“Fang Coyotes! Dash forward!” The squad hastened its pace and went for the beasts. Noticing the approaching squad, the beasts glanced at each other and growled in anticipation as they waited for the squad to enter the larger clearing. More than four flings in height and six flings in length, the grey creatures were lower than the average Valean height. With a pair of strong nimble paws and a cautious opening of jaws, Fang Coyotes looked like a pair of giant wolfs. They were a joke if compared to a Vorgion. On the contrary, the strength of Fang Coyotes lied on their wits, and most of all, the bonding a pair of spouse shared. “Shield!” “Parma!” Even for the knights who fell a Vorgion did not dare to relax as they raised their shields and created a line of shield barrier. A weak bluish streak of barrier with the Centialion insignia was conjured in front of the squad. Lucious was stunned by the shield barrier. “How...With just one word...Wait...the shields?” Without the time to pry further, Lucious noticed a voice chanting for the barrier. The shield barrier became stronger as Lucson chanted and reinforced the barrier. Lucious smiled nervously as he witnessed the power and discipline of the knights of the Principle. Realising Lucson’s role in the shield formation, Lucious placed his hand on the Maeist knight’s shoulder and focused his Natura to complement the barrier.
Both sides stopped and observed each other as they shifted their position slightly and focused on every movement of their opponents. Unsure of the sudden appearance of the squad, the Fang Coyotes narrowed their eyes and maintained their vigilance while shifting their positions with each other. Noises of metallic clanks and bangs disturbed the silent stare-show as the knights knocked at the side of their shields with swords. Even Lucious felt a slight annoyance as he stared ahead from the gaps of the formation to observe the beasts. Apparently agitated by the noises, the beasts became restless and pouched forward for the assault.
The knights grimaced at the impact as the beasts pressed down with their leaps in consecutive turns that seemed to last forever. The slightly larger female beast leapt for an attack while the male watched the squad and followed up with another leap after the female landed and assumed the role of the male beast. Leave unhindered, the ceaseless pounding could push the knights to their limit and destroy the shield barrier in minutes. “Floki!!” The old Maeist has started to jump slightly on his feet since the start of the battle. With a heave, Floki stomped the ground with his body shifted to a side stance. A sharp spear of earth and mud blasted from the ground, pointing at the attacking beasts. Earth Spear! Surprised, the beasts jumped backwards and watched for more earth projectiles. Again, both sides stopped and sized up each other.
“Damn it, they’re really sharp. Floki, distract them in random sequences following their attacks.” Cassian quickly made a quick instruction but his eyes never leave the beasts. With a low growl, the beasts charged forward again while crisscrossing with each other. “BRACE!!” Lucious felt the rapid evaporation of his Natura. The knights also strained with the combination attack. Floki fenced them off with earth elemental attacks as he stomped on the ground and summoned the spear from the earth. Occasional arrows flew from the woods which came from different directions after the previous shots. The confusion of the beasts earned them some short respite. Even in the hectic battle, Lucious could not help but impressed by his Maeist mentor. Lucious had always assumed that Floki was a normal grumpy folk with some Maiesm skills, but meeting the Maeists from the Principle changed his thought. Lucious spared a look to Julian who started to borrow his Natura to the knights. Even Lucson struggled to maintain his chanting while facing the frontal attacks. Floki did it with elaborated footwork without calling and chanting for earth elementals.
However, Lucious did not have the luxury to continue his thought. Suddenly, one of the beasts jumped higher as its partner rushed forward to attack. Stepping on its larger spouse, the beast attempted to leap across the shield formation. Before Cassian shouted for him, Julian responded instantly with a frantic chanting as the Maeist transformed the shield barrier into a full barrier. Lucious sweated a cold shiver as he caught on the slightly distorted chanting when the beast leaping to them. Immersing in the sensation of the barrier, Lucious could feel the underlying structure of the transformation beneath his hand. Such complicated control. Eyeing Julian with respect, Lucious could understand the difference of strength between his and Julian’s barrier. If Lucious’s barrier was a wooden sheet, then Julian’s barrier was a finely layered brick. To think there is such a way to deploy a barrier.
Recoiled from the fully deployed barrier, the beast landed steadily on its four and eyed the squad with its narrowing gaze. The beasts rushed forward and repeated its combination onslaught with occasional high leaps. Gabriel’s arrows, Floki’s earth elementals, and Julian’s barrier kept them from succeeding. The battle started its toll on the squad as the members breathed heavily in fatigue. Floki became slower as his old age caught up to him, even Julian started to grab on his head in pain due to the immense concentration required for the full barrier. The knights also trembled slightly as they catching their breath. Lucson was already in his limit as he ceased to chant. Feeling lightheaded, Lucious focused his senses and relieved to find himself not overburning his Natura.
Their valiant struggle also wore out the beasts as they stopped and stared at the squad in tired wariness. Even when the battle became a fight of attrition, the beasts did not consider the option of retreat as they rushed at Cassian’s squad again. “Hold on!” The members tensed with anticipation as they prepared for the attack. Everyone was exhausted to some extent, except Lucious. Thus, the young trainee able to notice the movement of the beasts and shouted with alarm. One of the beasts hopped on the larger beast and launched itself above the full barrier and jumped across the squad as its partner pressing on the knights. The beast landed behind the squad and readied to tear at their rear.
