Wild Wastes 5 -Ch23- (Patreon)

Panting, Vince slumped down to his knees.

Not far off, the last soldier groaned and then stopped breathing on the exhale. The joint where his arm attached to his shoulder continued to pump blood freely, though it began to slow.

Dropping his sword, Vince pulled out his pistol and then released the magazine. It hit the grass inaudibly and laid there.

Setting down the pistol, Vince tore up a chunk of the field to get to the dirt beneath. Pushing aside the turf, he then jammed the magazine into the dirt. He quickly began filling it with all the soil he could. Once it was full, he sat back up.

Elizabeth collapsed into the ground next to him, then rolled to her side. Her scaled underbelly facing him.

“That was a lot of soldiers,” complained the Dragon. She sounded a bit winded as well. “By themselves they wouldn’t have been an issue, but all those enchanted weapons. I’ve never seen so many of them. Almost every one of them had one.”

Vince nodded his head, staring at the pistol next to his knee. He knew he needed to put the magazine back in so it could reload. He had all the other magazines to fill and reload as well.

“Want us gone,” he got out in a huff, finally wrangling enough energy together to move again. Pushing the magazine back into the pistol, he waited a moment, then reset the slide.

Pausing for another second, he then racked it.

Releasing the magazine again, he pushed it into the slot it belonged to in his armor, then pulled another empty out. He began to fill this one with dirt again.

“It’s not like we can’t kill them all, it’s just tiring,” Elizabeth grumped. “They’re not really even a threat, just annoying.”

“They’re a threat for their numbers,” Vince mumbled as he finished with the second magazine. He once more put it into the pistol, pulled it back out, and went to the next. “If they send another wave right now, then we’d have issues. If they don’t, then yeah, not so much a threat.”

“Yes,” agreed Elizabeth who took in a deep breath, then sighed loudly. “Like being drowned in rats. Humans reproduce too quickly, considering how much damage they can do by themselves.”

“Not entirely wrong. Not as populous as rodents, but rodents can’t turn an entire continent into a flaming ruin. Dragons aren’t as bad because, as far as I can tell, you breed much more slowly.”

“Very much an accurate statement. We have to be appeased to be willing to submit to another. That means finding a strong partner. Though what that really means is a bunch of old and experienced male Dragons hunting young and inexperienced partners. The older females end up getting to a point where they no longer can find a partner.”

“What, like Taylor?”

“Exactly like Taylor. Though she never had a partner. She started off strong. Goldie, if you remember her, was like that, too. She felt different though. Not quite like a Dragon but… still a Dragon.”

Vince shrugged his shoulders and then pushed the final magazine back into his pistol. Leaving it there, he then holstered his firearm and picked up his sword. Sheathing it, he then sat back on his ankles, resting.

Looking to the open field in front of them, Vince could see another group of people heading their way. This one was much smaller than the previous, though it looked quite different.

“In one day since we sent back the first group, they’ve sent over a hundred people to their death here,” grumbled Vince. “At that point, what’s seven more?”

Elizabeth grunted, then turned her head to the side. Looking out at the plane as well.

“Ugh, another set. At least they’re a lot fewer in number but… they don’t look like normal soldiers.”

“Most likely not,” agreed Vince. “Magicians. That’s what I’d send at this point. And… now that I’m thinking about it… sending the soldiers first makes a lot more sense.”

Sitting there, Vince realized this would be a great time to test out what little he now knew of Nullifier magic. He hadn’t practiced it at all, but this seemed like a good time for it.

Pulling at the powers within him, Vince tried to apply what he’d learned of magic from Leila. On top of that, he used what Elysia had tried to instruct him in with Elven magic.

Focusing it in his mind, and focusing it through his hands, he tried to create a simple shell around himself. One that would nullify any magic that passed over it. To nullify any magic as well as use that magic to power that shell to remain around for longer.

In a flash of success, the shell appeared. Encircling him in every direction, it surrounded him as if it were a cocoon. Two seconds after it sprang into being, it folded in on itself and vanished.

“That… worked but didn’t,” Elizabeth muttered, one large platinum colored eye watching him. “Unless it was supposed to do that?”

