Besieged Settlement of Hatr
"Ser Lancel! The goblins! They are making a commotion outside the walls." A militia reported as he moved to Lancel's side while he gasped for air.
"Cough… gather the men and tell raul to notify the rest of the people to prepare to assist at moments notice."
"Understood ser!" The gasping militia, heads for the village center to convey Lancel's command.
With shaky steps, Lancel made his way towards the walls of Hatr.
Our once dashing knight now appears pale and frail. The wound in his side ached from time to time as he walks. In spite of this, he perseveres, he fights to protect the people of this village.
A system manifestation he may be, but his heart and emotion for this land is real.
He is a life form manifested by Prewell's hope for a defender, someone who will share his worries for the security of Zalsac.
He is Lancel Od, a knight of Zalsac, the protector of his Liege and his people.
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A heroic stand is currently taking place outside the walls of Hatr. Together, 33 men fought off hundreds of goblins.
Their mighty strength and agile speed deal swift and decisive blows against the short stature creatures.
"Haaaaa!" With a spin, all the enemies that surrounds Barov were split into two. His axe, which accompanied him for a long time now, with dents and chips.
He and the rest of the men's sole duty is to dispatch those who approach their companion mage.
So they did, they kept waving, and thrusting their weapons in order to kill as many goblins as they can, to buy time for Lucius.
Now hundreds of goblin body lie around them.
"Sir, how long do you think will sir Lucius need?" Istav, the wielder of a one-handed axe, asked in concern.
Barov kicked an approaching goblin by its chest. Due to the power behind the kick, the goblin was pushed back to another goblin that followed it.
As the disoriented goblin, tried to make sense of what just happened.
A raised axe, was slammed towards it and its kind. After dealing with the threat, Barov turned to Istav as he told the young warrior his guess. "An hour or maybe more. To be completely honest, I don't know, boy."
As Istav listened to his captain. He raised his axe to his right, then after taking a step back, he whipped his axe towards the neck of the incoming goblin.
As he breathed a sigh of relief, Istav turned to Barov as he spoke of a feeling which had been bothering him for a while. "Something is staring at us Captain… something terrifyingly strong."
He shuddered as he felt the gaze once more.
Barov's face turned grave. He also senses it, he suspects it is the leader of the goblin army.
Clenching his axe tighter, he made quick work of another incoming foe.
His senses have been heightened since a while ago. He had been trying to locate where that gaze was coming from. His eyes wide open, watching his surroundings alertly. Refusing to let even a fly get past his sight and not letting his guard drop for a moment.
He feared that the moment it had enough observing him and the men… It'll join the fray and by then whether he and the men can contend with that creature… is not something he would like to know.
A shout came in the middle of the men's round formation. "NOW!"
Just as Barov and Istav is about to look at the source of the voice.
The ground cracked once more and this time the location where the men stood began to sink rapidly.
*GRRRRRRR*
The ground grinds on itself, the 33 men and the Earth Mage, sunk as a ground they are standing, acted as a platform.
As they sunk, the earth covers the location where the men were once at.
Istav mouth opened it widened to the point where you can fill it with an egg. "So that's what Sir Lucius meant by sinking to the ground and tunneling to the settlement."
His wonderful expression is shared by others. As such a thing is beyond what they understand.
Even Barov's eye twitched at such magic. 'Earth Golem, Earth Puppet, and other Earth Magic is one thing, but literally sinking onto the ground. What kind of magician even thought of that type of spell?'
Oblivious to his companion's expressions. Lucius tapped the ground with his staff as he chanted for an earth puppet to come into existence.
"They'll dig a tunnel for us headed toward Hatr. For now, I'll focus on making small holes which to the surface. There is not much air here, so for the time being, I'll focus on this task."
Pulling his loose robe to his elbow, Lucius, began to identify the length and width of the hole he'll make. "After I'm done with this, I'll compress the material that the puppets dug to spread out around us. It'll make the tunnel structure much stronger."
