The signal was given, and the preparations that followed had been run through enough times that it had become practically second nature. Even though the wagons were under attack, they didn't stop; instead, their speed dropped to about forty percent of their usual pace. Even under attack, they could not allow themselves to slow down — only altering the speed to a tempo the Sigil Knights could easily match on foot. Kaius had relinquished his half-plate steel armour for every bit of mobility he could hold onto. His eyes had given him enough confidence to be sure he could dodge most attacks that came his way — at least the ones that mattered.
Kaius jumped off his wagon and kept his momentum with a roll. His blade had unsheathed itself without his notice, its weight settling comfortably into his palm. Kaius swung into the air, and a torrent of thick, black-red blood splattered from the horizontal slice. Instantly, a wolf-like creature could be seen, cut perfectly in two. Its maw was long and grotesque, along with an agile yet large body.
These creatures are called Luvisk, known to be aggressive to man and animal alike. They're native to the Royal Woods and possess the innate ability to turn invisible for a few moments, often just enough to land a fatal blow. Kaius instantly recognized that these Luvisk were juvenile, which made them much more naïve in both combat and their special ability.
A whole pack of Luvisk had tried to ambush the cohort; however, their attempt had failed. Kaius's eyes detected their invisible attack, and now that they had shown themselves, their greatest advantage had been strangled. Two more Luvisk stood in front of Kaius, along with one more behind him. As for the other defenders of the wagon train, they had their own challenges.
Kaius put his hands together on the handle of his longsword. After a second or two, its previously clear blade turned to ice. He dashed forward and ducked as low as he could, narrowly avoiding a vicious bite and ending beneath the Luvisk. Kaius twisted, bringing his frozen edge toward the vile creature. With that momentum, his sword sliced through the underbelly.
Rapidly, an invasive frost began to spread across the underside of the Luvisk. A once jungle of fur was turned to ice. Before the chill spread beyond the vicinity of the wound, it suddenly stopped. This was not a flaw of the Sigil charge; instead, it was a flaw of Kaius's proficiency in it. Had it been mastered, that ice could have spread much further.
Kaius shifted his weight and pushed himself up with his hands before he could fall to the floor and leave himself vulnerable. In one fluid motion, his body flipped and landed back on his feet. He then confidently lunged towards the next Luvisk in his sight. His eyes had given no warning of danger. Kaius's blade hovered centimetres away from its target — suddenly, he staggered forward as a harrowing pain tore through his back. Shock widened his pupils; a surge of blood followed the tearing blow. He could not see the wound, but he knew it needed attention soon.
He immediately turned, bashing his pommel into the Luvisk's face with a skull-shattering force. However, before getting a chance to jam his chilled blade into its maw, a blinding agony pierced his left calf. His gaze dropped to his leg, seeing nothing, he blindly struck the air to no avail.
His red face contorted with anger and worry.
Kaius found himself surrounded by three fiends and covered in two shades of blood — that of his enemies and that of his own. The wagon he had been stationed at crept further and further away. Kaius stared at the frosty mongrel and ran at a speed much slower than his prior pace. He then prepared an overhead attack. The Luvisk dodged to the left, a move that would have been smart if not for the fact that the overhead strike was a feint, leading into a thrust. Instantly, the invasive ice that had been reserved before spread like a plague. If the lunge itself wasn't enough, the chill would have been the final nail in the coffin.
Turning towards the last position he'd seen the other two Luvisk at, he found nothing. Dread flooded him instantly. Kaius began running as fast as he could, all the pain in his injured leg fading in the face of his fear. Seconds had passed, his lungs were on fire, but he refused to give up. Once he'd caught up with his wagon, Kaius turned back and saw one mongrel about five meters away from him. The other was still hidden.
Knowing that the concealed one couldn't have been close enough to strike, Kaius halted for a moment and aimed the tip of his blade at the blue outline. Instantly, the coat of ice on his blade shot forward like a bullet from a barrel. The wolf aligned with the outline, and as it did, its head was unevenly split in two.
After that, Kaius saw another blue outline, this one wasn't approaching him, though. It was cowering and whimpering. All on its own, the Luvisk stared up at the monster covered in the blood of its kin. Desperately, the wolf tried to turn invisible, flickers of its body leaving this realm. No matter how hard it tried, nothing worked.
Kaius stared at it with frenzied eyes. Letting out a chuckle, he stumbled as fast as he could and then impaled the creature's heart without remorse. Not long after, he returned to his wagon. For now, he'd need to improvise a bandage with whatever he had on hand, at least until it was safe to say the battle was over.
***
Elsewhere on the battlefield, a horde of Luvisk could be seen surrounding the caravan. Countless civilians were holed up inside, and only three Sigil Knights were there to protect them. Valerie held a gladius in one hand, the other being wrapped in a cloth. Unlike Kaius, the rest of them didn't have eyes that adjusted them to the movement of creatures, but that did not stop them from predicting the creatures' movement, so long as they got a look at them before they hid.
Valerie ran towards a Luvisk that had yet to conceal itself. She exploded forward with a burst of speed and threw a low kick, sweeping the wolf off its feet and beheading it in the air. The head flew past her and slammed straight into something unseen. Immediately, Valerie had the next target in her eyes. She dashed as fast as possible, her index and middle fingers spread in the split second before reaching the fiend. Those two fingers delved deep into a pair of deep-yellow eyes, followed by her gladius reaching deep into its head.
Breaking a sweat, Valerie turned to her left and saw another Luvisk, only this one was different; it was bigger and had numerous scars covering its rough skin. This beast didn't stay fully visible or invisible. Unlike the others, it periodically revealed itself for moments and stayed hidden in others — this was behaviour only a mature Luvisk could perform. The mutt concealed itself and ran towards Valerie. She struck the ground where it should have been. However, all she hit was dirt. In the next moment, her hand was bitten, instinctively making her drop the gladius. Without hesitation, the mongrel picked it up and held the handle in its mouth.
Rushing towards Valerie, the mauler turned invisible again. Following her muscle memory, Valerie jumped, expecting a low strike from where the Luvisk had last been seen. Instead, a blade struck the metal on her chest plates; a metallic ring reverberated through her bones. Valerie didn't let this deter her, though; she grabbed the creature with both hands. Anger burned on her beautiful face as she began strangling it. Bloody gurgles could be heard, and red foam started coming out of the canid's disgusting maw. Perhaps that harrowing sight prevented any other Luvisk from risking their lives to save their kin. After twenty seconds, the gladius fell onto the floor, but she didn't stop there. Soon, no more gurgling could be heard. Slowly picking up her blade, she ran back into position to align herself with the two wagons she was meant to protect.