Volume 2 chapter 35
Late Night.
The heavy iron gates of Talisk Fortress groaned open. Eleanor led 32,000 troops out into the darkness, their movements silent as ghosts.
On the battlements, Luna watched the legion melt into the night, her hands clasped in prayer.
"May fortune favor you... Please, come back alive... Eleanor!"
Clop-clop-clop...
Eleanor rode at the head of the column, guiding her army under the moonlight. The silver moon hung like a jade plate in the sky, its cold light spilling over the mountain ridges and plating the marching soldiers in a layer of frost-white.
She gripped the reins tight. The mountain wind whipped the corners of her black cape, revealing the intricate patterns on her armor—defensive runes that shimmered faintly silver in the pale light.
The rhythmic hoofbeats shattered the silence of the night. The soldiers marched in disciplined columns, their eyes shining with fierce determination in the dark.
"Luna... I leave it to you... Hold the line!"
Eleanor kept her face expressionless, but inside, she couldn't stop praying. This time, they had entrusted their fates to each other. It was a gamble on absolute trust.
The Alliance wouldn't be blind to activity around the Prague River, but they wouldn't immediately deduce the plan. It wasn't flood season; no sane commander would send tens of thousands of troops there for a hydrologic survey.
This meant that for the initial phase, Luna would be defending an already weakened fortress with even fewer troops. Facing a full-scale Alliance charge, the chances of holding were slim.
Later, once the dam was built and the water began to pool, the massive fluctuation of water mana would alert the Grand Magi. They would turn their spearhead toward Eleanor.
The only window of opportunity lay in the middle: While the Grand Magi were pinned down attacking the fortress—unable to break in, yet unwilling to retreat—they would be blindsided by the monstrous flood of the diverted river.
If either part failed, their hopes would turn to ash. The fortress would fall.
"I will not fail... not this time!"
Eleanor whispered to herself, rage burning in her eyes. "Alliance... I will make you pay!"
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"Luna, why did you call us here so urgently?" Byron asked, looking at Finn with surprise.
The two commanders had been holding the mountainous flanks of the fortress. They had faced constant probing attacks from Alliance elite squads. Since the terrain prevented large armies from deploying, the battles had been a grueling series of skirmishes.
It was hell for them. The demons lacked high-level combatants, so Byron and Finn had been holding the line almost single-handedly against multiple Alliance elites.
Fortunately, the Alliance main force was focused on the siege, and no Eighth-Rank Knights had been sent to the flanks. Thanks to the trench warfare tactics invented by Marseilles, they had managed to hold against a dozen Seventh-Rank enemies.
"Our situation is critical. We are at our limit..." Luna looked at her scarred companions and sighed internally. Everyone was suffering.
She briefed them on the situation and explained her plan with Eleanor.
The two listened intently, then exchanged glances. Finn asked, "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"I need you to take the offensive. Encircle the Alliance! Then—cut off their retreat!"
Luna pointed to the map, her voice serious.
"Huh? Just the two of us? Charge the Alliance main army?" Byron pointed at himself, looking at her like she was insane.
"Of course not the main formation!" Luna pointed to the fortress. "When the battle starts, the Alliance Ninth-Rankers will press forward to the walls! They only have fifteen Ninth-Rankers total. Six died in the last battle. Of the remaining nine, six are mages and only three are knights. If they don't commit fully to the assault, they'll just be sending their men to die against our guns!"
"Therefore, the rear guard you will be attacking will have Eighth-Rank commanders at most, and not many of them! I want you to launch a surprise attack! Raid their rear camp. Burn their supplies, burn their siege engines! Then retreat immediately."
"Looking at it that way... it's doable," Finn mused.
"Hiss... actually, that sounds like a solid plan..." Byron stroked his chin, intrigued.
"Well? Are you in?" Luna leaned over the table, her eyes burning.
"Done! Count me in!" Byron slammed the table, grinning viciously. "We've been getting beaten down for weeks. It's time to vent some anger! Let them taste what it feels like to be on the receiving end!"
"Agreed! I'm in!" Finn nodded. "Hiding in trenches has sapped the men's morale. We need a victory to wake them up!"
"Good! When the time is right, I will fire a Red Flare from the fortress cannon into the sky! When you see the red firework, charge immediately! Catch them with their pants down!" Luna shouted.
"Understood!!"
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The Alliance regrouped faster than Luna anticipated. It took only five days.
Day Six.
An army of 300,000 elite Alliance troops pressed toward the fortress.
Without massive bombing raids to disrupt them, reinforcements poured in freely. Crucially, three more Ninth-Rank Knights had arrived. The Alliance now fielded six Ninth-Rank Knights and six Grand Magi.
This time, they were determined to crush Talisk Fortress in one blow. No tricks. No flanking maneuvers. Just 300,000 men crushing everything in their path.
They gathered fifty kilometers out.
Six Grand Magi unleashed their full power.
Mana from dozens of kilometers around swirled into a massive vortex in the sky. Beneath it, organized mage legions drew directly from this infinite well to unleash a barrage of firepower.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Countless Arcane Missiles shot forth, forming a solid line of light in the sky. They fell like a torrential storm on the ground ahead.
Without the Vanguard Citadel to threaten their flank, the Alliance marched straight for the fortress.
Under the saturation bombardment, the minefields were detonated sequentially. Explosions rippled across the plains, but they couldn't slow the Alliance's advance.
When they entered the range of the Fortress Guns, the Grand Magi in the sky combined their powers to erect a Sky Curtain—a massive barrier that shielded the legions below from the lethal shells.
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
The Alliance army moved like a colossal beast. Its breath—the magic barrage—scoured the earth, physically lowering the ground level by several feet as it advanced.
The demons fired desperately. Shells larger than men slammed into the beast, but against the Sky Curtain, they seemed as harmless as tickles.
"Damn it..." Luna gritted her teeth on the wall. "I didn't expect those three new Ninth-Rank Knights to bring three full Mage Legions with them! Curse them!"
"What do we do... Commander?" a soldier asked nervously.
"Don't panic. Stick to the plan! Three Mage Legions... it's not fatal!" Luna comforted him, though her eyes remained cold. "Let's go! Time to prepare! They are almost here!"
Luna left the wall.
Outside, the Alliance closed to within twenty kilometers. The fourteen Wall Gun turrets joined the firing solution. A denser rain of heavy shells hammered the Sky Curtain, finally causing it to tremble.
Occasionally, a shell would find a weak point, piercing the barrier and landing among the troops, instantly erasing dozens of soldiers.
But the Alliance marched on. The Mage Legions continued to clear the path.
Their resolve was unshakable. They would not stop until Talisk fell.
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