Chapter 26: Assault
The Immovable City: Moonlight Fortress.
Once a magnificent fortress, its walls were now a sea of flames, and the elven garrison inside was in complete chaos.
Under normal circumstances, given the combat prowess of elven warriors, this shouldn't have happened. However, the attack was too sudden. Before most of them could react, the enemy had already surrounded the entire fortress.
There were many scouting parties positioned in the eight directions around Moonlight Fortress. Unfortunately, by the time the scouts spotted the enemy and fired signal flares into the sky, the enemy was already near the fortress. The Wolf Cavalry was simply too fast.
It could be said that by the time the garrison inside saw the signal flares, the Demon Flame Dragon, Barbatos, was already flying above the fortress.
Moreover, the first wave of signal flares fired by the scouts was all neutralized by Baha using his spatial abilities. Within a certain range, no one was faster than a space-type.
Besides this, there was another important reason the elven garrison was caught off guard: the Wolf Cavalry directly climbed the walls.
Fortress walls were notoriously difficult to climb. Many fortresses had spells inscribed on their walls, which was the most troublesome aspect, especially impact-type spells. Those walls were simply unclimbable.
The spells on Moonlight Fortress were of the earth vein type, which was why it was called the Immovable City. The entire fortress was 'connected' to the earth. Breaking through it from the front was nearly impossible. With this spell's enhancement, the walls of Moonlight Fortress were 8 to 10 times more durable than those of other fortresses.
Moonlight Fortress was very difficult to breach, but the problem also lay in the wall's spells. This earth vein type spell caused uneven rock layers to form on the walls, creating many dense, honeycomb-like holes.
For the sharp-clawed dire wolves, these holes were natural gripping points. When the dire wolves were paired with the hooked blades in the hands of the Grey Orcs, even if the walls were a hundred meters high and vertical, the Wolf Cavalry could climb them.
It could only be said that the greatest strength of Moonlight Fortress was also its fatal weakness. In the past, the garrison would wait for the Grey Orcs to climb, then shoot them as living targets. When the Grey Orcs were about to reach the top, they would temporarily deactivate the spell effect, causing the outer shell of the wall to fall off, taking the Grey Orcs down with it.
But this time, they had no chance to deactivate the spell. The Wolf Cavalry's mobility was too strong, and they were suppressed by dragonflame.
The smell of burning spread through the air. The flames on the walls gradually died down. One by one, Wolf Cavalry soldiers charged onto the walls, occupying all four sides of the fortress.
Inside the fortress, after the initial panic, the elven garrison quickly displayed their combat discipline. All the elves formed ranks, ready to meet the charge.
Cracking sounds came from around the walls. The earth vein spell was finally deactivated. Once the walls lost their monstrous defense, large sections of the outer rock layer fell off. Many Wolf Cavalry soldiers still climbing fell with the debris, but it no longer mattered.
The Wolf Cavalry on the walls all threw away their hooked blades. These tools were specifically crafted for Moonlight Fortress, with handles wrapped in cloth strips or tree roots—very crude.
"Hold the front and back gates!"
Elven Elder Ruth roared. Having fought wars for half his life, he quickly assessed the situation. The Wolf Cavalry could climb the walls, yes, but without the rock layers formed by the spell, their chances of climbing were low. He now desperately wished for impact-type spells. If the walls had impact-type spells, the enemy couldn't have climbed them.
Ruth knew clearly that the front and back gates of the fortress were now the key. Once those massive gates were opened, the enemy would pour in like floodwater from a burst dam. Then it would be over. They would be trapped inside the fortress, facing a siege from all sides.
"Ha!"
The elven warriors roared in unison. After forming ranks, they blocked the stone stairways along the inner base of the walls, waiting for the Wolf Cavalry to charge down or jump directly from the walls.
Given the physiques of the dire wolves and Grey Orcs, jumping from this height was no problem as long as they didn't land headfirst. If they landed headfirst and were stunned for a moment, the enemy would seize the chance to kill them.
"Ready."
The shouts of elven battalion commanders spread. As their hands rose, many elves nocked their bows and drew the strings.
Moonlight Fortress was no pushover. The garrison here numbered 300,000, including 20,000 warriors from the Dawnlight Corps. The Dawnlight Corps was the elves' strongest force, also the Elf Queen's personal army. Their main force was currently stationed in the Aier Great Forest, guarding against the Duoyin Empire, which showed their combat strength.
Over 20,000 Dawnlight Corps elven warriors were now formed into neat squares, guarding the inner side of the gate.
Among the mass of elves, Elven Elder Ruth felt much more at ease seeing the Dawnlight Corps formation. With this force present, it would be very difficult for the enemy to breach the gate.
Wolf Cavalry soldiers were already charging down from the walls, launching surprise attacks on the elves inside. Their goal was clear: open the gates and let their main force pour in.
Boom!
A loud crash came from outside the gate. The Wolf Cavalry had started ramming the gate from the outside.
The Wolf Cavalry that had climbed the walls numbered about 50,000. These 50,000 turned into torrents, rushing down the stone stairs along the inner walls and charging toward the enemy.
"Prepare to countercharge!"
The elves who had formed defensive lines roared. The warriors in the front row raised large wooden shields in front of them. These were Holy Palmwood, a specialty of the Aier Great Forest—light yet extremely durable and resilient.
