Roars to muster courage, stifled groans to hide pain, the deafening clash of steel, and the deep breaths of those rallying their strength echoed all around. Soldiers, their bodies marred with wounds, gathered closer to the carriage. Leaving fallen comrades behind, they hurriedly took cover behind a magical barrier.
"Diara! Are you alright?" a soldier called out to the sorceress atop the carriage.
"Yes. I can hold on a bit longer." Diara replied.
A brighter blue light flared from her staff.
"Everyone! Diara can't keep this up forever. Unless you're gravely wounded, form ranks!" one of the soldiers shouted, raising his spear to rally his comrades.
"Dalt! Kein! When I charge, follow and cover me!"
"Listen to Reave! Gather up, now! Hurry!"
The soldiers, previously scattered around the carriage and locked in skirmishes with bandits, began to converge. Shoulder to shoulder, they gripped their spears with both hands, readying their stance.
"Diara can't shield us with her barrier forever. We'll break through from here!"
"I'll drop the protective wall when you charge and join the attack." Diara declared.
A sphere of fire formed in Diara's left hand, growing larger. The blazing orb, crackling as it held its shape, stabilized just as the soldiers, now in formation around the carriage, charged toward the enemies encircling them.
"Argh! You filthy bandits!"
"Don't fall behind!"
With the soldiers' war cries, Diara's fireball exploded, scattering flames around. The lingering embers caught the grass on the ground, sending up plumes of black smoke.
Diara, having launched the fireball into the midst of the enemy, leapt down from the carriage roof to join the fray.
"I'll take the lead."
Pushing through the soldiers, Diara sprinted to the forefront.
Her robe and wide-brimmed wizard's hat fluttered with the speed of her charge. She swung her staff at the first bandit she encountered.
"Hah! Already out of mana?" the bandit sneered, drawing his sword to parry her staff.
"Urgh!"
Before Diara's staff even made contact, the bandit's sword shattered. Struck by the staff of the seemingly frail sorceress, the bandit was sent sprawling across the ground with unbelievable force.
"Soldiers, don't overexert yourselves!" Diara called out after sending two more bandits flying with another swing of her staff. A faint blue aura enveloped the staff in her hands.
(I need to focus my mana more intensely.) "Enhance Weapon! Mace!"
Gripping her staff with both hands, Diara channeled her mana. The light enveloping the staff grew sharper, taking on a distinct form. A small magical glyph appeared at the staff's tip, forming a spherical shape. Streams of light extended from it, weaving into an ornate, massive mace made of radiant energy.
Too much mana went into maintaining the barrier around the carriage.
She judged that small-scale area spells like fireballs wouldn't suffice to clear the bandits surrounding them. Thus, Diara opted for the most mana-efficient magic: weapon manifestation. Among these, she chose Enhance Weapon, which strengthened an existing weapon rather than conjuring one from nothing, as summoning spells were closer to invocation magic and consumed more mana.
"Diara! Arrows incoming!"
A soldier named Reave, following close behind, pointed his spear at bandits loosing arrows from a distance.
"Thank you for the warning." Diara said with a smile, wiping sweat from her brow with her sleeve despite her visibly weary expression. She extended her hand, conjuring a magical shield that deflected the incoming arrows.
"Target that sorceress!" one of the bandits surrounding Diara shouted. Before he could finish, he was struck by her massive magical mace, crashing to the ground without so much as a scream.
Diara pressed her assault without pause, her glowing blue mace felling one bandit after another. The bandits, momentarily stunned by the speed and size of her conjured weapon, hesitated. Yet, bolstered by their numbers, none fled. As always, sheer numbers dulled individual fear.
"Out of the way! Move!"
A loud shout rang out from among the bandits encircling Diara and the soldiers. Parting through the crowd, mounted bandits charged toward Diara.
Hearing the thunder of hooves, Diara turned, aiming her staff at the approaching riders and bracing herself.
She gripped the staff's end as far back as possible with both hands, pulling it back to prepare a swing. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, she fixed her wide-eyed gaze on the bandit charging at her.
"A sorceress in flimsy robes dares to strut on the battlefield!"
The lead bandit, raising his sword across his opposite shoulder, swung down at Diara.
Imagining the blue-robed sorceress collapsing under his blade, a grin spread across his face, reveling in the anticipated victory.
"Argh!"
