Chapter 55 - First Assault

Chapter 55: 55 - First Assault

The first warning came shortly after midday.

One of the Rangers Garrick had left outside the defensive line returned at a sprint, boots covered in mud and breathing hard enough that he needed several seconds before he could speak. By then, Greymoor was already prepared as well as it was going to be.

"They’re here," he managed. "Western road. Less than an hour."

Adrien stood with Garrick near the inner side of the western wall while men moved around them carrying arrows, shields and supplies. "How many did you see?"

"Too many to count properly, my lord. Several hundred."

Adrien turned toward the road beyond the estate and let Absolute Mana Sense spread.

Mana signatures appeared one after another in the distance, packed tightly enough that counting them normally would have been impossible. His talent separated them anyway, distinguishing individual cores and giving Adrien a clear picture of the force approaching Greymoor.

"Seven hundred and sixty-seven."

Garrick looked at him. "My lord?"

"Exactly seven hundred and sixty-seven soldiers." Adrien kept his attention on the approaching mass. "Most are One or Two Stars. There are several Three Stars spread through the formations, and one person is far above everyone else."

Garrick stared at him for another second. "How can you possibly know the exact number from this distance?"

Adrien glanced over. "Absolute Mana Sense. Remember? The SSS talent that appeared during my Awakening. If somebody has an active Mana Core within my range, I can feel them."

Understanding crossed Garrick’s face. "Of course. Forgive me, my lord. With everything that has happened recently, it slipped my mind."

"Can’t really blame you. It’s been a busy few weeks." Adrien focused on the largest signature again. "Gaspard is with them. Five Stars, and easily the strongest person out there."

Garrick’s expression hardened. "Then we proceed exactly as planned. If Duke Arquenay enters the battle himself, nobody should engage him alone."

Adrien gave him a sideways look. "That sounded suspiciously directed at me."

"It was, my lord."

By the time Arquenay came into view, the western approach had changed completely.

Clairmont Knights stood behind prepared barriers in ordinary steel armour, shields overlapping across the narrow road. Most of their equipment wasn’t magical at all. Steel didn’t need mana to remain on someone’s body, and right now every bit of mana mattered.

The better-equipped soldiers carried items instead. A spear slowly formed from blue light in one Knight’s hands, while two Rangers manifested enchanted bows from their Inventories. A Spellblade near the gate waited several seconds for a low-rank breastplate to materialise before removing the normal steel protecting his chest.

Across the field, Arquenay did much the same. Weapons and pieces of armour flashed into existence throughout their ranks, though most soldiers still relied on ordinary equipment. Officers and stronger Awakened were the ones willing to pay the constant mana drain for better items.

Adrien watched from farther inside the western flank beside Ariane.

He had deliberately kept some distance from the main Mage positions. Ten Clairmont Mages waited behind the central line, while Arquenay had plenty of their own spread throughout the approaching force.

It wasn’t that unfamiliar spells were dangerous for him to witness. Absolute Comprehension didn’t drag him into a full analysis every time somebody shaped mana nearby. But once Adrien paid real attention to a spell, patterns had a habit of becoming obvious, flaws started revealing themselves, and his mind naturally began pulling the structure apart.

Useful almost everywhere else.

In the middle of a battle, less so.

One unfamiliar spell wouldn’t matter. A field filled with Mages throwing different affinities and techniques across each other was simply more information than Adrien needed while trying to keep track of seven hundred enemies.

There would be time to study magic when nobody was actively trying to kill him.

Ariane adjusted one of her gloves and glanced toward him. "Why are we all the way over here? I thought you’d want to be closer to the other Mages."

Adrien kept his attention on the road ahead. "Too crowded."

"That’s your reason?"

"Have you looked over there?" He nodded toward the central line, where Mages were already preparing behind the defenders. "I’d rather have space to see what’s coming than spend the entire fight with someone casting over my shoulder."

Ariane considered the formation before giving a small shrug. "Less chance of someone setting your hair on fire too."

Adrien looked at her. "Was that a possibility?"

"With some of the people Garrick put together?" Ariane tightened the second glove. "I’m not making promises."

Adrien turned his attention back toward the western road as the first Arquenay formations continued advancing.

Before the first attack came, Garrick asked Adrien to speak to the defenders.

Adrien hated speeches, but ninety-two Awakened were about to stand in front of more than seven hundred enemies because House Clairmont had nowhere else to go. He stepped onto the inner platform where most of the western defenders could see him and manifested Umbral Root.

The staff formed gradually in his hand, dark polished wood followed by silver fittings and the pale crystal at its head. Its familiar mana drain settled over him once the item became solid.

"I’m not going to pretend the numbers are good," Adrien said. "You’ve all seen the road. They have more men, more money, and right now they probably think that’s enough."

Several faces remained tense, but everyone listened.

"They’re marching into our land because they think House Clairmont is weak enough to take whatever they want. They thought we’d disappear after Father was condemned. They thought we’d break when he died and everyone still loyal to this family would eventually leave."

Adrien looked toward the Arquenay banners approaching in the distance.

"They were wrong. I’m not asking anyone here to win a war alone. Hold the position beside you, protect the person fighting next to you, and make them pay for every step they take inside our home. That’s enough. We’ll deal with everything else together."

That suited Adrien considerably better than shouting about glory.

The first Arquenay horn sounded minutes later.

They advanced along the western road in a dense formation, Knights and shield-bearers leading while Rangers fired over them. The Clairmont Wardens reacted immediately, mana flowing through the prepared positions as translucent reinforcement settled across wood, stone and steel.

Arrows struck the barriers, most bouncing away or burying themselves harmlessly.

Ariane watched one fall beside her. "That’s working better than I expected."

"Let’s hope it keeps doing that."

The first enemy line reached the narrowed approach and discovered exactly why Garrick had chosen it.

Only a fraction of Arquenay’s army could enter at once.

Clairmont Knights met them behind reinforced shields while Rangers fired from elevated positions. Farther down the road, Gaia magic tore sections of earth upward and forced the attacking soldiers into tighter lanes, though Adrien deliberately kept his attention away from the Mage responsible.

He and Ariane handled the left flank.

[Ice Wall]

A thick wall erupted across part of the approach, cutting six attackers away from the men behind them. Ariane immediately fired [Frost Lance] through the remaining gap, dropping one before the others understood they had been isolated.

Adrien followed with two more. One tore through a shoulder, while the second punched into an exposed thigh and sent another man crashing onto the road.

For the first ten minutes, the plan worked almost too well.

Arquenay had seven hundred and sixty-seven soldiers, but Greymoor only had to fight the ones who could actually reach them. Their numbers mattered considerably less when the road itself refused to let them use those numbers properly.

Then Absolute Mana Sense shifted.

The Five-Star signature at the rear began moving forward.

Adrien’s expression changed immediately, and Ariane noticed it. "What happened?"

"He got tired of watching."

Beyond the broken front ranks, Arquenay soldiers began moving aside.

Gaspard walked toward the western road, and mana rolled from his Core strongly enough that Adrien could feel it from behind the wall. Garrick spotted him a moment later and raised his voice across the defensive line.

"Duke Arquenay is entering the field! Keep your positions and don’t let the line break!"

Adrien tightened his grip around Umbral Root as Gaspard continued toward them.

’There goes the easy part.’