Julius began the attack with a barrage of ice straight at the Crimson Soldiers' faces. A few managed to block the ice by swinging their swords and intercepting the attacks.
But that small moment left them open to an attack from Reinhardt's sword. He infused his blade with mana and Ether before cutting through their necks in a single strike.
Some of the Crimson Soldiers turned their attention toward Reinhardt, while others continued advancing toward Julius.
Reinhardt quickly pulled on his grappling hook and launched himself backward, narrowly avoiding several swords that struck the ground where he had been standing.
He twisted in midair before firing the grappling hook toward another soldier.
The hook wrapped around its arm.
With a sharp tug, Reinhardt pulled himself toward the soldier while simultaneously pulling it off balance.
Magister Julius took the opportunity and fired a barrage of high-speed Wind Lances. The Wind Lances spun like drills as they dug into the soldier's head.
While they did cause damage, the Wind Lances weren't enough to finish it off.
The soldier swung its sword down, but Julius managed to dodge, barely avoiding the attack.
With the soldier focused on Julius, Reinhardt closed the distance and cut off its head with his neon-blue sword.
He looked at Julius for a moment before continuing his advance.
Julius watched as Reinhardt continued his onslaught against the Crimson Army. Every strike he made with his sword finished them off. Once he struck, they would not get back up.
What was Reinhardt doing that he wasn't?
Was the Crimson Army only susceptible to physical attacks, or did it have something to do with Reinhardt's sword?
Ahh, of course. Ether.
Reinhardt's sword was coated in both mana and Ether.
As he watched Reinhardt fight, a Crimson Soldier leaped into the air and attempted to grab Julius. Julius quickly raised his staff.
A ball of flame ignited and was shot at the soldier's chest.
It didn't cause any damage, but it pushed the soldier back long enough for Julius to run.
Wait. Wouldn't using Ether make them stronger? It is their life source, after all.
He ran toward one of the fallen Crimson Soldiers, and then he noticed it: there was absolutely no Ether flowing through its body.
Even if it was dead, there should have been some residue of Ether around its body.
But there was nothing.
He turned around and decided to pay closer attention to Commander Reinhardt.
He watched as Reinhardt's sword sliced through another Crimson Soldier. He noticed the Ether running through its body slowly beginning to diminish as the sword passed through it.
And that's when he realized it.
Commander Reinhardt was draining the Ether directly from their bodies.
The coating of Ether on his sword allowed it to connect with the Ether powering the Crimson Soldiers. Then, he would take control of it and absorb it into his sword.
If that's the case...Then.
He aimed his staff toward a random soldier.
The soldier spotted him and ran toward Julius.
Julius, in turn, ran straight toward the Crimson Soldier and jumped. He used wind magic to propel himself above it, toward its face.
The soldier attempted to punch Julius, but he quickly dodged and fired a blast of ice at its hand.
He quickly formed a chain of ice around its hand and, as he landed, he strengthened himself with three strength enhancement spells. Then, he pulled it down with all his might.
The soldier fell, and a massive shockwave erupted through the area.
But Julius wasn't done.
He quickly pointed his staff toward its chest, and the Crimson Soldier began to emit a faint blue light.
The light began to wrap around Julius's staff as the Crimson Soldier tried to resist.
Julius simply jumped, but the absorption continued.
He raised his hands and fired another blast of ice at its limbs.
The Crimson Soldier struggled, but it was to no avail.
Finally, it stopped moving.
It was dead. Or so Julius thought.
The next thing he knew, the soldier was shrinking until it finally returned to its original size.
Armor, shield and all.
Draining the Ether takes away its massive form, but it still needs to be killed normally. That's why he infused mana with it. Clever.
Julius shot a Wind Lance straight toward its head, and within moments, the Crimson Soldier fell motionless.
Now that he knew the trick, killing them would be much simpler than before.
And so, Julius dashed through the ruined capital.
Every soldier he encountered was forcibly immobilized with ice magic, then quickly drained of their Ether.
If that didn't work and the soldier dodged and attempted to attack him, they would automatically be caught by Reinhardt's grappling hook, and Julius would finish the job.
This was how nearly one hundred of the Crimson Soldiers went down.
---
About five minutes had passed.
The Aether Ark's Space Jump was almost complete. In two minutes, the Halo Resonance would have enough power to Space Jump far away to a safe place.
As Reinhardt looked up toward the Ark, he exhaled.
Just a few minutes.
He deployed his grappling hook at a nearby building and swung himself through the air.
He grappled onto a Crimson Soldier's neck and swung himself around it. He used his other hand to grapple onto a building and pull.
But the soldier grabbed onto the grappling hook and swung him through the air.
Reinhardt wasn't going down that easily.
He deployed another grappling hook and attached it through the loose end of the broken grappling hook and pulled.
The soldier fell, and Reinhardt was propelled forward.
Just as he was about to land the finishing blow, the Crimson Soldier emitted a faint blue light that traveled all the way toward Magister Julius.
Julius immediately shot a fireball at its head, and the soldier stopped moving completely.
He stole my kill.
As he landed, Reinhardt looked at Magister Julius.
The Magister simply looked back at him and gave a faint smile.
Oh, it's on.
The Magister shot a stone bullet toward a soldier's head.
Just as he was about to fire a fireball at its chest, Commander Reinhardt swung by and cut the soldier neatly in half.
He took down his mask and gave a light smirk toward Julius. His blue eyes seemed to glow under the setting sun.
Julius responded in kind and his purple eyes gave off a slight glow.