Chapter 307: Northern Battlefield
The fighting on the northern border is raging relentlessly.
Fortunately, this year has been a rare, mild winter. Although the winds howl with fierce intensity, they are not strong enough to freeze people to death. In addition, the battlefield is filled with the elites of various tribes, so the weather has had little impact on their endurance.
The stench of blood and the pervasive smoke of gunpowder stained the northern sky with a somber gray-yellow hue, a color that would linger long in the memories of those who witnessed it.
The already barren land was further ravaged entirely; the scorched earth and the occasional collapsed houses all testified relentlessly to the devastation brought about by the demon invasion.
Initially, the demons focused their attacks entirely on human territory, showing no mercy or strategic variation.
In the absence of a unified southern empire, human defenses were under immense pressure in the early stages, suffering repeated defeats that shook their resolve. The few border cities fell one after another like dominoes, and the remaining troops and refugees continued to retreat southward in growing desperation.
Fortunately, the demons' military might was not directed solely at humans.
After destroying several human cities with systematic thoroughness, the demons set their sights on the dwarven cities in the north, where they expected easier conquest.
These dwarven cities also suffered fierce assaults, yet the resilient dwarven warriors, with their sturdy mountain fortresses and powerful forging skills, withstood the first wave of demonic attacks without breaking.
Upon receiving the news of the assault, the Dwarf Kingdom quickly organized a massive army and marched to the front lines with grim determination.
Immediately afterwards, the usually aloof Elf Kingdom also dispatched its elite troops, answering an ancient call to arms, and the elves appeared on the battlefield against the darkness, their presence a sign of hope.
A thousand years later, the allied forces of elves and dwarves once again stand on the front line against the demons, only this time, they are joined by a human army, a unity forged not by necessity alone, but by shared purpose.
With Kurtz's personal assurance and having learned that the other party had gone to the south to unify the empire, the current emperor of the Kingdom of El personally led the expedition, risking his life alongside his soldiers.
Despite having far fewer troops than the other two races, the emperor still earned the respect of the dwarf king and the elven commanders thanks to the legacy of King Norn and his own unwavering stance, thus gaining access to the highest military council's decision-making process, a hard-won honor.
On the other side, thanks to her identity as a mage, Flamme successfully broke through layers of martial law and saw the rear of the allied forces stretching before her like an ocean of steel.
In her eyes, the Allied forces' camps resembled a steel forest, stretching along the treacherous terrain in an almost endless line.
Because this place is some distance from the front lines, it was used as a logistics base for the Allied forces, a massive supply hub that supported thousands of soldiers.
She had no time for anything else; as soon as she arrived, she began inquiring urgently about Carlo's whereabouts, her anxiety mounting with each passing moment.
Flamme had been trying her best to catch up with Carlo, but she didn't know how the guy managed to run faster than her, even when she was using flight magic, a frustration that burned in her chest.
Originally, in Flamme's mind, Carlo should have been here, waiting or at least nearby.
Unfortunately, things took an unexpected turn once again, as they so often did. Carlo wasn't there.
She moved through the camp with growing urgency, her heart quickening with each empty tent and unfamiliar face. She searched the entire rear area methodically but couldn't find that familiar figure anywhere. In the end, she had no choice but to ask the soldiers who had retired and were resting if they had seen Carlo, desperation creeping into her voice.
However, in the face of a crisis involving the survival of the entire continent, an unknown human mage is far too insignificant to merit attention from busy officers.
She asked countless people, from retired soldiers to busy logistics officers, and the responses she received were mainly blank shakes of the head, apathetic, unhelpful, dismissive.
Just when she was almost at her wits' end, pushed to the brink of despair, a mage who had just returned from the front and was receiving treatment provided a crucial clue.
The mage was pale and trembling, clearly suffering from the aftereffects of excessive magic consumption, his body wracked with exhaustion. He gasped as he told Flamme, "Carlo? I think... I vaguely remember him. A rather solitary fellow, kept to himself. A few days ago, he went west towards the Riftfire Valley with a mixed force of soldiers... The situation there is very tense; it's said that a new demon army has appeared, one stronger than expected."