With the large shields blocking their view, the front-row elven warriors could only hear a rapid series of footsteps approaching from the front. Then, serrated broadswords and warhammers came crashing down on their heads.
Thump, thump…
The sounds of smashing and slashing continued without end. The Wolf Cavalry ignored the shield defense. The dire wolves leaped, and the Grey Orcs on their backs struck downward or slashed, targeting the elven warriors behind the shields.
Blood splattered everywhere. Elven warriors fell screaming, broken limbs scattered all around.
Like a force of nature, the elven warriors defending the outer perimeter fell in droves. It was proven that arrows were unsuitable for this terrain. Fighting inside the fortress made precise volleys of arrows very difficult.
After charging down the walls, the 50,000-plus Wolf Cavalry nearly surrounded the garrison inside. In reality, their combat strength wasn't just 50,000, but 100,000. The dire wolves weren't just mounts; they were fighters too.
The brutal siege began. Looking down from above, one could see that the elves' defensive line inside the fortress was quite stubborn. Besides the elves fighting the Wolf Cavalry at close quarters on the outer edge, many elves in the inner circle stood on top of buildings within the fortress, shooting arrows at the surrounding Wolf Cavalry.
The elven garrison was indeed tenacious, but having nearly 280,000 elven warriors clustered together prevented them from using their full strength. Losing the wall defense was simply fatal.
As the war grew more intense, the gap in combat strength between the two sides became stark. If a single elven warrior fought a Wolf Cavalry soldier one-on-one, within 30 seconds, that elf would likely be dead or severely wounded.
While defending against the Grey Orcs' attacks, there was no time to block the dire wolves' bites. The War Lord's buffs were not to be taken lightly.
The only ones who could hold their ground against the Wolf Cavalry were the Dawnlight Corps near the gate. They could fight the Wolf Cavalry to a standstill.
These Dawnlight warriors were all very agile. After a few swift slashes with their exquisitely crafted war blades, they would immediately sheathe their swords, leap back, unstrap the strong bows on their backs, and fire a few arrows—a tactic that was hard to defend against.
Boom! A warhammer swung down, crushing a Dawnlight warrior's skull. It was Orc Hero Walpole. The Dawnlight warriors couldn't stop him.
Orc Hero Walpole patted the dire wolf beneath him. Just as he was about to lead his personal guards toward the gate, a sword slash came at him.
Clang!
Sparks flew. Walpole blocked the strike with his warhammer. He turned his gaze and saw an elf holding a wind-patterned sword with a strong bow slung over his back.
"Spirit Warrior Elrog."
Walpole grinned, his scarred face looking ferocious.
"You are no nameless nobody."
Spirit Warrior Elrog's expression was serious, watching Walpole warily.
"I'm just a small fry."
Walpole, riding his dire wolf, suddenly vanished from his spot. An alchemical formation appeared on his upper arm. He had heard of Spirit Warrior Elrog's reputation, so he was going all out.
Boom!!
With Walpole at the center, a gale of wind spread outward, causing large cracks to appear on the ground.
Thud. Half of Spirit Warrior Elrog's body slammed against a distant wall. He raised his tattered hand, his trembling pupils filled with disbelief.
A large hand grabbed Spirit Warrior Elrog by the neck, lifting him up and snapping his neck in the process.
"Spirit Warrior Elrog is dead!"
Walpole held up Elrog's corpse and shouted. The surrounding Wolf Cavalry soldiers raised their weapons and cheered.
"Roar!"
A dragon's roar came from above. Demon Flame Dragon Barbatos, enduring the arrows flying up from below, spewed dragonflame over a large area inside the gate.
After a full half-minute of dragonflame breath, over half of the 20,000 Dawnlight warriors were dead or wounded. They had nowhere to hide. The terrain inside the fortress was perfect for spewing dragonflame.
"Anyone who isn't afraid to die, follow me!"
Before the dragonflame had even dissipated, Walpole led several thousand Wolf Cavalry in a charge, heading straight for the main gate.
This group of Wolf Cavalry vaguely formed a wedge-shaped formation. Walpole was the tip of the wedge, with two Wolf Cavalry behind him, then three behind them, and so on.
Once the Wolf Cavalry charged, not even the Dawnlight Corps could stop them. Even if they were the elves' elite troops, they were more suited for fighting in the forest.
After a bloody charge, Walpole forced his way to the base of the gate. Soon, the gate slowly rose, and the Wolf Cavalry outside poured in.
Like opening a sluice gate, a torrent of soldiers rushed in.
Inside the elven army, Elven Elder Ruth saw this scene. He then looked at the elven warriors retreating step by step on the outer perimeter. The individual combat strength of the two sides was not on the same level. What was worse, the enemy advanced and retreated with discipline. This was not the Chaos Legion he remembered.
"I am Elven Elder Ruth! Which Great Lord is attacking Moonlight Fortress?"
Ruth's shout caught Walpole's attention.
"War."
"..."
Ruth thought for a few seconds. Finally, he straightened his somewhat wrinkled clothes and said, "I represent Moonlight Fortress in surrendering to the Chaos Legion."
The elves were proud, but that depended on the situation. Not long ago, Ruth had received a battle report: their 'Yan Valley Fortress' had been breached by the War Demon, and the outcome was grim.
"What did you say? Too far away, can't hear you!"
Walpole said this while waving his hand, signaling his Wolf Cavalry to continue the slaughter.