Chapter 4: The Unkindness, Conspiracy of Ravens
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Hundreds of thousands of ravens rained down on the knights below the dark night. Screams and cries could be heard from a distance as the ravens wrecked havoc in the battle formation.
I gritted my teeth and unsheathed Moonlight, my trusted sword, and aimed it at the collapsing heavens.
'This was bad idea!'
Thousands of knights behind us were already retreating, but it was all for naught. For every knight that managed to retreat, a dozen more were killed. The situation was terrible.
No matter how many ravens we cut down, more would follow. They seemed endless.
Moonlight shone with a pale silver light as I aimed her at an incoming flock of ravens. I flashed my sword, reaping the lives of a dozen ravens. A moment later, I was upon another flock.
No matter how much ravens I cut down, more kept on coming. But that was alright, because i was not alone.
Starborn's legendary greatsword, Kingslayer, shone with a incandescent light, illuminating a small portion of the battlefield. So I was able to see him in the midst of chaos, and what i saw was truly humbling.
Kingslayer was practically on fire at that point. The crimson flames were so pure and absolute, it was truly a breathtaking sight. He flashed his greatsword, erasing dozens of ravens from existence, and simultaneously turning the nearest ones to ash.
The ravens could not even get the honor of tasting his blade, because the moment they got close enough, they would simply be reduced to nothing. Burned to ash by the flames of judgement.
His flawless crimson armor that shone with intricate and earthreal designs, could be seen amidst the cataclysmic baltte. The flames shone brighter and brighter still, the blade acting as the conduit of his Will. His Battle Art had not changed at all. It was just as lethal and deadly as I remembered it.
The flames slowly enveloped his arms first, then spread towards his torso. Until his whole armor was burning with the sublime crimson flames. The whole sight was truly magnificent.
It was like a star had descended from the heavens. Starborn truly lived up to his Name.
He was basically invincible now, for the same reason as before. Now that his whole body was protected by the flames of judgement, no raven could withstand his presence. And so they perished, hundreds upon hundreds of them. They all burned.
I looked around and caught the sight of the infamous Frostguard. Suddenly, before I could comprehend the breathtaking sight, I felt a cold chill run down my spine. Lethal and chilling cold suddenly enveloped the whole battlefield, bringing the temperature to a perfect equilibrium.
The tenacious knight moved with flawless precision, ruthlessly killing dozens of ravens each second. The air around him was chilling and cold, greatly affecting the speed and mobility of his enemies, but he was just getting started.
The temperature around him decreased even further than before, until it was absolute zero. Hundreds of ravens froze to death in an instant, then exploded into countless shards of ice as they met his blade. He struck down even more ravens as their movement turned sluggish because of the lethal cold.
His sword, Frostbite, was amongst the most beautiful swords in all the 12 Kingdoms. We all knew that for a fact. No sword in the Aethermoor Kingdom could compare, not even Kingslayer.
It was a light blue in color, with patterns on the hilt and guard made from flawless white jade. The blade itself was either made from stalwart glass or indestructible ice, no one could really tell. It was so beautiful in fact, that it was considered an honor dying by its blade.
He flashed Frostbite in the air a few times, sending a lethal blizzard towards the Unkindness. Hundreds of ravens were turned into motionless statues embedded deep in the mercilessly cold ice.
His armor was of the same color as his sword, pale blue and white, and just as beautiful as well. His skin was pale with an unsubtle shade of blue, and I watched as it shone with a diamond-like reference.
Swiftblade was busy with his own horde as well, but it was hard keeping up with that guy. He moved as fast as lightning across the battlefield, you could never keep track of his movements, but you can see the havoc he wrecks in his wake.
He did not stay in place for too long, a few seconds were enough before he moves on to another horde. I could only see dozens of mangled and torn ravens littering the ground on a random spot the field, then the rest was not difficult to conclude.
He wielded two slender rapiers that were barely visible when he fought. Some might even argue if they were there at all, but everyone knew better. His speed made it impossible for his adversary to keep up with his blade movements.
That is the exact reason why he was called the Swiftblade.
On another part of the battlefield, Dawnshield fought with grace and precision worthy of a Battle Master. His giant bronze shield rammed into dozens of ravens, reducing them to piles of flesh and pools of blood.
His shield, the Zenith Shield, was as tall as he was, and as heavy as a mountain. Every time he brought it down, the ground would quacke and a small shockwave could be felt from afar. For the nearest ravens though, not so much.
We all fought with perfect unison and coordination, but it was all for naught. No matter how many ravens we killed, more took their place. They just kept on pouring out of the great wall of the Obsidian Castle like an endless river of darkness.
I flashed Moonlight and killed a dozen more ravens. Their onslaught grew more and more coordinated and purposeful as well, as if someone else was controlling them. I knew exactly who it was, we all did.
I changed my fighting style and started moving deeper into the avalanche of ravens, towards Dawnshield. The old man was not doing very well. Although the Zenith Shield could devastate dozens of adversaries at once, it was also incredibly heavy.
And that would be his undoing.
Because the Zenith Shield was so heavy, he could only deal damage on one side, while his back was completely exposed. He was staggering from the weight of the shield. His strength was running out, and his stamina was already too low as well.
His guant back was beaten and battered, with countless gruesome wounds all over. His armor was shredded and torn by the terrifying beaks of the ravens. Blood was gushing out of the wounds at an alarming rate, no one was paying attention so I had to do something before it was too late.
As a healer, I could attempt to heal his wounds, but I would not be able to cover his back this time or mine for that matter. Because of the eternal darkness that nestled over these desolate lands, it was always night in the Thornewood Kingdom. And so i was rendered powerless because there was no moon here to fuel me, there never was.
I still took the risk though. Not because it was the right thing to do, but because I wanted to. Even though he and were not exactly close.
I buried myself in the furious onslaught of the Unkindness, and moved closer towards Dawnshield. I leaned my back against his and attempted to defend it all which trying to heal him as well.
Both my silver armor and sword shone with a pale radiance of silver moonlight, faintly illuminating his battered figure. I felt my strength dwindling at an incredible speed, blood dripping out of my nose. The vision suddenly turned blurry and I was having a hard time comprehending the situation around me.
The pale silver radiance slowly died down until it was completely extinguished. I did not feel so good. My head was spinning and my arms and legs felt even heavier than the Zenith Shield. I staggered and leaned on his back of support. He must have sensed that something was wrong, because at that moment, he turned around and held me in his strong arms all the while wrecking havoc with the Zenith Shield.
I looked around sluggishly, chaos all around me. All that effort, all those ravens we killed, thousands, it was all for nothing. Just a drop in the ocean. But we did buy enough time for at least a quarter of our knights to escape, while the rest lay dead in the battlefield.
It was only us now.
Only the five of us holding back hundreds of thousands of ravens, that increased with every passing moment.
Because it was always night here, we had lost all perception of time, but one thing was certain: we had been fighting for hours, probably even the whole day.
It was time to retreat.