The absence of city or village near mount Etna would normally make the place dark during the night. Yet that night, the plain was as bright as day. Fire streaked the sky and Fire Elementals, numbering in the thousands, marched down the mountain.
It was the third wave of the day and it caught the defender by surprise. Since the first day of the invasion, the enemy only sent two waves each day, so a sudden third wave caught them unprepared. Not to mention that the Fire Elementals were higher leveled than before and more organized.
If the last few days they appeared and went wild, the third wave that day was like fighting an army. Their attacks were coordinated. The physically strong were placed in the front. Sword, shield, spear, and pike, all made of fire, were held in their arms. They formed a line not too different than that of the Kingdom's battle formation.Fire Elementals specialized in dealing ranged damage filled the second line. They also cast buff and healing spell to their brethren in the front line.
Up on the mountain, the Fire Lizards were placed in a more strategic location than before. They hid in crevice and cracks in the mountain and were guarded by two or three Fire Elemental that specialized in shielding. They bombarded the army from far away with their greater fire ball.
It was chaos. The Kingdom army was unable to form an adequate defensive line on time. Some of them, especially the new recruits, looked tired and unprepared. Some part of the garrison was damaged by fire. The adventurers, mages, and resting soldiers were forced to help strengthen the defensive line. Even the commander such as Lune and Warwyn took the field.
The only exception being Sir Arslan, who wanted to help but was stopped by others. Their argument was if Sir Arslan went to the battlefield, the enemy would know how strong the opposition was and would send out all their forces. Maybe even sending their commander to the front line. While it could be a good thing to draw out the enemy commander, the lack of information about the enemy commander power could bring disaster if they didn't tread cautiously.
Adventurers began taking the battle and the tide began to turn. Instead of defending the position, they chose to attack the enemy formation from the side since most of them weren't equipped to fight a defensive battle. While their numbers were low, Adventurer were stronger than an average soldier.
Vex and her party stormed straight to the center of the enemy formation. Looking at them fighting, 'battle' wasn't a good word to describe it, massacre was a more appropriate word. She cleaved them like a cake while Tomoe rained arrow at the distant Fire Lizard.
Theo, Ed, Vivi, and Lyana also joined the fray. Unlike the Miracle who attacked wherever they wanted, Theo's party focused on attacking Fire Elementals who broke through the defensive line.
Ed and Lyana attacked the Fire Elemental with their arsenal of water and ice magic. Vivi spread the seed of doubt and confusion to the Fire Elementals. Theo mostly watched instead of fighting because he wanted to see how the tide of battle was changing. He did this to gauge the difference in strength and tactic used by the two armies. He only attacked those who stood in his way.
It was obvious now that he observed the two armies. The Kingdom's army regrouped and became more coordinated as time goes while the Fire Realm's army became disorganized as time passed.
A high-level Fire Elemental was giving them a direct command. But in the heat of battle, most Fire Elementals ignored the command, their primal and feral side got the better of them.
'The commander isn't too high in level....or just have bad talent with commanding armies.' Theo predicted.
The important questions were, who and where the commander was. A commander couldn't stay too far from the battlefield or their command became ineffective. But that could be mitigated by using long range communication spell which made the search much more difficult.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a loud screech waved over the battlefield.
A pair of giant flaming wings crackled the sky. The wings were connected to a giant body of a massive bat-like creature. "Lava Gargoyle." Theo mumbled.
The wings were ablaze, leaving a trail of smoke each time it flapped. The gale from the flapping of wings was enough to move the cloud up above and to be felt by soldiers down below.
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Its skin was like a volcanic stone, with cracks and occasional holes revealing a river of flowing molten lava underneath the skin. Fire spat out from its nose each time it breath and lava spilled out like a drool from the mouth. It was a terrifying sight.
Lava Gargoyle was a high-level Fire Elemental usually found in the range of level 30-40, though the one flying above Theo should be higher leveled than that, maybe level 50 or even higher. The aura and pressure from the Gargoyle was enough to instill fear in the army that was composed of mostly level 5 or lower human soldier.
