Chapter 341. Counterattack (1) (2/2)
But looking at this turn of events from a different perspective, it meant that this was the only option the Parasites had.
With the World Tree present, capturing Tigol Fortress within a short period of time was impossible. So they must be planning to do as much damage as possible, before deciding to choose between the safer option of retreating or the riskier option of entering a prolonged war.
“General Sanctus!”
Steeling her resolve, Teresa called Jan Sanctus.
As they didn’t have much time, she quickly gave her command.
“I’ll leave the rear side to you. I will handle the parasites with the Equites. You only have to buy time. Got that?”
“Understood. Please be careful, Princess.”
“Of course. My hubby’s finally come back. If I die without talking to him again, I’ll become a ghost from resentment.”
Teresa pushed her helm down while murmuring jokingly.
Jan Sanctus chuckled.
Next, with the cavalry heading forward and the infantry heading backward, the two troops left to fight the enemies storming in.
Just like that, the battle that had fallen into a momentary lull continued.
“All men! Assume the shield formation!”
The infantry instantly stopped marching at Jan Sanctus’ command. Ramming their shields to the ground and stacking another layer of shields on top, they formed a double-layered defensive formation.
On the other hand.
“It doesn’t look like the Parasite Queen is planning on giving up.”
Gabriel, who was watching this turn of events, spread her wings and glanced to the side.
“What are you going to do?”
Next to her was a Beastman whose mane was flowing down with dried up blood. Standing on the wall, he was looking down at the battlefield with a complicated expression.
“We are going to back up the cavalry. But we don’t have enough reserve forces to aid the infantry as well. So, Beastman King, tell me your answer.”
“….”
A deep conflict surfaced on the Beastman’s face. But with the situation being what it was, his hesitation did not last long.
“…Damn it. If they had acted like this several years ago, I would have been out there with them long ago.”
After finally spitting out a few sentences.
—Kuhuhuuung!
He opened his mouth and let out a roar.
Gabriel grinned before grabbing the Beastman King and flapping her wings. As she flew up and led the way, Fallen Angels carrying a Beastman in their hands flew up from every corner of the fortress.
Meanwhile, the distance between the infantry assuming a wall of shields and the skeleton army marching forward with earth-shaking tremors closed to about a hundred meters.
“Hold your ground! Bet your lives on it! Ten minutes! No, five minutes is enough! If you can hold out for that much, victory will be ours!!”
Jan Sanctus shouted passionately and encouraged the soldiers. Standing in the front line with his shield, he kept his eyes fixed in front of him.
Koong, koong, koong, koong.
“Fifty meters!”
The distance shortened rapidly even as he spoke.
Forty meters, thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters…!
“Everyone…!”
Eventually, as Jan Sanctus was about to shout again—
Koong, koong, koong, koong!
He was stopped short.
It was because he felt the presence of something raining down behind him.
‘No way!’
All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind.
Did the enemy break through the cavalry? Did the Parasites’ flying creatures come down? Did a new army appear from the back? Or…
Subconsciously looking back, Jan Sanctus became dazed in an instant. All his guesses were proven to be false.
The troops that landed behind them weren’t the parasites, the flying creatures, nor the army of an Army Commander.
The footsoldiers lightly pressing down on his comrades’ shoulders and jumping up were none other than that of the Beastman race.
Looking up in a daze, Jan Sanctus saw the Beastman King glancing down at him. Their eyes met for a split second.
Then, the Beastmen leaped past the line of defense, flashing their eyes as they glared at the skeleton army.
“Kuhuhuuuung!”
Starting with the Beastman King, the Beastmen growled ferociously and clashed with the skeleton army.
Jan Sanctus blinked dazedly. He shut his eyes, then opened them once again.
He wasn’t seeing things.
The Beastmen were scuffling with the skeleton army.
The Beastmen race that detested humanity as much as the Parasites after the fall of the Beastmen Alliance was fighting for their sake!?
Jan Sanctus’ lips trembled with emotions.
A hot fire spread out inside his heart.
Would he have ever expected this scene during the days when slave hunting was rampant in Eva?
“General!”
Jan Sanctus snapped out of his daze at a soldier’s shout.
“…All men!”
Finally grabbing ahold of the voice stuck in his throat…
“Chaaaaaaarge!”