Riftfire Valley!
Flamme was startled by the revelation, thanked him urgently, and immediately set off without hesitation.
She used her flight magic without restraint, disregarding the rapid depletion of her magic power, and rushed westward at top speed, determination blazing in her eyes.
When she arrived at the edge of the battlefield, a fierce battle was raging in full force.
An allied army was surrounded in a narrow area by a demon army that outnumbered them several times over, their situation dire and worsening by the moment. Among the demons were many demon mages, and even a great demon loomed over the battlefield like a nightmare made flesh.
The army's formation had been broken entirely, and the already disunited soldiers fought independently, further tightening the encirclement around them with each passing second.
Upon seeing this desperate situation, Flamme did not hesitate at all, and her magical power surged out rapidly, crackling with barely contained fury.
With a wave of her hands, countless violent bolts of lightning appeared out of thin air and instantly struck the horde of monsters below with devastating force.
The lightning crackled and shrieked, a sound like the world tearing apart, instantly turning dozens of low-level demons into charred, smoking remains. The demons in command were forced into hasty defense in the face of this sudden and overwhelming attack, and one unlucky creature was even blasted into ash and dust, scattered by the wind.
This unexpected and powerful assistance greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers in dire straits, pulling them back from the brink of annihilation.
Flamme swooped down toward the chaos, instantly conjuring dozens of dazzling light guns in her hands, each one glowing with concentrated magic.
The light guns seemed to have a life of their own, automatically tracking the demons with unerring accuracy. Those with weaker strength were directly pierced by the light guns and immobilized on the spot, unable to move, while the rest fought with all their might to defend themselves against this onslaught.
Her arrival instantly turned the tide of the battle, shifting the balance from inevitable defeat to desperate resistance.
Flamme not only single-handedly held off all the demons advancing toward the allied troops, but also occasionally unleashed wide-range attack magic to clear out the minions with sweeping arcs of destruction, and even occasionally used precise single-target attacks to kill high-threat units, greatly relieving the pressure on the allied forces.
The surviving Allied soldiers seized the moment to regroup and launched a counterattack under their officers' command, their confidence renewed.
This small-scale skirmish ended in a Pyrrhic victory for the allied forces...lives saved, but at tremendous cost.
The battlefield was a scene of devastation and tragedy, with the remains of monsters and the bodies of allied soldiers intertwined in a grim tableau.
Fortunately, because the Godslayer had severed the connection between monsters and gods a thousand years ago, the corpses of these monsters would soon turn to ashes and scatter, significantly reducing the difficulty for the allied forces in cleaning up the battlefield.
But the downside was also evident and bitter: the coalition forces gained nothing material from the war and were forced to constantly console themselves with the banner of justice, a hollow comfort when their soldiers lay dead.
At least, they had protected the mainland, hadn't they? That had to count for something.
Flamme's remarkable performance and devastating magical display naturally attracted the attention of the coalition's high command.
Soon, a dwarf soldier found her and respectfully invited her to the camp of the allied army's main force, not far away, his tone reverent.
In the dwarven command fortress, built in a rough, rugged style that reflected dwarven sensibilities, Flamme met the commander of the dwarven army in the allied forces, the current dwarven king, a strong dwarf with a fiery red beard, wearing heavy armor scarred by countless battles.
"Haha! Good! Well done! Human mage." The dwarf king's voice was loud and booming as he slammed his hand on the table with enthusiasm, causing a lot of wine in his glass to spill across the wooden surface.
"I am Hector, the current dwarf king. Thank you for being so helpful in saving that brave vanguard army...their sacrifice will be remembered."
His gaze fell on Flamme directly, his admiration undisguised and burning bright: "Such refined and powerful strength, such skillful combat techniques, are rare among humans. Can you tell me your name? I would love to know the name of one who fights beside us."
[End of Chapter]