Midas, now that he had resolved his initial concerns, focused more calmly on his surroundings.
"Looks like this is a tent, probably put up very hastily. My mana has only partially recharged, so no more than a few hours must have passed."
Midas inspected his soul-armor and realized it was already fully repaired.
"That's good. I won't be defenseless if I face magic again."
Memories of the recent fight assailed him once more. Now that he was calmer, he couldn't help but make a sad grimace.
"The moment I drove my spear into that damn owl, I could feel it… he was still alive."
"Ahhhh…"
"The girls must have died. Victoria only had minutes left at that moment, and both Eithne and Victoria must have used the spears."
Resigned to his friends' fate, Midas slapped his face with his hand, squeezing it hard. After a few moments he finally stopped and summoned his armor. It was not time to rest yet; he still had to fight for the few friends he had left, and above all, for Ariel.
He summoned his sword and stepped out of the tent, ready to face whatever lay outside. But what he found was not a battle, but its aftermath. Wounded soldiers ran carrying the mutilated across the area. He recognized Eithne's legions, his own, Hernán's, and a few of Alnis's soldiers.
Farther off he saw a gigantic stone wall sealing any connection to the outside world. They were completely isolated from the enemies thanks to it.
But the more Midas looked at it, the more a feeling of unease disturbed him. One of his Skutari soldiers stood posted at the tent's entrance; upon recognizing Midas he immediately knelt in salute.
"My strategos, it is our joy that you have awakened."
"And I'm glad to see so many of you alive. Hernán cared for you well."
As soon as Hernán's name left his mouth, the soldier's face changed, turning somber.
"What's wrong? Why that expression, soldier?"
"My lord, it will be easier to explain if you accompany me."
A sense that something was wrong filled my mind. Along the way the Skutari saluted me; they looked visibly brighter when they realized I was all right. However, I also noticed Eithne's legion: every face there was sombre and heavy.
"What I feared… I suppose it was inevitable."
We continued and finally approached the giant stone wall, until at last I saw Hernán's legion. Every one of them was praying, and some spat curses and lamented for not having been able to save their lord. When I finally reached the center, I realized why they all mourned so much.
Hernán had erected a colossal stone barrier and kept it standing despite the creatures' onslaught. Mastodons, beetle warriors and corrupted beasts smashed against the wall with such force that the barrier trembled, and pieces slowly fell as he fought to hold it for as many seconds as possible. And in the middle of the barrier was a man I knew well. One of the bravest; one who used to brighten my day with the nonsense he sometimes spouted. One who, although at first glance he might seem a bit foolish, was intelligent and respectable.
"Hernán, you can stop now… I'm here."
I spoke to him cheerfully, as I always tried to do, so as not to be outdone by his natural optimism. However, I received no answer.
"Of course not… my friend became a deformed corpse, whose only function is to be the core of this magical formation."
"That fool… he died using his body as a shield. But at least he died doing what he always loved: defending others."
Even now, his body continued producing mana to sustain the wall.
"You're an incredible man. Until the end you strove for all of us. Your father would surely be proud if he knew all you did for your own until the end."
At that moment, light footsteps came running toward my position. Looking in the distance, I realized it was Alnis running with her foolish dog. When she reached my side, she handed me a note.
"Let's prepare the legions. The wall won't hold much longer. You take the Lions of Asturias and I'll take Eithne's Shadows."
There was no more exchange between us. Duty was more important now than any remaining words or feelings. And so I left to form my soldiers.
Alnis remained absorbed in a sad look while she stared at Hernán's corpse. She placed her hand on the only recognizable part of his body: his face. She smiled, then turned to do the same as Midas: prepare to hold the line.
After a while, all formations were ready. On the front lines the Skutari stood firm with their large shields and spears, ready to be the first line of defense; those who would endure the first deadly charge of the beasts. Right behind them, the Lions of Asturias would defend when the first ranks filled with enemy troops. A small gap would be left for retreat, which would become a slaughter point, for Eithne's Shadows had raised their positions using Geomancers, creating small platforms from which endless arrows would rain on the enemy. Finally, Alnis and her legion would handle any beast stronger than normal that might wreak havoc.
I would be at the front with my Skutari, making sure everything went well.
"Even at a time like this, Ariel still hasn't appeared… what could be more important than defending the Spell Nexus?"
My morale was low. It was time for a small speech, both to give courage to myself and to the soldiers who remained. I raised my voice as loud as I could, projecting it clearly, without embellishment or false heroic tones; a clear, unflappable voice that always seemed calm.
