Bab 18: Chapter 14: Ambush In The Fog
The air was thick with magic. Marrie could tell even if she wasn't a mage. Normally, even magically enforced fog or mist won't affect a Vanyans sight. However, this magic was different. Stronger. Vanyans, despite being good in magic, was not comfortable when their enemies had strong magic, especially when it stands in their way. Commander Warlord Johnson remembered a time when an entire Vanyan army's advance was halted by a magical landmine field. Even Marrie, who didn't believe that such a thing could stop an army, found herself panicking. Her blue eyes, glowing as they tried to see through the fog, darted back and forth.
Unfortunately, for their enemies, the Vanyans were breathing their own countermeasures. Their cold breath made the fog real for their attacks as well. Of course, the Vanyans were still at a disadvantage. In this kind of weather condition, their siege weapons were useless. Even if they knew where the enemy was, they could not risk shooting their weapons less they hit their own by accident. Of course, while the Vanyans had one of their main weapons down, they still had their skill in combat.
'They have us surrounded and have the resources to spare to use our weakness. Who are these people?'
Marrie shifted her axe nervously. They currently weren't in any territory, meaning she has no idea who they were up against. Could be an empire or a clan. It might even be Senshi or Zhenshi. Well, probably not Zhenshi. They have no business with the Vanyans and while the Vanyans were coming to attack them, it was a small attack that would likely not work. Senshi don't have powerful magic either so the only option left is the empires and alliances. The alliances were all the way to the east which the Vanyans were nowhere close to. So that leaves the empires. But why would an empire risk gain the wraith of the Vanyans? There are four armies out during the Vanyan Raids, with an army of five hundred thousand strong following behind Marrie's vanguard army. If the empires did something to this raid party, they would not go unraided. In fact, the next Vanyan Raid would focus primarily on them if they did so.
As the Vanyans continued their march, though at a much slower pace than before. Nothing happened for a long time. Instead of relieving the Vanyans, it only made them more stressed out. Marrie was panting, her eyes wide and her grip on her axe tight. If anyone not from Vanyan were to see the state she was in, they would doubt the legends told about her. Marrie knew this and it was making her even angrier. Yet, her anger couldn't quell the fear. If this kept up, the other Vanyans would be too scared to move, and Marrie would follow soon afterwards. That was when Marrie spotted something. She squinted and got closer to the side of the Vanyan army.
'We passed them!? They did all that magic stuff for nothing!?'
Of course, that wasn't the real reason, or a good one. Marrie knew they probably did that to hide themselves from the Vanyans. Yet the fear that they caused pushed Marrie too far. She planted the hilt of her axe on the ground, jumped up and perched herself on the top of her axe like a monkey, and started growling, louder and louder catching her soldiers attention, until,
"GOOGALA!" Marrie yelled out before jumping off her axe and lunging towards the hidden shapes. The enemy soldiers were surprised and before they could get themselves ready, Marrie has already cut them to pieces with her axe. The Vanyans turned and charged, officers, blowing horns and giving out orders.
Marrie was alone in the midst of what had to be a hundred enemy soldiers, a mix between Senshi and soldiers, but she didn't care. She punched one soldier in the gut and put them in a one-arm headlock, snapping their neck before letting the body drop. By the time the body did drop, Marrie already killed another two soldiers, Arrows flew up high in the air but before they could hit Marrie, tusk-like projectiles landed in front of her, creating a shield. The Vanyans have developed shields like those to use in a pinch. Launched by one of their siege weapons, it can be used to protect a commander, as a projectile weapon, or be used to climb up or down walls. The arrows were useless against the shield. A couple of soldiers ran behind the shield to attack Marrie only to find that she isn't there. The archers watched the soldiers confusion from afar when their commander's head was suddenly chopped off.
"Over here," Marrie said with a manic glee in her voice.
Marrie tore into the archers, hacking and slashing, her axe and punches ripping through armor and bows. One archer managed to jump up and stab Marrie in her back with his dagger. Marrie froze and put the hilt of her axe on the ground. Before the archer could do anything, Marire jumped up and landed with one foot on the blade of her axe. She twirled around and bend down, grabbing the staff of her axe with one hand and then proceeded to spin down her weapon, her movements a blur. The archer was flung off of Marrie's back but, before he could hit the ground, Marrie caught his foot with her hand and stopped spinning, meeting the archer's scared eyes with a crazed look.
