The ground shook, the desert sands shifting from the reverberating crunch of thousands of troops walking through them.
On the walls, the only sight was a huge black mist created by the bodies of too many humans to count.
Alexander stood on the battlement; beside him were over a hundred elven archers, their eyes in the distance, but their minds focused on his safety
Thanks to Qilana's wonderful brain and accepting nature, should they win this battle and succeed. She had already agreed to help build a new forest around the capital for all dark eelves and the dryads to live as a vassal nation.
This might sound horrible to others, but despite the thrill of the hunt and fighting, the dark elves didn't like wars or dealing with outside pressure.
They were born to fight monsters and demons to survive such thick smog and haze.
"All warriors to your positions!" Zilna's deep voice echoed as she growled, her huge arms slamming the warning bell from side to side, alerting those still sleeping or resting, the sun just starting to rise, as the enemy army came into view.
Qilana held onto her spear tightly, standing at the back row of the militia troops facing the enemy; seeing her formerly adored aunt, who was part of the march in the centre, caused her heart to feel pain for a moment before she looked to Alexander, feeling a sense of confidence just seeing his tall body standing in the front.
[I hope he doesn't get hurt... Goddess, please watch over him; that idiot is so reckless...]
The troops gathered rapidly, the enemy close to 2,000 metres away as the winds began to pick up, blowing towards the east in favour of Qilana and her warriors. He watched as their form became clearer, black and golden armour, curved blades and bows as they all walked forward with a gradual march.
'Somehow, I am a little nervous, but a strange excitement is building up in my chest.'
His heart was throbbing; with each step, they came closer; Alexander's heart began to beat faster, his eyes filled with glee as they slowly approached, his hands slightly clammy pressed against the handle of his nodachi.
Zilna began to yell orders to the various troops, the archers standing with their bows ready to fire while the Militia and Gula warriors protected them,
"Eyes forward! Eyes forward!" The senior archer yelled again, looking towards the eastern wall where the enemy was moving towards the city. "They are still almost a thousand feet away, but we have no time to waste, let's show these monsters why we call ourselves the daughters of Sarian!!"
"We will not fail you, our future Great Queen."
All the archers fired at once, arrows flying through the air, landing amongst the enemy soldiers.
A loud cry rose from the front rows of warriors; Alexander's heart pounded as he saw the battle begin.
The first wave of arrows hit the enemy, making them scream out in pain as they fell to the ground; Zilna's troops were quick to follow as they began to fire a less accurate but dense volley; thanks to the wind, the enemy troops were well within their range.
His dark elves shot with the deadliest of accuracy, penetrating the throats and eyes of the enemy.
There was no honour, no long speeches; it was pure violence as Qilana's eyes focused on the traitorous queen, watching as the enemies troops swarmed around her, charging forward with strange creatures as their mounts, the arrows merely bouncing from the thick hide and solid armour on their bodies.
"They're going to come through here!" Someone shouted out, causing Qilana to look towards the front line, seeing dozens of weapons being raised as the enemy aimed for the weaker left flank of the wall, still with wooden parts and the second gate.
The front ranks were still strong and unharmed as they began to push forward, the archers having difficulty hitting any enemy, the arrows barely piercing their skin.
"Ready your spears! We'll see how much pain their metal can take!!" Venri roared, standing behind the secondary gate, her spear held tightly; behind her were over 200 Gula. Her voice echoed throughout the valley as the archers fired at the enemy, missing more often than hitting.
As she watched the walls, seeing Alexander walk along them, his face was strange, but she found it extremely soothing, as he wasn't showing any fear or unease.
"Get down; we'll hold them off!" She pointed towards the other gate; a large group of dark elves ran forwards, rushing against the gate, as sword and spear smashed against it, splintering the wood and causing the gates to shake with their momentum.
The dark elves held the gates while several women with wood and tools rushed forward, hammering and sealing the damaged parts with thick planks, the blades and speartips poking through, slicing and poking the dark elves, tearing their beautiful skin, yet they did not relent.
