on the shield, causing the person to fall backward.

"Now's our chance!"

The bows and crossbows fired in unison. This time, without the cover of the shield, a blood mist arose from the small boat, and the screams of the arrow-stricken soldiers echoed through the night sky.

However, the boat fleet kept moving forward. Firing back from the constantly rocking boat was less effective than rushing ashore. Daon could only hear a series of orders.

"Quick! Magic shield!"

"Everyone else blocks, except for two rowers!"

Several shields immediately flashed a radiant blue light. The Shimmerstone Grand Mage Rubble that hammered them directly faded against it, let alone ordinary crossbow arrows; they shattered immediately upon contact.

Seeing that these boats had rushed within fifty meters, Karin dropped her bow and shouted, "Retreat!"

Duke and Lera didn't think twice before running backward, and Daon, pulling his stunned comrades, broke into a mad run. Glancing sideways, he saw a large number of shiny stones being thrown.

Budgie Shimmerstones, these were magical grenades!

When these stones fell to the ground, they immediately emitted magic rubble of various sizes. Meanwhile, after Daon rolled into the breast-wall, he felt the more than a meter thick earth wall creaking from the bombardment. As he looked up again, the weeds on the riverside had been cleared, and everywhere were dimming magic rubble crystals.

Before Karin could catch her breath, she leapt up, gripped the crossbow set behind the earth wall and pulled the trigger. This firing range was just right for the landing point.

Whizz—

The powerful arrow flew over Daon's head, hitting the foremost boat. The magic shield was immediately blown away, and several people on the boat were thrown into the lake to swim.

"What are you waiting for? Ano, load the arrows, Daon, suppress with magic rubble, you two, prepare to throw the flame pots!"

Hearing Karin's urgent commands, Daon rolled his eyes. Did Karin think he was a disciple of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow sect with infinite magical power? Even if he can't see his 'mana bar', he knew that releasing magic consecutively would make him dizzy.

Wait a bit longer, just a bit longer.

He chewed on the grass in his mouth, seeing that the second crossbow bolt also blew several people away, while the third one was deflected by a greatsword.

"Found a knight."

Having been at the border for several days now, Daon knew very well that regular troops were not difficult to deal with. However, the strong could change the tide of battle single-handedly, and these strong beings were his enemies.

The fourth crossbow bolt skewered several soldiers like candied haw fruit. The death wail of those skewered was hair-raising. The boats at the front had already landed, and armored Budgie soldiers were storming their way.

"Light them!"

Another command rang out, and the flame pots traced an arc in the air, only to be shattered mid-air by a thrown spear. A Budgie knight stood at the prow of the boat, coldly glaring at Daon's side.

A shot from a hundred meters away precisely hitting the flame pot was a display of martial skill far beyond average.

"Second knight spotted, cover me!" Daon grabbed a flame pot with his right hand, pushed against the earth wall with his left, and suddenly leapt out. No words were needed between warriors. Karin and the others immediately understood what he wanted to do and raised their bows and crossbows to provide covering fire.

Arrows flew overhead, and in front were the crossbow bolts and Budgie Shimmerstones. However, Daon was not filled with hot-blooded courage; he clearly knew what he needed to do in his heart

His goal was to buy time, until the most challenging moment on the main battlefield passed, until the knights of Calia came to their aid.

He sprinted forward, hunched over to minimize the area of strike. An arrow scraped the side of his face, leaving a trail of blood. He licked the fresh blood dripping down and revealed a gruesome smile.

The difference between life and death in an instant, this was the feeling!

Perhaps it was the blessing of the full moon, and the cloud masked the moonlight hiding him in the dark. Or it was because Daon had taken down more than a dozen foes, his physical strength now exceeded that of ordinary soldiers, and astonishingly, none of the arrows hit him directly.

In a matter of seconds, he had covered a distance of tens of meters. Illuminated by the torchlight, Daon saw the Budgie knight pull out a spear from his bag, his fierce gaze locked onto Daon.

Now was the time!

The moment he raised his hand, Daon grabbed the Hound's Fang from his back and triggered the Battle Ash 'procedure'.

Whizz—

The curved sword collided with the flying spear, causing a slight numbness in his hand. Without thinking, his tense muscles firmly halted the inertia.

Retreat step!

With a jump backward, he saw the mud splash as a spear pierced the ground in front of him. The wet mud flew around, and the sound of breaking wind didn't stop.

Hound's Pursuit!

A brief pause for a more swift explosion, Daon disappeared from his original place. He dashed forward a few steps due to inertia, and with that momentum, he threw out the flame pot.

"How is this possible!?" Daliger's eyes widened. Due to the dim light, he hadn't seen how Daon had managed to avoid the 'Meteor Continuous Shot'. Seeing the flame pot flying towards him, he knew instantly he was in trouble.

Clang—Boom!

Tiles shattered, and the tool made from mushrooms and Fire Star butterflies ignited the grease soaked in the mud. The air became scorching in an instant, and a wall of fire rose in front of them.

"Ah!"

The piercing screams of the soldiers who had just landed quickly turned into human torches. They screamed and scampered about, attempting to jump into the lake to extinguish the fire. But like headless flies, they ended up setting the boats behind them on fire.

"Kill them!" Another Budgie knight cut a flaming man in two with his sword and placed his magic shield at his side. With a 'clang', a flying crossbow bolt sent him retreating several meters. Looking at his indented shield, his face had darkened.

Using fire to delay, then aiming with the crossbow, these Calia people had learned to be despicable.

Daliger paused for a moment and violently pulled the person hiding behind him to the front. This person was clad in a magic robe with an oversized hood. Judging from the face on the hood, he was the wizard from the Carolus classroom.

"Hurry up, do you want to swim back to the academy!?"

The academy lecturer trembled, grasping the situation at last. The crossbow bolts penetrating the firewall didn't care whether you were a scholar or a warrior - if they hit, you die.

He promptly raised his staff, deploying the college emblem.

Shimmerstone Comet!

Swinging his staff left and right, he hurled one magic comet after another, each with a long trail, tearing apart the firewall in front of him.

What?!

By this time, Daon had withdrawn behind the breast-wall, holding two fire-pots, ready to add more fuel to the Barbecued Budgie. He saw a blue magic bullet coming right at him.

His limbs responded quicker than his brain, he turned around and pushed Karin and Ano down. All three rolled into the trench behind them, and before they even landed—

Boom!

The magic explosion bloomed, blowing the crossbow into pieces. The breast-wall collapsed entirely. Daon shook his dizzy head and took in a breath of hot air.

This was what you called magic!