Marrie's smile turned into a frown as she heard the sound of a Senshi commander rushing her from behind and she leapt off her axe, throwing the archer in her hand at the sword strike from the Senshi commander. The archer was bisected and before the Senshi commander could recover, Marrie threw her black war axe at him, catching him in the head. Marrie landed and was rushed by a couple of soldiers. Seeing her unarmed, they thought they had a chance. Unfortunately, Marrie wasn't skilled in the use of weapons alone, and Marrie wasn't weaponless.
Marrie leapt at one soldier and grabbed his head and violently shoved it to the ground. Before the soldier could get up, Marrie stood up and stomped on his neck, crushing it. The other five soldiers charged in at one. Marrie met them, darting forward and punching right through the wooden shield of a Senshi soldier, her nails jabbing his neck and causing him to gag. Marrie turned and threw a white disk at another Senshi soldier, cutting his head in half. Marrie turned and shot a beam of ice from her hands at another soldiers legs, trapping him. Marrie then twirled in the air, avoiding one sword strike and kicking the frozen soldier, snapping his spine in half from the impact. Unfortunately, for Marrie, the last remaining Senshi soldier in the group that had attacked her swung his sword at the same time and caught her leg with his katana when Marrie landed.
Marrie growled and flinched but still managed to spin around and chop the Senshi soldier on his neck. The other soldier took this chance to try and stab Marrie only for Marrie to catch the blade in her hands and pull the soldier forward, head butting him before winding her arm back and punching the soldier, breaking his chest plate and sending him flying, all of his ribs broken and dead from the impact. Marrie turned to the last soldier and made an icicle with her ice magic and stabbed him right through his head.
A Senshi commander ran up to Marrie and took a stance. She was nervous but knew she had this. Marrie didn't have any weapons and, despite her strength. she won't be able to catch her katana with her hands as she did to the soldier from before.
"Give up, Marrie! You're weaponless. This is where you fall."
Marrie's response was to look at the Senshi commander's armor, mainly at her arms. After a bit of studying her, Marrie snorted and met the eyes of the commander.
"Where is your symbol, Senshi?" Marrie spat out.
"...What symbol?" The commander asked, nervous but trying her best not to be.
"Don't lie to me! All Senshi working for Senshi have that flower symbol on their armor. Just like that Shiro."
The commander froze at her words.
"Y-you killed Shiro?" She asked, causing Marrie to giggle. Even if the Senshi was wearing a mask on her mouth, covering most of her face, she can see the despair and anger in her eyes, and she relished it.
"Yes, yes I did."
The Senshi commander rushed forward, her katana ready to slice off Marrie's head. Marrie wasn't going to allow that to happen. She jumped up in the air, doing a backflip, and kicked the Senshi's katana upwards. Marrie landed and instantly elbowed the Senshi commander, making her stumbled back before jumping away. A good distance away from the Senshi, Marrie opened up her left hand. Her axe flew right into it, the axe glowing a pale light blue color. With her axe in her hand, Marrie shifted it to her right hand before putting the axe lazily in front of her, slouching back.
The Senshi hesitated only for a moment before darting forward. She planned to stab Marrie right through her heart. Marrie just lazily spun with a fake yawn, the Senshi's katana slipping past her. Marrie grabbed the Senshi, letting go of her axe, and punched the Senshi harshly three times in her gut before winding back a little and punching the Senshi in her face, causing the mask the Senshi wore to break and fall off.
The Senshi rolled on the ground for a bit before she got up. Marrie didn't pursue her. Instead, she let out an actual yawn and waited for her to get up, her axe once again lazily in front of her in her right hand. After her yawn, Marrie gave the Senshi a smug and lax smile, before she pointed with her left thumb to the right of the Senshi. The Senshi decided to risk taking a look and turned to see what Marrie was pointing at. What she saw churned her stomach.
The Vanyans were fighting her soldiers and, even though her soldiers were holding their own, she could see that the Vanyans were crushing them. There was also no commander or soldier coming to help her.
The Senshi turned around to see Marrie still standing there, only this time she was beckoning her forward.
"Come, let's have our little fight. I must warn thee, it won't end well for ya."
