Chapter 100: I Will Bring Them Victory
A month later, the final battle had come.
The demon commanders were all ecstatic. After months of cowering behind the high walls of the Elven Kingdom, the allied army was now, for the first time, marching out to meet them in open battle. Without the help of the Sky-Winged, they were curious to see how the elves and the dwarves planned to face their army.
The Dwarven King had originally tried to lure the demon army into a canyon, but the demon commanders were too cunning and hadn't fallen for it. In the end, the battlefield was the Grye Plains. The once-lush grasslands were now a barren wasteland, the very air thick with the stench of demonic corruption.
In the distance, the massive army of magical beasts, a black tide, was slowly advancing towards the allied army. Each demon controlled a different kind of beast, and they were all crammed together with no formation to speak of. If one fell behind or stumbled, it would be trampled to death by the ones behind it. It was clear that the demons also lacked a unified command; they were just attacking in a haphazard manner, according to the whims of their individual commanders.
"It seems the false god is not directly commanding them," Rhodes said. He was on a high platform at the rear of the allied army, from which he could see the entire battlefield.
"To be so densely packed... are they not afraid of our mages?" Serie asked.
With a single volley of her arrow rain or a single pillar of light, she could easily kill dozens, even hundreds of them. If all the mages of the allied army were to attack at once, the beast horde would suffer a devastating blow.
"Do you think you can kill all of them before you run out of mana?" Rhodes said, pointing to the endless tide of monsters. "Once you mages are out of commission, our warriors will have to face their spells head-on."
His real worry, however, was that the demons would use their Divine Strike again. He had the Elven King send out numerous scouts to keep a close eye on them. But from what they had gathered so far, it seemed the demons had no such intention. Perhaps they thought that without the Sky-Winged and the Great Elven Forest, the allied army was no longer worthy of such a tactic. They could just drown them in an endless wave of monsters. And besides, a Divine Strike took a heavy toll on the demons as well. To have used it twice in a row must have already depleted their mana. And they had no idea that the allied army now had its own "Divine Strike." In the end, their arrogance would be their downfall.
The demon army drew closer, the sight of it a strain on the nerves of every soldier.
"Alright, let's begin."
On the high platform, Rhodes stood at the very front. Serie and Olivia were behind him, and behind them, thousands of mages from the allied army, including Norne and Eirik.
Rhodes gripped Org with both hands. Its scabbard, the holy relic stone slab, lay on a pedestal before him. To his side, the Holy Right Sword, Athos, hovered in the air, a soft halo of light radiating from its blade and enveloping them all in a protective barrier. And on his other side was the 'Light of Ersten', now reforged. He had infused it with the spell to sever the connection between the monsters and their god, so that when they were slain, they would just turn to dust, leaving no trace, no corruption upon the land.
Rhodes was the first to release his mana, and the others followed.
They all followed the pattern of the modified magic circle he had created and unleashed all of their power. Their combined mana formed a massive web of energy that covered the entire platform, with the three holy swords at its heart. This was the "false Divine Strike," a spell he had created after studying the Sky-Winged's own.
The true Divine Strike required long, coordinated training. The Sky-Winged's perfect formations had been a form of practice. But the allied army didn't have that kind of time. So he had resorted to a simpler, more direct method.
With the power of the three holy swords, he would gather the mana of all the mages of the allied army and unleash it with Org's own light cannon. It would have an effect similar to a true Divine Strike.
The three holy swords were essential. A single sword could not handle such a massive amount of mana. And of the three, Org was the main weapon. Only it possessed the 'light cannon' ability. Otherwise, it would just be a simple release of mana, not nearly powerful enough.
"They're coming!"
An elven scout's voice was tense.
On the horizon, the demon army had finally entered their designated kill zone.
The fastest of the monsters could already see the dazzling magical light at the rear of the allied army. But with their limited intelligence, they had no idea what it was.
The demon commanders at the rear had also noticed it. But under Rhodes's control, the pressure of the 'false Divine Strike' was completely contained, so they had no idea what the elven mages were up to.
"Should we have the army disperse?" one of them suggested. He could see the massive web of mana being woven in the distance. It was clear that the allied army was preparing some kind of large-scale attack.
"It's too late now. To disperse them now would only cause more unnecessary casualties. Let's just have these beasts charge forward and use them to drain the mages' mana."
The demons were clearly not taking them seriously. So what if they're preparing a large-scale spell? Can it really be as powerful as a Divine Strike? Now, on this battlefield, their army was invincible.
The Elven King watched the approaching horde and gave a slight nod. "Tell Mr. Rhodes, it is time."
The order was passed to him. He no longer hesitated and pushed his own mana output to its maximum.
In the next moment, the massive web of mana began to contract, its strands flowing into the three holy swords on the platform.
VMMMMMM—
The swords let out a clear, high-pitched ring, the likes of which had never been heard before. The runes on their blades lit up one by one, and their light flowed along the lines of the magic circle, gathering into a single point.
Rhodes gritted his teeth as he felt the immense flow of power. In that moment, he was glad he had made his earlier decision. This power was far greater than what he had used to counter the Divine Strike before. His own body could have never handled it.
It will work, he thought. With this power, I can see a way to slay the god.
(End of Chapter)
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