The man next to me has a look of shock on his face. Well, at the moment, I am sure that I have the same expression right now. Neither of us expected something like this.
I access the formation to see what damage has been done. (This is another use of the iron skin.) The damage to the wall by the spike is pretty minimal based on the damage I can observe. The iron skin has been breached in only a few limited locations. The damage doesn't explain the amount of mana they have used to craft the spike.
It takes me a few moments, but I realize what is going wrong here. The spike of ice is solid enough for a person to step on. It acts like a platform allowing the beasts to climb onto the wall. To build such a strong spike would consume a pretty large amount of ice mana. (Conjuration is very mana-intensive.)
I could try and kill the beasts climbing with my spears but it won't be fast enough to cause them any harm. I could only have done something like that with the ballista crafted. If only I had a couple more weeks. At the very least, I did not need to worry about the troops as they seemed to have entered into action already. They have already begun fighting the creatures that have made their way onto the spike.
They are not particularly successful, but they are doing something at the very least. I just stand there paralysed, unsure as to what I can do. I have a thousand plans going on in my head, each more unlikely than the other. The only thing that manages to break me out of my panic is the man next to me.
"Captain, would you focus on holding back the troop leaders? No matter what happens they cannot be allowed to reach the spike." he says. As he does so, he points at the troop leader in the east. Right now, it is the closest to the spike.
"I can't do that. The damn creatures are too fast for me to strike them with my spear. Even when they are relatively stationary, attacking the walls, I did not manage to hit them."I admit. As I do so, I am trying to get a good angle on the creatures. It is a futile act, though, with the creatures moving faster and faster, it becomes harder to aim at them.
I begin by cycling all of my mana into my arms. I can feel the spear grow lighter in my hands. (This is purely mental, I assure you. Things made of mana weigh only as much as you believe that they should weigh.) I wait for a few moments and chuck the spear.
Launching this spear not only depends on my arm's strength, but it also depends on my mana to propel it. It flashes like a bolt of lightning as it streaks in the sky. I redirect the shot that has reached the sky in an instant. Before I knew it, the spear had entered the troop leader's leg. (The one closest to the spike.)
The force of the strike is enough that it pins the creature to the ground. The water spear is durable enough that I don't need to worry about the beast biting through it anytime soon. (There is too much water mana for it to freeze through the bolt any time soon.)
I don't get to relax, though, as the other two beasts are already changing their direction. They are channeling their mana, creating a barrier as they run towards their trapped ally. Fuck, the enemies are now prepared for my spear. It won't be able to do as much damage.
I need to get rid of the trapped leader before the battle ends. I can't make a shot like the one that trapped the beast. The main problem with it is how much longer it takes to strengthen my arm with my vital mana. (I don't even want to speak about the pain.) Now, I will only be able to manage a shot like that every thirty seconds. As I have been speaking, I have been charging another spear to throw.
I can't shoot it any time soon, which is why I grasp a water spear and throw it at the target. As the spear flies towards it, the trapped beast shoots a ball of ice mana at it, causing it to hit the ground next to it.
As I am doing this, the two ice beasts have reached the location of the trapped ice beast. Well, I can't allow them to free up that one now, can I? I throw my spear, aiming it at the trapped icebeast.
I almost succeeded at catching it off-guard, too, if it were not for the third ice beast shooting an ice bolt. Picking up another spear, I throw it simply. This time I am aiming at the third beast. This doesn't strike true as it hits the ground beyond them. Kt still manages to push the creatures into a more panicked state as they look around warily.
They have finally stopped trying to help their fellow leader. The creature is still trying to freeze and shatter the spear. It will happen eventually, but the hope for now is that it will hold for a while at least. The two ice beasts are now looking in my direction, waiting to intercept anything I throw at them.
This time, I begin to charge up a spear, feeling my arm grow hotter. Strengthening yourself using mana like this tends to have limits. I am nowhere near my limit, but I can feel the prickling in my hand turn into a dull throb. As my mana finishes cycling, I throw my spear.
This time, I am aiming at the trapped beast. As expected, it causes the two beasts to enter into a panic as they try to blow away the spear. They do end up succeeding. With this, the creatures are completely focused on protecting their third teammate. Let's just hope that the soldiers can break that spike before the spear is shattered.
