Druid watched the Immortal Fort from a safe distance away as his minions gathered up, ready for another assault.
The recent battles have taken a toll on the attackers as well as the attacked. Over 20,000 beasts now lay dead in front of, on top of, or behind the wall. Swarms of flies cruised around the rotting corpses.
“Today, we will take the city.”
The Voyagers behind Druid smirked inside. That was what Druid said the last time the beasts got onto the city. It didn't work too well for him that time.
But they also knew why Druid was so determined. They had to take the city today. While the army of the beasts were busy wearing down the defenders of the fort, the invasion of the Empire of the Moon has failed. The double pronged attack was gone. At this moment, reinforcement might be marching toward the fort. There was no way Karina could intercept them. If these reinforcements manages to enter the Immortal Fort from the inner gate and replace the worn down defenders, the beasts and the Voyagers that control them would be permanently shut out of the fort’s walls.
The time is now.
“I will lead the attack, and I suggest you do the same.” Druid glanced at his Voyager comrades. “I don’t care what you have in mind, but our fate is tied in this battle. We have to seize those walls and we have to do it today.”
The Voyagers exchanged a look before nodding in agreement.
The remaining beast army still had around 30,000 units. They swarmed toward the walls of the Immortal Fort with as much fury as the very first attack. Ordinary soldiers might be hesitant after the initial failures, but mind controlled beasts don’t have to worry about that.
“Everyone, brace yourselves!”
On the wall, the Empress slowly raised her blade. Around her, soldiers readied their melee weapons. All the projectiles they had were spent. At this point, all they could do was cover the breaches with their flesh and blood.
Without much resistance, the beasts quickly swarmed up the wall. Dozens of lances tried to push them down, but they were quickly snapped apart.
The Empress fearlessly led her forces into melee. Swords clashed with claws. Every second, dozens of men were ripped apart or tossed over the wall. An Empress Guard right next to the Empress had his head bitten off by an extremely large beast. Two more Empress Guards fell victim to it before a final one charged up and pushed a sword into the beast’s eye socket, killing it.
The Empress’s sword landed on a beast’s head. She wanted to curse as she felt her hand suddenly turning numb. Instead of going through the armor, her sword bounced off. The beast turned around and swiped its claws over the Empress’s chest, knocking her back.
Before it could move forward, a man charged out from the side and beheaded the enemy. It was General Flores.
He glanced at the Empress, who slowly climbed back up.
Suddenly, at a fraction of the wall, a black figure suddenly floated up to the top. Sun soldiers glanced at each other as they didn't have any ranged weapon left. A couple of them sent out a few lances flying, but that attempt failed tragically.
The Voyager jumped onto the wall. A flash of silver flashed in the air where he was standing at. The defenders suddenly realized the man wasn’t flying. He was stepping on something that was flying, but the fact was they couldn’t do anything either way without bows or crossbows.
Seeing the Voyager on the wall, the guards charged forward.
The Voyager waved his hand. The flash of silver dashed toward the mobilizing guards. A few guards saw it was actually a sword, but it was too late. The sword cut the throats of all the guards around the Voyager within just moments.
Twenty bodies hit the floor.
“Bring him down!” The Sun defenders really weren’t afraid of death. Even though they were facing an impossible enemy, they attacked either way. Swordsmen rushed forward with their weapons raised. The Voyager slaughtered them one by one, but the rest kept on pouring in.
In a battle against flesh devouring monsters, getting killed by a cut to the throat wasn’t that bad. In fact, it might be the most painless death possible.
A swordsman found his way pass the dashing sword and to the Voyager himself. He jammed his weapon forward. The Voyager didn't even turn as he grabbed onto the weapon and pushed it back into the man’s chest.
Four lancers tried to use the length of their weapons to their advantage. Unfortunately, before they could get close enough, the dashing sword came over and severed all the tips off the lances. The guards glanced down on their sticks before the Voyager killed them with his bare hands.
Suddenly, the Voyager stretched his hand out, and his blade returned to him.
In front of him, General Keys moved forward. He and his bodyguards were helping to fill the gaps in the defenses, which were constantly showing.
The Voyager tossed the blade into the air again. This time, it stayed there, facing Keys. The weapon rotated in its course as it gained energy and momentum.
Keys didn't even have to ask before streams of red energy entered his body from behind. His bodyguards were doing the best they could to make him stronger.
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“Die, you demon!” Keys charged forward with all the might and fury in the world. The blade, still rotating, pierced forward. A boom occurred. It was the sound of the sword breaking the sound barrier.
The red layer of shield in front of Keys stood for one second before popping. Keys’ armor lasted half a second longer. But eventually, the sword pierced the chest of the general.
But Keys was ready to go down. He knew the man in black wasn’t some random pawn. He was one of the masterminds behind all the chaos and deaths that has consumed the Empire. He might not be strong enough to kill them all, but he could damn sure maim, if not kill, one of them.
In fact, when he started the charge, he has already focused all the remaining rune energy he had to both his sword and his legs, making him much faster and much more deadly at the price of the defenses. His shield was just a pretense. Even as the Voyager penetrated him, his blade was landing on the Voyager.
The Voyager didn't think much of it. He has had enough experience with combat to know never to underestimate his enemy. But at the same time, he has also had enough experience to know he needed to take some risks to kill as efficiently as possible. He couldn’t afford to keep his Voyager Armor at maximum efficiency every time he’s fighting.
