Things ended pretty soon when it came to that battle… the enemies only sent around one thousand riders and their mounts for some reason. Aion assumed that they wanted to tire out the defenders by forcing them to get tired by fighting at noon in the desert… but it was hard to imagine that they had planned to lose all of their soldiers there.
After using magic for a while, Aion summoned his bloody ax again and then began to kill the remaining enemies. Some soldiers saw him doing that, but while his arms and weapon were filled with blood, Aion looked completely fine… which puzzled everyone. Soon some rumors began to spread about how he charged among the enemies' lines, splitting the enemies in two with ease.
"You are strong… and pretty skilled for your age," The tanned woman said after she approached. "Some soldiers said that you killed dozens of enemies and their mounts. I apologize for doubting you. My name is Teniris."
Aion just nodded since he was a bit too thirsty to use his mouth. He wasn't tired, but it had been a while since he drank anything, and the heat of the desert didn't help.
Some soldiers began to dispose of the corpses, and Aion made sure to get as many weapons as possible without letting anyone notice it.
"The enemy will probably come for real at night… but with how much dust moving an army raises, they won't surprise anyone," Aion rubbed his chin thoughtfully once he returned to his tent. "Still, something feels off… an enemy of that level should be able to cross the volcanoes with ease… wouldn't the draconic warrior have an easy time slipping into the territory of the primordial firebird and killing it?"
"History says that the draconic wanderer killed some leaders of the cities and towns of that country to know where the primordial firebird is," Annalee said.
"I see… so they have that information," Aion said. "By the way, do you read anything about that woman called Teniris?"
"Nothing," Annalee replied.
That was suspicious… Why would someone famous enough to lead an army of ten thousand not leave her name in history? Something was really weird. In any case, Aion decided to rest a bit more, fill his stomach and quench his thirst since the night was going to be long.
During the afternoon, the whole camp kept working. At some point, they decided to use the bodies of the monsters like barricades since they had some archers, and it didn't seem like the enemies had any.
Aion recalled that the invaders were wearing clothes that looked pretty well made, so their society was supposed to be a bit advanced.
Just as Aion had expected, things got heated up at night again since some scouts noticed that some enemies were approaching. Apparently, three armies of one thousand had arrived, and they split up… it wasn't like a pincer attack was going to be useless with those numbers. Still, it wouldn't be that effective either since the soldiers, adventurers, and mercenaries on the defenders side fought as a group while relying on their individual strength instead of tactics and formation.
By using the excuse to water the plants, Aion moved away from the camp a bit and then flew high in order to use the relics. He confirmed that the relics pointed toward the other country, and he also assumed that it was the direction the enemy was… aside from portals, the relics pointed to those involved with time magic.
"I am getting more confused… using the armies as a distraction would be more effective, and if he is receiving help from someone from another timeline, he should have the information where the primordial firebird is…" Aion sighed since his head was starting to hurt since nothing was making any sense.
In any case, before the enemies could arrive, Teniris managed to split her army into three groups as well. She did it pretty fast, and Aion was on the right side while she was in the front… while he didn't know anything about her, he still felt compelled to watch over her since something smelled fishy. Unfortunately, orders were orders, and if he doesn't follow them now, he will lose the small amount of trust that he just got.
Despite losing so many men on the first attack, Aion didn't notice any differences in the enemies approach this time either. They just charged single mindedly once they had the chance…
Aion decided to stop thinking and just focused on defeating the enemies and leveling up his classes. This time, Aion focused on defeating the riders and damaging the mounts just enough before using Tame on them. Thanks to that, he was able to make some of the monsters charge and attack the others and spread confusion among their ranks.
Tamer Lv 23
Health: 14/14
Mana: 24/24
Stamina: 564/564
Strength: 06
Dexterity: 11 + 130
Magic: 11
Endurance: 01
Resistance: 01
Speed: 11 + 130
Status: 75
Whip Refinement Lv 100
Bonuses: Dexterity + 130, Speed + 130
Skills: Tame Lv 19 (Power Lv 69), Lightning Whip Lv 01
Passive: Enhanced Dexterity Lv 01, Whip Mastery Lv 09
Improvement Points: 00
Accumulated Experience: 00
Coins: 00
Inventory:
Absorption: 0/1000
Processing: 0/1000
Reset
Lightning Whip: at the cost of ten points of mana, your next attack will cause magic damage and paralyze the enemy for a moment.
Whip Mastery: passively increases your attack power when using whips by two points per level.
While Aion was checking his progress, he noticed that the soldiers nearby began to fall unconscious even when their wounds weren't that deep… when he checked their wounds, he noticed that they had turned pale.
"Shit… this can't be good," Aion thought and then checked the enemy's weapons lying on the ground.
There was no smell and no signs of poison, but it was clear that they had been afflicted by something akin to it. Even Aion got a bit dizzy… something else had poisoned them, but only those that got hurt were suffering from it.