The Defense of Loka (2)

As the figure drew closer, Aila could finally see that it was a giant humanoid made of metal.

Its massive body was covered in a red and black livery, with giant blue fireballs erupting from its back to maintain its high-speed flight.

The giant roared across the battlefield, dropping several bombs from its rear. After sending the monsters near the Guards Legion flying, it performed a nimble mid-air turn and came to a steady hover beside Kiteclaw.

“Huh? That was fast! Is this another one of your new products?”

Aila’s eyes widened, looking at the massive red figure hovering nearby in disbelief.

Its size was immense; even compared to the wingspan of Kiteclaw, it was more than twice as large. Its vibrant red paint shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight.

“Yeah, I’ll handle the remaining few hundred meters!” Ronald’s amplified voice boomed from within the giant.

Two hatches on the giant’s back slid open, and dozens of metal rods, each several meters long, fell out.

Then, under Ronald’s control, those metal rods seemed to come to life, planting themselves in an orderly fashion into the forest that the Guards Legion had yet to clear, with about ten meters between each rod.

While Aila was still wondering what he was doing, brilliant electric sparks erupted from the rods. Blue-white light instantly filled the gaps between the dozens of metal rods, turning into a solid light barrier.

The wall of light sliced through everything in its path, perfectly sealing off those final few hundred meters.

Seeing that the giant had filled the gap in the firebreak with a mere wave of its hand, Aila immediately signaled Kiteclaw to turn around and fly back toward Midir.

From his position on the wall, Midir had naturally seen the flaming metal giant rushing toward Aila’s location and quickly realized it must be a reinforcement.

Seeing Aila approaching in a frantic rush, he reacted immediately and threw a massive fireball into the sky.

The fireball soared hundreds of meters before bursting like a firework, forming a brilliant blossom in the air. This was the signal he had agreed upon with Julia and the fire mages.

Upon seeing the signal flashing in the sky, Julia, stationed in the rear, immediately issued the command. The fire mages around her began to condense their mana, and surging elements rapidly gathered on the mountainside.

On the other side, Midir stopped holding back. Just as he had in Juna the day before, ten dragons made of fire quickly manifested outside the wall.

The surging heat alone incinerated any monsters that drew near. Even the garrison soldiers on the wall had to retreat to a distance to avoid the violent fire elements raging around them.

Julia and the group of mages, who were casting together, looked across the valley at the ten circling fire dragons in utter shock.

In their perception, when those distant fire dragons appeared, even the magic they were currently condensing slowed down. It felt as if the fire elements on their side were being siphoned away by those dragons.

“This... what level of spell is this?”

Julia muttered, staring numbly at the fire dragons Midir had summoned. Could he alone really match the power of a spell cast by over a hundred people simultaneously?

One could only imagine how she would feel if she knew Midir still had the even more powerful Destruction Flame in reserve.

Though they felt a hint of frustration, the mages did not stop. Under Julia’s guidance, their magic soon took shape below.

The spell they used was a giant fire wall that swept across the ground.

While a fire wall wasn't a particularly advanced spell, under the combined effort of Julia—whose strength was infinitely close to that of an Archmage—and a hundred high-level mages, the normally simple spell displayed immense destructive power.

If the black monsters surging toward Loka were like a dark tide, then the towering fire wall appearing behind them was like a crimson tsunami crashing down upon them.

Simultaneously, the ten fire dragons let out a roar and dived down.

The black monsters possessed absolutely no fear of death, charging forward like moths to a flame. Any ordinary creature would have been unable to maintain its composure in the face of such terrifying might.

The monsters' legendary resilience proved useless here. Their bodies were carbonized into ash by the overwhelming fire elements from both sides. Even the giant mantis-type monsters couldn't last long under the searing heat.

The dry, fallen leaves in the autumn valley became the perfect fuel. They ignited instantly upon contact with the heat wave, spreading with lightning speed until the entire valley was transformed into a sea of fire.

By this point, the units on both sides of the valley had already retreated hundreds of meters away from the firebreaks. Just as they thought they were safe, the two massive spells collided in the center of the valley.

The moment the fire dragons and the fire wall touched, a miraculous reaction seemed to occur in the air, causing the center of the canyon to explode violently.

The deafening roar of the explosion left everyone within a radius of several kilometers with numbed scalps and ringing ears.

Following the massive sound, a visible shockwave rippled outward. The powerful force crushed everything in the center of the valley into fragments.

The force was so great that even the mountainsides on either side developed slight cracks. The troops on the valley's edges were forced to dive to the ground for emergency cover under the intense impact.

Still in mid-air, Aila and Kiteclaw watched with wide eyes as the suddenly expanding shockwave rushed toward them. Before she could even utter a curse, she was blown away for hundreds of meters, eventually landing far inside the city of Loka.

The collision of the two spells created a brief vacuum zone in the valley. In addition to annihilating everything still standing, it also swallowed up the flames in the central area.

Once the turbulence subsided, the once lush and dense forests within several kilometers of the valley were gone. All that remained was a massive, charred crater, with wisps of smoke still rising from its center.

Only after sensing the shockwave had passed did Midir stand up from behind the battlements, looking toward the distant black pit with some surprise.

He hadn't expected the two different spells to produce such a massive explosion upon collision. This kind of power couldn't be explained by simple addition.

A long time passed before the two units in the valley struggled out from under fallen trees and rocks. Covered in soot and grime, they looked at the valley—which had been turned almost into a plain—with expressions of disbelief.

However, Midir was satisfied that the black monsters in the center of the valley had been wiped clean, with not even a scrap remaining. If he hadn't frozen a few with water element at the start, he probably wouldn't have been able to find a single intact sample.

“Well... overall, the result is good, right, Aila? Uh... where is she? Where did she go?”

Once Midir confirmed the environment had stabilized, he habitually looked for Aila. However, as he scanned the crowd for that familiar figure, he realized she was nowhere to be seen.

With a helpless mutter, he turned his gaze back toward the battlefield.

A while later, Aila, covered in black ash, flew back on Kiteclaw. She was spitting out dust and shouting at Midir in a fit of rage.

“Bah! Ptooey! This is disgusting! Is this all from the burnt corpses of those monsters? Why do you always do things like this! Didn't we agree to just burn them? Why did you blow up the whole valley!”

Seeing her disheveled state, Midir couldn't help but find it a bit funny. He said to her:

“I didn't know it would explode. But look, isn't the result pretty good? Not only are the monsters gone, but there's no forest fire either. It’s a win-win!”

“You call this a win-win? If that explosion had been any stronger, the walls of Loka would have been scrapped too!”

Aila’s face twitched. She stared at the city wall beneath her feet, which was now covered in countless cracks, feeling a sense of helplessness and worry. She sighed and spoke with an exasperated tone.

“Alright, alright, nothing happened, did it? Even if there was a problem, I would have blocked it! Hurry up and contact the units on the other side. Tell them to get organized and come up!”

Midir laughed it off and reached out to pat her shoulder, but he inadvertently sent a cloud of ash flying.

“No! Cough, cough! I’m going to find a place to wash up first. They aren't in the center of the explosion, and they're all capable people. They won't be killed by a few small trees. Let them figure it out themselves!”

Covered in even more dust after Midir’s pat, Aila choked again. Leaving behind those words with a look of utter disgust, she vanished from the wall without looking back.

“Hey, wait! ...She just ran off like that? She didn't even take you to get washed? I guess I’ll have to do it then.”

Midir looked at Kiteclaw, who was stained dark gray by smoke and ash, and felt a bit helpless.

Then, he took a deep breath, condensed a stream of clear water, and gently splashed it over Kiteclaw’s body.