“Floki, Pompadous, see to it!” The old Maeist and the grumpy spear wielder turned to face the beast at their back. “The rest, trust those two and focus on the front.” Lucious was trying his best to concentrate on channelling his Natura to the chanting Lucson. It was very difficult as angry grunts, shaking and groaning of earth, and growls showered on their back. Lucious stole occasional glances. It seemed like the beast behind them did not gain the rear advantage as Floki and Pompadous worked quite well with the hiding Gabriel. With Pop’s stabbing, Floki’s harassing, and Gabriel’s hindering, the beast could not gain ground from the seasoned warriors. Even so, Lucious worried about their stamina and prayed silently for the beast to give up the rear.
Finally, the beast gave up its assault on the rear as it sidestepping around the squad and jumped to the side. The larger beast skipped to the side to join its mate. The squad reassembled to face the beasts with the shield knights at the front, but the members were at their limit. Even Lucious who had it easy started to show signs of overburning. Desperate, Lucious looked at Cassian but the leader of the squad remained adamant with the condition of the members. Before he could say anything to Cassian, the beast once again charged at the squad, but this time advancing side by side. The beasts stopped before reaching the shields and jumped away from each other as they started to circle around to the flanks of the squad.
“What?! Side-to-Side!!” The squad reacted slower to the sudden development. The shield knights quickly pulling away and separating to the sides of the squad, but the beasts caught on the desperate reaction. Jumping sideways once again, the beasts regrouped in front of the squad which was still trying to shift their defence to the sides. The front became exposed instantly. Everything was slowing down for Lucious as he watched helplessly at the charging beasts. Shivered and paralysed by fear and death, memories flashed passed his vision as Lucious stared into the nothingness. “Oh...Is it now?” His vision started to fade as Lucious losing his concentration due to overburning.
Shouts jolted his attention to the rest of the squad as they roared desperately but there was a fire in each of them. The knights were trying to move to the front of the formation while backing away from the beasts. The rest were making way by retreating away from the beasts. They were still alive. Lucious recalled yesterday night when he talked to the members of the party as they welcomed his participation to the expedition. Even before the battle, Lucious felt so comfortable being at the party. Something inside him snapped and filled his paralysed limbs. Lucious found himself throwing away his staff and charging straight to the front as he heard Floki shouted behind.
Lucson was the first to reach the front. Discarding his shield, the Maeist knight held his sceptre and chanted for his barrier. Even Lucious knew that the barrier was not enough to hold back the relentless attack of the beasts. He rushed toward Lucson and crashed on the Maeist knight’s staunched back. Lucson did not lose his concentration although he was surprised for a fraction of a second by the rash action of the young trainee as he stumbled a step forward. Lucious summoned every fibre of Natura he could get and channelled it to Lucson. Lucious shared his Natura to Lucson and felt the flow of Natura of the Maeist knight. Reaching into Lucson’s barrier, Lucious could feel the structure beneath the conjuration as if tracing a finger on a wall.
Lucious started to shiver in his cold sweat as the nauseating and terrifying sensation rose from his deepening immersion in Lucson’s barrier. Recognising the symptom that induced the change of his barrier, Lucious tried to ignore the pending shadow of his nightmare and concentrated his focus to Lucson’s barrier. “Deeper...Deeper...As if I am a part of the barrier...” Feeling the flow of Lucson’s Natura and breath, Lucious weaved his Natura along with the flow and aligned his breathing with the Maeist knight. Integrated firmly with Lucson’s barrier, Lucious started to understand the way the Maeist knight formed his chant and knitted his Natura to conjure his barrier. Released himself to the flow, the young trainee started to chant with the Maeist knight.
Looking at Lucious with his eyes widened in astonishment, Lucson lost his concentration briefly when the beast crashed on his barrier. For that second, the barrier was Lucious’s. The barrier did not shatter but stretched as it absorbed and negated the force of the rush. Lucson resumed his chant instantly. The barrier bounced to rigidness and the combined force of recoil threw the beast on its partner. The beasts crashed and rolled uncontrollably across the ground as they were stunned and lost their footing. “Maeists, pound! Knights, the Quadrant Cage!” Seeing the great opportunity, Cassian urged the members to rush toward the beasts and released a loudening flare.
Barely able to stay conscious, Lucious stumbled on the ground on his four and looked on as the shield knights and Julian sealed the confused beasts in the barrier formed by their encirclement. Quingon’s squad appeared from the woods. Penn threw some flasks over the seal onto the beasts and Emma summoned a fireball and blasted them to the beasts. Floki combined the fiery attack with a cyclone gale within the seal. The combination formed a fire tornado inside the seal, burning the beasts. The shield knights and Julian were biting down on their teeth at the sheer will to hold the seal and contain such an onslaught.
“Knights, break cage! Everyone, prepare!” TheMaeists stopped their attack and chanting as the knights broke away from the encirclement. The party surrounded the beasts with shield knights at the front. Scorched by the blitz, the beasts could barely stand and their furs were blackened by the fire. “Quingon, do your best.” The man in crimson plate mail curved his lips wickedly as he stared at his prey in excitement. Realising their inevitable demise, the Fang Coyotes howled their last stand as Quingon rushed to the wounded beasts with Merridian and Cassia. The sounds of the battle started to fade as Lucious losing his consciousness. “Lucious!!“Everything was fading to white when he heard Floki screamed his name and darkness descended.
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