The leaders at the front were all exceptional elites. Upon hearing Ferdinand’s command, they did not hesitate for a second, immediately picking up their pace and rushing toward the bend in the road ahead.
They soon rounded the towering ridge, and a vast valley opened up before them. On the opposite side of the valley sat Loka, the city they needed to pass through on this journey.
In the distance, Loka was built along the mountainside, stretching for several kilometers. Because it was located in the heart of the territory and protected by natural barriers, its walls were simple constructions of bluestone quarried from the mountains, not particularly high.
At this moment, the city walls were no longer the sturdy, grey-blue ramparts of the past. Instead, they were swallowed by a spreading, ominous blackness that covered every inch of the surface, altering its original appearance until it looked like a stick of candy swarmed by ants.
Crowds surged along the narrow walls, and the deafening roar of battle erupted. It was clear the garrison had already engaged the black monsters in close-quarters combat. Tiny black dots could be seen being knocked off the walls at intervals.
In the valley between the two mountains grew a dense forest of tall trees. Looking down from their high vantage point, the group saw countless large black figures writhing on the ground, partially obscured by the shadows of the trees.
“There... there are so many! This is way more exaggerated than what we saw yesterday! What should we do?”
Rosal pulled down the goggles resting on her forehead and peered closely at the black monsters swarming toward Loka from the valley, her face pale with shock.
“The numbers aren't really the issue. Otherwise, I could just use a Flame Dragon to burn them all to a crisp like yesterday...” Midir looked at the grim expressions of the others and began to voice his thought, only to be interrupted by Blake and Ferdinand simultaneously.
“You can't! Mr. Midir, the valley is full of dry wood right now. A fire spell like that could start an uncontrollable forest fire! If that happens, the losses would be even greater!”
“The number of monsters below is still unknown, and the trees are blocking our line of sight. It's better to be cautious. We need to formulate a strategy. The garrison in Loka should still be holding for now. We need to assist them in ending the battle with minimal losses while our unit is still hidden from the monsters' sight.”
The valley between the group and Loka was several kilometers wide. If they took the normal winding mountain road to reach the city, the distance would stretch to dozens of kilometers. How to get a force of over ten thousand across to provide support had become a problem.
After a moment of contemplation, Aila looked at Midir and asked, “Can you use wind magic to reduce weight? If so, what if we find something to make a platform and have Kiteclaw fly some of the elites over to help the garrison hold the walls first?”
“A team of ten or so shouldn't be a problem, but the defensive line on the walls we can see is at least several kilometers long. That many people won't be nearly enough,” Midir said with some hesitation, glancing at Kiteclaw with concern.
“If you want to use fire magic to clear the area, I’m all for it~ We just need to use a little bit of cleverness!” Julia, standing nearby, carefully observed the environment of the valley below and spoke in a pleasant, soft voice.
“The two thousand of us on the adventurers' side can drop directly down from the edge of the canyon. A height of one or two hundred meters is nothing to us. Once we’re down, we can have the Earth mages dig a firebreak. That way, even if we use fire, we can stop the blaze on one side. But... I’m not sure what to do about the other side~”
“If it’s just digging trenches, I can lead the legion down directly. Although the average combat strength of the royal guards isn't as high as the adventurers, we have the advantage of numbers. It might just take a bit of time. Miss Julia, how long would your side need?” Ferdinand, the leader, stroked his thick beard and began to calculate carefully after hearing Julia's idea.
“We have about a hundred and twenty people who can use Earth magic. Including the time to get into position, it should take about half an hour...” Ralph from Thunder Dragon immediately pulled a register from his pack and gave an answer after a quick comparison.
“Don't forget, the monsters won't just stand there and wait for us to set up a firebreak. If we’re discovered, both sides might be attacked, especially the royal guards who have more people.”
Mia remained skeptical, expressing that she wasn't very optimistic about this approach.
While the leaders were still in the middle of a heated discussion, Midir spoke up with his own idea after some thought.
“We just need to put enough pressure on the monsters on the main battlefield! I can try to handle that. Let's use Aila’s method first—send a few strong fighters over to draw their attention from the front. If it works, I’ll signal you directly. Even if it fails, I’ll buy you enough time to arrive with reinforcements. How does that sound?”
The others looked at Midir as he calmly described his plan, feeling that it sounded a bit like a flight of fancy. Given the massive number of monsters below, such a bold statement seemed arrogant, no matter how confident he was.
“I think it’s worth a try! In that case, we don't even need a platform. I’ll go with you!”
Aila knew that with Midir’s personality, he would never say something so far-fetched. She immediately agreed with his idea and proposed going with him. Even if they didn't succeed, the two strongest members of the group were more than capable of protecting themselves within the wave of monsters.
“Miss Aila, are you serious? If you fail, it will take us at least two hours to reach you with support! This is no joke,” Ferdinand said, frowning as he looked at the winding mountain road ahead.
“Don't worry, I trust his judgment! And we definitely have the ability to protect ourselves,” Aila said, shaking her head gently but firmly.
Seeing Aila’s resolute expression, Ferdinand quickly made a decision.
The two thousand adventurers were to stand by for a rapid descent, while the Guards Legion increased their marching speed along the mountain road.
If the battle developed according to Midir’s plan, they would immediately change course and enter the valley from the other side of the slope to dig the firebreak as quickly as possible.
Simultaneously, the adventurers would begin digging from the other direction. Finally, the fire mages led by Midir and Julia would sweep through the entire valley in a pincer movement.
Since the goggles gifted by Ronald Ironheart had a short-range message-sharing function, Midir pulled the goggles off his head and handed them to Blake to prevent the dense forest from blocking their line of sight.
After briefly explaining how to use them, he had Blake and Rosal follow the Guards Legion and the adventurer unit respectively, so they could receive orders at any time.
With the arrangements made, Aila and Midir jumped onto Kiteclaw’s broad back and flew directly toward Loka on the other side of the canyon.
“Aila, have Kiteclaw fly a bit lower. I’ll try to draw the attention of the monsters below first.” As the griffin reached the center of the valley, Midir, sitting in the back, glanced at the black tide below and signaled Aila to descend.
Aila nodded and gently pulled the reins. Kiteclaw soon descended to an altitude of less than fifty meters above the ground, making the shapes of the black monsters below clearly visible.
The monsters they saw now were different from the swarm of cockroach-types at Juna. There was a wide variety, including the giant lizards, rats, and spiders they had seen before, as well as some even stranger ones that he couldn't quite identify.
“Since their attacks can be dispelled by light magic, it means they shouldn't have high resistance to the light element, right? Let's try this...”
At that thought, several massive orbs of light suddenly materialized around Midir. They instantly illuminated the valley, looking as if several dazzling suns had risen at once. The sight shocked everyone present.
The black monsters that had been stirring in the forest had their attention completely captured by this sudden light. As if drawn by some mysterious force, they actually forgot to attack or advance for a moment.
Under his guidance, the light orbs plummeted into the gaps in the trees below. Intense light elements exploded violently within the dense forest.
Just as Midir had thought, light magic was extremely effective against the black monsters. Furthermore, these monsters lacked the natural survival instincts of ordinary creatures. Instead of fleeing the exploding light elements, they charged frantically toward Kiteclaw in mid-air as if they had spotted a mortal enemy.
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