Sweat trickled down the faces of the fox-kin warriors as they maintained their fully drawn bows. Their muscles became taut and they aimed directly at the huge troll forces; even the swordsman used their extra ranged weapons, whether they were rocks or throwing daggers.Caesar squinted his eyes as he peered down at the troll armies, they were still standing stationary whilst listening to the conversation of Musashi and Zul"thar. However, if one looked closely, the trolls were slowly preparing themselves to charge.
"Since you don"t seem to care about this la.s.s, I shall let her ride with me, and let her watch as her children die inside of the fox-kin stronghold" Zul"thar roared with a loud snort and heavily threw Andrea back to the side of his throne.
He then raised his robust arm in the air and pointed it forward, to which the army of trolls roared back and charged forward. They wafted up a large amount of dust as they kicked off the ground with their weapons in hand.
The battering rams were placed in the front, while the many Ceros creatures were guarding them on the sides. Musashi and the eighty coaked figures atop the gates immediately started pooling their mana together and channeled the forbidden sun technique. The same one that was used on Caesar in the skirmish, however, with 80 people, it was surely going to be more devastating.
In response to the huge amount of dust lifted up into the air, Caesar thrust his hand forward and the warriors shot their arrows. They coursed through the air and looked like they blotted out the sun. The unsuspecting trolls weren"t even aware of the dense amount of steel heading straight for their back.
Puch! The arrows and throwing daggers pierced the many trolls from behind and temporarily halted their charge. They didn"t understand where it was coming from through the thick dust and could only continue moving forward.
A few of the strong trolls sensed Caesar and his small army, however, it was far too late. The next volley was soon launched and once again, reaped many trolls. Their earlier pride and unconditional confidence slowly cracked with the threat from behind.
No man, nor army, were psychologically powerful enough to fight in top condition whilst the threat of being shot from behind persisted. As such, Caesar knew that shooting arrows safely from afar would soon be impossible.
"Ebisu, take your soldiers and burn those carriages…" Caesar ordered and pointed his index finger at each individual cart resting behind the troll army, "if possible, procure one and bring it back to this location"
"Yes, Sir!" Ebisu replied solemnly and rushed out of the thick brush to attack the carts with his forces. Seeing this, Caesar once again raised his hand, "FIRE AT ALL AND COVER THEIR BACKS!" he shouted.
As his words entered into the ears of the fox-kin, as if they were waiting for this command, they started pumping out arrows as fast as they could possibly manage. Although their numbers were small, their threat soon became apparent to the troll king and the troll commanders. As such, a decently large force was pulled from the frontlines and directed toward Caesar.
Caesar quickly scanned the war-zone with his eyes and made a swift decision, he took a step forward and took his scythe out of his storage ring, "HEAVY INFANTRY, FORM A PHALANX FORMATION" he roared.
Instantaneously, a few hundred troops that were much more armored then the others took a step forward. They were equipped with a heavy-duty shield and spear. Following Caesar"s earlier directions, they speedily got into formation and followed after Caesar.
They put their shields in front and spear through the cracks, the second row was responsible for moving up if someone on the front lines fell, while also defending against any arrows. They marched in this formation straight towards the upcoming 1500 or so troll army running at them like wild animals.
Caesar needed to buy time for Ebisu to take out all of the carts, whilst also defend the archers stationed at the back. He and his armored troops steadily approached the enemy trolls and they looked like a small moving fortress.
Caesar, at the forefront, waved his scythe around and broke into a sprint, he wanted to disrupt the enemy formation before they collided with his army. His feet kicked off the ground and he coursed through the air, arriving a mere meter away from the trolls.
He weaved his large scythe horizontally and decapitated a few nearby trolls with ease. Their blood spouted out like a fountain and dyed his clothes red, while the other trolls finally reacted at the sight of blood.
A few dozen or so instantly waved their weapons in Caesar"s direction, their speed was not to be underestimated and Caesar was required to raise his right hand and form a wall made out of ice to shield himself.
He then raised his right knee and kicked at the ice wall, shattering it into thousands of small pieces. The shrapnel cut and injured the trolls that attacked him and he once again cut down with his scythe, decapitating another dozen. His antics, however, were cut short as the trolls started to circle around him.
Caesar kicked off the ground and backed up, returning to his armored forced before the trolls were capable of encircling him. Both forces then warily observed the other, neither side rashly moving.
Suddenly, an intense heat a.s.saulted both forces, causing them to jerk their heads in that direction. A large, orangish ball of flame was descending upon the troll forces attempting to break down the gates.
It was, at the very least, 10 times the size of the sun that the clan heads used against Caesar. It was a powerful force that even he wouldn"t be capable of blocking. However, contrary to his expectations, Zul"thar didn"t appear to be worried in the least.
