After getting close enough, the General opened his mouth and shouted at the villagers behind the fortifications. "Traitor! You have betrayed Wood in the name of another lord! Not only have you changed your loyalty, but you have also welcomed our long-standing enemies!"
The General paused before continuing to speak. "Surrender and welcome our army! Humans must perish in the name of our ancestors! Let them live in peace, under our native lands!"
Silence filled the space as none of the troops behind the walls felt the need to communicate with the enemy soldiers. Then the General frowned upon realizing that he was being ignored by the elvish traitors.
"Stupid." he declared, his frown soon turning into a contemptuous expression. But this didn't last long, as when he removed his concealed face, it transformed into a gleeful smile as he proclaimed, "Bastards... You asked for it!"
He began to withdraw to rejoin his army stationed in the rear, and when he got close to his subordinates, he started shouting loudly so that everyone could hear his words.
At the same time, he began to scorn the traitors. "If you had welcomed us as usual, we would have spared the women and children, but you chose the path of annihilation! Haha...!"
Regardless of their choices, their fates had already been sealed when they set out to reclaim his title as Count. They were inevitable sacrifices and vermin to be eliminated on his path.
"Hooray!! Soldiers of Wood, the traitors of our nation stand before us! They have welcomed the humans. Those who enslaved our mothers and fathers in eternal suffering! Today, we shall commemorate their memories with the blood of... HUMANS!"
""Hooray!!""
The soldiers began to feel their morale rise, and their excitement soared.
The General gave a brief smile, preparing to be seated in the town hall, with corpses around his throne. "For Wood Kingdom!"
After a short pause, the General charged forward first, followed by the infantry behind him, toward TreeCity. An army of 20,000 men was running across the plains toward the fortified city. They were ready to break down the gates and invade the walls.
The army was well-drilled and proficient in siege attacks, which gave them absolute confidence in their victories, further boosting their morale.
However, Mary and the defending troops were still stationed on the walls, and Mary had completed their preparations by the time the General had withdrawn. When they returned, Mary had already positioned the archers at the front.
Mary stepped forward and waited for the infantry to approach. A moment later, she raised her hand high. "Draw your bows!"
At Mary's words, the elves in the rear began to raise their bows high and draw them fully. A few seconds later, she said, "Activate your abilities!"
Following her command, all the archers' bows began to glow as the tips of their arrows blended with natural elements. Some had arrows of fire, others of water, rock, or wind.
An immense field of colorful light could be seen outside the walls, alerting the infantry outside. A scout from the infantry shouted, "Enemy attack!"
However, the infantry did not falter and continued to charge into the enemy without concern for the arrows. Mary began to shake her head. "Poor men."
A few moments later, Mary began to lower her hand, the signal to unleash the first volley of arrows. "Release!"
In quick succession, the elves released their arrows, and countless projectiles began to streak through the sky, hurtling toward the infantry.
The General reacted by raising his arm high into the sky. "Mages! Activate the protective shields!"
A few moments later, countless transparent shields began to appear in the sky and encircle the infantry army, rendering the projectiles ineffective and useless. Then, the mages began to counterattack, and several geometric patterns appeared in the sky.
A mage who appeared to be the leader of the mage group shouted, "Cast your spells!"
Quickly, a hundred spells materialized and were hurled toward the walls. The mages stationed on all sides of the walls formed a communal shield, sharing the damage to minimize the harm, but it was insufficient.
Unfortunately, a breach had appeared in the North wall. The infantry did not hesitate to charge and set up ladders, quickly climbing and confusing the enemy with various stealth skills, causing even more conflict within the walls.
This led to the other walls diverting some of their troops to protect the North wall, but the other walls were soon to be breached as well, plunging the city into chaos. Some of the elves were dismayed by the situation but continued to defend, trying to stay alive and restrict the advance of the infantry. Countless sword clashes resounded across the battlefield.
Mary charged into the ranks of the enemy before dispatching them with a powerful sword strike. "Charge!" she shouted before diving into the midst of the enemy. Quickly, other defenders followed her lead and charged. "Roahhhh!"
