Lucas watched Asta unleash a storm of spells and arrays, holding both enemy groups at bay. Awe surged through him. Arrays were visible in the air and on the ground, supporting Asta to keep up with the mana usage and conjuring each spell up.
Tens of small swords and arrows were fired off every second to keep both groups under control. The strain it took was starting to become too much for him to handle.
Asta looked like a masterful mage conjuring up dozens of spells at once, fighting against some 50 mages at once, Lucas felt jealous at his capabilities. He felt undermined, questioning his own abilities.
He took care of a single group by himself, yet Asta was dealing with double the opponents. An adrenaline-fueled competitiveness sprung up from the depths of his heart. Thinking on how to quickly help out, he looked at his surroundings before an absurd idea popped up.
"Fuck it.", turning around, he walked up to the wall. "Focus on strengthening all muscles, overload it if necessary."
Part of Lucas felt a bit apprehensive of what was going to happen next, but knew that his other side was the best when it came to combat sense. So he didn't hesitate in fueling his body with mana. Still, that didn't extinguish his curiosity.
'What are you going to do?'
"We're pushing down this fucking wall!"
Pressing his hands on the wall, forcing his body to its limit, he used all his might to push it. Yet all he accomplished was to push the entire wall a tiny bit forward. Asta saw through his willpower what Lucas was doing.
Right as he was about to warn him, Lucas forced his hands in the ground as he overloaded his muscles. Yelling it all out, he forced his hands to carry the weight of the entire wall.
'What is that idiot thinking! That wall contains a massive amount of mana! Its weight is at least two tons! You can't just- what in the?', Asta was about to criticize Lucas but the scene in front of him broke all his preconceived possibilities.
Despite the danger of it blowing up in his face and the time pressure, Lucas was lifting the entire wall, slightly, but enough for it to topple over.
The mages on the other side could only look on in despair as the wall slowly fell over, the mana contained within enough to blow the whole plain sky-high. The moment it reached the ground, a massive explosion took place. Barely any mage was capable of surviving, and Asta made sure it would last long.
Right when Lucas saw it fall down, he didn't hesitate to turn around and rush towards the other wall. Not just because he wanted to be away from the explosion, but also because he noticed the last group was approaching them at a rapid speed from the sky.
Sprinting towards the other wall, he braced himself as his velocity only increased. Protecting his head, he let off an explosion near his back to bring his speed to the absolute limit of what he was capable off. Bursting through the wall, he was met with a bunch of surprised looks and a few dead bodies, but Lucas didn't even care in the slightest as he tried to keep his momentum to sprint through the entire group.
Many were shocked and flabbergasted, only a few realized what was happening, "Shields!"
It didn't take long before the wall collapsed, and the pent-up energy was released. Lucas wasn't able to run away in time, stuck in the blast, he just tried to shield his vital organs. No matter his shields, they were blown to bits, yet his body was fine.
The moment he opened his eyes, a blue cube was erected around him. He was surprised at Asta capabilities to act so quickly, but what surprised him even more was the fact that the final group came to the rescue. They had created a bunch of shields for the remaining mages and were healing them as quickly as their bodies allowed them.
"Captain Valric! Thank you for your assistance, these mages were a lot more trouble then I first anticipated. We'll have to work together if we are to stand a chance. I-"
"Shut it Orlen! Men! Surround the bastard and kill him off!", Lucas was already retreating towards Asta as fast as he could. Being alone and surrounded wasn't going to help him out. The moment he heard the word 'captain', his instincts screamed to run away.
He was immediately harassed by random spells. Some missed, some hit, but his resistance won out by pure luck. Once the mages noticed that they instantly started to user stronger spells, much to Lucas's dismay.
Asta ran towards Lucas as well since he knew it wasn't going to be easy now. Grouping up, Lucas was glad to be close to an ally. In total around 10 enemy mages kept up with them. The remainder were aiding the other groups, trying to save as many as they possibly could.
"Heh, these fucks are better than the rest. They were holding their best in reserves.", Lucas noticed how quickly they were on the uptake, and cared little for his rest or honor. Firing spells at his back, destroying the surrounding land or even the village nearby, it didn't matter. They all carried faces of anger and revenge, which said enough.