With a scream of agony, the bandit was flung from his saddle, soaring through the air.
Diara, having struck the lead rider with her staff and sent him flying, didn't stop. Her staff halted in place after the blow, poised for the next attack as more mounted bandits charged.
"Weapon Burst!"
With Diara's cry, the rounded mace at her staff's tip swelled and detonated. The powerful explosion swept through the charging horses and their riders, hurling them off with a deafening roar that tore through the air.
The blast's force pushed Diara back as well.
"Ugh…"
"Argh…"
"Damn it!"
The explosion shifted the tide, and the bandits began to waver. Exchanging glances, they hesitated, no one daring to step forward as they eyed Diara and the soldiers.
"Now's our chance! Kill the bandits!"
One soldier, spear raised, shouted to his comrades.
"Yeah! They're just a bunch of cowards with numbers!"
Several soldiers roared and charged. The emboldened soldiers' assault shattered the bandits' formation. One by one, bandits fell, pierced by spears, their pained screams echoing. As the soldiers had said, the bandits, reliant on their numbers, faltered as their ranks thinned, boosting the soldiers' morale. The fierce battle between soldiers and bandits reignited.
"Reave! Behind you!"
A bandit wielding an axe charged at Reave from behind, only to have his throat pierced by Dalt's spear.
"Urk!"
The bandit collapsed, gurgling blood. Reave turned at the sound.
"Phew. Thanks, Dalt. I didn't even notice him coming."
Reave expressed his gratitude before turning to face another bandit.
"Haha! Idiot, I told you! The enemy always comes from behind… Urrrk!"
A sword plunged into Dalt's chest from behind, its wielder standing there.
"Wrong. The enemy always appears from behind. Sadly, it seems you didn't have a friend watching your back."
With those words, Gulick's next strike sent Dalt's head rolling to the ground.
"Dalt!!"
Reave, witnessing the death of his friend and comrade, screamed his name in anguish.
"Oh, my. That reaction—were you friends? Or perhaps long-time comrades? Heh. I won't say I'm sorry. He must've known, as a hired soldier, that a day like this would come eventually."
Gulick shook the blood from his sword and addressed Reave.
"Argh!"
Reave charged at Gulick, roaring. The grinding of his teeth was audible even to Gulick. Uncontrollable rage and regret for failing to protect his friend churned in his mind. He had to kill the man before him. Avenge Dalt. The tangled mess of thoughts in his head snapped, leaving only one sharp resolve: revenge. Revenge for Dalt. That singular thought drove Reave's body.
"Whoa. You're really pissed, huh? Oh, right, I didn't introduce myself. I'm the leader of these—"
"Argh!!"
Reave lunged, thrusting his spear at Gulick. Gulick dodged the fierce strike, but the spear, rebounding from the ground, flew toward him again.
"Heh. I'm not getting hit by a blind swing like that."
Gulick flashed a toothy grin. But the smile he wore while dodging most attacks faltered as he blocked Reave's ferocious strike with his sword, his brow furrowing.
"Playtime's over!"
Gulick parried Reave's spear, snapping its shaft with a crack. Before Reave could react, Gulick closed the distance and slashed him with his sword.
"Urk!"
Blood sprayed from a deep gash across Reave's chest, carved diagonally from shoulder to waist.
Though not as robust as a knight's armor, Reave's chainmail and leather armor were comparable to gear worn by seasoned adventurers or guards of wealthy merchants. Yet, it couldn't withstand Gulick's blade.
"A bit shallow? Or is the armor of the Banass family's soldiers just that tough?"
Gulick twirled his sword with a flick of his wrist, approaching the fallen Reave.
"Well, you've already taken one hit. You can probably handle two or three more, right, soldier?"
"You filthy bandit!" Reave clutched his wound and shouted at Gulick.
"Hmm… not quite a bandit. Take a look around."
Gulick spread his arms, gesturing to his surroundings.
"Bandits, marauders, thieves—call us what you want. But don't you think we're a bit too numerous for that? Sure, some of us come from that sort, but with numbers like these, calling us mere bandits feels a little unfair."
Gulick turned back toward Reave.
"Alright, let's not drag this out too long—it'd get boring. Time for you to join your friend."
As Gulick raised his sword to Reave's neck for the final blow, a sharp, glowing magical arrow pierced his shoulder from afar with a scream.