Chapter 404: Shocked Humans
"Wah wah!"
Goblins and ogres in armor jumped onto the walls, shouting excitedly.
They formed groups and launched an assault on the inner wall behind the high wall.
"So that's it!"
Annie, watching from the distant mountaintop, finally understood the next phase of the battle plan.
"Goblins?! How could it be goblins?!"
"How did they get up there?!"
The human army, having just retreated to the inner city, saw a horrifying scene.
Massive numbers of goblins suddenly appeared on the high wall,
Charging down the spiral staircases toward the inner fortress.
"Those airships belong to goblins? Are you kidding me?!"
How could goblins possess such precious things as airships?
And in such numbers, dozens of ships.
"Look at the walls! What are they doing?!"
On the high walls, goblins were assembling ballistae.
Other goblins transported bolts between the airships and the walls.
Although the high wall had a height advantage,
The distance to the inner wall was beyond standard crossbow range.
Only ballistae could reach the human army on the inner wall.
"Here they come! Prepare to attack!"
Dense groups of goblins and ogres swarmed down the staircases into the open ground.
All wore black armor.
Their armor coverage was extremely high, nearly 95%.
The three-to-four-meter-tall ogres looked like giant iron men.
"Archers ready!"
The inner wall could only hold about ten thousand soldiers.
Large numbers of archers formed ranks behind the wall.
They nocked their arrows, aiming at the incoming goblin army.
War mages began chanting.
Closer and closer...
The goblin army stretched for kilometers,
Crashing toward the inner wall like a tidal wave.
"Open fire! Stop them!"
Mors roared from the inner wall.
"Whoosh!"
Following his order, a storm of arrows was unleashed.
The arrows rained down on the goblin army.
Behind them, more archers fired in waves.
Like a torrential rain, the arrows descended into the goblins.
"Clang!"
Sparks flew as arrows struck the goblins' armor and bounced off.
Only a few goblins fell, shrieking.
The ogres, with their thicker armor, barely felt a scratch.
"Fireball!"
"Ice Arrow!"
"Arrow Rain!"
"Wind Blade!"
"Exploding Fireball!"
Spells flashed brightly as magic followed.
Compared to arrows, magic was far more effective.
Ice arrows, even if they didn't penetrate, knocked goblins back.
Arrow Rain and Wind Blade ripped through armor.
Fireball blasts caused concussive damage.
Exploding Fireball truly threatened the goblin army.
With thunderous blasts, mushroom clouds of flame rose.
Shockwaves and flames consumed goblins,
Blasting others into the air.
In many areas, goblins were thrown into chaos.
Even heavily armored ogres melted under Exploding Fireballs.
"Boom!"
Here and there, pillars of fire erupted from the ground,
Turning surrounding goblins to ash,
Even melting their armor into pools of iron.
It was the high-level magic, "Flame Pillar!"
Walls of fire also rose from the ground.
Mid and high-tier magic inflicted heavy losses on the goblins.
But there were too few mages.
Against a front stretching kilometers,
Thousands of casualties meant little.
"Haha, shoot them all down!"
On the high wall, the ballistae were ready.
Massed ballistae lined up,
Aimed at the inner wall.
"Whoosh whoosh!"
A hail of bolts from cluster ballistae rained down.
"Ahhh!"
Instantly, blood mist filled the air.
Soldiers on the wall fell like wheat.
Screams and wails echoed.
Bodies were pierced full of short bolts.
Blood ran like rivers across the wall.
Corpses quickly turned to ash,
Leaving only broken armor behind.
No one knew why bodies vanished,
But many suspected it had to do with the blood moon in the sky.
"Haha, keep shooting!"
The goblins cheered wildly.
With the high ground advantage,
The humans on the inner wall were sitting ducks.
"How do goblins have so many siege ballistae?!"
Mors turned pale,
His face grim as he looked at the barely visible siege engines.
Not only did the ballistae exist,
But they also fired clusters of small bolts,
Creating a dense rain with each shot.
The screams tortured Mors' mind.
Even a Saint-level warrior would feel powerless on such a battlefield.
"Lord Mors, look! Goblin airships!"
A guard pointed to the west.
Mors turned and his face changed.
Across the mountains to the north,
More airships appeared in the sky.
Mors realized bombardment was imminent.
"Lord Mors, the... the Temple Priests have fled!"
A soldier rushed up, half-kneeling.
"What?!"
Mors was shocked.
He turned to look inside the city.
Above the northern city, three platinum airships were flying away.
They belonged to the Temple.
Mors now realized the war priests had vanished from the walls.
"Retreat! Evacuate Garrison Fort!"
Mors clenched his fists, his body trembling as he gave the order.
The family fortress that had stood for centuries would fall in his hands.
Though unwilling,
Reason prevailed over anger.
Mors knew defeat was now inevitable.
Staying would mean total annihilation.
He turned and left without looking back,
Guarded by his personal guard.
Before long,
Urgent horns blared across the inner wall.