We head off to get into position for the ambush, with Ronia leading the attack on our side while Ornal was leading the attack on the right side. Everyone got into the trees and made sure they were well hidden. The mages chanted spells and held them at the ready, fully concentrated while the archers had their bows out and ready to nock an arrow. Herald wasn't up in the trees because he was a massive guy in full plate mail and a shield. He sat back at the village to defend it along with several other moon elves. Ray was up here next to me and we sat in silence as we saw the army approach from the distance. They had people checking for traps like usual but it seemed they had a couple of mishaps as there was several injured people in the army. The army kept marching carefully and made steady progress.

As they got close to the ambush location an unlucky soldier stepped on one of the flaming slime traps that the mages missed. A magic circle appeared on the ground and the flaming slime hidden underground was shot out of the circle and into the air on fire. It reached a few metres into the air and then exploded, sending chunks of slime flying towards a dozen other soldiers. The poor sod who stepped on it originally got a face full of the burning stuff and only a muffled scream was heard before the slime poured into his throat and he promptly fell on the ground spazzing and clawing at his chest and neck.

That stuff was rather nasty it seemed. I certainly hoped I never ended up on the receiving end of that stuff. What a way to go. The nearby mages started helping the soldiers by trying to heal and using water to douse them with little effect, as the slime just kept burning with a vengeance. I was hoping we would be able to capitalize on this chaos and have the monsters attack now but I didn't see the moon elves bringing the monsters, though I certainly heard them in the distance.

I looked to Ronia and quietly whispered "The monsters will get here soon right? This seems like a great time to take advantage of the army's panic. Any idea on where they are?"

Ronia listened to me and when I finished, she turned to talk to someone next to her in a hushed whisper, so as to not let the army hear us. She then turned back and said "They are almost here. Should be here in a few minutes. They managed to wrangle over 70 monsters , though they are mostly wolves and a few ogres with a smattering of other monsters."

I nodded and kept watching the army below, making sure I was ready for anything that happened.

After a few minutes of silent waiting the army got the situation under control and was continuing its march, but this time they spread out a bit more and had the mages double check the area in front of the army. It seemed they didn't like the flaming slime traps they set off. This slowed their progress quite a bit but they disarmed basically all of the traps while marching, and any that slipped by did minimal damage with everyone being so spread out.

As the army was marching past underneath us, we heard howling close by, along with angry roars. Soon after I saw the source of the noise. The moon elves ran in front of the monsters, keeping their attention and making them even angrier than before. The army started to face the approaching monsters and moon elves and rained down spells and arrows on them. Instantly over 2 dozen monsters were killed but the seething horde kept charging. The moon elves used dark magic and vanished into the shadows, leaving behind a very angry horde of monsters who now let out their anger on the only target left: the slaver army.

The sound of roars, claws scraping armour and various spells slamming into the monsters echoed throughout the forest. Everyone in the trees silently watched the army battle the monsters and after the army was fully engaged with the monsters Ornal gave the signal for the ranged attacks to begin. Attacks rained from the trees with arrows and spells ripped into the soldiers below. The attacks rained down for a solid 15 seconds before the mages and archers started to fire into the trees. Several moon elves were hit but only a few had the spell the elder put on everyone activate, sending them away in a burst of light particles. Ornal gave Ronia a signal who passed it on to our side. Together both sides hopped down into the throng of enemies. Our side hopped down further into the enemy lines so as to avoid the monsters.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

I hopped down with Ray and we fought together, watching each others backs. Ray's spear was flashing around, tearing through chainmail and damaging plate mail. I let loose the chilling ice shardblast I had been keeping at the ready. It shot out with force, tearing through the enemy soldiers. Our assault had been very successful, taking down over 30 soldiers, but the enemy commander gave a few quick commands and then promptly pulled out his sword. He roared and swung it at thin air, but his sword glowed blue with mana and he sent blue crescent shaped attacks flying from his sword. The attacks accurately landed on the moon elves and very quickly over 27 moon elves were sent away in bursts of particles. This made Ornal and Ronia realize we had overstayed our welcome and gave the signal to retreat.

Everyone hopped into the trees or vanished into the shadows. Roy dashed away from the army just like I did and we got to the moon elves that would help us escape. They cast a spell on Ray and he vanished into the shadows, sinking into them. Before they could aid me one of them had an arrow burst from his neck. He didn't even burst into light but instead his body fell to the ground lifeless.

I turned in shock as the enemy commander was holding a bow and gave me an icy stare. He strung back and shot another attack. I quickly put up a barrier but the barrier instantly shattered and the arrow pierced through accompanied by the sound of shattering glass. The barrier did enough as it veered the arrow off course while me and the remaining 2 moon elves got to cover.

"Shit, what the hell is that bow skill?! He broke the elders luminus protection spell!" screamed one of the moon elves. So that was the spells name. I tucked this information away and focused on more pressing matters.There was a massive thudding sound heard from an arrow impacting the tree we were hiding behind. I turned towards the moon elves and said "Can you ready the escape spell quickly?"

The one to my left replied as another thud was heard from the tree. He nodded his head and said "We can ready it in 15 seconds but I don't think our cover will last that long!"

Another thud and a cracking sound further proved his point, so I grit my teeth and said "Be quick. Let's move further away to that thick tree. It should be good enough cover." I breathed out a sigh and then said "On three we start running. one...two...three!"

We dashed out from the tree and started running to the big tree 20 metres away. There was a big crack as the tree collapsed from a spell slamming into it. I had a barrier up and it blocked a dozen or so arrows but any spell that hit it caused a crack or two to form. We had made it to the tree as another crack formed on my barrier and ducked behind as a large boulder slammed into the dirt to our left. I pulled out an enchanted arrow and nocked it. I repaired my barrier and leaned around the the left side of the tree and took aim. I aimed at the soldiers rushing towards us and fired.

The arrow streaked through the sky and the soldiers raised their shields, making the arrow hit one of their shields. I grinned as I watched the enchantment activate. The arrow cracked and from exploded and from within the arrow a small amount of flaming slime poured out. It was lit from the enchantment and stuck to the shield. The soldier quickly tossed his shield that was now on fire. I ducked behind the tree as an arrow slammed into my barrier. I turned to the moon elves and they nodded, telling me that the spell was ready. I fired 3 more arrows at the oncoming soldiers and then said "Lets leave!"

They quickly activated the escape spell and the world turned dark. Light soon came back in blinding flash and we were back outside the village walls. Others were quickly making their way back and heading into the village or being tended to by the healers inside the village. I had made sure to put the moon elf's body in my inventory before we left and pulled it out now. I handed it to the dead mans companions who held their grief in and carried the body into the village. The chatter soon died as people saw the dead body. Whispers started to pass around while some people just silently stared at the body with anger sorrow, then anger.

The elder needed to hear about this and decide on our next course of action. With the protection spell he cast rendered useless by the commanders enchanted bow, we now knew that we had to be far more careful than before. Plus the anger at seeing a dead comrade was steadily building as we walked past more and more moon elves to the elders temporary residence. It seemed that the moon elves were going to make the commander pay for the blood that was spilt. I personally just wanted to survive this whole ordeal and get to the dungeon city in one piece. Was that too much to ask for?