Now, any further strategy or calculation was meaningless.
Only one thing remained: to completely crush that arrogant human and his pathetic army with overwhelming power and turn them into dust.
“Now, it’s a fight to the death, human.”
Grind, the sound of Zrakan grinding his teeth rang out chillingly.
He reformed the ranks and raised his sword with hatred toward Sang-woong, who had just confirmed the last human slave entering the stockade, and the fortress behind him.
“Everyone! All-out offensive! Grind that arrogant human and his minions to pieces!”
At Zrakan’s command, a monster army numbering nearly ten thousand charged as if shaking the earth, letting out beastly roars.
The earth-vibrating footsteps and suffocating roars mixed together, sounding as if they would tear eardrums.
Heavy Orcs rushed forward, panting heavily while carrying blunt clubs and axes, and Dire Wolves with sharp teeth and claws kicked off the ground in a low stance, digging in rapidly.
Thick dust rose and obscured the vision, and a massive wave of monsters surged terrifyingly toward Sang-woong’s camp.
However, before the monsters’ charge could even reach the Golem army lined up like a shield, a rain of death and flashes of magic poured down simultaneously from atop the firmly built stockade.
The Elves led by Astilbe were not composed merely of archers who only shot arrows.
Among them, skilled mages were also included.
Dozens, hundreds of arrows flew even faster, riding wind magic like meteors cutting through the night sky.
Arrows imbued with the powerful mana and aura of wind unique to Elves were on a different level from ordinary arrows.
Along with the hair-raising sound of cutting through the wind, they mercilessly pierced through the monsters’ tough hides, bones, and scales.
Simultaneously, magics of various attributes exploded from the fingertips of the Elf mages atop the stockade.
Blue-colored wind blades flew rapidly, slicing the monsters’ bodies, and sharp ice fragments were scattered, freezing the front-line monsters in place.
Sharp rock fragments rising from the ground impaled the monsters, and streaks of purifying light dealt fatal wounds to the creatures filled with evil energy.
“Kuaaaak!”
“Guaaaaak!”
The Orcs and Dire Wolves at the vanguard couldn’t even scream properly as they were riddled with arrows like hedgehogs, had their torsos pierced, or fell to magical attacks.
With just a single volley of arrows and a baptism of magic, dozens and hundreds of monsters spat out blood and tumbled over.
The ground in front of the stockade was instantly drenched with monster corpses and dark red blood.
However, there was no way a massive force of over ten thousand would waver at a few hundred sacrifices.
Moreover, they were ferocious monsters crazed for blood and slaughter.
It was just then, when the monsters were about to resume their advance that had paused briefly due to the Elves’ attack, completely undeterred.
“Aria, please!”
At Sang-woong’s request, Aria, who had been biting her lip beside him, floated lightly up into the sky.
Then, she reached her hand toward the ground and gathered clear, blue mana energy.
“O my land, swallow the enemies !”
As the mana erupting from her fingertips spread across the entire ground of the battlefield, the earth began to react strangely.
As if water were gushing from deep underground, the ground quickly became muddy, transforming in an instant into a massive quagmire that sank to ankle depth.
It was a large-scale magic that would have been impossible for the previous Aria.
However, as the energy of the land recovered, Aria’s power had also significantly returned.
More than half of the monster army fell within the range of this large-scale magic.
“Kwowowow!”
“Kaaaaak!”
The monsters, who were building up the momentum of their charge, screamed in panic at the suddenly changed ground.
The muddy sludge grabbed their ankles, and their speed slowed down significantly.
The massive Orcs’ feet sank deeper due to their heavy weight, and even the agile Dire Wolves could not gain speed, floundering in the mire.
The massive wave of the charge instantly lost its speed and fell into chaos.
Tangled together and slipping, the monsters had to struggle within the quagmire instead of moving forward.
Not missing this opportunity, the Elf archers and mages atop the stockade poured out a fierce attack once again.
The monsters, whose feet were tied in the mire making it difficult to dodge, were helplessly struck by arrows and magic, falling one after another.
The ground of the battlefield turned into a horrific swamp of death.
However, following Zrakan’s orders and their destructive instincts, the monsters struggled to move forward somehow, finally walking through the mire to clash with the army of about a thousand Golem units lined up like a shield in front of the stockade.
Thud!
Thud!
Jji-geok !
Bu-wa-ak !
The battle continued brutally.
The sounds of stone clashing with flesh, breaking rocks and crushing bones, tearing flesh, blunt friction, and painful screams were all mixed together.
The battlefield was pandemonium itself, a melting pot of chaos.
The heavy Golems mercilessly smashed and trampled the monsters with heavy but powerful wooden clubs and stone clubs.
Giant Orcs swung massive swords and axes, causing cracks in the Golems’ hard torsos, and Dire Wolves tried to block their movement by biting into the Golems’ joints with sharp teeth.
The Golems acted as a massive barrier, persistently blocking the monsters’ wave-like offensive with the help of the mire, their immense durability that didn’t break easily, and their silent strength, even in an overwhelming numerical disadvantage against an army of ten thousand.