.....
Warlord Commander Johnson knew trouble was brewing. Something was strange here. This army was an actual army with the numbers to fight this Vanyan army, yet they hid. Another strange thing is that, despite these soldiers being a mix of Senshi and empire, the Senshi had no symbol representing their faction, meaning they are rouge. Now it is an uncommon sight to see a rouge Senshi soldier, let alone commander, but this many of them? It was too weird.
As of right now, the Vanyans were at a major disadvantage. They were surrounded. When Marrie say the soldiers hiding, she was on the right flank of the Vanyan army. When she charged them, the Vanyans turned their attention to the right. Because of this, the soldiers hiding to the left of the Vanyans and behind them charged in and took them by surprise. Johnson had lost sight of their leading commander when he was stabbed from behind by a Senshi Shinobi. He survived and swung his shield at the shinobi, catching him in the face and breaking his jaw with his shield before finishing him off with a swift stab.
Johnson took out the katana with a grunt and charged into a nearby group of enemy soldiers. He head-butted one and stabbed another, lifting them up in the air before bringing his sword and the body into another soldier. His shield blocked one strike and the soldier was quickly killed for his troubles when Johnson pulled out his sword and stabbed them in their head with one simple thrust.
The fighting was tense. The captain he was fighting with was shot down by arrows. One of his fingers was cut off by a Senshi soldier and his knee was nearly bent backwards by a mace. Still, the enemies lost one of their major advantages. They were fighting outside of the fog. With their sight clear, the Vanyans were fighting at their full capacity, and with a wave of anger for being afraid.
'That doesn't change the fact that this battle is going to be costly.'
Even though their clerks were in top condition, they themselves won't be able to heal or bring back the tens of thousands of soldiers that were going to die in this battle. Johnson knew that Marrie was young and unused to feeling fear. She surprised Johnson with her fast decision to play the drums and make noise. It not only kept the Vanyans together but it would alert them if they were attacked. However, if Marrie had a clear head, when she saw the soldiers hiding and letting them past she would have allowed them to stay hidden. Unfortunately, Marrie was not and her anger quickly overtook her. Johnson didn't blame Marrie, however. He knew many Vanyans would do the same.
Johnson was a bit different from the other Vanyans. Although he wasn't like Marrie's maid, Tizzy, who isn't a Vanyan, he is like her in they think differently and don't have Vanyan blood running through their veins, even though Johnson did. Vanyans were a race ruled by warfare for thousands upon thousands of years. There is a reason why they were the way they were. Although Johnson wasn't old enough nor knowledgeable enough to know the reason why, he suspected that the Vanyans were not just simple raiders. They don't just pillage. Besides, have you ever heard of pillagers that don't need to pillage? Even the Vikings need to pillage to survive. The Vanyans don't.
Though Johnson wasn't complaining. He loved his job and he didn't see himself stopping any time in the future. Even if he was eighty years old, he didn't think he would stop. Johnson was already old. Even though humans can live up to one hundred and eighty, most don't get that far before they are killed. Unlike most commanders who do make it as long or longer than he did, Johnson doesn't know how to use magic. Well, it's more like he can't use magic. That was one of the biggest reasons he became a warlord in the first place. He needed to prove to others, especially other nobles, that he deserved his title. So, he took up his shield and sword and went to war.
He never expected that he would get this far, nor that he would meet Marrie and work directly under her. He was still an officer when Marrie joined battles. She saw his potential and quickly stuck with him. Soon, he rose through the ranks. Although he wasn't a High Commander, he was one of the best known commanders the Vanyans have.
'Now, where is that little Warmonger?'
Johnson scanned the battlefield but still saw no sign of her. He let out a huff. He was worried. Marrie wasn't invincible. Unlike other Warmongers like Sharia or Chen, Marrie was young and didn't have powerful magic. Well, magic that most Warmongers have. She can't boost herself or heal herself in the middle of battle. Her fighting style is reckless and she normally doesn't wear her warmonger armor, now no exception. She can easily get blind-sided and she has had her heart stop and even been killed on some occasions. Marrie wasn't like other Warmongers and nothing she could do would really change that. At least, not until she gets older. Her skill will develop through time, which is something no one but a God or Apostle could control.
....