The Fire Elemental army formation broke and their battle tactic disappeared without a trace. The fact confirmed Theo's prediction. Lava Gargoyle, while intelligent, wasn't known for its commanding capabilities. For them to command such a huge armies meant that they must remain behind the line. Now that it appeared on the battlefield, showed that it chose to fight and abandoned the commander position.
It raised its right arm. Fires erupted and swirled like a storm, slowly coming together and coalesced into a humongous fire spear, one longer than its own body.
Everyone down on the ground froze in their place, be it soldiers or Elementals. The sheer amount of power the spear radiated was a good enough indication how powerful it was. If the spear hit the ground, then the whole garrison would turn to ashes.
With one swift movement, the arm holding the spear was brought down.
The fire spear dived to the center of the Kingdom's garrison, faster than even the fastest bird. Lune rushed to the place the spear was headed and raised her shield above her head. "[SIX POINTED STAR]!"
Just like the name suggested, a six-pointed star appeared in front of the shield and quickly expanded, reaching a staggering size. The star covered the whole garrison.
Six-pointed Star. The most powerful group defensive skill Lune had in her arsenal. She created a translucent barrier in the form of a six-pointed star where her shield was pointed. It was a six layered barrier with each layer possessing the strength equal to the wall of Redmound Keep. By sacrificing one layer, she could increase the coverage of the skill. And to cover the entire encampment, she needed to sacrifice four layers, leaving her with only two.
The star and the spear clashed. A magnificent show of light, which could be seen from kilometers away, lit up the night sky like the break of dawn. Upon impact, the first layer cracked, then shattered into millions of pieces like a glass. The spear also broke... But it didn't stop there.
The broken spear imploded to a single point, robbing the night of its magnificent light. The sky went dark again.
The point stirred in the air. Then trembled. The two armies went silent. Everyone could only watch as the dreaded moment of silence passed. They all knew it wouldn't last long.
The point expanded rapidly, sending fire and molten rocks in every direction. It boiled the air and cracked the second layer of the star. The heat felt by the soldiers was like standing too close to a bonfire. They could feel their skin burning.
Lune pulled her shield back when the explosion stopped. The star dissipated into thin air just like the fire it blocked.
The explosion was over, but the battle was not.
A screech rang out again. The Lava Gargoyle was visibly mad. Its strongest attack was blocked without even a single casualty from the enemy. Its deep red eyes focused only on one person, the one that blocked its attack.
Lune observed as the monster's wing bent. With a great screech and an unbelievable speed, it dived down to where she was, in the center of her troops. Bright red claw slashed the wind as it moved, leaving a trail of blazing smoke like a falling star. The size of each claw alone would guarantee anyone that touched it would die.
Be it friend or foe, the descending doom did not care. It would grant an equal death to anyone caught in its path.
Lune looked at her men around her. She imagined what would happen when the claw touched them. They would die, it was that simple. They would turn into a formless lump of flesh after that.
Even Lune couldn't help but felt powerless and despaired. She will survive, no doubt about that. She even doubted that she will take any damage, but her troops, men, and women who fight with her all these years.
Screams erupted as the men in the front line were ripped apart. Their shields and armors were useless, It was torn asunder and even melt when the burning claw touched them. When the monster raised its tree-sized claw, countless body parts were thrown to the back line. Blood rained down upon them. The blood of their fellow soldiers.
Panic and confusion began spreading among the men. The captains ordered them to stand their ground, yet some were already running away in fear for their life.
Lune watched as the troops in the front line were massacred. Cut down like a grass, a bloody grass. She couldn't do anything to save her troops. She wasn't powerful enough. The six-pointed star was a taxing skill, one that could be used only once per day. Her other skill was meant for herself and not for protecting a huge amount of people. She couldn't run to direct the monster attack, she wasn't fast enough.
"Commander!" A soldier called her. His voice was devoid of fear.
They raised their weapon, hoping that when they die, at least, at the very least, they would scratch the monster. They would wound it so their brethren could finish it off. A foolish hope, they all knew that, but at least it was glorious.
Yes, Lune can't give up now.Not when her soldiers haven't given up yet.
Lune raised her shield and marched forward, hoping that she would take the blunt force. Hoping that it would stop the monster in its track. Hoping that what she did will spare her men. If not all, at least those behind her will be spared.
They all shouted as the monster rushed ever closer, as death advanced ever near.