Allik peered over the wall to the distant tree line. The soldiers in the various companies had assumed their positions atop the wall in an orderly fashion, and they were ready to engage the enemy forces headed their way.

He stood tall and proud, his hands clasped behind his back. He was outfitted in his war regalia, and his retainer was silently standing by his side. His retainer was usually dressed in the livery of the house, but he was also armed and armored for the upcoming conflict.

Allik and his retainer had wasted no time in rushing to the wall to assume command of the city defense once the alarm bells had sounded. He wasn't going to sit in his protected office while the soldiers under his command risked their lives. Not only did his presence inspire confidence and lift morale, but he wouldn't understand the situation if he couldn't see it for himself.

The bell system required only a smattering of Mana to operate at the distance they used it. It couldn't send any other kinds of messages other than to vibrate the bells, so the cost was inherently lower than other types of communication devices.

It had only taken less than thirty minutes for everyone to assume their positions, and Prince Allik had already had his direct subordinates already relay the general orders. They just needed to wait for the enemy forces to arrive before he could give any kind of specific instructions. They would need to know the makeup of the attackers before a specific strategy could be implemented.

It wasn't much longer of a wait until soldiers from the outposts and patrols began running out of the tree line into the large open area before the walls. The forest had been culled for just over a hundred yards so that nobody could sneak up too close. It might have been possible for smaller units to get by the outposts without alerting the city, but the fact that the alarm bells had been rung meant the force headed their way was unable to sneakily bypass them.

The captains of the companies were waiting nearby. The city wasn't large enough that having them all present for the initial instruction would interfere with their command. He could have relayed his orders to his colonels and used the chain of command all the way down, but he didn't feel it was necessary to waste that time before combat was engaged. The chain of command would be utilized when the captains returned to their companies.

Allik turned and looked at each of the captains as the outpost and patrol soldiers ran across the open field. He inspected each of the captains. Most were nervous but some were jittery with excitement. They were murmuring among themselves while they waited for further orders. He paused at the sight of the mercenary captain, Reivyn.

The young officer was more reticent than he normally was. He didn't always seek out conversation with the other officers, but he never shied away from it; however, this time, he was a bit standoffish in the face of the enemy attack. He calmly stood there and simply waited for Allik to address them without interacting with any of the other officers.

Allik ignored the behavior, though. He knew the man was a competent combat leader with a good bit of experience. Everyone had their own rituals and habits before action. Allik just mentally shrugged and chalked it up to him getting in the right mindset.

The forward soldiers finally made it to the wall, and they were systematically let inside. There was no time to send Reivyn down to make sure none of them were spies, but it was highly unlikely that any managed to infiltrate the men while they were rushing back to defend the city. Allik wasn't worried about it.

The Mages from the various companies were standing nearby, as well. He could have kept them all with their companies and have scattered firepower launched at the enemies, but he preferred to have them all together so they could combine their might for larger bombardments in the beginning. Once melee combat was imminent, he would send them back to their companies for close support.

Most of the Mages were suffering from the effects of the ambient Mana going haywire. Allik didn't have the Mana Sight Skill, but his rudimentary Sense Mana Skill told him that it was still getting sucked toward a specific location in the direction of the enemy forces.

Most of the Mages were struggling to stand up straight, but there were a few exceptions. Most of the more powerful Mages weren't as affected, and the mercenary company's Mage Corps officer was among them. He stood tall and kept his vision trained on the tree line.

Hmm, I haven't interacted with the lieutenants of the mercenary company very much, Allik thought. Considering that Mage Corps Lieutenant appears to be in the upper echelons of the Mages, I should speak to Reivyn to remedy that.

It was always a good idea to have a good relationship with a talented individual. The mercenary company hadn't had too many opportunities to showcase their abilities, yet, but if the other officers were anything like the Mage Corps officer, they should be valuable assets to build a rapport with.

The long-awaited emergence of the enemy forces finally appeared after what felt like a couple minor eternities. Bodies emerged from the tree line like ghosts, and they formed up into a long line that could encompass the entire width of the city about twenty yards this side of the trees.

From the look of them, Allik could tell that the vanguard was made up of the lower numbered soldiers. He didn't see any fancy equipment, and most of them didn't even have any weapons at all. The line of of enemy soldiers was ten rows deep, already significantly more soldiers than were standing atop the walls.