Despite the allied forces, the enemies still managed to breach the wall, and the enemy elves began to kill many TreeCity soldiers who were defending the walls, trying to prevent the invaders from descending and massacring the population.
From the beginning, the defenders were at a disadvantage. The infantry had numerical superiority and extensive battlefield experience, leaving the defenders helpless. The number of defenders was only two thousand men, while the infantry numbered 20,000, seizing several parts of the walls.
At the same time, Mary, sensing the collapse of the defense, was still in the midst of battle, fighting off several infantrymen. Lowering her center of gravity, she swung her sword forward in a diagonal strike. Simultaneously, two infantrymen came from behind and aimed their sword strikes at her chest.
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In response, she bent to evade the two blades aimed at her heart and swung a crossbar from the ground, splitting their bodies in two.
She stood up and quickly wiped the blood from her face before continuing to advance and slay all the infantrymen in her way. However, trying to regain control of the walls despite the overwhelming number of infantry was proving too difficult.
She had gathered several elves, but before she could advance further into the enemy ranks, a diagonal strike cut through the battlefield, raising dust from the ground and scattering it in the air.
"Watch out, get down!" she shouted, but it was already too late.
The elves couldn't react in time. Those who had taken the sword strike head-on were decapitated, and their heads fell to the ground. However, despite Mary's quick reaction, a part of her left hand was severed, and a portion of her right arm had been torn off.
"Ha...!!" she cried out in pain, trying to minimize the searing agony in her right arm. She furrowed her brows, her painful arm throbbing intensely.
At that very moment, a figure emerged from the dust, wearing a wicked smirk on his face. He had a scar over his right eye, indicating his ferocity. "Yaya... Someone managed to survive? Wow. I never thought I'd come across such a woman, as powerful as she may be!" he chuckled contemptuously.
The General appeared in his brown uniform, composed of different armor pieces protecting his forearms, torso, and legs. He held a long and thick sword in his right hand, resting it on his shoulder.
Meanwhile, he continued to approach. "What's your name?" he asked before remembering his manners. "Oh, excuse me. How rude of me! I am Leonard Strong, the Count of Wood Kingdom. And you?"
He kept smiling with arrogance and disdain but still asked for her name. Mary could feel her blood boiling at the sight of such a person. Mary gritted her teeth and said, "Mary! Remember it well because it'll be the last name you remember before meeting your maker!"
She quickly lunged forward, swinging her sword toward the motionless General. She swiftly aimed a quick strike at his head before hitting different parts of his body. In response, he calmly parried her various sword strikes and delivered a knee strike to Mary's abdomen, temporarily stunning her before impaling her belly with his thick sword. "Weak!"
"Ha...!" she cried out in pain. A doubtful resonance echoed, and Mary was sent flying about ten paces. At the last moment, she managed to slice a portion of the General's shoulder before being repelled.
Upon her reappearance, a part of her tunic covering her abdomen had been torn. Fortunately, the sword had targeted the spot where she had previously placed her wooden shield. "Thank you, companion!"
"You bitch! You damned woman!" he swore, stepping back abruptly while clutching his bleeding shoulder. "You won't leave here alive before I tear you to pieces!"
Mary took a few steps back, evading the piercing strikes, and assumed a ready combat stance before attacking. "Kendo! Second move!" At the same time, she whispered, "Companions, second formation!" A moving root traveled along her body and covered her sword with thorny vines.
Mary's companion with its different functionalities - defense, combat, healing - had been instrumental in this battle. It could replicate and activate any effect and technique as long as she had learned it. This moment demonstrated the effectiveness of their cooperation and training over a long period. Together, they aimed to defeat the General before them.
In this intense moment, Mary also silently thanked her grandmother. Without her guidance, she might have perished long before reaching this point. Without her, she would never have achieved the level of becoming the defense commander of TreeCity and earning her lord's recognition.
She furrowed her brows and concentrated all her strength into her attack, launching it in less than 1 millisecond. The General was suddenly taken aback and attempted to parry her sword before it shattered into pieces and stabbed him in the belly. "Pouah!" he spat out blood.
