Chapter 187: Act 121 – Final Battle (9) (Second Update)
The Silver Elf commander removed his golden spiked helmet, shook his head, letting his beautiful silver hair cascade down like a waterfall, then let out a long breath. His pair of light silver eyes coldly observed the battlefield’s devastation; the bodies of the lizardmen lay strewn about amidst the ruins, blood flowing like little streams. The air was thick with a pungent metallic scent, strong enough to make most normal people feel nauseous, but for the bloodstained elven warriors, it was the scent of victory wafting through the air.
But no, victory was still far off.
Yuhjiker had run away; his subordinates wanted to give chase, but Naminez stopped them. The Silver Elf commander sheathed his ornate, gilded command sword and gestured to the others, signaling them to regroup and prepare for the next course of action. His orders were decisive and precise, without any hesitation.
At the same time, he had already seen Husher leading another group of elves approaching from the opposite side of the battlefield.
This was not Husher’s first time seeing Naminez, but he couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned; the Naminez after battle radiated an astonishing beauty. Though he originally appeared somewhat overly delicate, the bloodstains on his golden armor highlighted a jarring contrast. Coupled with the traditional silver hair of the Silver Elf and his cold expression, it created an oddly alluring charisma.
“Commander,” Husher was momentarily taken aback but quickly reacted, “The battle over here has already ended.”
“Yes,” Naminez nodded.
He turned back; the gray flag at the direction of the ceremonial hall still flew high, but no one knew to what extent the battle there had progressed.
“But victory is still a long way off,” Naminez replied, “We will return along the original route as planned; I hope your lord can truly keep his promise and not joke with his life.”
“Wait,” Husher interrupted him, “The lord’s original orders were not like this.”
Naminez looked down at him from above.
“You’ve seen the monster. Even in our prime, we need three to one odds to maintain an advantage against it. Do you really believe your lord can hold it off for over half an hour?” the Silver Elf commander coldly asked. “Captain, my standard for assessing the battlefield is based on the ultimate goal of victory. There is no room for any mercy in the fight against the Dark Dragon.”
“But…”
“I don’t have time to discuss with you; I’m merely informing our allies of our actions as per usual.” The elven commander replied, “Or to put it another way, Miss Antinna, or rather your lord, in my eyes, the latter’s importance in this battle far outweighs the former. Which side do you choose?”
Husher fell silent, unable to resist glancing toward where Antinna stood.
Naminez shook his head, “Alright, human, I don’t need to explain further: Medisa sacrificed her life for this reason. Perhaps it seems incomprehensible to you, but in our history, being lenient with oneself is abandoning hope for tomorrow. I hope you understand this.” Then he lowered his head and quietly added, “In fact, I have already privately consulted with Miss Antinna on this.”
With that, he stood straight and waved his hand.
“Phoenix Guard, prepare to set off!”
……
In fact, just as Naminez and Husher anticipated, Antinna’s first battle did not progress smoothly. With no defenses to hold, the lizardmen quickly breached the first outer wall, and due to the absence of obvious obstacles, the mercenaries were exposed to the enemy’s crossbowmen. Even a counterattack was difficult to organize.
However, at this moment, the tenacity of the Lubis mercenaries was undeniable. The three mercenaries on the outermost line endured the onslaught of nearly thirty times their number of enemies, losing their position three times only to reclaim it three times again. The density of the lizardmen’s attack was such that when Antinna ordered another team of mercenaries to support, they were intercepted midway, and the last remaining of the three ended up detonating the only disintegration crystal he held, causing the greatest casualties among the lizardmen since the battle began:
Almost fifteen lizardmen fell between the first and second outer walls on the slanted slope.
But the subsequent battle grew bloody, as the Lubis mercenaries and lizardmen engaged in a cruel tug-of-war, with each stronghold available becoming a battleground. After a 22:4 exchange rate, the lizardmen finally broke through the outer wall and began their assault on the central platform outside the altar hall.
At this point, it had been nineteen minutes since both sides had engaged, and ten minutes since the initial contact in the rear.
The mercenaries began to pull back, but this was not a long-term plan, as the space available for them to withdraw their lines was gradually becoming narrower. Beyond them was Antinna.
