Jackal Among Snakes

Orion stepped up a mound of roots, using several separate branches like steps of stairs until he crested the top. He looked out across the vastness of the Bloodwoods, then up, up, and up, at its towering branches far removed from the earth. He turned back and waved, shepherding people onwards.

With the signal given, Argrave’s party advanced fluidly up the mound of roots just after him. The van of the formation was Veidimen bearing large tower shields, though just as many without shields were wrapped around the core so that both front and back were protected. The core was, namely, Argrave and his closest council, with its new additions being Ganbaatar, Moriatran, and Artur. The Veidimen officers, too, were positioned to receive and deliver orders.

As they grew nearer, Orion kept his eyes on the branches high in the sky. Everyone else remained utterly silent in anticipation for his order. Just as their party began to near the first trunk of the redwoods on the edge of the forest, he called out, “Movement!”

Anneliese held her hand up. A rift opened in front of her hand, and from it spilled a silver aura that seemed like a cut in the sky. In truth, it was a mana ripple. The queen completed her A-rank spell. A staff started to crystallize in her hands, spreading out up and down—intricate and elaborate, it looked like it was made of amethyst glass. Eventually, the top of the staff blossomed outwards into a great covering, shielding their entire party. The spell was called [Amaranthine Sunshade]—an A-rank ward. She held the staff and ward up above like a torch, shielding them all as they marched into the Bloodwoods.

It was not one second too late, either. The arrows fired by the wood elves high in their tree came in a unified swell, each arrow released within half a second of the other. With both the power of their bows and the gravity pressing down behind them, the synchronized arrows slammed into her spell with intense power. The spell held firm, though it sounded as though a giant gong had been struck. Anneliese seemed to feel no impact in her arm as the arrows sagged off the [Amaranthine Sunshade] like raindrops. Far up in the branches, numerous deep horns echoed, loud enough it seemed to permeate the entire forest. As they did, Orion sprinted away deeper into the heart of things.

“They blew the horns,” Ganbaatar told Argrave as they bounded over a root. “Every elf in half a mile is obligated by threat of death to join into a Tumen to resist us. More than that, the noise—”

“Is meant to summon every living predator within half a mile should they fail,” finished Argrave. “Just walk.”

The next wave of arrows pounded upon Anneliese’s mobile ward. The magic only chipped slightly from the numerous impacts, shading all those under it very well. The needlelike leaves and sometimes branches of the giant redwood sprinkled down as hordes of wood elves travelled up above to make their formation. Still, their party was able to press onwards for a time.

But then, the obstacle that had stalled King Felipe III’s army revealed itself—though perhaps the term ‘revealed’ was deceptive. Between the trees, hair-thin wires stronger than steel and sharp enough to rend bone and flesh both barely glinted from the faint sunlight pouring through the trees. They were fainter even than spiderwebs, and far deadlier.

Rather than mechanical, the wires were magical. They had three points they were attached to something solid—two to hold them taut, and another between the two to create high tension. When touched, the tension-generating binding would be released, and the wire would spring into action. They could cut a dozen fully armored knights in half in the span of milliseconds.

But they had a fatal failing.

densest there,” Ganbaatar said, pointing to a spot on

Argrave relayed. His order was repeated by the officers, and

than a fire’s ember, danced from under the sunshade where he’d snapped. It travelled through the air whimsically… yet when it reached its target, it expanded outwards into the pre-completed matrix. A roaring explosion of fire rocked the redwood tree.

wires still needed tension to be effective. By dislodging only one of three stakes, a wire trap could

ground made the advance difficult. The master enchanter had the least trouble of them all, suspending his body with his mantle as he hovered along with them, uneasy yet alert. Ganbaatar used his knowledge to spot the wires, and Moriatran cast spells to dislodge them, clearing a path. It was a grueling advance, the whole of which arrows rained down upon them, threatening to

but in reality, it was a bigger boon

in vast quantities, forming their Tumen—their unit of ten thousand. Their tactics and organization reminded Argrave of the Veidimen’s efficiency, and his next steps fell heavier than the last in light

ward, flawlessly transitioning between the two to let not even a single arrow fall upon them. They marched, marched, and marched, bounding over uneven

for the first time, a loud clang of metal audible even above the din of power pounding over their head. It was a few arrows that struck home at first… then hundreds, thousands. They soon faced an assault as fierce

Make way!”

them battered beyond belief, as they made way for Moriatran. The S-rank spellcaster held out both hands to the side. His body came alive with light, and a red mana ripple spread out from his right hand. As it ended, he closed his hand. When he opened it again, he held a ball of pure purple light. The

of the Tumen, from which many wood elves rappelled down even now. The mana ripples reappeared… and two pillars of howling flame erupted upwards like a lunging snake, catching many rappelers and the whole

speed and unsurpassed power. He collided with the elves, interrupting the rain of arrows for a moment as their formation of archers adapted to the lone juggernaut in their midst. In that

move!” Argrave

unpleasant memories in the distant past. The intense smoke from the flame would hide them from sight… for a time. The redwoods here were not as flammable as mundane trees, so the fire would not spread too far. Still, they took ample advantage of this moment and moved at their fastest pace

ceased. They managed to advance a great distance without receiving any projectiles at all. When their location was finally rediscovered, the

that, Artur shouted, “Move the ward

moved the sunshade aside, exposing them to the open sky for the first time in a while. Artur surged past, floating upwards with his mantle. He held

spread out slowly enough some wind seeped past and hammered into Anneliese’s [Amaranthine Sunshade]. Her spell chipped and shattered against even a weakened impact from an S-rank spell.

trees around, changing the terrain greatly. [Maelstrom] was the spell’s name—a simple, destructive writhing wind that seemed to come without an end. Seeing

them. The Veidimen didn’t need to