Chapter 498: Elven Bombardment

Est stood at the ramparts holding the two tokens that commanded the Super Soldiers and Ash Golems that Conner had left behind.

Although his decision to side with the Kraetor Empire at the last moment made The Alliance curse his name, Est had to admit that he was someone that could come and go as he pleased.

'At least he still had a bit of conscience,' Est thought as he looked at the hundreds of Super Soldiers, and Thousands of Ashe golems that were gathered near the main gate of the city. 

Their purpose was to engage the Elves once they got past through their defenses, and be used as cannon fodders as they escaped to the Second Level of the city.

What Est didn't know was that Conner did it this way, so that he wouldn't burn the bridge between Deus and Celine. Naturally, the Leader of Deus also didn't want to burn his bridges with William, just in case the latter miraculously managed to make a comeback against the Elves.

Est watched the Elven Army stir in the distance. It was only an hour until sunrise, and although the sun couldn't be seen due to the clouds that had blanketed the continent, it could still be felt by the Defenders, who were about to face a battle that they had no hope of winning.

Surrendering was an option, but Prince Alaric had been told of the torture that the survivors of the Zelan Dynasty had faced under the rule of the Elves. He would rather die than be shamed in front of his people.

King Minos and the Minotaur Race were fighting for the oaths that they had pledged long ago. They would only leave if William had left the battlefield. Although the Half-Elf wasn't with them right now, the King of the Minotaurs knew that the latter was fighting a battle of his own, and risking his life in the process.

This was why he stood proudly at the top of the city walls, and stared at the Elven Army that was slowly making their way towards the city. They were a race that was born to endure hardships.

A race that had stood with the God of Shepherds against all adversities when the world was still newly born and uncertainties plagued the land.

Wendy, Ashe, and Isaac stood beside Est as they looked at the enemies they would face. William had given them a promise that he would return. In order for that promise to come true, they must survive and live to see one more day.

Celine and Jekyll stood not far away. They were the oldest among the Defenders, if King Minos and the rest of the Minotaur Race were excluded. 

"I hate to say this, but I wish James was here." Jekyll chuckled. "If he was here, I'm sure that this war would be more interesting."

Celine smiled and nodded her head in agreement. If the old coot of Lont was here, the Elves might be running away for their lives right now. 

'Mistress, should I remove my limiter?' Oliver asked through telepathy. 'That way, I can at least block one of those Guardians for a period of time.'

'No,' Celine replied. 'We can always return to Lont if things turn out for the worst. I doubt the Elves would have the guts to annoy a Demigod.'

Celine didn't want Oliver to remove his limiter because that would make her loyal retainer shorten his lifespan. Oliver had accompanied her all the way from the Silvermoon Continent. 

She couldn't find it in herself to let the Parrot Monkey sacrifice himself when they could escape and hide under the protection of Vlad.

'Understood.' Oliver nodded his head. 

The Parrot Monkey glanced at the Elves with an indifferent gaze. The only Elves he cared about could be counted on one hand. He had no guilt in killing them as long as they dared to hurt the Mistress he served.

"It's almost time," King Minos said. "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

King Minos threw a crystal towards the sky where it exploded. It was one of the parting gifts that Conner had left them, aside from the tokens that controlled the Super Soldiers and Ash Golems. 

It was the crystal that contained a spell that restricted everyone from using flight, including any form of magic that allowed flight.

A powerful pressure descended on the battlefield as the spell activated. 

Conner, who was watching all of this from the Kraetor Empire's encampment, smiled. He didn't regret his decision because he was someone that valued his life more than others. 

Empress Sidonie had accepted his allegiance, which made Berthold resentful. However, Evexius supported her decision and was quite happy with having a capable subordinate serving under their Empress.

The Elves had come to know about Conner's desertion and it made them sneer internally. It was the sign that the Alliance had an internal feud among their members, which proved that they were fearful of their inevitable demise. 

Now that the troublesome man was gone, Elandorr felt more confident in dealing with the remnants of the Alliance.

Drauum appeared at the very front of the Elven Vanguard and summoned a giant boulder, which it held with both hands. Since their War Machines had been devoured by Jekyll, it decided to break the walls of the city itself.

It didn't want to get too close because it knew that King Minos wouldn't allow it to do as it pleased. Since that was the case, it would join the Elven Archmages in a magical bombardment until the walls of Gladiolus had turned to rubble.

"Break!" Drauum shouted as he hurled the giant boulder towards the city wall.

King Minos was about to make his move when he noticed a black mist head towards the giant boulder. 

The mist then turned into a black-robed man, who fearlessly extended a hand to grab hold of the giant boulder, which had been thrown by the Second Strongest Guardian of the Silvermoon Continent.

"He sure took his sweet time," Jekyll commented.

Celine nodded.

She recognized the man who was wearing the black robe. Many thought of him as James' shadow, but very few knew what he was really capable of.

He was also one of the very few individuals that weren't affected by the Continental Spell due to his special constitution. A man of few words, for he thought that his actions would speak louder.

The moment that blood-stained hand touched the boulder, that was a hundred times the man's size, it immediately disintegrated into dust.

Drauum watched the man as he landed on the ground without even making a sound. The Ancient Golem recognized who he was, for this was not the first time that it had met him.

"Ezio… I should have known that you were still alive," Drauum said.

The Guardians also looked at Ezio for they knew who the man was. Ezio had been there during the war against the Demons and helped the elves resist their invasion. He had been one of Maxwell's companions during that war many years ago.

Hundreds of steel threads extended from Ezio's body and collided with the spells that had been cast by the Archmages. Naturally, he couldn't possibly block all the spells of the Elves, so he focused on the High-Tiered ones, nullifying their effects.

"I hate Antimages," one of the Elven Archmages gritted their teeth in frustration.

"Don't worry, he can't possibly block all of our attacks," another Archmage commented from the side. "Let him do as he pleases, he is only delaying the inevitable."

Just like the Archmage had said, the walls of the city were slowly breaking due to the extreme bombardment that the Elves had initiated. Hundreds of Thousands of spells that acted as catapults battered the city walls like hail.

Suddenly, giant fireballs fell towards the Elven Formation, but were blocked by the Guardians standing by their side.

"These are…" Ezkalor frowned.

"That Damned Toatie!" Eneru growled. "He is using our War Machines against us!"

"Fire!" Jekyll ordered and the Freedom Fighters fired another volley of fireballs that were meant to destroy city walls towards the Elven Army.

Jekyll had devoured the War Machines, but he didn't destroy them. He just stored them in a separate dimension inside his stomach, and was planning to use them against the Elves to give them a taste of their own medicine.

Dozens of fireballs the size of two or three carriages rained down on the Elven Army. Although the Guardians blocked all of them, they found it an annoyance. 

The Alliance had no archmages among their ranks, so the War Machines served as their main source of offense. 

The City of Gladiolus also had Magic Cannons that could be used as defensive weapons. However, Prince Ernest was currently in a coma and unable to activate them at the moment. This forced the Defenders to use whatever means that they had at their disposal, but it had borne no fruit so far.

The Spells descended unimpeded.

With each strike, parts of the walls collapsed. 

Est's and everyone's faces became grim because they knew that it was only a matter of time before the walls gave in completely. When that moment came, they would have no choice but to abandon their posts, and ambush the invaders inside the City that had once been lively, before the Continental Spell hit.