A Rain of Fire Across the Sky (1)
“Archers, Squad One! Ballista, Squad One! Commence firing! Everyone else, stand by!”
The commander’s orders rang out, and the signalers shouted loudly, waving their flags.
The flags, painted with a reflective coating, were clearly visible even in the darkness.
Positioned at regular intervals along the fortress wall, the signalers swiftly relayed the command down the long expanse of the wall with prearranged flag movements.
Creak—
The ballistae were quickly realigned.
Even faster, the archers had already drawn their bows, launching arrows coated in silver.
Whizz—
In the darkness, the arrows traced silver lines across the night sky.
As the bowstrings released, Dalen’s senses sharpened, and time seemed to stretch. He could see it all.
In the dim light of torches and braziers, the face of the gnoll standing at the intersection of the firing lines twisted into a sneer—not from fear or confusion, but from sheer mockery.
Clang!
The gnoll’s arm blurred for a moment, and the arrows were deflected.
The silver lines that had adorned the night were bent or broken, stopped by the gnoll’s crude spear shaft and blade.
It was an incredible display of skill, hard to believe it came from a mere gnoll.
Clang—Thunk!
At that moment, a massive arrow was launched from the ballista, its aim true.
Yet the gnoll leader remained unfazed.
As the spear tip met the massive arrowhead, a strange symbol on the gnoll’s forehead began to glow.
Hum—
A blue shield enveloped the gnoll leader in an instant.
The giant arrow, its trajectory twisted, was deflected by the translucent blue barrier, not even grazing the gnoll.
Crash!
The arrow scraped along the ground.
The sight of a single gnoll repelling a siege weapon left the atmosphere atop the wall frozen in shock.
The gnoll leader let out a low growl, a sound that sent shivers down spines and sapped strength from limbs.
The paladins, lacking in divine power, hesitated at the growl of a predator eyeing its prey.
“What are the archers doing? It’s just a gnoll! Take down the leader, and it’s over! Everyone, aim!”
The commander’s voice was urgent.
The paladins nocked their arrows, hands trembling slightly. They drew their bowstrings with difficulty.
Some, too tense, dropped their arrows, while others released their strings prematurely, sending arrows weakly over the wall.
The gnoll leader’s face twisted even more menacingly at the sight.
To him, this was the perfect opportunity to crush the enemy’s morale.
He opened his elongated snout and shouted again.
“Surrender! Live! Resist! Die…”
Crash—Clang!
It was then.
A disc of light sliced through the darkness.
Traveling faster than the ballista’s bolt, the disc shattered the protective barrier with ease and embedded itself between the gnoll leader’s eyes.
“Ugh…”
Without even a chance to react, the gnoll leader trembled and fell backward.
Watching the creature slide off its wolf mount, Dalen chuckled.
Not much experience from that one, just a lot of talk.
”…”
”…”
With a single axe throw, the oppressive tension dissipated, leaving an eerie silence between the wall and the gnoll cavalry.
Dalen scratched his chin and glanced at the commander. He spoke.
“Not firing?”
“Fire at will!”
The commander’s shout cut through the night. Flags waved in the darkness.
Immediately, arrows were loosed—from bows, crossbows, and ballistae alike.
Whizz—
Thick and thin silver lines filled the air as the gnoll cavalry, who had come with their leader, turned their wolves and began to flee.
Yelp! Yelp!
One by one, the gnoll riders fell, arrows embedded in their backs.
But not all of them.
The carapace wolves’ hides were tough enough to withstand crossbow bolts, and the gnoll riders wore heavy but sturdy armor.
Of the thirty or so escort riders, only about half fell to the rain of arrows.
The rest quickly escaped the range of the arrows.
It was then.
Crack!
The axe that had been lodged in the gnoll leader’s forehead split the skull and pulled itself free.
Hum…
The axe hovered in the air, trembling slightly.
Amidst the scattered braziers, its blade glinted with a reddish hue.
“Renia—Basak.”
Dalen murmured an incantation softly.
Crackle!
With the incantation, he raised his hand.
From his open palm, tendrils of blue lightning danced along his fingers.
The tendrils soon extended to the distant axe blade.
Starting from the wave patterns engraved on the blade, blue sparks quickly spread across its surface.
‘The true power of the Blade of Leredonara isn’t just about moving a weapon without touching it.’
If it were just a simple sword technique, it wouldn’t have earned a B-rank.
The Blade of Leredonara was a swordsmanship developed over a thousand years ago by a renowned elven swordswoman.
A swordswoman and a brilliant mage, she once pondered:
Could she imbue her sword with the flames and lightning she conjured at her fingertips?