The Senshi commander, Arikati, took up her stance. Marrie did not do the same and instead just watched her lazily. Now that she could see Marrie, Arikati had to admit that she was different than what she expected. Of course, she recognized Marrie when she saw her. A Warmonger with a simple axe. The rumors often describe her wearing grey armor with claws but, looking Marrie over. Arikati saw no such thing. In fact, Marrie was wearing a blue dress with barely any armor on it. Although Marrie wasn't coated in blood yet, she was getting there, with most of her dress coated in blood.
Arikati also noticed that, despite Marrie trying her best to hide it, the slight tremble and fresh blood leaking from her right leg. Her leg was badly injured and, despite the very intimidating image Marrie was right now, her cold breath causing a small cloud to cover her and her piercing blue eyes glowing through, her axe dripping with blood, Arikati was sure that she had the advantage. So, she waited. She waited until Marrie started frowning, the trembling in her leg getting worse.
"Are ye gonna come or are we just gonna stare at each other?" Marrie asked, her voice breaking halfway through before she caught herself.
"You're not healing. That wound on your leg will cause you to bleed out. It cut an artery," Arikati informed Marrie, who chuckled at her words.
"I know that already! Still, it's gonna take a lot more than that to kill me, or stop me from killing ya. Now hurry up! Thee rest of thy battle is waiting," Marrie snapped impatiently, her eyes darting to look at the battle before looking back at Arikati.
Arikati didn't answer her and just kept her stance. She could see the veins bulging on Marrie's head and Marrie started growling, getting into an actual battle stance. She took a step forward before she suddenly stumbled, her right leg giving out. Marrie quickly recovered and continued walking forward until the two commanders were in range of each other. Marrie swung wide and Arikati ducked under and slashed Marrie's hip with her katana. She didn't turn around in time to avoid getting slammed in her back with the hilt of Marrie's long axe. The two spun around and Marrie swung to her left, aiming for Arikati's head. Arikati darted to the left and quickly stopped short to avoid Marrie's quick turn around, which would have caught her if she kept on going. This time, Arikati struck first, ducking and swinging her katana, catching Marrie on her right arm, slicing it open. Marrie hissed and backed off, a look of fear on her face. Still, she kept her cool. She darted forward and attempted to hit Arikati with her arm below her elbow, a famous martial art move. Arikati darted back just in time, avoiding the blow. Unfortunately, Marrie wasn't done. Her right hand was next to the blade of her long axe, allowing her to move quickly. She swung and caught Arikati on her right shoulder blade, the axe burying deep. Arikati was trapped and at Marrie's mercy.
Marrie pulled Arikati close and took out her war axe to cut off her head but falter before falling to the ground. Arikati freed herself and jumped back. She flexed her shoulder before using most of her magic to heal the wound while Marrie struggled to get up, her breathing heavy and strained. By the time Arikati recovered fully, Marrie got into another battle stance and leapt at the Senshi, her war axe back on her back. Arikati briefly wondered when she got her war axe back but realized that it was probably when she sent her rolling on the floor the first time.
The two charged at each other and Arikati found herself past Marrie's axe. She wasted no time slicing Marrie open twice before stabbing Marrie in her stomach. Marrie spat out some blood before her free left hand grabbed Arikati's head and started crushing it. Arikati quickly pulled out her sword and tried to escape only for Marrie to stab her with the head of her axe. Unfortunately for Marrie, she was too weak to stab through the Senshi as she had done with Shiro. Still, it caused Arikati to stumble back where Marrie grit her teeth and spun around, her axe slashing Arikati's chest.
Arikati stumbled back again before recovering. Marrie, for one of the few times ever in her life, was out of breath, blood dripping out of the corner of her mouth. She was resting on her axe, gaining back her stamina quickly. Arikati wouldn't let that. She darted forward only to stop. She stopped herself just in time to avoid Marrie's axe, slamming down right in front of her in a blow that would have killed her. Marrie had spun around and jumped up quickly from her stance. Her stamina recovery stance was both used to recover her stamina and used as a trap.
Arikati quickly swung her katana at Marrie before she could recover, getting her in her face. Marrie roared and stumbled back. Arikati aimed at Marrie's legs with her sword and struck. Marrie, hearing the sound of the blade, jumped up in the air, twisted, and landed on one hand. Using that hand, she propelled herself backwards and twirled in the air again before landing, facing Arikati. Right when she landed, however, her right leg gave out.