Several other groups of people formed up in their own smaller groups behind the front line. They were outfitted a bit differently from the other soldiers, and Allik's experience fighting the enemy told him they were groups of Mages. They stood with their backs just at the tree line, but Allik could see with his powerful Perception that there even more soldiers still to emerge from the woods.

"There isn't much else to say at this point," Allik addressed the captains. "It looks like the opening assault will be a standard attack with their lower-numbered soldiers. They don't have any siege weapons or cavalry, and it doesn't look like they're going to try and surround the city. Go take charge of your companies, and if anything unusual comes up, orders will be passed down through the chain of command."

"Yes, sir!" A chorus of responses greeted Allik's command. The captains gave a quick salute and took off back to their companies.

"Their Mages are spread out, so I don't anticipate needing a dedicated barrier from our Mages," Allik addressed the Mage officers. "We'll go down the line, launching large salvos at the enemy in turn, blowing holes in their formation.

"We don't need to focus too heavily on the vanguard, as most of them won't pose too much of a threat. They're most likely just going to pave the way for the more heavily armed troops behind them. Once they emerge from the tree line, begin focusing your firepower on them."

"Yes, sir!" The commander of the Mage Corps answered with a salute.

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The mercenary lieutenant stroked his chin in thought as he surveyed the enemies, but he didn't speak up. Allik didn't know what his thoughts on the matter were, but he was confident the man would follow orders as a professional.

Allik's Sense Mana caught the the accumulation of Mana among the group of Mages nearby. His Mana Skills weren't the highest, but even he could feel a metaphysical heat as the power built. As the Spell was built and fed by the Mages, though, he could also Sense that a portion was being siphoned off to join the ambient Mana that was rushing off into the distance.

The enemy soldiers weren't blind to what was happening on the wall, either, and the vanguard immediately began jogging forward at an unheard command. The first Spell took longer than normal to fully form. A giant sphere of fire grew above the head of the commanding officer, streams of Mana from all of the subordinate Mages feeding into it. Once a certain threshold was reached, it finally shot forward at the far end of the enemy vanguard line.

The giant sphere vibrated as it sailed through the air, and it visibly shrunk a little before it reached it's target. Mana shields sprung up in front of the target area, but it wasn't enough to stop all of the damage from the large explosion that ensued upon the fiery ball making contact.

Allik could feel the vibrations in the air, and he had to turn his face away from the flash of light. He quickly looked back to see bodies flung through the air and a large crater form in the ground. The fire exploded out and set more of the soldiers in the surrounds on fire, and a large hole appeared in the formation.

The enemy Mages were too far away for Allik to Sense their Mana fluctuations, but an answering volley of Spells quickly followed the first bombardment. Streaks of red, orange, blue, and various other colors representing the Affinities used flew through the air toward the wall.

The defenders utilized their own group-shield Skills, and the walls shook with the explosions of the Spells reaching their targets. The Mage Corps didn't wait around for results, and they were already launching their second sphere of fire at another location along the enemy vanguard's line.

Archers on either side loosed arrow volleys, and the sky was filled with projectiles, both magical and mundane. The sounds of orders being given, men screaming, explosions, and air piercing from arrows filled the surroundings. Allik didn't have anything more to contribute, yet, as the other officers had everything in hand. He continued to wait and watch, though, ready to issue any orders necessary for changing circumstances.

For several minutes, the Mage Corps accumulated their Spells and tore huge chunks into the vanguard formation, all while continuous streaks of enemy Spells pelted the defenders on the wall. The vanguard picked up their pace as they got closer and closer to the wall, and Allik could see the ladders being carried by the groups of soldiers.

The enemy reached the wall, and the first ladder went up. There were braces on the ends of the ladders to clamp down on the top of the wall to prevent them from being thrown off. The enemy soldiers wasted no time in scaling their ladders, and the defenders poured hot oil down on top of them.

As the vanguard scaled the ladders, the next group of soldiers that had been hidden in the tree line finally emerged. They were much more heavily armed and armored than the lower-numbered soldiers, and it was like a wall of steel walked out of the trees.

Spears, shields, and swords were held in the hands of the fully armored legions, and from what Allik could tell, there were just as many of them as there were of the unarmored vanguard soldiers. In the center of the formation was a battering ram with an overhead cover to protect the soldiers pushing it along on wheels.

