Chapter 1020: Act 191 – The Battle of the White Lion XIV
As the undead’s ambush turned into a frontal assault, the situation on the battlefield at Fatan Port quickly changed. For the first time, the necromancers employed air forces, and countless flapping sounds filled the darkness. The Cruz soldiers on the city walls were still puzzled—what was that sound? But the young members of the White Lion Guard nearby turned pale. “Get down!” They pulled their comrades from the Empire down to the ground, then huddled behind the battlements.
The soldiers of the port defense were taken by surprise, still stumbling and unable to curse when suddenly a terrifying rain of bones descended from the sky. Numerous skeletal vultures plummeted down, crashing onto the city walls, causing injuries among the soldiers. Those struck lightly suffered fractures, while some were killed instantly. A Cruz soldier, caught off guard, was hit head-on, his eyes bulging as his lifeless body flew several meters before crashing to the ground. Upon impact, the skeletal vultures exploded into a shower of terrifying fragments, and those on the wall who failed to avoid the attack suffered heavy casualties.
Veterans of the Black Rose War and the Battle of Tosankad from the White Lion Guard fared better, but the recruits and those Cruz soldiers who had never faced the undead were in dire straits, especially those not near the White Lion Guard. For instance, an independent team of port guards defending a tower, out of thirty men, seven died on the spot, twelve were severely injured, and aside from the three who remained unharmed inside the tower, the rest were lightly injured. This included Knight Light, who commanded from the tower top, along with his two attendants, both of whom were also on the casualty list—this combat unit was effectively wiped out.
Additionally, the port guard’s archers also lost a third of their numbers in this wave of attacks. After receiving the casualty report, the others saw Baron Ludwig’s eyes twitch in response.
However, the s*icide attacks of the skeletal vultures succeeded only once. When they prepared to dive again the second time, they collided with the gargoyles flying in from behind, stationed at Fatan Port. Below, the necromancers awaited the effectiveness of their second wave, but suddenly they saw countless shredded skeletal vultures raining down from the sky, and their corpses quickly formed a thin layer on the battlefield.
Gargoyles!
Sok realized what was happening when he saw this. The gargoyles of the Erluin people had appeared in reports more than once, with the earliest mentioning them occurring when the arrogant Earl of Toniger attacked the Black Sword Bastion. However, that force had suffered heavy losses encountering the Jotungrund Dragon Beast army, and should not have many left.
What Sok did not know was that when the Toniger fleet arrived, the Buddhi had replenished Brandel’s number of gargoyles. Not long after, a massive creature descended from the sky: a gargoyle with a severed wing. It crashed heavily among a group of skeletons, crushing them to bits. But Sok did not feel regret; rather, he was somewhat pleased because after the first gargoyle fell, a series of chain reactions followed. This confirmed his suspicions that the Erluin gargoyles were indeed dwindling, as they could not withstand the assault of the skeletal vultures for long.
Skeletal vultures were considered a minor force in Vaunte, and even among the undead of Madara, they were not included in formal combat formations. In contrast, gargoyles were genuinely one of Buddhi’s aerial reconnaissance units. The disparity in combat power was immense; if not for the overwhelming numbers, the gargoyles would not have begun to suffer such significant casualties so quickly.
The fight in the sky appeared to favor the undead, yet on the ground, two squads of the White Lion Guard and port defense were resolutely blocking the skeletons on the cliff pathways, occasionally threatening the southern city wall of the cliff fortress. If it were a genuine undead incursion from Madara, they would have arranged for black knights to break the deadlock, or at the very least, launched a charge by skeletal cavalry or tried to assemble as many necromancers as possible to clear a path. However, they had neither black knights nor skeletal cavalry, and the few necromancers had become frontline commanders, each overseeing hundreds of skeletons. As for gathering them into a long-range attack formation, that was out of the question.
In fact, the undead did have a mage squad comprised of necromancers, but the frontline commanders were counting on them to serve another purpose, so it was impossible for them to reveal their hand so quickly.
After all, the port defense also had mage squads. In close combat, the first to expose themselves would suffer fatal blows.
Therefore, the only support available for the skeletons in battle was the limited number of skeletal archers, but they soon faced retaliation from the scattered mages on the enemy walls. Fireballs soared over the several hundred meters of battlefield and detonated in sequence along the enemy’s wall, causing heavy casualties among the unprotected skeletal archers, forcing the necromancers to retreat them.
In this exchange, the skeletons were pushed back until they retreated just outside the range of the enemy archers, which was still due to their overwhelming numbers—expendability wasn’t a concern. It was precisely for this reason that the necromancers were not worried about failing on the main battlefield; they had tens of thousands of troops, yet the front lines were unable to be deployed, as most undead were still trapped in the valleys behind. In fact, less than a third had joined the fight at that moment.
Of course, the undead didn’t wish to spend half a day merely taking the main city wall of Fatan Port—
Because it seemed the battle in the sky was finally reaching a conclusion.
