Chapter 191: North Gate Massacre

The clash between the forces of the fortress and the demonic army had now been going on for more than half an hour.

The skeletal beasts and cavalry had now been eradicated, leaving only the demonic warriors, archers, mages, and the black silver carriage at the rear.

Nevertheless, Larkson and the others did not dare let their guard down.

After all, the scene of Eldrin’s master rank magic being blocked remained vivid in their minds.

At the top of the battlements, the archers and mages attack unceasingly, bombarding the demonic army with various aura arts and magic spells.

In the battlefield, the warriors, swordsmen, spearmen, and other aura users belonging to the assault group engaged with the demonic army in close combat.

Their seamless teamwork, evidence of the generations they had spent fighting with one another, enabled them to overpower their opponents.

So far, none of them had died as warriors who were on the brink of death were immediately covered by the archers.

This allowed them to have enough time to fall back while the warriors at the defense group fill in their spots.

Most importantly, even when outnumbered by the demonic army alongside their skeletal beasts, the mages led by Eldrin were able to level the playing field.

At this moment, the demonic army had already been having a hard time fending off the soldiers of the fortress.

This was largely due to the fact that the person in the black silver carriage made no further moves.

Eldrin noticed this as he squinted his eyes and stopped his barrage of magic spells.

Beside him, Pandora asked while focusing on bombarding the demonic army, "Why did you stop attacking, Old Man?"

"Call me Mentor. It’s because of the person who blocked my magic earlier..."

"What? Are you butthurt because he blocked it so easily?"

"He blocked it, but not easily, okay? Just keep casting magic spells. There are only a little of the demonic army left, so I’ll leave them to you."

Glancing at the old mage who seemed to be thinking about something, Pandora did not reply further.

She then looked around, and most mages were already sitting down in a meditative posture.

’They already ran out of mana...’

Eldrin glanced at her and chuckled, "Of course, they’re not like you, who can utilize around 90% of your magic field."

"But, you mustn’t underestimate them. Humans have a knack for overcoming their limitations, after all."

Upon hearing the old mage’s words, Pandora noticed how the mages took turns recovering and attacking.

This strategy ensured a constant barrage of magical spells against the demonic army, giving them no time to regroup.

By denying them any breathing room, the enemy would grow increasingly exhausted—both physically and mentally—which played to the advantage of the fortress defenders.

Under the watchful gaze of Eldrin, there were still no mana fluctuations around the black silver carriage.

He chose to conserve his mana so that he would be able to respond instantly the moment the person inside the carriage made a move.

***

Meanwhile, amid the battlefield...

Larkson and Killian were the two top contributors of the assault group.

One swept through the battlefield with brute strength while the other assassinated demonic humans with both speed and precision.

His performance attracted cheers from the fortress soldiers who saw him blinking in and out of the battlefield.

In the past tens of minutes, they were able to clear out the vanguard of the demonic army.

Without the protection of warriors and other close combatants, the archers and mages were quickly slaughtered by the forces of the fortress.

It did not take long before Larkson’s fist crushed the head of the last demonic worshipper amidst their cries.

He then looked ahead, his gaze serious.

At this moment, only the black silver carriage was left.

Larkson held his hand up, signalling the others to stop as he kept approaching the carriage carefully.

Although the soldiers were unwilling to let the commander risk his life alone, they did not dare disobey his order.

Even Killian remained alert, ready to respond at the slightest sense of danger.

However, nothing happened even as the commander was directly in front of the carriage.

Taking a deep breath, Larkson used Crater Fist and smashed the carriage open, only for his eyes to widen at the sight before him.

He then looked back and shrugged his shoulders with his hands raised.

Eldrin, who saw this signal at the top of the battlement, felt confused, "What..."

Woong—

Beside him, Pandora sensed peculiar mana fluctuations and saw complex magic circles manifesting over the old mage’s head and beneath his feet.

[High Rank Magic: Teleport]

With a chant, his figure immediately disappeared under a pair of ruby red eyes filled with amazement.

