Aeldara shattered the undead command system with a single strike of her sword, while Lin Qingyue's pink Halo vaporized the reserve forces.
The remaining undead foot soldiers crumbled into disarray.
Without unified command, they were swiftly and efficiently wiped out beneath the cold iron hooves of the Silent Watch Knight Order.
There was no bloody slaughter, no unnecessary cries.
On the battlefield, only the crunch of shattering bones and the puff of extinguishing Soul Fires echoed through the air.
On Rock City's walls, the human soldiers who had survived the ordeal stared in stunned silence.
They watched the Black Armored Knight Order reap souls like the Grim Reaper's scythe, and they gazed upon the eerie "sanctified ground," cleansed by the pink light, where not even bone fragments remained.
"It's over...?" a young soldier murmured, his longsword clattering to the ground.
The euphoria of survival had yet to bloom in their hearts, swiftly replaced by deep bewilderment and suspicion.
"Elves... those Rangers and Mages with the pointed ears—they're Elves!" a sharp-eyed officer shouted, his voice breaking.
A deathly silence fell over the city walls.
All eyes converged on the Black Armored Knight Order, radiating an aura of unapproachability, and the infantry formation behind them, composed of Elven Mages and Rangers.
Elves.
In Rock City at this moment, the mere mention of this word sent shivers down spines, evoking the same unease as the undead.
The confrontation between humans and elves had been escalating for years, border skirmishes intensifying, and war looming on the horizon.
At this volatile moment, an elite elven force suddenly appeared at the city gates, offering "kindly" to relieve the undead siege?
The feeling was akin to driving away a wolf only to find a tiger prowling at the entrance.
"Don't let them in!"
A sharp, panicked voice rang out from the city walls.
"Who knows what they're plotting! What if they're trying to exploit our weakened defenses—"
Everyone turned toward the speaker: a pale-faced young man in ornate soft armor, pointing down with feverish agitation and fear.
"Your Highness! Watch your words!"
A strong, aged voice boomed.
An elderly man with snow-white hair and beard, clad in heavy plate armor, pushed through the crowd and stepped forward.
He glanced at the young man, whose face was flushed red, a flicker of disappointment crossing his eyes, before turning to gaze down at the city gates with a complex expression.
"Without them, Rock City would already be a dead city."
"And yet, we live."
The old man's voice carried across the battlements.
"Regardless of who they are or where they come from, they have just saved the lives of over ten thousand people in this city. That is an undeniable fact."
He swept his gaze across the surrounding commanders and nobles, each wearing a different expression.
"The undead are the enemies of all living beings. This is the greater threat. In the face of such a grand threat, what do petty squabbles between humans and Elves matter?"
"Transmit my order: Open the city gates and welcome our allies."
"I will personally lead a delegation outside the city to offer Rock City's highest honors to these allies who have come to our aid."
Despite lingering doubts, under the old man's command, the heavy city gates creaked open with a groan, slowly swinging inward.
Aeldara sheathed her sword and dismounted her warhorse with swift, decisive movements.
She watched the old man approach with a retinue of personal guards, a flicker of approval flashing in her crimson eyes.
Lin Qingyue and her three companions followed behind, observing the historic scene with keen interest.
This old man gets it, Lin Qingyue thought to herself. If it were some fool, he'd probably be yelling about 'human dignity being trampled' right now, and the Commander would have sliced the city tower off with a single sword strike.
"I am Carlos de Ramon, City Lord of Rock City," the old man announced, stopping ten paces from Aeldara. He placed a hand over his chest and bowed with perfect aristocratic decorum, neither servile nor arrogant.
"We are eternally grateful for your timely assistance. Rock City and its people will never forget this debt."
Aeldara's obsidian heavy armor, etched with ice-blue runes, and the deathly chill radiating from her body caused the guards behind Carlos to instinctively grip their sword hilts tighter.
"Aeldara, Commander of the Silent Watch Knight Order," she replied, her voice cold and concise. "We pursued the undead here; our arrival was not specifically to rescue your city."
Her blunt, even callous words dispelled the last trace of doubt in Carlos's mind.
It was those who had demands who were frightening.
Having no ulterior motives made her all the more trustworthy.
"Regardless, Your Majesty, you have saved my city and its people."
Carlos turned sideways and gestured, "Please. Clean barracks and provisions have been prepared within the city walls. I urge you brave warriors to enter and rest."