Marrie got up again just in time to deflect Arikati's blade. She countered with her axe but only succeeded in nicking Arikati. Arikati followed up her attack swiftly and managed to cut Marrie's neck. Marrie gagged and stumbled back. Arikati pressed her advantage and, despite being hit in her left shoulder by the flat end of Marrie's axe, sliced Marrie five more times. Marrie stumbled back, blood pouring from her wounds yet she was still standing, her eyes determined.
Arikati lunged forward. Marrie aimed to punch her with her left fist but when she went for it, Arikati quickly repositioned her katana. Her katana met Marrie's fist at the sharp end of the blade, cutting right through Marrie's hand. Marrie let out a tiny yelp and could do nothing when Arikati freed her sword and stabbed her in her chest. Before Arikati could finish Marrie off, Marrie's eyes hardened and she elbowed Arikati, Arikati's blade going deeper into her in the process. Marrie heat-butted Arikati once and then attempted to cut her head off with her axe. Arikati ducked back and freed her sword and raised it above her head, taking the opening Marrie gave her to cut-
Marrie let out a sigh and rested her axe on her shoulders, blood splattering on her in the process. She hadn't cut off the Senshi's head since she struck her with the end of the axe with no blade, the opposite side of where the blade of her axe was. Normally, hitting someone once on the head with the dull no-blade end of her axe wouldn't kill someone in one blow. No. The ice spike she made on her axe would. It stabbed Arikati right through her head, taking part of her right eye. Marrie had used her knee to knock her axe upwards, shifted her hand to be closer to the blade of her axe, and twisted her body, using her foot as momentum, to hit Arikati first before she hit her with her katana. She had lured Arikati in with another trap, even if it was made on the dime.
Marrie stumbled away from the dead Senshi before falling down. She caught herself before she fell but only held herself up for two seconds before falling down flat on her face. She tried to get up and failed over and over again. Even using her axe didn't help. With a sigh, Marrie used her magic reserve and froze her axe to the ground after multiple attempts before proceeding to freeze her hands to her axe to help her stand up. When she did so, she unfroze her hands and nearly fell over before she caught herself on her axe.
Marrie shakily got up and looked up at the sun, her axe limply in her right hand. She was covered head to toe in blood. Marrie turned around at a slight disturbance and saw two commanders and a captain running at her, one Senshi, one empire commander with a halberd. Marrie let out a sigh and closed her eyes, her free hand on her chest. Ice started to form on her wounds but failed to form for longer than two seconds. Marrie was all out of magic. With a sigh, Marrie shook her head.
"Sister, you got what ya want. I shall use thy magic."
Marrie let out another sigh of resignation before muttering the words,
"Thōṛā gusē vālā khūnī mairī."
Marrie was covered by a light blue flash. When the light settled, the sky started snowing and the area where the light came from was now covered in ice. Marrie wasn't wearing her dress anymore. She was instead wearing a dark grey light armor. On her wrists were gauntlets with a bone design on them, her hands covered in armor and ended in metal claws. On her chest plate in the center was a glowing light blue symbol. Her pupils were now yellow and her eyes were glowing brighter than normal.
Marrie's movements were janky when she turned to look at the sun again before looking back at the enemies coming her way. A smile slowly formed on her face. When the soldiers were twenty feet away from her, Marrie lunged forward. Her axe bashed into the commander with the halberd, dropped her axe and formed an iceball and slammed it into the face of the Senshi commander to her left. He went down and Marrie wasted no time in grabbing her long axe with her right hand and taking out her war axe with her left hand. She eviscerated the Senshi commander with her long axe and reached over the Senshi commander and cut the soldier with her war axe on his head. Marrie let go of her war axe and elbowed the head of the Senshi commander, burying his gut deeper into her axe.
Marrie ripped her axe free and swung her axe at the last remaining commander. He deflected her axe and swung the hilt of the halberd, catching her right hip. Marrie attempted to bash the commander with the hilt of her axe on his face but he blocked that too. Before he could counter-attack, Marrie punched him hard in the gut, causing him to double over in pain. Marrie shifted her axe to her right hand and brought her hand close to the blade of the axe before swinging, catching the commander on his neck. Marrie, with her axe hooked on the neck of the commander, turned to her left and flipped over her axe, dragging the commander to the ground and digging her axe deeper into the commander's neck. When she landed, she shoved her axe deeper into the commander's neck, cutting off his head.
