Chapter 460: A new hasty plant

Turning to those on the walls, Eldrian froze as he realized just how insane he must have appeared. "Ah... Umm... Sorry, I just couldn't contain myself. It worked far better than I imagined it would."

"I-I... I see," Evale decided to not press further for an explanation, instead, she dived into action. Informing all the generals under her command that they must be on high alert and that the devil might attempt another attack along with the undead. 

"Right, care to share what happened?" Evale asked after making sure that no attacks had started just yet. 

Unbeknown to them, many of the unwilling had managed to escape the grasps of their undead masters. Finally having their wishes of passing on to the next life be granted when the network binding them had weakened.

'Right, Ceph, can you fill me in on what you did?' Eldrian asked while taking on a contemplative look to stall for time. 

'It, it was terrible. The forest is in incredible pain.'

'I know, but how did you manage to cause so much damage?' Eldrian asked, trying to not push too hard but needing answers.

'It was the same how I normally communicate with plants and have them form things for me. Only... They all asked me to release them from the power which has corrupted them.'

'I see, you did great.' Eldrian patted Ceph's head in a form of support before standing up and explaining things to Evale. 

"Our plan worked. Maybe a little too well." Eldrian said, sharing what he had attempted to do and what Ceph had managed to do. Which had allowed Eldrian to gain some insight into the one controlling the network. 

"I have no idea what kind of power it was, but it wasn't the devil. That is for sure... Right, how strong is the devil even?"

In the rush Eldrian hadn't managed to use mana sense, he had just wanted to escape before Ceph would be in danger. 

"It wasn't as strong as the other one that tried to kill you... Still, it isn't a pushover. While it is just Tier 7, most Tier 8's will have a hard time fighting it. My arrow only managed to injure it thanks to the holy power embued in it."

"I see... Does that mean holy power is also effective against devils?"

"Only against certain types, I guess this one is one of them." Evale replied just as a soldier rushed to inform them of an attack happening on the west wall, soon another came to inform them of the same happening on the east. 

Turning to Eldrian, Evale asked somberly if they would be able to do it again.

"What!?" Eldrian shouted out in shock, before quickly looking at his mana and doing some calculations. "Not for another 12 minutes."

While Eldrian would be able to in just another 3, Ceph needed more time to recover his mana. While his natural regeneration was faster than humans, he had no items to speed it up even more. 

"Then, we will have to stall." Turning to the other soldiers, Evale relayed her orders. "Have everyone focus on defending. Our aim is to appear weaker than we are, keep the reinforcements hidden until my signal!"

The soldiers quickly saluted and rushed to their respective generals to relay the orders.

"Do you think that this is wise? They might be hoping that we would try something again." Eldrian didn't feel confident in rushing into the forest so soon after a narrow escape. 

"That is actually the hope. Since you can do damage from far with this new method of attack, it means that the strongest undead will have to leave their fortified position in the forest center."

"This will be our best chance to weaken their forces by a significant amount."

'Ah, I am not too sure about this.' Turning to Cephaphyr, Eldrian wanted to refuse acting as bait. He would have no problem if it was just him going, but for him to even just each another spirited ackley, he needed Ceph. 

'Don't back down for my sake. You know just how strong I am.'

'And I also know how dangerous the enemies are, they will certainly be able to hurt you!' Eldrian countered. 

'Even if that is so! I can't just sit this out, Evale seems confident in her plan. Let's trust her!'

'How do you have so much faith in her?' Eldrian couldn't understand where this came from, was it childlike naivety?

'Because... I need to help the forest!' Ceph's shout hit Eldrian in a different way. 

'I see, this is kind of how I feel I need to help the natives of ANW. Ceph cares for the plants much more than one would think is rational.' 

'Alright, but we need to make sure we know what is going on.' Eldrian said and Ceph mind nodded. 

"We are in, but you need to explain how you plan to make sure we don't die as the bait." Eldrian said while wondering if the dwarves were still protecting him from the shadows.

He hadn't interacted with them since Milgoroth's death and leaving the camp. Part of him felt they should still be there, but they might not be and that uncertainty was worrying.

'Luckily, even if Ceph dies, I can bring him back. Though, it will mean that we will be unable to do much for 2 weeks. And, I am sure it will not be a pleasant experience. So, it will still be best to try and avoid it if possible.' 

"Of course, I will be following behind. Before you complain, Sodren will also be with me."

"Sodren, hey? It isn't-"

"I know you two got off on the wrong foot, but I assure you that he doesn't care about that. His first priority is to complete the mission king Farest had handed to him."

"Alright," Eldrian knew that in that case things should turn out fine. 

"Then, we will set out when you are ready."

...

"Let's go!" Eldrian said, climbing onto Ceph's back and charging down the ramp of the walls.

Naturally, there weren't just stairs, in fact, the main way of getting onto the walls was these ramps. Centaurs, while they weren't the majority in this camp, they still made up nearly half of the army.

(Generally, centaurs are kept in mobile units while demi- and humans are stationed to keep forts and fortifications.)

Surprisingly, Evale managed to keep up with Cephaphyr with ease. Given the 4 Tier difference, this might be expected but it was still impressive to Eldrian. However, the even more shocking part was when a lizard beastkin joined them and also kept pace with relative ease. 

'Is Ceph now suddenly slow?'  Eldrian almost wanted to ask, but he knew that wasn't the case. The difference in power was just too large to be overcome simply by his nature as an alicorn. 

'In the end, power is still the most important thing.'  Eldrian sighed in his heart while setting his eyes ahead. Doing his best to guide Ceph away from any undead while Ceph headed for the nearest spirited ackley. 

AN: I am not too sure if the formating (italics) work, I did italic thoughts while also having them in '', hopefully, this will help clear up when it is Ceph and Eldrian talking and when it is someone thinking.