The wind hit first—sharp as razors, slicing through the gaps in my leather armor. I tugged my jacket tighter, though it barely helped. Snow bit at my face, and the cold made every breath feel like inhaling needles.
The army moved fast, boots crunching over the ice-laced path. Moving at this speed narrowed my vision and blurred out the rest. To remain in line, I followed Blizzard—If anyone was familiar with this path, it was a mage who had served Hugo for a long time.
The path coiled down the mountain like a snake's spine. One misstep and you'd vanish into the foggy abyss below.
"Shit—AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A cry came from the far left, but I could barely see my surroundings.
Around me, soldiers charged forward in silence. No jokes. No chatter. Only the sound of wind, metal, and the thud of heavy steps. Our banners flapped violently in the storm, and somewhere up ahead, a signal horn let out a low groan occasionally, guiding us down.
This was intense, you either moved fast or got left behind!
Considering our pace and the distance, I estimated it would take us nearly 4 to 6 hours to reach the foot of the mountain. Four hours of this was not only physically straining, it was mentally straining. To make matters worse, once we reach Skardrith, we still need to lay siege to the city while defending against the monster on our trail.
We will fight a war on two fronts while exhausted.
RUMBLE!
My eyebrows knitted as a loud rumble came from the right. Glancing in that direction, all I saw was a thick body of chilling fog approaching rapidly.
"CRAGSPIKE HOARD APPROACHING!" Someone screamed.
Cragspike boars?
My mind raced back to the details on the tome I read. These were large tusked monsters with rocky plates of armor that gave them immense defense, added to their already insane magic resistance. These monsters were usually found in mountain paths, running down people who dared go beyond the castle wall.
So what was the game plan?
Were we going to stop and confront these monsters directly?
Countless thoughts ran through my mind, but they all vanished as I looked ahead and realized something. Blizzard had sped up alongside every other person. Even the Black Guard troops behind were already catching up!
'Don't tell me they don't plan to stop?' I gasped in my heart. 'You just ignore everything and keep moving? Seriously?'
{Fighting will only attract more hordes and in minutes the entire army will be surrounded and eventually overwhelmed. The only option now is to keep moving and hope everyone survives} Lin explained, but this only left me concerned.
If the death magic didn't numb my emotions, I would be panicking by now!
BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
The horde crashed into the right flank, piercing deep and heading in my direction. The cries of our soldiers were accompanied by soul-chilling bangs as Cragspike boars rammed into anything and everything in their path.
"HIAAA!" I screamed while nudging the horse's sides with my calves to speed up.
While the spirit-bred horse was more powerful than normal horses, it wasn't compared to the mounts others rode. Even the Black Guards within their armor could keep up with a spirit-bred horse at full speed. Only now did the thought cross my mind;
I need a better mount!
I couldn't even be pissed at my warsteed, I have seen the crazy capabilities the armor gives the black guards.
"I'll deal with this!" I hissed as my eyes unleashed a fierce gray light.
My fire magic would be weakened in the snow, so I decided to use the element that was most easily accessible in this situation—wind!
"Winds of the wandering sky, spiral and scatter—
Shroud my presence in unseen paths.
Let no eye follow, let no ear hear.
Labyrinth of gales, rise—Wind Tunnel!"
Wind Magic: Wind Tunnel!
Without hesitation, I created just one wind tunnel ahead of me while stretching his distance as far ahead as possible. The spirit-bred horse was reluctant, but it was too late to stop as the portal was created in front of it.
SWOOOOOSH!
The sudden acceleration snapped the horse's head and a scream tore from its throat—sharp, trembling, almost human. It was not prepared for the tunnel, and its hesitation had backfired badly.
Crack!
The horse stumbled forward from the burst of force and lost her balance. However, I was prepared.
"O winds that dance, swift and free,
Forge the path and carry me!
Rings of Zephyr, light as air,
Lift my steps with speed to spare!" I jumped off the falling horse while chanting!
Wind Magic: Zephyr Rings!
My wheel of wind rings appeared beneath my feet, and I sped forward through the tunnel, shooting out the other side in mere seconds.
SWISH!
As soon as I emerged, I spun to the left and a moment later, the mangled corpse of my warsteed flew past me. It hit the ground with a loud thud while blood flowed out of its wounds—-quickly pooling underneath it. I squinted in disgust as she let out pained whimpers, luckily the rumbling sound drew my attention away, making me realize I was barely 100 meters ahead of my group, and they were still charging in my direction like raging bulls.
I was safe from the Cragspike horde, but now my own allies threatened to crush me in their raging stampede.
"Fuck my life…" I cursed before unleashing a wind burst from my feet to propel me into the air.
From above, I had a good view of the battlefield and saw the Cragspike horde tearing through a small portion of the black guards at the rear. Unfortunately, I did not have time to enjoy the scene for long.
"Whisper of the sky, cradle my fall—Aeris Cocoon!" I chanted loudly as a spherical barrier of swirling air formed around me, greatly reducing my falling speed.
Wind Magic: Aeris Cocoon!
When I saw this spell in one of the library grimoires, I almost wrote it off and even considered it useless. Why would I waste a page in my grimoire for a spell that just slows down one's descent when I can add another destructive spell?
Well, I guess I have my answer now!