Bewildered, Caesar directed his line of sight directly below the huge ball of fire. There stood an average looking middle-aged man. He possessed a calm and kind-hearted smile as he raised his hands. A bright, yellow light suddenly escaped from his body and formed a large barrier around him and the trolls.
Caesar was quite familiar with this form of magic, it was the same kind that Richard, the hero that attacked his kingdom, used. However, the holy magic that the middle-aged man employed appeared to be richer and more powerful.
Boom! The sun descended upon the yellow barrier. The intense heat and collision fluttered the clothes, and hair of all those present. Even the carts full of food were pushed back a few meters. Caesar raised his hand shielded his eyes from the intense wind, he observed the middle-aged man who was still comfortably standing in his barrier.
"We are the shields that protect humanity, as such, our defensive capabilities cannot be broken by mere dark-race magic" the middle-aged man whispered, to which Caesar deciphered from reading his lips.
The sun soon expended its energy and the yellow barrier stood, still pristine as ever. Immediately, the trolls started cheering in delight while the fox-kin, including Musashi, frowned warily. Caesar surveyed the surroundings coldly and glanced back to notice that Ebisu had finally destroyed the carts full of supplies.
The light, the shield that protected the troll army became a beacon of hope for them, as such, their earlier confidence and pride were regained and the army stationed in front of his, starting charging forward.
The fox-kin behind Caesar shook their heads with a wry smile, "we had no chance after all…" one of them whispered. However, Caesar"s eyes gleamed more than usual, his clothes started to abnormally flutter and his presence became much more ominous then normal.
"This is a trump card that I have hidden for quite a while, because I believe that a dagger when hidden is in its strongest form" Caesar whispered and a black mist started to permeate out of his body. It instinctively brought dread to the nearby trolls and sweat seemed to drip from their bodies.
If the light was a bastion for living creatures, Caesar"s authority was the opposite. It could be considered the epitome of evil, all that it entailed was death and corrosion. Caesar"s scythe seemed to shake with excitement as Caesar"s authority wrapped around it.
The middle-aged man who was comfortably sitting in his barrier suddenly jerked his head in Caesar"s direction. Fear, shock, and other strange emotions flashed across his face whilst looking at the black mist.
"D-DO NOT LET THAT TOUCH THE BARRIER" he roared the top of his lungs whilst pointing at Caesar, the normally calm man was now panic-stricken and could only rely on the ma.s.s of troops to defend him.
Caesar couldn"t even hear his words as he entered into a peculiar form, as if he couldn"t even control his own body, it moved at its own discretion. The black mist, which he could barely use in the past, seemed to overflow from his body as he rushed towards the small army of trolls in front of him.
The scythe in his hands, as if dancing, started to reap the heads of the shocked trolls one by one, while his authority withered the others. Once again, the fire in the nearby fox-kins" hearts was rekindled and in contrast, the trolls felt dread.
However, Caesar knew this was only temporary. He could not maintain his authority for large amounts of time, thus, Musashi would need to pull out a miracle as well if they wanted to buy more time.
Seeing this, Musashi"s chains started to float in the air as he jumped down from the wall, the eighty other cloaked figures following behind him. As such, another fierce battle soon took place at the front gates and the troll king was finally forced to show himself.
*******
In a nearby tree, a young man who was holding a bluish ball observed the scene coldly. Inside the ball, was a reflection of a cloaked man who was laughing, "so the church was helping the trolls too? I suppose they wanted the legendary nine-tailed fox bloodline as well" the man roared with laughter whilst witnessing the scene.
"What do we do master? Should we go and capture Ahri, who is currently evacuating with the citizens?" the young man asked, the shadow of a tree cloaking his face and expression.
"Hmm, that man with white hair, he is very dangerous… possibly an ancient race as well, a powerful one at that. To possess so much power at such a young age, I want him" the man said sinisterly whilst licking his lips"
"I don"t believe we can catch that man, he is untameable" the young man hesitated a moment before replying.
"Unfortunately, You"re right, Thus, utilize a dozen or so of my a.s.sa.s.sins and capture Ahri. I want her to arrive at my tower by night-time" the man said with an exasperated sigh and his image seemed to disconnect from the blue ball.
"Yes, sir" the young man replied, however, his words fell on deaf ears as he jumped down from the tree and headed north, his face and expression was finally revealed. He was someone familiar to Caesar, and more so to Ahri. Someone who Caesar had thought was working for the trolls, but he was a clever triple-agent.
Charlie…
"Forgive me Ahri...but I won"t allow my mother to go back!" he whispered and set off.