Ed smirked as Ruli shouted back at him before throwing himself into the fight. He’s got pluck in spades, this one. Starting to see more why Kire is taken by him. He couldn’t dwell on this a second longer, though, as he rejoined the fight, intending to head to Narda’s location and close the gap between them. The more monsters they killed, the better they were able to see their weaknesses. Ed counted in his head as they hacked and slashed at a nearby doll, counted how many times they pierced the abomination’s flesh, counted how long it took before the gem on its chest shone.
“Ed!” Narda called out, “the gems! Aim for them before—”
“—yeah, got it!” Ed yelled back, piercing a monster’s head while two soldiers hacked at the gem on its chest. “Kire’s alive!”
The news brought immense relief to the giantess, he knew, and her movements showed it.
Kill quickly, and disarm the gem, Ed thought, then shouting this command down to the rest. Faster. Fewer strokes. Narda, likewise, relayed similar instructions down the line. The air reeked of blood, sweat, guts, and burnt flesh, but they forced it out of their minds, focused on beating back the dolls as quickly as they could. Ruli, though not as experienced on the field, was still formidable and quick on his feet. Many of the monsters seemed to be sniffing him out, but he was holding his own even then, drawing them away from the Wyvern forces. Ed didn’t dare to hope, but he could swear that the sounds of explosions and inhuman monster bellows were quieting down.
He pushed the observation aside; they wouldn’t stop until they’d broke through the entire unit of dolls. Come on, Wyvern, faster! Kill quickly, disarm the gem. His time with the elves helped; he moved with a fluidity that enhanced his already expert skill with the blade. Press on, come on!
From the right flank rose a cry, a fierce yell from Narda and her soldiers as they felled the last of the monsters plaguing their side of the field. “To me!” Ed yelled, right before getting knocked off his horse. A monster had gotten hold of his steed in its desperation, and Ed rolled instinctively out of the way. He saw the flash of the gem before he felt a hand yank him away bodily. Narda had reached him in time and pulled him back before shielding him from the blast. “Nard!”
The giantess roared, hunched over him, the back of her armor smoking. “Fuck, that hurts,” she cursed, her body shaking. Ed got up from under her and made to pull her back, but she grunted, shaking her head. “I’m fine. We press on.”
“Nard, don’t—”
“I’ll live,” she stressed, shaking her head slowly. “We’ve almost put down the monsters.” Though shaken, she did smirk at Ed with a wink before straightening up. Ed smirked back, touched Narda’s arm briefly, before turning to his soldiers again. No more monsters, not on their side of the fight at least. “Ruli! Where are you? We’re rejoining the battalions up front! Ruli!” Ed shouted in Elvish. Narda turned sharply.
“Ruli’s here?”
Ed merely shrugged with a grunt.
No longer hindered by the monsters, Ed and Narda’s combined forces advanced to flank the enemy ahead as they tried to retreat from the Wyvern army. Seeing their fellows rejoin, the other Wyvern battalions attacked with renewed vigor. With Ed and Narda coordinating the attack, they maneuvered their forces to cut off the enemy at the pass ahead. Ed could see Narda was still hurting, but the giantess had a fire in her eyes; they were so close, and she knew it.
They heard a distant horn; both Ed and Narda turned at the sound of it, as it blasted three long notes and two short ones. Another horn answered, the order of the blasts reversed.
“The splinter,” Narda grinned savagely. Ed grinned, too.
“Nick of time.”
They knew what the signal meant; while the majority of their army fought the bigger battle here on the field, they had sent another force, a more covert unit, to secure the enemies’ retreat and back them into a corner. If their whole battle plan went according to plan, as it now finally did after the Gemini dolls had been defeated, the splinter group would cut off the enemy lords from the rest of their reinforcements.
Soon, the repercussions of this reverberated throughout the enemy lines. Thus routed, they scattered before the Wyvern army, with lesser lords either trying to break off in retreat, or, when cornered, throwing down their swords in surrender. When it became clear that the day was theirs, Ed quietly, but very firmly, told the giantess to seek a healer.
“Absolutely not,” Narda said, though by this time she was gritting her teeth with each step and breath she took. “Alright—maybe.”
“Ruli,” Ed called, asking the nearby soldiers if they’d spotted a man of his description, or to pass the name along until he’s found. When they’d finally seen each other, Ed waved him over.
“I wasn’t expecting you,” Narda greeted with a grin.
“I’m going to handle things here,” Ed explained. “But Kire and Elva would perhaps need to be given a report. I half-suspect if she goes any longer without hearing word about any of us, Kire would Jump through a portal and return.”
