Chapter 376: Flag Set
Someone's red flag comment the night before had definitely been at fault for this morning, Karl decided.
He hadn't even gotten to have a morning coffee, much less breakfast, when the alarm sounded with the additional urgent tone that said Hill Giants were attacking and closing quickly.
Everyone was headed out at the same moment, running across the camp, or riding on the beasts to save time.
A lot of time in the case of Lotus and Rae, who had just realized that she could continually shadow step with an attached cleric, as long as Lotus didn't fall off. The basic requirement for Shadow Step was that at least half of your body had to be in the shadows. Most Rogues accomplished that with a swirl of their cloak, Rae accomplished it either with Earth Magic or with Lotus' cloak billowing across her back.
It worked out splendidly for them, and they were in place within seconds, shocking the Elites who were already in place.
Only, it wasn't the same group they were used to. Their shift was mostly there, but both of the other shifts had been cut by over half and replaced with regular infantry, guided by White Robes from the church.
Lotus realized immediately why that would be. They had Rae here now, and Karl was getting very close to advancing. So, they didn't need as many strong Elites on the right flank anymore. They did get Bob and Doug as permanent additions, as far as Lotus could tell, as they were still headed in her direction, and Morgana was coming as well. But there were far more white robes in the pike line than she remembered.
Lotus waved happily at the nervous soldiers, who calmed a bit upon seeing the strange duo behind their ranks.
Everyone had heard the rumours, and if they had a Royal Rank beast with them, then they should be fine, no matter what was coming.
Karl arrived thirty seconds later, to a smug smile from Rae and Lotus, and a warm welcome from the other Elites, who were eager to see the new and improved Rae in action.
Karl jogged in front of the line and turned back to address the new arrivals.
"I see plenty of fresh faces in the line today, so this should be easy. I need everyone to raise their shields." Karl called out.
Those who could hear him responded immediately, and Karl split [Earth Shield] over fifty tall metal kite shields, giving them all a layer of Royal Rank Earth Magic. Then he repeated the task as he jogged down the line to the end of their sector, where another team's defensive magic took over.
"Perfect. That should take the first few hits for you, just trust in your shields and keep your pikes up to halt the charge." He shouted.
"Sir, yes Sir." The soldiers responded in unison.
Tessa and the others on Thor arrived soon after. The War Cleric assessed the enhanced shields with a trained eye and then cast her combat buffs, bringing the telltale golden glow to the pikes and the armour of the soldiers and Elites on the front line.
It was only a small change from the usual routine, adding Karl enhancing the shields, easily completed before the Hill Giants were in range.
Hawk could see them, though. They were charging forward, and there was a large group of Commanders coming toward the right flank, the same sort of tactic that Karl and his team used to take down Royal Rank Giants in the past.
If they were as good at assassination techniques as the humans were, Karl would be concerned, but an extra twenty Commanders wasn't a huge deal.
They were more than a little short on teachers as well, Karl noticed. The three with his team were the only ones assigned to this whole section, when normally there would be at least six or seven.
Then one last team came jogging their way, gunblue armour highlighting the white of their church robes. Like Bob, they were all heavily armoured warriors, and like Bob, they all had magnificently ridiculous helmets on.
"Princess Rae, Commanders. We have been sent here by the clergy to ensure your safety. Special Forces Team 808 reporting." The man in the lead position announced.
There were three men and two women in the team, all nearly identically dressed. Or perhaps one was an exceptionally slender male? It was hard to tell with the robes and the practical armour. But one was clearly female, as her chest plate's curve made it very evident that she required additional clearance.
"What is your specialty? We will get you placed." Karl replied while Rae strutted about in joy.
They had addressed her first. Not only that, but they had called her Princess. These were obviously the Elite of the Elite, with their impeccable judgment and refined tastes.
"We are all Magical Knights. Commander Rank Mages trained in heavy combat." The team leader informed them.
Dana gave them a curious look, and the woman on the right flank lifted her visor to give her a wink.
"Why would you train mages in heavy combat?" Dana asked curiously.
"We've got the best barriers, we've got offensive magic, but what is the weakness of the average mage? They're squishy and don't do well in close combat. Our training negates that disadvantage. Would you like to learn it? I read in your file that you have a nullification barrier, and an advanced barrier skill is one of the application requirements to be considered for a placement." The special forces woman replied.
"Hey, no stealing my Dana Mage. But I do agree, it could be useful to her to learn your techniques." Karl replied, half jokingly.
"Then watch and learn. The first thing will be learning the sword, which takes time, but we have a cheat for that if you're serious about learning. You can decide after the battle whether you want to try." The woman replied, ignoring Karl to talk to Dana.
The sound of Hill Giant war horns sounded in the distance, and Karl saw a group of thirty Commanders break off, moving further from the flank and separating themselves from the main charge.
"That looks like they're challenging you. One hundred percent." Bob noted.
"Yeah, I suppose that we should go give them what for. Rae, why don't you show off your stone throwing here while the Golems come with us. Small stones at high speed should either break or stop the incoming boulders." Karl suggested.
[Anti Aircraft Spider?] Rae replied confused.
[Anti Aircraft Spider. Then you can stab whatever makes it to the lines.] Karl confirmed.
Karl led the group out from the flank, accompanied by the Special Forces team, to add some numbers to their eight-person squad.
With the Golems, it was fifteen, which was a nice round number. Half of what the enemy had sent, and enough that they could hold a defensive formation.
The Special Forces team moved to the front, and Karl watched as they extended their blades into long-bladed spears with a spell. That was a handy ability, and it gave them the additional reach that they needed to fight a target as large as the Hill Giants. Karl brought up his full suite of buffs, causing Thor and the Golems to surge in size, while increasing in speed.
"On my mark." Karl called as he prepared [Earth Shield] on the last few shields, as well as Thor's head, and added five layers of Flaming Body to his maul.
Using his enhanced strength, he lunged forward, over the heads of the Magical Knights, and shattered the club of his targeted Hill Giant. The Maul was still moving forward, and Karl reactivated the spell stack as he slammed the oversized hammer down on the Giant's shoulder.
The Hill Giant crumpled to his knees, and the Spider Golems leapt into action, starting toward the back flanks of the attackers.
Before Karl had even landed, the Knights were in combat. They had used a movement skill much like the Spellblades did to compensate for their lack of supernatural strength, and their blades were a blur as the spears tore into the Giants.
Thor charged beside Karl as he rode the wounded Giant to the ground before using [Rend] to slice its neck open with a wave of his hand.
Then it was on to the next one as the warriors pushed forward, and Dana's spells whistled overhead.
The Knights were using mage spells, Karl could see, but they were using them at point-blank range, as a counterpoint to their weapon attacks. It was an incredibly aggressive fighting style for a defensive warrior, but their enhanced speed was making it work.