“I don’t know. It’s magic. Magic is… it isn’t my thing. I really only ever have three questions for most situations,” grumbled Vince. Trying to build the spell once again. “Can I fuck it. Can I kill it. Can I eat it.”

“Given that you can apparently eat anything, that sounds more like a check-box list rather than questions,” Elizabeth teased with a chuckle. “Couldn’t you fuck, kill, and then eat a Dragon?”

“Uh… suppose so.”

The bubble of anti-magic once more formed around him. The Nullifier magic surrounding him just as he’d seen other Nullifiers’ shields do.

Then once again, it imploded on itself and became nothing at all.

“Fuck it. I’ll use it as a temporary shield rather than an always-on thing,” he grumbled with a shake of his head. “It’s fine. Though… they’re probably going to try and separate us. Draw us away from one another. Or just try and get us to leave the area.

“They could go north or south of us, this isn’t in the only way through. It’s just the best way through with a wagon and lots of supplies. The other ways are far more likely to have problems.

“That and I’m sure they’re still thinking they can dislodge us without too much of a problem.”

“Undoubtedly. Fools that they are. Or… or so I’d say if I was only a Dragon.

“As a Dragon with a sense of humanity, a sense of what might be going through their heads. Maybe it’s that they have no idea what they’re dealing with. No idea and no understanding. Thinking that if they do their best, they might be able to make it work.

“When really, even their best won’t be good enough. Humans can be like Dragons in that regard, I suppose.”

“Probably something akin to that, yeah. We have a terrible lack of understanding for what our limits are. Always trying to push further and further without knowing where to stop,” Vince muttered with a smirk.

He didn’t bother to try the Nullifier shield again. It’d just peter out once again.

“It’s one of the reasons humans are problematic for other species,” Elizabeth complained and then rolled over onto her belly.

In the distance, the magicians had paused. They were clearly discussing what to do before they reached Vince and Elizabeth. If they weren’t undecided, they’d likely be flying toward them on their flying objects.

Just like Leila.

Vince shook his head at the stray thought that popped into his mind. He really didn’t want to think about Leila, Red, and Sam right now, but he couldn’t stop himself.

He couldn’t even begin to consider how Red was fairing without him being there to feed her. They’d be relying on her ability to eat the hearts of other living beings.

That, or Leila would figure out some other substitute.

“Looks like they finished chatting,” Elizabeth grumbled at Vince, focusing his attention. He was watching the magicians but wasn’t really paying them any mind.

They’d all summoned up flying objects and were in the process of getting on them. As soon as they were mounted up, they began heading over towards Vince and Elizabeth.

“Not sure how much help I’ll be. I’m very… the soldiers were tougher on me than you, I think. Magic will be easier for me but… I won’t be able to do much with them,” Elizabeth murmured.

“More than me, probably. Good thing it looks like only two are coming our way though. The other three… aren’t? They’re moving off more to the south,” Vince remarked, watching the two groups split apart. “Flanking us in the open? To make it harder for us to work freely?”

“Maybe… I can lock those three up with me. Can you handle the other two?” Elizabeth asked with a grunt of effort, pushing herself to a standing position. “I’ll just imprison them inside of a shell and then… ignore them. They can just keep me company. Their magic won’t do anything to me, and they don’t look like they have any sort of physical weapon on them.”

“Alright… two for me,” mumbled Vince with a nod of his head. He didn’t feel confident at all with this. Magic was something that often he couldn’t completely understand, or truly deal with. “Two. Okay.”

“I’m sorry… I can’t keep more than three prisoner. That’s… the most that I can handle.”

“More than what I can handle. So… I can’t complain,” Vince murmured and started to move himself around a bit. Trying to keep his muscles warm after being given such a vigorous workout.

Glancing around himself, he confirmed that the seventy or eighty so soldiers they’d dealt with were all dead. Laid out on the ground and unmoving. Their magically enhanced equipment had made the fight a slog, though not difficult.

Elizabeth moved a short distance away and then lifted her wings up. Looking for all the world like an aggressive and ready Dragon. Rather than a very tired and worn-out Dragon Maiden.