Eldrin then appeared beside Larkson, who was more than a kilometer away, while muttering under his breath, "That can’t be..."

Earlier, the commander had signalled that there was no one inside the carriage.

Leaning on his staff for support, the old mage stepped into the rubble that remained of the carriage, spreading his mana as he began his inspection.

"No artifacts, no evil tomes, no presence of anyone..."

Everyone in the area kept silent, as only the mutters of Eldrin sounded softly.

"Hmm... There’s definitely a person here earlier."

Larkson nodded, "Yes, we even heard him raising the morale of the demonic army earlier."

"Could it be an avatar of sorts...? If it is, then I can only imagine how strong that person was..." Eldrin spoke with an unsure expression.

Nevertheless, it was the only plausible explanation at present.

Larkson then looked at him and asked, "Then, is it safe to say that we can retreat now?"

"I believe so." Eldrin responded while caressing his beard, "That avatar must have only been able to exert a limited amount of mana before vanishing—and it had already used that up to block my spell."

Magic spells that create avatars are complex, but numerous.

Although it required an extensive knowledge of magic, mages who have reached a certain level could create an avatar after some effort.

Eldrin was no exception to that, hence why he was able to make an educated guess about what happened.

Upon receiving his confirmation, Larkson ordered the soldiers, "We’ll escort the wounded and go back to the battlement. I will assign people to bring the injured back to the temporary infirmary while those who are still capable of fighting will accompany me to the North Gate."

"Yes, Commander!" The soldiers roared in unison.

They did not waste any more time and immediately headed back to the fortress, welcomed by the archers and mages who also had faces filled with exhaustion.

Larkson relayed his order once again before gathering those who still had stamina, mana, and aura reserves left to fight.

They then immediately headed towards the North Gate, leaving behind people to assist the injured.

From the start, he had not forgotten Regis’s words of taking on the army of monsters and beasts from the north side of the fortress.

It was also the reason why Larkson did his best to end the battle as soon as possible.

’I hope I’m not late...’

He thought in worry, since the battle lasted almost an hour.

Alongside him, Pandora and Killian had relatively relaxed expressions on their faces, though they still wanted to get at Regis’s right away.

Noticing the expression of his soon-to-be apprentice, Eldrin asked as they ran, "Why are we rushing towards the North Gate? Isn’t the battle already over?"

"About that..." Larkson told the old mage some of the details of his and Regis’s conversation.

"What!?"

Eldrin’s eyes widened in shock, "You mean to tell me that you let the brother of my precious apprentice face the monster horde alone!?"

"Don’t worry, my brother isn’t weak." Pandora spoke from the side.

The old mage scratched his face, "Still, isn’t he just your age? What if..."

Before he could finish, they had already arrived at the North Gate.

Since they followed along the battlements, they were able to reach their destination earlier than expected.

Larkson and the others did not bother speaking as they hurried through the sally ports.

However, what they saw caused their pupils to constrict.

"Oh my god..."

He could not help but mutter under his breath.

It wasn’t just him—Pandora, Killian, Eldrin, and the others stood frozen, their expressions hollow as their eyes took in the scene before them.

Stretching beyond the North Gate, the battlefield lay draped in death.

The corpses of monsters and beasts were strewn across the landscape, a grotesque tapestry of ruin and silence.

As far as the eye could see, the field was choked with the fallen, a horizon painted in decay.

Blood flowed in thick, winding streams, converging into a crimson river that slithered toward the shadowed depths of Duskmire Grove.

A mist, tinted red as if born from the very essence of suffering, clung to the air—its metallic scent heavy on their tongues.

Not a single blade of grass retained its green.

The earth was soaked, smothered in gore and ash, stripped of all life and color—reduced to a graveyard beneath a weeping sky.

"What the hell happened here...?"

"So there was another battle going on here...?"

"Battle? More like a massacre..."

...

The other fortress soldiers muttered, their faces filled with disbelief.

As they walked alongside the path surrounded by corpses, they soon saw something in the distance.

It was the figure of someone sitting atop the colossal corpse of a skeletal wyvern, which stretched nearly ten meters high.