Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Elder - Chapter Sixty Six

The thoughts surrounding the crystal were mixed. They outnumbered their enemies nearly eight to one, but whoever they were, they put up a solid fight. The lizard's losses were already mounting, and I decided to aid them before concentrating on the village.

"Come on, don't bring shame to the lizardmen race. Press on, you bastards." I mumbled to myself, flying at the highest possible speed.

The knights should have been able to take care of things on their end. My assistance shouldn't be necessary until they breach the walls, and if they encountered the Goddess. By that time, I wanted the swarm to be ready as well. I did not plan to take her attacks directly again. Once I got closer to the battlefield, I could finally see, what was happening.

That was most certainly a military camp on the crossroads.

"Who the hell are these people?" I mumbled, asking myself. Did the tribes set up an army on their own? Or maybe the Demon Lord sent them for some reason? "Did he finally realize that I betrayed him?"

Whatever was the case, they had wagons parked in a defensive formation. Numbering roughly a hundred and fifty, they desperately fought the horde of reptiles. I say desperately, but far from hopeless. Their battle lines were solid, and they had two magicians with them too. One of them hurled fireballs at the enemy, the other set up a barrier to bolster their defenses. They seemed strong.

"Are you here too, Goddess?" I talked to myself. If the local tribes did this, it would have made sense, but I could quickly confirm the opposite once I flew close enough, recognizing two familiar faces. The witch I fought on a nearby hill, and her savior, who intervened in our duel. No sight of the Goddess anywhere. This was just perfect.

I wanted revenge on them for quite some time, and since they stood in the way of my lizardmen, I was eager to strike them down. Before I could reach them though, I got a concerning message. The telepathic channel opened again and the first thing I received through it was someone's immense pain.

"Lady Elder. They have inflicted heavy losses on us." I heard a weak thought. "Their guards have very strange and powerful bows. It can penetrate our armor, and even outrange the archers."

"What?" I had to suspend my dive and turn around once more. "How is that even possible? What are the casualties? Report."

I tried to gain some altitude again, but they didn't notice me on the ground yet. Did I focus on the wrong battle after all? Even with the direct telepathic link, I missed some vital information. The answer came too slowly.

"We lost the entire assaulting force. The enemy struck them down before they reached the other end of the rice paddies." That was a disaster. The connection also cut out for a brief moment. "We can't even get to the wounded. Their archers will fire at everything in their line of sight, and our magic is suppressed as if a huge barrier were around the village. We couldn't detect it at first, but they expected us. I suggest we retreat and regroup, my lady."

It would take me too long to get there. They seemed already beaten, and if the Goddess was indeed there to bolster their defenses, I could not hope to turn the tide without the lizardmen.

"Fine, run back into the forest." I ordered, fuming. Just what was going on? They threw my plans. The lizards fought that witch and all these warriors at the crossroads, but how could they have a force large enough to decimate my knights in just a few moments?

I needed to strike their military camp first. If my heavy armored knights were beaten so easily, I needed quantity, not quality. If they gave me an opening, the lizards could still overwhelm their defenses, and then I could deal with the biggest threats from afar. Yes, this was the only logical solution. I turned my gargoyle around once more.

"I'll take down the witches and the rest will be children's play for them." I tried to convince myself. The reptiles had a few shamans on their own too. One possessed my domination crystal, but the two witches kept them at bay so far. "I wonder how much of a fight they'll put up against me."

I was eager to fight if I didn't have to worry about the Goddess. I was confident in my abilities, but all the struggle with reanimating the zombies and the agricultural research took a toll on me. I had new, and deep wrinkles on my face. The skin on my hand looked old and thin. On the ground below, I had a lot of life force gathered in a single place.

All of them waited to be drained.

I flew at full speed, preparing to land in the middle of their encampment. I temporarily turned the outer layers of my skin metallic and cast a strong barrier around my body. I was ready to counter any spells the magicians could throw at me, but they still didn't notice me, so my first draining attack was guaranteed to go through.

By the gods, that spell was addicting. I trembled with anticipation already. I could imagine how their life force flew into my old and tortured body, felt how it would rejuvenate it, and fill me with power. This had to be my favorite spell now. I followed the threads of mana connecting every living being. The one that anchored them into this world. I just had to tap into it and open the gates.

"Here I come, give me everything," I mumbled, once my gargoyle reached the crossroads. I confidently threw myself into the air, ready to initiate the spell. That big orc noticed me too late, but what could he do? I fought him before. Sure, he was an excellent warrior, but he was no magician. From this distance, he couldn't even touch me.

By the time I landed and released my attack, even if he were to sprint across the camp, he could only reach halfway through. Then it would be too late. To make it better, he wasn't even moving.

Did he not recognize me, or know that they lost? Maybe the fear made his feet root into the ground. He took quite the beating from me and my gargoyle last time, I was surprised he was still alive.

But the witches didn't seem to notice me at all, and he wasn't moving either, at least his legs did not. He raised his hands at me though, holding a strange weapon I had never seen before.