B4 Chapter 47: Dust in the Wind

Quintus and his centurions shouted orders as the Third Legion pushed back toward the forest. Their steps were fueled by desperation and grim understanding. They'd all seen what that red sand could do. The idea that it would be used against the elves and their completely wooden equipment... The outlook was grim.

"Get word to Sylendor at any cost. Have him assemble as much of the Second Legion as he can. If they have any armor and weaponry that's not made of wood, all the better."

His aquilifer saluted and closed his eyes, trusting the men around him as he marched blind. The Legions had methods of communicating between one another, thankfully, although they weren't nearly as efficient as communicating within a Legion. But this was an emergency if he'd ever seen one. Hopefully there were enough of them around to mass on such short notice.

[Warpath] hastened their steps toward the conflict, allowing them to keep up with the enemy, but not close the distance. The men simply hadn't had enough time or training to reach the speeds that the First Legion could attain. Worse, the enemy remained underground, their worms swimming through the sand like fish and the ants tunneling too far below to reach. That meant that the Legionnaires weren't able to easily harry them as they traveled. Some of the earthshapers and mages were able to send attacks at the slower ones who remained close to the surface, but even that didn't last. The enemy simply dove deeper.

"Claude!" Quintus shouted. "Tell me you have another glass spell in your pocket or something."

"Nope! Nothing that'll take them all out. Don't have the mana for it anyway."

The old man marched alongside the others, each step carrying him across the sand as though flying. His fingers pointed to spots in the sand below, sending bolts of something into it. With each one, Quintus felt a pinprick of enemy presence beneath be snuffed out. But he also felt a slight twinge in his skull.

Quintus grimaced. They'd rationed their mana for one encounter and made it through without sending needles into every Legionnaires' skull. But they didn't have anywhere near enough for a second. The mages would be far more limited in what they could do this time around. It was all precision strikes and small-scale magic from here.

The Legion's mana pool had always seemed just as endless as their stamina. But between the lack of investment in wisdom and their large-scale spells, it so rarely felt like enough. Claude was able to do incredible things with their mana, but since his own skill levels had reset, his efficiency of mana use had taken a nosedive. It would get better. But in the meantime, Quintus would need to ask about other solutions to ensure this problem didn't happen again.

He envisioned the worms swimming beneath them, gullets full of red sand. The remaining ants skittering along behind them. The commander he'd allowed to live directing them all in one devastating assault.

It was clear that this had been planned for a while now. If anything, Quintus and his men's attack had blunted the worst of it. They had managed to dispatch a huge chunk of the enemy's forces before they could mobilize. But that didn't mean it would be easy to defend against by any means. Especially if they didn't manage to get between the attackers and the elves.

A smudge of green slowly came into view over the horizon. The Third Legion pushed themselves harder, sand flying in their wake as they hastened toward their allies. [Tactician's Awareness] and their scouts kept Quintus appraised of where the enemy were headed, and he shouted orders to adjust their course accordingly. Trees began to gain definition as they started to close in on the enemy, mages and earthshapers still spearing the ground to injure whatever enemies they could.

They almost made it in time.

Worms erupted from the ground a few hundred feet ahead. All men in range immediately opened fire, hammering them with stones, bullets, spells, and anything else they could possibly throw. Quintus saw the elves at the border draw bows, sending up volleys of arrows glowing green and made of the wind itself. The projectiles slammed into their fleshy bodies, carving fresh wounds into the sandy exteriors before they even had time to fully emerge.

Yet the first wave of worms simply stretched skyward, remaining in place. They formed a fleshy wall of sand and skin as a second wave erupted in front of them. It was this second wave that began spewing streams and earthen containers of red sand at the forest ahead.

The red grains glittered in the sun, filling the air like a cloud of rusty smoke. Half of the elves' projectiles simply disappeared on contact. The effect on the forest itself was immediate. Trees withered and died, crumbling in place like so much powder. Elves were forced to abandon their posts as their footing abruptly disappeared, leaving them without defenses or even a place to hide. Quintus saw a few who weren't quite fast enough even lose chunks of their armor.

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In the blink of an eye, an entire swath of the forest was simply gone, reclaimed by the desert. But it didn't end there. The desiccation and the sand itself continued to spread, eating through the forest like a ravenous plague.

Quintus hastened to the front of the formation, cutting through the wall of dying worms to get at the real threat. His windblade cut through flesh until it met a strange amount of resistance. Stone. The worms' insides were filled with solid stone.