"Legions, hear me. Today I don't speak to you as your strategos or commander; today I speak as one of the last survivors of Last Bastion. Throughout our lives we have bled defending this fortress, we have lost friends along the way, lost our commanders, even lost our strength to fight. But even if at some point we were tempted to give up everything, even if there were days when cruel fate beat us with all it had…"
As Midas spoke those words, the wall slowly cracked, breaking more and more.
"…and forced us to kneel, did we surrender? Did the legions surrender, soldiers?"
In unison, all the soldiers answered:
"NO!"
The blows on the wall sounded even louder. Now it not only cracked: pieces flew off from the impacts.
"We do not surrender, and we will never surrender, no matter how cruel our fate, even if we vanish forever. No matter how brutal our death, our loved ones will wait proud of us for all we did, for all we endured! WE ARE THE LAST BRAVE! WE ARE THE LAST CRY OF OUR CIVILIZATIONS!"
Finally, the wall could not hold any longer.
"LET THESE BEASTS REMEMBER THIS DAY FOREVER! TO ARMS!"
Then a small hole formed in the wall. Small compared to the total size, but big enough for one of those beetles to emerge. However, this one was different: larger, armed with clearly magical swords, and radiating a legendary-level aura. The wall collapsed completely, revealing the entire legion of monsters. The giant beetle advanced slowly while the others made a sort of reverence. It stopped in the arena's center and pointed forward with one of its two swords.
Immediately, giant mastodons charged fiercely to break the Skutari lines. But at that moment, a chant sounded:
"Oh tierra, hazte lodo.
Oh tierra, devora todo."
The mastodons, once imposing, were trapped and sunk into mud formed from the rock underfoot. The elven archers made it rain arrows, which pierced the creatures' bodies mercilessly. Alnis had successfully halted the first wave. In the next moment the beetle soldiers, snake-men and Void beasts charged in unison seeking to devour us.
However, they collided with the best defense the Empire of Thunder could offer: the Skutari. In a tight formation they protected one another with their shields, immovable walls that, at the first sign of enemy distraction, impaled with their spears. Meanwhile, the rear ranks hurled javelins at the towering beetles.
For my part, I moved along the line fast, destroying any enemy strong enough to make a breach. The fight continued with the Skutari piercing monsters for a couple of hours, until it was time to withdraw. The central line retreated slowly while the Lions of Asturias and Eithne's legion entered. Hernán's legion fought furiously, eager to avenge their prince. Enemies who met them and their fierce greatswords were turned into mince. Green, red, and black blood flowed uncontrolled.
The enemies advanced along the small artificial retreat line we had created, and, seeing themselves surrounded, their bodies were piled up slowly as they suffered horrible deaths, mutilated or impaled by spears and arrows. However, no matter how many creatures we killed, more kept appearing.
Suddenly, in the center of the slaughter, the ground sank, devouring the corpses only to rise again in itself, creating a combat quadrilateral. And in it, slowly, appeared that beetle man, who pointed his weapon again. This time he pointed at me.
I needed no more. He wanted a duel. The bastard thought this was some kind of sick game. But given the circumstances… it suited me to accept. I drew my sword. Usually, such a small blade would be useless against creatures hundreds of meters tall unless I used mana to infuse it with lightning. But this one… I planned to tear it apart piece by piece.
I shot out with Lightning Step, seeking to sever one of its limbs. The beetle, however, used its body masterfully and stopped the attack with one of its weapons. I tried to redirect my blade toward one of its front legs, but the beetle struck the ground, raising a wave of earthen spikes. I dodged back in a blink and, without wasting time, summoned a lightning bolt. I fired, but missed.
Still, that did not stop me.
"Hegemon Style."
I closed in on it and our swords clashed. The beetle wielded its weapons masterfully, deflecting my strong lightning-charged strikes. It began to charge an attack with its right sword while with the other it continued to defend. But there it made its mistake. It had chances only because it was wholly focused on defense. Now that it also wanted to attack me, an opening appeared.
It made a vertical slash aiming to split me in two. I deflected it, moved to its left flank and cut its arm. It had underestimated the speed of someone blessed by thunder. With its remaining sword, already charged with mana, it prepared to release its attack. Instantly I cast lightning the moment it raised the weapon. The spell interrupted its channeling and caused the magical sword to explode. The impact destroyed part of its hand. It no longer had a way to defend itself.
I watched the giant beetle. The monster gathered all the earth-magic it could and hurled a wave of giant rocks at me. I used Lightning Step to place myself behind it. The beetle moved to respond, but the only thing it had left to defend with was its pathetic stump. With no resistance left, I cut it in half with my sword. Its body split and blood flowed to the ground.