themonasnovels Chapter 1146: Chapter 1145: All Out Attack (2)
Chapter 1146: Chapter 1145: All Out Attack (2)
Chapter 1146: Chapter 1145: All Out Attack (2)
Kat PoV
"This... somehow feels worse than I thought it would. The climate here is... almost downright abhorrent if I'm being honest."
My gaze swept across the glimmering desert before it landed upon the crashing waves of the ocean, the conflicting bodies of mana creating an intriguing 'neutral' zone that just felt foreign in a world that seemed to always harmonize itself.
An abundance of one or two mana types would create some kind of biome that made sense, and yet here the clashing of the Fire Mana and Water Mana created nothing but confusion for everyone, and that was reflected in the land itself.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
The air behind us was scorching even as the sun drifted lazily down to the horizon, but the winds sweeping across the water brought a cold chill that sliced through that heat like a knife through butter.
"It only gets worse when winter draws near. Many a time we've had ice sheets drifting across the ocean while the city is baked beneath the sun... Hajar isn't a nice place to live if you prefer a stable climate, that's for sure. But after being here for so long... you don't really notice it that often."
Unlike our previous 'chaperones', these six Death Jackals were far more talkative and open than any of us - Anput included - had expected, and the short, petite woman was the one to approach us and say that.
Each of them were chatty compared to their peers, which was shown as an equally short man sauntered forwards to add "Born and raised here, and damn does it feel good to be back~! Hajar's climate is a fickle bitch honestly~!" in a cheerful tone, ignoring the glare from the three women beside him... as well as our own.
"Hassim, I wouldn't start that now if I were you... for my sake more than yours."
The other two men smiled wryly at the shorter one before gesturing towards the city as the tallest asked "So what's the plan then, Begum? Princess? Do we have one yet, or shall we mull it over from a closer distance? That dune there should offer a decent vantage point..."
Our attention was returned to the trade city, its towering walls decorated with tattered and burnt banners that were still in the process of being torn down and replaced, while the fires atop the walls cast a glow against the darkening sky.
"Not a concrete plan just yet, but the best idea I have is to just charge head on in different groups. We have adequate magical power to protect ourselves from whatever they could throw at us."
Anput's careless answer made a few of the Death Jackal's narrow their eyes as they stared at her, and while their Begum seemed to miss those masked, judgmental gazes, I certainly didn't... though none of them cared at all since they knew their own worth and carried their own expectations well.
"That's what I would say if we didn't need to worry about Fiends, mind you; a moving barrier spell in this sort of battlefield is more than adequate to approach those walls and get close enough to launch a siege with just us, but if we have to plan around the unexpected prowess of Fiends, then... things change."
The Begum's smile made the six Death Jackals nod, with Hassim doing so reluctantly while the remaining man leaned on his staff and lazily observed us, waiting for confirmation that he would work alongside Leone to bombard one of our own cities.
"I have to go ahead and point out that you said 'us', Miss Zara? Shall we all be participating in the assault from the front, or..?"
A woman the same height as me tapped her twin daggers the same way a teacher might tap an equation on the chalkboard as a reminder to young children, and for a moment I felt a slight urge to snap at her for that before taking a breath and shaking my head.
"No, I was planning on traveling around the side and infiltrating from the rear. There's plenty of dunes to creep behind, and the cliff that leads down to the beach on that side would provide abundant cover. We could scale it and sneak in through those dock-esque locations and work our way towards someplace important and disrupt their flow."
She nodded and smiled back at me, though before I could continue on she grinned mischievously as she asked "Ah, there's one more here who specializes in stealth for our three man cell. Could you guess who it is~?"
I looked around at the Death Jackals and studied their weapons, taking in the assortment of blades and other weaponry concealed on their bodies before pointing towards a thin woman
wielding a rapier and a whip.
"Nope~! Saif, step forwards~!"
To my surprise the person to step forwards was the giant musclebound woman who had a two handed cleaver strapped to her back and a heavy mace dangling from her belt, and she gave me a sneaky smirk as she said "No one expects me to be the quietest one here... makes things
damn easy~!"
Her blade was nearly as tall as me and almost as wide, and while she wasn't Jahi's height this Saif woman was incredibly built, her size perfect for a warrior... but apparently she had an assassin's soul trapped inside of her since she made no noise as she stepped forwards.
She even made a point of it as she stamped her boot down and showed off her control, leaving behind a noticeable footprint that just appeared without a sound before stepping back silently, enjoying this moment of being able to show off.
"I guess the idea of fighting a few hundred well armed warriors doesn't scare any of us here,
huh?"
Jahi's bemused words got us all to turn back to her, with a few of the Death Jackals just smirking at her while Saif and the other sneaky woman smiling wryly as they took another step back to show they were done, allowing us to go back to the task at hand.