Under the Oak Tree

The soldiers promptly stationed themselves along the battlement. As the archers kept a vigilant eye on the enemy, bows in hand, the catapult unit loaded the siege weapons. The mages dispersed to their designated positions, readying to cast shields at a moment's notice.

At long last, the monster army clashed with the golems. Maxi watched with bated breath as hundreds of undead swarmed the golem in the blink of an eye. Iron maces thudded into the golem's limbs, crumbling them into clouds of dust. However, the scattered clumps of earth were quickly reabsorbed.

Fully recovering, the golem swung its massive arm, sweeping away the thirty-kevette skeletons as if they were scarecrows.

Maxi finally exhaled the breath she was holding. The four golems were performing well beyond their expectations, successfully staving off the monsters surrounding the east and north sides. Any that managed to get past the earthen guardians were sent tumbling into the moat by a volley of arrows from the archers.

After moving along the wall to gauge the battle's progress, Maxi returned to the workroom. With the newly added golems functioning properly, there was no need for all of the mages to be there.

Ignoring the noises outside, she took out a new magic stone. Just then, Sidina entered the workroom.

"Working again so soon?"

"I-I was just about to start."

Maxi handed Sidina a magic stone and a pair of gloves.

With a sigh, Sidina trudged over to the desk. "I was hoping for some respite, but I clearly chose the wrong place."

"You know we can't afford to rest. The golems must be finished as soon as possible."

Though she pursed her lips, Sidina tugged on the gloves without further complaint. Soon, more mages joined them. Owing to this, they were able to finish one extra golem figure before the day was out. If they maintained this pace, they would be done within the week.

Maxi rubs her gritty eyes, which felt as if they had a fistful of sand in them, and went to open the shutters. The stillness suggested the fighting must be over.

When she went outside to assess the situation, she saw soldiers eating around a fire. Approaching the closest one, she asked, "Have the monsters retreated?"

The soldier who had been wolfing down a bowl of oat porridge shot to his feet. "No, my lady. It's simply a lull in the fighting."

Maxi gestured to the soldier to resume his meal before climbing the stairs to the battlement. Dusk was falling over the plain, which was still teeming with thousands of monsters. Surprisingly there was no dramatic difference in their number, leading Maxi to believe that many of the felled undead had been propped back to life.

As long as the necromancer is there to supply them with mana, the skeletons will keep regenerating.

Her gaze swept to the battlefield. Dragonians, the ones puppeteering the monsters, were orchestrating this all from within. Finding and eliminating them would be the surest way to end the siege, but a direct assault against such overwhelming odds - ten to one - was essentially throwing human lives away. Furthermore, the dragonians appeared to be masters of stealth, evading even the mages' search magic.

All we can do is hold out for as long as possible.

Maxi turned toward the dark silhouette of the Lexos Mountains. Her eyes traced the steep ridge that rose from the untouched expanse of snow, resting finally upon a distant, hazy peak. Somewhere out there, Riftan was fighting a far more perilous battle. The mere thought tore her heart to pieces.

She instinctively touched the coin at her neck. It was hard to believe that barely a month had passed since their parting. It felt like decades. As her resolve wavered, Maxi whirled around, a sudden, fierce desire to join him flaring within her.

A second later, she remembered her promise. She had to honor it this time.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she mumbled a plea into the air, "I shall fight my battle here, so please, return to me in one piece."

With a light kiss on the coin, Maxi stepped back from the battleman's edge and descended the stairs.

The mages worked feverishly to craft more golems. But their efforts were cut short when one of the northeastern golems crumbled into dust, allowing the monsters to advance on the city yet again.

"To your stations! Mages, summon shields!"

At Agnes's command, the soldiers resting around the campfires promptly climbed the ladders to the battlement.

Maxi followed them soon after. Despite the mages who had arrived first being quick to cast shields, hundreds of monsters had still managed to get close to the wall.

"Get the flaming oil! Now!" Anette's gruff voice carried over the din.

After frantically looking about, Maxi sprang into action when she saw skeletons scaling the wall. Soldiers bashed hammers into skulls as the monsters tried to climb over the battlement, but the horde kept coming.

