Around the battlefield, the gap in numbers had begun to tell once more.
Dreadhaven's lines were buckling, the mystviel tide pressing in — until an arrow punched straight through one soldier's forehead.
Then another. And another. And another.
Heads turned, several soldiers scanning the cliffs for the source of the strange arrows.
What they saw made their eyes go wide — a flood of arrows pouring down from above.
It was a rain of arrows.
KACHA!.. KACHA... KACHA!...
One after another, hundreds — no, over a thousand — arrows loosed at once, falling like a storm.
Screams and terror filled the air. Mystviel soldiers broke into a run, some raising shields, others casting whatever defensive spells they could scramble together.
But those arrows were no ordinary, either. Wreathed in magic and mana, they tore through most of the defenses and found their marks anyway.
By the time the shower settled, close to a thousand mystviel soldiers lay dead.
Only then did the dark elf soldiers reveal themselves, one by one, lining the whole rim of the cliffs. All of them drew their bows at once, pulled the strings back — and loosed a second storm.
At the same time, groups broke off and descended to the battlefield, joining the dreadhaven soldiers.
In a single flicker, the tide lurched back to even. The advantage mystviel had held was almost gone.
The dark elf village might not have been as strong as Dreadhaven's soldiers, but it had long been counted the second — or third — strongest village in the region of the First Demon King.
Peirro, Kroenen's father, swung down from his horse and walked to the cliff's edge, staring down with a flat expression.
From behind, a female demon rushed forward, stopping just inches from the drop.
She had blonde hair and green eyes, with two average-sized horns marking her demon blood — and despite that, she wore a lively, bright outfit, unusual for her kind, though elegant all the same.
The types usually female elfs wear.
"Miss Vesna, it's thanks to you bringing Augustus's letter to us and showing us the way that we arrived right on time. We finally get to repay the debt we owe Miss Scarlett," Peirro said.
Vesna didn't reply. She didn't even look at him — her eyes were locked on the ground below.
So many dreadhaven soldiers down there. Many dead. Many gravely wounded, yet still fighting somehow.
Every wound, every cry of pain, landed on her like a needle in the eye.
"My apologies. I thank you for coming here on a single call, but I still have my duty to fulfill here. Please don't mind me," she said, wings already spreading to carry her off the cliff.
Her wings were white — not the usual black, red, or grey of a demon's.
Peirro only smiled faintly. "None taken," he said quietly.
Meanwhile, Vesna glided down as fast as she could, then angled her path toward the heart of the battlefield.
Once there, she spread her wings wide, hovering in the air.
Closing her eyes, she clasped her hands and began to hum.
Her voice — low, yet somehow echoing — swept across the whole battlefield.
The sound was almost angelic, pulling the attention of both sides toward her at once.
Golden and white light began to gather around her, rising in waves that circled upward.
"Is that light element? A demon doing holy magic? That's impossible!" one mystviel soldier shouted in pure shock.
"There's no way — it has to be an illusion. She has to be a succubus," another shouted back.
Yet, Vesna didn't care.
Not long ago, she had been a nobody. Just another demon living in Dreadhaven, easy to overlook, easy to forget. Then one day she awakened a unique skill, and not just any skill — one that was incredibly useful. Overnight, she was pushed up through the ranks, her became quite popular in no time.
Li Feng, for his part, had always been annoyed by it. Watching some random nobody demon get a unique skill while he still had none?
Of course li feng could not bring himself to discriminate against her in any way, It would hurt his pride and principles.
Although The only difference now was that nobody vesna is no longer a nobody.
She is Vesna Greyjoy, one of the finest healers and stat buffers in Dreadhaven.
At once, a wave of white and golden light rolled outward, gentle as the scent of flowers drifting through the air.
Yet strangely, none of the mystviel soldiers felt any warmth from it. It was as if the waves were alive, picking their targets with a mind of their own.
And those targets were none other than Dreadhaven's soldiers.
It didn't bring back the dead, but those on the very edge of death felt their wounds close in an instant. Torn limbs grew back, deep gashes sealed shut, and exhaustion was lifted clean off their minds.
It didn't stop there. They felt lighter than ever, stronger, as though a mountain of stat boosts had been poured into them all at once.
What had been an even fight flipped at once in Dreadhaven's favor. It was like fighting a whole fresh army.
Among them were Li Feng and Baron too. With Vesna's skill flowing through him, the internal wounds inside Li Feng's body healed.
His lost portion of power still hadn't returned, but he felt far better than before. The same went for Baron.
Li Feng stood, wiped the blood from his lips, and pointed his sword at Thomas.
"You. Human. This is it — you die today."
*******
Meanwhile, in Adam's domain, Lunatic just sat there, making no attempt to force her way free.
"Hmm... it seems my skills are blocked, and magic isn't allowed either," she thought to herself.
"Ahem, ahem... Whatever you're thinking, nothing is going to work until you prove yourself innocent or get charged guilty," Adam said casually.
"Whatever. Just do it already," Lunatic sighed in boredom.
"Very well. The will of the Goddess of Judgment is here," he said, looking at the silent statue in the judge's place.
The statue vibrated slightly and began to speak.
"Murder. Mass murder. Torture. Heist. Cursing. Kidnapping. Enslavement. Mass enslavement. Degradation..." The list went on as the statue of the Goddess of Judgment droned through it.
"Uh oh... Can't really defend myself here," Lunatic whispered to herself, rolling her eyes.
Then the statue added, "Sexual harassment."
Lunatic knew exactly what the statue meant by that.
"Hey, that was not sexual harassment, it's called flirting — you can ask Scarlett!" Lunatic shouted at once, embarrassed.
But the statue said nothing, only falling silent.
"Now, do you have anything to say in your defense?" Adam asked.
"Umm... Can you tell her it's not sexual harassment?," Lunatic added, not taking any of it seriously.
Adam didn't reply, just kept the same calm smile.
Then a harrowing feeling of dread spread through the court. The blindfold on the statue's eyes dropped, revealing bloodshot eyes, with tears of blood running down.
"Guilty... Guilty," the statue cried in a creepy tone.
At once, the whole court started to tremble and tear apart.
Within seconds, the court broke down entirely, revealing the same battlefield once more.
"Huh? What a bump. You better be able to land a hit on me, or don't expect an easy death from me," Lunatic chuckled.
But as the courtroom dissolved into the air, Adam stood a few meters away from her, holding what looked like a golden dagger made of pure light.
Unlike before, every trace of calm and the light smile had vanished. What was left was pure, firm seriousness.
"Of course. One hit is all I need."