The Knights engaged the East wing as ordered and a slaughter ensued. The new enemies were unaware of how dangerous the Knight’s blades were and so were reckless when defending. Instantly, the fastest frontline of the East wing was mowed down.
Sol continued to pull her men back and rotate around the backside of the East wing, zigzagging between each side as she went. With their superior weapons, the militia men were forced to use numbers to overwhelm the Knights.
Sir Leory quickly caught on to Sol’s tactic and eventually started issuing the orders before Sol. His height and experience gave him a deeper understanding of their position on the battlefield and thus enabled more accurate orders.
As the Knights continued their defense and retreat, the initial energy they started with waned quickly. Had Sol not split the defense into two groups, the exhaustioned men would have fallen behind long ago.
By now, Sol could see the bulk of the enemy’s forces. Hundreds of bodies littered the trail and yet the militia men only stepped on them to pursue. Sol’s brows furrowed at the sight. It was an uphill fight to start with and the Knights protecting her were starting to sustain wounds.
Although their maneuvers kept the militia from surrounding them, it also exhausted her men since they had to continuously move. Sol saw the first signs of collapse and issued the order to charge. Her safety zone was no longer safe and Sol held a small dagger in her hand.
The knights pushed forward into the militia taking the fight to unstable ground filled with bodies. Their superior weapons allowed them to take advantage of the clumsy terrain and maintain an edge over the enemy.
Sol tumbled to the ground in an attempt to dodge a blade thrown at her. The sword swished past her head and tumbled across the blood drenched dirt. It was the dying throw of a man already cut down. Sol’s eyes flickered as the adrenaline grew. She had no experience in combat and staying alive was already a difficult task for her.
As blood sprayed and the pressure mounted, Sol could feel the restraints inside her stretching and tearing. Silver tainted her black eyes and her thoughts became less incoherent. Her vision narrowed and her hearing expanded. Sol felt as if the world was the most clear it had ever been to her.
Another blade tore through the air at Sol however her body only waved slightly to dodge it. The dagger in her hand moved beyond her control and struck the assailant in the leg. Although Sol was now an Assembler and entered the Body Refinement stage, her attainment was only enough to restore her strength to that of an average 10 year old girl.
Despite that small strength, her dagger cut through the thick hide wrapped around the man’s leg and left a pristine gash across it. The man recoiled in pain and tried to lift his sword once more but was interrupted by a large blade driven through his chest.
Sir Leory pulled his sword from the man, took a quick glance at Sol and became shocked before settling his emotions. The girl had silver splotches in her eyes that seemed to grow and shrink against the black ocean as if contesting for territory.
The sight only shocked Sir Leory for a moment though as the situation was far from settled. He only kept his glance on the girl long enough to verify she was uninjured before returning to the fight. Sol hardly reacted to Sir Leory as she was already observing her surroundings through her spiritual awareness.
She detected a rapid signature closing in on their group and Sol suspected it was an Assembler. Her eyes failed her and was unable to pick out the figure amongst the enemy. The signature practically teleported next to her and Sol threw her body to the ground.
Where she had been standing previously was a massive scar in the ground. A cold chill went down Sol’s spine however her fighting will only skyrocketed. Somewhere in her heart, Sol was eager to fight the threat.
Blood splashed as Sol regained her footing and stance. She kept her eyes open while also tracking that signature with her spiritual awareness. It used the militia as a cover to hide its figure and only took potshots at Sol through the minor gaps between the combatants.
Sir Leory watched as Sol took a strange series of steps in astonishment. Each step the girl took looked unbalanced and immature however chunks of blood and dirt were excavated from her previous position each time. He wasn’t stupid. Sir Leory knew Sol was under attack, but he was powerless to find the enemy or stop them.
As if to read his mind, Sol gave him a nonchalant gaze and a wave of the hand. The indifference in the pair of eyes that crossed over him drove a chill down Sir Leory’s spine. It was clear that the silver substance was consuming Sol’s original eye color. Even from the subtle distance Sir Leory was from her, he could catch the glint of sunlight reflecting off the conquered territory.
