Chapter 463: Organised Warfare

What a mess… that was the only way I could describe the situation right now with the Murlocs and Minotaurs. The moment both sides clashed with each other, the battle fell apart. The Murloc immediately broke ranks and started fleeing frantically in every direction.

Unfortunately for them, fate was a cruel mistress. In their blind desire to flee, they ended up fleeing in the direction of Aishael’s Half-Elven army. There was no warning given, but before any Murloc could realise the error of their decision, they were mercilessly hacked to pieces by the advancing Half-Elves.

The Half-Elven army advanced in a direction completely opposite to the fleeing Murlocs, neither too slowly nor too quickly. Like a machine of death, they mowed down any who stood in their way, ally or otherwise; there was no retreat to be had in this battle. In the first place, these Murlocs were dispatched here to be cannon fodders so we didn’t have high hopes for them to begin with. The moment they got in the way of our armies, they were the ones at fault.

And what better solution was there than just simple violence? Under the relentless reaping of the advancing Half-Elven army, the Murlocs had no choice but to turn around. Some ran towards the nearby river while those who were not as clear-headed chose to face off against the Minotaurs who were now fighting the Blood Drake Riders…

While it was often assumed that a cavalry unit was at its strongest during a charge, this might not always hold true in this world. There were cavalry units that were just as strong even without charging; the Blood Drake Riders were just such a unit. Amongst the Dark Elves, these riders were counted as the most elite combat unit, not just because of their riders, but also because the Blood Drakes themselves were powerful magical beasts. In a one-on-one with a Minotaur of the same Star-level, they were more than a match, and that was not even counting the powerful rider on their back!

At the forefront of these powerful riders was Zurnalin, riding ahead of the others like a deadly spear into the enemy. With her three meter long Dragon Spear, she easily skewered a Minotaur before it even had the time to realise what had happened. Then with a swing of her spear, she threw the offending corpse right into another unfortunate Minotaur…

The Blood Drake she rode was significantly stronger than her subordinates. When it opened its horrific jaws, a deafening roar boomed forth like a crack of lightning. A couple of Minotaurs who were just about to swing their axes at it were immediately stunned in place, eyes filled with shock and dread. That was the power of her steed!

Having incapacitated the two of them temporarily, Zurnalin’s Blood Drake swiftly whipped its scaly tail towards them, smashing into each of their chests with a bang that was more like a sonic boom and sending them flying in the process.

At the same time as that, the rest of the Blood Drake Riders arrived on scene as well. Each rider charged fearlessly into battle, carving a bloody swathe into their enemies’ ranks with astonishing power!

“Kill them all!!!”

“Fear the Blood Drake Riders!”

The moment the battle started, every rider bellowed at the top of their lungs, eyes red from their bloodthirst. Wherever there was a Minotaur to be had, their furious spear thrusts would soon follow. Whether it was a sword slash, a stab of their Dragon Spear, or a whip from their steeds, whatever weapon they could employ was employed.

Faced with such a frenzied attack, a weak-hearted opponent would have fled already. With just over 3000 Minotaurs present, they were beginning to feel the pressure from the might the riders showed. Bit by bit, cracks were beginning to form in their morale.

A short while after the Blood Drake Riders, the Half-Elves’ first division charged into battle as well under the leadership of Aishael.

Spotting these newcomers, several hundreds of Minotaurs immediately tried to circle around the Blood Drake Riders in a bid to cut off the riders while also attacking the target that was clearly under-equipped even to their simplistic minds.

With a fearless roar, the first of the Minotaurs rammed into a Half-Elven Shieldbearer, intent on showing this skinny weakling whose strength was greater here.

Aishael frowned upon seeing it. An enraged Minotaur clearly wasn’t a good match for their scrawny Shieldbearers, but she couldn’t back down either. These Shieldbearers were their only line of defense. If they couldn’t hold the line now, then the casualties would be great within their ranks.

It was an unfortunate fact that their current numbers were too little, coming in at just 1000. Out of these 1000, there were Archers and Mages, leaving only just 700 to actually hold off the Minotaurs who were each at least hundreds of kilogrammes. When these monstrosities charged, their body weight would only be multiplied against the Half-Elves.

