I almost don't notice the attack of the troop leaders. You cannot blame me for this now. I am stuck underground. I have to rely on my mana sense to find their presence on the battlefield. The creatures appear almost the same as the ambient mana of this region. It doesn't help that there is a storm outside at this very moment, which makes tracking this mana even harder. (The winter is really beginning here.)
Just being able to tell that the creatures are here is proof of how I have gotten used to the monotonous mana here. If it were anywhere else on the continent, I would not have missed them even in my sleep. It is not like I am too late. I will be there before they can do any real damage to the walls. In the few moments they have gained, they can attack the wall at most two or three times. (The ironskin at least has grown enough to handle that much.)
Today, I will be able to give a demonstration of formation control. Without this skill, I would not even be able to use this formation. The skill allows me to control a formation even when it is incomplete. The only method of controlling a formation other than this is the formation stick. the Formation stick cannot be used unless the formation is complete. After all the runes meant to control the formation have to be inscribed as part of the class eight spell.
Now that I am here at the wall, it is a bit easier to differentiate the troop leaders from their underlings. Their underlings are striking the wall with their entire strength, which Shamon is managing as usual. I am looking for their exact location in the chaos of the storm outside, which makes the entire scene out here a bit nauseating.
It doesn't take me long to find them. The moment that I do so all three of them react. They shoot ice bolts at me. I don't even need to dodge as the bolts hit the wall below me. The ice bolt is essentially ice mana compressed into a more offensive form. (The creatures are not smart enough to cast an actual spell. This is the result of their ability.) The bolt is basically like throwing a bucket of water against the wall. (More like a bucket of acid, if I am being honest.)
The Ice Beasts and their powers are more suited to fighting on the vast open plains. They don't have a lot of options against the wall. They can certainly climb it to attack us. In that time, we can attack the creature ten times over. Even if they were to climb to the wall, they would struggle to fight on the narrow confines of the wall.
You could say the minion Ice Beasts are presently being treated as cannon fodder to overwhelm the soldiers on the wall. They are coming at me and my soldiers like a bunch of wild beasts. (That is why my soldiers are busy in holding them back.) They can afford to lose their underlings like this. They must have quite a bit of these beasts with them. There are three troops here at least (and the remnant of the previous three troops as well.)
I begin to condense control strings that go into the fortress. The instant that the strings find the core, it feels like my eyes have opened up. It is as if I have suddenly grown a third limb. It is such a freeing sensation that I feel like I can do anything. That is a dangerous feeling, though. Most formations end up destroyed because it was pushed beyond their limits. It is especially a problem with an incomplete formation like this. Whatever I do, I have to be careful.
I activate the water spear formation, which begins to take in the mana from the formation base. My control strings temporarily take the role of a control rune, linking the mana storage to the water spear. I can feel the mana being taken from the core, passing into the rune and converting into a water spear. (almost nine-tenths is dissipating into the atmosphere.) All of this is happening in moments as the formation fully activates, which the enemy can also feel.
Right now, there is no way for me to use these spears other than to throw them. Most projectile formations like this tend to have a method of shooting them built into them. That is, using these formations is kind of like directing a troop of archers. Give it a target, and the projectile will hit there. The water spear doesn't work like that. It can only be thrown at our enemies using our hands. (That is why the water spear formation is so mana-efficient. It doesn't waste it's mana on all of this "useless" stuff.)
I almost succeeded in killing my target as well. The spear flies true, but the creature's half-formed shield causes it to change course. (crafted from ice mana, of course.) What should have hit the enemy's heart hits its gut. (The creature is seriously injured, especially due to the exploding water mana.)
The remaining ice beasts make use of this time to launch their bolts at me. Naturally, they do not hit me as I jump to the side. Three ice bolts hit the place where I was just standing. Looks like I am not the only one trying to trick my enemies.
Turns out Shamon was right. There are four of these fuckers on the battlefield. (There is a decent chance there could be more.) I had not managed to to detect the last one at all. Even if I had, I would have thought it to be the storm raging outside. If it had not attacked now then it could have snuck up on me and I would have no way of knowing until it was too late.
Well, I would have been a statue if I had taken a moment more to jump. I can feel the chill in my body grow restless as if proximity to this much concentrated ice mana is giving it strength. I do not have time to think as another set of ice bolts fly in my direction. I can't dodge this, which means that the only way to survive is to block the strike. The only way to do that would be to shoot a water spear at it.
