Surprise Battle
Frontier guard captain Edgar was a great fighter, but he wasn't a great commander.
That title fell to Dan.
The moment battering began, and Sasha created the enclosure, he ordered the archers to go up the snowy wall surrounding the gate.
It will be like shooting down at pigs in a hunting hole.
However, he has no hope he could maintain it for long.
Reports have come from the top of the barrier. Sharp eyed guards of the frontier reported the warband that attacked them had all the vicious and elite.
Till now, they have spotted bone armor, which they knew beyond doubt is bone creeper. There was an owl circling over Castle one, so they know Ghost is here, as well as reaper, for his telltale blue fabric with glow stones is spotted.
Then there's the ever so clear bronze armor of the thors and the seal leather suit of the slimes.
The door is being battered.
The dragon has returned to hunt in waters of the mountain kingdom, and beyond towards the south.
Even if it were to fly back, it will not be here any time soon.
This is the longest Sasha has ever flown.
This is also the first time she understood - it is not her power with ice or magic of her own that has grown.
It is that the Barrier is a special magical zone.
Thus, the ice magic which could barely make a rose and a dagger outside could make an entire castle in the barrier.
As long as she moves from the barrier, she is no different from what she was before.
'A weak woman with no talent for fighting of any kind ' …
While Sasha was on a journey to find her dragon, Valerie picked up her body, and started running towards the royal tower.
After all, the place is isolated, and both the wolves are guarding it.
Sasha found her wolf Princess, but the wolf has spent too long in the wild.
It did not like the confines of the castle walls. So, though the wolf came by some times, it never spent long in the castle one.
On the contrary, Sunshine and phantom both followed Sasha like guardians.
Even now, Sunshine is beside her, while the phantom is fighting beside Dan.
One of the frontier guards with a scar running perpendicularly on his face stood in the path of Valerie.
His intent is obvious. The lecherous grin, and the sharp dagger in his hand said it all.
He was sure he was about to die any way, and he would rather have a woman and die than die miserably fighting Snorcs.
Before Valerie could even open her mouth, sunshine was on the man.
The wolf growled in his face. The man, who was ever so brave in the presence of two women, pissed himself in fright.
Valerie kicked him the crotch before moving on.
Scum like this is better off dead in her opinion.
The Castle burned with fervor of a new battle.
If not for Dan, Guards would have turned on Snorcs living in the castle, and both would have started killing each other in fright.
If nothing else, the Winterchild family always seems to be the calmest in any crisis, including Sasha Winterchild.
Sasha woke up halfway enroute to her quarters. She has seen Moon snow. Moon Snow is engaged in a fierce battle against some kind of sea creature. It looked like a moment of distraction would lead to the death of the dragon.
Moreover, Moon snow was not in the waters of the mountain kingdom as she guessed, but near the seven fires of Valhalla.
There is no way the dragon could return from that far just to deal with the battle on the south side.
This battle, I would have to resolve on my own. Sasha thought.
However, there is not a single card in her hand that could resolve this fight.
She helped create a snow bulwark against the weak gate, but that would not hold too long when Snorc army storms in.
The Frontier guards remaining on the ground are only newbies, they will not be able to hold long enough against veteran warriors of Snorcs.
The watchmen could go down, but an elevator could only carry a certain number of people. As soon as they come down, they would be surrounded and killed. No matter how much skill you boast, one could not win against the numbers.
There is .. There is nothing she could do !
Once more, she is reduced to a weak girl sitting in a castle while men she loved died fighting for her safety.
Damn !
Damn it all ! Sasha cursed furiously, as tears of anger welled in her eyes.
She wished for power.
Power to protect herself, power to protect her loved ones.
Is that so wrong to ask?
The tears fell more and more faster. Valerie put her in the room with sunshine, and left already, to stand guard against the door.
Sunshine walked to her, and butted it's gigantic head into Sasha, whining as it licked at Sasha's tears.
Once upon a time, Princess used to do this every time Sasha felt sad.
" I am sorry, Sunshine. All I ever want is to be useful and praised for my good deeds, but I always seem to be wrong." Sasha said pitifully, as she hugged Sunshine's neck.
Her eyes fell on the wooden walls of the room she is staying in, and her mind started working once more.
Wait!
There's not nothing she could do.
She … she could manipulate ice well within the barrier.
Sure, she could not bring the warriors into Castle one is a stone castle and it was built in a way not even an ant could enter, but she could bring the warriors down into the courtyard.
She built one bulwark, she could build more.
She could build a maze for the Snorc warriors to storm into, and even greenhorns do not find it hard to pour down burning Tar!
She decided.
That is what she would do.
She would let the frontier guard stand on pedestals, and she could manipulate ice to make it hard for Snorc warriors to move on.
She would see which warrior is ever so capable of flying.
If nothing else, she is exceptional at creating shapes, for that is the first thing one learns when they learn embroidery.
Till now, she has kept displaying her full strength in front of people, for she was afraid of being treated like a freak.
Sure, she repaired the wall for more than a mile, but it's a tale no one believes in the frontier guard. The few men who told tales of her ice manipulation were treated as fools.
Moreover, despite her creating the squeaky clean walls, the ice and snow storms of the frontier already riddled the wall full of rough pebbles, which made it look not that different from before.
Sasha walked out into the balcony.
It's right on time too, for the bulwark is about to be breached.
All of a sudden, the snow bulwark in front of the gate exploded in ice spear flowers on snorc side.
More than one warrior fell down because of the ice spears.
In the free court yard, ice stairs started rising leading to ice stages. It's even more so, on the side of the wall. More and more ice gathered, as it made stairs to the walls.
Dan is the first one to notice the moving ice.
By the time Sasha created the second pedestal, he grasped the idea she was aiming for.
She intended to create an arena where Snorc warriors will rush into, while the Frontier guard will be distributed on the pedestals.
Ice arrows appeared on every pedestal.
" Archers, To the stairs." Dan screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Archers, To the stairs." The captains next to him shouted, while all the archers ran with their arrows to the stairs on the wall, and stairs leading up to icy pedestals.
"Tar to the bulwarks. " Dan gave the next order, even as he swung his blade at the warriors trying to climb on top of dead bodies stuck on a bulwark in front of the south side gate.
Ice formed up inside castle wall, covering all entrances to the stairways and walk ways, having only murder holes.
" Retreat ! TO BULWARKS !" Dan screamed his last command, as it looked like the Snorc warriors who broke the gate could climb over the bulwark Sasha made in front of the gate.
The moment the last Frontier guard's feet left the bulwark, the bulwark collapsed as if it's made of sand.
The Snorcs fell on top of each other like a pile of crabs trying to climb over each other, while the raging Snorc army who flooded into the yard faced an empty yard, covered with ice on all sides.
"Nock!" Dan Screamed.
The Snorcs looked up.
" Draw !" he screamed next.
Their expressions changed. After all, they were sitting ducks.
" Release! " Dan commanded.
Every arrow released found its way into the body of a Snorc warrior.