Chapter 204: Eagle retreat and an opportunist.
They dashed out of the gates in groups of three, shooting their arrows into the sky at such a fast pace as if they were competing in speed with the snowflakes that were falling down.
One group was shooting flaming arrows at the eagle which had been injured earlier. Two of the men were blowing flutes, playing tunes that were meant to confuse the eagles.
It made the soldiers at the gate and those firing the dragonoids frown. They saw what the villagers were doing and wondered if they were being too foolish or just very brave. The eagles were not ordinary. What could a few tunes do?
The injured eagle fell from the sky and the villagers leaped on it with their weapons, hacking it to pieces, starting with the claws and neck.
Meanwhile, mist appeared in the sky above them. It settled over the area like an unwanted guest that had long been waiting for an opportunity to visit.
A very large beak was the first thing to poke out of the mist. Then, two fiery eyes that promised wrath and pain. Slowly by slowly, the eagle came into view. It was bigger than any they had fought so far, the size of a large yacht at least.
Its wings dominated the sky and covered the ground. It squeaked and the ground vibrated.
Alarms on the wall became louder, turning into sirens and a vocal alert of danger came from the wall itself.
Soldiers shivered, hearts clenched. As if the weapons were also afraid, two dragonoids stopped working, out of fire power.
"Get everyone inside." Sunshine screamed to Nimo.
She did not wait to see what her friend would do. Sunshine knew that she had to get rid of the eagle quickly or else everyone would be in danger. The creature would not leave without drawing blood. It would settle in the forest if it had to, killing everything on the mountain and anything that got out of the gates.
Maybe the bubble could keep it out, or maybe not. Maybe the wall would kill it, or maybe not. She did not want to hide inside the wall and play hide and seek for the next four years and some months until it was killed by some other supernatural eventually or a bigger predator.
The situation became even more dangerous as at least a dozen smaller eagles followed it.
As the big one dove down, Sunshine waved her hands gathering as much snow on the ground as she could get her hands on. She hardened it and hurled it at the eagle, sending of course.
As it rotated in the sky, she hurled her hammer upwards and gathered icicles, firing them like bullets.
At the gates, Hades wanted to join her in the fight, but he could not because of the agreement they had. Only one of them could face danger at a time. So, he bit his lips and gave his all to hauling survivors and injured soldiers out of the snow.
The eagles had managed to scratch and harm at least eight people in the fight so far. One was bleeding badly, and Hades had rushed him to the medic bay only a minute ago.
Tommy Kirkland ran past Hades, removing the gloves on his hand and ignoring the cries of his aunt from behind the gate.
He threw his hands up, shocking the smaller eagles, and five fell from the sky. Soldiers and villagers leaped on them, shooting or stabbing.
Tommy joined Sunshine, combining ice with voltage and they took on the mega eagle. As it used its wings to hurl away icicles, a nullfire bullet entered its eye and it cried out.
Major Elio had made the shot from the ground in front of the gate.
The eagle was not giving up however, even though it was bleeding from one eye. It seemed to e more infuriated in fact and it focused on Elio. It tried to change flight and aim for him.
More soldiers joined Sunshine, dropping ordinary guns for upgraded nullfire guns that used phasium alloy bullets.
Morris grew bigger in size and caught the eagle by the tail, throwing it down with all his might. Nala and five village women jumped on its back, bringing down their axes and swords which Sunshine had given them.
More people leaped on the mega eagle as it struggled, some stabbing the remaining eyes, others pulling the feathers. Sunshine smashed its legs while Morris twisted its neck.
The rest of the birds began to retreat once the mega eagle started showing signs of defeat, running back into the mist. But the unlucky ones were shot down by determined soldiers and villagers who seemed to be on a mission to prove a point.
It almost seemed like a competition between the soldiers and the villagers over who could take down the most birds.
The mist retreated and silence ruled the sky once again. But nobody jubilated, they remained tense and fastened their pace of carrying the injured inside.
Sunshine told the soldiers to also collect the bodies of the dead eagles. The villagers were already doing so. Some were even looking for trophies in the form of feathers and claws.
Some survivors crawled past the gates on hands and knees, weeping with relief for they could not believe that they had survived.
Alfred was the last survivor from the town hall to enter the gate, and he only did so after being certain that all of the lucky people that he had brought made it inside.
The gates were closed and the alarms silenced. The metal hoses started to release some water which was a product of melted snow, mixed with chemicals to wash away the blood and cleanse the area. They did not want the scent of blood attracting more creatures to the area.
Near the gates, Alfred finally collapsed, and Nimo picked him up. That is when they both realized that he was hurt in the side. An eagle had pierced the side of his stomach, but he did not notice.
"You are hurt!" Nimo exclaimed.
"Is it over?" he asked her.
She nodded and then shouted for a medic to help them. Around them, the survivors clung to each other, sobbing with relief.
But in the chaos, a person that didn’t belong had stumbled inside just like any other survivor. He sat among the rest, pretending to cry. His cold eyes however darted around as he scanned the inside of the fortress.
He was one of the marauders that had survived. He had been living with the others in the forest, and they had been watching the fortress whenever they got the chance.
They had not died from their injuries or frozen to death like some people believed. They had hidden in a small cave after killing its occupants. They had left only one person alive: Fifi Quinn, and only because she said that she knew Fortress Four well and she would help them get the supplies inside.
It was her idea for one of them to wait for an opportunity to sneak inside, study the power structure, map everything and find a way to send out the information. Then, that person would wait for an opportunity to open the gates for the rest of them. From there, they would take over and live like kings.
The eagle attack could not have come at a better time.