Chapter 56: Wings of Redemption

The humans pushed towards the iron box with zeal and uncanny fear, using the dead bodies of their fallen comrades as meat shields in order to push onwards to the Ak’hims who were holding down in defensive positions. There was also the fact that their numbers were even more numerous than before. 

The Ak’hims were able to hold at first but soon found themselves running out of mana due to the intense battle and the prolonged combat. Even the Analysts who prided themselves in having a massive pool of mana started running out and they soon found themselves unable to charge the large laser beam to shoot at the enemies. The force field barrier that surrounded the Iron box soon ran out as well as they started to face the depleting mana problems.

The shield dispersing meant that the humans could now throw their long-range attacks to hit the soldiers within the iron box. The small arrows and projectiles aimed at the small windows and slit of the vehicle caused the Ak’hims inside to be more aware of when to throw out their spells, lest they be caught by the human’s range attack. 

One such Ak’him was Lina who was trembling even more than before now that real arrows were flying past her as she hurled ice bolts at the enemy. Her aim and frequency of attacks got worse due to her irrational fear of getting out of hand. It wasn’t only her, the other’s inside were having a harder time to hit the humans, as well. This prompted the humans to press even harder— soon they'll reach the iron box.

“We can’t hold this position much longer. Prepare to evacuate and set the charges to blow within half an hour. There will be no manual detonation. Warriors, secure the exit, we are leaving!” Yuupiecca yelled out his orders.

Everyone in the armoured vehicle saluted and began preparations to leave the tank. They opened the emergency hatch and started to evacuate the vehicle one by one. First, the Ak’hims who would cover their exit path, then the crews and non-combatants and finally the soldiers who were using the vehicle as a garrison. Yuupiecca and Lina remained in the iron box as the others made their way out. The two will be the last to evacuate.

The humans who saw this made an even larger assault on the Seventh Army and started charging their way through at the fleeing Ak’hims. They came in quickly and immediately surrounded the escaping Ak’hims. The Warriors at the front fought off the charging humans while the Analysts formed a barrier that shrugged off projectiles. The others launch their own range attack at the humans, deterring them from coming any closer.

“Yuupie, Lina! Everyone is evacuated! You guys get out as well!” Poi yelled out.

“Got it. Lina, come on. We got to--” Yuupiecca paused when he saw that Lina was frozen in fear. She tried to fight it off but her legs won’t move.

She was then suddenly picked up by Medica who yelled: “Get out! I got her,” as she flew towards the emergency exit. Yuupiecca followed closely behind.

Making their way out of the iron box, they soon found themselves with the rest of the Seventh Army, surrounded by humans who were attacking them without any regards to their own life. The surround was weak and thin, but it was enough for the Ak’hims to stay stuck in this position. If the stronger of the Ak’hims like Klauna or Cera were here, they could have easily blown a hole through the surround and escaped. Lina was one of the few with the firepower to do so, but she won’t be able to do so in her state.

“Curse this body of mine…” Lina said softly toward the person who was carrying her. 

“It’s alright, Lord Lina. Just tell us what to do,” Medica reassured her.

“...Get the Saboteurs to blow us an escape path. The Succours just keep supporting the others,” Lina gave her orders while being moved around in a bridal carry.

“Roger that!” After replying, Medica then relayed her orders to the others.

The orders soon reached the ears of the Saboteurs led by Pringgar. Using their drilling claws and tails, the underground experts dug straight through and did what the Succour said. They blew up a hole from beneath the ground and used their tails to stab any humans in sight, before burrowing back to the ground, leaving small tiny explosives that exploded shortly after. A hole was made and the Ak’hims quickly took advantage of the situation, immediately retreating to the forest through the opening.

The Seventh Army made their way into the forest, away from the chasing humans. They ran as quickly as they could while the rogues, led by Balestra, zig-zagged around the trees and shot arrows at their pursuers. The chase climaxed with the sound and shockwave from a large explosion coming from the destroyed iron box. Due to the short timeframe they had, both the Ak’hims and the humans were unable to avoid the blast, scattering them with the harsh winds.

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Lina opened her eyes slightly before looking at the area around her. She was surrounded by Medica and the other Succours who were forming a circle around her. They shot magical ice bolts at the humans who were approaching them. Looking around further, she could see Yuupiecca who was at the front of the lines alongside a few Warriors and Analysts, holding the lines against encroaching humans. They were buying time for the Ak'hims to regain their bearings.

He was holding well for a moment; throwing out a few large grade attacks on the enemy, but he soon found himself running out of mana. The enemies took advantage of this and started pushing harder. Lina could see Balestra and Poi in the frontlines as well, dancing among the enemies and killing them swiftly with their daggers.

But it wasn't enough.

No matter how many they kill, more and more humans arrived to take their place and more. The situation got worse when a bunch of human elites, knights, came into the fray with magic resistant armour. Any magical attacks bounce off them and daggers that the rogues use to engage with them in melee combat proved useless against the full body armour as they made their way towards the demon who was giving out orders.