An arrow nearly grazed the delicate face of the noblewoman—
Blood quickly seeped from the cut on her skin, but she remained oblivious. She held tightly to the flagpole, resolutely standing at the edge of the platform— the girl was calculating the time and the changes in the battle, waiting for an opportunity. Yet every mercenary’s death weighed heavy on her heart; Brendel had never suffered casualties while leading them, but in just a little over ten minutes under her command, they had already suffered severe losses.
Especially when that elven girl named Diya leapt forward to block a fatal arrow for her, the noblewoman who had never personally experienced war felt tears welling uncontrollably in her eyes. Yet she bit her lip and held on, laying the pale-faced and serene elven girl down gently on the ground, her body still warm, as if she had merely fallen asleep.
Then Antinna felt someone passing her a handkerchief.
She turned in surprise to see Flour looking at her with a calm expression; she was the sister of the deceased girl.
“You’re injured, Miss Antinna.”
“No, it’s fine…” Antinna took a deep breath, choking, “I’m sorry…”
Flour’s pink lips moved slightly; she seemed to want to say something but held back. Brendel hadn’t spoken, so she couldn’t easily open her mouth either.
“Please give me the flagpole, Miss Antinna; it’s too unsafe here.” After a moment’s hesitation, she said.
Antinna shook her head.
“No, this is my position.” It was her promise to Brendel; she told herself she had to hold it.
The lizardmen had breached the fourth defensive line, and the mercenaries were again retreating, with both sides closing in on the slope formed by the collapse of the platform below. From a distance, it was less than fifty meters away. Flour saw lizardmen crossbowmen raising their crossbows, all aiming toward the air; although their shooting accuracy left much to be desired, after repeated attempts, they had pinpointed the location beneath this flag.
The elven girl frowned and stepped in front of Antinna, one hand resting on the hilt of her elven shortsword. Like her sister, she had no magic remaining, but even so, she was determined to fulfill her mission.
“Flour.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you…” Antinna coughed lightly and murmured.
The elven girl smiled faintly, but her gaze quickly returned to the scene below, her expression becoming serious again. The lizardmen were tightening their heavy crossbows, and a cacophony of creaking sounds emanated from their ranks. But when they raised their crossbows again, she was uncertain if she could block all those bolts.
She gritted her teeth, unconsciously tightening her grip on the sword hilt.
The crossbows were raised—
Both Antinna and Flour felt a pause in their breath; even in the face of death, there is always a moment before confronting it when one feels an impending sense of despair. But it seemed the imagined scene did not unfold, for a small, glimmering crystal suddenly flew out from behind them, tracing a beautiful arc before landing among the group of lizardmen below.
It blossomed like a blood-red flower amidst a sea of dark green, followed by a deafening boom. The lizardmen’s severed limbs and innards flew in all directions, raining down like a blood shower. Everyone was stunned, including the lizardmen, the mercenaries, and even Antinna and Flour. Their only remaining disintegration crystal was the one in Antinna’s hand, but she had clearly given that to three mercenaries to use!
Antinna instinctively turned her head—
She immediately heard a clang; a long sword had been thrown up from the ruins behind by an unknown person, and then she saw Romaine climbing up with hands and feet. As soon as she arrived on the platform, it was as if she had collapsed in exhaustion, gasping heavily while looking at Antinna, beaming with a proud smile. “Whew, almost got lost! It was… not easy to find this place! Ant… Antinna, I learned swordsmanship; I can protect you… whew, whew… Oh, I’m exhausted…”
“Wait,” the noblewoman was momentarily stunned before she couldn’t help but ask, “Romaine, how did you get here? No… not that, I mean, didn’t you give your disintegration crystal to Brendel?”
Hearing this, the Merchant Miss displayed a wronged expression, as she pressed down on her bag and quietly said, “Uh… Antinna, I only hid a tiny bit.”
“How much, wait…” Antinna suddenly realized why she felt the explosion’s power that night was unusual! She quickly grabbed Romaine’s shoulder, “Damn, didn’t you say those ten or so were used together last night? Were they those?”
“Absolutely not that many, Romaine guarantees, Romaine only has nine… no, eight.”
Romaine’s expression changed, and she immediately shook her head like a drum, while spinning her eyeballs to answer.
……(To be continued, for more chapters, please log in to support the author and read the legitimate version!)