Maxi summoned a wind, sending the monsters that had been clinging to the wall like barnacles tumbling onto the moat. Despite this, some still managed to make it over. She staggered back as a skeleton advanced on her, its bones rattling.

With a whistling of air, something flew in front of her and smashed the skeleton soldier to pieces.

"Stay back, my lady!" Gabel cried.

Having beat back the undead monster with a single strike, the young knight crushed the still rattling yellow skull under foot. Without hesitating, he used his crossguard to crush the next skeleton that rose over the battlement.

"Focus! Hold your positions!" he bellowed to the soldiers huddled together. "Don't leave any gaps for them to get in!"

Soldiers immediately spread out and raised their hammers and iron maces against the incoming horde with renewed ferocity.

After watching the scene from the rear, Maxi raced to the top of the turret. Thanks to the mages' barriers, a large portion of the monster army was held at bay on their side of the field. Once they dealt with any that managed to bypass the golems, the mages would be able to replace the fallen one.

Soon, cauldrons brimming with flaming oil were carried up the ramparts, and Maxi promptly came down from the turret to help transport them. Raging flames soon cascaded along the walls, and a golden river of fire surged from the bottom of the moat.

Soldiers erupted into cheers at the sea of bones charred by the blaze. They had overcome yet another crisis.

But another golem will soon fall.

Maxi bit her lip as she glanced at the giants that had already stopped moving. While the newer golems would last a few more days, the original four were likely running low on mana. They had to replace them before they crumbled into dust.

Maxi convened the mages as fast as she could.

"W-We are running out of time. We must replace the golems as quickly as possible."

"But..it's too dangerous to leave the city right now," Sidina said cautiously. "Master Calto said he can cast his shield in three days. Should we not wait until then?"

Maxi shook her head. "The other golems will stop working soon. I doubt they will last another two days, let alone three."

"If we maintained barriers like we did today-"

"Max is right," Anette chimed in. "It's too risky. We need to replace the golems without delay. But this time, we should have the mages leave the city in pairs: one to secure the golem and another to cast a shield. The dragonians have seen how we summon them, so they will definitely try to thwart us."

After some discussion, the mages agreed to take on roles suited to their individual abilities. Since Maxi, Anette, Alec, and Dean understood the rune best, they were naturally selected to secure the golems figures. Sidina, Caim, Geoffrey, and Albern, the only mage of Kabala capable of powerful defensive magic, were chosen to accompany them.

With the plan in place, the mages went their separate ways. While the others dispersed north and east, Maxi made her way to the west gate with Sidina. Soon, they were joined by Gabel, Garrow, Princess Agnes, and about twenty of her knights.

Seeing them gathered, Maxi looked troubled. "M-Moving in such numbers will attract too much attention."

"That would still be true for a smaller group, my lady," Gabel said firmly. "We cannot afford to be ambushed like last time. You must allow high-ranking knights to escort you."

For a moment, all Maxi could do was regard him with a flustered expression. Her gaze flickered to Princess Agnes, who tapped the sword strapped to her waist.

"I am going with you this time, so you have nothing to worry about," said the princess. "As both mage and warrior, I am more than capable."

With that, she drew her silver helmet over her head.

Maxi's stomach twisted into knots at the burden of having a royal princess serve as her escort, but it was clear nothing she said would deter them.

Holding back a sigh, Maxi gazed past the portcullis onto the field, now shrouded in darkness. A golem knelt in the snow. Beside it rose one of the mages' towering barriers. The sight reassured Maxi; at least they did not have to worry about being swarmed the moment they stepped out of the gate.

As she surreptitiously let go of her breath, a faint flash lit up the sky. Startled, Maxi's head jerked up. Deep rumbles filled the air. Soon after, a violent snowstorm erupted.

There were screams from all around. Cargo from the battlements hurdled down, sending wooden bowls, cups, arrows, and broken flagpoles flying. A tent pitched precariously behind the wall leaned as if it would collapse.

Pressed against the wall to avoid the falling debris, Maxi looked up. Snow poured from the blanket of dark clouds above.

A chill ran down her spine. this was not a natural phenomenon at all - it was magic. And the only being in the world capable of controlling the weather was the dragon.

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