When a single Golem was surrounded by numerous monsters and finally fell, two or three Dire Wolves nearby—sometimes even up to four—would fall into the mire along with it, crushed by the Golem’s final blow or its collapsing body.
The Golem wall, numbering nearly a thousand, was slowly pushed back but never collapsed, holding the front line and grinding down the monsters.
Just then, Zrakan, who was surveying the battlefield, gave an order.
“Burontal, take your subordinates and bring those things down.”
“Understood, Lord Zrakan.”
About 200 of Zrakan’s subordinates joined the battlefield in earnest.
They possessed a ferocious aura on a different level from ordinary monsters, superior intelligence, and powerful magical abilities.
Members of the Demon Tribe entered the battle while avoiding the mire to some extent or using magic to minimize its effects.
Some members of the Demon Tribe swung swords and spears, rushing directly at the Golems to attempt physical destruction, while others began to emit strange light from their hands.
“Explode, Fireball!”
“Freeze everything, Ice Storm!”
”Pierce through, Ice Spear!”
Paaang!
Pu-suk!
Powerful magics fired by Demon Tribe mages swept through the muddied battlefield.
Those bastards did not distinguish between friend and foe.
Massive Fireballs exploded above the heads where Golems and monsters were tangled, burning and boiling everything nearby, while a cold Ice Storm blew through, freezing a wide area in an instant.
Then, sharp Ice Spears flew like lightning, piercing the Golems’ torsos or inflicting severe damage.
The Demon Tribe pressured Sang-woong’s forces three-dimensionally, not just with simple power but with magic and superior tactical judgment.
“As expected, the Demon Tribe is no pushover.”
Sang-woong, who had been watching the battle, immediately began a counterattack.
“Elves, focus your attacks on the Demon Tribe.”
Following his command, the Elves stopped their attacks on the monsters and poured their strikes only toward the Demon Tribe.
The Elf archers unleashed precise and deadly arrows, while the Elf mages poured out magical attacks of various attributes.
Astilbe’s arrows were particularly powerful, accurately targeting the Demon Tribe mages who were casting magic, playing a major role in interrupting their spells or bringing them down.
Every time a member of the Demon Tribe fell one by one, Zrakan bit his lip.
Blood flowed, but he was backed into a corner to the point that he didn’t even notice.
Monsters could be raised anew, but his subordinates could not.
Losing them was equivalent to all hope crumbling.
The battlefield was truly pandemonium on an overwhelming scale.
The heavy and destructive sounds of collision between a thousand Golems and ten thousand monsters tangled together.
The black demonic energy and dark flashes of magic emitted by the Demon Tribe.
The colorful magical effects of the Elf mages, the incessant explosions, and screams.
And the sound of the Elves’ arrows cutting through the wind filled the muddied battlefield like one giant cacophony.
The smell of blood stung the nose, and the ground was thick with dust, mud, and fragments of monsters and Golems.
The battle was just now reaching its climax.
Although the momentum of the monster army began to wane slightly, the front line still maintained a tight balance due to the desperate efforts of the Demon Tribe.
But this was not the picture Zrakan wanted.
He wanted an overwhelming victory.
However, at this rate, it seemed like nothing would remain even if he won.
Before the damage grew any further, he now had to make a decision.
There was one way to end this war in a single stroke.
That was to kill the Owner of the Land.
And that was his role as the king of this place.
“Everyone, fall back”
At Zrakan’s command, the monsters and the Demon Tribe quickly retreated.
And Zrakan walked out into the center of the battlefield, which was heavily steeped in the smell of blood.
“My name is Zrakan.”
Zrakan, who had treated Sang-woong like a bug and hadn’t even revealed his name, finally announced his own name.
This meant he had recognized Sang-woong as an equal opponent.
He shouted toward Sang-woong.
”Since it began with our fight, let us end it with our fight.”
Zrakan challenged Sang-woong to a duel with an intense gaze.
At that sight, Sang-woong fell into thought for a moment.
The bastard’s scheme was obvious.
Any more damage would bring about irreversible results even if he achieved victory.
However, Sang-woong’s position was different.
Although losing all the Golems would be a loss, he could compensate for it to some extent with the points he had collected here.
Thus, there was no need to go along with his scheme.
“Owner of the Land. The scales of victory have already tipped. There is no need for you to engage in a duel.”
Astilbe was also worried that Sang-woong might step forward out of a sense of rivalry.
The most important thing in this land was Sang-woong himself.
Even if they won the war, without him, that victory would become meaningless.
Sang-woong knew that fact well but remained silent.
***
Leon, who had been watching Sang-woong ever since the battle began, barked toward him.
As if he knew Sang-woong’s next move.
His eyes were saying that he would fight instead.
“It’s okay, Leon. If I can’t even defeat a single Demon Tribe member of that level, I don’t deserve to be the Owner of the Land.”
Sang-woong revealed his intentions while stroking Leon’s head.
Astilbe was about to speak again, but she eventually closed her mouth in silence.
It was because she read that Sang-woong’s decision was not out of something like rivalry, but a deep resolve.
His gaze was not lingering on this war alone.
He was looking ahead to a future where he would have to face and fight against various members of the Demon Tribe.