Chapter 139: Exhaustion
Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
Compared to the four magic crystal cannons which were ceaselessly roaring, Black Raven City was rather silent. Its ruler, Lord Zaganide, had always considered offense to be the best defense. Interestingly, his old rival, Dismark, was the exact opposite, and excelled at exhausting his enemy’s strength with his city’s defense.Thus, Black Raven City didn’t possess a single magic crystal cannon, while Holy Crown City had over fifty. If one were to attack Holy Crown City with only four magic crystal cannons, they would have been reduced to ash before they could blink.
Black Raven City, however, had no such luxury. All they could do was silently weather through the barrage, powerless to retaliate.
When the infantry formations were only two hundred meters away, the Evil Eyes on the city walls finally launched their first volley. A stray light beam might not be very powerful, but hundreds of beams of light were lighting up the air with their blinding red lights, even brighter than the sun.
Enveloped by the light, the large shields held by the soldiers started melting at a visible rate. Soon, rays of red light pierced through the shields and landed on the soldiers, immediately melting their bones and flesh.
The Riptide Regiment lost more than one hundred soldiers in just the first volley!
However, the infantry formation kept slowly moving on with an astonishing momentum like a giant and fierce beast who was desperately fighting in complete disregard for its life.
The second round of volleys launched by the Evil Eyes landed on another infantry formation, taking away another hundreds of lives. However, the morale of the soldiers were at an all time high. On top of that, most of the soldiers leading the charge had already been cursed, and the attack only served to enrage them even more.
Witnessing the death of your enemies was supposed to be enjoyable, but each time Sherrill ordered an attack, a cold shiver would run through his spine. The Evil Eyes’ light beams were much more powerful than bow and arrows, but it still took time and energy before the beams could melt through the soldiers’ huge shield and steel armor to cause damage. Just like ordinary archers, the Evil Eyes would eventually become exhausted.
But Sherrill had no other options. Quantity could make up for quality, and the enemies outside his walls definitely had the numbers advantage. The pitiful amount of force he had under his command was nowhere enough to ward off such a siege. What’s worse, the quality of his troops was not superior to that of his enemies. If the enemies reached the city gate, the consequences would be disastrous!
Magical fluctuations started to spread across the battlefield. The magicians of the Riptide Regiment started to cast magic shields for the soldiers in the forefront. Unfortunately, there were too few of them. The shields cast by only a dozen fifth-grade magicians could not stand the barrage of light beams, and were quickly decimated.
Even under the sweeping rays of death, the three infantry formations still managed to advance forward another one hundred meters. They could see the strangely shaped Evil Eyes now, but their speed slowed down. Instead of passively defending against the attacks, they started to dodge the coming rays, and when the light faded, they would quickly regather in an orderly manner. Clearly, they had gone through a countless amount of training for this exact situation.
Dozens of fire balls flew down from the city walls and into the formations. Bursts of fire lit up the sky. This attack was different from the rays emitted by the Evil Eyes, as it tested the personal ability of the soldiers. Some were struck down by the fire ball on the spot, while stronger ones could block it with on their shields.
Ronning sneered as he stood on the dais. Deploying magicians so early in a battle was never wise. If the commander on the city walls was not an idiot, the only explanation for this was that the enemy forces were reaching the end of their barrel.
The infantry formations were still moving forward, but the Evil Eyes also started to launch their volleys quicker and quicker. The soldiers were melted under the red light one after another, and the death rate was soaring up in a straight line.
When the infantry formations were less than fifty meters away from the city wall, the Evil Eyes were attacking as if they were mad. The volleys were now a continuous sea of red light that never disappeared and followed the soldiers’ every footstep.
Horns sounded among the Riptide Regiment. The three infantry formations, which had been heavily damaged, started to retreat abruptly but orderly.
The Evil Eyes on the wall were still emitting rays as if they were seeing off their enemies. But in Ronning’s eyes, it was only a petty waste of energy.
Two of the other infantry brigades began to move toward the wall from the side. The huge shields in their hands looked a bit strange, as they were much larger than the ordinary ones and were covered in a black cloth. It was hard to guess what the use of the cloth was.
Sherrill at this point had a faint notion of his enemy’s plan — exhaust his defense and launch a final assault when the opportunity came. However, even though he had figured that out, he had no way of defending against it. Though the tactic might be so simple that anyone could understand it, the key was to use it at the right time.
The only option left for Sherill was to try to scare off his enemy at all costs and convince them to give up on their plans.
