Chapter 292

Chapter 292

“Ahayute will carry out the sentence.”

A low, gravelly voice rang out. At the same time, the spear that had left his hand plunged into the ground. BOOM! The massive explosion that also brought down Adrien’s Sky Tower swept across the area.

But it happened in a faraway clearing on the White Earth, not in the Allied line that Ahayute had originally targeted. A small portal opened in the air near where the spear should have fallen. Lorhon coughed up blood as he warped space to channel the attack.

“—Cool.”

“Oh, Archmage, are you all right!”

“Yeah—cool, that’s fine.”

Lorhon coughed heavily, repeatedly. Too many in a row, too much powerful spatial magic, and the soldiers, who had come to their senses late, were stunned. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, Lorhon looked down at them.

“Sorry Hei, I didn’t see that coming.”

“Well, that’s the Archmage’s fault—.”

“Now’s not the time for that, just run away.”

The stern face of Lorhon showed no sign of his usual relaxation. The commanders realized what they had to do and began to put it into practice. “The commander-in-chief shouted.

“All troops, retreat-!”

[Retreat!!]

Other commanders repeated the retreat order in full voice. Again, the odds were stacked against them. The number of giants tearing through the sky and descending was at least thirty, if not more.

I expected to fight giants, but I didn’t expect so many. The car was about to turn and retreat from the soldiers in the rear. Suddenly, a few spears of light shot out of nowhere.

Not toward the Alliance, but toward the empty space beyond. Adeshan, the first to recognize the intent, cried out.

“Oh, no!”

But it was too late. Three spears of light slammed into the portal through which the Alliance had advanced. With a boom, a cloud of dust blotted out the sky. The portal vanished, its carefully maintained magic distorted.

“Argh—!”

“Oh my God.”

Despair settled over the soldiers’ faces. Their only hope, their only way out, was gone.

There was no one to repair the portal now that Kratyr was exhausted, and many began to slump in their seats or weep. Suddenly, the sound of laughter came from the ramparts.

“Ahahahaha, look at those faces. Dude, did you really think you were going to win?”

The soldiers looked up. An unseen woman appeared at Letancier’s side, clutching her stomach and giggling. The look in her eyes suggested that this was no ordinary madwoman.

“That outfit is—!”

There was a collective gasp as they saw that she wore the same clothes as the other archbishops. Letancier asked.

“Thierria, keep your head down. Is the ritual over?”

“Still working on it. But I’m here because I don’t think I’ll need it.”

“You’re really–No, I’m sure it could be.”

“I think it’s over anyway, so let’s not be stiff, I don’t need a saint or anything.”

Archbishop Thieria giggled. She had snuck out of the Advent ritual that was being conducted by the archbishops because she thought it would be more fun this way.

She saw their faces contorted with despair, and she knew her judgment was correct. The frozen lieutenant finally spoke.

“Commander. Uh, what do you think we should do?”

“I, I—.”

The Commander-in-Chief stammered. Nothing came to mind. He’d been through all sorts of battles in his time as the Empire’s Grand Marshal, but nothing like this had ever happened before.

The giants, now completely out of the circle of magic, prepared to hurl their spears, the particles of light gathering in their grasp, filling the sky. An adjutant, frustrated, grabbed the commander-in-chief by the shoulders and shook him.

“Commander, you need to wake up!”

“Uh, yeah—we need to spread out the damage, so we’re all going to spread out and retreat—”

The Commander was about to say something. Spears of light shot from every giant’s hand. Dozens of beams of light, reminiscent of thunderbolts, rained down, aimed precisely at the Alliance.

“Kchhhhhhh!”

It was not something that could be blocked or channeled, but Lorhon did not give up and continued to chant. Portal after portal opened in the air, swallowing up the spears of light. Those that couldn’t be blocked were intercepted by the likes of the two swordsmen and Schlieffen.

“Damn, what’s going on all of a sudden.”

“Everybody run, what are you doing!”

Nabiroze, who had just cut down four spears, exclaimed with an expression. Zaifa and herself had neutralized four of them, and Schlieffen had slashed the fifth, but the spears remained.

Eventually, two spears of light broke through the air defense and struck right into the middle of the Allied line. BANG! With an earth-shaking roar, the pillars of light shot out. The soldiers looked at the spot where the flashes had subsided and went white.

“Ah, ahhhh—!”

“This is—this is ridiculous.”

There was nothing left inside the huge, deep pit. It was hard to believe that only seconds before, hundreds of people had been living and breathing. At least five hundred people had evaporated.

“Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Sah, help me, my leg!”

The carnage was stretched out on the edge of the pit. Those who were unfortunate enough not to be killed instantly were screaming. Those who had lost limbs or half their bodies were crawling around like insects.

If he was lucky enough to survive, he would be crippled for the rest of his life. But his misfortune didn’t end there. One of the officers, looking around, shouted in panic.

“Sir, the commander is down!”

“Da, the other commanders were there, too—!”

The situation was desperate. Taking a head count, they realized that the senior commanders who were supposed to be at the head of the Allied forces had just been vaporized by the bombing. But he couldn’t sit idly by. As he organized the chain of command in his head, he looked back at Adeshan.

