Chapter 1273 - Two-way Strategy (1/2)
“Attack! Attack! Attack! Charge! Charge!”
Along with Ion’s snarls, the Chaos creatures swarmed forward with great difficulty and unwavering determination amidst the overwhelming artillery fire and magical spells. Flares erupted among the sea of Chaos creatures. The strings of dazzling, scarlet flame rings seemed so glaring and bright under the darkness. Erin tightened up, held both her hands on the edge of the city wall, and gazed at the battlefield in uncertainty. The battlefield was shrouded in billows of smoke and flames. The dense, black smoke almost enfolded the vast land, where even the bright moonlight descending from above had no way of penetrating them. Both sides tore into each other. Countless powerful AoE magical spells were cast from the city walls, transforming the land and sky. Flames, thunder, lightning bolts, and all sorts of elemental attacks flitted across the field and blasted the ground heavily. The solid land fissured and turned muddy and murky. Corpses of Chaos creatures could also be seen laying and buried within them.
“Time is almost up, huh?”
The sleepy Orchid Heart asked all of a sudden. She opened her eyes, let out a yawn, and flipped the pages of that thick, gorgeous tome.
There was a change in the battle situation.
Even though Orchid Heart didn’t say a word, for some unknown reason Erin suddenly realized that the situation over at her side had become overwhelmingly unfavorable. The powerful spells obstructing the Chaos creatures became sparse, while the deadly artillery fireballs were also extinguished. Shortly after, the Chaos creatures who were suppressed by the artillery attack earlier went wild as soon as the pressure was gone. They rushed ahead and before long, Erin witnessed a black sea of wild Chaos creatures arriving at the bottom of the steel city walls. Almost in the blink of an eye, the dark wave slammed onto the strong, towering city walls.
Boom!
Erin felt the entire city walls shake. At that moment, the artillery cannons creaked as they retracted back into the city walls before the iron plate sealed them shut to prevent Chaos creatures from infiltrating any further. But even so, the Chaos creatures didn’t slow their pace. They continued to rush ahead and pile up on one another. Just like what Orchid Heart mentioned, even if the Chaos creatures had no sense of offense, the final result wouldn’t be any different when they charged in like an endless stream.
Destruction. Only destruction.
“Miss Orchid Heart… May I know if there is anything I can do?”
Even though Erin decided to hand this matter to Orchid Heart’s command, she also knew that it must be Orchid Heart’s command that the artillery fire became sparse all of a sudden. Erin was clearly aware that these people around Rhode possessed a unique form of telepathy, so much so that they could read one another’s thoughts and intentions from miles away without speaking or using magical spells. She had to admit that this was truly a convenient skill. But even though she knew that this was part of the strategy, she was unlike Orchid Heart, after all. No matter how much of a veteran of the battlefield Rhode was, Erin was just a princess who loved artifacts and historical research, despite her efficiency in battles. She had never joined the military and didn’t undergo any formal training. She merely followed the undead army and served as an AoE cannon and secret weapon. Although Erin read innumerable books, it would be absurd if she were able to become a commander-in-chief after reading ‘Sun Tzu’s Art of War’.
Erin normally wouldn’t be concerned in this situation. But it was different now. She didn’t possess an undead army of countless troops like her Big Brother. She was like a penny split in half. As much as possible, she wished for troops under her command to not be sacrificed in the battlefield. Even though the Chaos creatures couldn’t trample on their companions’ corpses and climb over the city walls yet, Erin was certain that at the rate they were piling up, they would need at least half an hour! Even though she didn’t know much about the military, she was aware that if things went that far, the situation would be extremely dangerous and bothersome.
It was at that moment that Erin looked like a novice. Although she didn’t snatch the commanding rights from Orchid Heart out of anxiousness, the unfavorable, one-sided battle situation made her nervous. She felt like if she didn’t do anything, she would continue to feel uncomfortable. Upon hearing Erin’s question, Orchid Heart shook her head without turning to her.
“There isn’t any, Your Majesty Erin. This is the only thing we need now. Rhode’s preparation should be ready by now. In order to prevent the Chaos creatures from sensing the issue and retreating, we need to contain them here. If we prolong the stalemate, Ion may possibly choose to withdraw his armies and shift his attack to Rhode instead. After all, Ion lost a lot of troops in the earlier clashes and was advancing without much result. If he continues to tangle with us, there aren’t any benefits for him. But if he were to turn back and attack Rhode now, that will be the end of us. That is why we gave Ion a chance—one that makes him think he can break through our defenses effortlessly. Through this way, even if he realizes that something is amiss, he will hesitate and this will buy Rhode enough time to accomplish his mission. All we have to do now is to hold back Ion’s armies so they won’t retreat.”
Orchid Heart said, flipped a page casually, and continued.
“This time, please do not take matters into your own hands, Your Majesty Erin. I will show you what the true strength of Starlight is.”
Even though Orchid Heart’s expression appeared calm, Erin heard a hint of pride in her unwavering tone that echoed her faith in their ultimate glory.
Everything is ready.
Gazing at the strong, heavy door, Rhode extended his arm to grip his sword. At that moment, Bubble and her team of clerics and mages were in position. As soon as Rhode gave his command, they would activate the Order barrier to isolate the entire Darkness Palace from the outside world. Through this way, they could prevent the Chaos Lord from summoning Chaos creatures into the battle. But on the other hand, Rhode had to seize the moment. After all, he didn’t think of the need to build such a huge isolation barrier when choosing his forces earlier. Currently, apart from the members in his group, the other teams sent out half of their members to create and maintain the isolation barrier. As a result, their damage output was obviously insufficient to defeat the Chaos Lord. In that case, Rhode’s group needed to annihilate their enemy as soon as possible, so as to provide assistance to the other two parties in defeating the other two Chaos Lords.
“Canary, Mirror, are you ready? Confirm your location once more.”
“All ready, Rhode. We’ll act according to the situation.”
“… My side too… Leader, don’t worry… We’ll be fine… Our clerics are at the back. If anything is to happen, our men can be resurrected… It’s no biggie…”
The current situation was that there were a total of three Chaos Lords in the Darkness Palace. They were located in the northern garden, southern tower, and western executive palace respectively. Canary was responsible for the northern tower, while the assassin, Mirror, was in charge of the western executive palace. Rhode was confident in both of them. The two young ladies had calm and steady personalities, so there shouldn’t be any big issues. Of course, if it were Mini Bubble Gum instead, it would be an entirely different matter. At the very least, Rhode would not dare to let Bubble lead a team. But fortunately, Mirror was also aware of that, which was why she didn’t keep Bubble in her team, but put her in charge of the isolation barrier instead.
“Get ready.”
After confirming that everyone was ready, Rhode gestured to Icy Snow and the rest behind him. Upon noticing his hand gesture, everyone got ready to move out right away. Lapis and Lesa were also fully prepared. Even though they weren’t as powerful as elite players, they could still more or less contribute to the battlefield.