The battle has began.
I raised my hands and channeled my mana as I began weaving a barrier spell.
Threads of magic symbols spiraled around me. A massive, shimmering dome of golden energy erupted from the ground, encasing the entire citadel in an impenetrable shield.
This barrier was a perfect replica of the one I had analyzed from Luminis city.
Unlike the flawed barrier of Luminis, this one was stronger—no weak points, no fractures.
Even dragonfire couldn’t breach it.
Krell staggered back, his eyes widening as the barrier solidified, its surface humming like an electric current.
The demons that had already breached the gates slammed into the barrier wall. Their claws and weapons bounced uselessly off its surface.
"What is this?!" Krell gasped, gripping the edge of the tower. "You built that? In seconds?"
I offered a faint smile. "I’ve been working on it for a while. Just needed a reason to use it."
Suddenly, the frontlines of the demon king’s army froze mid-charge.
A massive sheet of ice spread across the battlefield, swallowing hundreds of them in an instant.
Demons and monstrous beasts were encased in solid ice, their bodies suspended mid-stride.
Krell staggered forward, his jaw slack. "What in the stars...? Was that you too?"
I shook my head slowly. "Nope. That’s Skadra."
"Skadra?" Krell echoed, eyebrows raised.
We saw Skadra gliding effortlessly across the battlefield, her feet skating over the ice she had created.
Her long silver hair whipped behind her like a banner as she skated across frozen corpses, conjuring spears of ice that impaled demons from all directions.
She even made jagged ice spikes erupt from the ground killing them instantly.
I was impressed. Freezing an entire frontline like that? She was indeed gifted.
But the show wasn’t over, yet.
A shadow passed overhead, and I glanced up just in time to see my orc warband descending from the sky like meteors.
They landed in perfect unison, knees bent, fists slamming into the ground with enough force to crack the earth beneath them.
Dwayne, who stood at their center, rose first. He ripped a massive claymore sword from his back and roared.
The other orcs echoed his battle cry, their voices shaking the battlefield as they charged.
Vibranium was the first to strike. He twirled his spear like a whirlwind, slicing through demons with each stroke.
Rust, despite being the oldest, moved like a beast. With a mighty leap, he soared high into the air before bringing his double-headed axe down in a deadly wide arc.
The impact sent a shockwave that flattened a dozen demons at once.
Rocky swung his hammer like a wrecking ball, each strike sending bodies flying.
Every strike crushed demons like they were eggs. He didn’t dodge. He smashed with pure, brutal force.
Jojo blurred past him. He speed-blitzed the enemy lines, slashing, ducking, and spinning.
His dual swords moved faster than the eye could follow, leaving behind trails of severed limbs and spurting black blood.
It was like watching lightning strike over and over again.
And then, there was Brick.
Her fighting style was assassin class. Silent and deadly. She darted between demons, using their shadows to attack them.
Her curved daggers would find their throats and hearts with perfect aim. One stab. One kill. That’s all it takes.
One by one, my warband turned the tide.
Every single one of them was pushing the demons back as fast as possible.
Krell stared in stunned silence before finally whispering, "Amazing... Are those the same orcs from before? They look... different."
I grinned proudly. "Yeah. I named them. They evolved overnight."
Krell turned slowly to look at me, his expression was written with raw fear and respect.
"You’re... the most powerful person I’ve ever encountered. And at such a young age too. Imagine how strong you’ll be when you’re older."
I glanced down at the battlefield, watching as Skadra froze another wave of demons and the orcs carved through the rest.
"I don’t want to think too much about it. Power can be a burden if you let it define you."
Just then, Gwyneria’s voice came in my mind again.
"My liege," she pleaded, "please permit me to engage in the battle. I grow restless watching from the shadows."
I sighed inwardly. "No, Gwyneria. You’ll steal the spotlight. The last thing I need right now is the demon king realizing a great dragon is still alive."
She whined, "But it’s so boring just watching them have all the fun! I want to fight too!"
I couldn’t help but smirk. Typical Gwyneria "No can do. Your time will come soon. If things get a little heated, then I’ll let you fight."
