Volume 2 chapter 6
Laptara Fortress Defense Zone.
Stretching from north to south, the Laptara defensive line was divided into ten sectors, each manned by 50,000 demon soldiers.
Sector Nine.
Aleman, an Elephant-Kin Beast Demon of the Fifth Rank and commander of this sector, looked into the distance with eyes full of despair.
On the horizon, countless knights were forming up, their banners fluttering like a forest of steel.
They did not charge immediately. instead, the human mages formed into massive, disciplined battle squares.
Each square was led by a Seventh-Rank Magus. Like the spearhead of a knightly charge, these commanders acted as focal points, gathering the resonant mana of hundreds of lesser mages into a singular, devastating will.
From five or six kilometers away, giant orbs of fire, ice, and lightning began to rain down on the demon positions.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Fireballs detonated, unleashing tidal waves of flame that swept across hundreds of meters, scorching the earth until not even ash remained.
Ice spheres shattered, releasing terrifying cold snaps that flash-froze the ground.
Lightning orbs exploded into nests of writhing electric serpents, skittering across the soil and turning every living thing in their path into charcoal.
RUMBLE...
The earth groaned and shook. Violent, chaotic mana tore at the very fabric of the world, ripping rocks and grass into black dust that choked the sky.
For ten full minutes, the bombardment continued until the human mage legions paused to recharge.
DONG! DONG! DONG!
War drums, skinned with the hides of magical beasts, began to beat. Squadrons of knights spurred their mounts forward, organizing into assault formations.
"Artillery! Return fire!" Aleman screamed, recognizing the prelude to a charge.
"Yes, Sir!"
Sector Nine was situated on a section of the mountain range comprising three peaks, the highest reaching only 1,500 meters. The slopes were relatively gentle.
On the reverse slopes of these three peaks, facing the fortress, sat Aleman's artillery positions.
Three massive arrays—composed of 3,000 Fire Demons, 3,000 Ice Demons, and 3,000 Lightning Demons respectively—began to charge.
"FIRE!!"
At the command of the lead demon, waves of destruction were unleashed.
"Frost Meteor!"
"Heavenly Fire Incineration!"
"Thunder of Divine Punishment!"
Ice meteors a hundred meters in diameter, tsunamis of fire wide enough to swallow a city block, and golden lightning bolts thick as water barrels fell in unison.
The battlefield became hell.
CRASH!
Under the shadow of the Ice Meteor, hundreds of human soldiers didn't even have time to scream before they were smashed into paste. The resulting shockwave blew knights and horses away for kilometers.
ROAR!
The tsunami of fire swept forward, cracking stones and softening the earth until the ground itself turned into dark red magma.
"ARGHHH!"
"Retreat! Fall back!"
"Guh..."
Knights’ armor glowed red-hot. Fabric ignited instantly, turning men into living torches. Even enchanted armor forged by master smiths reached its limit; the protective runes were scoured away by the violent mana, and the metal began to melt.
One by one, knights and their mounts were reduced to ash, scattering into the magma.
The golden lightning was even more ferocious. Like maddened pythons, the bolts carved black scars into the earth. Anything they touched was instantly carbonized.
After one round of attacks, the landscape was unrecognizable. The sky was filled with chaotic mana turbulence, and the ground was devoid of life.
The Alliance had lost over a thousand men in a blink.
Enraged, the remaining human mages launched a counterattack.
At the command of the frontline general, the Mage Legions began to channel. Moments later, a rain of Arcane Missiles poured down on the three peaks.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Arcane Missile was a simple Fourth-Rank spell. Individually, its power was modest. But released at a Legion scale, with thousands of missiles falling every second, even a Seventh-Rank Magus would dare not face it head-on.
Because it was simple and cheap to cast, it was the staple of magical warfare. It was a contest of endurance—whoever broke first, lost.
Whish! Whish! Whish!
BOOM!
Countless missiles hammered the mountain peaks like a deluge of light. The coverage was absolute; even hiding on the reverse slope offered no safety as the mountain itself began to disintegrate.
"Shields up! Counter-barrage!!"
The demon commander roared, raising a shield inscribed with protective runes.
Thousands of other demons raised identical shields. Individually, the runes on these shields were incomplete fragments. But when gathered together and infused with mana, the runes connected wirelessly, forming a massive, unified Defensive Array.
This was the technology Clyris had perfected before the war, mass-produced by the Mana Engraving Machines. Each artillery battalion carried multiple sets, backed by stockpiles of mana stones. In a war of attrition, the demons were ready.
The human mages were no slouches either. Through precise positioning, they used their own bodies as nodes in a formation led by their Seventh-Rank commanders, creating a human defensive array.
The two sides exchanged fire relentlessly. The brilliance of the Arcane Missiles outshone the sun.
The mountains shook. Rocks shattered. Dust rose in choking clouds.
RUMBLE...
After a long stalemate, the peaks that had stood for ten million years groaned. They could take no more.
With a deafening roar, the mountaintops sheared off.
Hundreds of thousands of tons of rock collapsed like an avalanche. Dust blotted out the sky, bringing an apocalyptic darkness.
"Retreat! Move!"
Seeing the mountain collapse, the demon commander ordered a hasty withdrawal. The artillery duel ended as they scrambled to escape being buried alive.
But the Alliance did not retreat. Instead, an Eighth-Rank Grand Magus stepped forward.
He waved his staff. Mana from dozens of kilometers around rushed to obey his command.
He cast his spell. The sliding mountain face split apart. Like Moses parting the Red Sea, hundreds of thousands of tons of rock were forcibly divided in two, flowing harmlessly around the human army.
Then, several Mage Legions switched targets, firing Disintegration Magic at the separated debris, annihilating the rocks in mid-air to protect the vanguard from the shockwave.
"What..."
Aleman watched this display of power, his eyes nearly popping out of his sockets.
"Where are the reinforcements?!" He grabbed the communications officer.
"Reinforcements from Sectors Eight and Ten have arrived—20,000 troops! But the 70,000 from the other sectors won't be here until tomorrow!"
"Damn it... No matter! Quick! Order the artillery to fire again!" Aleman shouted.
"But Sir..."
"No buts! Once they recover from that avalanche, we are dead!" Aleman roared. "Now is the only chance! Their formation is disrupted from dealing with the landslide. All soldiers, charge with me! Artillery, cover us!"
"Yes, Sir!!"
Aleman mounted his skeletal warhorse. Leading 20,000 demons, he charged down the flanks of the ruined mountain.
"Brothers! Charge!!"
Aleman took the lead, screaming his defiance.
He knew the gap in strength. Defending passively meant dying meaninglessly in their trenches, at best forcing the enemy to waste a few more mana stones. If the enemy deployed a Ninth-Rank Archmage, it would be over instantly.
This was the best chance. For some reason, the enemy hadn't used their Archmages yet, and their formation was loose. If they could crash into the enemy lines now, they could inflict real damage.
This was the only way to hurt them.
If... if we can just kill enough of them... they will have to stop to reorganize and count their dead. That will buy us the rest of the day!
The distance closed. Aleman could see the panic in the eyes of the human mages, and the rising fury of the Eighth-Rank Grand Magus.
"Brothers! See you in the next life!!"
Aleman plunged into the sea of enemies, his figure swallowed by the light of battle.
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