Chapter 830 Counterattack (3) - Sally-Forth

"I can't agree to this!"

"Oh? Do you not trust our intel?" Evale pressed.

"Of course not! I don't trust you either!" The captain of the western gate, Vasiss, shouted. Besides having a few Chosen vouch for her, Evale had no credibility inside the city. She was an outside force, naturally he would not let her do as she wished.

"Time is of the essence! We need to move. Now!" Evale continued to fight. Her emotions running high.

Returning to a city under siege was enough to make her recall her brother's death. Especially with the chaos inside the city. And while Vasiss did not resemble her brother, his size did. Making that memory all the harder to push down.

As she was about to burst, Eldrian landed next to her. Upon seeing the alicorn, Vasiss turned as white as a ghost. Noticing the peculiarity, Eldrian let Ceph do the talking.

"We just returned from the mayor. She agrees that the attack on the North is a distraction. Ride out and attack the enemy at their core."

"B-but—" Vasiss was clearly shaken by this proclamation. However, he could not get the words out to contest.

"This is an order from the mayor!" Ceph pressed, and noting where the problem lay, Eldrian handed the captain the order they had gotten.

"I trust this should rectify any doubts you have." Eldrian said with a smile.

"Yes!" Nodding, the captain got to calling all his men to the gate.

They needed to keep their enemy none the wiser. So Vasiss did not call for everyone, but instead only the elites. Forming a small squad of only a dozen centaurs and half that in demi-humans strong. Who joined with Evale and her eight.

"Alright, as according to the plan, Nikki will focus fire to open a line for you. And we will wait in the sky for a surprise attack." Turning to Elizabeth, Eldrian paused. "Be sure not to die. We need your help to coordinate."

"Of course!" Elizabeth replied, confident in her ability to remain alive. She had rushed here in order for their attack to work.

"I will have her ride with me." Evale said. "Do not worry."

—

The cannons boomed. Followed by the screams of their targets. The gates opened, and out poured but a few dozen centaurs with riders.

"What on earth are they up to?" Asked the commander of this attack.

Four other devils, their red figures hidden by the artificial darkness of their spells, flanked him. The artificial darkness ensured the light of the stars and moon would not reach them. Hidding their silhouettes and numbers from all who peered from outside.

"An attempt to strike at the command?"

"It must be. Have they expected we are delaying things?"

"How would they? It is not like they can see through my spells. Especially not in the night. I am confident even the mayor herself would be unable to see anything but darkness."

"And yet, they are heading directly for us." commented the commander. Following the path that this group of centaurs was taking. There was no doubt they were heading directly for him. And thanks to the cannons, they encountered little resistance in their charge.

"That's impossible. There's no—" Her sentence never finished. A blazing light appeared from the charging group. Sending their cover to the stars and an arrow finding its mark.

Flames surrounded the group next. Followed by more arrows. The devils reacted quickly, but not without paying a cost. Several arrows protruded from each, and the fire had charred their flesh.

Though, their red skin made it difficult to see the extent of the damage. Their ruined clothes clearly told the tale.

They were now surrounded, hiding behind their barrier. They just needed to hold off until their soldiers would come to their rescue. However, as they thought of this, one of the centaurs stepped forward. Her bow shining and the arrow in her hands giving off a terribly dangerous aura.

The devils immediately recognized this attack. It was the same one that had shattered their ladders. Not having any confidence in their mage's barrier, they scattered. And the poor mage who tried his best found himself with a hole in his chest.

The other devils no longer thought of trying to weather the surprise attack. They ran for their lives. Unlike their subjects, they held no honor or pride.

They cared only for their lives. And no one had mentioned needing to fight directly in this battle, nor that they needed to fight to the last. They simply needed to buy some time and attract the eyes of the kingdom.

Naturally, the centaurs would not let them escape so easily. They charged their enemy, pinning them down and surrounding each. While their own mages kept the mixed army of orcs, goblins, kobolds, and so forth at bay.

The devil's plan, to spread the attack to make their numbers seem greater than they were, and to prod for a weakness in the wall, backfired magnificently. Their reinforcements arrived in small numbers. Easily dealt with by their enemy.

"You won't get me! I refuse to die here!" shouted the commander, his face contorted in rage and fear. Plunging his sword into his heart, he coughed out blood. Which blocked all attacks rained at him.

Like an impregnable shield, the blood formed a flowing barrier around him. Gathering the blood of all the nearby dead as it did. Growing in strength and pulsing as it grew in strength. Not much longer it collected blood from injured living. And soon, even the uninjured.

Those who had come to rescue their commander fell one after the other. Their blood ripped from their still living bodies as it formed a massive, grotesque monster. Its aura sent chills into everyone's hearts.

"Retreat!" Evale shouted, followed near instantly by Vasiss's. Both commander and captain understood it would not be long before their blood was added to the monster.

'Now should do,' Elizabeth thought, telling Eldrian to target the blood monster and informing everyone to run with all their strength.

"He's not holding back!" Elizabeth shouted over the sound of the wind and the agonized screams filling the battlefield.

This shout elicited a meager response from those from Elomir. Those from Kynigo, however, started running with everything they had. Pouring all their mana into increasing their speed as they headed off into the distance. Giving up trying to return to the city.

—

Watching from up high, Eldrian was impressed by Elizabeth's spells. They certainly showed far more strength than the average spell. The light easily destroyed the camouflage of their enemy, making them easy targets for the elite archers who charged with Evale.

Add the magic from Vassis and his men's melee prowess. These few devils stood no chance. However, they still showed tenacity. Managing to survive and reform their defenses, they waited for their soldiers to come to their rescue.

However, that was not going to happen. They were too scattered and the captain of the western gate was no fool. Once they had confined their enemy, he sent his soldiers to distract the enemy's reinforcements.

And that was when Evale shattered their barrier. There seemed to have been some communication lacking, as Vassis turned to the devils in shock. Moving quickly to block the commander's escape while Evale and her elites finished the other two devils off.

Then that happened. Because of the time between the two groups acting, the devil had time to plunge his own weapon into his chest. Watching from up high, Eldrian marveled at the action. "That seems to be some type of... I have no idea what to even call it... Is it a bloodline power?"

'Their retreating. I assume it is our job to finish it off?'

"Yeah. It seems quite similar to my flames. Leaving it be will be quite troublesome. I doubt it would stop after killing our enemies."

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