After a bit of talking, Jasper finally understood what had happened. Skyhawk couldn't find him back then, so the idiot had actually gone and enlisted. If it weren't for the siege, they might never have crossed paths again.
A sharp tap landed on Jasper's shoulder.
The archer beside him—still calm, still focused—said flatly, "Enough catching up. They're about to hit the wall. Get ready."
He drew a plain arrow from his quiver, set it to the string, and released. With skeletons packed that tightly, aiming was almost pointless. Any shot found bone.
Jasper didn't argue. He waved Skyhawk over and they took position at a massive ballista—Skyhawk loading, Jasper firing.
The monster army halted just short of the wall's effective range. The skeletons in the rear shifted, busy with something Jasper couldn't see from here.
They stayed like that.
One hour.
The sun sank low, staining the sky a dull red. Darkness crept in around the edges of the battlefield.
Then the skeleton formation parted, making a lane.
Dozens of siege cannons rolled forward, slow and steady. Behind them came more siege ladders than Jasper could count. The skeletons moved with unnerving discipline, as if they were waiting for a signal. Cannon crews finished loading.
The host advanced again.
From the height of the wall, Windcloud's range was better. The moment the enemy crossed into it, every weapon the defenders had lit up.
Arrows rained down.
Ballista bolts slammed into the ground like falling pillars, blasting craters and scattering skeletons into loose pieces.
The city's cannons hit the packed ranks and skeletons burst apart, shards of bone and metal spraying outward to punch through more bodies nearby.
Jasper didn't rush his shot. He waited, tracking the line until the siege machines themselves were inside range.
Then he fired.
The bolt screamed across the field and struck the side of a skeleton cannon—not dead center, not perfect, but enough. The impact launched the crew off the frame in a spray of bone.
Nearby, the archer held his fire. At this distance, ordinary arrows lost too much bite—and he only had twenty.
Even with the defenders tearing chunks out of the front ranks, it barely mattered. Compared to the endless mass behind them, the losses were nothing.
And now the skeleton siege cannons reached their own range.
Thick black smoke poured from their barrels. Explosions chewed into the wall, blasting out holes wide enough to swallow people. Soldiers were thrown off the battlements, disappearing into the chaos below.
Skeletons threw up ladders. They weren't here to level Windcloud City—they wanted to take it. The cannons were meant to break the wall and keep the city usable afterward.
Skeletons began climbing.
The defenders shot downward as fast as they could, but there weren't enough hands. Windcloud had barely over a thousand defenders up here. The skeletons? Tens of thousands, easy.
Jasper abandoned the ballista and drew his Short Sword. He met the first skeleton that crested the wall and cut it down. Skyhawk covered the right side, keeping a cluster from swarming them.
The archer saw how quickly Jasper was clearing space and moved without hesitation, shifting to Skyhawk's flank. Arrow after arrow went out—fast, efficient. The quiver emptied in minutes, including all five enchanted arrows.
It still wasn't enough.
The wall broke.
Defenders were driven back into the streets. Skeletons on the battlements leaned over and fired into the retreating soldiers below, turning the air into a storm of arrows.
Jasper didn't wait to be pinned. The moment skeletons started pouring over the top, he grabbed Skyhawk and dropped off the wall. It wasn't very high. With Jasper at Bronze Tier, Rank 5, Skyhawk landing with him didn't even stumble. The archer—also Bronze Tier, Rank 5—hit the ground clean.
Jasper motioned hard. Follow.
Arrows whistled down after them.
He ripped a loose wooden plank off the ground and used it as a shield while running. The archer copied him, snatching another plank for cover.
Jasper slammed into the nearest house, kicked the door in, and shouted, "Skyhawk—archer—inside!"
The archer stayed half a step behind Skyhawk, using his plank to cover him.
Then skeletons poured through one of the cannon-blasted gaps in the wall—elite ones. The moment they spotted movement, a volley snapped toward them.
One plank could cover one person. Covering two was a gamble.
Skyhawk took a graze along his left arm, the arrow slicing skin before it skittered away.
Jasper looked up.
One of the elite skeletons had a bow raised, and its empty eye sockets glowed red. It moved fast—too fast—already nocking another arrow.
The shot came for Jasper.
He threw his plank up.
The arrow punched straight through the wood. The impact still lost most of its force, and Jasper's Assassin Combat Outfit took the rest, but the message was clear.
That thing's arrows aren't normal.
Jasper flicked a Mysterium Iron Needle toward the red-eyed skeleton.
The blast tore up the street and bought a heartbeat.
Skyhawk and the archer slipped into the house. Jasper followed and slammed the door shut, shoving furniture into place until it held.
Outside, the city became a slaughterhouse.
Screams from civilians.
Steel and bone clashing.
Soldiers dying in clusters, dragged down by sheer numbers.
Jasper kept his breathing steady. Windcloud City wasn't supposed to fall this quickly—not with five great houses inside, not with imperial reinforcements on the way. But right now, none of that mattered.
Right now, the only job was surviving.
The archer pulled arrows out of the plank—one by one—and slid them back into his quiver like he was saving scraps.
Then he started to rise.
Skyhawk grabbed his sleeve. "Hey. Where do you think you're going? You trying to die?"
The archer's tone stayed level. "And what's your plan? There's no food here. If we stay, we starve. While things are chaotic, we should slip out and leave Windcloud City."
Jasper stood. "Now is exactly why we don't leave. Did you see those elite skeletons? We're in the thickest part of the city. The army outside is already flooding in."
He reached inside his clothing and tossed over a bundle: military compressed biscuits and a small bottle of water.
The archer caught it, blinked once. "Thanks."
He sat and ate like someone who'd been running on fumes since morning.
Jasper split more food with Skyhawk and sat down too.
Skyhawk spoke around a mouthful. "Boss… where are you even keeping all this? Don't tell me your clothes are just pockets."
Jasper snorted. "Eat. And stop talking nonsense."
When the archer finished, he wiped his mouth and looked at Jasper.
"My name is Sable Kestrel. Bronze Tier, Rank 5. If you're willing to have me, I'll run with you."
Jasper stared for a second.
He fed her once and recruited a Rank 5 archer.
Skyhawk lit up immediately. "Perfect! Jasper's the boss, I'm second, you're third—finally I'm not the youngest!"
Sable frowned. "That's not how it works. Rank decides it. Jasper's first, I'm second, you're third."
She didn't sound arrogant—just practical. And she wasn't wrong. Jasper's presence alone made it obvious he could kill her if he needed to. She wasn't about to argue for the top spot.
Jasper raised a hand. "I've got an idea. Sable—give me your arrows."
Sable passed him the quiver.
Jasper drew two arrows and carved a rune into one of them—not a Blast Rune, but a minor one Garrick Forge had taught him.
Illumination.
A simple glow. More utility than power.
Skyhawk's eyes sparked. "Me first—me first!"
He snatched one arrow from Jasper. The other went back to Sable.
Sable set the arrow to her bow, aimed at the table, and loosed.
The arrow struck—and erupted in blinding light, flooding the room like a flare.
Outside, skeletons shifted immediately.
They'd seen it.
Skyhawk's face collapsed. "I shouldn't have played with it… I didn't even get to be second, and now we have to run again."