"The creatures cannot abandon one of their own now. The burden on them must be too great already.", he speaks, almost as if he is reading my mind. "Especially if they have done what I think they have done."
"Care to elaborate on that?" I ask the man, throwing another spear. The creature should be halfway through the spear. I guess I should switch my focus to trap another of those creatures. Not that it is likely to happen again.
"Let's speak about it some other time. We can't let the creatures climb the spike. Try to strike them when they are closer to the spike. They will be slowed down among their underlings.", he replies. As he speaks, his panicked expression begins to morph into a calmer one. "The soldiers will be able to shatter the spike as long as the only thing fighting them is the weaker ice beasts."
"So, how long will that be taking?" I ask him.
"Well, I have no way of knowing that. From this far away, I am not able to see beyond a few blobs." He replies. "Even with the spyglass, I can't see that far away now. You have my spyglass, you know."
Fuck, that was not a reply that I wanted to hear. I know what the best method is to look that far. You see, I would be able to strengthen my mana sense using my vital mana. The only problem in the process is the amount of information that I will have to process. Let's just say that it will lead to quite a few headaches.
Using the sensory formation is still a bit easier to do than enhancing my vital mana like this. Bracing myself, I do exactly that. The world suddenly takes on a new definition. It is almost like every different mana source in the area has taken on a new color. Thank god the mana sources here are so monotonous. Anywhere else, this would have made the world around me almost painful to watch. (It is why I tend to strengthen my mana sense so rarely.)
The soldiers stand out like a fire in the area surrounding us. I am not able to focus on them for long. Already, I can feel a dull throb in my head as my mana sense threatens to overwhelm me. I close my eyes to focus purely on my mana sense.
The main problem is all the ice mana in the place. It stands out like a blinding mirror, making it seem like the area is flooded with light. Well, I force myself to focus on the soldiers. From this far it is hard to make out, but I am sure that one of the soldiers is pounding away at the Ice spike with his sword. It could also be a hammer though that doesn't matter. What matters is that they are breaking the damn thing.
They are not making too much progress with it. They have weakened it a bit but they aren't just getting that many chances to hit the damn thing. The grunts are always there, stopping the soldiers from doing anything.
Stopping my mana from cycling, I can feel my head pounding. Forcing myself to think through it, I notice the damn beasts breaking through the spear. Finally, the damn troop leader is free of the spear. It is still limping, so that is a good thing at least. They have begun to run towards the spike now.
As they do so, though, I can feel a plan forming in my mind. Well, I check my mana first to make sure that I have enough mana to pull off what I plan. Well, I think it will be a bit less than needed, but I should be able to make it work. What can I do? Strengthening your body like this is pretty costly, and I am not a martial mage. They can fight like this for days at a time as well.
Regardless, I dip both of my hands into the quiver and hold one spear in each hand. I have already begun to channel my mana into my arms. Meanwhile, the creatures have been making their way to the southern gate. Well, by the time that I am done charging, the creatures have reached it.
"Strike them already, captain." Shamon speaks behind me. The man has begun to panic a bit.
"I have a plan, Shamon. Don't disturb me.", I reply.
Even in the time it took me to speak, the three troop leaders had reached the gate. The limping leader and one of the other leaders are throwing ice bolts at the soldiers above them. The last leader is now climbing the spike. Fuck, I had wanted all three of them climbing the spike.
Taking a deep breath, I wait. Shamon has already entered into a panic, but I wait. If the man could, he would have slapped me. Well, let him. With how focused I am I would have ignored it. Finally, the creature is in position. I throw both of my spears at the creature at the same time. This I do just as the creature reaches the region where the soldiers had been trying to break the spike.
Both spears fly, reaching their targets in time. The first was aimed at the creature on the spike, which the creature dodges by jumping over it. The other is aimed at the spike below it. Normally, the spear would not be strong enough to break it but the soldiers have been hacking at it for a while. The spear is enough to push the spike to its breaking point.
The spike begins to crumble as the troop leader falls on it. Its weight is enough to collapse the weakened spike as the creature falls to its death, buried under tons of ice.