Yuupiecca.

Lina could feel her heart stopped as she witnessed Yuupiecca fight off against a bunch of knights alone. He was a rather strong mage in his own right, but he was an inventor, not a fighter. The result was obvious and it showed right here in this fight. He quickly got dispatched and was soon on the ground reeling in pain from the Knight’s attack. 

‘I need to help him,’ Lina thought to herself but was unable to move. Her body was frozen and refused to listen to her command. She bit her lip in frustration.

One of the knights came up to Yuupiecca before brandishing his sword at him. His attempts were prevented by a timely attack by Balestra who managed to pierce the Knight’s tough armour with his dagger, stabbing him through the cracks in his helmet. 

Though that was as far as he could go. This attack left him completely opened and he was soon stabbed by multiple swords.

“Balestra!” Yuupiecca and Poi yelled out in shock at the sight of Balestra being stabbed. The body of their senior and mentor fell to the ground.

“How dare you!” Poi yelled out in a hoarse voice before going berserk.

She let out a small burst of energy before striking the Knights with as much fury as she could. With her movements boosted beyond what the Knights could see, she jumped and quickly disposed of the Knights around Balestra. Blindsiding them and killing them with a stab to their face. 

Making sure that the area around Balestra was free, she then proceeded to attack the other knights around her. Her burst lasted quite a while and she killed a few knights, but her tactics were soon learned by the humans who covered each other's backs in a circle to prevent her from blindsiding them. She eventually went down with a blow to her stomach and was sent flying away.

Once Poi was handled, the knights went back to finish the job, brandishing his sword again towards Yuupiecca. He swung his sword down only to miss Yuupiecca who was still struggling against the humans. 

Yuupiecca who narrowly avoided the attack threw back small wind blades at the knights. The attack was pointless against their magic resistant armour, of course.

‘Move dammit! I need to save him!’ Lina yelled internally. Her body then started to move, but it wasn’t enough. 

In her place, Medica flew towards the Knights to help Yuupiecca and the other Analysts. Lina tried to yell out to her but found that her voice won’t even come out of her mouth. Seeing this, she bit her lip even harder till the point of bleeding.

‘What am I doing? Am I going to let them die here?’ Lina cursed herself as she sat there shivering in fear as she witnessed the people closest to her risk their lives.

Medica, Poi and Yuupiecca worked together to hold off against the Knights but they were soon overwhelmed by their numbers. The humans started to come in droves as well, even if she could stand up now, she would not make it in time. Her heart sank further into despair.

‘If only I could fly… if only I still have my wings...’ she thought to herself.

It was then she could hear a snap in her mind and she was reminded of the time within the iron box all those months ago in Prashyufa. It was the time when Yuupiecca woke her up from her pathetic self. Lina, having enough of her cowardice, brought out her hand before slapping herself in the face.

After that, something weird happened. She didn’t know why, but she could feel some sort of energy surging within her. All of a sudden her vision turned red and her skin felt wet. It was like she was floating in the air. She could feel the sensation of having wings again. 

Lina could once more move her body again.

But the power came with a disadvantage, she couldn’t really think that well. All she knew was that she needed to get to Yuupiecca and the others. She let out a harrowing yell and the next thing she knew, she was already there. 

Wasting no time, she slammed her fist to the ground causing a big wave of destruction along her path. Within the next few seconds, red spikes came out of the ground to impale those who fell prey to the shockwaves.

“Lord Lina… Your… wings!!” Medica yelled to Medica as she saw Lina’s figure.

Confused by what she meant, she looked towards her back only to have her eyes widened in surprise. A pair of wings sprouted out from her back. It looked to be made of blood and had a small vortex swirling around them. Whether it’s really blood or her own magical power going out of control, she couldn’t tell. Her entire vision was red, after all.

Her moment was interrupted when more humans came into the battle, knights and cavaliers with horses charged upon their position. She didn’t know if it would work, but she went and did it anyway. Flapping her 'wings’, she soared into the air before launching barrages of icicle bolts to the ground. Hails of ice rained upon the enemies, piercing them and halting their advance.

Her attacks were effective, but more enemies kept pouring in. Even with her boosted strength, she didn’t feel like she could hold them back for long. Thankfully, she didn’t need to as troops from the First and Second Army came in just at the right time and flanked the humans. 

With cavaliers of their own, the Second Army rammed right through the human lines and made short work of them. Aberanis himself was at the frontlines, routing the enemies. The humans attempted to form a line against the Ak’him cavaliers but that attempt was disrupted by the emergence of Parash and the Third Army who appeared from the ground below.

Seeing this, Lina took the chance to further launch more ice bolts at the enemy, dancing around the battlefield with her bloody wings.

Kotohood

Thanks for reading! the next chapter will be on the 23rd April(Thursday)