The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 784: Volume 23: Rising Winds and Swirling Clouds, - 20: Uprooting the City

Chapter 784: Volume 23: Rising Winds and Swirling Clouds, Chapter 20: Uprooting the City

Uma stood coldly aside, for him, such a siege held little significance. According to his view, it would only take his controlled skeleton army and zombie horde to act as the vanguard, and no matter how strong the combat capabilities of Homer’s army were, they would crumble before this undead legion.

However, Komer decisively rejected his suggestion. This was not a fight to the death, but a full-fledged war of conquest. Although morally the Caucasus had no upper hand, they had, after all, received the vague approval of Katya, another heir to the throne. But to reveal the entire Dark Undead Power under the broad daylight, Komer was not sure whether such a stark contrast would immediately change the entire kingdom’s view of him and the Caucasus, and the Church of Light’s spearhead might instantly turn towards him. At this moment, Komer didn’t dare to take the risk, at least not before securing decisive power, he was not willing to irrevocably nail himself to the Dark Lineage.

The power of the Mage Corps had also gathered around Mihailovich as its chief. Clarence, Sheferley, Newman, and the three Guardian Mage Kings of the Great Mysterium Sect had all without exception covered their bodies with black robes. They stood on a slight rise and observed the battlefield, waiting for the moment when they would be called into action.

Fran stood by Komer’s side, unable to observe the defensive situation of Takros Fortress with Space Magic like Komer and the others could, but the Mirror of Thousand Miles had accomplished this. Faced with such a legendary magical tool, Fran found no fitting words to describe it. Every tiny detail on the fortress walls was clearly displayed on the magic mirror. By simply lifting the Mirror of Thousand Miles and gently moving it towards the fortress, everything was revealed without reservation on its surface.

It was too clear, too sharp, too meticulous! While carefully observing the combat on the fortress walls, an unexplained chill rose from the depths of Fran’s heart. He could no longer find the right words to describe the unfathomable Young Lord beside him. Even an object as divine as the Mirror of Thousand Miles could be created by him, which seemed to truly confirm what the Half-Beastmen believed: Komer was an incarnation of the War God, at least in their minds, the War God had firmly stood by the side of the Caucasus.

Fran didn’t know whether this object was actually created by Komer or not, but one thing could be confirmed, the Mirror of Thousand Miles Komer held in his hand was definitely not the only one. Such magic tools, which could see thousands of miles as if they were right in front of you, were undoubtedly of immense help to a battlefield commander, vividly and detailedly capturing the shifts on the battlefield and preempting the enemy, its ability to capture the right moment was irreplaceable.

The offensive and defensive battle on the city walls had entered an intense white-weapon combat phase. Homer Soldiers densely packed the wall like swarms of ants, and a torrent of rolling logs and hurling stones thundered down, while pitiful howls echoed back and forth along the ramparts. The Cloud Ladders placed against the walls had almost blocked every battlement, and this was when the Barbarian Warriors showed their fearlessness. With one hand, they hoisted a shield, and with the other, they clung to the ladders, spears were long forsaken, their only weapon was a short saber bitten in their mouths, they attacked the embrasures silently and launched waves of assaults.

The Homer Soldiers on the walls had come prepared, despite facing the Barbarian Warriors in combat for the first time, they showed no signs of fear. Their sturdy layered defense system demonstrated Homer’s determination to hold this fortress built specifically against the northern invasion from the Caucasus. Facing the fierce guise of the barbarians, as long as they defended this castle fortress, the Caucasus Army couldn’t smoothly pass through the Greenland Forest Plank Road northward. By controlling the Great Greenland Forest Plank Road, the throat of their supply line, Homer could sever it at any moment, trapping the Caucasus Army in a desperate situation.

Both sides were aware of this and had made meticulous preparations, but evidently the Homer side had underestimated the determination of the Caucasus Army so much that their preparations were not yet complete when they were confronted with this unexpected fierce battle. If the Caucasus Army hadn’t arrived so unexpectedly, almost overnight crossing the Great Greenland Forest and appearing at the edge of the Busen Plain, the defensive system of Takros Fortress would have been greatly reinforced — at least the two smaller fortresses flanking it could have been finished earlier, providing strategic support to Takros Fortress.

