53: No Man's Land

The whole battlefield looks like a firework show as all of the Archers and Mages start launching powerful attacks at the enemy. Mari is on a tower on the left of us supporting the mages, while Sachi is on a tower on the right of us leading the archers.

"Keep it up they can't stop us forever!" General Daris yells with his mass communication spell.

"Mardian Art: Beam of Adora!" Mari yells as she shoots an enormous blue magic beam at the griffins and giant bats.

"Windian Art: Piercing Wind Arrows!" Sachi shouts as she shoots a bunch of magic green arrows at the enemy.

The first wave of attacks is definitely effective as their flying forces are falling to the ground like flies! However, their ground forces are getting a little too close for comfort near the trenches.

"Damn, our ranged fighters need a little bit more time! I'll head out there and push them back a bit!" Landon announces as he pulls out a short sword.

"Wow, after all these years you still have Father's sword!" Layla observes her voice full of nostalgia.

"And you still have Mother's, it makes me wonder if Lila still has her necklace too… " Landon states as it's obvious that both of them really miss their parents.

"Let me lead the charge with you Landon! I want to see if all these years in the guild actually made you a decent fighter!" Layla smirks as she grips her short sword.

"Very well, Crow do you wanna join us?" Landon asks as he starts unleashing his Taqa.

"I'll help out our ranged fighters since I can fly! That way we can eliminate the rest of their aerial forces and focus on wiping out their ground forces!" I answer as Layla and Landon nod their heads.

"Sounds like a plan to me! Come on Layla! Scavian Art: Darkness Myriad Slashes!" Landon shouts as he runs into the field and slices through their ground forces.

"Not bad! But don't think I can't hold my own either! Scavian Art: 1 point mode!" Layla yells as she darts across the battlefield cutting through their ground forces at staggering speeds.

"See? You guys didn't need my help at all!" Scavian Art: Flight of the Crow!" I yell as my wings appear and fly up hundreds of feet in the air to intercept their aerial forces.

The griffins and giant bats start shooting magic attacks at me but to no avail as I easily dodge all of their attacks. I fly towards a huge group of them that are trying to close in on the two towers where Mari and Sachi are at.

"Oh no you don't! Scavian Art: Dark Feather Attack!" I yell as I turn my feathers into deadly projectiles that take down at least 30 of their forces in one go.

"Crow? What are you doing up here?" Sachi asks as she continuously shoots her arrows.

"Their ground forces are closing in on the trenches so we need to hurry up and take out their aerial forces so our close-ranged fighters can enter into no man's land!" I inform Sachi.

"Crap, things are already going sideways! We have to take all of them out in one go but with the way things are going I don't know if that's possible!" Sachi yells her voice full of frustration.

"Might I offer a suggestion?" General Daris asks.

"Yes sir!" Sachi and I say in unison.

"Usually when we have our best troops on the field they can pull off what we call Ultima Attacks! Strong spells that can really turn the tide in battle, however without Jax and Marda our only Captain who could cast such powerful spells is Landon. The rest of our forces are far too inexperienced in Ultima Attacks. " General Daris shares with us.

"So shouldn't we save that attack as a last resort? It would probably be best to just continue our war of attrition until and surprise them with Landon's Ultima Attack." I ask as Sachi shakes her head.

"We could but I don't think it would do that much damage on its own! We'd take out a lot of their forces for sure, but we'd also lose our best fighter! Sir, is there any other way we could cast Ultima attacks?" Sachi asks as she keeps launching arrows at the enemy.

"Hmmm, a large-scale Taqa transfer could work! The only problem with going that route is that our long-ranged forces will be out of the battle for a long time! We would need someone to protect them while this is happening." General Daris suggests his voice full of reluctance.

"I can handle it, sir! If it means victory for the people, then I'll fight until my last breath!" I step up as I take out two more enemies while flying around.

"Crow, that's risky! Even for you! We don't have to do this, there's always another way." Sachi insists her voice full of worry.

"Sachi, our reinforcements won't be here until nightfall! We have to fend the Colossi off until then! Trust me, I can do it! Besides, Kira taught me a new trick that'll give me an edge!" I declare as I keep slicing through their aerial forces.

"Alright, sorry for doubting you! Just be careful!" Sachi commands.

