Chapter 487 - 390: The Thunder Dragon Duchy and the Lizardfolk’s War for the Future
Chapter 487: Chapter 390: The Thunder Dragon Duchy and the Lizardfolk’s War for the Future
The black mist swept in, fast and fierce.
Like a sudden tidal wave, it erupted from the center of the lake, then surged wildly in all directions.
This was no ordinary mist.
Raylo could smell the nauseating stench of rotten mud and dead fish wafting from it, and it carried a stinging sensation that made his skin prickle.
"All troops, fall back! Hold formation!"
"Mage Corps! Prepare!"
General Gaius’s roar echoed through the ranks as flag bearers and runners quickly relayed his commands.
The army on the high ground moved at once. The Knights in the front ranks raised their Shields, taking up a defensive posture.
Raylo remained still, mounted on Baofeng’s back. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the ever-expanding black mist.
Beside him, Moonlight arched its back, a low, threatening growl rumbling in its throat. Its pale golden, slitted pupils were filled with vigilance.
It did not like what was in the mist.
’This stuff is poisonous,’ Raylo muttered to himself.
He saw that the leaves of nearby swamp plants began to yellow and curl the instant they touched the black mist, as if scorched by fire.
Breathing this in or getting it on your skin would have dire consequences.
"My Lord, shouldn’t we fall back a little?"
Ed urged his horse closer, a grim expression on his face.
"There’s no need."
Raylo shook his head.
"A situation like this requires Mages. I’m sure Master Herast will devise a solution."
His gaze shifted toward the main command tent.
Sure enough, beside his father, Aiden Duke, the Chief Court Mage, Master Herast—who had been resting with his eyes closed—had now opened them.
Herast stood up, and over a hundred Court Mages in matching blue Mage Robes immediately gathered around him.
"Your Grace, this black mist contains highly corrosive and chaotic Magic Power. It must be dispelled at once, or it will cause immense harm to the soldiers."
Master Herast delivered his assessment.
Aiden Duke remained expressionless, merely nodding his head.
"I leave it to you, Master."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Master Herast raised his Magic Staff, and the Gemstone at its tip lit up with a soft white light.
"Everyone, form the Wind Speaker Array with me at the center!"
"As you command, Master!"
The hundred-plus Court Mages moved at once, quickly taking their positions around Herast to form a complex and arcane pattern.
Magic Power began to surge.
Raylo could clearly feel an invisible Power pulling at the Wind Element in the air, drawing it frantically toward the center of the Mage Array.
The wind on the high ground grew stronger and stronger, making the banners snap and flutter.
’These Mages are certainly making quite a commotion,’ Raylo thought.
Although his own Mage Corps numbered several dozen, they were a far cry from the Duke’s Court Mage Team in terms of both equipment and personnel quality.
’They’re the professionals; my men are just a local militia at best.’
Fortunately, they had chosen to make camp on high ground nearly a kilometer from the lake, giving them a buffer.
This gave the Duchy ample time to respond.
The black mist spread with incredible speed. In just a few short minutes, it had swallowed the entire lake and even begun to creep toward their high ground.
The Lizardfolk army on the opposite bank was completely obscured; only their fanatical, hissing prayers could be heard from within the black mist, a sound that made one’s skin crawl.
The Knights on the high ground grew restless. Faced with such an unknown and eerie phenomenon, fear was inevitable.
"Steady! Trust in the Duke!"
"Hold formation!"
The commanders of the various Knight Orders shouted, striving to maintain stability among their troops.
Just as the black mist was about to reach the edge of the high ground, Master Herast sharply brought his raised Magic Staff down.
"Winds, rise!"
VMMMM!
A strange resonance echoed out.
A visible torrent of azure energy erupted from the center of the Mage Array, shooting skyward before exploding in midair into a boundless gale.
The gale howled, slamming into the sun-blotting black mist like an invisible giant’s hand.
The black mist churned and twisted violently, as if resisting being blown away.
But the Magic Array provided a ceaseless supply of Power. The gale grew fiercer, even kicking up countless stones and clouds of dust from the ground.
Raylo had to narrow his eyes and shield them with his arm to barely see what was happening ahead.
’So powerful. They truly live up to the name of the Court Mage Team!’ Raylo couldn’t help but marvel.
This kind of large-scale, high-intensity, strategic-level Magic was the most terrifying weapon of war.
On the battlefield, a top-tier Mage Corps could sometimes be more decisive than an army of ten thousand soldiers.
Assaulted by the gale, the black mist began a steady retreat.
It was torn apart, thinned out, and finally swept up by the gale, carried high into the sky to dissipate in the sunlight.
The shadow that had been shrouding the battlefield was gradually being dispelled.
The wind died down.
When the last wisp of black mist was blown away and sunlight once again fell upon the land, the entire battlefield was clearly visible to all once more.
The Knights on the high ground, whether they were the elites of the Thunder Dragon Duchy or the private armies of the Northern Territory Lords, all involuntarily drew a sharp breath.
The lake was no longer the lake it had been.
The murky lake water had turned completely black, like ink. Countless dead fish floated on the surface, their white bellies upturned, alongside the carcasses of some unknown Aquatic Magical Beasts.