With that second arrow already on the string I was able to locate the next mage immediately, noticing that they weren't as cohesive as I would have thought... and that only made me relieved since it gave me opportunities.
The loose approach meant that they weren't entirely aware of everything that was happening across their own formations, so with a quiet whisper to Aethisia to continue picking at that previous group I began to work away at the one I had found.
A lanky antlered mage was walking straight down the street with a thin veil of wind around herself, arrogance oozing off of her that even from here I felt disgusted and could tell she was a prick, so obviously that was my next target.
That veil - even though it was thin - was still far more defensive than a majority of shields would ever be against the arrows I had, so I had to up the ante a little on this next shot; I didn't have the time to stick the finger to this mage in particular though, so I kept it short and sweet.
Coiling a few threads around my arrow, I imbued it with a heavier weight that would activate the moment it left the bowstring, and on top of that the tip was now barbed and extra sharp, so the instant I shot it let out a low shriek that acted as the death call of this mage.
One that she never even noticed until it was too late, and by then the thread clad arrow was punching through her magical defenses and straight into her unarmored skull, painting the ground behind her red and pink as her head disappeared.
Before her three friends could react either I nocked yet another arrow and took aim, letting my bow sing its throaty song as I let three fly back to back to back, dropping them immediately and adding more tallies to my kill count.
One squad somewhat in the middle of the overall formation was now down, so I continued working towards the left and took aim at whoever I saw first, trying to start with the mages and then working through their squads whenever possible.
I got through another seven mercenaries before they finally got the memo, but by that point I had to stop shooting anyways since they were getting quite close to the cavern, the trajectory of the arrows getting called out and letting them know that this was where we were.
Quickly covering the window right after Aethisia let out another shot, I dragged her back down to the cavern with me and filled it all in behind us, leaving nothing behind as we rejoined the civilians down below.
The long spears I had had them make were already being hoisted, while the barricades and shields were being pushed forwards to further fortify the entrance just in case, though for now Aethisia and I stood by the main barricade and watched as the remaining mercenaries approached slowly and carefully.
A few interlocking barriers of mana were attempting to dissuade even more arrows from us, while the actual physical shields were raised right in front of them all, each one being varied in size and usability.
Seeing one of the agility based fighters trying to cover themselves with a buckler almost made me laugh since it was so tiny, but there was nothing amusing about two dozen angry people approaching you with murder on their mind.
All kinds of weapons were pointed at us, and to make matters worse immediately was the presence of who I could only assume was Altan, looming over the open ground like some specter of war given a large quantity of drugs.
Sarnai had already been a massive opponent, but Altan was bigger than the Leopardkin by quite a bit; taller by a foot and sporting massive arms, the Bearkin was intimidating with size alone, but the two people sized hammers she carried with ease on either side were definitely a cause for concern.
And then remembering that Sarnai had told me that this Bearkin was actually taking performance enhancing drugs as well as just being naturally gifted like that because she was a Bearkin... well, it didn't make me feel any better about this whatsoever.
Speaking of, the Leopardkin was currently bound back in her cell right beside Erdene, though where the minx was still submerged completely beneath the rock the Leopardkin was a bit more comfortable... and now that I think about it, entirely capable of breaking free if she so chose.
That really didn't make me feel good about this, but the longer I stared at the slowly approaching mountain of a Bearkin the more I began to think up ways to deal with her, and honestly...
It was more thrilling than it was terrifying for me since this was going to be the first real opponent I ever had that I could also use the Weave against without feeling like it was overkill; being able to tap directly into the tapestry of the world was a huge benefit, especially when it came to casting spells... obviously.
But just the performance booster it gave me would be pivotal here, so I didn't want to play that card too soon while at the same time recognizing that the Bearkin was more than capable of killing me with a single glancing blow with those giant hammers.
Swinging people sized hammers made entirely from metal... that was just absurd, especially when you considered that she was swinging them both with just a single arm, which took a lot more finesse than people would expect.
You see big blunt force weaponry and assume it's simple and unskillful only to then have that assumption knocked right out of you when those people showed you the might of perfecting simplicity.
Now I was going to be able to see it shown twice as she tried to kill me with them, which was not something I wanted to see ever in my life anyways, but... well, I doubt she was going to ask if I wanted to fight or not, so... y'know...