When the two infantry formations were nearly two hundred meters away, Sherrill ordered the Evil Eyes to launch volleys again. However, what happened later shocked him. When the rays fell down onto the soldiers, the black cloths all turned into ashes in the blink of an eye, exposing countless shields as smooth as mirrors. Actually, they were exactly that: mirrors! When Ronning had decided to attack Black Raven City, he had already expected to fight with the Evil Eyes and the Viper Demons. He had thus made corresponding preparations in secret.
The rays emitted by thousands of Evil Eyes were all reflected back. Coincidentally, four magic cannonballs also landed on the defensive magic shield. The barrier of light formed by the magic barrier started to violently shake. Any magic shield, no matter how solid it was, had its limitations. Otherwise, no one would have to worry about war once they built a good defensive magic matrix.
“Stop, stop!” Sherrill shouted.
But his shout was buried by the thunderous sounds of the magic crystal cannons, and the Evil Eyes kept up their volleys.
“Idiots…” Sherrill had to raise his whip again. Fortunately, the magic crystal cannons opposite him had run out of magic crystals, and were unable to continue their barrage. Otherwise, the magic matrix defending the city was sure to be destroyed.
Instead of showing fear in front of the death rays, the soldiers who were holding mirror shields kept marching forward. Ronning had deployed this troop earlier than he had planned, because he noticed that Black Raven City did not have Viper Demon troops garrisoned. Under this circumstance, he could apply pressure to his enemy without any resistance.
From the city walls, spells poured down like rain. There were huge fireballs, lightning, wind blades, and icicle drills. But these were nothing when compared to the sudden swamps and quicksands, which were able to bury the soldiers in the blink of an eye. Nevertheless, such kinds of magic were limited by distance, and the two infantry formations were not in a hurry to launch an attack. They still slowly pushed forward. Among them, there were some high-grade professionals who would leap into midair from time to time, releasing their gorgeous techniques of fighting to intercept the spells which were pouring down.
Sherill considered today to be the worst day of his life. From noon to dusk, his heart had been hanging near his throat. The continuous attacks by his enemies spared him no time to rest. He had even lost track of how many times he had pushed back his enemy. Push back – not defeat – because all those attacks were simply distractions. However, if he let down his guard for even a moment, those distractions would instantly turn into full fledged assaults.
As a general who had followed Zaganide for many years, Sherrill had many reasons to consider this the most important battle in his life. But he could not understand why his enemy had chosen this day, nor could he find a way out with the limited troops he had.
When the sun fell down the horizon, Ronning sent the mirror-shield-holding infantries, who had already had a break for two hours, back into battle. The four infantry brigades who had rested for the whole afternoon also participated in the attack. The magic crystal cannons, which had stayed silent for so long, suddenly shot again with beams of white light soaring into the sky, creating thunderous sounds of explosions.
Sherrill jumped to his feet when seeing this. He knew the decisive moment had finally arrived. But when he turned, he saw that the Evil Eyes were too tired to launch more attacks. The Minotaurs were still in prime condition, but once the wall was breached, how could they defend against the attack of tens of thousands of soldiers? Could the troop of nearly four hundred Evil Eyes and over one hundred Viper Demons resist the attack of their enemies? Sherrill felt a trace of bitterness in his mouth.
Closer, even closer… He waited nervously for the enemies to enter the optimal firing distance. Just then, a light lit up both on the ground and the sky. A soldier covered in heavy armor both from head to toes leaped up from the formations. He was surrounded by a pure and bright golden light, which was flowing like water and shining like the morning sun. Right at this moment, all eyes fell on him.
The next moment, the soldier had rushed forward at an unimaginable speed, leaving a mirage in midair. He was like lightning but quicker and brighter. He crossed hundreds of meters as if they didn’t exist. In the blink of an eye, the war pike in his hand had hit the magic shield of Black Raven City. The shield that managed to remain intact through thousands of rounds of cannon barrages started shaking and violently twisting, like a bubble that was about to burst in the wind.
“A… a superior-grade professional?!” Sherrill jumped up and roared. “Kill him! Kill him…”
Countless beams of light flashed, and the Viper Demons also desperately pulled back their longbows. Fireballs and lightning landed on him like rain drops. That single soldier had become everyone’s target.
However, with the bright golden light covering him, the mirror shield in his hand appeared extremely solid. It could not only block the rays emitted by the Evil Eyes, but also the arrows shot by the Viper Demons. It also withstood the spells released by the magicians. It was truly an appalling strength.
However, their efforts were not in vain. The thick golden light finally started to dim at a noticeable rate.