There was a long pause.
"Really?" she asked, her tone brightening.
As soon as I finished speaking, Krell gripped my shoulder, his face alight with hope.
"Well done, Archer. Yes. We can win this. We can definitely win this!"
I nodded, but my eyes remained locked on the battlefield.
Sure, my warband of eleven was slaughtering demons left and right, pushing them back.
But the demons was endless. Thousands still pressed forward, and even my orcs, as powerful as they were, would tire eventually.
They had already taken down 500 demons in mere minutes. Impressive, but not enough.
There were five thousand demons in all. Eleven warriors couldn’t win this battle alone—not forever.
I needed to tip the scales further in my warband’s favour.
Reaching behind me, I opened my Infinity Vault and pulled out the Elder Lich’s Scepter—the very one I had confiscated during the Selection Exam.
This scepter was a relic of Necromancy capable of summoning a legion of undead.
Most mages avoided necromancy like the plague—not just because it was taboo, but because it required a twisted understanding of life and death.
Secondly, it’s magic often gnawed at the user’s soul, corrupting the weak-willed.
Moreover, it consumes an absurd amounts of mana and is difficult to maintain for a lengthy period.
But I wasn’t most mages.
I had studied Necromancy in the Red dragon’s library, dissecting its principles.
It wasn’t just about raising corpses—it was about binding spirits to your command, and that required absolute control.
Most mages who tried either went mad or burned through their mana reserves in seconds.
But I could handle it.
Gripping the scepter, I raised it high and whispered the incantation.
Hands burst forth from the earth, clawing upward through stone and soil.
Armor-clad figures emerged—skeletal knights wielding rusted blades and tattered banners.
An entire legion of the undead rose from the battlefield.
But these weren’t the usual, mindless undead.
Their eye sockets blazed with violet light, not red—an indication they were being empowered directly by my mana.
This made them far stronger, far deadlier than any normal necromancer’s thralls.
Krell stumbled back, his face pale. "I-I don’t believe it... what have you done, Archer?!"
I smirked. "I brought Reinforcements."
With a silent command, the undead army charged at the demons with a bone-chilling screech.
They clashed the battlefield, supporting my warband of orcs and slaughtering demons they laid eyes on.
The demons stood no chance. They were overpowered.
On the other side of the battlefield, Raul stood atop a jagged outcrop, his eyes scanning the chaos below.
His teeth clenched in agitation as the tide of battle shifted against him.
The commander of the demon king’s army, a hulking demon with cracked horns and a bloodied axe, stepped forward.
"Raul, we’re losing the battle! Just now, legion of undead and orcs are slaughtering our forces at an impossible speed. There’s also an ice giant among them—our warriors are being frozen where they stand!"
Raul stepped forward, jaw tightening as he surveyed the battlefield. From this vantage, he could see them all.
The undead army carving through his army. Frost spreading like a plague. Orcs cleaving the demon’s down.
"What the hell is happening here? How is this possible? King Godfrey doesn’t have that kind of army!"
The commander went on. "And that’s not all. A powerful barrier has been cast over the citadel. It’s completely impenetrable. Even if we breach the walls, we can’t break through that shield."
Raul’s mind raced. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
The attack had been perfectly timed—Godfrey’s forces were unprepared, his strongest knights scattered.
This invasion was planned to catch them off guard—a swift strike!
"Camilia..." Raul muttered. "We need to capture her. We don’t have much time."
The commanded hesitated. "Raul, we’ve lost over three thousand demons already. If we keep fighting, we’ll be wiped out."
Raul snarled. None of this made sense.
The only wild card had been Archer, but he was supposed to be trapped in the academy.
That was the whole reason they had launched this attack now.
So why... why was this mission becoming so impossibly difficult?
After a tense silence, he finally growled, "Order a full retreat."
The commander nodded. "Wise choice, Raul."
Raul turned away, his voice growing darker. "This changes everything," he muttered. "Someone’s playing us. I’ll investigate this later. This isn’t over. Not by a long shot."
The commander gave the order for the horn to be blown.
At the sound of the horn, the demon forces disengaged, pulling back in defeat.