Tear A Path 287 Further From The Ground

It was inevitable that one of their guns would jam at some point, but even as it happened their hearts shook.

"F*ck this!" The guy decided to throw down his rifle in exchange for the sub on his side.

It still filled his the next guy up, but it didn't slow him enough. The man charging at the fore-front leaped forward, taking another two steps as his legs gave way, throwing his body forward.

Despite his falling body, his eyes continued to look at the human in front of him, right before another three bullets ripped apart the sweltering skin that was his eyelids and the bullets began bouncing around his skull, turning it into soup.

But his efforts wasn't for naught, the next man took it upon himself to finish the job as he grabbed the slumping mans body and lifted it over his shoulder, using it as a meat shield as he pierced a sword through the back of one of his own and used both their weights to run the enemy right through.

It took the lives of many of their own, but once the first person broke through, the rest flooded into that one opening, cutting down man after man on either side of the defensive line, opening the gap like a dam that was bursting forward.

The rest of them began to feel the pressure of attacks on them lighten as they brought themselves closer to the enemy, packing them in a group.

Alos didn't let this moment slip, "Archers, fire!" Immediately,a volley of arrow whistled high into the sky, rising as far as they could, lining the skies with it's shadow before they began to descend.

In the eyes of Mototsune's men, the sky just looked like a series of black dots on a blue canva.s.s. It took seconds to arrive, not long enough for any of them to even pray as a rain of bolts turned most of them into porcupines.

"Fire mages follow through!" Travis commanded. Behind him several mages had been charging gigantic runes, continuously pushing their mana to keep it from firing and ruining the surprise, the moment the command came they began to convert their magic circles into several fireb.a.l.l.s, each the size of a mans head.

Despite hearing the enemy's command, the gunners couldn't do much in this situation. Their guns had one weakness compared to the archers and mages, their trajectory. If it was just range against range, the gun's trigger speed and distance would be far more advantageous. But guns could only shoot in a forward direction, making the deaths of all the infantry necessary before they could shoot down the archers.

They had forgotten about even attempting to use the mortars and grenade launchers. Despite their effectiveness as crowd controllers, they couldn't finish off enough enemies and took too long to reload. Additionally they were facing madmen who wouldn't die even after they were burned.

When they had previously been exposed to mortar sh.e.l.ls which incinerated all that was in it's radius, the men exposed ran through the flames, ignoring their burning skin and flesh and charged the enemy like a human fireball hugging the first man they could catch, the pain inciting them to run even after the fire had cooked their muscles to the bone.

For the first time in this battle the winds had changed, and finally both sides had shed flesh and blood. But it was clear now that the people from the modern age were at a disadvantage. They were fighting a losing battle, just trying to keep the blades away from their throats, and yet, they had no way out.

With their opponent's more powerful physique, retreating would only serve as an open target. At this point however a sudden loud noise had echoed through the clearing, coming from the flank of the battlefield from behind some overgrowth.

Only the captains who were in the center of the army noticed this as the rest continued their onslaught. Ode who was calmly observing the battlefield just moments before suddenly tensed.

"Should we be worried?" Travis asked.

Ode had heard a similar sound just recently, so if it was what he thought it was they were in for a lot of problems. "You remember the bear that was terrorizing the outer ring of the forest?"

"Yeah why? You told me it was finished off." Travis asked, anxious about the answer he was going to receive.

"Yes, but 'we' didn't finish it." Ode replied grimly. "If it's the same thing, we might just have to surrender."

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A loud exasperated sigh cut through the empty city. Most fighters were outside the wall while any elderly and children were hidden in strategic parts of the city.

Only two figures now stood facing each other as they prepared to face peril. "You sure about this?"

"Well, what's the worst that can happen." A nervous laugh rang out of Tess as she surveyed the mountain in front of them.

"I get shot and I leave you as bait in the middle of them while I run away." Grendolyn replied stoicly.

"Sounds like you've thought this through." In a little part of her, Tess was hoping she was joking, but her expression spoke otherwise.

"Not really, it was the first thing that came to mind the moment you proposed this plan."

"That just makes it worse!" Tess shouted.

"Well... you suggested coming up here with me." Grendolyn replied as they began to ascend the cliff face with a platform made from the ground beneath them.

For a moment, Tess wondered if she had a better chance of surviving if she jumped off from this height or if she followed this mad woman up here. But every second of indecisiveness had forcefully locked her in this predicament as they moved further and further from the ground.