As she landed Estile understood what the King meant. The black creatures ignored her even with her standing directly beside them. Their eyes didn't even register that she was there and their bodies subconsciously avoided her.
"Let's see if you can ignore this," she drew her blade and in a powerful motion swung it around her. A blast of force caused the black armoured soldiers to shatter away and break into a strange ooze before vanishing. It was a strange feeling. To best describe it, the creatures where as hard as they should be till they weren't. As if at the exact point where their energy faded they'd break away to nothing. Her actions however picked up their ire as suddenly the eyes behind their closed helmets flashed a dull red. A moment later they charged.
The clash of metal on metal broke into the air all across the battlefield and like an angel of war Estile ran rampant among the field. Her strength was unlike anything the common soldiers had ever seen and only heard of in passing tales. This was a Mercenary of the Ever-Garden, one of the Heroes who could be traced down the annals of history. She flashed in and out of the battlefield targeting the areas where the Ardentgrad troops were under pressure allowing them to retreat and recuperate. It was a battle of attrition that would normally be fought behind the city wall but the enemy was too numerous and the soldiers too few. Not having enough men to defend the entire wall they instead focused the dark creatures into the natural choke of the valley. If they fell now it would mean the loss of the city and those inside.
Minutes passed into dozens quickly wearing down the defending troops. As much as Estile held them together she couldn't be everywhere and countless times saw the brave men and women cut down. Some she saved, others she couldn't. No matter how strong she was, she wasn't a god. As time progressed the situation became increasingly more desperate as she was forced to work herself harder and harder to make up for the lost and wounded. At first her armour was unblemished, then the scratches began to build and the clothes beneath tore. Her skin however remained immaculate as the small cuts healed in an instant. Still even she had her limits.
"Estile!" the voice broke through her mind causing her to suddenly stop mid swing.
She jumped back away from the black soldiers towards the city walls, "Arvel! What happened?"
The voice, strained, replied quickly, "We have new information. The enemies you're fighting are all the same."
"I thought as much. How do I get rid of them?" she huffed tiredly and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Edgar and Orpheus made a breakthrough. The enemy are appearing from a single spawn. Most likely it's somewhere hard to see and reach. Should be about 50 metres across. Look for a green shimmer, once you're close you'll feel a spark. Also watch out, apparently the ones protecting it are much stronger, enough to give you trouble. Hold them off as long as you can till one of us can come help."
Estile looked to the line of soldiers barely holding on. At this point almost all of them were injured in some way and there were no more fresh reserves to send in. "No can do Arvel. I'll head in myself."
"Estile even for you that's too much. Remember what Karen said. None of us are dying."
"I don't plan to idiot," she snapped back. "Once I'm done here I'll head over and help."
There was a slight pause before Arvel replied, "Fine but please look after yourself."
"See you later then," she smiled despite him not being able to see. A click in her mind signalled the connection breaking.
"Lady Estile!" before she could move Aravest appeared before her. The knights along with him hadn't decreased in number though they had definitely seen better days.
"Good you're still alive," she clapped him on the side unable to reach his shoulder. "How long till the King's spell is ready?"
"Ten minutes," he stared towards the front lines. "We should be able to hold out till then."
"I'm going to need you to. I know what to look for now so I'm going ahead," she stretched her arms and legs. "With any luck we can stem the tide."
"Then we'll head out with you," the knight pressed his chest and kneeled.
"No you're needed here," Estile rejected him with a soft smile. "No matter what happens tell your king to fire his spell in ten minutes. Even if I'm not back."
"But my Lady you'll-."
"I've survived worse, trust me," she nodded confidently. "Now stand up and get to work. I expect double the effort now, but remember to stay alive. I can't thank you if you're all dead."
"Yes my Lady!" the knights replied in unison. They really were earnest, a trait Estile respected.