Vince didn’t bother to pull his pistol. He needed to conserve those shots until he was more certain than a vague guess of getting a round to land on his targets.

“If we win this fight… depending on how we come out of it… might need to take a break. Elsewhere,” Vince suggested.

“Agreed. Though I’d prefer to remain here unless they send another group. If they do, we can escape with me flying us out,” cautioned Elizabeth.

Almost as if they wanted to accommodate Vince and Elizabeth, the flanking group moved to the south. Putting themselves considerably closer to Elizabeth and further from Vince.

“I’m going to move away a bit. Try to get them to engage me further away from you. Don’t die. We didn’t have our fun yet,” grumbled Elizabeth, moving away from Vince and separating herself.

Taking in a slow breath, Vince did his best to stabilize his breathing, get himself under control and into the right headspace for this. Everything up to this point had been mundane, if tiring.

This was going to be something altogether different.

Drawing on the power inside of himself, he started to use it to replenish his stamina. To rejuvenate his muscles and lost endurance. Nourishing himself with it as the reserve it was.

Readying himself and his weapons, Vince waited.

Watching the two heading toward him, he cleared his mind.

Approaching rapidly, Vince could see both of them were dressed head to toe in some sort of odd get-up. Almost as if it were a ritualized type of uniform in fact.

They split apart and one went to the left, the other to the right. Each of them building spells as they floated through the air.

Hm. That’s… yeah.

Yeah.

Why bother to engage me if they don’t have to.

Vince pulled his pistol out and began lining it up on the nearest floating magician.

Before he could pull the trigger, a Nullifier blast passed right through them. Slashing their constructs out of existence and sending them crashing to the earth.

Spinning around, Vince looked for the other magician, as well as the Nullifiers that’d been lurking nearby.

The latter was already scrambling away. Riding their mounts back toward the north-west and away from the situation. They’d been there long enough to more or less hand the magicians over to Vince.

They’re going to try and play us against each other. Interfere just enough so I slaughter the magicians then… then wait for me to get tired and then attack after?

This is way more complicated than I want it to be.

Both magicians were running toward one another now. Pulling up spells in front of themselves and casting them as they went.

It didn’t seem like they were trying to summon up their flying devices again, though they were obviously going to engage him. They weren’t going to back down just because they’d been forced out of the air it seemed.

Lining his pistol on the closer one, Vince fired a single round. He only wanted to get them to slow down rather than rush about.

A single gunshot should accomplish that.

The magician came to a full stop as their shield flared to life. The round shield that covered them pulsating. Just as Vince had hoped and wanted them to do.

Keeping his pistol raised and aimed, Vince began running toward them. His sword held back and to the side as he went.

Vince couldn’t identify the magic user other than being a humanoid type with two arms and two legs. Their clothes covered them completely all the way to the palms.

Reaching them quickly, Vince pulled the trigger one more time as he closed the distance to melee. The impact was immediate and the shield became fully visible once again.

Rotating his wrist and then pivoting, Vince threw out a hard and heavy strike from his weapon. The sword whistling as he tore through the air.

It banged into the shield and came to a stop.

Leaving Vince wide open. His sword to the side and his pistol down low.

Staring at the magic user with an ugly realization. The magician hadn’t been idle, they’d been waiting for this moment as Vince had left himself defenseless.

Holding their hands out in front of themselves the Prussany magical soldier lashed out with a spell. One that formed an ugly and dense chunk of earth.

Vince wasn’t fast enough to trigger off the Nullifier shield and instead was blown backward by the attack. Rolling along the grass on his side, only for his foot to catch something and send him tumbling head over heels.

Pushing with his feet when they hit the turf, Vince bounced up off the ground. He landed badly, slid a scant distance and then became stable.

The two magicians were now standing side by side and staring at him. The one on the right calling up a number of spells while the one on the left held the shield in place.

Right… they’re working in tandem with one another. Going to have to make this work somehow.

Make it work and manage to deal with some clearly high-performing magicians.

Shaking his head, Vince was regretful for the situation.

Not for the first time did he realize how poorly matched he was with those that used external abilities like magic or sorcery. They could do things that he would be forced to endure outright or dodge.

