Gunmage
Chapter 76: Battle of guns and magic

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Battle of guns and magic

Vaelith began her move, she drew intricate runes into the air, which coalesced into glowing magic circles.

Nature bent to her will, and the crystalline raindrops began to swirl in response. A gust of cold, misty air enveloped the battlefield, but even this was caught within the violent vortex of energy she had unleashed.

In mere moments, a localized blizzard raged on their side of the battlefield.

The struggling soldiers could only watch the fights in barely suppressed awe and fear. To common folk, these magic users were deities, locked in a battle beyond mortal comprehension.

Lyra cut through the raging storm, her eyes locked on her targets, three figures arranged in a triangular formation.

The first, a white-haired man, dropped a knee to the floor and slammed his fist against the ground. The earth trembled violently, throwing her off balance.

Seizing the opportunity, the second figure, a dark-haired man with vertical slit-like eyes, lunged forward. His sword, now covered in a thin layer of frost, flashed in his grip.

But before he could reach her, a pillar of ice erupted from the ground, obstructing his path.

Once she regained her footing, Lyra reacted instantly. Strands of her hair shot forward like deathly needles, impaling the ice pillar with ease and seeking the target behind.

The dark-haired man backstepped, skillfully dodging or parrying the lethal strands. As the ice structure crumbled, it revealed Lyra now wielding a handgun.

She fired.

A hastily conjured mana barrier shattered on impact, leaving the bullet lodged deep in the man’s shoulder.

Without hesitation, Lyra pushed forward, bypassing him and heading straight for the third figure, the mistress of illusions located at the rear end of the formation.

The two remaining combatants moved to intercept, but they were far too slow.

Lyra threw her enchanted longsword with pinpoint accuracy. Seeing her seemingly disarmed, both men charged in unison, hoping to take advantage of the scenario.

But just as the first man took a step, thick ice encased his feet, locking him in place.

The second man pressed forward, confident in his advantage. Then, the airborne longsword glitched, distorting mid-flight as if shifting through reality.

Lyra’s hair billowed outward, obscuring vision for a mere fraction of a second. When she emerged, the sword was back in her grip.

The sudden reversal caught the dark-haired man off guard, he was a moment too late to react. Her enchanted blade cleaved through his arm at the elbow.

He let out a sharp cry but acted immediately. Following previous warnings, he severed the limb entirely before the spreading disintegration could consume the rest of him.

Then, the world erupted.

A series of massive explosions rocked the battlefield, their concussive force dispersing the blizzard and throwing even the strongest warriors off their feet.

Visibility returned in a single, devastating instant.

"What the hell was that?"

Lyra questioned, instinctively glancing towards the sky.

But before she could raise her head, a voice echoed directly in her mind.

Do not look up!

It was Vaelith, the priestess.

One of the men, unaware of the warning, lifted his gaze toward the heavens.

His scream was instant and horrifying. His eyes melted in their sockets, blood streaking down his face. His body convulsed and crumpled like a crushed tin can, meeting an unspeakably brutal demise.

Lyra felt her heartbeat spike. The others around her, regardless of allegiance, shared the same primal fear.

...

Elsewhere, the beastkin warrior sniffed the air and tensed. His grip tightened around his spear before he hurled it with lethal precision.

It tore through the masonry, barely missing Lugh by a hair’s breadth before spinning in the air and returning to its wielder.

’Another enchanted weapon’

Lugh noted as he sprinted across the collapsing structure, dodging the spears strikes that seemed to only grow more frequent and determined.

The sky flashed an eerie blue. Lugh’s maeglass reacted immediately. A moment later, a thunderous explosion split the heavens.

Don’t look up.

Xhi’s voice resonated in his mind. A sense of déjà vu struck him, but she spoke again before he could question it.

At least, not through your eyes.

Lugh felt a strange link forming between them and he embraced it.

While his puppet kept the beastkin distracted, he closed his eyes and suddenly, through Xhi’s perception, his awareness expanded.

Vague figures floated in the sky, locked in fierce battle with Emrys. Their forms were blurry and indistinct, beyond his ability to truly perceive.

But Emrys was clear, his presence undeniable.

Lugh’s first puppet, sent to a crumbling rooftop at the beginning of the battle, adjusted its stance. Eyes closed, it lined up the shot from another perspective.

Lugh pulled the trigger.

The bullet cracked through the air, striking Emrys in the arm. Xhi uttered a chant, and the wound reacted violently, his arm exploded in a shower of blood and bone.

Well done.

The link severed, leaving Lugh to his own battles. He abandoned cover and stepped forward, facing his opponent directly.

The beastkin warrior, still gripping his spear, returned the gaze in kind. Lugh’s arm was crushed, making it impossible to wield his rifle.

His opponent’s jaw hung at an unnatural angle, rendering him incapable of speech.

A heartbeat later, the silence was broken. The beastkin exhaled and hurled his spear with devastating force. Lugh had no chance of dodging.

But his puppets were faster.

The farthest one charged at the disarmed beastkin, holding him down with every ounce of its inhumane strength.

While the closest one leapt forward, its back acting as a shield. The spear struck with overwhelming power, forcing it to fly forward.

Lugh angled his body, allowing it to brush past as he raised a pistol.

He steadied his arm, he fired.

The first bullet hit the beastkin’s chest, barely leaving a mark. If even rifles struggled to wound him, pistols were bound to be ineffective.

But Lugh wasn’t aiming to kill him with that shot.

He adjusted his aim and fired again—this time at his own puppet.

The bullet accelerated in the air, striking the puppet’s abdomen, igniting the cache of volatile explosives strapped to it.

A split second later, the battlefield trembled as a violent explosion engulfed both combatants in a blinding inferno.