Return to Jorgaldur Volume I: the battle mage

Worms Crushed

That was when something strange happened. Those which were wounded, those which had survived Armageddon, didn't obey the general's orders, but instead turned against the horde of their former allies, and began attacking them. While it hardly had any effect, and they were quickly reduced to nothingness, that gave Caranlín an idea.

It was suspected that miasma helped suppress the will of the losts, although no conclusive evidence had been obtained. It didn't always happen, but, sometimes, some of them regained consciousness in areas without miasma, and began to seeking own their death. Another of the theories was that a strong disorder could be one of the reasons, such as that caused by wounds and battles.

So, the red-haired elf made a somewhat risky decision, as it weakened the perimeter, but it was worth trying.

"Enlarge the perimeter! Go near the blast zone, where there is no miasma!" she commanded.

A few had the same idea and smiled, not without worry, because nobody knew if it could really work. Some others, like Eldi, had some suspicion, although they were far from knowing exactly what was going on in the leader's head. Most didn't know the reason for the order, and simply obeyed, trusting Caranlín, who was still giving instructions.

"Prioritize the defense! If you can nullify their damage, don't kill them! Mages, focus on slowing them down, weakening, hindering or immobilizing them!"

Even if her suspicion about miasma was false, if they could simply contain them without spending too much mana or energy, they would be fulfilling their goal of buying time. If those losts behind were impatient and run over those which had preceded them, then they would be doing part of their work for them.

Some mages created small tornadoes within the approaching enemy forces, creating chaos and causing pushes and blows between them.

The giants struck the ground when the losts were close enough to them, creating a shock wave that knocked down several enemies, and destabilized the ground in front of them. They didn't invest much energy in it, because it wasn't a skill but a show of strength.

Several elves raised their shields and planted them on the ground, forming a powerful barrier behind which spears appeared. In front of some of them, a kind of quicksand had been formed, which, while not enough to swallow their enemies, would hinder them. Unfortunately, there, they couldn't use nature's power, which would have been quite useful.

They focused their attacks on their opponents' limbs and jaws, instead of their weakest points. In that way, they diminished their attack power and made defense easier, instead of eliminating them and letting another take their place. It is true that it was neither easy nor risk free, and the wounded weren't few, but soon the intensity of the fighting went down, so the defense became easier, almost relaxed.

The mages took advantage to rest and recover mana, always with an eye on the battlefront, in case their help were needed. Also, many warriors were regaining their strength, especially those in the second line.

Although there were exceptions, like two giants who didn't know how to hold back. They were throwing the enemies back, through hammer strikes, without intention to kill them, but without being able to avoid that they ended up dying after a few blows.

The strategy would probably have worked indefinitely if there were no enemy general. Or perhaps the losts would have trampled between them. The most surprising thing is that it didn't react, as if it were waiting for something. And soon they realized what.

The hardened ground began to shake, being attacked by hundreds of underground enemies. It was still resisting, and the dwarf in charge began to reinforce it, but it was obvious that his mana had a limit. It is true that the enemies were suffering damage by attacking a floor as hard as stone, but they were willing to make sacrifices.

"Gragko, leave one path right there, and another there. Dafkra, get there and crush everything that appears. Dakgror, the same there," Caranlín pointed.

The giants approached with a huge smile. Crushing worms was one of their favorite sports. Their absence in the front was immediately covered by the second line, becoming this more dispersed.

Soon, a worm appeared, which was crushed thoroughly by the giant. However, the two meters in length of some of those worms, along with the continuous influx of these, soon began to overwhelm both giants, who couldn't kill them fast enough, so they needed their skills to hold them, skills that were diminishing their energy reserve.

Caranlín was watching the battlefield, thinking about how to support the giants, where to get the reinforcements from. Although, for now, her containment strategy was working, further weakening their perimeter was extremely dangerous. Perhaps, soon, they would be forced to take a step back, thus reducing the perimeter and the forces necessary to maintain it, but also exposing those who were protected inside.

That was when Eldi got up and, using the mana he had gathered, invoked a Lightning Spear. He approached Dafkra and signaled her to stop. She obeyed while looking at him confused. Then, he used Perforating Impact on the half-crushed and half-open body of the worm, which instantly suffered the shock of electricity running through it whole body, disintegrating shortly after.

"Try this spear," Eldi offered, leaving it stuck in the ground.

The giant took it without hesitation. A spear wasn't her favorite weapon, nor she had skills for it, but she had seen its effectiveness. The next earthworm was simply pierced with its brute force, and annihilated by electricity.

"I like this spear," she smiled at Eldi, and turned toward the hole through which the next prey was coming.

"It'll last about ten minutes. I'll try to bring another one before it's over," the high human assured her, heading to help Dakgror.

He created another spear for the other giant, that he received with a huge smile. After seeing how his wife was using it, he was dying for trying. And it didn't disappoint him. He raised his thumb to Eldi, as the man had taught him that it was a custom in his home, and continued to pierce worms.