Rushing forward, he knew he needed to stay on the offensive. Needed to keep them from being able to cast easily.

Slipping to the right just as a spell touched off, Vince ducked his left shoulder and went low. A rod of ice passing through the space his upper body had been in a moment ago.

Pushing hard with his right foot, Vince zagged to the left, moving himself out of range of the second spell shooting his way. An angry hissing ball of fire that whizzed off to land in the grass and then erupt. Splattering what looked a lot like liquid fire in every direction.

Getting his pistol up, Vince fired once at the one who was putting the offensive spells to work. The bullet slammed into the shield right in front of their face.

It was enough for them to flinch away and break their concentration.

Vince made it across the gap and lunged forward with his sword. The blade clanked as it hit the shield and went still. Proceeding no further.

Channeling power into the weapon as well as his belief that he couldn’t be stopped, Vince pushed on the weapon with all his might. That this was no different than the dome he’d shattered with his fist, other than it was likely stronger, given the much smaller size and that the caster themselves were likely better.

There was a crackling noise as the shield broke, giving way under his assault.

Unfortunately, it was much too late. The shield broke into nothing after both magicians had seen what was coming and had moved to retreat. Moving themselves out of the reach of the blade.

No sooner had the shield had failed, than they’d erected a new one. It simply covering them once again.

This time, they each had a shield and were working to build spells. They weren’t going to rely on one another, though Vince wasn’t sure why.

Assuming that the one who had held the shield first was weaker at this moment, Vince lifted his pistol, fired thrice, then rushed them. As the three bullets sapped the shield of its strength, Vince moved in.

Then past it.

The slash he gave it as he did so was heavy. To the point that the weapon rebounded off the magic and made Vince’s hand vibrate painfully.

Having expected it this time, Vince was ready for the spell that came his way as a counterattack.

As soon as it went off, he activated the Nullifier shield.

The spell crossed its boundary, was obliterated by the shield, devoured, and reduced to nothing. All in a single second or two.

At the same time, the Nullifier shield intersected with the magicians’ shield and eradicated it. The whole thing going away with a soft popping-like noise.

Vince took a step back, lifted his pistol, and emptied the rest of the magazine into the magician. Small puffs of fabric were ejected out the back of the individual as the rounds went through.

Then they slumped down to their knees and collapsed to one side.

While this all happened, the other individual had taken to sprinting away. Running for all they were worth, back toward the camp that they’d come from.

Sniffling, Vince lifted the hand with his pistol and rubbed the back of his wrist against his nose. It felt like it was running.

Glancing down, he saw that there was a great deal of blood there.

The fuck?

Must’ve been that earth spell. Hit me far harder than I expected.

I can’t… I can’t fight them very well.

If it hadn’t been for the Nullifiers getting involved, they would have just killed me from the sky. I can’t stay here much longer by myself, damnit.

Looking to his right, Vince found Elizabeth was laid out on the ground on her side. Her clawed appendages were in the air and she was unmoving.

The three magicians she’d engaged were all around her, looking at Vince. Their stances were aggressive and ready for the situation.

They… killed her? What the f—

Elizabeth shifted around on the ground, then let out a loud snore.

The Dragon Maiden had locked in the three magicians just as she’d said, then gone to sleep. He only now noticed the glowing bubble that covered the four individuals and held them locked in with one another.

Just as Elizabeth had predicted, these three magic users had no martial weapons to harm her with. To her, magic was as easy to handle as physical weapons were for Vince.

If not more so.

Spells tended to just roll over a Dragon like water rolling off a duck’s back.

Looking to the dying mage, Vince realized this was an opportunity to reinforce his mythos. Their body was trembling and well past “dead but not done trying”.

Eat their heart, kill two of the mages with Elizabeth, eat them, let the last one go free.

Push the mythos of what I am further and further.

Make the religion of Vince, of Yosemite, work for me. Because out here, it’s just me, Elizabeth, and the belief of the enemy.

Lifting his sword, Vince moved over to the freshly laid out mage.

Vince didn’t have to enjoy what he was about to do, but that didn’t change the fact that it was what he needed to do. What the situation demanded of him.

Even if that situation had told him that it was now lunch time.