At the same moment, a translucent barrier appeared between them and propelled Mary about ten meters away. The projection speed was so rapid that she was caught off guard, dropping her weapon and slamming into the ground.
She closed her eyes and thought it was all over. Her last thought was... My lord!
At that very moment, an arm caught her and softened her fall. Feeling the warm embrace, she slowly opened her eyes and saw a wooden doll smoldering, burned in several places and emitting smoke. "How are you?" it asked.
Mary replied, "I'm okay!"
At the same time, the fog that had prevented the other party from recognizing her position dissipated, and a person in a green tunic appeared at the center of the scene, with the bloody General behind him, likely dead.
Behind the hood, a pair of green eyes shimmered through the thick dust in the area. "Green-level Archmage?" Mary murmured in disbelief.
Noah nodded slowly and whispered, "Looks like it's going to be a tough battle."
***
The Archmage in the blue robe scratched his chin and looked bored. He pulled an apple from his satchel and took a bite before speaking. "Brother Xenoth, how long are we going to stay in this province?"
In the midst of a meadow, a few kilometers away from the scene, there was a man in a green tunic lazily reclining on the ground, his arms folded, closely observing the movements of the battle taking place in TreeCity.
The aura emanating from his body was of a level above a normal Archmage. Compared to the Archmage in the blue robe, his power level was twice as potent as his comrade's. Clearly, he held the authority.
Xenoth sniffed and replied, "Brother Gray, a little more patience. The General has just arrived on the scene, and there's already been a considerable slaughter. It won't be long before the fortress falls."
"Ha... So boring," he said in a dry tone. "With the two of us, a single spell would have made them kneel. How can we stoop to such a level?"
Xenoth sighed. "You should refrain from making such remarks. We have prestige and a reputation to uphold. Tarnishing the Archmages of the towers would result in severe consequences."
Gray was discontent but didn't react aggressively. He remained on the grass, continuing to eat his apples before suddenly getting up. Xenoth was curious and asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to take care of business. Care to join me?" he said sarcastically.
Xenoth sniffed once more but paid no further attention. Gray floated away into the air and found a suitable spot before lowering his pants.
At the same time, he vented all his frustrations. "Damn it! These damn dogs! These elves have no modesty or pride. Pushing us aside when we have enough power to make them grovel for generations makes me so furious!" he shouted, hurling a fireball into the woods and causing a part of the forest to ignite.
"Ouch. That hurts."
Gray sighed and returned to finish his toilet.
Unconsciously, he stopped. Gray furrowed his brow, but shortly after, a look of confusion came over his face. He began to turn around, but a vine had already burrowed under his chest.
"What?"
After realizing the situation, he quickly cast a barrier spell and removed the vine.
"Who the hell dares to attack me?!" he screamed in rage, causing the surroundings to tremble. His face was already pale due to the blood he had lost earlier. Soon after, a wooden doll appeared out of nowhere and said, "It's me."
Furious, Gray conjured black and red flames that began to erupt from his arms, then he hurled them toward Noah's position. In response, Noah erected a translucent barrier and stopped his attack.
Immediately, the wooden doll's body exploded, and Noah rushed explosively towards Gray's position. In a final effort, Gray abruptly recoiled with a blast of air, then projected himself to a tree before creating a perfectly circular barrier.
"It's useless..." Gray said, his despair evident. A doll emerged from the tree trunk inside his shield and grinned maliciously. "I suppose... I've won the battle?" Noah said before impaling Gray's skull.
Suddenly, an explosion echoed throughout the entire forest, and Noah's avatar was destroyed. Consequently, Noah had no trouble creating another avatar and reappeared in the same spot.
At the center of the explosion lay a burned body, lifeless. Noah scratched his chin. "Well, I guess he's dead."
Abruptly, spikes pierced his back, and Noah was forced to retreat and dodge the ice spikes that threatened his life. "Damn..." Looking up, he could see a man in a green tunic, his eyes bloodshot.