"Well, that does put us in a bit of a pickle.", Asta was tired out, but still composed as they face the mages coming straight at them. It didn't take long before they surrounded them.
Lucas didn't even have the time to say anything as a barrage of spells appeared around them. Seeing the spells approach him, Lucas wasn't even thinking of creating defenses. Instead, he searched the lowest ranked spell that wasn't filled with Darkness and obliterated it with his fist or body, creating an opening in the range of fire.
In that small opening, Lucas tried to fight back, dishing out his own spells, but had to constantly retreat due to another spell aimed at his back. Instead of gaining ground and fighting back, Lucas was locked down as he had to keep defending himself, not giving him any room to breathe.
Lucas realized how against a fully functional team he had little to no room to spare. If things kept up like this, his energy reserves would simply be whittled down until he was magicless. If that happened, he would've been easy prey.
Asta, on the other hand, was purely focussed on the entire battlefield, defending himself from any attacks while analyzing what everyone's movements were. Conjuring up small walls of pure mana, he directed their path with his willpower, making them mobile defenses.
Most spells weren't at the level it could break the walls, although the damage certainly stacked up after a while. Directing the surrounding walls, they flew to his side whenever necessary. Never retracting his own willpower, he was still observing every single detail in the fight.
A stalemate followed, as they were being pummeled by a plethora of spell. If it weren't fireballs, Ice Lances or any other basic element, they used Tangling Roots to restrict their movement or Light Flashes to blind them.
Unlucky for them, but Lucas couldn't care less if he didn't see or if some roots tried to restrict his movements, since a single step forward was all he needed to break them off.
Trying his shot multiple times, Lucas aimed for the solitary mages, but each time he was held back by more powerful spells. He was capable of handling most low ranked spells with his body, but didn't want to waste any mana defending against the more powerful spells. So he mostly backed off.
Even this time, when a mage was standing alone, Lucas rushed towards him, an electric bolt was shot out by the lone mage as two of his companions hurried to his aid, one from each side, each firing off a powerful flame spell Lucas couldn't just ignore.
Right when Lucas would stop his charge, two walls of Pure Mana floated to his side. Lucas couldn't help but smile deeply as his mind instantly calculated the time he would need to get to the solitary mage and when his little friends would arrive.
The results were perfect, resulting in Lucas boosting his speed even more as the walls kept up, protecting him from the spells on the side. The electric bolt was fast, but against Lucas, it was nothing as he backhanded it to the side.
The mage started to panic as Lucas got closer and closer. Seeing the desperation in their friend, the two flanking mages upped their speed, using flight to close the gap, blocking Lucas's path.
Because of their hurried nature, their defenses were laughable, and Lucas wasn't one to be oblivious to such details. "Handing yourself on a silver platter?!", almost yelling out his joy at seeing two easy targets, Lucas punched forward, blasting a massive hole in one of the mage's shell. The mage couldn't react as Lucas's other fist was already on its way to his head, turning it into mush.
Turning around he performed a roundhouse kick to break through the other mage's shields. By the time he could think of what to do another fist was aimed at his heart. Lucas's fist breached the man's ribcage with ease, grasping the heart in his hands, he squeezed it to bits.
Standing there, hands bloodied, Lucas hadn't forgotten about the final mage who was initially his target. Lucas was about to run, but a bunch of other mages appeared to his sides, making it too risky.
Right as Lucas was about to retreat, he felt someone's back touch his own. Asta had kept pace with him.
It didn't take long before Valric joined the fray with the remaining mages. "Everyone! These monsters have killed all our comrades, we won't be letting them leave here alive! Give it all you got!"
Quickly scanning his surroundings, Lucas found that 20 mages were surrounding them, each one shooting offensive spells or preparing healing or defensive spells. Even with such a statement from their captain, all they could do was fire off their strongest spells. If it was blocked by the walls or destroyed through the physical prowess of Lucas, they couldn't do much else.
Of course, the continued battering of his own body required the other half of him to continuously heal him in the right spots. Once the mages realized the level of spells they had to use to damage Lucas, they kept upping their power, making Lucas take a few serious hits. Besides that though, he was unstoppable.