As far as he could see, this general was no different from the other Sun soldiers he slaughtered with ease. Punch through his chest, and he dies.
He realized his mistake when the runed blade pierced his armor and went through his chest. The orange crystal at the center of the armor burst like glass.
“Uh…” The Voyager took a few steps back before pulling the sword out. He took out a stone and stuck it onto the wound, but even now, volatile red energy cruised through his body, destroying everything in its way. He couldn’t suppress a scream.
If the healing stone was given time to do its job, things might be different, but this wasn’t a 1 on 1 duel.
“Bring him over the wall! For General Keys!”
Dozens of swordsmen charged up and started hacking down on the Voyager. Their blades were proven to be useless against the Voyager armor as the Voyager managed to replace the destroyed crystal. Unfortunately for the Voyager, this only prompted the soldiers to change their tactics and simply push him toward the edge of the wall.
“Don’t you dare!” The Voyager waved his hand again. The pain was distracting him, but he was still a battle hardened individual. His sword flew out again, even more eager than before. Half a dozen were went through instantly. “I will not be taken down by a few pathetic locals…”
Just as he uttered those words, a swordsman literally rammed into him. He grabbed onto the man’s head and ripped it clean off. Well, it would’ve been clean if there weren’t blood everywhere. But the swordsman managed to get him off his feet, and that also inspired the others to do the same.
“No!” The Voyager could only watch as he was pushed off the edge. He has covered the ground with bodies, but the Sun soldiers didn't care about casualties one bit. They gladly marched toward death so they could take him down with them, and for once, the Voyager was afraid.
For missions, he considered himself a god among the locals. Only fellow Voyagers and Protectors could make him more humble. But now, a bunch of inferior locals were about to be his end.
Finally, he was pushed off the edge. His blade was recalled so he could get a soft landing, but a man grabbed onto it and held it in place. The Voyager tried his best, but the Sun soldier wasn’t giving in either even as his hands were cut apart.
The Voyager fell down meters of wall and smashed into the ground. His eyes suddenly snapped open. He was alive. He was alive! His Voyager armor has lost all its crystal power, but it still managed to keep him intact. His body was still burning, but give him enough time, and he could be as good as new.
He couldn’t wait to get healed and return to slaughter these locals again. How dare they threaten his life? He reached inside his watch, about to pull out another crystal.
Suddenly, everything around him went dark. The Voyager found himself consumed by shadows. He looked up. His eyes widened in terror.
“Wait!”
The ten meter tall beast marching toward the wall didn't wait. Its feet went down, and one of them landed right on top of the Voyager. The Voyager Armor, now out of energy, came off the Voyager. It was built to be indestructible, but when placed under too much damage to handle, it would disassemble.
At the last moment, the Voyager unleashed everything he had in his watch. Energy shields. Protective spells. An armored vehicle. But it was too late. The giant beast came crashing down and reduced the Voyager into a pile of flesh.
Whether if it’s Voyagers or locals, step on them, and they go splat.
But that Voyager was the only one taken down. At another part of the wall, the acid-spewing Voyager dissolved his way through an entire battalion of Sun soldier reserves. He took a potion before the attack that accelerated the rate at which his mana was regenerating. This made him a walking turret.
Even Druid himself has gone into battle. He wasn’t swinging a sword in the frontline, but he was doing something much more influential to the battle. He stood in the middle of the horde, and he was enchanting something. With every syllable that came out of his mouth, the beasts around him grew larger and faster.
A beast popped its head up at the edge of the wall, but that was pretty much it. The Empress stepped forward and kicked it in the head so hard the beast went straight down. A wave of growls entered the Empress’s ear, suggesting that beast wasn’t the only casualty. Gravity can be a good ally. The young woman smirked. Every victory was needed.
But she would need a lot more victories to win this battle. All around her, brave men of the Empire were being slaughtered. They were exhausted and poorly equipped. Their morale was high, but the willingness to die for the cause couldn’t make up for disadvantages at every other field.
“Empress!” Flores leaned over the wall and saw something below. “Empress! They are breaching the gate!”
The Empress leaned forward as well. In front of the gate, a dozen beasts were slamming themselves on the thick layer of metal. The defenders have fully barricaded the gate with metal and logs alike, but days of combat has worn those measures down.
“The gate can’t hold for long.” Flores stated the obvious. “We don’t have the men to fight inside the fortress and on the walls at the same time. Your grace, we need to do something.”
The Empress looked around. Flores was right. They needed to do something. But what could they do? Nearly all the men with their arms and legs intact were fighting at the wall, and even that was barely enough. She couldn’t spare too much men, and if she only send a few men down to the gate, it would be suicide.
Pained screams were coming from everywhere, along with a horrifying hissing sound. It was the sound of men being melted into nothingness. The acid Voyager was getting closer and closer to the Empress. Empress Guards could barely buy some time.
Her sword silently slipped out of her bloody fingers.
She has tried everything she could, but still, she was defeated. It was all over. These Voyagers have won. After this battle, the Empire of the Sun would no longer have enough forces to stop the pawns of the Voyagers from massacring everything the Empire stood for.
Right now, her only hope was Adam. If he could assemble all the remaining forces of the Empire of the Sun and form them into a tight fist, he might stand a chance. A small one, but still a chance.
Suddenly, the familiar sound of thousands of horses running made the Empress turn.