"Mages, target the armored soldiers in the back!" Allik ordered. He didn't order the Mages to target the battering ram. There were already ladders stuck to the walls, and it was only a matter of time until there was a breach atop the walls, and even Allik could Sense the extra magical protection surrounding the battering ram that would prevent them from outright destroying it without having to focus too much attention to it.

The commanding Mage officer didn't verbally respond, but the next Spell was launched through the air, over the tops of the heads of the seething mass of men below to target the next group of soldiers emerging from the trees.

Once more, Mana Shields sprang into existence to protect the soldiers, and their own group-shield Skill was implemented as well. The layered shields protected them much more than the vanguard before them, though there was still a decent chunk blown out of their formation where the Spell struck.

The armored legion took much less damage as they crossed the open ground, though they still suffered casualties. Allik nodded to himself as the battle continued. Everything was going smoothly, for the most part. They were suffering casualties from the enemy Mages and archers, but nowhere near as much as they were inflicting on the enemy.

"Disperse back respective companies," Allik ordered the Mage Corps commander.

The Mana stopped accumulating after the next fiery sphere, and the commander issued the command for the Mages to return to their companies. There was still a dedicated Mage Corps for the army as a whole, and they stayed in place to continue launching Spells, though they were much smaller in scale.

The mercenary officer waved his soldiers back toward their company, but he stayed in place and continued to feed his Mana to the Spells of the Army Mage Corps. Allik didn't think too much about it. The man would be useful wherever he was on the line, and as long as Reivyn allowed it, it wasn't anything to worry about.

The vanguard hadn't succeeded in getting to the top of the ladders by the time the armored soldiers made it to the walls. They stepped away from the ladders to allow the armored soldiers the right of way, and the higher Leveled soldiers began to ascend. More hot oil was poured down on their heads, not all of it having been wasted on the weaker soldiers in front.

Movement caught Allik's eye, and he once more looked to the tree line. His stomach dropped as another group of armored soldiers emerged from the trees. There were just as many soldiers in this second group of armored legions as the first. They Marched forward and crossed the open field to join the rest of the soldiers, but there was no time for the Mage Corps to launch large bombardments at them. They were completely unscathed as they traversed the field.

The first group of enemy soldiers breached the top of the walls further down the line. The first enemy soldiers to arrive on top of the wall were quickly cut down, but more and more soldiers followed in their wake. More ladders had more soldiers breach, and a large crashing sound announced the implementation of the battering ram on the gates.

The defenders formed up in ranks and surrounded the emerging soldiers, but it was too much to keep them completely off the wall tops. The sounds of metal clashing joined the rest of the cacophony of battle. Steel struck steel and flesh. Men died on the battlements, and some were thrown off to fall to their deaths below.

"Relay orders to have the captains prepare to retreat off the walls," Allik turned to his adjutant.

"Yes, sir!" The colonel immediately began giving the orders through the chain of command.

Allik looked down to the courtyard below where another company was ready and waiting. He didn't have to call down for them to get ready. They could hear the sounds of the battering ram slamming against the gate, and it was only a matter of time until they engaged in close combat, as well.

Allik looked over the battlefield again, and he saw a third group of armored legions March out of the tree line to join the rest of the soldiers on the field.

"Are you kidding me?!" He exclaimed to no one in particular. "There must be close to a hundred thousand soldiers attacking us at this point!"

The city of Piori wasn't small, and the enemy soldiers were lined up to fill the entire length of the city. On top of that, each emerging force was at least ten-men deep, and there was no telling how many more groups of soldiers were traversing through the trees to join the fight.

A large, splintering crash announced the destruction of the gate, and the screams of soldiers preceded the enemy forces rushing into the interior of the city. This was the first time they had gotten so far in an assault on the city, and based on the continuing increase in enemy numbers, Allik knew that the city would fall.

"Order the retreat off the wall," he commanded.

The adjutant relayed the orders, and the companies began a fighting retreat off the walls. The entire line of the wall was now filled with enemy soldiers, but the defenders didn't panic as they retreated down the steps in an orderly fashion.

The company on the ground defending against the intruders through the gate were reinforced by the closest descending soldiers. The companies further away began streaming through the streets, taking up defensive positions at strategic positions. They had been ordered to retreat from the wall, not the city, so they would continue to fight for every inch they gave the enemy.

The city might be doomed to be lost, but Allik and his soldiers would make sure they bled to occupy it.