Armed with the bare minimum of gears and fed with what was clearly not even bread, could such an army ever hope to stand against the frenzied charge of a Minotaur? The answer was a definite no. Even so, Aishael didn’t give the order to retreat. Instead, she had 400 Shieldbearers huddle up against each to form a sturdy shield wall.

She then stood behind these shields, knuckles white from gripping her plain sword and shield, eyes steely as she gazed ahead. Her entire attention was now focused on channelling the mana of the soldiers around her. Thankfully, their honed teamwork made such a mammoth task easy even in the midst of a chaotic battle. A couple of seconds later, a six-sided star array began to take shape beneath her feet and rapidly expanded outwards in seconds.

“Composite Magic: Earthen Bulwark!”

As the last of her words trailed off, a clay-colored silhouette of a mountain measuring in at over 100 meters appeared in front of every Shieldbearer!

Just like their pure-blooded cousins, the Half-Elves were all Magisters in their own right. Furthermore, just like the Elves, they possessed a magical talent that was far superior to an ordinary human’s.

Yet the Minotaurs weren’t one to care about what stood in their way. Be it a shield or a mountain, there was nothing they didn’t dare to ram into! As the Minotaurs collided with the spell, the silhouette of the mountain began to wobble. But just like ramming into a physical mountain, the Minotaurs found themselves unable to penetrate the silhouette. Unfortunately for the Shieldbearers, while the spell might have held, the Minotaurs still managed to force them back a little, even if the spell was practically holding them rooted to the floor.

“AHHHH!!!!”

At the same time as their line faltered, the Half-Elves bellowed into the air, determined to take on the Minotaurs to the death.

There were 300 Minotaurs attacking the Half-Elves right now. In their cow heads, they had assumed that these stick-like Half-Elves would fall just like those scrawny fishes before them. However, when was the world ever so simple? The Murlocs were routed easily because they had no real reason to fight to the death. These Half-Elves were different. They were determined to obtain victory even at the cost of their lives. Furthermore, they had something the Murlocs did not have -magic!

Yet even the sturdiest of defense would fall one day. Aishael was still able to maintain the Composite Spell with the help of 700 soldiers, but the strength of these Minotaurs was nothing to scoff at either. The act of defending alone took up all her focus, leaving her no avenue to organise a counter-attack. Given the strength of the Minotaurs, there was no way she could keep this up till they gave up. Should that happen, the backlash of the magic would be felt on all 700 of them.

They had to fight back, but they couldn’t… Yet just when it seemed like she was entering a death spiral, dozens of spears rained down upon the Minotaurs, following which dozens of Minotaurs died and their ranks fell into disarray. This sudden disarray instantly reversed the fortunes of both sides, giving the Half-Elves a much needed reprieve.

These spears came flying in from the side. Aishael turned in the direction of the spears, coming upon the sight of Reyage and the Blood Brigade slowly marching towards them while firing off at the Harpies with bows and magic. As for the spears, they were all aimed at the Minotaurs engaging with her army. With their astonishing strength, the Javalineers could easily toss a spear over hundreds of meters, a feat that was easy in a world of magic and Fighter’s Aura.

Even so, these Javanlineers were still impressive in their own right. Despite throwing their spears from a fair distance away, not a single spear hit a friendly target.

The Harpies had been suppressed by the Archers and Mages of the Blood Brigade; the Minotaurs, normally unaffected by arrows, had to now contend with spears being thrown at them with deadly force. At this rate, both of them would lose without ever causing us much damage.

So why did they even try to attack us in the first place? Based on what I just saw, they did not have the numbers required to overwhelm us.

Perhaps they had another card to play? No. They definitely had another card to play!

“ROARR!!!”

Suddenly, a thunderous roared blanketed the entire battlefield. A figure, measuring over five meters tall, loomed ominously over the horizon, towering over the rest of the Minotaurs easily. The new Minotaur wielded a giant blade in one hand and an axe in the other. With each step he took, the earth itself cried from the force of his stomps…