Barov and the men nodded as they watched the puppet and its creator busied themselves on their respective tasks.
With nothing to do, the men looked at each other's and then began to rest. They have been fighting nonstop, now is a rare moment of peace and quiet.
After leaving this tunnel, they knew that they'll need to assist the defense of the settlement.
So for now, the men lay on the ground as they close their eyes and try to conserve and recover their energy.
Seeing the men's movements, Lucius nodded to himself. He can guess the fate that awaits them at Hatr. It'll be a defensive battle, where they'll need to buy time until Lord Prewell can gather enough men and supplies to reinforce the besieged settlement.
By then, the most rational choice will be for the incoming army to wait until the goblins have fully invested in their siege once more. Then launching an attack to the goblins' rear. Possibly sending someone to take care of the leader of the goblin army.
At that point… they, the defenders will either sally forth or hold the sieging goblins at bay. Not allowing them to support their kind, as they are being assaulted by Zalsac's main force.
'Hmmmm… that's probably how it'll go or if not them something like that will take place.' Shrugging at his tactical prediction, Lucius focused on his task at hand.
'Soon… I wonder how that prick is…' His eyes twitched as the Golden Haired knight's face appeared in his mind.
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Waldr Town Hall
"Ser Wiegraf, some of the people who had tried to hinder the preparations have been dealt with… as for the rest." An attendant in Waldr shook his head.
"We have lost track of them, and most of those who tried to follow them were mortally wounded." To him and his colleagues, the arrest of the suspected locals and foreign merchants should have been an easy job, but they were proven wrong.
They resisted cooperating with them. Some of his colleagues were injured as scuffles broke out.
Soon swords and other weapons were taken out as scuffles turned to full on conflicts.
What's worst is that the local church grant asylum to the criminals.
Such a shameless move shocked the locals of Waldr.
The people of this small port town are believers of the Three Seas, they pray every time a voyage to another port is about to take place.
But the people are neither blind nor stupid. They saw the clashes in daylight.
They are not extreme believers of the church they will not deny the church's dubious action.
The people know what's going on around Hatr. It had been the talk of the town since the militia and the garrison were gathered.
Those being arrested are clearly trying to incite some kind of trouble among the general public.
With the church's dubious move, the people of Waldr began to pray in their houses, avoiding the heavily scrutinized church. For fear that whatever intention the church has, they will be implicated.
Sighing, Wiegraf spoke as he pinched his nose bridge with his fingertips. "I understand. I have already half expected this to happen. For now, have someone follow up on the leads regarding the missing farm tools… also one more thing, I'm issuing a conscription order."
He and Lord Prewell, already suspected the church a long time ago. Their silence and mystery is always a concern, especially their growing influence over the sailors.
The belief of the people towards the Three Seas is already deeply embedded in this small port town. Now such action of theirs made Wiegraf alert once more. Therefore he planned to take initiative before something regretful happened.
"Ser?" The attendant's eyebrow was raised. Such an order can only be issued by the baron. Wiegraf's action is beyond his authority.
Seeing the attendant's expression, Wiegraf, tried to ease his concern. "Don't worry, I have already sent a courier to notify the castle. Lady Madeline should soon receive my request, and by then this issue will certainly reach Lord Prewell."
"But still…" Still hesitant about such an order, the attendant couldn't help but raise a voice of concern.
But alas…
Wiegraf spoke of his concern and the reason why he wished such an order to be carried out.
"If it was any other time, I wouldn't have issued such an order… but given the church's intervention. I cannot risk it, the frontline relies on our supplies and provision… so we must see to it that Waldr will have a sufficient number of troops to protect the settlement from both its internal and external problems."
With a final look at Wiegraf the attendant grimaced. He also had an idea regarding what Wiegraf was guarding against.
As a resident of this town, he doesn't wish for such a thing to happen… especially when Waldr is vulnerable.