Although Marina was able to reposition herself to a higher level, it did not stall long enough for her to escape.
A gust of wind was heard beneath her as the knight who backed off initially was hurled up into the air, landing directly in front of her.
A mage?
He instantly pushed forward to attack with a horizontal slash.
Marina narrowly avoided it as branches came down from the canopy to entangle the knight.
However, the attack was swiftly met with a gust of wind that cut through the leaves.
But Marina was already on her way off, maneuvering through the trees, but to her surprise, a spark erupted in front of her. The trees began to disappear in flames as she was forced into a corner.
By then, three more men had already made their way up onto the canopy.
How many of these people know magic? I don't have much of a chance if I fight back...
Marina quickly manipulated the foliage below her as she sank into the forest; the trees moved to surround her while the flames inched closer.
But to Marina's surprise, despite the fire closing in, her skin chilled slightly.
What the hell?
She looked downwards and saw that her feet were frozen solid, and without anywhere to go, the initial pursuer with wind magic cut through the leaves and grabbed Marina's neck.
No!
Her consciousness slowly began to fade.
I can't have it end here!
I've barely been satisfied with my newfound freedom!
I don't want it to end...
But it was too late; the man punched her stomach, knocking her out.
The frost moved over to the raging flames, putting them out quickly without much effort.
The one who knocked out Marina had brought her down from the trees by cushioning his own fall with wind. As he descended, he called out to one of the men below.
"Captain, why did you use fire? They will know we're here now!"
"It doesn't matter. Look at the girl; that is one of our objectives. Sir Trey ordered us to bring his sister back to him alive."
"This is Marina!?"
The man holding Marina then took a closer look at her face.
"My god... I didn't expect that she would just come straight to us."
"Unhand her!"
The group all turned their heads to the part of the forest that was frozen over. A woman stood in the center, slowly walking towards them.
"Shit, it's the leader Lira!"
One of the soldiers pointed over, just for his eyes to go white. A thick root had erupted from the earth and pierced his heart.
"Die, you scum."
Lira announced as the trees all started to collapse around her, hiding her position.
"Everyone! Battle formation 12!"
The commander yelled as his fingers ignited. The fire spread around the group, charring the forest, while one of the soldiers able to create ice kept the group safe.
Marina lay still in the arms of the wind mage as he kept his eyes out for Lira.
Sadly, despite their efforts, the fire was not enough to prevent the eruption of more plant life. Beneath the group, the ground began to rumble as leaves started to show underneath the soil.
"She's creating something else!"
One soldier tried his best to freeze the ground solid, but it was to no avail. Slowly, the ground rose, and against their will, the group was lifted into the air.
Branches and foliage pushed them upwards as they ascended hundreds of meters into the sky. From a distance, the plant they were on appeared as a giant tree; its shadow covered even the main battle happening a ways away.
Some of the soldiers fighting under Lira's command looked up, confused as to why the light had been blocked out.
As they quickly glanced at the giant tree, they also saw multiple giant roots shooting into the air. Atop one of them was Lira herself, rising up even higher than the group on the tree.
Soon the root she stood on curved towards the direction of the multiple soldiers.
"Watch out! She's coming after us!"
"I'll protect the group and the girl! Vorin! Isren! Go fight!"
The man carrying the girl, Vorin, dropped her and took off in a gust of wind towards Lira. The frost mage, Isren, allowed himself to lift off by creating a pillar of ice below him.
Seeing them take off towards her, Lira controlled the multiple giant roots that had sprouted, besides the one she was on, to move in from multiple angles.
They were swiftly frozen solid by Isren as he shot spikes of ice back at Lira. Simultaneously, Vorin used wind to speed up the projectiles so that they moved faster than even Lira's eyes could track.
But instinctively, Lira split apart the root she stood upon, allowing it to branch off into almost thirty different segments. She stood behind on a root that was protected by the segments, and the frozen shards were unable to pierce through, instead just breaking off some of the roots.
By then, the wind mage had already made it to the roots using his magic to reposition himself properly for a landing. He ran up the roots and used gusts of wind to dodge being punctured from countless angles.
Soon he arrived near Lira, where she then reacted by manifesting a wooden staff from the root she stood on.
She extended her arm forward as her speed on the root quickened. Vorin swung his blade forward as they both closed in on one another.
The sword hit the wooden staff; however, instead of slicing through, the staff sprouted into many twisting branches and vines that moved around to keep Vorin stuck in place.
"Dammit!"
Vorin yelled as he tried creating a burst of wind to escape. Unfortunately, his response was too late, and several roots moved forward and pierced through his skin.
There were multiple punctures that erupted from his skull, chest, and legs. Blood poured out of the holes as he instantly died.
"Vorin!"
