Chapter 191: Umankan vs Daemonorc
Two days later.
Elton and his companions went out to the meet-up location with Obianuju to face off against one of the armies of the Daemonorc race. Shayleaf, on the other hand, was currently somewhere on her tree island with a mission of her own. Her three familiars naturally moved with her.
The mayor of this town, one of the eight great powerhouses serving under the current governor, respectfully and warily greeted Elton, Christy, and Tongsheng upon seeing their arrival with Obianuju and her siblings.
"Greetings Sir Elton, Ms. Christy, and Ms. Tongsheng. I'm glad that you could aid us on the battlefield against those damned Daemonorc bastards. I will be counting on you."
"It's a pleasure to be working alongside you, Mayor Dolland," Elton said with a smile as he nodded.
"Then let us all begin our march since our armies have now been accounted for and measures have been put into place. All soldiers, move out! Obianuju, by my orders and with the Governor's will, you will lead special squad Obidie as agreed upon," Mayor Dolland said with a commanding tone.
"As you command, Mayor Dolland." Obianuju bowed. Behind her, Obioma, Obinna, and various others also bowed. Among them were a few individuals that had somewhat of a resemblance to Obianuju and her siblings.
"Then as agreed upon, we three will work alongside them," Elton added with a somewhat serious expression.
Mayor Dolland had a mixed expression on his face, wanting to say something, but he just nodded his head and let it be.
The army swiftly moved in various formations. The sounds of battle could already be faintly heard much further off in different directions as battles involving other armies of the Umankans against other races from either the sea nations or the Daemonorcs took place.
Christy's Aka Boshi no Tengan glinted with a faint light as she preserved her energy, not using her Kokon Tengan. She quietly observed what was happening all around them as well as any fluctuations, occasionally informing Elton of her observations. Elton would calmly nod his head in understanding.
"Obianuju, I presume that the agreed-upon individuals are in your Obidie squad?" Elton suddenly said quietly, transferring his voice directly to her ears through a lightning method.
Obianuju nearly jumped in shock before glancing at him with a slight nod to avoid leaking her plans to outsiders. Of all the individuals around, the only person capable of catching most of what was going on was naturally Christy, given her Aka Boshi no Tengan. Even the people among the Umankans secretly monitoring Elton's group and Obianuju weren't able to pick up anything besides slight movements barely deemed odd.
Elton just smiled momentarily as his expression once again returned to seriousness.
"Gege, up ahead those orc-like creatures are already charging forward and are preparing to unleash a wave of powerful attacks," Christy said with furrowed brows.
"Oh, is that so. Tongsheng, make preparations for a potential target worthy of being troublesome on the battlefield. Christy, you are her eyes and… well, you know what to do," Elton commanded with a slight smile.
"Yes Gege."
"Yes Master Elton."
Both Christy and Tongsheng nodded with serious expressions as they silently made their preparations. Some of their movements quickly caught the eyes of certain people within the army.
"Obianuju, you are to move Obidie according to Christy's will, even if you may have to go against the Mayor's orders to some degree. He shouldn't mind too much with the end results," Elton said in a commanding tone, once again sending his voice only to her ears.
Obianuju felt a strange sensation in her mind, thinking about how Elton had naturally started giving her commands like he was her leader when that was not the case. Even though she was older than him, she felt a strange sense of comfort and a shred of loyalty that had originally started off as a simple alliance meant to secretly use him.
As the army of Umankans drew closer, a growing rumbling sound from the opposite direction could be heard along with a heavy mixture of ki and magic blatantly targeting them. The Umankans became serious as they sped up while also preparing their attacks in formation.
"All forces prepare to counterattack! Tch, those Daemonorc bastards are already going all out in their attack!" The Mayor gritted his teeth with a serious expression.
The warriors charged forward in formation, preparing to face the mighty attacks of the incoming Daemonorc army.
Christy gave a signal, moving in a certain direction with Tongsheng in tow. Obianuju, as if understanding what was about to happen, ordered the Obidie under her command to follow her lead as she moved after Christy.
"Obianuju, what is the meaning of this?!" one of the other commanding officers shouted towards her as her troops moved separately from their pre-established formations. This quickly drew attention from the rest of the army, including the Mayor, whose eye twitched upon seeing it.
It was at this moment that both sides drew close enough to see each other clearly. The Daemonorcs charged with powerful momentum, skills flaring. Mayor Dolland had no choice but to ignore Obianuju with a glare as he prepared to face the enemy.
"Tongsheng, there. Ninety degrees. Use an explosive Burning Blood Arrow," Christy instructed as her eyes transformed, Aka Boshi shifting into the Kokon Tengan.
"Leave it to me." Tongsheng's tone was calm. She drew an arrow, notched it, and packed it with compressed power at the level of a Golden Lord.
Tongsheng released the arrow. At the instant it left the string, Christy invoked a Kokon Tengan art to hide it within the void, veiling both its light and killing intent. To everyone else the shot simply vanished. Only Christy could trace and subtly guide its path through that fold in space.
A Golden Lord Daemonorc commander suddenly felt a crushing sense of doom but could not locate the threat until, in the next heartbeat, the arrow surfaced from the void right before his face.
There was no time to defend.
A large, crimson flaming explosion erupted among the Daemonorcs as pained roars shook the battlefield. Many of their troops were caught off guard, their formation thrown into disarray, others scrambling to avoid injury. Obianuju had already given the order for the Obidie troops under her command to charge forward with a swift and merciless barrage of attacks.
In moments a swift and deadly massacre erupted in that area. Within Obidie, Obioma, Obinna, and three others who were all Gold tier 2s and 3s—the strongest of the squad—wore serious expressions as they led their warriors with fierce killing strikes.
As Elton said they would, other commanding officers nearby jumped in surprise and quickly joined in on the massacre.
Mayor Dolland could not help but be somewhat taken aback as he sneered while facing the Daemonorcs in other areas, who lost momentum upon seeing what was happening. Roars of rage erupted as clashes commenced. Naturally, like Elton suspected, three Golden Lords on the Daemonorc side targeted him instantly, but he was already prepared.
Elton shot through the armies of Daemonorcs with Blue Star Heavenly Destroyer in hand, unleashing an attack to clear the area and to avoid implicating his comrades.
—5th Bright Brilliance Sword: Radiant Fang Spiral—
A rotation of sharp sword winds erupted, biting through the surrounding enemies and knocking them a distance away. Some died, some were severely injured, and others managed to barely defend.
The three Golden Lord Daemonorcs came crashing down toward Elton at that moment. Without words or hesitation, they instantly went all out. Elton looked at them seriously as he obliged their attack.
It must be noted that while the Umankans and the Daemonorcs had always been at odds for centuries, the Daemonorc Nation was still the stronger force overall. They had more powerful experts, though not enough to completely overwhelm the Umankans without suffering catastrophic losses, especially when surrounded by hostile sea nations. And like every other nation, they suffered internal struggles.
Those struggles had only grown more glaring since Elton's group had arrived on the island. In just over a week, several of their experts had either died or mysteriously disappeared.
This in turn forced the Daemonorc leadership to anxiously stir up war in alliance with the rattled Serpent Shark Kingdom. In the past two days, they had been shaken further when two platoons of soldiers vanished overnight.
Now the Daemonorcs fought desperately on every battlefield, whether island or sea, far more aggressively than even their allies in the Serpent Shark Nation. And here, on this front where Elton fought, their strategy was collapsing even faster than they imagined.