Enemy Phase
The three horsemen watched the Muspell troops advance. Eirika's frown deepened.
"Captain Kohle." Eirika said. "Cavalry is not suited for forest combat. You give our enemy the advantage-"
"As if you know of strategy, wench." Captain Kohle snarled. "I have no need of advice from a woman slave. Your so-called 'strategy' was not enough to save you from defeat, or enslavement."
The Muspell captain scoffed and gestured to the heroes.
"These pathetic cowards will be crushed under our swift assault."
"Captain, you underestimate their chance. We are dealing with enemies that hail from other worlds, surely you have seen what the likes of Fakemon, or Nikolai, or-"
"How many times must I command you to be silent, slave!" Kohle snapped. "Another word out of you, and-"
Anakin's lightsaber slashed through the base of the trees and towards the charging cavalry riders. Already they were having a bit of trouble, the branches and undergrowth forcing them to slow their charges. With loud creaks, trees fell upon the riders. A pair of the cavaliers were knocked from their horses, falling into the snow as their horses ran off in a panic. The third rider managed to avoid the falling trees, only for Anakin's lightsaber to slice the legs out from under his horse. The poor creature screamed as both it and its rider fell into the snow.
Only the Contracted Hero Cavalier managed to avoid Anakin's attack in its entirety. If Siegbert was surprised by the enemy's unorthidox attack, he gave no indication of it. The rider's face was nothing but focus. With expert horsemanship, the blond young man maneuvered his horse around falling trees. With its rider's expert direction, the horse hurdled Anakin's lightsaber and continued its charge! It rapidly closing the distance to Anakin...
Or at least, it would have had it not been for Akira. Massive spikes of ice burst up from the ground, and Siegbert pulled back on his horse's reins. The horse suddenly stopped, going back on its hind legs and whinnying in protest. A spike of ice glance off the horse's armor, but Siegbert remained mounted. He urged his horse around the ice spikes and charged towards Anakin. Siegbert slashed at the Jedi Knight with his Dark Greatsword, the black metal blade flashing through the air with the force of both the mount and its rider!
The dismounted cavaliers picked themselves up from the snow grabbing their weapons, only for Little Crow to unleash his magical arrows. The first one punched through the chest of the ax-wielding cavalier, going right through his armored breastplate.
"There! In the trees!" The sword cavalier pointed, before quickly being silenced by another of Little Crow's arrows. The lance cavalier quickly rushed for cover behind another tree, only for Akira's ice spike attack to pierce him through.
"Ow!"
Captain Kohle's rant was suddenly cut off, feeling a sudden sting. The captain reflexively swatted at his neck, pulling away a small dart. His anger turned to confusion as he looked to Eirika and L'Arachel. Eirika's eyes widened in realization, and Captain Kohle collapsed on his horse.
"L'Arachel!" Eirika said, but the other woman was already in motion. L'Arachel steadied the unconscious commander on his horse, quickly looking him over. Meanwhile, Eirika moved between the pair and where the attack came from. She scanned the area carefully, but there was no sight of the attacker.
"The Captain is alive, but unconscious. A poison attack, I believe." L'Arachel said.
"Can you Restore him?" Eirika asked. L'Arachel shook her head.
"We'll just have to wait."
"Come on." Eirika said. The trio moved to the northeast side of the hill, attempting to use it for partial cover against their unseen attacker while still watching the battle. The blue haired woman opened her tome, watching the forest where Shay's attack had come from.
"There."
One the south side of the hill, Rhajat gestured to the tree Little Crow was attacking from. The Black Magician's tome fluttered open, and she spoke an incantation as she gestured to one of the mages. Dark energy swirled around the mage, and some of it was absorbed into the mage's spellbook.
The Muspell mages and Muspell archer took a step forward and unleashed their attacks at Little Crow. The archer fired an arrow at the bird creature. The first mage spoke an incantation, and winds whipped around him. A green blade of wind appeared before the mage, empowered with dark magic from Rhajat's spell. The blade of wind flew through the air towards Little Crow! The third mage spoke a different incantation and raised his hand. Far in the clouds above, there was a rumble of thunder. With little warning, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky towards Little Crow!
"Rhajat!" Eirika called out from her new position. "Stay alert! There is an unseen enemy to the south!"
Rhajat nodded, and looked in the direction Shay was hiding.
"Whoa."
In the second squad of Muspell soldiers, a pink haired woman in a black and white gambeson paused in her advance. A pink longsword was in her hand, and a dagger was on her belt.She looked at the fallen trees, ice spikes, and occasional geyser that burst forth from the ground. The contracted hero grinned at her companion. He was a brown haired young man dressed in red and white robes, with a black metal chestplate for protection. He was armed with a polearm that had a long blade at the end, a naginata, that shone brightly despite the fog and overcast clouds. Like the pink haired woman, the red halo of a Contracted Hero floated around the young man's head as well.
"These guys sure seem strong, huh Shiro?" The pink haired woman asked. Shiro grinned back at the woman and nodded.
"Yeah. It really gets the blood pumping." He said. "C'mon, Soleil. We can't let Siegbert have all the fun. Let's go!"
The two Contracted Heroes and three Muspell troops burst into action. The three Muspell troops were different from the ones that had appeared so far. Two of them wore large, bulky armor and heavy shields. One armed with a sword, another armed with an ax. Although their armor was impressive, they seemed to have a difficult time keeping up with the group. The third one was rather unusual. A figure in a simple black cloak. No weapon, no tome, no staff. But as the heroes and the knights moved in, they simply raised a glowing red gem.
In a flash of light, the cloaked Muspell troop rapidly changed. They grew, and their cloak faded and melted into their flesh. Black scales covered their body as they fell onto all fours. A pair of scaled wings grew from their back as their face extended into a lizardlike snout, complete with razor teeth. Where there was once a person, there now stood a 10 foot tall dragon. This troop was a Manakete.
"Rah!" Shiro's naginata smashed through an ice spike, and Soleil dashed forward. The woman jumped off the broken ice spike and lunged towards Akira and slashed down at him. As she did, her pink sword emitted a bright, almost blinding flash.
The Manakete roared. It attempted to move around Anakin and Akira, setting its sights on the other heroes waiting behind the fighters. The knights moved with the dragon, ready to provide support if needed.
