The Selkies and the limitanei rushed back through the town with the Dobhar hot on their tails. But eventually they reached the wealthy part of town where another line of limitanei stood at the ready. Located just before the walls of the keep itself, the wealthy district was home to large structures that had their own defense measures in place, and was close enough that the keep itself could provide covering fire.

As such, a hail of bolts from crossbows and smaller ballistae halted the Dobhar’s pursuit, allowing the Selkies and the first lines of limitanei to reach the safety of the new legion lines.

Estrith pulled the Dobhar back and rearranged them as the King had drilled. She hadn’t understood his intentions at first, wondering how dancing about on land could be better than hunting more levels in the deep, but after seeing the Selkies fall she could only shudder at his foresight. So she took a moment to reorganize her forces, and then began a new assault on the Legion positions.

Estrith couldn’t help but smile. This was the last hurdle before the keep itself, and the Selkies were still nursing their wounds. The coming fight would be hard, and the fight for the keep itself even harder, but momentum was on the Dobhar's side. The enemy had been pushed to the brink in but a few engagements. It might even be possible to end this battle in a single night.

Up in the keep, Legate Opiter was pacing and chewing on his fingernails. The battle drew closer and closer, and now the Legate could hear the shouts and cries of the soldiers below even from the center of the keep. He kept glancing out the window.

And then…

Finally…

He saw the flashing blue light. The signal from Magister Tiberius that the Dobhar had fully engaged the final barricade.

He spun around so fast he nearly fell over and shouted at the provincial mage in the center of the room.

“Now!”

The provincial mage nodded and channeled mana into the communication artifact at the center of the room.

Dux Canus took a deep breath as the communication artifact he brought with him began to light up.

He turned towards the troops behind him. Miallói gave him a nod. He nodded back and then gave the command.

The limitanei were inferior to the comitatenses in practically every area, save one. The one area that the limitanei’s farmer-militia lifestyle gave them an advantage in.

Earth Magic.

Earth Magic was highly useful for farmers, for everything from moving inconvenient boulders to plowing the fields to checking the health of the soil. And farmers were always working with the ground and the Earth, so they tended to develop an affinity for the Earth attribute over time regardless of their initial aptitude. Earth Magic was also extremely useful for their commanders, who could then use the limitanei to set up camps or fortify positions. As such, the yearly limitanei drills all include primers on Earth Magic.

Even if they couldn’t fight that well, an army always had plenty of digging to do.

Which is exactly what Dux Canus had them do.

And so a huge hole opened up in the ground leading to a brand new tunnel dug through the sewers of Castra Turannia. A tunnel the Dobhar, with their complete lack of Earth mages, had no means of detecting.

And so almost five thousand veteran Selkie warriors, along with every retired comitatense, limitanei with real combat experience, and Exploratores left in the province, appeared behind the Dobar Army.

Right after the Dobhar had committed the bulk of their force to assault the final barricades, and so could not easily withdraw.

Because the last thing the Dobhar would ever expect was an aggressive assault coming from the rear, with the Empire putting everything on the line to end the battle immediately.

Dux Canus drew his sword and pointed it forward.

“Charge!”

With that, he and Miallói charged out of the tunnel, followed by all the strongest warriors they had available.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Selkie arrows and harpoon struck right into the back of Dobhar scouts and shamans in the rear. The Dobhar barely had time to register what was happening when Legion bulwarks in full plate armor slammed right into them, knocking them to the ground for Legion slayers to cut down with ease. Dux Canus casted wide area buffs to the entire group, while Miallói was the tip of the spear, cutting down any Dobhar strong enough to resist.

The Dobhar were taken entirely by surprise. They had barely realized they were under assault by the time Dux Canus reached his objective.

A hail of buffed Selkie arrows and Legion crossbow bolts shot forward.

And flew straight towards where King Uscfrea Spellbreaker watched the battle unfold.

But the projectiles slammed straight into a black battle axe as the King of the Dobhar turned to face his assailants.

“My King!”

The Dobhar near King Uscfrea rushed to defend him but they were quickly isolated by the joint Selkie-Imperial forces. The majority of the troops then spread out in a circle to keep any other Dobhar from interfering, while Dux Canus and Miallói led the strongest elites to confront King Uscfrea himself.

King Uscfrea’s eyes widened ever so slightly as he looked over the sheer number of Selkies in the area. He turned to Miallói and spoke to her in her own language.

“So, this is your answer?”

Miallói focused on him and frowned.

“Would you trust a warrior who betrays their friends?”

