Chapter 290: Target Priority
For the next ten minutes, Dominic and Wilkes followed the main group silently, watching for signs that the enemy had changed directions.
Then, they heard them.
"Acolyte, are your troops in order? We attack in the morning, and nothing can go wrong. You know the cost of another failure." A deep voice declared.
"Yes, Grand Elder. We will not fail. Will you be with us for the battle?" A younger man’s voice asked.
"I will be with the war trolls. If I am not there to keep them enthralled, there is a chance they will turn on us the moment they spot a dragonkin." The deep voice declared.
Wilkes turned to Dominic, who was crouched in the underbrush next to him. Dominic shrugged. The man wasn’t wrong. Trolls were loyal, and the Dragon King had allowed them to have entire villages within the country during his reign.
They had been run out by Dagos, and their villages burnt. So, they would only work for a Dagos aligned army under magical compulsion.
However, fully armoured trolls were a fearsome combat force that even the Ogres couldn’t compare to.
"Plan?" Wilkes mouthed silently.
Dominic took out a shoulder fired mortar tube, then wrapped it in cloth, so it didn’t reflect any sun. Then, he removed his armour entirely, and put a hat on under his hood, just to be safe.
Wilkes smirked, and prepared his own mortar for the start of the battle.
"I will go for the troll master. He might have magic, but he’s unlikely to be bulletproof. Once the fight starts, stay at a distance and rely on your rifle. It will be easier to pull the Princess out of trouble that way." Dominic whispered back.
The pair crept close to the battle, and settled into position just as the first of the Ogres noticed the scent of humans.
{Boss, humans.} It announced, though neither Dominic nor Wilkes spoke Ogre.
Instantly the group of monsters was on guard, and Dominic spotted the pair who had been speaking. One old man and one younger man in long coats standing with a group of human prisoners at the edge of the camp.
"Find them and kill them. I have business with the Elder." The younger man declared.
Despite his dismissive tone, his eyes were sharp, watching for any sign of ambush.
They had to wait, Dominic knew. But with twenty Ogres and at least three times that many Hobgoblins headed toward Alexis’ group, things did not look good.
Hopefully, they weren’t shy about using their own artillery and rifles.
For a few tense seconds, they waited. Then, the first explosions rocked the battlefield, and the mages panicked.
"Now." Wilkes insisted.
Both men fired their mortars toward the mages, and Dominic charged forward, firing off Arcane Blasts toward the Elder.
The mages leapt aside, and the mortars exploded against a magical barrier, which formed deep cracks.
The younger mage stood up and laughed as Dominic’s attacks shook the barrier without breaking it.
Then, a round from Wilkes’ rifle punched through the weakened barrier and found a new home in the hapless mage’s forehead.
"Guard! Where are you hiding?" The Elder shouted.
A large troll, near three metres no matter what direction you measured him, stood up out of a pit nearby, and hefted a massive club.
Dominic threw back his hat and hood and roared at the elderly Mage, who screamed in terror and began hurling fireballs wildly in Dominic’s direction.
"The boy is insane." Wilkes muttered to himself as he fired at the Elder.
The bullet caused the barrier to flicker with cracks, but the old man was stronger than the younger one had been, and even the prodigious force of the Ogre Hunting Rifle wasn’t enough to punch through yet.
Dominic charged into the barrier claws first, and the mage was hurled backward, rolling inside a protective bubble.
That was a neat trick, Wilkes thought. Most would try to stay in place, but the Elder had let his barrier assist his retreat as he prepared another spell.
But now Dominic was firing his pistol, and the barrier was collapsing.
The mage stood up with an evil grin as his incantation finished with a grand flourish.
Then the massive club of a war troll smashed down on his head, turning his body to pulp.
Dominic laughed, and the troll chuckled, a deep rumble of joy.
Then, the massive monster simply walked away.
Fifty metres to the north, the battle was in full swing. The explosions had stopped, and the gunfire was now that of pistols, accompanied by the ringing of blades.
Wilkes fired into the back of an Ogre’s head as Dominic changed directions to join the fight.
Out of the corner of his eye, Wilkes saw a black robed figure moving. He spun to fire, but found that it was Sheriff Nate, and further behind him was Billy Bob, properly Baron William now.
Wilkes whistled to get the Baron’s attention, then used hand signals to let the former soldier know that the trolls should not be enemies now that the mage controlling them was dead.
The Baron nodded, but they continued to track the troll, in case there was another threat in the area.
They had been out hunting together today, and had come when they heard gunfire.
His Manor was a few kilometres from here, but the trees often hid game, so they had gone for a longer walk today, hoping to find a larger deer.
Wilkes turned his attention back to the main battle, and saw that Dominic had reached the back line of the monsters.
The dragonkin was smiling as he fired off Arcane Blasts in between every pistol shot.
Only when he needed to reload did the rhythm break.
Wilkes moved, as the battle had brought the enemy directly between him and the Princess’ force. Not safe to shoot anymore.
Alexis shouted orders as the veiled maids moved into defensive formation, holding off the Hobgoblins as the Princess fired her pistol into the crowd. The advantage of firearms had dropped most of the enemies before they had reached sword range.
But it was their first actual battle, and the maids were too nervous to fight properly. The Royal Guard was using defensive magic to block attacks for them, so the girls could fight. But it would take much more than just one fight before they could be called capable bodyguards for the Princess.
The Royal Guards trained for a decade before they ever received an assignment. The girls had one week of training in how to use a sword.
But now they also understood the nature of the assignment.