Chapter 590: How Many Lives Do They Have!
Clang!
The sharp blade struck the shield hard, sending a sting up Annie's wrist.
She resisted the urge to retreat, biting her silver teeth hard, gripping the shield tightly, standing firm without falling back.
She still remembered the teachings of Instructor Arnold during melee training.
No matter what, do not retreat.
Even if bones crack, even if your hand breaks, you must hold the line.
The extraordinary elven rangers attacked with ferocity and speed, making it extremely difficult for Annie to defend.
Yet despite her struggle, she and her guards barely managed to fend off the elite unit's assault.
The high-level adventurers' ranged support kept the elite elven rangers from charging recklessly.
The faster they charged, the more they'd get torn apart by focused fire.
Though powerful, the Cole Elves weren't the type to throw their lives away without hesitation.
Especially not the elite rangers, whose status, privileges, and lifespans far exceeded their peers—they wouldn't throw themselves into uncertain fights.
Thus, under the crimson moon's fury, the Cole attack was stubbornly held off by the Ail Elves.
The elite troops, once full of promise, had suffered heavy losses before they realized it.
Their momentum waned, and they failed to breach further sections of the wall.
Seeing the stalled assault, Cole Commander Tigris furrowed his brow and said grimly:
"They've lost at least 25,000 by now. How are they still holding on?"
Legendary Ranger Charis remained silent.
But deep down, he had a gut feeling—the reinforcements from Bay Territory were likely the main reason their advance had been halted.
Even a brief glimpse had revealed terrifying strength and imposing pressure, despite the enemy not being at the legendary tier.
Charis, who had never known defeat, felt deeply humiliated.
He hadn't been in peak condition, wasn't using his best close-combat gear, and had left his favored companion behind.
But a loss was still a loss!
Senator Kaledor, reviewing data silently, recalled their crushing defeat on the eastern coast and replied gravely:
"Bay Territory loves tactics centered around teleportation arrays and fields an extremely powerful melee force."
"Even under the cover of the War Curtain, and with Arch-Arcanist Cronorman's support, they still managed to pierce through."
Aicharn, beside him, glanced at the equally unlucky Eiris—not gloating, but licking his lips subconsciously.
Recalling Matthew's terrifying might, he felt a wave of headache coming.
Tigris looked at Kaledor, surprised at how serious he sounded, and asked:
"You're saying that with just one teleport per day, sending up to 3,000 troops, they've helped the Ail Elves hold out against our entire offensive?"
As he spoke, Tigris was already accepting Kaledor's words in his heart, even if reluctant.
But he quickly composed himself, eyes steely as he gave a firm order:
"Phase Three reserves—commence the assault!"
At his command, a light fog spread over the battlefield.
Well-trained Cole elites advanced swiftly under the mist spell's cover.
Watching them vanish into the haze, Tigris turned to Kaledor:
"It's exactly because they're capable—that they must be buried here."
Facing Tigris's young, handsome face, Kaledor shrugged and said:
"Fine, I owe you one. But Bay Territory won't fall so easily—they have more tricks. Be ready for another round."
Tigris nodded silently, looking up at the blood-colored sky and gave another command:
"Maintain the war mist. Ready the griffin units!"
Kaledor kept quiet. He trusted Tigris had his plan—but wanted no part in it.
The trauma Bay Territory had caused him would take much longer to mend.
He was already planning a deeper, more hidden scheme to strike back at Bay Territory.
"Kill...!"
Fierce roars echoed nonstop across the battlefield.
Jifan braced himself, sweeping aside incoming elven warriors with his spear.
He clearly felt the pressure mounting.
With fewer Ail Elves on the field, he had to guard a broader section of the wall.
Luckily, most Cole units were rangers, with only a few warriors.
Bay Territory's modified warriors specialized in fighting such foes!
Agile though they seemed, the narrow battlefield of the walls severely limited their attacks.
Melee or ranged—they had a wide range of skills.
But they lacked armor-piercing attacks and could barely dent the modified warriors' enchanted armor.
Their skills were impressive; each elven warrior was well-trained in combat abilities.
Yet their elegant techniques were no match for the brute force of spear-wielding modified soldiers.
"All your finesse and technique mean nothing if you can't even get within a meter of me. What can you fight me with?"
With a flick of his right hand, Jifan swept his spear at a charging elf.
The elf ducked low, but Jifan twisted the shaft—
The floating spear accelerated violently.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The silver shield shattered. Behind it, bones broke, and the elf crashed down the wall screaming.
Without Featherfall—
They were dead!
Jifan twirled his spear, forcing the shaken elves back, advancing step by step.