Unable to assist, Sir Leory continued to protect Sol from the dangers he was capable of. Sol’s awareness was slowly encroaching on the mysterious Assembler. It was fast, unbelievably fast, however Sol didn’t feel like she would lose.
Every dodge she made allowed her spiritual awareness to funnel onto the Assembler a little more. As if to feel the approaching threat, the Assembler teleported behind Sol once more intending to end the fight on their next strike. Sol dived to the bloody ground once more while tossing her dagger back at the assailant.
She rolled to her feet and pulled a second dagger from a belt hidden on her thigh. For the first time, Sol caught sight of her enemy. A slim humanoid woman with subtle blue scales around her eyes gazed in fury back at Sol.
Deep red blood poured from her stomach after she pulled the dagger from it. The woman stared at the blade in astonishment for a second before storing it in her pouch. Although it seemed like it took a while, the woman performed the actions with brevity.
She wiped a green sludge across her stomach and picked her staff back up. Her bloodlust reached Sol and a moment later, her staff appeared inches from Sol’s face. The insane speed was lost from Sol’s eyes however her spiritual awareness picked up the movement long ago.
She ducked below the swing and moved back to create space. Sol’s breathing started turning labored and she could tell she developed tunnel vision. In her eyes and awareness, there was only the woman and her staff.
Sol waited for the woman’s next strike and was planning to attack back, however the staff snapped in two and two shorter blades were launched at Sol. The first blade missed Sol by a hair, however the second struck her shoulder and pierced through it.
“Arghh!” Sol’s pained cry drew the attention of the Knights surrounding her, but only Sir Leory was able to break away. He wanted to help Sol, however a group of militia men forced their way before him. He was helpless and could only fight his way through frantically.
Unwilling to waste the chance, the woman pulled the blade she took earlier from her pouch and attacked Sol. As the lady approached, Sol felt the world slow down and her vision turned gray. The primal urge inside her grew stronger and screamed out at her. She felt as if she were fighting against herself to retain control.
Death approached closer and Sol made her decision. She stopped restraining that caged beast. Immediately, thin threads of silver blasted out of Sol’s body and tore up her adjacent surroundings. The woman halted her attack in utter surprise. What little unclaimed territory in Sol’s eyes that remained black was converted to a silver sheen. Sol felt as if her body had unlimited energy and the urge to scream flared through her.
“Aaaaargh!” Her voice echoed through the forest and carried with it an immortal air. Those mortals in combat all felt an instinctual craving to bow down the moment Sol’s voice struck them. After her scream, Sol dropped to her knees as her consciousness faded.
Floating between herself and the woman, a silver amorphous blob grew in size. Its shape remained egg-like until its body was nearly Sol’s size. It then sprouted four legs and a head. Small horns that poked nearly an inch from its head were the only weapon this beast had.
Silver fur covered the creature that took the appearance of a deer. Its innocent gaze landed on the woman and followed her position closely. As if inviolable, the deer’s fur remained pristine despite stepping through puddles of mud and blood.
The woman was only surprised for a moment, however she was a professional. The beast appeared so quickly that she hesitated to finish her strike. Now that she saw what it was, there was no reason to hold back anymore.
Her dagger slashed across the deer’s throat and diced its skin. Silver blood poured from the wound, however the deer didn’t appear to be in pain. Rather, the deer braced itself and kicked off the ground. It ignored the damage dealt to it and tackled the woman to the ground. Its hooves smashed onto the woman, however it was only able to do minor damage. Scales crawled from underneath the woman’s skin and deflected most of the damage. It was clear the woman was incensed.
The swings of the dagger became more brusk and less accurate. Eventually, the woman’s hand smashed to the ground and a pillar of mud blasted the deer off her. She took to her feet and stared down the deer with caution. In return, the beast grunted and shook its head. There was no clear victory in their exchange. From the side, Sol could barely manage to keep herself awake. ‘Was that inside me?’