My aim is true as three water spears leave my hands at their respective targets. (I can feel a dull ache form in my hand.) It is not strong enough to fully block the bolts, but it is enough to deviate them as it sparks harmlessly against the wall. Just the fact that it can do even this is amazing. What I am doing is the equivalent of fighting a shark in the ocean. Anyway, I can feel another water spear form, which I throw at another of the Ice Beasts. The beast throws a bolt to block that strike, as the water spear is frozen solid. It shatters into pieces, scattering around the beast.
I can see the troop leaders retreat, taking the victim of my first strike with them. The creatures will pass the range of my spears, soon. At the moment, I am left with a dilemma. I will not get an opportunity to attack them like this again.
They are aware of the strength of the spear now. I can attack them now and get rid of the injured creature before they can retreat. With the chill, this is going to be a bit of a gamble, but this seems like a season of gambles for me.
Thus, I jump down the wall. I begin to cycle all of the mana in my core as my body seems to heat up. (That is not true of course, vital mana can only strengthen the body, not heat your body.) Even as the wind cuts into my face (and my arms and my legs), I realise how stupid this impulse of mine was.
Let's hope my vital mana will be strong enough to counteract the collision I am about to have. All of the mana I am channeling is barely enough to stop my leg from shattering as I hit the ground. The impact travels from my toes to my head as I take a moment to catch my bearings.
While all of this is happening, the beasts have reacted by sending a troop leader to hold me off. I ignore it and run after the injured one. The injured beast is still being escorted out of the place by the remaining two leaders. I can't let it do so.
The cannon fodder leader has already reached me. I can sense the ice mana in this creature's body gathering around its claws, strengthening it. I am almost not able to react as the creature seemingly teleports to my side.
Thankfully, I hit the creature on its snout instinctively, causing it to retreat. In my present situation, I am missing my kit. It would have given me just the edge I need. I feel like cursing the old fucker. Why does he need to make everything so hard?
How in the hells is this teaching me? He is fucking getting me killed. (I had forgotten that I was in the middle of a battlefield at this moment.) Due to these thoughts, I am almost struck. It is only by twisting my body away from it that protects me. I am knocked off my feet, though, as the creature tackles me to the ground.
The world spins around me as I fall into an embarrassing melee with the creature. I am fighting the chill, which seems to have intensified as my body suddenly feels like it is burning. At the same time, I am fighting the creature that wants to get a bite of me.
Both of us finally disengage after a few moments of grappling, as I get a solid grasp around its back. The creature has not managed to bite me during this entire tussle. Thank the gods, I cannot even imagine what would have happened to me if the creature had gotten a bite.
It must have been adrenaline or something, as I literally pluck the creature from the ground and throw it away. I can feel my body shivering with the chill. It is growing stronger with such a potent source nearby, but there is little that I can do. Regardless, I can sense the creature get up a bit away from me, gauging out what move I want to make. Good, because I need this time to reorient myself. I enter into a defensive stance, preparing for an attack.
Manifesting a water spear at this distance, there will be a bit of a lag. For now, I think that the wisest move I can make would be to retreat. (of which I have not been making many.) I have to distract the creature somehow. With the chill, the creature is not an easy enemy.
Thankfully, the other side does not seem to have noticed the water spear. It is with this thought that I charge at the beast. Naturally, the beast focuses on the threat that it can notice, which is me. (Splitting focus like this is quite risky with formation control.)
At this close range, there is little I can do to keep the enemy at bay. The only option is to block the enemy's charge. I duck, dodging the beast's mouth, but before I can retreat, I am struck by the creature's claws.
I can feel the chill in my body grow stronger. In this period, the water spear has been fully manifested.
The spear flies true to my aim as I punch the creature. It jumps back, cleanly dodging my fist. The water spear hits the creature, but it is a peripheral hit, not even enough to keep the beast from running away.
It begins to run away the instant that it realised I can use the spear. I realise what the creature meant to do now. It was attempting to distract me so that its allies could retreat. While I was focusing on the creature, I did not throw any more water spears at its escaping ally. Now, the injured beast is safely out of the range of my attacks.
Even as this realisation hits me, the escaping troop leader has already crossed the range of my spears. (They are fast little buggers.) I stand in the empty plain, looking at the creatures all around me. In the heat of the moment, I had forgotten that the minions were also attacking us.
Thankfully, the minions around me seem to be avoiding me like the plague. It takes me a moment to realise this in the storm, but the creatures are retreating. I realise that there is no troop leader to force these creatures into action. The creatures are acting on their instincts, which is clearly telling them to run away.
Limping, which I am sure is going to hurt once the adrenaline wears off, I return to base. When did I even get hit that it is paining there? I am going to have a miserable couple of days, to say it simply. Fuck it, I cannot maintain this record anymore.