LimitlessPath
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Limitless Path Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Four
🕑 Added 2023-12-12 18:00:02 +0000 UTC"Ah, you finally arrived," he said, eyeing the two of them a little critically. "Well, I don't know what the senior officers were thinking, but I can't exactly inspect a gift Draun now, can I?"
"I'm sorry, but what?" Beth asked, brows slightly lowered and one corner of her lip turned down a little.
"We're about to be sieged by the beastlings, girl," the man said in an exasperated tone while frowning at her. "I doubt the eight of us can hold this little post alone, but I was hoping the senior officers would send…more."
"Well, we're it, so you're going to have to deal with it," Beth replied with a shrug. "I'm more interested in what we can expect coming up?"
"Beastlings, girlie," he said with a huff, motioning to the two as he stomped across the small yard to the wall. There were four different staircases that gave access to the top, two to each side of the main gate and a little ways apart, and one on each side by the cliff. He climbed the stairway to the left of the gate and stepped to the right, standing above and just to the side of the gate. Beth followed him up, with Blood on her heels, coming atop the wall to see a large open field in front of them. The cliff extended for at least a hundred feet in each direction and was at least two hundred feet in height for almost that entire length, meaning there was little to nothing at their level that would be able to survive coming from above.
"Those are beastlings, girlie," the captain said, pointing out towards the distant tree line of the forest. Judging by the morning sun, the cliff at their backs was to the south, and the woods were to the north and wrapped around the large field in front of the walls to the east and west. Among the edges of the forest were gathered loose groups of beasts, no more than three or four together, but at least a dozen such small groups were already visible. Beth wasn't able to identify them from that kind of distance, but she was still able to use the good ol' mark one eyeball, or rather, the good ol' mark two FrostFlame Eye to see them.
The beastlings were like a cross between some kind of gnoll and thin, upright dog. They were covered in a mangy and ropey fur that looked like it was not at all well-groomed, and stood a little under five feet on average, with hunched and twisted backs. They wore crude armor made of leather and a little metal, with simple metal weapons made of what appeared to be either mana copper or even mana steel. As a whole, they didn't look particularly threatening or powerful, but Beth's hunch that they would have to deal with overwhelming numbers was stronger than ever.
"I take it we're expecting a bit more company than that, captain?" Beth asked.
"Oh yes, many hundreds of times what you see out there, and some nastier ones, to boot," the captain replied with a stern nod.
"What can we expect of those you are calling nastier, captain?" Beth continued with her questions as she surveyed the field in front of the wall.
"There will be what are typically called elite variants in the kind of small beastling tide we are expecting. They will generally be larger and faster than the specimens you see in front of you, and many of them will have some very basic elemental magic, though beastlings often use such magics to enhance their own strength rather than cast them against enemies," the captain explained, gesturing at some of the nearer groups of beastlings.
"You're saying that an attack by what could be ten thousand beastlings is a small tide, captain?" Beth queried, one eyebrow climbing high on her forehead.
"Oh yes, girlie. You still lack some experience, but beast tides are called such because they have numbers, immense numbers. Most would refer to anything less than twenty thousand as a small tide, with some exceptions dependent on just what the beast in question is. These beastlings are some of the most basic of beasts and the numbers have to be what you would consider quite staggering before it would even be labeled a moderate tide," the captain explained, tending to take a pose with his left palm resting on the pommel of his blade on his left hip while he gestured with his right hand.
"So, then, what's the plan for holding this, captain?" Beth asked, gesturing at the fort behind them.
"Hold the walls, hold the gate, use range to help wear them down," the captain explained. "All of our people are at least competent with the bow, and the three still inside are decent mages. With the potions and stocks we have on hand, we can hold for quite a while, depending on the numbers, but I was really hoping on the reinforcements we were sent to be the ones to turn the tide."
Beth responded with a slight grin, "Oh, I don't know captain, we just might surprise you a bit."
The captain grunted non-committally in response before gesturing for them to leave the wall, following the two back down into the yard. He led them across and into the main building, Beth taking note that it seemed slightly larger inside than outside, realizing after a moment that it was dug slightly into the cliffside. The building had a large central room that stretched its entire depth, with a number of rooms partitioned off to the side. There was a dining area that opened to the central area just to the left, a kitchen further down from it, and an office area behind that. On the right were several rooms where those stationed at the small fort could sleep or meditate, complete with small but well-made bathrooms.
There were three people sitting at a moderately large table in the center of the main room, all of them humanoids but none of the three actually human. One was an elf, tall even for her people, one was a dwarf, perhaps the oldest Wayfarer she had yet seen with his hair being almost pure white and a face full of wrinkles, and the third was a woman that had distinctly animal features. They were not immensely pronounced, but Beth couldn't help but stare for a moment, seeing the woman had feathers instead of hair and rather visible talons instead of nails on her hands.
"These are our three magic supports," the captain explained, gesturing to the three at the table.
"What's our exact situation, captain? How long do we have until this starts?" Beth asked then as she continued to eye the three mages, only the dwarf returning her look, and with a surly glower, at that.
"Less than an hour, at this point," he replied. "We have a little time if there is any additional setup you need to do or anything else you have to arrange."
"I think we're prepared as best as can be, captain," Beth answered with a nod, giving the mages another glance before returning outside with Blood.
They moved across to the stairs and walked up to the top of the wall, moving to stand over the gate. Looking at the edge of the woods, Beth could see that a decent handful of beastlings had gathered just in the couple of minutes they had been in the building. She watched for a few minutes as even more gathered at the edge of the woods, the captain of the guard unit joining her as the tide continued to build. The mages had emerged from the building as well, spreading out around the wall at even intervals between the archers.