The decision by Komer to immediately march on Homer was based on intelligence from Maha Gummi’s system that Philip was visiting Poznan and Silesia seeking support. Komer was already wary of Philip seeking Galle’s help, and if Poznan and Silesia were indeed going to join the fray to help Philip through this difficulty, the situation would become very unfavorable for the Caucasus. It was better to strike first; ending the battle against Homer before the Ferdinand and Heine families had made up their minds, or to say, before they completed their war preparations, was undoubtedly the wisest move. Hence, while instructing Maha Gummi to immediately start spreading various rumors to shake the public’s faith, Komer also disregarded Fran’s opposition and in the shortest time, rallied all the armed forces within his own territory and launched the Caucasus’s first proactive campaign.

However, Komer had underestimated the strength of Homer. The newly built Takros Fortress firmly choked the advance of the Caucasus Army, and to set foot on the Busen Plain they had to remove this thorn. Philip had already stationed Homer’s main infantry force in Takros Fortress as a precaution, which to a great extent offset the effect of the Caucasus’s surprise attack.

The Half-Elves’ composite longbows finally demonstrated their power under the cover of the Barbarian attacking infantry, dealing considerable damage to the Homer defenders on the fortress walls once within range.

Even in the midst of the bloody slaughter, the Half-Elves’ graceful movements were full of artistic spirit. With two fingers, they elegantly plucked arrows from their quivers, nocked their bows, and each volley was executed with rhythmic precision, echoing crisply like a resonant magical harp, almost compelling one’s soul to leap from within their chest. Each movement was seamless and traceless, almost convincing you that you were witnessing an exquisite display of archery.

The dense rain of arrows whistled along the edge of the city wall, extending backward; the Homer defenders, caught unawares, were too slow to react. Such a dense formation was utterly vulnerable to the downpour of arrows, especially when more and more cloud ladders were being hooked onto the battlements below the wall.

However, the Homer defenders quickly deployed their trump card—the heavy Siegebreaker catapults. When they began to roar, marking that the Barbarian attacking infantry was in for a tough fight, over ten catapults thundered in succession, launching boulder-sized stones from their slings. The projectiles drew rough arcs across the sky before crashing mightily into the advancing ranks of infantry, with an unstoppable force pulverizing several sturdy Barbarian Warriors into bloody pulp in an instant.

Komer calmly observed this gruesome sight, the impeccable discipline of the Barbarians evident at this time. Even amid the threat of massive stones falling one after another, the Barbarian Warriors, having undergone little training, remained calm and collected, advancing in neat square formations with a steadiness rivaling that of the Half-Beastmen infantry trained for several years.

"Mihailovich, I think it’s your turn now," Komer finally said, pressing out the eagerly awaited words through his tightly closed lips, only after Fran’s face had already begun to show slight changes in color. It was only now that he truly brought the power of the Caucasian Mage Group to the battlefield—he needed to strike a decisive blow!

Rolling black clouds spread over the battlements of Takros Fortress, quickly enveloping and soaking into the entire wall, plunging the fortress into darkness. This was an extremely rare Air Magic spell—Dark Night Mist—cast by the Mage Sheferley with the help of many other Mages, into which Mihailovich had discreetly mixed the Bloodthirsty Frenzy Technique, a type of Dark Psychic Magic. It could be transmitted through the medium of Air Magic to any living being it touched, causing those affected to fall into a frenzied state of rage. While such a bloodlust spell, when used on one’s troops in face-to-face combat, could greatly enhance their fervor to match that of Beastmen or Barbarian Soldiers, deploying it amidst confusion would undoubtedly intensify the chaos, potentially leading to a rampage of self-destruction without regard for friend or foe!

This was the lethal tactic painstakingly designed by Komer and his Mage Corps, only to be revealed at the critical juncture of the war, to allow the Mage Corps’ power to be maximized, to let their strength play a decisive role in overcoming the enemy!

The intense earlier stages of the war had already put the Homer Army’s Soldiers in a state of high tension and excitement. The subsequent arrival of the Dark Night Mist and Bloodthirsty Frenzy Technique undoubtedly pushed the Homer Soldiers toward the abyss. It only took a small portion of the soldiers to fall into disarray for the entire defensive line of the Homer Army to collapse completely. The Soldiers, having lost their sense of direction and self, knew only to prove their existence through blood—whether it was their comrades’ or the enemy’s. Bereft of purpose, everything around them became a target for their outburst.

(To be continued. For subsequent events, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM. More Chapters are available, support the author, support authorized reading!)