Chapter 488: I. AM. NEVER. ALONE! [Part 1]

Several new cracks appeared in the golden statue that hung in the air. It had been five days since the Elves made a strategic retreat, and an unnerving peace settled on the land. However, that peace was about to end as the cracks on the statue widened. 

Conner had been resting in his room when his bed started shaking violently. It was still two hours away from sunrise, and yet everyone, who had not been on guard duty, all woke up from their slumber as the tremors intensified.

"He managed to break free sooner than expected," Conner had a grim expression on his face as he hurried towards the command station on the ramparts of the city wall.

When he arrived, he was just in time to see the golden statue shatter into hundreds of pieces. 

Drauum descended on the ground and glared hatefully at the city in front of it.

"You dare to imprison me?!" Drauum roared. "You dare?!"

The Ancient Golem raised iis hand and a ten-meter-wide fist made of Earth materialized behind him. The Ancient Golem was so enraged that he decided to annihilate all the Humans inside the city of Gladiolus.

"Die!" Drauum punched forward and the Giant Fist slammed on the magic barrier. A loud breaking sound resounded in the air as the Earth Fist shattered into pieces. However, Drauum wasn't perturbed.

This time, he summoned not one, but two fists made of Earth, and they were twice as big as the first one he created. 

He punched the magic barrier hatefully with the intention to break it apart. With every punch, the City of Gladiolus trembled. 

With every punch, the anxiousness in the Defender's hearts grew.

Soon, cracks appeared in the Magic Barrier and a sinister smile formed on Drauum's face. It knew that it was only a matter of time before the barrier broke, and when that happened, it would massacre the hateful Humans who dared to imprison it.

Conner raised his hand and the eyes of the Giant Black Skull in the sky glowed brightly. The cracks that had appeared on the Magic Barrier immediately disappeared as the power that supported it was reinforced.

Drauum snorted, but it didn't relent in its attacks. A few minutes later, several cracks appeared once more, and Conner had no choice but to use the power of the Giant Skull to reinforce it once again.

'No good!' Conner clenched his fist. 'If this continues, the power of the souls that we have gathered will slowly be consumed by the Magic Barrier!'

Suddenly, a lightning blast collided with the barrier. Seconds later, powerful breath attacks by the Qilins and Dragons rained down from the sky.

Eneru and the Qilins had just returned after destroying all the altars that were scattered across the continent. They didn't need to destroy many, because most of them had been destroyed after the Continental Spell was activated.

When Eneru felt Drauum's presence, he immediately went to investigate and saw the Ancient Golem trying to break the Magic Barrier that protected the city.

He immediately returned to the Elven Encampment to tell everyone what was happening. Elandorr immediately gave the order to advance, but told the army to remain a mile away from the city.

Ezkalor took off along with Eneru, as well as their kin, to support Drauum's attempt to break the barrier.

The Unicorns on the other hand stood in front of the Elven Army and channeled their magic in their horns. Their target was not the barrier, but the Giant Skull that hung in the sky. After much discussion, they came to the conclusion that the skull could be dispelled by holy power.

Only the Unicorns had such ability in the Elven Army, so Princess Eowyn asked them to help them deal with the current threat.

Naturally, the Unicorns complied to the Princess' request and began to weave a spell that was strong enough to destroy the Giant Skull that tormented all of them.

Conner gritted his teeth when he saw that the Elven Army had stopped their advance. They were too far away for him to activate his Trump Card, and the skull's magic reserves were slowly being drained by the combined attacks of the three Guardians and the Magical Beasts that accompanied them.

Suddenly, a bright beam of light illuminated the darkness. It flew straight towards the skull creating a powerful explosion.

"Noooo!" Floyd screamed when he saw that the spell that he had made along with the two Archmages was destroyed completely.

Moments later, a deafening cracking sound erupted from the barrier. 

Drauum gave it one last blow, and the barrier shattered into pieces.