"So, captain, what prevents them from just, like, jumping the wall?" Beth asked, turning to the captain with a raised brow.
"Been thought of before, girlie," the captain shook his head. "Wall is enchanted to prevent opposing forces from jumping over it. Also limits their options in climbing. The things we have to look out for are earth mages, though a beastling tide likely won't have any, and the press of bodies getting so great that they make a ramp up the wall."
"Nothing they can do to crack it, then?" she asked.
"If they bring in a beast that can break the enchants or the wall itself, we're all fucked anyway," the captain replied with a shrug.
"No ladders or siege equipment?" Beth asked.
"They're beastlings, girlie, not an elite mercenary company. It's lucky the Path even provides them with a minimum of armor and weapons, crude as they are," the captain grumbled, looking like he wanted to spit.
"Right, kill them fast, clear the bodies," Beth replied with a nod.
"And try not to get surrounded," the captain said, giving her a side-eye. "You intend to take the field?"
"If you're asking if we're gonna hop the wall and fight out there," Beth responded while gesturing at the open field in front of the wall, "then, yes, we are, captain."
"Give it about another fifteen minutes at most and they'll start their assault," he said, loosening his sword in its scabbard. "Mind that they start in small groups before building into a full wave."
Beth nodded, stretching a little as the time counted down, watching as the number of beastlings continued to increase. There was a certain tension in the air, a feeling that was almost like static electricity on her skin as more and more enemies appeared. Looking around, she saw the archers clutching their bows as the mages prepared their staves or wands, pre-loading several spells and taking a moment to meditate to get the mana refilled. The captain remained still with a hand on his blade's pommel, but Beth could see the muscles in his left cheek jumping as the tide built.
When the air seemed the heaviest, the archers visibly sweating and nervous, she put a foot on the crenellation in front of her and levered herself up and forward. The captain gave her a grunted "Good luck," as she leapt, the wolf following just behind her. She heard one of the archers say something about crazy Wayfarers in a low voice, likely not meant for her ears, but Beth's perception was quite good these days. She simply smiled in response, thinking the archer was going to get to see a lot more crazy before this stage was done. It was an interesting thought, if this was a simulation of some real battle that had taken place, with Beth and Blood being sent instead of whoever had actually been the reinforcements. Else, the scenario was entirely fabricated, just something the people who ran the Celestial Awakening Trial thought up on a whim.
Beth shook her head to clear out the cobwebs as she noted movement from the front, the beastlings starting to make their way for the fort. She glanced around, seeing there were a few groups moving in from various positions around the field, proving the captain's prediction right on the money. Every beastling didn't charge at once, but there were already over a dozen closing in on Beth and Blood in the center of the field. The only good thing she noted was that they didn't make any attempt to circle around her, either afraid of the people on the wall, or just simply not smart enough for even that most basic of hunting tactic.
Beth observed the enemies as they approached, noting that they didn't move particularly fast nor with very much grace. They also kept their weapons held loosely without raising them, something that likely wouldn't make a huge difference here, but was definitely a point towards their sloppiness. She scanned the information of the closest one as they drew within about fifty yards of her.
Level 70 Beastling Marauder
They all displayed the same information, and also the same patterns as they got within a hundred feet and charged. The charge was sloppy, more of a staggering run, and not super fast, but it brought them close. Beth shook her head slightly as a corner of her mouth turned down a bit, not excited for the level of opponent she would be dealing with. There was still a faint glimmer of hope with the elite variants the captain had mentioned, but it looked like she would have to get her skill training by putting in more effort herself, rather than responding to a greater challenge.
When the first beastling closed with her, Beth stepped forward as she drew her blade, slashing out with a quick horizontal chop. The beastling blocked but was immediately pushed back, its weapon slung off to the side as Beth reversed and brought her blade back around on the backswing. Her sword bit deep into the beast's neck, Beth taking a half-step forward and flexing her arms, nearly taking the beastling's head fully off. She knew it was a kill as she got the notification, stepping forward and to the left to confront the next opponent with a rising slice.
The first group was quickly torn apart by the two girls with minimal effort, Beth glancing back at the wall to see the captain glowering slightly while several of the archers had widened eyes. She shrugged and turned back to the woods, seeing the next group of beastlings moving forward. This group consisted of more than forty enemies, a sizeable increase over the first wave, but were dealt with just as quickly. Blood was able to freely maneuver around the field, using her immense speed to easily run circles around the beastlings, dealing out crippling or lethal damage with attack after attack.
These forty enemies fell just as easily, Beth able to kill most with two attacks as Blood had free reign of the battlefield. They were a little pressed for a moment when the last dozen or so enemies had been entirely surrounding Beth and attacking, but she found dodging and deflecting them, even en masse, to still be relatively easy. Her sitting in the group and tanking them, while scoring highly damaging cuts of her own from time to time, let Blood run the perimeter and rip individual members of the pack apart.
Beth swung her dark blade with a snap of her wrist after the last beastling died, clearing the blade and getting ready for the next assault. As she started surveying the woods, she saw that the next group was already moving, now sending up yips and howls as they made their way across the field, starting from a quick jog instead of a walk. They were clearly getting more agitated and stirred up as time passed, and Beth squared herself up while Blood circled in the background, the sun still being low in the sky causing the massive wolf to cast a long shadow back and forth across the open area.
Comments
Quendolayne
Thx for the chapter - and if the meatheads obstruct her way even more, just kill them all and let their god sort them out. 👍😎
