Both armies unleashed their warcries, the Ossari charging towards the wall while the Veilstriders sent a haphazard array of skills down towards them.

  Hyrum’s body swelled as the threw the heavy boulder he’d been aimlessly tossing like a cannonball, the force sending an axe wielder tumbling back. More Ossari tripped on their fallen companion, creating a small pile of bodies that became the target of an even larger boulder the size of a 12-seater van. Harvey looked at the man in amazement, wondering how a feat of strength like that was even possible.

  The archer, Emily, shot an arrow that rooted into the soil before bursting into a tangle of thorny vines that lunged for the closest warriors like a hungry octopus. Without any flesh to rend, they had no chance of seriously wounding the warriors, but it did slow them down enough to make them easy targets for the less-experienced Veilstriders.

  Not wanting to be outdone, Harvey used Echo Forge to conjure wildfire charges in each hand. This would be his first time testing the skill in combat, and he winced when he felt the high cost of conjuring the metal baseballs and their arrays from thin air. It wasn’t overbearing, but he couldn’t afford to waste a drop in a battle like this.

  Picking out two Ossari conjuring snowballs in their hands, he threw his charges towards their chest. The first missed wildly, pinging off the tree trunk beside the ice mage before falling to the ground harmlessly, but the second managed to knock the Ossari off balance enough to drop the ice grenades at its feet. Large blocks of ice sprang up to cover the lower half of its body, rooting it to the floor. A ruthless gleam appeared in his eyes as his orb exploded with a burst of wildfire. Tattered robes ignited in an instant, going up in smoke as the heavier blue robes beneath also began to burn. He spared a moment to watch the flaming skeleton writhe under the confines of their own skill before activating the second wildfire charge. A dozen more flew into the forest, igniting the trees all around the Hell Hotel. Julian and John would probably have a stroke if they saw him, but he wanted the whole forest to burn. Destroying it would remove the army’s cover and force them to charge the walls instead of safely shooting skills from afar.

  Charge they did, with axes, swords, and hammers all pounding against the reinforced metal wall. Harvey smiled when the first blast of retaliatory lightning shot back at a skeleton, sending him staggering backwards as his sword flew from his hands. Similar bursts erupted all over the wall, trapping the Ossari between the rapidly spreading wildfire and a sea of lightning.

  To his left, a ghostly form whizzed past him, nearly causing him to fall off the ladder again as he strained to follow its trajectory. An archer with a bow made of bone and sinew appeared in the midst of the soldiers below, an arrow trained at the back of an unsuspecting Veilstrider’s head. Before he could release the string, a second arrow struck the arm holding the bow, knocking it off target. Its ambush unsuccessful, the archer was swarmed by five soldiers who pummeled the archer before it could ready a second shot.

  “Good job!” he shouted, but his relief was short-lived. A dozen more used similar movement skills to leap over the wall and cause chaos in their ranks. A swordsman appeared atop a watchtower, his black metal blade already cutting through the air towards an archer's neck. More archers appeared a hundred feet behind them, shooting a volley of arrows in their backs. Harvey desperately channelled essence into Innovator’s Arsenal, creating a large spectral projection of his shield to intercept some of the arrows. It held steady, but had only managed to catch half of the incoming attacks aimed at the army below. Buttercup had blocked two more with bolts shot from his antlers, but three Veilstriders who were unlucky enough to not be wearing plate armor looked down to find arrows sprouting from their necks.

  “No!” he despaired, stepping down the ladder to rush towards the closest injured soldier.

  “Focus on the wall!” Hannah shouted, I’m down here for a reason. He watched her bow begin to hum as she rapidly built momentum, her arrows quickly growing strong enough to pierce through the incredibly sturdy bones. Indecision gnawed at him, and he chose to compromise by filling three orbs of Inkbound Ordnance with healing ink and tossing them at the feet of the injured. His essence agitated the vibrant life radiating from the ink within, turning it into a cloud of dense mist that soothed everyone who felt it. The effect was pretty weak, but it was enough to stop the screaming while more skilled healers moved to assist.

  Even with his attempt, Veilstriders were dying every second. Seeing the carnage made his heart bleed, and he turned his rage toward the army approaching beneath. Finding breaking down the wall ineffective, the Ossari began trying to climb up the side with the help of their brethren below. At around 15 feet tall, even superhuman strength wasn’t enough for most to leap right over the top without a movement skill, but a few could reach high enough to grab the lip and pull themselves over. Harvey found himself face to face with one such skeleton, but a quick swing with Aftershock sent him tumbling back to the ground. Forgefire appeared in his hands the next second, and he threw the ball down at the skeleton’s head while he was still on his back.