With each side sweep—
Wind-whistling speed, 27 points of extraordinary strength—
He formed an unbreakable wall of death.
Elves trapped in a pincer tried fleeing sideways.
But Ail Elves with spears and shields pinned them in place.
"Ahhh...!"
"Kill...!"
"Charge!!"
"Don't hesitate!"
"All together now..."
"..."
The chaotic cries quickly died into silence.
Jifan glanced at the corpses and told the Ail Elves to regroup.
Whoosh—a barrel flew overhead, crashing beyond the wall.
Several bolts followed—igniting a towering blaze.
The roaring flames pushed back the war mist, revealing more Cole attackers.
Jifan watched the crimson moonlight-obscuring fog with contemplative eyes.
The mist seemed unimpressive—but offered the attackers great advantages.
Blocking vision, shielding from ranged fire, hiding true targets.
It nullified the defenders' two greatest strengths.
First: psychological advantage through mass kills.
Unless, like now, you rained firepower without care for cost.
Even then, effectiveness plummeted.
Elves no longer needed to rush—using better gear to survive longer.
Second: strategic counterdeployment.
Defenders used to position troops based on enemy focus points.
Now they had to spread thin, since attacks could come from anywhere.
Even with 50,000 troops, Icewind Fortress still felt undermanned.
"Still, maintaining this massive war mist drains tons of mana and slots..."
"Bay Territory can't afford that—it's terribly inefficient..."
Jifan already envisioned how to mimic this using alchemical tools.
Freed mages could then mass-produce such tools instead.
So despite the enemy's numbers and strength, Jifan and his troops had unwavering confidence.
Wave after wave of Cole soldiers charged the mist-shrouded wall.
They rotated out after losing a third—replaced by fresh units.
This allowed them to recover in a week or two—
While maintaining constant pressure.
They'd taken other fortresses with this same strategy.
So they were confident!
Tigris carefully tracked casualties and Bay Territory movements.
Two hours passed.
Elven battle-mages were already on their fourth rotation, with five more waiting.
Tigris reviewed data from the 26th withdrawn unit and muttered:
"Tonight's 9 attacking units lost 24,000 troops..."
"But they killed or wounded 9,300 Ail Elves, plus over 200 special units..."
"Ail Elves can field fewer than 20,000 now..."
"The full defense line needs at least 18,000..."
Bay Territory's 3,000 warriors had clearly bolstered the line significantly.
The casualty ratio proved it.
From 1:1.7 to 1:2.5.
Tigris felt relief—he had never let up his assault.
He was determined to crush the Ail Elves before Bay Territory's second wave arrived.
He even planned to seize the wall, baiting Ael Elf survivors and Bay forces into attacking.
Even though the brutal siege had cost Cole nearly 80,000 troops.
With 50,000 dead.
He wanted vengeance—and to cripple Bay and Ail Elven elite forces.
If the Ail Elves lost their core strength, they couldn't rebuild quickly.
He would then march east and conquer them completely.
Once he digested their spoils—he'd finally move on Bay Territory.
Tigris's strategy was meticulous and long-sighted.
But all of it assumed the Ael Elf numbers were dwindling.
Whoosh!
A barrage of bolts rained down.
Elves raised shields, praying silently:
"Please be normal bolts..."
Thud!
The sharp tips pierced through easily, ripping bodies apart.
The fatal descent claimed many Cole lives.
Enchanted, armor-piercing bolts began flooding the battlefield.
Silent and deadly—they reaped many.
Cole warriors, unaware, continued the same attacks.
But this time—disaster struck.
Three times as many bows and crossbows fired on climbers.
They didn't even have time to react before being skewered.
Ail Elves had formed shield phalanxes—guarding rear archers.
Bolts flew—Cole troops fell.
A recovering Annie watched, stunned.
Unknowingly, Bay's hundreds of officers had reshaped the Ail Elves.
But that was a good thing!
Survival came first!
Cole soldiers climbing the wall turned pale—seeing shield-bearers approach.
Before reacting, comrades from behind urged them forward.
Gritting their teeth, they climbed—only to face fear.
How do you fight this?
Short swords and daggers can't break this!
Are you kidding?
Heavily armored Ail Elves eyed the climbers nervously.
Then came the command:
"Raise shields! Ready spears! Advance!!"
Rows of spears emerged behind shields—like a steel-plated hedgehog.
But this seemingly cumbersome formation struck true fear into the hearts of the Cole warriors swarming the wall.
A dense flurry of bolts suppressed their advance.
The constant thrust of spears, laced with deadly chill, stabbed forward.