Marrie let out a satisfied sigh before giggling. She turned around to face the battle before retrieving her war axe. Then, with her weapons retrieved, Marrie made her way down towards the battlefield, a pep in her steps.
________
Johnson walked towards Marrie, caution in his every step. They had won the battle with far fewer casualties than he was expecting. The reason was clear. Marrie had killed most of them, probably more than ten thousand on her own. Though, it had cost her a terrible price.
Marrie was standing over a carpet of ice and frozen bodies, blood everywhere. She was completely still, her head lowered and her stare blank. In her right hand was her long axe, the axe cracked in a few places. In her left hand was a bit of gore stuck on her claws. Marrie was in her warmonger armor, though the one her sister gave her. Her sister knew that Marrie wasn't as good as other Warmongers were despite her skill. So, using magic, she made Marrie a powerful suit of armor. The armor kept her mana at full capacity and held her body together, though it came at a terrible price. Marrie, in order to keep fighting while on her last legs, used her ice magic to keep her body running. The armor allowed for that to happen perfectly. The end result was Marrie losing her mental thoughts if she uses the armor past her own limits. Currently, Marrie was still alive, but barely. Her thoughts are gone. She is more like a zombie than a human. She was twitching slightly every now and then but was normally still. Her heartbeat was faint as it was only using a few times every half a minute. The blood on her armor and from her own wounds was switching from going in and out of her body, forcefully keeping her body running.
The moment Johnson took a step on the ice on the ground surrounding Marrie, he stopped. He has been through this before. He looked back up at Marrie and saw that in her left hand was a magic made icicle, and she was pointing it right at him. Johnson let out his cold breath and, after a couple of seconds, Marrie stopped her magic and went back into the same position as before. Johnson slowly made his way over to her and put away his weapons. He looked down at Marrie's right hand and sighed. She had frozen her hand to her axe to keep on fighting. By the looks of it, some of her skin and flesh has been ripped off and are frozen between her hand and the axe.
"Hey! Can I get some help over here!?" Johnson called out. A Vanyan soldier soon ran to join him but the moment he stepped on the ice, Marrie turned and shot out a magic icicle at the soldier. It went right through the soldier's chest and he fell to the ground, dead. Marrie went right back into the stance she was in before.
"Dammit. Use your cold breath and approach slowly!" Johnson called out angrily. Soon, another soldier came. He used his cold breath when he stepped on the ice and made his way up to Johnson.
"I need you to carry her axe," Johnson told the soldier who was studying Marrie up and down.
"What happened to her?" He asked, curious. Johnson let out a sigh.
"You're one of the new guys, right? Marrie has entered her battle frenzy. This is the aftermath. Now come on."
Johnson grabbed Marrie's axe which caused her to stiffen up and look at Johnson. Johnson flashed Marrie a reassuring smile until she went back to the position she was in before. Once she was, Johnson ripped the axe from Marrie's hand, ripping off some of her flesh in the process. Marrie did not do anything to acknowledge what happened. She only twitched a little before going still.
Johnson threw the axe at the soldier who caught it with both hands and tucked it into his chest.
"Oof! That's heavy...and cold too!"
Johnson didn't bother to answer his complaining and lifted Marrie into a princess carry. Marrie's eyelids were still open so Johnson had to beckon the soldier over and order him to close them.
"So, she becomes like this after her battle frenzy is over?" The soldier asked.
"No, she dies," Johnson replied before he started moving back towards the army.
"W-what!? Why?" The soldier asked, walking next to Johnson.
"Either she'll bring herself back or the clerks will have to. Right now, the moment she stops using her magic, her body will completely stop functioning, too broken from having been torn beyond what it can do. Marrie, as of right now, will die and there is nothing we can do to stop it. The only thing we can do is to bring her back to life when she does so and nurse her back to full health."
Johnson paused.
"Which means we will have to find a good place to camp. We're stopping the raid for now."
Johnson shook his head and continued on, realizing he was probably going to have to listen to Tizzy's angry yelling when she learns what happened to her mistress.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone