Chapter 87:A Battle of Two (Part 2)

  All the followers of "The God of Nature" stood there dumbfounded, staring at the wooden giants walking out from "The God of Nature," at the old man floating in mid-air, at the guardian statues that had just started to move stiffly, at everything that had just happened.

  The fixed beliefs in the believers' minds were completely unable to provide a reasonable explanation for what had just happened. Magic? A miracle of "The God of Nature"? Was the miracle the wooden giants, or the guardian statues? Their minds were thoroughly confused. They didn't understand what was happening, nor did they know what they should do. They just stood there blankly.

  "Everyone, run! Run away!" Only one person was shouting hoarsely, but on this vast, crowded meadow, it was completely insufficient to awaken the tens of thousands of dazed people.

  "All troops, retreat! Quickly, retreat back to Aery!" Ethan loudly ordered the remaining soldiers. Few remained. The soldiers took advantage of the believers' daze and scrambled towards the meadow's edge.

  Ethan turned, facing a gargoyle and raising his hand. Under the circumstances, he had to destroy one if he could.

  But suddenly, his body felt as if whipped by a massive lash. All his muscles and nerves simultaneously went numb and painful, blending into one. His mind went black, and he collapsed to the ground. He heard the crackling sound above his head, vaguely smelling the foul odor of his own burning. The last vague thought that surfaced in his mind was: "I was too careless."

  Although Ethan had been keeping an eye on the Necromancer in the sky, he hadn't expected the attack to be so swift. He forgot that even the highest-level air magic like Flight could be cast as effortlessly as breathing. Something like a lightning bolt, a mid-level magic, would naturally be even easier.

  The Necromancer floating in the air watched this troublesome nuisance collapse under his electric shock, finally smiling. His originally plain, aged face looked eerie and terrifying because of this smile. He paid no heed to the astonished gazes below, looking towards the gargoyles that were now moving.

  The gargoyles' movements were still slow, but no longer as strenuous as before. Even those with cracks in their bodies moved towards the nearest believers. They knelt, stretched out their hands, and like children picking up their favorite toys, lifted the believers. The believers hadn't yet grasped what was happening and allowed the guardian statues to lift them up. The gargoyle opened its mouth, large enough to be a bathtub, shoved the believers in, bit down. Amid the gargoyle's sharp teeth biting down, the screams only just began before being cut off by the sounds of crunching limbs, disappearing down its throat.

  The believers finally seemed to realize it. Tens of thousands screamed simultaneously, scattering in all directions.

  And it wasn't just the thousands on this meadow. All around the Whispering Woods, in other locations, the same scene was unfolding. The combined screams of tens of thousands of people pierced the sky over Aery.

  The believers' blood and flesh sliding down into the gargoyle's body was like pouring the finest honey into a starving man. Nourished by this excellent supplement, the gargoyles' movements immediately became much more agile. They casually grabbed believers scattered on the ground and stuffed them into their mouths, biting, swallowing. The more they ate, the more spirited they became, like giant, bloodthirsty lynxes leaping nimbly, frantically devouring these automatically delivered meals.

  Tens of thousands of believers screamed in terror, fleeing desperately. Many stumbled and were trampled by those behind them. Others continued to run over the bodies of their fallen comrades. Those who were trampled screamed, flailing their arms, grabbing at the legs on top of them, causing more to fall. Those behind continued to run over the increasingly high pile of their comrades' bodies, seeking only to escape this terrifying place as quickly as possible. On the not-so-large meadow, the frantically escaping people churned like a pile of maggots.

  Each gargoyle, after devouring about a dozen people, began to ooze blood from its body as it moved, seemingly its body could no longer hold the food, the flesh and blood already overflowing to its throat. By now, they all appeared full of spirit, their supposedly stone bodies moving with an agility and softness that defied their nature.

  The Necromancer floating in the air landed. He seemed unsatisfied, raising both hands towards the gargoyles and chanting that off-key-sounding incantation again.

  The gargoyles froze in place, trembling all over. Then they opened their mouths. Huge gouts of foul-smelling black sludge sprayed out – it was the limbs and flesh of the people they had just eaten, filtered once through their bodies and now resembling sludge from a sewer.

  The Necromancer waved his hands again. The gargoyles, now emptied, all shot into the sky, their wings spreading out. They looked like giant, hungry bats. They swooped down towards the fleeing believers. This time, instead of shoving believers into their mouths, they lifted them high above their heads, gripping them in their massive claws, squeezing and twisting, like juicing fruit, letting the blood flow into their mouths. They ignored those comrades trampled half to death, instead chasing the fastest, most energetic ones. Tens of thousands of believers were like a vast, sumptuous feast, allowing them to freely pick and choose the most delicious and nutritious morsels.

  The meadow was soon filled with believers who had managed to escape. Only the half-dead, trampled comrades remained, soaking in a sea of broken limbs and internal organs, half-dead and moaning.

  From the other side of the Whispering Woods, gargoyles also took flight, joining those in the air. They gathered together, then circled high above the Whispering Woods, forming a ring. The circle of gargoyles continuously gained altitude, higher and higher, until from the ground they looked like little more than a hundred oddly shaped birds.

  The Necromancer who had flown up on another gargoyle looked at his companion and shook his head with a sigh: "Who would have thought the elves would actually send out The Withered Wood Wardens? We nearly had our plan ruined. But now that we're up here, it should be fine." He looked at the gargoyle beside his companion; many had cracks. "Your side seems to have taken more damage?"

  The old Necromancer snorted coldly: "A human kid was causing trouble. Seems to be the same kid the elves have been hunting for stealing the Leaf of the World Tree. Should be the kid Ronis the old man sent here to deal with the heretics. And the one eavesdropping last night was probably him too."

  "What? It was him?" This Necromancer looked surprised. "Did you fight him?"

  "Killed him." The old Necromancer's voice was icy and brief.

  The Necromancer paused, thought for a moment, and said nothing more.

  The old Necromancer looked down at the Whispering Woods below. The forest outside was outlined in scarlet. He nodded in satisfaction. "This altitude should be suitable. Let's begin now." He raised his hands and chanted the incantation. All the gargoyles' mouths opened simultaneously. The blood squeezed from thousands of bodies sprayed out from their mouths.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  The blood didn't fall. Instead, it all turned into a mist in the air. This blood mist seemed to solidify,congealing within the circle formed by the gargoyles, completely undisturbed even by the strong high-altitude winds. It lingered above the Whispering Woods, forming a bloody cap over it. The wind carried the smell of blood for a hundred miles around Aery.

  But that smell of blood was utterly insignificant compared to the meadow below. The foul odor emitted by the sludge the gargoyles spat out, the ground covered with squeezed, twisted corpses and internal organs, and the countless half-dead people moaning underfoot.

  A figure suddenly appeared in the shadows of an ancient tree, then walked out from the forest.

  She had long silver hair, a stunningly beautiful face, armor and clothes made of insect shells that, though crude, couldn't hide her perfect figure. Such a vision of pure, natural beauty appearing in this hellish meadow of blood and flesh seemed utterly incongruous. Unfortunately, the believers still alive on the ground were desperately using their last strength to scramble away, not daring to look back, completely failing to see her.

  She looked up at the sky, seeing the bloody haze and the circling gargoyles, then looked down at the scene outside the forest, showing immense astonishment. Suddenly, she spotted the charred Ethan on the ground. She quickly walked over.

  She crouched beside Ethan, chanting words no one could understand. A green light emanated from her hands, then she pressed them onto Ethan. The green light covered Ethan, and he took a long breath, reviving.

