Arcane Warfare: From the Ashes of a Disposable Soldier

 He quickly glanced around.

 There were no enemies in sight, but the window of opportunity was small, and there was no time to hesitate.

"I have to act now! Quick!" he decided.

 Before mounting the surfboard, he knew he needed to find at least one ally to share the burden. The protection spells required during the ride would rapidly drain his mana reserves, and survival alone would be impossible.

 Scanning the wreckage, he strained to sense any remaining life nearby. His mana sense, faint but functional, finally picked up a pulse.

 There was a pulse, a flicker of life close by.

"A survivor!"

 Renewed hope ignited within him as he moved toward the source of the signal. He remained calm and approached carefully, wanting to avoid making any mistakes out of excitement.

 His camouflage spell flickered but held strong enough to keep him hidden.

 Among the rubble, he found a fellow mage from his regiment, half-buried beneath a collapsed wall.

 He was quite noticeable due to his unique silver hair.

 The man's armor was dented and bloodied, but his sharp eyes and the tight grip of his staff expressed his will to live.

"You're alive," the injured mage whimpered, coughing as small as he could as he struggled to sit upright. Relief crossed his face as he saw his comrade.

 Cedar helped him move behind a crumbled wall, hiding themselves.

"Not for long in this state, my healing potion flasks were destroyed during the impact, could you spare me one."

 Without any hesitation, Cedar immediately handed him two healing potions from the void bag.

 The other mage's wound healed visibly as he chugged down the healing potions.

 "We don't have much time." the mage said, urgency clear in his voice as he helped the man to his feet, grabbing him under the arm.

"We need to get out of here. I found a surfboard, but I can't fly it alone. We'll have to take turns—one flying while the other casts shields." Cedar quickly laid out the plan.

 The injured mage nodded weakly, his breath coming in labored gasps. "I can fly it… for a little while. But I'm drained. I'll need time to recover between shifts."

 He only mentioned that his healing potions had been destroyed, which meant he still had mana potions.

 However, like Cedar, he too had to consider the possibility of a mana outbreak.

 Both men understood the risks, but there was no other option. The city was collapsing around them, and soon it would be nothing more than a graveyard.

 They hurried back to the surfboard.

 The injured mage climbed on first, gripping the controls with trembling hands.

 As he activated the board, it hummed to life, lifting a few inches off the ground, its glowing runes flaring softly. The silver-haired mage stepped on behind him, staff at the ready, despite the growing strain on his body.

 The world around them blurred as the surfboard shot forward, weaving through the ruins of Aelith at breakneck speed.

 The wind whipped past their faces, the destruction of the city fading into a smoldering haze as they sped toward the forest in the distance. Yet the threat was far from over.

 The enemy would notice soon enough, and the other mage's mana reserves were nearly depleted.

 Cedar fumbled for his last mana potion, uncorking it and drinking it in one desperate gulp. The surge of energy coursed through him like fire, sending a searing pain through his body.

 His circuits screamed under the overload, and for a moment, his vision blurred.

 He gritted his teeth and forced the agony aside. War offered no room for weakness.

 Ahead, his ally piloted the surfboard with surprising precision, weaving through jagged debris and collapsing buildings as though he had trained for this very moment.

 Each movement was fluid, his hands steady on the controls.

 There was no time to ask questions. Survival was all that mattered now.

 A sudden fiery flash to the left drew the silvered-hair mage's attention, a fireball streaking toward them with terrifying speed!

"Shield!" he shouted.

 Cedar reacted instinctively, raising his staff to cast a protective barrier and immediately removing the invisibility cloak that had been surrounding them.

 The spell shimmered to life just as a fireball struck with a deafening explosion. The barrier shattered under the force of the impact, and fragments of magic dissolved into the air.

 The shockwave nearly threw them off the board, but his ally managed to steady their course.

"They've found us!" the pilot yelled, his voice strained over the roar of the wind. It seemed someone had tracked the flickering invisibility spell Cedar had been casting.

 Two enemy riders emerged from the smoke, each mounted on sleek hoverboards!

 Their dark armor shimmered with the glow of runic enhancements, and arcs of magic crackled at their staffs, ready to unleash fire and lightning.

 Cedar glanced at their flickering shield. It wouldn't survive another direct hit.

"They're gaining on us!" his ally shouted, urgency sharpening his tone.

 The enemy riders closed the distance rapidly, their boards a blur as they raced through the wreckage. The other mage knew what had to be done. They couldn't outrun them—not for long.

"We have to fight them off!" he declared, gripping the controls tighter.

 Cedar nodded, focusing the last remnants of his mana.

 Pain coursed through his body as he summoned a lightning bolt, the energy crackling violently between his fingers.

 Every nerve screamed in protest, but he ignored the agony.

 With a shout, he released the spell.

 The lightning bolt arcs through the air with terrifying speed, crackling as it rips through the space between Cedar and the enemy.

 The rider on the left barely has time to react—his eyes widen in shock as the bolt strikes him dead center, his barrier flickering for a split second before shattering.

 Direct hit.

 Seizing the moment, his ally unleashed a thunderbolt with pinpoint accuracy, the concentrated force slamming into the dazed rider with devastating precision.

 The air around the enemy seems to ripple as the thunderbolt connects, and within a second, the enemy's body is engulfed in a burst of energy.

 The rider convulses, his surfboard spinning out of control before he's flung off, his charred form disappearing into the chaos below.

 One down.

 But the second rider was closing fast. With no mana left and their shield barely holding, there was only one option left—a reckless, desperate gamble.

 Without hesitation, Cedar reached into his bag, pulling out a rune-enchanted gun and a knife.

 Before his ally could question his actions, he leaped off the surfboard.

 The wind roared around him as he hurtled through the air, his body twisting mid-fall.

 The second rider's eyes widened in shock, but it was too late.

 Cedar fired twice, the enchanted bullets screaming through the air.

 Bang! Bang!

 The bullets scream through the air, glowing faintly with magical energy.

 The first one hits the enemy's barrier, and for a split second, it resists but the second bullet punches through like butter, shattering the barrier completely.

 He collided with the rider, knocking both of them off his board. They tumbled through the air together, crashing toward the ground.

 In one swift motion, Cedar unsheathed his knife and drove it into the enemy's chest.

 The blade pierced through the armor, finding its mark. The rider gasped, his eyes wide with pain and disbelief before his body went limp.

 But gravity isn't on his side. With no magic left to slow his fall, Cedar crashed into the ground hard.

 The impact rattles his bones, the pain shooting through his already battered body like a thousand knives. The breath is knocked from his lungs, and for a moment, everything goes black.

 When he opened his eyes, the world spun in a haze of smoke and ash. He lay in a shallow crater, the enemy's lifeless body beside him.

 Every inch of his body aches, and he's not sure if he can even stand.

 But he's alive. 

 Blood pooled around his knife, still embedded in the rider's chest.

 Through sheer will, he forced himself to his feet, every movement sending waves of pain through his battered body.

 In the distance, he saw his ally circling back on the surfboard. The battle had moved on, leaving them a momentary reprieve.

 He bent down, searching the fallen rider's bag for anything useful. In war, nothing was wasted, not even the spoils of the enemy.