He growled in frustration and intensified his assault. [Rend] and [Tear] carved through the literal wall of worms with ruthless efficiency even as he called to the others.

"Earthshapers! Target the stone inside the worms!"

The men understood. Spikes of solid rock erupted from within the worms, skewering them from within. The towering monsters groaned and fell, but the Legionnaires further manipulated the stone to keep them from crushing any allies in death.

Thankfully, the elves weren't entirely helpless. The swath of destruction revealed a sizeable contingent of Second Legionnaires massing within, already working to defend against the foe. Gales of wind and spouts of water assaulted the cloud of sand, cutting through it to clear the air. But there was simply too much. Worse, the ants managed to catch up and added their own streams of red sand to the mix, further intensifying the destruction.

The Third Legion tore through the worms and slammed into the enemy's rear. The geysers of red sand cut off abruptly as Quintus and his men cut into their bodies. Clouds of rust-colored dust filled the air as the remaining sand fountained in their faces, and Quintus was forced to pull back slightly lest his windblade be destroyed in the attack.

He cast his attention around the battlefield for the commander. They had to be around here somewhere. Even if they'd been hiding before, now that the battle was in progress, surely they'd emerged to direct things. If he could kill them...

Quintus felt, then saw another worm emerge from the ground nearby. The humanoid beast emerged from its mouth, fur covered in spit and whatever other fluids were inside one of those worms. Then, it pointed toward the forest with its staff and shouted something.

Another kind of creature began spewing forth from the worm's mouth. Lizards with red and yellow striped bodies, a type that Quintus had seen more than once during their time here.

His heart dropped.

"All centuries! Kill those lizards!"

But it was too late. The lizards opened their mouths and began spewing fire at the remnants of the desiccated forest. Given the state it was in, it didn't take much for it to catch.

The cloud of dry sawdust exploded. Quintus and his Legionnaires weren't thrown off their feet by the blast, thanks to [Sure Footing]. But that only ensured they got a face full of fire and heat.

Quintus immediately called for medics as the smell of burnt hair and singed flesh filled the air. His constitution meant he'd be able to keep fighting, and so would any veterans. But the newer Legionnaires...

The forest was left in utter shambles. The elves lay splayed out across the ground, struggling to regain their feet. The white and brown of powdered wood was replaced with smoke and flame. Every tree in view was on fire, and it showed no sign of slowing.

The enemy was already pressing forward. What worms, lizards, and ants hadn't been annihilated by the blast surged forward, cutting deeper into the trees to spread more destruction.

He locked eyes with the enemy commander. In its golden-eyed gaze was only grim determination. This wasn't just an attack, he realized. This creature realized that it was doomed from the start. It just wanted to deal as much damage as it could.

"Forward!" Quintus shouted. Already more of the forest was burning. The elves that had recovered sprayed water wherever they could to mitigate the damage while others sang, maneuvering the trees away from the flames and red sand.

The elven city of Flos Aeternus was deeper inside the forest, he knew. It was usually well hidden by the magic of the forest, but if the forest was destroyed... He had no idea if those protections would persist.

"Sir," the aquilifer shouted above the din. "We've been ordered to return immediately. We are needed at the northern border."

Quintus scowled. "We're in the middle of something, here."

"Sir... the orders are from the emperor himself."

Quintus went cold. He looked at the beasts continuing to carve deeper into the forest. The elves continued to assault them, but couldn't do nearly enough to stall their advance. Not without being able to leverage their wooden bows, arrows, and shields.

There was no way they would win.

"Relay our situation to the emperor." Quintus commanded. "Inform him that we will be delayed."

The aquilifer's face tightened, but he nodded. Quintus understood. He'd already pressed his luck by extending their campaign this long. Disobeying orders from the emperor himself could well be construed as treason.

Yet he couldn't simply leave this be. The Great Ruthin Forest was part of the empire as well. He was preventing an invasion of his own, one that he was actually positioned to do something about. Given the Third Legion's speed, he wasn't certain they'd reach the northern border in time to be of use anyway. He had to deal with this first---whatever the consequences may be.

And...

An image of the elven city in flamed filled his mind---no, not just the city. The massive tree that held their archives. And the one who lived inside, bound to the tree itself.

"Take out the enemy at all costs!" Quintus shouted. "Don't let them reach the city!"

The men continued to hurry as fast as they could, bombarding the enemy the whole time. Flames and heat buffeted them as they carved through the ants and worms. He would take responsibility for his insubordination. He just hoped that this was as sound a tactical decision as he thought it was.