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But just behind us were the more aggressive magic users: nymphs, dryads, elementals, and the like. Elementals mainly meant “infernals” or pyromancers. There was something unhinged, objectively speaking, about that particular magic class.
Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones with magic on our side. We were still trying to reach our enemy when their front lines crouched, and a wave of spells headed right toward us.
I couldn’t see all of them, but I sure as shit could see the fireballs, ice spikes, and dagger-like flashes of lightning streaking forward. Every single one of those that hit was going to do massive damage.
Luckily, we had ways to combat that.
“Shields!”
It was a tricky thing, making a magical or mental barrier while racing forward, and the object being protected was doing the same, but luckily we had pretty talented specialists. Ayla wasn’t the only maverick in her fort, and I was proud of the troops we’d trained and curated.
Telepaths, sorcerers, and a few other of our magically inclined did their work, and I saw most of the attacks slam into the air in front of us. It was always interesting to see the different reactions depending on the source of the barrier. Sometimes the magic fizzled into strange colors, other spells bounced off and ricocheted back toward the enemy, and others just shimmered out of existence like they’d never been cast at all.
The air crackled with the sheer amount of power sailing toward us, only to be deflected. It made the fur of my thick coat react, static crackling through it. But as we continued to charge forward, the enemy fired off another round of offensive magic.
Funny how magic users were so few and far between on both our sides, and yet they were one of the main clinchers in battle. I knew we prided ourselves in our kingdom on inclusive forces, and few of our enemies had such a wide array of soldiers. Unfortunately, we’d met our match in the Kingdom of Vekas and had been at war with them for twenty years straight, after a few centuries of on again, off again conflict.
No one really seemed to understand exactly how it started. After all, it'd begun with our ancestors. But who really needed to have a comprehensive reason when we all knew now that Vekas would never stop until they’d conquered anyone and everyone?
As we raced forward, the shields began to fall, resulting in the smell of sulfur, brimstone, and carbon in the air. Dirt flew everywhere, smoke billowing out to fill the battlefield. After so much foreplay, the battle was truly on.
Blood clung to the air, telling me we had the first wounded of our charge, but I couldn’t slow down. I was the leader of ourfull-frontal assault, and I needed to set the rhythm of our battle before I retreated and took the scene in.
Heart thundering in my lupine chest, I waited until the next volley of magic attacks. The moment they ended, I launched myself forward and landed directly behind the first line of soldiers.
That was the cataclysm before the enemy finally mobilized, their biggest cryptids and physical fighters now surging forward. For anyone else, being directly behind their first line of warriors would be a bad place to be. Perhaps it was arrogant of me, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Lunging forward onto the soldier in front of me, I snapped my jaw into his shoulder armor, teeth biting into the gaps between his plating, and twisting my head to throw him to the ground. He definitely wasn’t a shifter. I could tell by both the taste of his armor and the fact that he was wearing thick and heavy protection, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a physical threat.
I also wasn’t in a scene where I could focus on just one enemy. Once I had my first target in the middle of the tumble, I kicked my back legs out, catching whoever was behind me right in the chest, judging by the feel of it. Then I used that leverage to spin onto my front paws, landing in the opposite direction.
I bared my teeth and clawed at another enemy, then bit another. It was a whirlwind of motion that happened in only a couple of seconds.
I knew if I stayed much longer, if I got greedy and pressed my advantage, then I'd quickly be overwhelmed. So, with one last swipe at the enemy, I leaped back behind my allies.
Our front lines were finally clashing in a harrowing collision of tooth, claw, and blood as enormous pyrotechnics and explosions of energy flew through the air.
It was too early to call the battle, but it wasn’t too soon to update our strategy. Dashing to the side, I went toward a familiar rocky outcropping I’d noted from the very first day I’d ever come to Fort Canid.
Once I was there, I jumped onto the highest point where I could be on steady footing and looked over the calamitous scene in front of me.
Scanning the area, I could see immediately where the combat was concentrated, where it lapsed, and where our own forces were starting to give way. They were well-trained, my people, but even the most talented of soldiers needed efficient and competent direction.
Our enemy may have been fairly evenly matched with us, soldier for soldier, yetIknew my people, and that was my advantage. Thanks to the gift of shifter-voice, I could essentially shout orders to everyone I saw.
I most certainly saw places where I could help.
First, I spotted a shifter in front of me, a slight young woman who was more agility than muscles. Focusing on her, I sent her an order to go to the trees to the west where she could potentially ambush stray soldiers.
Next was a newer recruit, a fae who'd struggled with melee combat during training. It was a skill he’d have to work on, but today he'd do better in using that crossbow attached to his back to cover his allies and providing suppressive fire.
I knew I only had a few moments at most before I made far too much of a target of myself, so I directed my people to where they’d excel as fast as I could. I called upon everything I'd learned about them during their training—not only their skills but their weaknesses, too. They all wanted to be the perfect warrior, and it was expected for them to strive to get as close to that as possible, to be skilled in everything from their species’advantages, to tactics, to strength, to speed. But that wasn't a real goal for anyone, let alone me.
That's why I took the pains toknowmy people. Any good leader would. I was well aware that my detractors thought I was either being flippant or stroking my ego. But no, I just valued my soldiers as people rather than their fighting skills.
I needed to move. Staying in one place for so long was just asking to get attacked, but I kept spotting different cryptids who could be optimized. I was sure the swapping of positions may have looked like a busybody’s chess game, but I was concocting a symphony, fighting alongside them in a violent rhythm.
However, eventually my hand was forced, and I leaped from the rock, running along to an area where our troops were being pushed back. My wolf let out a thrilled bark as we joined in the fray there, acting as both offense and defense.
