Chapter 611- Revival of the World Tree & Aurelian (10)
Chapter 611: Chapter 611- Revival of the World Tree & Aurelian (10)
Miles behind the frontline.
Inside a command camp, the leaders of each race gathered together to come up with a strategy.
However, judging by the looks of things and the suffocating atmosphere, it didn’t seem like it was going well.
Every eye was exhausted, yet they still looked at the map on the table, trying to come up with any strategy that could stop the enemy’s advance.
"We can’t keep bleeding like this!"
Unable to bear their losses any further, a dwarf decked out in impressive looking armor from head to toe slammed his hands on the table.
He was Thane Ironmantle, supreme commander of this army. Don’t look at his size; his bulging muscles and width, coupled with the massive hammer resting by his side, were enough to tell others not to underestimate him.
What’s more, he had the respect of every person here.
"We need to send the other units to back them up."
"Not possible. The western flank collapsed three hours ago. If Ironreach falls, the Malice Engines will march straight through Ashen Gate."
The one to speak was a tall woman with long white hair, intricately braided with iron rings.
She had a lean and muscular build, faint glowing blue war tattoos on her skin, and wore heavy blackened orihalcum armor over thick fur.
On her head, she wore a great horned helm that featured two curved horns similar to those of demons.
She was Skadi Winter, one of the leaders of the allied races and, most importantly, a member of the Ancient Giant race.
"If Ashen Gate falls, then Verdanthold will become vulnerable."
The leaders of the allied races fell silent.
Verdanthold was not simply a city; it was one of the three megacities of Draconia. If that city was breached, the heartland of the dragon kingdom would lie exposed, and all the nearby cities would fall like dominoes.
This was the outcome they wanted to avoid at all costs.
No matter what, they could not let Ashen Gate fall. Not only was it a mountain pass, but it was also an excellent natural barrier capable of stopping armies.
There would be no better place to stop the advance of the Malice Engines than here.
The leaders around the war table looked at the map gravely. Even the ever grumbling Thane Ironmantle had nothing to say.
Just as they were deciding what to do, bad news arrived.
The tent flap burst open, and a bloodied scout staggered inside.
"Report! The western defense line has completely collapsed. And the Titan Class Malice Engine has been spotted!"
The moment the leaders heard the report, their expressions turned extremely ugly. Even though the situation there did not look optimistic, they still held a faint hope that the warriors there could hold on for some time. After all, there was a full legion there.
As devastating as the news was, this wasn’t the focus of their attention. They were more concerned about what the scout revealed.
Titan Class Malice Engines, just like their name, were huge, nightmarish constructs built with the goal of laying waste to all living lifeforms.
They were walking fortresses, machines capable of leveling entire cities. No wonder even an entire legion wasn’t enough to hold the line.
A Titan-Class... this was bad news.
But as they say, bad news doesn’t knock once; it breaks the door.
Immediately afterward, another scout entered the tent and relayed another devastating piece of news.
"Commander! Three more Titan signatures detected! It’s all coming from the west!"
If previously the command tent had fallen into heavy silence, then now it appeared as if the entire place was frozen in ice.
Four Titan Class Malice Engines... this was no longer just simple probing. The enemy was serious this time.
The commander of the allied army, Thane, slammed his fist against the table hard enough to crack the stone.
"Damn it! It seems like we underestimated the enemy. Even after our previous attempts to destroy many of their Malice Factories, they were still able to manufacture so many Malice Engines... and four Titan Class ones at that."
"Indeed, we never thought that they could recover this fast. Still, our efforts were not in vain. Had our forces not destroyed those Malice Factories, then instead of four, we might have had to face dozens. Although four Titan Class engines are still nightmarish, it’s not impossible to resist."
Skadi spoke, slowly reaching for the frost axe near her.
Now that the Titan Class had shown its face, the battlefield had shifted. Ordinary troops could not fight against the likes of a Titan class unit.
"Let’s fight! For our future and for Draconia, we must hold the enemy here."
The leaders of the allied races nodded their heads. They all exchanged looks and thought the same thing.
There was no more army left to send. No more reinforcements.
If the Titan class Malice Engines broke through, everything behind them would die.
Thane Ironmantle also exhaled and reached for his hammer.
"So be it. All commanders, prepare to enter the battlefield."
There were no objections.
Humans. Elves. Dwarves. Cinethropes. Therianthropes. All leaders of their individual races, and all legends in their own right, roused their battle spirits.
From their forms, marks of their previous battles could be seen. Some of them still looked weary and had yet to recover from their injuries.
However, this did not stop them from going into the battlefield again.
With Thane Ironmantle at the front, the war leaders marched toward the western front.
In the distance, the thunderous noise continued to grow louder.
Soon, they arrived at the mountain western defense line. From here, they could see the entire battlefield.
However, by this time, everything was over. There were no cries of battle or echoes of explosions. Everything was silent.
Looking around, all that the leaders saw were corpses strewn around like litter, blood soaking the ground until it turned red, and fire burning everywhere. It was hard to make out if anyone was alive out there, but one thing was clear.
These people, these brave warriors and soldiers of the allied races, had fought until their last breath.
Standing on the battlefield that became their graves, the leaders saw that even until the end, none of them had dropped their weapons. They fought knowing that they would die.
The leaders did not say anything. They simply gripped their weapons tighter, swearing to avenge them in their hearts.
They were too familiar with scenes like this.
After all, the war with the Malice Engines had been going on for a long, long time. So long that they could not even remember.
They all knew that their ancestors had participated in these wars and died, leaving the mantle of the future to them. As leaders of their own race, they were all prepared to die. If they died, someone else would take up their position and fight for the future.
Thus, they could give their all without any worry.
BANG... BANG... BANG...
The thunderous noise continued to echo. Having approached this close, they could even feel the ground shuddering.
This noise was no simple thunder but rather the footsteps of the approaching doom.
That’s right, they were the sounds of the four Titan class Malice Engines approaching.
Each step felt like the crumbling of mountains, loud and oppressive. Perhaps it was the spreading demonic energy, or just them, but in the face of such overwhelming power, even the leaders felt fear creep into their hearts.
However, they did not let it show on their faces.
They had to stop the advance of the enemy here.
At least until one of those lords got here.
"They are here."
The elf leader spoke.
As a marksman, he had excellent eyes. However, in this case, even without him saying anything, the leaders could see it, or rather, the enemy was too huge to miss.
Four forms emerged from the smoke, spewing thick clouds of demonic energy from their exhaust pipes.
One looked like a towering behemoth with six pillar like legs, its body shaped like a warped siege beast. Its back was lined with rotating artillery spines that glowed crimson, each one humming with apocalyptic energy.
Another had a serpentine form. Its body coiled in the air, supported by anti-gravity rings of jagged metal. Its elongated body was segmented, each segment opening and closing like a mechanical maw filled with grinding blades.
The other two Malice Engines were similarly nightmarish looking.
A hulking titan with massive arms resembling war hammers. And a nightmarish hybrid of beast and machine with four legs and a head shaped like a predatory skull.
Each one looked more powerful than the others, each one a walking catastrophe.
No matter how you looked at the scene, it seemed extremely despairing.
The size difference aside, just from the overflowing energy exuded by these Malice Engines, it was enough to give others a gist of how powerful these constructs were.
In the face of such power, the leader did not despair. Instead, they braved forward and engaged.
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