"Listen up all Crimson Blade forces! We have decided to change up our strategy! All mages and archers are to do a Taqa transfer to both of the Chosen Children on each tower! As many of you already know, having this many people do this will require a lot of time! Fear not because one of the other Chosen Children will be handling their aerial forces! Once the Taqa transfer is over, we will launch a triple threat ultima attack! Captain Landon, I'll be counting on you to launch your attack as well! Until then, no more hiding in the trenches! All of our close-ranged fighters are to enter into no man's land and fight with everything you have! Did I make myself clear?" General Daris asks his voice full of passion.

"AYE!" Everyone replies simultaneously.

"Good, the true battle begins now! ATTACK!" General Daris commands as I can see a flood of our close-ranged fighters charging towards the enemy.

All of our archers and mages put their hands on Sachi and Mari as I can see a huge amount of Taqa being transferred to them. Suddenly, a group of bats launches magic attacks at Mari's tower.

"Mari! Move out the way you ugly beasts! Scavian Art: Winged Shield!" I shout as I get in front of their attacks and reflect them back with my magic shield.

"Thanks, are you sure you got this on your own? You already look tired… " Mari observes as her body is emanating a huge amount of Taqa.

"You just get ready to launch that attack! No matter what happens I won't allow them to lay a finger on any of you! Scavian Art: Embrace of the Crow, Mode 1!" I shout as my whole body transforms.

My hands turn into sharp talons, my vision becomes sharper, my arms and body become covered in fur, and my wings become even longer!

"You finally learned it!" Mari cheers as she smiles widely.

"Courtesy of Kira's hellish training!" I reply as I fly towards the enemy at blinding speeds.

The griffins and bats all try to corner me but I rip them to shreds with my talons. Another group of about 50 of them try to attack me from different angles but I'm way too fast for any of them to hope to keep up with me.

"It seems like none of you get it! You can come at me forever and you still won't stand a chance! RAH!" I yell as take out that pack of 50 with ease.

"Crow, watch out there's still quite a bit left!" Mari points out as I look ahead of me and notice that hundreds of them are on their way to avenge their friends.

"I see I can't hold back anymore! Try recovering from this! Scavian Art: Caw of the Crow!" I yell as I shoot an enormous black beam from my mouth that destroys the rest of their aerial forces.

"WOO! They're all gone, once we're all done being charged up they're finished!" Mari cheers as she and Sachi are still not quite finished.

"I better get down to the trenches and help out Landon and Layla!" I reply as I fly down towards no man's land.

Layla and Landon are currently fighting a goblin king and a giant snake.

"Whew, getting tired yet?" Layla asks as she smirks and runs up the goblin king's shoulder.

"This is just a warm-up for me! Better catch up, little sis!" Landon answers as he cuts the giant snake down with ease.

"Glad to see you're actually a warrior now! Scavian Art: Dark Blade Slash!" Layla shouts as she shoots a circular black magic slash that cuts off the goblin king's head.

"Well, I came down here to help but it seems like you guys have it covered!" I chime in as I take out some of the Skeleton Knights.

"Attention all Crimson Blade members! The Chosen Children are done with their Taqa transference! All people who are not launching Ultima attacks need to evacuate immediately!" General Daris commands.

"Come on Layla we gotta get out of here!" I yell as I grab her hand.

"Take'em down, big bro!" Layla cheers as we and the rest of the close-ranged fighters run back to the trenches for safety.

"Alright! At the count of three launch your attacks! Three, two, one, FIRE!" General Daris orders.

"Windian Art: Wind Blade Vortex!" Sachi shouts as she shoots an enormous green arrow at the enemy.

"Mardian Art: Meteor of Fate!" Mari commands as she shoots a giant blue meteor that's the size of a football field.

"Can't let you kids show me up! Scavian Art: Dark Resonance Sphere!" Landon yells as he shoots off a humongous black magic ball.

All three attacks hit the enemy at the same time causing a huge explosion. After a couple of minutes, we all poke our heads out of the trenches to see the aftermath and all 6,000 of their forces have been eliminated with only their fiery remains still on the field.

"WE DID IT!" I yell as everyone starts cheering.

"Victory is ours! That'll show them to mess with Crimson Blade!" Landon cheers his voice full of happiness.

"Good job everyone! All troops head back to the city, your relievers should be here in a couple of hours! Chosen Children meet me in my tower!" General Daris commands.

I wish Jack were here, he would've loved a battle like this!