“Activate the Second Phase!” Conner ordered.
Floyd and the two Archmages began chanting as the Giant Red Skull in the air changed colors. From red, it turned completely black, and from its hollow eye sockets, a blazing blue flame emerged.
“Let’s go!” Eneru shouted as he transformed into his Qilin Form.
Ezkalor transformed into a Giant Golden Dragon and soared towards the sky along with Eneru.
Drauum stomped its foot on the ground and a giant Earth Spike shot up to the air. It then ran towards the skull with the intention of joining his comrades in destroying the Giant Skull that was looking down on all of them in contempt.
The Hundreds of Giant Eagles, that were flying in the sky, also charged towards the Giant Skull en masse. Their riders barely hung onto their seats, as their magic powers ran amok inside their bodies.
Even so, all of them had one thing on their minds and that was to destroy the Giant Black Skull before it could unleash whatever diabolical spell their enemy had in store for them.
“Arrogant Guardians, it’s time for you to know your place as well.” Conner sneered. “Gravity Befall!”
Eneru, Ezkalor, Drauum, and the Flying Eagles froze in place, before a powerful, invisible force slammed down on them like a mountain. Just like flies that were hit by a fly swatter, all of them crashed towards the ground, killing the elves that were unlucky enough to be under them.
“Prince Ernest, Imprison that Ancient Golem!” Conner ordered as he pointed at Drauum who had crashed face first on the ground.
Prince Ernest who was seated on the white throne looked at the Projection in front of him. He gritted his teeth as he reached out to grab the image of Drauum with his right hand.
“Iron… Maiden!” Prince Ernest said with pained breaths.
The Sword on the Statue of the Goddess Astrid glowed brightly as it shot a beam of light towards the sky. This beam of light transformed into a golden chain that descended towards the Ancient Golem that had just risen to its feet.
Immediately, the golden chain wrapped around Drauum’s body and pulled the Ancient Golem towards the sky, where it was enclosed in a solid-golden statue with a spiked-filled-interior.
These spikes pierced into Drauum’s body holding it in place. Preventing the Demigod from using its ability, and imprisoning it completely.
Prince Ernest looked at the imprisoned Pseudo-Demigod once, before losing consciousness. He had already forced himself to the limit, and he could no longer participate in this war. Even so, he had done enough.
Conner had only tasked him to do one thing and that was to capture Drauum. As long as the Pseudo-Demigod was out of the picture, their chances of victory increased drastically.
The Dragons and Qilins, that had also been flying a while ago, crashed on the ground as well.
The Leader of Deus had gotten this idea from the Undying Lands, where the concept of flight was restricted. He knew that as long as the Aerial Cavalry of the Elves was disabled, they would have no choice but to scale the City Walls of Gladiolus where they would meet the fierce resistance of the Defenders who had no intention of letting them have their way.
A powerful roar echoed from within the City of Gladiolus as a Taotie Flew past its walls. He was followed by Hundreds of Gryphons and dozens of Hipogriffs that had belonged to the Gryphon Brigade and Order of the Angorian War Sovereign.
Jekyll opened his mouth and immediately sucked in the Elven War Machines, as well as the Elves manning them. As long as these war machines were secured, the Elves would have to use a different method to break down the City Walls.
He was only able to fly for a limited period of time, so he chose to prioritize them as his targets.
“Stop, you damn Toatie!” Eneru roared as he fired a lightning blast at his second most hated enemy.
Ezkalor also fired a Dragon Breath to prevent Jekyll from finishing his goal.
Jekyll had already taken ten out of the eighteen War Machines whose sole purpose was to break the rune-enforced walls of Gladiolus. He managed to evade Eneru’s attack, but Ezkalor’s Dragon Breath grazed him. Even so, he didn’t stop.
The other Dragons and Qilins focused their magical attacks on the Taotie, giving him several injuries all over his body.
Jekyll didn’t stop because he couldn’t afford to stop. While the Taotie was enduring the brunt of the Magical Beasts’ onslaught. The Gryphons, Hippogriffs, and their riders targeted the fallen Giant Eagles.
The Freedom Fighters from the Zelan Dynasty weren’t idle either. Prince Alaric led the charge while riding on a war horse, as the prodigies of the Zelan Kingdom poured out of the city gates to join the fray.
Their role was to clean up as many Elves as they could within the perimeter of the City Walls, for as long as the Elves were still unable to take full control of their bodies.
The Super Soldiers, Ash Golems, and even the Deus’ Sword Saint, Alfred, swarmed upon the Giant Eagles and their riders, who were gravely injured like ants, killing them without mercy.
