Battle at the Gate

While the enemy cowered before the pillars of flame, we kept shooting arrows to add to the wounded.

Finn had good night vision, and Elza was skilled with a bow as well.

Any soldier who stepped even slightly forward had the gaps in their armor pierced with impressive precision.

Azu's sling throws also hit hard enough to dent armor.

With her sharp eyesight, she was hitting something every time.

"Get the wounded to the rear! … Damn."

The enemy commander's bluster had diminished compared to the start.

At first, there had been enough soldiers to surround the gate, but their numbers were clearly dwindling, and that was taking its toll.

Normally our small numbers should have been exposed by now, but Finn was moving to a different position each time she fired an arrow.

That seemed to be confusing them effectively, making them still think we had a decent force here and hesitate to charge.

I didn't understand much about combat, but I understood risk and reward very well.

When the losses are obvious, in other words, when you can tell soldiers are going to fall, even the hot-blooded become cautious.

And if anyone tried to change that by stepping forward carelessly, arrows would come flying.

Alexia was controlling the battlefield by prolonging this stalemate.

The enemy wasn't just sitting idle either. They shot arrows back.

But the heat from the flame pillars warped the arrows' trajectories, making them miss.

All magic was aimed at Alexia, who stood out the most, and she neutralized every spell.

I was reminded yet again that Alexia's skill and magical capacity as a mage were exceptional.

If this lasted until morning, the enemy would surely retreat.

Depending on how the central battle went, it might be even sooner.

I didn't want to think about what would happen if they lost, but given how things were going, it seemed like we could force our way out if we had to.

Orleans and I huddled together sitting in the guard post.

The temperature wasn't that low, but nervous sweat was chilling my body.

Then Orleans wrapped both hands around my right hand.

"It's alright. While the others are away, I will protect you, sir."

"… I'm counting on you. Thanks."

"It's only natural. I owe you a great debt, sir."

The touch of human warmth eased my tension somewhat.

Alexia continued to stand atop the gate, deflecting enemy attacks and intimidating them.

Gradually, the enemy seemed less afraid of our forces and more afraid of Alexia herself.

… Come to think of it, when Alexia was captured by the Kingdom, she'd stayed behind alone as a rearguard to let her allies escape, wreaking havoc.

Back then she must have been weaker than now, but if she'd still caused that much chaos, she could probably take on a hundred soldiers by herself now.

While I was thinking such thoughts, there was a rustling sound in the brush.

The sound was so unnatural that Orleans and I turned to look, and there were two soldiers crouching as they infiltrated.

I immediately thought, how?

Judging by the direction they came from, they must have made a wide detour and climbed the wall.

Alexia was focused on the enemies in front of the gate, and the spot where the soldiers appeared was a blind spot from where Finn and Elza stood.

Azu noticed instantly, dropped her sling, grabbed her sword, and headed toward them.

But the soldiers already had bows fully drawn and were in position.

"Alexia!"

At the very least, I called out her name as a warning.

Just as the arrows were about to be loosed, Orleans turned her gaze toward the soldiers with bows.

"Just target the bow."

I heard her murmur quietly.

The next instant, the soldier's bow caught fire and the flames spread to his clothes.

He screamed and rolled on the ground to extinguish it, but by the time the fire was out, Azu had run up and clubbed both soldiers with her sheathed sword.

She must have thought there was no time to even draw it.

Alexia glanced over for just a moment but turned her gaze back, judging it was handled.

What nerves on that woman.

I was glad we had a relationship of trust now, but if Alexia hadn't been a slave when we first met, there was no way I could have managed her.

The two beaten soldiers were both unconscious, and we bound them so they couldn't do anything.

They probably had broken bones, but they weren't in mortal danger.

They could stay quiet for a while.

"Looks like some rats snuck in, but that's not nearly enough."

"Tch."

The enemy clicked his tongue in response.

"Hasn't the battering ram arrived yet!"

"It just arrived!"

Soldiers cleared a path, and there appeared a massive stake made from a tree trunk.

"How well-prepared."

Alexia said, her sarcasm tinged with exasperation, as she looked down at the battering ram.

Soldiers with shields had formed a protective perimeter around it, with mages defending as well.

"Charge! Once the gate is down, we've won. Do whatever you want with that impudent woman!"

The appearance of the massive weapon seemed to revive their morale.

They rammed the battering ram into the gate with force.

Alexia gave a small sigh and jumped down from the gate just before the impact hit.

The gate reinforced by earth magic withstood the blow, but debris crumbled from the impact.

"I was getting a bit impatient, so this works out nicely."

It didn't seem like a good situation to me, but Alexia said that and licked her lips with a smile.

The next moment, hot wind swirled up from Alexia's feet, billowing her dress's hem and exposing her shapely thighs.

She aimed her battle-axe at the gate and murmured something.

A spell incantation.

Heat was being drawn from the surroundings.

The only warm spot was around Orleans.

All the heat gathered into Alexia's battle-axe, condensing.

There was a loud thud as a second blow landed.

The gate withstood that too, but there were clear signs of collapse.

It wouldn't survive another.

A fireball floated at the tip of the battle-axe.

Small but illuminating the surroundings as bright as day.

This was Alexia's most powerful spell.

Though it seemed to shine far more intensely than before.

The brooch housing the Fire Elemental resonated with it, looking like a small sun.

A third impact. The gate was breached.

At the same instant, Alexia fired the spell at the battering ram.