Elandorr, who saw all of this, raised his sword in the air. He knew that the Humans had lost the upper hand and immediately ordered an attack.

The Forest Wolves, along with their riders, advanced at a rapid pace. This time, Elandorr only sent a quarter of the army, just in case the Humans still had aces up their sleeves. The defeat that they had suffered a few days ago was still fresh in his mind.

He didn't want to take any chances and get caught up once again in a trap that the Branch Leader of Deus had prepared for them.

Unfortunately, Conner's ultimate move had been rendered useless when Drauum regained its freedom. If only the Ancient Golem chose to flee instead of attack then the Magic Energy within the skull wouldn't have been used up. 

Sadly, he had underestimated how much Drauum hated being imprisoned. He didn't anticipate that the Ancient Golem would be so determined to take revenge at all cost.

"Open Fire!" Conner ordered.

The spells of the magicians bombarded the Ancient Golem, but the latter only sneered. With a loud shout, Drauum grew in size until it became a hundred-meter tall Earth Golem. 

The spells landed in his body, making rocks, and pieces of Earth fly in every direction. However, Drauum endured it all, and the land under its feet rose up to patch up the places on its body that had been damaged by the fierce counterattack of the humans defending the walls.

"Regret the fact that you dared to offend me in the afterlife!" Drauum shouted as it pulled back its arm to punch the walls of the city. "Perish insects!"

Drauum unleashed a blow that contained all of its fury. It didn't care if the whole city was demolished by his attack. The only thing it had in mind right now was to vent off its anger.

However, before its punch could even hit the city wall. A gigantic golden staff that was as thick as a castle slammed against the body of the Ancient Golem, sending it hurtling hundreds of meters away from where it stood.

Everyone froze, including the Defenders as they stared at the giant golden staff that had appeared out of nowhere. 

Soon, it retracted and their gaze landed on a teenage boy whose red hair fluttered in the breeze. 

He rested the golden staff on his shoulder as he eyed the battlefield with a serene gaze.

"Have no fear," William said as he raised his chin in arrogance. "The most handsome Half-Elf in the world is here!"

Drauum stood up as it, too, looked at the arrogant Half-Elf whom it hadn't seen for a long time.

"You!" Drauum pointed at William. "I was going to spare your life on behalf of the Saintess, but since you want to court death so much then I will gladly oblige and send you to the afterlife as well!"

William ignored the Ancient Golem as he gazed at the Elven Army that had stopped in their tracks. After a while, he looked at Eneru who was looking hatefully at him from the sky. William noticed that one of its legs was missing, which made him raise his brow in surprise.

"Child, it will be best if you do not get in our way," Ezkalor said. "If you do, I will personally take you into custody and ensure that you will be reunited with your mother."

William shifted his gaze on the Golden Dragon that seemed to hold no hostility towards him. Since he was in his Heroic Avatar form, he could tell whether someone was lying or not. The Golden Dragon had meant what it said, giving William a good impression of it.

"Thank you for the offer, but I already planned on reuniting with my mother when I visit the Silvermoon Continent," William replied with a smile. He then looked in the direction of the Elves' Main Army.

He saw Elandorr standing on a raised platform, and the latter was looking back at him with a glare that matched Drauum's hatred for those that had imprisoned it.

"Now that I am here, I will put an end to this war once and for all," William declared. 

Eneru loudly snorted as it summoned a thunderstorm above the battlefield. He had long wanted to kill William ever since he had realized his true identity. An existence that carried the will of the Eternal Guardian was a sworn enemy of their race.

He would only be able to breathe easy once William's head had been severed from his body. 

"You think that you alone can stop us?" Eneru asked. "How delusional!"

William chuckled as he looked at the Qilin who was missing his whiskers, and an arm on his body. Although he would pay a hefty price for this crime, he was willing to carry that burden on his shoulders. 

"Alone?" William smirked. "Remember this, traitor of the herd, and remember it well… I come as one, but I stand in the tens of thousands."

"I. AM. NEVER. ALONE!"