This was all part of their strategy. Jekyll would be the bait and lure the concentrated fire of those who were still capable of casting magic, while the rest of the Defenders would hack the Giant Eagles to pieces.
The Elves had finally regained a semblance of order, despite the fact that they weren’t able to hear each other, or use their magic.
They nocked their arrows and open-fired at the damned Humans that had taken them completely by surprise.
Conner eyed the battlefield and raised his hand.
Floyd and the two Archmages once again chanted a different verse of magic and the Black Giant Skull in the sky opened its mouth wide. It emitted a soundless scream that repelled the projectile attacks of the elves, and sent them back into the Elven Army!
Howls of pain reverberated in the air as the Elves did their best to protect themselves from the rain of arrows.
Ezkalor was forced to stop his attack on Jekyll as he used his wind Magic to help shield as many Elves as he could from the unexpected counter that Conner had prepared for them.
Jekyll used this lull in the Beasts’ offensive to devour the remaining War Machines before rising up into the air to fire his own Breath of Darkness.
“Sound the bells!” Conner commanded. This was the order for the Defenders to retreat and return to the safety of the City.
The tolling of bells spread across the battlefield, alerting the Alliance that it was now time to return to the safety of the city walls.
Alfred, cut off the head of the last Giant Eagle before shouting the order to retreat. One by one, the Defenders flew towards the safety of the city in haste.
“Die!” Jekyll roared as he fired a full-powered Darkness Breath at the bulk of the Elven Army.
Ezkalor and Eneru hurriedly unleashed their attacks to counter Jekyll’s move, but they didn’t have enough time to gather enough magic power to match it.
Suddenly, a bright beam of light, that came from the rear of the army, fused with Ezkalor’s and Eneru’s attack, and met Jekyll’s breath attack mid-air.
The Unicorns that were guarding the Princess had worked together to fire that beam of light to fight off Jekyll’s attack that was meant to reap thousands of lives if it hit its designated target.
A loud explosion took place sending powerful shockwaves in every direction.
Jekyll was pushed back, but instead of resisting, he used it to propel himself back towards the city. Although he was regretful that his attack was cancelled, he knew that there was nothing he could do about it.
As the Taotie flew past the city walls, a loud cheering took place. They had won the first clash against the Elves, and it was an overwhelming victory.
The Giant Black Skull stared down at the Elves as it laughed a soundless laughter. It was as if it was mocking the Elves for their arrogance and stupidity.
The Elves retreated three miles away from the City of Gladiolus in a disorderly manner. Ezkalor, Eneru, as well as the other Beasts guarded the rear, just in case the Humans tried to launch another surprise attack on them.
They had never anticipated that they would lose so badly in the first clash between the two races. They didn’t know how many casualties they suffered, but Ezkalor estimated that it was over Three-Hundred Thousand.
Jekyll’s gaping mouth had indiscriminately swallowed countless Elves, along with the War Machines that were meant to bring down the walls of Gladiolus. None of the Giant Eagles had survived because they received the concentrated attack of the Allied Defenders.
Empress Sidonie watched this from afar as a playful smile appeared on her lips. She was truly impressed by the one-sided trashing that happened not long ago. However, she also understood that the Defenders wouldn’t have it easy the next time.
‘They used the arrogance and confidence of the Elves to their disadvantage,’ Empress Sidonie praised. ‘A truly brilliant move. Even if the city fell, this achievement will certainly be written down in history.’
< Yes. It was very entertaining. The Elves will certainly not be so full of themselves next time and take this war seriously. Also, their Ancient Golem is imprisoned. This will be a blow to their morale. >
Morgana chuckled. Clearly, she was enjoying the show that had happened in front of her.
‘However, I have a feeling that the Ancient Golem will not be imprisoned for long,’ Empress Sidonie mused. ‘The moment he is released from his prison, it will be the Elves’ turn for a counter-attack.’
< True. But, this is what makes it so exciting! >
Empress Sidonie smiled. The Defenders had their taste of victory, but they still hadn’t won the war. It would take more than a single loss to deter the Elves from their plan of conquest.
Evexius eyed the Giant Black Skull in the sky with great interest. He had heard about the Continental Spell that Conner had cast over the Southern Continent, and was very curious how he was able to accomplish this task.
The Grand Archmage then gave Berthold a sidelong glance before shifting his attention to the Young Empress that was seated on the throne.
Evexius didn’t know what Empress Sidonie had planned for this war. However, he was sure of one thing. The beautiful lady sitting on the golden throne would definitely make her move before the war’s end.
He didn’t know why he felt this way, but he trusted his instinct. All he could do was act when that time came and play his role according to the Beautiful Empress’ wishes.