Verni looked to the walls, seeing Zilna holding a huge bow, her arrows almost double the size of the other archers, as she released her arrows, killing several women with one attack, her arrows tearing apart the huge animals used to carry these advanced troops forward.
"Push harder; they cannot break through so soon! This is merely the first breath of this battle!" Ventri shouted, her spear thrusting forward to slice the throat of an enemy visible through the cracked door.
Qilana stood on the walls, her eyes slightly worried, before a warm hand grasped her tightly.
It was a big hand; they completely enveloped hers.
"Do not falter, my princess," Alexander whispered as he stroked her hand.
[How can I not!? Their attack was swift, and our weak point was discovered in mere minutes!]
Alexander couldn't comfort her well, as he stood watching the battle, although casualties were low, as the enemy's arrows were against the wind, mostly clashing against the walls as most of them were over 1,000 yards away out of range, only the expendable troops were sent to test the defences as the traitor queen was safe and sound, watching the opening moments of battle from 2,500 yards away.
'It looks like I need to disturb her. Otherwise, she will not make any mistakes...'
An arrow flew past Alexander's head, grazing his cheek as he turned to the archers, his hand reaching out and grabbing one of their bows, and pulling the string easily, aiming at the captain who was guiding and commanding their archers on the front line, and firing as quickly as possible.
He pulled the cord as hard as he could, releasing the arrow as it soared through the air, striking the woman with the red feather helmet in the head, making her scream in shock and pain.
Alexander didn't stop as he looked for more of the captains who were affecting the tide of battle; one after one, his bow slayed the women with red helmets, then noticed the women with blue helmets and green who seemed to help with logistics and the movement of supplies.
"Good bow!" He whispered before returning it to the cute Vesta, who watched him with charmed eyes.
"What are you doing watching me? All of you, shoot those bastards down, those wounded or tired, rest, keep at least 100 on the walls, Zilna. This isn't a short battle; adjust quickly! They need to be rotated."
"Then what if they press forward!? If half our troops rest, we will be overrun!"
He watched her stressed face, the blood of her sister's staining her armour as the enemy archers were now in range to fire at the people on the wall.
"Gula heavy shields, stand and protect the archers!" "Light infantry, you are useless now. Take a break! Prepare for their real assault."
The Gula lifted their heavy shields, protecting the archers as they fired at the enemy, slowly pushing them back.
"We'll try something else."
"Alexander!" Qilana exclaimed, her eyes looking frustrated, likely due to her inability to help.
His body stepped onto the walls, leaning over the edge, feeling the cool wind blowing from behind him.
At the same time, arrows soared from both directions, the howling whistle soothing as he began to unfasten his collar, brush back his beautiful silvery white hair, and look down towards the enemies melee infantry who were slowly edging closer with a battering ram, several towers and a huge catapult.
Alexander turned back, giving a smile to Qilana before waving, "I'll be back." his whisper caused her to panic as she watched him leaping off the wall, a bloody mist surrounding his body before the sound of something crashing into the ground echoed in her ears.
"I don't know how he does it..."
Qilana breathed heavily, feeling the tension leave her shoulders as she watched the enemy move closer, the howl of the wind becoming louder, the sounds of battle growing closer with each passing second.
"Let's go, my sisters. Our king will lead us to victory!"
The Gula warriors cheered, their voices echoing through the valley, creating a weird rumble as they began to shoot with more enthusiasm, inspired by their master, as his power began to fill their bodies.
Somehow becoming more accurate, faster and more durable than before, the Vesta was filled with a strange emotion and power as they started to massacre the enemy archers, ignoring the wounds they suffered like immortal warriors only filled with the desire for victory.
"Movement to the right! They are trying to push forward!"
"Shields to the right! Their archers are trying to protect their flanking troops!"
"Arrows to the left; let's split the archers and get some distance!"
Katrin, Venri and Zilna began to direct their troops while the enemy still probed the strength of Qilana's defensive power; her troops were over 16,000 when they started and had only lost a few hundred, now with roughly 15,630 left.
However...
Alexander's body swiftly rushed towards the enemy archers, dark red as the blood fairies danced around him rapidly, as if delighted at his call rather than them forcibly activating themselves.
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