The centaur chieftain put aside his regrets as the Magus gave commands to the spellcasters. Despite lacking any experience with magic, Colet had learned much from Eupoos as the two discussed the magic available to centaurs. The chieftain always felt the importance of possessing sufficient knowledge of his subordinate abilities so he could better tap into their potential.
“Earth Wall,” shouted the spellcasters.
Centaurs had access to three elemental magic. Earth elemental magic was the one they were most proficient with. With the Earth Wall, a one meter tall barrier made of dirt and rocks formed around the centaurs. The wall was low enough for the ax wielders to swing their axes at the enemy but tall and wide enough to halt any enemy charge. While the centaurs would effectively be caged in, their mobility wasn’t an asset once they were encircled by an enemy also well versed in flat terrain combat.
“Spiked Pit,” shouted the spellcasters next.
Colet realized Eupoos was indeed going all-in from the very start. Spiked Pit was an earth elemental spell that required more mana than Earth Wall. In their situation, the ground outside the earth wall, about one meter in width, sunk into the ground creating a two meter deep pit. Next, nearby rocks were merged within the pit and fashioned into sharpened spikes pointed upwards. Any unfortunate foe to fall into the pit would be impaled. The chieftain studied the spellcasters and could see them out of breath. Lacking rest, these spellcasters already had a hard time harnessing their mana. The large exertion was only worsening their conditions.
Just then, Colet felt something within him. He couldn’t explain what it was but, after the second earth elemental spell, something awakened within him. The feeling felt foreign and nothing in his past could compare to it. His instinct didn’t sound any alarm bells so he wasn't afraid of what had happened, only puzzled. Before he could ponder too much on what all this was about, a roar boomed forth grabbing the attention of centaurs and beastmen alike. The roar was followed by a deep voice of something that only existed in nightmares.
“I shall feast on centaur meat tonight!”
The centaur chieftain made his way through the centaurs until he reached the earth wall. He stared out and located the beastmen. Like its voice, the beastmen looked far too unnatural as it was easily five times as large as any other beastmen. The giant wielded a large battleaxe that was a perfect size for it. Regardless of how the giant beastmen got the weapon, no being would want to be on the receiving end of that weapon. As Colet wondered if the giant would lead the charge knowing their earth wall and pit would do nothing to it, the giant spoke once more.
“Slaughter those centaurs! We shall feast tonight!”
The beastmen near the giant charged at the centaurs. The scene reminded Colet of rats rushing to get a piece of the food that landed within their reach. The chieftain withdrew to his previous position allowing the centaurs to ready themselves for combat. Ilumin updated that, as soon as the beastmen under the giant moved out, beastmen from other parts of the encirclement did the same. Their advances were updated next when arrows were unleashed in all directions.
“Fire Bomb,” chanted the spellcasters.
True to the name, numerous explosions broke out all around the centaurs. Following the explosions, the impacted land was covered in magical flames that continued burning for another minute. Beastmen foolish enough to walk into the flames would find themselves in agonizing pain as the flames didn’t go out easily. Fire element was an element the centaurs had limited mastery over. Their spell options were very limited and, in terms of area of attack ones, Fire Bomb was their only option. As reported by the Cloud Hawk, the spell did disrupt the beastmen's charges and made them hesitant to advance while the magical flames were still burning. Once the beastmen realized the centaurs couldn’t repeatedly cast the spell and the flames went out, they resumed their attack without the same caution they exercised earlier.
As the bow wielders fired off volley after volley, the beastmen, undeterred by the arrows, charged at the ax wielders. The spiked pit was difficult to spot and many beastmen didn’t realize the pit’s existence until they fell right into it. Due to the large number of beastmen charging forward, some of them tried to stop at the edge of the pit but they were pushed in by their fellow beastmen behind them. Unfortunately, the pits were eventually filled with beastmen corpses, providing the other beastmen a bridge across the pits where they engaged the ax wielders. The ax wielders, with their training and experience, were handily winning initially. Once fatigue and injuries settled in, their sluggish movements made them easy targets for the spear wielding beastmen who had better reach and fresher on the battlefield.
“Chieftain, we’re out of arrows.”
The ax wielders were suffering heavy casualties and their losses would only further increase with the lack of support from the spellcasters and bow wielders. The spear wielders had at most a few more javelins left before they too would be forced to fight at melee range.
“Gust arrows,” shouted Eupoos.
To the surprise of the bow wielders, their quivers were refilled with arrows. These arrows appeared ethereal and many of the centaurs seemed hesitant to notch them. When one brave centaur fired one of his new arrows at the beastmen, the arrow not only exploded on impact blasting the target into smithereens but also created a gust of wind two meters in diameter. Those within the gust of wind were covered in countless small cuts. Due to the number of cuts, the beastmen could easily bleed out in minutes. The other bow wielders, upon seeing the impact of new arrows, resumed firing their volleys. They spaced out their targets more to take advantage of the gust radius to maximize the damage inflicted. The new arrows gave the centaur hope as they slowed down the beastmen advance. However, the arrows eventually ran out and the ax wielders at the front were steadily overwhelmed. The spear wielders were about to form the new front line.