She took a deep breath and stepped past them posturing herself for a sprinting vault. Now she knew what to look for it wouldn't take her long to find it. She had been waiting for this moment to come for a long while. The most likely location would be in depths of the forest. If the enemy were smart then they'd most likely be using a diversion to hide it away. For some of the other Mercenaries it would be much easier but for Estile, although she had knowledge that far surpassed an excellent magician, it didn't mean she could use it. When it came down to it, her tactics usually relied on one method. Brute force.
The earth shattered beneath her feet and an instant later Estile was in the sky far away from the frontline and hurtling over the mass of black beneath. Still in the air the sound of thunder echoed as she launched herself again and again, running through the sky through sheer force as the sound of mana collapsing shocked the enemy below causing them to falter. Like this she ran above the forest looking for the slight tell above the marching army. In the end it took her longer than she wanted as five minutes passed. Even with Arvel's description the shimmer was incredibly hard to spot in the sea of green trees. The next moment however her body careened into the zone as a spark flicked lightly across her skin. Hidden away but now clear in sight was a mass summoning circuit glowing brightly.
"Looks like I found you," Estile wiped away her sweat and readied her sword. "Now where's your core?"
As if answering her question three black armoured knights stood and as they did so the circuit faded. Their height and girth were much larger than those she had fought before and in the centre of each was a pale stone.
She frowned, "Now I'm just checking but could you please surrender?"
The knights did not reply and instead screeched a horrendous noise that guttered the air. On their call the tide of ordinary soldiers stopped and turned, heading back towards their summoning point.
Estile spat, "Tch, fine then." The two sides collided.
On the first swing Estile felt the full force of what Arvel had warned her about. The three knights were on a league of their own compared to the others. Though she was faster, with three of them she couldn't avoid their strikes and instead parried their blades. The force shook through her body causing her feet to sink into the soil below. It was slight but the shift caused her to falter and without pause a heavy black blade collided against her chest sending her across the ground and into the waiting mass of soldiers.
Estile coughed a hack of blood as her armour cracked. Unable to even take a moment's rest she swung her sword flinging away the enemies who had charged her. Again not missing a single beat the three knights moved to surround her in a flurry of darkness. Estile bit her lip in concentration as she fended them off slightly regretting not waiting for backup. She couldn't retreat however. If the King's spell went off and the summoning circuit remained their effort would be in vain. She refused to let them down and instead grit her teeth. It was time to get serious.
The flow of battle changed in an instant. Within a single second a knight had the core of its body split. It fell apart and melted to goo. The other two couldn't even react as suddenly they were under a barrage of wild swings. Estile's eyes flared with a powerful determination. A long gash split down her thigh but she didn't care. Her defence had been switched to a full offense pressuring the remaining knights to be unable to act. If it was them alone the battle would have been over already but as the black armoured soldiers massed towards her she couldn't land the finishing blow.
As the seconds ticked to minutes more and more wounds layered across her body, each one however quickly faded. Her armour reduced to fragments of its former self and her clothes barely attached. To anyone on the outside it would look like she was in dire straits but for Estile it was exactly where she needed to be. A sudden leap and the second fell to pieces, its core shattered. Alone now the remaining knight thrust its blade. Estile's eyes flashed and instead of running away she jumped towards it, the blade sunk through her body as she narrowed into the final knight. Unable to let go, it was easy pickings for her to smash its core and with it the shimmering boundary broke apart. The circuit beneath her collapsed. The few remaining soldiers around her continued to charge but were swept away by a single swing.
Another cough of blood trickled down her chin and with a painful grunt she pulled the sword from her stomach throwing it aside as it melted away. In seconds the ordinarily fatal injury sealed to nothing but perfectly smooth skin. Her feet however wobbled and steadying herself she plunged her sword into the dirt.
"Ha... ha...," her breaths were rough. "That was more effort than I thought it would be."
Before she could even rest an explosive fluctuation of mana lit up the sky above her and as she looked up an array of magic covered the clouds. The wind snapped out of control as the edges of a fiery mass peeked from the circuit above rapidly beginning to fall.
Estilecould feel the heat already and sighed, "This is going to really hurt." Sheclosed her eyes.