Chapter 140: Chapter 139: The Situation is Excellent, Thanks to the Magic Equipment

"Final volley of Stone Bombs! Fire!"

At the Magic Stone-Throwing Cannons, Elf Corps Commander Feiyana gave the final order. Thirty Magic Stone-Throwing Cannons were simultaneously loaded with Stone Bombs. They took special aim at the arrow towers and small pillboxes on the city wall and fired!

These Stone Bombs were extremely numerous and easy to gather. Thus, they became the fuel for the Magic Stone-Throwing Cannons’ final frenzy!

Several hundred stones, each with a radius of seventy to eighty centimeters, were hurled by the Magic Stone-Throwing Cannons. With the added force of gravity, the power of these stones was comparable to the Stone Fall Technique cast by a Middle-Level Mage! This was equivalent to thirty Middle-Level Elf Mages continuously casting the Stone Fall Technique.

The Guard Army of this Neutral Elf City naturally had more than thirty Elf Mages. However, a portion of them had already been diverted by the fires. Another portion had accidentally inhaled the specially-made smoke. Although they later used Magic to seal their mouths and noses in time, the "surviving" Elf Mages had become mentally and physically exhausted within a mere five minutes!

Faced once more with the endless barrage of projectiles, they had the will but not the strength to resist. The only silver lining was that these Elf Mages once again cast tangible defensive Magic, finally managing to block the incoming stones! However, the impact from many of the stones was too great. When they smashed into the Magic Shields, both the stone and the Magic Shield shattered! This created brief gaps in the defenses, and the stones that followed smashed directly into the city wall!

Arrow towers collapsed and pillboxes were destroyed. Having returned to the main Elf Corps, Elf Corps Commander Feiyana gazed at the scene before her and drew the sword from her waist.

As the first rays of the morning sun pierced through the smoke behind the Neutral Elf City and shone upon the ground, Elf Corps Commander Feiyana’s sword had already traced a crescent arc through the air.

"Elf Archers, divide into three teams! Fire in rotation to cover the Elf Corps!"

"Elf Corps, full assault!"

"Elf Mage Corps, provide Magic support from the rear!"

As the orders were given, the Elf Corps began to operate as meticulously as a perfectly fitted machine. While three Elf Corps secured three sides of the Elf City, the two Elf Corps from the Elf Alliance on the side commanded by Elf Corps Commander Feiyana began to advance.

When the Elf Corps reached a distance of four hundred meters from the Neutral Elf City Wall, the three teams of Elf Archers behind them began to fire arcing volleys over the city in turns, at fifteen-second intervals. The entire Elf Corps took about twenty-five seconds to advance.

Even though the Magic Stone-Throwing Cannons had not stopped their barrage of Stone Bombs, the defending Elf Mages were managing to block the attacks. The Guard Army on the Neutral Elf City Wall also used this time to recover. Although stones were still raining down from above, with some breaking through the Magic Shields and occasionally crashing down, it was still better than the previous two waves of projectiles.

Under the direction of Rethof of the Elf Defense Army, the Elf Archers on the walls began to fire back. The Elf Warriors at the front of the Elf Corps raised shields forged with Red Water Copper Python Scales.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The shields locked together seamlessly, blocking the first volley from the Elf Archers atop the Neutral Elf City Wall.

The volleys were relentless, but the Mage Corps of the attacking Elf Corps had also prepared their Magic!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Magic prepared by the Elf Mage Corps was not aimed directly at the city wall. Low-power Magic would have no effect on the wall, while high-power Magic would surely be blocked by the Elf Mages of the city’s Guard Army. Therefore, the Elf Mages in the rear corps made a cunning opening move, striking directly at a weak point. Their Magic was not aimed at the wall. Instead, they targeted the tangible defensive Magic high above—the very spells the Guard Army’s Elf Mages had created to block the Stone Bombs.

The total number of Elf Mages in the Neutral Elf City’s Elf Guard Army was three hundred. This ratio, with Elf Mages making up one-tenth of the total Elf Guard Army, was an excellent figure. But not all of these three hundred Elf Mages were at the Middle Level. Not all Elf Mages, after all, had access to the superior conditions found in the Zhang Yi Divine Realm. Intelligence, resources, Talent... all were factors that limited a Mage’s advancement. Thus, among these three hundred Elf Mages, Middle-Level Mages accounted for only a small fraction.

To block the Stone Bombs launched simultaneously by thirty enemy Magic Stone-Throwing Cannons, at least forty Middle-Level Elf Mages were needed to cast defensive Magic at the same time. The Elf Warriors of the Elf Alliance only needed to load the Stone Bombs into the Magic Stone-Throwing Cannons and activate them. But the situation for the defending Guard Army’s Elf Mages was completely different. They had to divert some of their Mages to counter the Elf Mages accompanying the two attacking corps; another portion had to fight the fires; and yet another portion had inhaled the special smoke and still had not recovered... 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

And now, the enemy Elf Mages had made their move. The remaining Low-Level Elf Mages tried to stop them. But how could they possibly stop the Magic of Sixth-Level Mages at the peak of the Middle Level, and Seventh-Level Mages who had already crossed the threshold into High Level?

It was a futile effort!

From First Level to Ninth Level, every three levels marked a major stage, and each level a minor one. An Elf Mage who crossed a major stage gained a vast increase in power and abilities.

We can’t stop them! We can’t stop them at all!

The Low-Level Elf Mages of the Elf Guard Army cried out in misery in their hearts. But they had no choice but to try.

...

「Just like that, the morning passed.」

At noon, the Elf Corps sounded the retreat, preparing to return to camp for lunch. Seeing the opposing Elf Corps withdraw, Elf Guard Army Commander Rethof, atop the Neutral Elf City’s walls, finally heaved a heavy sigh of relief. After confirming the enemy’s temporary withdrawal and the subsequent release of pressure, the Elf Soldiers of the Guard Army on the wall collapsed one by one, slumping against the city wall.

That morning, it was only because all the Elf Elders of this Neutral Elf City had acted in unison that the city was saved. They used their power as High-Level Elf Mages to turn the tide, casting Shaping Spells to repair the sections of the wall that had been smashed by the Stone Bombs from the Magic Stone-Throwing Cannons. They also blocked the enemy’s Magic Attacks. Had they not, the Elf Corps’ Vanguard Army would have likely already stormed the walls through the breaches!

But Elf Corps Commander Feiyana had her reasons for ordering the retreat at noon. First, the morning’s battle was primarily a test. Under the command of the great God of Nature, she needed to see how powerful the newly crafted Magic Equipment was in actual combat.

Having confirmed that the Magic Equipment performed exceptionally well and seeing that her own soldiers were tired, she decided it was better to pull back, rest at noon, and attack again in the afternoon. The opposing Elf Mages and Elf Elders had all played their trump cards to save the crumbling city that morning. But after using those trump cards, they would not have the same strength in the afternoon! It would take them several days at least to recover to the peak strength they had possessed in the morning.

Meanwhile, in the Elf Alliance’s Elf Corps, the Elf Mages under Mage Corps Commander Joy Pala had not yet been deployed on a large scale. Elf Corps Commander Feiyana decided to dispatch the Elf Mage Corps that very afternoon to use Combined Spellcasting.

She would take this Neutral Elf City in one fell swoop, without any further delay