“4 Field Commander, give your orders!”

“What, what?”

“You are currently in command. There are others higher up, but they are either injured or panicked and unable to communicate!”

“What the—!”

“I’ve been following the sweep for months, and everyone recognizes your skills. Give me orders now!”

The officer shouted. The giants were preparing to hurl their spears again, and with each flap of their wings, glittering feathers descended in a rush. The seeds of a steed that would turn into a monster that would tear men apart the moment it touched the ground.

“I, I’m—.”

Adeshan trailed off. She knew she was running out of time, but there was nothing she could say if it came out of the blue like this. Her head was heating up fast. What should I do? What can I do now?

“Again, again!”

Just then, a soldier pointed to the sky and shouted. Adeshan looked up in alarm. The fully formed spears of light were about to leave the giants’ grasp. She was about to shout something when, shriek! Shiiiit! Once again, dozens of thunderbolts rained down on the ground.

“—ah.”

Marja moaned, as Braum beside her gripped the handle of her shield. Both of them, and everyone else, instinctively sensed the end that was coming.

Navarordze was still nowhere to be seen, only the plosives he and Abel were supposedly emitting sounded erratically in the distance. No one was anywhere to save them now.

“Kool-Aid! Kool-Aid!”

Still, he could not wait. Lorhon spat out the blood once more, and was about to cast a spell. A new voice rang out from the sky above.

“Wake up, everybody!”

“Huh—?”

The voice was familiar. The voice’s owner landed in the middle of the Allied line before anyone could turn around. Adeshan’s eyes widened.

“Asel—?”

“Wake up, we’re not done yet!”

Asel was in front of him, and his companion, Orse, was performing aerobatics, attracting the attention of several giants. Asel had requested that the number of windows be reduced.

The windows of light were now directly overhead. In a moment of desperation, Asel took a deep breath and threw his arms up in the air.

“Haaaaah!”

At the same time, shimmering mana swirled and gathered. In the cloudless sky, stars were visible. The storm of mana originating from the starlight soared into the air, forming a large force field.

It was a stellar defense, the giants’ trademark. Kwagwagwagwag! The spears of light, finally at hand, pounded the shields like a great rainstorm.

“Kahak!”

Asel felt nauseous, like he’d been kicked in the gut. He had expended too much mana. The heavens and earth were shaking, but the Star Guard was not destroyed. He managed to lift his head and looked back at Adeshan.

“Hmph–you can’t give up.”

“Asel.”

“Everyone believes–you, the commander, no, you have the answers, you can save people.”

He did not stutter as he carried the lives of the Alliance. His beautiful eyes burned with the same determination that had saved the Dragon City. Lorhon’s face brightened when he saw that the shields were still standing.

“If this is it—all mages, rally to Mage Asel!”

The Archmage’s cry rang out. Asel’s control of the stars was the only hope in this situation.

“Well, yeah—I can’t die like this.”

“Take my mana, little friend!”

The mages, finally regaining their senses, began to channel their mana into Asel, the various colors of mana coursing through his body. Asel wobbled, threatening to fall, then righted himself.

“Woohoo–thank you all.”

“You’re doing weird things.”

Archbishop Thieria frowned. It was bad enough that he dared to deal with the power of the giants, but he didn’t like the glimmer of hope on his face. Asel paused to catch his breath, then spoke once more.

“Senior. Come on.”

“—Yes.”

Adeshan clenched his fists. His head was finally cooling. There was no way out, no chance of winning, but it was a commander’s job to find answers.

Yes. I was supposed to be a warlord.

“Haaaaah—.”

Closing her eyes, Adeshan concentrated, black energy spreading like mist at her feet. It was the mana of the shadows that controlled the minds of creatures, and it spread quickly, permeating the nearby Alliance soldiers.

“Uh, huh?”

“What, did something just—.”

The soldiers under the influence of mana shed their embarrassment. They didn’t know why, but they weren’t afraid to fight anymore. An unfounded confidence reared its head in their chests.

“Ugh…!”

Adeshan gritted his teeth, blood trickling down the bridge of his high nose. Quelling the fear was a simple task compared to taking complete control of the mind, but there were too many of them.

Of course, she couldn’t quit in the middle of the battle, so she gritted her teeth and covered the entire army in shadow mana. The giants were now in formation, ready to hurl their spears. Adeshan’s voice echoed in the minds of the entire Alliance.

[Hear, hear! All troops, enter the General Headquarters by any means necessary!]

“What the—!”

Lorhon’s eyes widened, the exact opposite of the strategy he’d been thinking of. Do or die, Adeshan said.

[There’s nowhere to run, if we lose here it’s all over anyway, let the giants strike at their heart!]

“Waaaaah!!”

A thunderous cheer broke out. None of the soldiers, their morale forcibly lifted, disagreed. Jaifa’s lips twitched as he heard the order.

“Now that sounds like a horse.”

“Amount of ethyl.”

Schlieffen gripped the hilt of his sword. They had no intention of retreating. Once again, the giants’ bombardment pounded the shields, and the final charge began.