Isren called out his comrade's name as he shot towards Lira's direction in anger. A pillar of frost was underneath his feet, and in his hands were two blades of ice.
Lira spared no time after taking care of the first enemy, promptly moving in faster towards Isren. Her staff then shifted into the form of a whip with spikes laced upon its lash. The spikes glowed purple and sizzled like acid; it also continuously extended itself as Lira swung it forward.
Repositioning himself slightly, Isren summoned a wall of ice to block the whip, but at the last second, a flash of green pulsed through the whip.
The wall of ice shattered instantly, and Isren's body split in half as his torso was flung across the sky, falling downwards into the forest.
Back at the tree, during Lira's fight, the flanking unit tried multiple ways to get off the tree.
"We need to find a way to get down; we're at a disadvantage fighting on that woman's turf."
The captain announced to his group, but all of a sudden the tree started to shake. Beneath them, the ground opened up, exposing a hollow center to the tree. Several soldiers fell down, with a few grabbing onto the sides.
The soldiers climbing the wall of the tree trunk felt relieved at first, but immediately after, branches emerged from the walls, stabbing them from all sides. Most of them were instantly killed, but those who reacted fast let go, allowing them to fall alongside their other comrades.
Marina had fallen just like the others, but instead of continuing downward in a free fall, she was grabbed by a vine and brought upwards. Multiple screams could be heard in the darkness of the hollow trunk as Marina was moved away from the giant hole.
Then the roots that had been used to fight Isren and Vorin moved towards Marina. Lira stood calmly on one of them as she moved to grab Marina.
Marina was gracefully placed in Lira's arms as they both started to descend. The tree then started to dissipate into green particles of light, and as it disappeared, clumps of blood and human remains fell below into the forest.
Shortly after, Lira set foot onto solid ground, and after a few minutes of walking back to the main battle, Marina began to open her eyes.
What happened?
She was still within the arms of Lira, and the first thing she saw was her old face. There were a few wrinkles on her skin, but it was still clean and glossy nonetheless. Traces of delicate care from managing her looks were evident, especially from so close.
"Where are the people from the flanking unit? What happened to them?"
Marina immediately voiced her thoughts to Lira.
"They're gone now. They've been put to rest. May they seek salvation with those above." Lira spoke calmly as she kept walking. "Are you able to fend for yourself now? I need to help my allies. It was good of you to find the flanking unit, but I need to get back into the fight."
I helped her? I was trying to escape!
Well... this might've been the best outcome.
Marina nodded her head and let herself stand outside Lira's grasp.
Lira walked off, but instead of following her into the battlefield, Marina backtracked towards the direction of the fight. She saw traces of frost magic on the tree and some charred wood.
Eventually she saw a body on the ground; it had multiple holes throughout its chest and even its head. It was the wind mage she had succumbed to.
And he was utterly destroyed right in front of her. Walking further, she saw another body split in half, and finally a giant clump of blood and guts resided in an area that seemed clear of any trees.
I've never seen this area before. Why are there no trees? And... what could've caused this?
Marina grimaced slightly at the pile of corpses that to her appeared as nothing more than red mush.
Did Lira really do this?
We both hold the same magic type, yet she was able to deal with all these people?
She thought back to how Lira had looked when she woke up. There were no scratches or even a trace of battle.
She did all of this without getting hurt? I couldn't even run away, let alone fight back... is this really the level my power can reach?
Then, in the distance, Marina started to hear cheering. Immediately, she turned back and started running over to the commotion.
"We won!"
"They retreated!"
"Haha! We destroyed Valter's little slaves! Tell him he needs to come himself next time!"
All the soldiers erupted into a volley of celebration and cheering.
Marina watched as most of the men smiled and burst out in happiness.
They won... already. This resistance has won their first fight on their travels, and it wasn't a small victory. There were actual mages and skilled soldiers.
So, Valter has lost his first fight. I've heard he is supported by the council and so, by extension, even my brother...
I wonder. Can a group such as this even hope to defend against them? Lira might be strong, but surely nothing can stop something as powerful as the council.
"Why do you look so down?"
Marina turned around to see a little boy standing behind her. It was Thalen.
He seemed not as shaken up as I thought he would be.
"I'm not down... Just ignore what I think. How was it all? Were you alright?"
Marina responded in a way to try and not clue the young boy as to her own thoughts.
"Of course I'd be alright. This is common. These fights happen all the time. My job is just to live. Because if I live, the world will become better... "
Thalen said it confidently, but Marina could hear a trace of hesitance in his voice. However, she ignored it; there was no reason to obsess over someone else, especially when she had problems of her own.
"Yes, as long as you believe that it will all be alright."
Marina confidently spoke those words out, but even she could not bring herself to believe it.