And further, could she use such an enchanted weapon to strike down foes from afar?
‘And the swordsmanship she developed after decades of research and dedication was the Blade of Leredonara.’
A skill tailored for magic swordsmen, allowing them to control and move blades with their will.
And to imbue those flying weapons with their own spells.
Having finished his brief reflection on his first B-rank skill, Dalen focused more intent into the crackling lightning.
The hand axe he had chosen as his reward was a perfect match for the power of the Blade of Leredonara.
Though not a holy sword, its durability was on par with most sacred relics.
And it had the ability to nearly double any external force applied to it.
Crackle—
As the lightning spell enveloped the axe, turning it into a single mass of blue energy, Dalen flicked his fingers.
Crack—
The hand axe shot forward.
It seemed as if it had been launched from an invisible bowstring in the air.
Its speed and spin made it appear like a disc wrapped in blue light, pursuing the surviving gnoll riders.
Its speed surpassed that of a crossbow bolt.
Reaching the rear of the fleeing column took only a moment.
Slice!
One gnoll’s head fell.
Dalen flicked his fingers again.
Slash!
The axe sliced open another gnoll’s side, the lightning within burning its innards as it sought its next target.
Slice! Crack! Sizzle!
The blue disc weaved through the riders as if alive.
The crackling lightning and the blood spurting from its victims traced a long path behind the axe.
It was as if a dark blue serpent slithered through the darkness, severing the riders’ lifelines with its sharp fangs.
And it took less than thirty seconds for the serpent to claim the lives of ten gnolls.
Yelp—
The last prey let out a scream as the lightning from the sharp fangs struck it down.
Dalen extended his hand, still crackling with blue energy.
The axe, which had been cutting down foes with a thirst for blood, hesitated in mid-air before reversing course and returning.
Whirr—Thud!
The hand axe settled into Dalen’s grip as if drawn by a magnet.
”…”
The soldiers on the wall stared at Dalen, their faces blank with disbelief.
Not just the paladins, but even the knights were in shock.
Most of them turned their heads, dazed, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Dalen casually flicked off the bits of flesh and blood clinging to the axe, seemingly oblivious to the stares, and looked out at the enemy lines.
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
With their commander and escorts dead, the gnolls should have retreated by instinct.
Yet they held their ground.
Then Dalen noticed a few gnolls stepping forward, raising large horn trumpets to their lips.
Bwooo—
The sound of the horns echoed across the entire battlefield.
As soon as the long signal ended.
Roar!
Instead of retreating, the gnoll army howled and charged the fortress with all their might.
“Everyone, hold your positions!”
Creak—Groan.
The reloaded ballistae moved slowly. The catapults, ready to launch massive stones, stood by.
The archers drew their bows again, and the crossbowmen pressed their bodies against their shoulder stocks, steadying their breaths.
Growl! Roar!
Tense breaths and slightly trembling gazes.
The gaze was fixed on the massive horde of gnolls surging through the vast canyon.
The army of over five thousand gnolls looked like a swarm of ants.
But these were no ordinary ants; they were two-meter-tall creatures, empowered by the strength of a true dragon, capable of snapping a grown man’s waist with sheer brute force and taking on several guards single-handedly.
As they drew closer, it became clear from their weapons that they were fully prepared for a siege.
Some carried torches, others brandished saw-like swords, and some had long ladders or grappling hooks slung over their shoulders. There were those mounted on armored wolves or wielding massive bows.
The gnoll warriors were armed with a variety of weapons and siege tools, clad in armor of varying quality.
Yet, they all shared one common trait.
Their eyes gleamed with a savage hunger and bloodlust.
It was the gaze of predators eyeing their prey hidden behind the fortress walls.
“Just as I thought, a decoy.”
Dalen scratched his chin, unfazed by the menacing stares.
He was pondering the gnoll leader who had just fallen to his axe.
“Even though he went down in one blow, he was strong. In terms of raw power, he was on par with Barghuf, the gnoll warlord I faced in the labyrinth.”
The fact that the leader died so quickly was a testament to how exponentially Dalen’s strength and armament had grown over the past few months.
It wasn’t because the gnoll’s skills or the power bestowed by the dragon were lacking.
“The important thing is, he wasn’t the real leader.”
Judging by the coordinated movement of the army, the true gnoll leader was somewhere within that horde.
Dalen’s lips curled into a smile.
If a mere decoy or a deputy commander could withstand a ballista with ease, then how formidable must the true commander be?
Dalen’s heart was already pounding with anticipation.
It was the thrill of the experience points the leader would yield, and perhaps, the excitement of the battle itself.
“To be smiling at a time like this… Sir Dalen, you truly are a born warrior.”