Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 176 - Into the Flames

As Medrauta expected, getting to the shield tower was easier said than done.

With the shield tower standing stoically behind the still-advancing cannonspawn, Medrauta and Viviane had been forced to maneuver around their enemies, the two of them quickly discovering that climbing back up the mountain was a lot more difficult than simply coming down. The fact that the cannonspawn continued firing at them during their attempted ascent didn't make it any easier either.

"This isn't working, Vivi!" Medrauta shouted over the roar of cannonfire.

The knight leapt off the rocky crevice she was clinging onto, landing solidly on the ground before holding her hands out to catch Viviane. The noblewoman dropped from above as well, falling into Medrauta's waiting arms.

"We might've been better off with Eris and the knights," Viviane agreed. "It seems the cannonspawn are paying a lot more attention to the flanks than the knights tearing through their ranks."

"You mean they're paying a lot more attention to us." Medrauta said. It was a suspicion she'd had several minutes ago, but hadn't confirmed until now.

After she and Viviane advanced into the range of the cannonspawn once more with Eris and the knights, the latter group had immediately taken to engaging the tubular witchspawn in direct combat, yet the majority of cannonfire had been directed toward Viviane and herself instead of the group that constituted an immediate threat.

Either the commander's desperate to prevent anyone from reaching the tower, or they've marked me and Viviane as priority targets. Medrauta thought it was a rather valid strategy from the commander given how she'd single-handedly wiped out the brunt of the witchspawn advance force three days ago and recently caused a rockslide that completely destroyed their formation, but if that were true, then their chances of making it to the shield tower alone were slim.

"...Maybe." Viviane said. "But we're a bit too far from them now, and we'd have to fight our way through the cannonspawn to get back."

Medrauta sighed, nodding begrudgingly. "Only one way to go, then."

More explosions rocked the air, causing the large rock formation shielding the pair to shake violently. Though it still held strong against the latest bombardment, both Medrauta and Viviane could see that the thick slab of stone was slowly becoming more brittle as the number of craters in its surface increased.

"I think we might just have to make a straight run for it," Medrauta said as she drew her sword. Viviane merely nodded in response.

She took a quick peek around the corner of their cover, spotting a row of cannonspawn preparing to fire. The familiar crimson glow in the center of their barrel-bodies was a dead giveaway, prompting the knight to quickly duck back behind cover as a volley of shots pounded into the stone formation once more. As it stood, the rocks would likely be able to take one more volley before being pulverized into dust.

"Alright, time to go." Medrauta took Viviane's hand, the two of them bolting out of cover immediately.

With Medrauta's Crest-enhanced strength, Viviane could barely keep up with her knight even after focusing all her efforts into enhancing her speed. Her lady on Medrauta's mind at all times, the silver-haired knight quickly noticed that Viviane was lagging behind, causing her to slow down as she deflected several cannonballs with expert skill.

Although the volleys had been slightly terrifying at first, she had now dealt with them so many times that the lightning-fast cannonballs were now starting to become slow. So slow, in fact, that she felt like she could pluck them from the air if she desired.

Regardless, Medrauta still treated each bombardment with the utmost caution, refusing to allow her confidence to drive herself and her beloved lady into a dangerous situation. She turned to look at Viviane as the two continued running toward the shield tower which laid at the exit of the mountain pass.