King Uscfrea raised an eyebrow.

“Perhaps not, but the Empire abandoned you first.”

Miallói glanced at Dux Canus.

“The Empire did…but these ones here did not.”

Dux Canus's eyes went wide as he listened to the conversation…and then he nodded at Miallói. King Uscfrea went silent for a moment before nodding.

“I suppose I can respect that.”

He then heaved a sigh and hoisted his axe into the air.

“Then come, First Hunter of the Selkies! Let us settle the debts of our people here and now!”

He lunged forward…only to be met by arrows and bolts. A Selkie archer and a former Imperial sharpshooter launched powerful ranged attacks at the large Dobhar; with Dux Canus’s powerful buff magic even the King of the Dobhar couldn’t ignore their assault. A former Legion bulwark charged forward, thrusting a huge metal shield straight into the Dobhar’s face. And as the Dobhar stumbled back, Miallói leapt into the sky, pulling her arm back with a glowing harpoon in hand. She tossed it at King Uscfrea with all her might.

But King Uscfrea slammed his axe into the ground and pushed off, just barely moving out of the way of the harpoon. He then killed his momentum by slamming his tail behind him and lunged forward, swinging his axe. Dux Canus cast yet another buff spell on the Legion bulwark in front, and then axe and shield collided with a loud clang that echoed across the field.

But the bulwark held.

And then a halberd from a Legion Slayer thrust forward. King Uscfrea took a step back but the blade still grazed his shoulder.

It didn’t draw blood.

Miallói landed behind the Dobar and launched her harpoon forward. The spear only damaged King Uscfrea’s HP but a mana chain was left behind. King Uscfrea leapt back and spun around all at once, swinging his axe at Miallói but she leapt high into the air.

As she did, she pulled the mana chain taut, stopping herself midair. Dux Canus formed the rain into a glob of water which he sent streaming towards Miallói. Once the water reached her it turned down towards King Uscfrea and Miallói pulled herself with the chain.

And then her body started to glow and expand…

Miallói let out a ferocious roar as she transformed into her seal form, an eight-foot seal with glowing fangs. She rocketed down towards King Uscfrea, further propelled by the water magic around her.

King Uscfrea pulled back his axe but another volley from the ranged combatants forced him to block, and then a tackle from the Legion bulwark left him off balance.

And then Miallói struck him, sinking her fangs into the Dobar’s shoulder. Blood dripped as she just managed to pierce his famed fur.

And King Uscfrea…grinned at her.

“All that for a drop of blood.”

And then he slammed his fist into Miallói, sending her flying back. She rolled across the ground for a while until she crashed into one of the surrounding Selkies.

King Dobhar then lobbed his axe towards the Selkie archer and Imperial sharpshooter, forcing them to drop their assault. He ran across the field towards the pair and the Legion bulwark moved to intercept him.

He grinned again and pulled the mana chain that formed in his hand.

The chain led to his axe, which now flew backwards towards him. Dux Canus quickly used Earth Magic to lift the bulwark’s left foot, just barely tilting him out of the way of the axe. But King Dobhar grabbed the weapon and immediately swung it, and the bulwark didn’t have time to reset his position.

His shield blocked the blow and absorbed most of the force, but with his foot still in the air the bulwark couldn’t hold his ground, and was knocked back. King Uscfrea then stepped forward and reached past the man’s shield, grabbing him by the arm. He spun and flung the bulwark out of his way.

He swung his axe to knock another arrow and bolt out of the way and then leapt towards the ranged fighters.

A fireball filled his vision. King Uscfrea charged his axe with mana and swung it down, causing the fireball to dissipate.

Only for Dux Canus to appear in his view with his sword pulled back in a slash.

The Dobhar blocked the strike with his arm, his tough fur tanking the blow. Dux Canus stepped back, allowing the Legion slayer a full strike from above with her halberd.

The Dobhar swung his axe upwards and struck the attack head-on. Both weapons flew back…but the slayer couldn’t match the Dobhar king in raw might and lost her stance. The Dobhar moved in for the kill, bringing his axe down overhead, but Dux Canus stepped in and struck the axe’s side with his sword. He just barely managed to knock the attack off course.

And then King Uscfrea stepped back as a harpoon struck the ground in front of him.

Miallói returned to the fight.

The Legion bulwark made his way back as well, and the group reset their formation.

King Uscfrea hefted his axe and grinned.

The two sides stared at each other for a moment longer.

And then they both kicked off the ground.

And so the Battle for Castra Turannia hung in the balance…