The last gargoyle finally succumbed to the assaults of the vultures and their s*icide dive, crashing heavily against the southern wall of the cliff fortress, breaching it while shattering itself in the process. With the last opponent gone, the skeletal vultures could once again invade the airspace of Fatan Port, launching attacks against the port guard and the White Lion Guard.
Under these circumstances, the Cruz people had no choice but to withdraw their archers. Without the cover of ranged support, no matter how brave the White Lion Guard and port defense were, the limitations of human stamina would eventually lead them to lose their foothold on the sandbank. If it was just the solitary outer wall of Fatan Port, attacking it would be significantly easier in comparison.
Moreover, skeletal vultures could also attack humans engaged in melee against skeletons; after all, the undead never worried about attrition.
With the loss of air superiority, the battlefield situation shifted dramatically against the human side. However, at that very moment, a mile or two away from the main city wall of Fatan Port, another legion lay quietly entrenched. There stood a dilapidated little monastery, and in front of it was a square. The low buildings in front had all been dismantled, providing the people in the dark a clear view of the combat status at the city walls where shadows danced, and the thunderous sounds of battle echoed from that direction.
Among the crowd, Charles silently raised his head, gazing up at the skies. At that moment, a messenger sprinted to his side, whispering, “Lord Charles, it’s almost time.”
Charles turned his head, glanced at him, and nodded. “Leave it to me. Miss Delphine can rest assured.”
With that, he spread his fingers, and an exquisite card appeared in the palm of his hand, slowly revolving.
“Every moment, energy shifts its form, making the astral plane its home, the ultimate form of energy life—showcase: Ether Dragon.”
Charles recited loudly, and colossal light doors opened behind him. Various bizarre flying creatures swam out from these opened portals, their numbers even more spectacular than during the Black Sword Bastion, and everyone in the square gazed in awe at this scene. This was the power of magic; although they had no idea that Charles had borrowed the power of the wayfarer mage, at that moment, they felt deeply imprinted with a yearning for strength.
Even many years later, those masters who had walked out of Valhalla would vividly recollect this scene, but many would d*e without understanding how Charles had summoned those etheric beings into the material world, nor could they fathom what level and realm their mentor had reached at that time.
No matter whether they understood or not, countless ether dragons ascended into the skies. Just after they reached the airspace above Fatan Port, disaster struck the skeletal vultures, as even griffon riders from the Black Sword Bastion were no match for ether dragons, let alone them. The sky’s battle immediately turned one hundred eighty degrees, with the corpses of skeletal vultures soon descending like rain, their density at least two to three times greater than when they had fought with the gargoyles.
Sok, still stationed on the southern wall of the cliff fortress, understood that the undead’s air force had just been eliminated upon seeing the appearance of those ether dragons. Yet this was also a signal, indicating that Fatan Port’s side was nearly out of options. The Gray Saint Mephistopheles had yet to appear, but he was not worried about this; the Queen would help them solve this problem—assuming the opponent dared to show themselves.
Next came the real feast—
Sok felt a sense of relief, as at least thus far, all situations had been anticipated, indicating that the plan was indeed quite successful.
At that moment, the necromancer squad finally emerged, for the undead commander had to leverage them to suppress the ether dragons in the sky. Otherwise, losing complete air superiority would spell doom for the skeletons on the frontline between the cliff fortress and Fatan Port. In just half an hour, humans had pushed into the southern wall beneath the cliff fortress multiple times, threatening the safety of the fort.
However, the undead commander played a clever trick. They split the necromancer mage squad into two, aiming to entice the human mages to fire, exposing their existence. It must be noted that this cunning little tactic worked surprisingly well. As the necromancers attacked the ether dragons in the sky, the human mage squad ambushed behind the city walls immediately unleashed their magic upon them, nearly a mile away.
An overwhelming disaster descended upon the necromancers, as fireballs, meteors, and hail fell upon them as if they were free. These defenseless necromancers were blown to pieces, and it seemed the human mages, still not reassured, used spells to crush them again.
Seeing the complete annihilation of the opposing necromancer group, cheers finally erupted from the walls. The beautiful retaliation from the mages invigorated everyone, uplifting the morale of the port defense and the White Lion Guard. Even the Earl of Orkans and Baron Ludwig of Fatan, who had been spectating from the wall, let out a great sigh of relief; the face of the latter, which had been solemn until now, finally eased somewhat.
“The mages of the Erluin people really have some skills,” the Earl of Orkans praised, unable to restrain his excitement.
“Wait,” at that moment, Oni noticed something unusual. “Look over there!”
“Oh my!” Several nobles beside Delphine gasped as they turned to follow Oni’s pointing direction. “On the sea, the undead are attacking from the sea!”
The undead, of course, did not have a navy. Instead, due to the chaotic disorder, the entire Silver Valley Bay coastline had frozen due to the severe low temperatures. Initially, neither side thought of attacking from the already frozen sea, but at this moment, the blocked undead, as if running out of options, found a possible escape route, and this route struck hard at the weak point of the Fatan Port side.