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
In the next moment, the infantry simultaneously shot up and charged forward as if they had been waiting for these words.
Joining hands with the Beastmen, they pushed forward, breaking the indiscriminately marching skeleton army with their spears and shields.
At last, after regrettably brushing past each other’s fingertips for so long, the Federation and humanity firmly grasped each other’s hands.
**
[Keuk…!]
The Parasite Queen groaned. She did not expect the Beastmen and Fallen Angels to come out of the fortress.
[What are Vulgar Chastity and Exploding Patience doing…!?]
She went ‘Ah’ after blurting out.
Vulgar Chastity’s succubi were blown back by the witch. There was no need to even mention Exploding Patience’s Banshees as they had sacrificed them to the Thunders to let Vulgar Chastity break through.
The one who gave this command was none other than the Parasite Queen herself.
Things would not have turned out this badly if she had followed the Army Commanders’ plan and carried out the attack by the book.
[Don’t tell me…]
The Parasite Queen fell down on the broken throne.
At the time, she thought it was the only option.
[That was a wrong move as well…?]
And here, yet another thing outside of the Parasite Queen’s expectation occurred.
Her eyebrows twitched as she blankly stared at the moving image in front of her.
Just like a belated realization.
The blessing of the World Tree wasn’t affecting only the Sky Fairies, but also the Cave Fairies.
[…What?]
In this stifling silence, the Parasite Queen’s eyes widened abruptly.
It was because she could feel the trembling energy rising from the fortress.
Two energies that could not be felt before were not only casting over Tigol Fortress but also flooding out to the rest of the battlefield.
In that instant, the heads of the Fairies sitting on their knees from exhaustion shot up.
Whish!
An untimely, fierce gale swept through the battlefield.
Crackle!
Distinctive fire blazed up here and there.
The current of the air changed, the earth rumbled, and water sprouted up, sparkling under the sunlight.
Inside the banquet of five elements, the Fairies slowly stood up. Both Sky Fairies and Cave Fairies stared straight ahead.
Although tears were streaming down their faces, they no longer seemed to be in sorrow.
If anything, they seemed to be enraged.
They glared at the enemy with killing intent as if to burst out with resentment and hatred that they had suppressed within themselves.
That wasn’t all.
Two pairs of pupils appeared from the sky and the ground.
From the sky, eyes of light scattering a brilliant light—
From the ground, eyes of darkness scattering reddish-black darkness—
One looked down and one looked up at the battlefield.
—Wooooooooooh!
The howl of Ophinü Odor, the Lord of Light revered by all Spirits.
—Woooooooooo!
And the howl of Diffidem Odor, the Lord of Darkness feared by all Spirits, echoed out one after the other as if to descend from the sky and rise up from the ground.
The Spirits had kept their promise.
The Spirit Lords that started a war with the Seven Virtues in the unrecorded mythical era, thousands of years ago reappeared in Tigol Fortress.
The allied force of the Federation and humanity had come together fully to combat the Parasites!
[…]
At the same time, witnessing the appearance of the light and the darkness, the Parasite Queen’s lips were trembling more strongly than ever before.
The revival of the World Tree and the appearance of a powerful witch was already threatening to overthrow the tide of battle.
But now, even the two sealed Spirit Lords popped out.
The gears of fate that were once in perfect harmony had twisted out of place once or twice, and now they were crumbling down in total chaos.
[Ah… Aaaaaaaah!]
The Parasite Queen clutched her head.
And around this time.
“Whew…”
The expedition team was fully summoned to the Middle World.
Seol Jihu let out a deep breath, opened his eyes silently, and looked straight ahead.
He gazed at the Parasite Queen within the distant image in the sky.
[You…!]
Their eyes met.
[You, all because of you, all because of yooooooou!!]
The enraged voice of the Parasite Queen erupted out.
Seol Jihu’s eyes turned sharp.
He took a deep breath and fixed his grip on the Spear of Purity.
Finally.
They had finally come this far.
Taking another breath, Seol Jihu raised his spear and took a step forward.
Staring at the Spirits spread out on the battlefield and pointing his spear at the Parasite Queen, he said firmly.
“…Everyone, get ready for battle.”
And thus.
“Don’t let a single one of them escape.”
The flare signaling the start of a counterattack shot up.