"Thank you for your kindness," Aeldara nodded, accepting without hesitation.
With a wave of her hand, half of the Knight Order immediately split off to guard the city walls and clear the battlefield outside, while the other half followed her into the city.
Lin Qingyue and her three companions trailed behind the main group, their eyes scanning the war-torn city that had somehow survived the undead siege.
Rock City lay in ruins.
The charred remains of buildings still smoldered, bloodstains mottled the streets, and the air hung thick with the acrid stench of burnt flesh and blood.
Wounded soldiers and civilians were gathered in the central plaza, their anguished cries rising and falling in a cacophony of misery.
The moment the Elf forces entered the plaza, the clamor abruptly ceased.
All eyes turned toward them, their gazes a mixture of gratitude, awe, and deep-seated wariness.
Lin Qingyue instinctively raised her hand to cast a mass healing spell, but glancing at Aeldara beside her, she silently lowered it again.
Forget it. Better not overdo it. Gotta maintain the professional Priest persona—can't steal the local Priests' jobs.
Infected by the heavy atmosphere, Lin Xiyue put aside her usual liveliness and whispered to Lin Qingyue, "Sis, they're so pitiful."
Su Wan and Xia Lian also fell silent, the raw, brutal reality of war laid bare before their eyes.
Carlos led Aeldara and her group through the square, preparing to head to the City Lord's Mansion to discuss next steps.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted ahead.
"Your Highness! You can't go! It's still dangerous out there!"
"Get out of my way! All of you, move!" a sharp, young male voice rang out, tinged with exasperation.
A young man in ornate soft armor, his golden hair meticulously styled, was trying to slip away through a narrow alleyway, only to be blocked by several fiercely loyal Royal Guards.
The panic on the young man's face seemed genuine. He desperately tried to hide behind the crowd, but his lavish attire, so out of place in the surroundings, made him stand out like a sore thumb.
Aeldara stopped in her tracks. Her gaze pierced through the noisy crowd, locking precisely onto the golden-haired youth.
As Her Majesty the Queen's trusted confidante and Commander of the Silent Watch Knight Order, she was naturally familiar with the human prince who had recently risen to prominence among the Elven Race's elite—Alex.
Locked by that icy gaze, Alex froze, as if a chicken had been strangled. He couldn't move a muscle.
He saw Aeldara.
He saw her distinctive Black Jade armor and her exquisitely beautiful but utterly cold face.
Terror gripped his heart in an instant.
She... what is she doing here?!
Is it a coincidence?
No! Impossible!
She must be here to capture me! Has the Elven Race's intelligence network become so terrifying that they found me this quickly?
A barrage of thoughts exploded in his mind, draining the color from his face and instantly soaking his fine inner robes in cold sweat.
"Commander Aeldara," Old City Lord Carlos noticed the commotion as well.
He glanced at Alex's rapidly paling face, then turned to Aeldara's expressionless visage. A mixture of confusion and gravity settled on his aged features. "This is... His Royal Highness Prince Alex, who is merely passing through."
He deliberately emphasized the words "passing through."
Clutching at this flimsy straw, Alex straightened his back and barked out, feigning composure:
"Exactly! I'm merely here to inspect the border defenses! What do you elves want? This is the territory of the Human Kingdom!"
His blustering bravado almost made Lin Qingyue burst out laughing.
Impressive, Your Highness! Still putting up a tough front even with death staring you in the face.
With this kind of mental fortitude, no wonder he dared to steal the Elf Queen's scandalous youth album!
Aeldara completely ignored his bluster.
She strode forward, her obsidian battle boots striking the stone-paved path with crisp, rhythmic clack, clack, clack sounds.
Slow and deliberate, each step seemed to land precisely on the beat of Alex's racing heart.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze solid.
Human soldiers, officers, and nobles alike watched the scene with bated breath, daring not to exhale.
Finally, Aeldara halted before Alex.
Half a head taller than the prince, she loomed over him, her crimson eyes devoid of emotion, only an abyss of chilling indifference.
Alex felt his scalp tingle under her gaze. He instinctively recoiled half a step, only to collide with the solid chest of his guard.
There was nowhere left to retreat.
"Prince Alex," Aeldara finally spoke, her voice crystalline and icy, each word like a shard of ice piercing the ears of everyone present.
"We meet again."