The barbarian collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach as his pupils trembled at the sight of the golden-armoured man before him.
Amid the chaos of clashing steel, Asher's azure blade—distinct even among thousands of blades—gleamed softly, its edge stained with crimson blood.
A faint blue mist, too light to be taken seriously at first glance, hovered around the blade, exuding a subtle chill.
Lifting his head, the barbarian met the piercing golden eyes hidden within the helmet with a crown at the top.
Within the barbarian's pupils, one could see the reflection of a slim barbarian with two short swords in his hand behind Asher.
The hulking barbarian was about to grin when Asher, without so much as glancing back, plunged Euodias through the learning enemy behind him.
The slim barbarian staggered, gasping, before tumbling off the wall.
With a single step, Asher closed the distance and hovered above the huge barbarian—wrapping his arms around the man's neck and lifting him up with the intention of piercing his sword through him.
Right at that moment, he sensed a scorching projectile hurtling toward him at a terrifying speed.
Surely, it would slam where he stood!
When the boulder burst out of the fog, fully visible for all to see, Eritrea's voice rang out, her eyes wide in shock and alarm.
Unfazed, Asher slashed the hulking barbarian before borrowing the same momentum to pivot and unleash a precise slash, splitting the boulder cleanly in two.
Both halves of the boulder, frozen solid, crashed to either of his sides and tumbled off the wall!
Then, he turned to meet Eritrea's gaze.
She smiled before swiftly turning and unleashing a volley of three constant arrows at once. Each of her shots soared over 500 yards, piercing through the armors of her targets and scorching them black!
Alec's roar pierced through the chaos. The general stood swinging his spear with familiarity, expertise, and great ease, reaping the lives of barbarians and slaying even gold- and diamond-ranked warriors alike while keeping a watchful eye on his troops.
The sheer number of barbarians was overwhelming, forcing Grand Aegis soldiers into a difficult position. Ale bellowed, and in unison, the soldiers took two steps backwards.
"20 percent release!"
All at once, 4000 Grand Aegis soldiers on the wall unleashed 20 percent of their battle force, strengthening their muscles, bones hardening and weapons gleaming with power.
A faint mist hovered around the triangular heads of their spears.
With renewed strength, they struck, their spears staining the battlefield red.
After examining the wall, Asher realized the main problem wasn't just the horde, it was the flaming boulders. They had ravaged sections of the wall's walkway and worst, obliterated much of the camp!
Dozens of flaming boulders had reduced tents to cinders, flaming spreading the land unchecked—until Aquila took command.
She raised a towering water octopus, its massive tentacles catching the boulders midair, extinguishing the boulder before letting them drop harmlessly to the ground.
She remained suspended at the center of the elemental beast's head, her hair billowing upward as her eyes glowed with a faint azure light.
The giant octopus, nearly as tall as the wall, kept intercepting and quenching the fiery projectiles, preventing any further damage. Meanwhile, the Ashbourne trebuchets blew up the battlefield.
Their brimstones killed any barbarian it touched!
Unlike the barbarian trebuchets, which merely scattered fire, the Ashbourne weapon annihilated everything it touched, proving more lethal!
Unfortunately, the enemy had adjusted. Their trebuchets shifted targets—from the camp to the wall!
Seeing this and the increase in siege towers, Asher strode toward a ballista.
The soldiers hesitated, momentarily stunned, before quickly giving way for their lord.
Asher seized the ballista, adjusting it with such speed that some of the soldiers feared it might throw him off. But Asher's grip held it in place.
He tilted the ballista slightly upwards and released three massive bolts.
The bolts pierced through a trebuchet, 1600 yards away—far beyond the ballista's typical range.
The ballistic bolts destroyed the trebuchet, sending splinters flying. The boulder resting on it collapsed, destroying the trebuchet completely.
"Reload!" Asher commanded.
Two soldiers swiftly reloaded, locking in three more bolts. Asher turned the ballista toward another trebuchet.
1600 yards away, the bolts struck their target, piercing through the thick wooden beams and embedding deep into the soil!
"General!" A barbarian bellowed, forcing a white-haired man focused on the war to turn his head backwards.
At that moment, another volley of bolts whistled through the air, piercing through another trebuchet, obliterating it!
Another trebuchet went down!
"Blow whoever is shooting those bolts into pieces!"
But while the trebuchet controller crew struggled to adjust their aim, Asher continued his assault. One by one, the trebuchets crumbled—until the last one was turned into ruins!
Cain couldn't believe it. Those trebuchets, all fifteen of them, were given to them by Archduke Nubis as a gift. And now, all of them had been wiped out, by one ballista!
Who in the world was manning that ballista?
"Levi has done his part. Let's advance!" Determination flashed in Cain's eyes as he charged towards the siege towers.
Thousands of barbarians followed him, all of them filled with bloodthirstiness.
"You've enraged them, My Lord."
Eleazar said, eliciting a smirk from Asher before he drew Euodias.
"Go after their siege towers."
After saying that, Asher sprinted toward the nearest siege tower, where the barbarians had breached the Grand Aegis wall, ensuing blood and chaos on the battlefield.
With a powerful leap, he wrapped his gauntlet-covered hand around a barbarian's face and slammed his head into the hard stone!
Another barbarian struck Asher's armor with his clever, but the blade couldn't even scratch Exodus. An azure glow—the reflection of Euodias—was the last thing the man ever saw as his head was severed!
Mong with impossible speed for someone in heavy armor, Asher danced through the battlefield, cutting down barbarians effortlessly.
Finally, when he had reached the edge of the plank, he turned toward Moses.
Without needing to hear a word from Asher, Moses unleashed a wave of fire.
Flames swallowed the siege tower in an instant, burning faster than anything they had ever seen.
While this siege tower burned, a BloodBlade stood at the periphery of another siege tower, looking at the barbarians on the utmost floor—the one connecting to the wall.
"Look, a stray knight," one of the barbarians chuckled.
All of a sudden, sand began to gather at their feet, all the way from the ground!
The sand was somehow manipulated to slither up the siege tower into the utmost floor!
It burst apart, revealing the same BloodBlade standing in their midst.
Some looked up, searching for him…
But Nero was no longer there.
He was now… right among them!