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  Part of him wanted to jump down and finish the job, but he stopped himself before he did something stupid. Until the wall was breached, he needed to make the most of it. Scanning the forest, he searched for more casters to disrupt. It was funny, seeing snowballs fly towards them, like it was an after-school snowball fight instead of a war. Their innocuous appearance was what made them so deadly. Most chose to ignore the attacks, only to find themselves entombed the second they were hit. The added weight made many tumble down the ladders, and one watchtower had been completely covered. The wood creaked ominously as it couldn’t bear the added weight, and a loud snap drew his attention. The thick trunk supporting the platform 6 soldiers were shooting from cracked, raining splinters on the people below. A second followed shortly after, and the entire tower fell into the wall. The 6 Veilstriders raining death from above now found themselves surrounded by Ossari, blades, axes, and arrows flying towards them before the rubble settled.

  Harvey threw one of his extra arc charges into the midst of their attackers, hoping to slow them down enough for the Veilstriders to get their bearings. It wasn’t enough. But a steady stream of notifications proved he was taking as many lives as they lost, so he kept going. Fireballs were launched at any ice mage he saw rearing up to attack, but he couldn’t stop the barrage alone.

  “Shoot the robed ones!” He shouted, unsure if anyone heard him over the commotion. Seeing the success of bringing down the watchtower, the Ossari mages had changed targets. More and more ice attached itself to the watchtowers, sending two more tumbling down before the rest were all evacuated. A few refused to leave, using every ounce of essence they had to keep shooting skills until a suffocating block of ice enveloped their heads.

  Harvey watched a man desperately try to break the ice covering his head. Pulling a knife from a slipsack, he stabbed over and over, chipping away as he choked. So focused on carving an airway, he accidentally tumbled over the railing, falling 20 feet to the ground before landing right on his head. The fall managed to finally break the ice… and his neck. Harvey watched the man spasm on the ground, only to have an Ossari wearing a pale blue robe stride over. A frozen spear materialized in her hands, and she laughed as she stabbed it into his chest. It pierced right through his leather armor and disappeared, leaving a gaping hole in his chest that no healing orb could fix.

  So, Harvey poured a few drops of pure lightning instead. All the rage and conviction in Harvey’s heart filled the orb as he willed the lightning to suffocate the caster just like she’d done to his friend. For the first time, he felt a subtle drain on his mind as his aura actually infused the ball with his Imprint. He’d tried infusing his legacy into his skills ever since he got the Architect of the Veil’s End, but hadn’t managed to make use of his latest gains so far. Something about his desire to repay savagery with utter annihilation let him connect to the skill, empowering the lightning within to carry out his wishes.

  When the glass orb shattered against her skull, bolts brighter than any he’d ever seen exploded out. They always did their best to find the nearest target, but these were different. Not a single errant flash escaped the Ossari. Every inch of lightning bored into the skull before shooting down the spine. The thanum collar around her neck popped, black smoke replacing the constant stream of aquamarine mist. Like the man she killed, her body began to spasm uncontrollably, leaving her utterly defensless as a large rock caved her head in.

  Turning to the right, he saw Hyrum pull another stone from a slipsack tied around his chest. The man nodded before continuing his assault. An ice shard slamming into his arm brought Harvey back to the battle, and he resumed throwing his lightning Inkbound Ordnance into the crowd, each orb now infused with his Imprint. After feeling the connection once, Harvey could easily replicate the infusion. There was a steady drain on his mind that was different from the exhaustion he felt overusing his weave, but he had no qualms using whatever this new energy was if it meant more Ossari would die.

  More and more ice gathered on the wall and watchtowers above. Their goal in taking down the towers wasn’t just to stop their attacks. The Ossari made sure to weigh them down so they would topple into the wall, damaging it from the inside. Harvey yelped in surprise when the ladder he stood on fell to the ground, suddenly not long enough to reach the sturdy trunks. Landing on his feet, he watched as more and more ice appeared atop the logs.

  “Back up! It’s going down!” he shouted.

  With a groan, the entire section of wall covering his section slowly began falling forward. Dirt flew into the air as the trunks buried deep in the soil were ripped from the ground by the overbearing weight. Ladders fell like dominoes. Veilstriders fell like rain. The battlefield went silent for a moment as both sides found themselves face-to-face with their enemy.

  Their protection was gone, so Harvey stowed away his ink bottle and pulled out his hammer.