CHAPTER 18: NOT NORMAL

It didn’t take much time for the battlefield to be surged with the battle cries and acts of bravery, along with pools of blood and tears.

The two armies had clashed and the troops on both sides wanted only one thing: the death of their enemies.

However, the only difference there was in their intentions. The reason for wanting to win was different for both the armies.

And that ended up making a huge difference.

"I see they’re getting pushed back," a voice called out to Eunice as she watched the battle unfold from on top of her horse.

She turned to look and saw that it was none other than Luna who had called out to her.

"Weren’t you supposed to stay inside?" Eunice asked.

"I was, but things have changed a bit. Lishia confirmed that there were no troops sent to the side to flank us. She has still kept the defenses up just in case but told me to do whatever I feel like," Luna responded.

"That’s... strange," Eunice said. "Are all their forces concentrated in the front then? That’s reckless on so many levels."

"I know, that’s why I can’t help but feel a little uneasy about it," Luna replied, a frown appearing on her face.

"How many losses have we had so far?" she asked.

"Below a hundred," Eunice answered.

"Should I step in? We don’t have the numbers after all. We can’t afford to lose more in case this battle stretches out for longer," Luna reasoned.

Eunice didn’t reply to that. She cast her gaze across the battlefield in front of her. Then a moment later, she let out a sigh.

"Fine, you can go. But make sure to not get yourself hurt," she said.

A slight smile appeared on Luna’s face. It wasn’t that she was happy to be in this situation. No, of course not.

But rather the fact that she was able to be here when she was needed was what made her take a breath of relief. After all, if she was not here then more soldiers from their side would have ended up dying.

That was something she did not want. Even if she knew it was inevitable when you are fighting a war.

"I’ll keep that in mind," she replied to Eunice.

She then wasted not a single second. She took her sword from its sheath and turned around, blasting herself toward the enemy forces.

Allen had slipped through the inside of the military outpost, quietly following the group of soldiers who were headed for the frontlines.

***

The security seems a lot more relaxed all of a sudden. Are things under control now? Well, I hope not. Wouldn’t be able to enjoy the best part then.

He thought to himself, wishing that the battle was still in its peak phase. After all, that’s when most of the crazy things happened.

That’s when the adrenaline was at the highest.

At this point, he was past the wooden walls built around the outpost and had begun walking on what were pretty much plain lands.

Which also meant that he no longer had any place to hide or take any cover, increasing the chances of him being found out.

Though that didn’t really matter much now since the security past the wooden gates was close to none, and whatever happened from then on happened on the battlefield.

Being seen by the knights from his side didn’t matter either. Because now that they were closer to the frontlines, they had their own safety to worry about rather than some random guest.

After a few minutes of walking, he could hear the sounds of what seemed to be the clashing of swords and all sorts of screams and cries.

In the front, he could also make out the two armies clawing at each other’s throats.

Equip the vest, he commanded internally.

The next moment his light kevlar vest formed itself out of thin air and wrapped itself around his chest.

He had previously put it back into the armory since there was no need for it.

Give me the pistol also, he said, and the M-9 Semi-automatic pistol materialized in his hands.

Hmmm. This seems like a great time to try that out as well. System, pass me the binoculars too. Might as well use the only thing I have in the name of recon.

He held out his left hand and a military binocular appeared on his palms. Allen then somehow stuffed the gun in the pockets of his pants and held the binoculars with his hands.

Looking through them, he could now see the scene unfolding before him very clearly.

Let’s see, there appear to be two groups of people here. I recognize the armor and the marking on it from one side, so I guess it’s safe to assume everyone else is from the enemy side.

They appear to be... engaging in a battle of swords? Damn, that’s kinda primitive.

I mean, yeah I did see Luna use a sword before, but I thought it was more for like personal and last measures when you’ve run out of everything else.

Although... I do see somewhat of a difference. These people... hmm, yeah they are moving much faster than normal people. Magic then? Physical enchantments?

As Allen watched the scenes unfold before him, he began analyzing everything he saw and trying to come up with possible explanations for everything new he was seeing.

However, soon his eyes fell on what he wanted to see the most.

The mages! he exclaimed internally.

He saw one raise his hands and a stream of fire came bustling forward, hitting at a minimum three to four people around him.

So that was more like an area-effecting attack. Would it be fair to compare it to a grenade? Though looking at it closely, those people are still more or less alive.

He just set them on fire.

Allen continued to watch, and then about a minute or so later he began to notice a lot more anomalies than before.

The soldiers who were burnt by the mage were not going down at all. Instead, their bodies kept moving and fighting despite being completely set on fire.

He saw the expression on the mage’s face turn horrified when he realized that no matter how he burned them, they didn’t die.

With flesh burning off and blood dripping from their bodies, they dashed toward the mage. He panicked, trying to run but it was useless.

One of them got hold of his robe and dragged him behind, which caused him to fall. That’s all that was needed.

The three of them completely surrounded him. It turns out that all three of them were knights when they raised their swords with their hands that dripped with their own melted fat and skin.

All of them stabbed the mage simultaneously, killing him in an instant.

They kept drilling their swords into his lifeless body, again and again, until the fire consumed the entirety of their bodies and they fell limp onto the ground.

Just then, the system flashed Allen a message. It came quite unexpectedly.

[Threat detected!]

[Deployment of large-scale magic has been detected in your vicinity.]