Moon remounted, settling into position and gripping the reins firmly. His staff materialised in his free hand, fire already gathering at its tip as he prepared Explosive Flame.

Moon took one last look at the gap in the siege lines—approximately two hundred meters of exposed ground between their current position and the relative safety of the wall's defensive zone.

He had to cover two hundred meters filled with level fifteen to twenty beasts with a mount that couldn't defend itself.

"On my signal," Moon murmured, channelling mana. "We go fast. Don't stop for anything. I will try to protect you."

Mirage's muscles tensed beneath him, ready.

Moon raised his staff and released three Explosive Flames in rapid succession toward the cluster of beasts blocking their path.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Humans and beasts in the vicinity all turned toward Moon and his charging horse. The explosions had announced their presence to everyone within a hundred-meter radius, marking him as a target.

The detonations carved a temporary opening, scattering creatures and creating momentary chaos in the enemy lines.

"Now!"

Mirage exploded forward at full speed, charging directly into the gap Moon had created. The horse's legs pumped with blood, hooves thundering against packed earth as they committed to the two-hundred-meter sprint toward the walls.

Moon immediately began casting more spells when, suddenly, a wolf-like beast lunged from the left, jaws wide and aiming for Mirage's exposed flank.

Moon sent a compressed wind blade that caught the creature mid-leap, slicing clean through its torso. The beast's momentum carried its corpse past them, crashing into the dirt behind.

[You have killed a level 16 Wolf.]

[You have gained 5 Lives.]

Three bears charged from directly ahead, blocking their path with massive bodies.

Earth erupted from the ground beneath the centre bear, stone spikes impaling its legs and stopping its charge instantly. Moon followed with fire—an Explosive Flame that detonated against the trapped creature's face, killing it and forcing the other two bears to scatter sideways.

[You have killed a level 17 Forest Bear.]

[You have gained 25 Lives.]

Mirage thundered past the opening, but they had only thirty meters.

A human attacker—one of the mercenaries in mismatched armour—launched a fireball toward them from elevated ground.

Moon countered with water, creating a shield that absorbed the flames and turned them to harmless steam. He immediately retaliated with his own Explosive Flame, forcing the enemy mage to dive for cover rather than follow up.

Boom!

Although the spell didn't kill the mercenary, it still injured him.

More beasts closed in from both sides now, drawn by the commotion. A massive boar charged from the right, its tusks lowered to gore either horse or rider.

Moon slammed his staff toward the ground. An earth wall erupted between them and the boar, thick enough to stop the charge. The creature crashed into stone with bone-breaking force, stunned but not dead.

Moon didn't bother finishing the beast; he needed to get to safety immediately. Mirage's life was still in danger.

SLASH!

Claws glided across Mirage's side without warning. A panther-like creature had attacked from a blind angle, its strike drawing a deep gash that immediately gushed blood.

NEIGH!

Mirage screamed in pain, his legs buckling momentarily. The horse moved erratically, trying to ease the overwhelming agony that flooded through his body.

Moon's expression darkened; the attack had landed because he was occupied with other beasts. "Come on, Mirage! Hang on, just a little more, and we'll reach safety!"

It took the horse several precious seconds to regain composure, seemingly motivated by Moon's voice but still clearly suffering. His gait became uneven, favouring the injured side.

As Mirage continued, Moon didn't forget to deal with the panther that had wounded his companion. He sent a powerful combined fire-wind attack that caught the beast as it prepared to strike again, killing it instantly.

[You have killed a level 15 Panther.]

[You have gained 5 Lives.]

They were approaching the densest part of the siege now, where the main assault concentrated against Ironpeak's defences. Dozens of beasts and human attackers filled the space between Moon's position and safety.

'We're not going to make it through this without taking serious damage.'

At the front line, one of the veterans from Ironpeak Base saw what was happening as he fought off a large level 21 bear, alone.

Clash!

"Help the young man approaching with his horse! He's being overwhelmed by the swarm of beasts!" he shouted, swinging his sword to kill the beast before him. "Clear a path!"

Others immediately responded, pressing their attacks harder to draw the beast's attention away from Moon's position, trying to create breathing room.

But in the midst of the beast horde and unknown awakeners, Moon found himself in a troublesome predicament. After the injury, Mirage wasn't the same. His speed had slowed dramatically, and blood loss was weakening him further with every stride.

Moon could see and hear the reinforcements trying to reach him, but it wouldn't be enough. Mirage would be dead before they arrived.

He needed a different approach.

Moon needed to reduce visibility, making Mirage a difficult target to hit.

Water gathered in both hands. He released it in a wide spray around them, then immediately followed with fire.

Mist exploded outward in a dense cloud, engulfing Moon, Mirage and those around them completely. The fog spread rapidly, carried by wind manipulation that Moon directed to fit his need.

Visibility dropped to almost nothing within seconds. Beasts and humans alike hesitated, unable to track their target through the sudden obscurement that filled the immediate vicinity.

"Straight ahead!" Moon commanded, trusting Mirage's instincts to maintain direction even through the blinding conditions. They charged through the cloud of mist.

Moon heard confused roars and shouts around them, sensed movement through heat signatures detected by his copied Heat Sense skill, but the mist was working.

Attacks flew wild, missing them by meters as enemies struck at their constantly moving shadows and phantoms.

A lucky spear thrust emerged from the fog, aimed directly at Moon's chest. He deflected it with his staff at the last instant, the weapon scraping across reinforced wood instead of finding flesh.

Moon kept the mist thick through continuous water and wind manipulation, spending mana freely because the enemy wind users were trying to get rid of the mist.

When they were fifty meters away, Mirage stumbled badly, his breathing laboured and ragged. Blood continued flowing from the gash on his side, leaving a clear trail despite the obscuring fog.

"Just a bit further, buddy. You can do this."

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

A dozen arrows flew through the mist, fired blindly in their general direction.

Most missed, whilst one grazed Moon's shoulder, tearing through his cloak but deflected by Silver Skin before it could penetrate deeply. Another struck Mirage's hindquarters, embedding in muscle. The horse squealed again from the pain, but somehow kept running on pure determination.

Twenty meters.

The wall loomed ahead through the thinning mist. Moon could see defenders now, awakeners positioned along the ramparts providing covering fire for his approach.

"Almost there!"

A final beast lunged from the fog—a level twenty bear that had tracked them despite the obscurement. Its massive paw swung toward Mirage's head, a killing blow that could easily crush the horse's skull.

NOO!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.