A deep grin appeared on Lucas face as an unwritten or unspoken cooperation ensued between Asta and him. Lucas would focus on one mage and hunt him down as Asta protected him from the spells he couldn't withstand with his body.
Their teamwork was impeccable. Asta had full control over his walls of pure mana that flew all around them. They mostly protected him, but when Lucas went to harass one of the mages, he lent two or more to him so he was able to successfully remove one of their opponents.
Sadly, their opponents also weren't going to take things laying down. "Men, stick together, protect not just yourself but your closest mates! This isn't a fair fight, nor do I care. Your lives are all that matter!"
They had been fighting for some time, yet it was then that Valric noticed something.
"What do these arrays do?!", yelling out his questions, a bunch of mages tried to interpret them. Lucas aimed for the nearest mage trying to decipher it, aiming for his heart, the mage was able to notice Lucas as he tried to fly back, only to hit a floating wall.
"Gotcha!", using his might, Lucas barreled his fist through the man's chest, breaking the wall of Pure mana behind him as well.
"Hey, don't break them. They still cost a lot of energy.", Asta said, not caring if he stated the obvious. While Pure Mana spells were a lot more durable and once conjured required no further energy to maintain, to constantly create new walls as the spells broke them down was costly.
Lucas nodded as he created a bunch of the Pure Mana walls himself, and while a lot flimsier compared to the genuine article that Asta created, he wasn't going to complain as he quickly took control over the walls.
"Captain! These arrays gather mana.", one of the mages quickly explained as he had to hurry away if he didn't want to face Lucas's fist.
"Destroy them!", Valric didn't care in the slightest if there was some hidden trap. He couldn't let these monsters keep gathering energy.
Stepping back, Lucas simple spoke a few words. "Time to go up, Asta. It's done."
Hearing that, Asta knew what was about to happen next. They hadn't planned this far ahead, but just fighting next to each other brought them closer than any conversation could. Understanding each other's intentions by a few signs was more than enough for them.
Jumping upwards, Asta started to fly into the sky, leaving Lucas behind. Seeing one off the two fly upwards, Valric's mind quickly tried to deduce the best course of action. To him, the most dangerous opponent was the one who flew away.
'He created all the arrays and is easily blocking all of our attacks without even looking. The brute can be handles with speed. I'll need the swiftest members to-!'
As Valric figured out a plan, he didn't forget about Lucas, who he categorized as a brute. He was standing still as he plunged his hands into the ground.
Suddenly, Varlic felt a chilling sensation run down his spine. All his alarm bells were ringing as if it was announcing the end of the world. "Up. UP! Everyone! Fly Up!"
His words were only just able to leave his mouth before a massive array under their feet activated, encompassing everyone and even then some. It glowed crimson red as Valric could feel his life being drained into the ground as his mind grew numb.
Hurriedly activating his flight, he was just in time as he could see some of his soldiers being drained dry as all the energy flowed towards the center. Their faces were drained dry, yet he could tell their anguish from a distance.
His hatred overflowed as he descended upon Lucas with all his might. A devious smile appeared as a Dark Beam erupted from the center, almost erasing him from this world. His shock, and subsequent hatred, kept his anger fueled. His eyes locked in on Lucas's location as he was already floating in the air.
It was then that Valric realized he was completely wrong. Lucas had sparingly used magic from the very beginning of the fight. All this time, he was bringing the fight to the top of the hill while attracting all the spells to him. Even the walls kept the ground safe. 'They all planned this out!'
Lucas was gathering mana, lulling them into a false sense of security. Had it been anyone else, they would've been got by that beam.
Valric's opinion drastically changed as he instantly saw Lucas as the biggest threat. Valric tried to get to Asta, but Lucas or the walls always got in his way. Calculating his own position on the battlefield, and making sure that a wall or Lucas always stood in his way, Valric assumed that Asta was the mastermind, but now his focus was on Lucas.
The man had been in his way multiple times and wasn't able to push through. Yet he had sparingly used his magic, what would happen if he stopped caring about his energy reserves?
Valric's gut twisted. They hadn't just been fighting. They'd been herding. And now, he realized the real monster wasn't the strategist in the sky. It was the brute who'd barely begun to fight.'I have to stop that fucker! No matter what!'