  "Just waking up, he saw Luya. Ethan was incredibly surprised. 'How is it you? How could you come out? What about The Withered Wood Wardens?'" Just as he was struck by the attack, he had converted all the magical force prepared for his fireball into a healing spell, barely saving his life, but the massive electric shock had still left him half-dead.

  "It's all your fault." Luya's exquisitely beautiful face was filled with sorrow and heartache. "I commanded The Withered Wood Wardens to leave the forest, seriously violating tribal law. I have been banished from the Whispering Woods by the elders. I just wanted to..." Tears had already flowed from her eyes. For an elf living in the Whispering Woods, being exiled from this homeland and sacred place was worse than death.

  Ethan looked up at the bloody red curtain in the sky, patted her shoulder to comfort her: "Don't be sad. Perhaps this isn't a bad thing. We should probably leave here quickly while we can."

  High above, the Necromancer controlling the gargoyles finished directing them to spit out the blood and said to his companion: "Next is up to you. That complex magic array – you only saw it once in a crystal ball. Can you really remember it all?"

  "Rest assured. With the help of so many devout believers, there will be absolutely no problem." His companion smiled faintly, sitting cross-legged on a gargoyle's head, facing the ball of blood mist. "Alright. Let us now begin our great achievement."

  The blood mist within the circle began to solidify in the air, gradually outlining a magic array within the circle formed by the gargoyles.

  "Is that what they plan to use against our forest?" On the ground, Luya looked at the bloody haze with disdain. "It's useless. No matter what magic array it is, its power absolutely cannot penetrate the Sunwell's divine barrier."

  "That's not it. That is..." Ethan looked on in astonishment. The magic array seemed familiar from somewhere. High above, as the magic array took shape, the space bounded by the gargoyle circle completely darkened.

  "Why is it darkening? Are they blocking the sunlight?" Luya frowned her slender brows, still disdainful. "Useless."

  "No, they're not blocking it. They're about to..." Ethan finally remembered what it was.

  Under the shadow, a curtain of silver-white light tilted down towards the Whispering Woods like a funnel. The dazzling tip of the funnel landed precisely within the Whispering Woods. There was no sound of magical explosion or rupture, consistent with the forest's usual style – everything was silent. A pillar of fire shot calmly and swiftly towards the sky.

  "How can this be? Impossible. Absolutely impossible." Luya was stunned beyond words. "No magical force can penetrate the Sunwell's barrier to reach inside the forest."

  "That's not magic. The magical force only remains within that circle. They are using air magic to bend sunlight. What falls into the Whispering Woods is merely heat generated by focused light rays." Ethan shook his head slowly. "The Whispering Woods is finished."

  Although Ethan didn't understand why the Necromancers had learned Sedros's magic array to attack the Whispering Woods, this was indeed the only, and most brilliant, way to bypass the Sunwell barrier to attack. And this magic array was hundreds of meters high; no one using any method could destroy it now.

  The heat wave washed over them. Even from this distance on the meadow, one could feel the ferocity of the flames burning within the Whispering Woods. The focus of the light, controlled by the Necromancers, moved continuously. Ancient trees and The Withered Wood Wardens instantly lost their moisture in the intense light, then burned, then the adjacent trees were dried out by the light, waiting to be ignited or simply catching fire themselves. The sea of fire in the heart of the Whispering Woods expanded rapidly under the moving curtain of light. No matter how many The Withered Wood Wardens, elves, or unicorns there were, there was no way to stop such an attack. They could only wait helplessly on the ground for that dazzling death from the sky to descend upon them.

  Luya started to run towards the Whispering Woods, but was pulled back by Ethan. "What are you doing? Going in to wait to be roasted together?"

  A completely charred animal, wailing piteously, stumbled its way to the edge of the forest. Its exterior was completely blackened carbon; only the horn on its head revealed it had originally been a pure white, sacred unicorn. This animal, already roasted beyond recognition, collapsed at the forest's edge, struggled, let out a cry, and died completely.

  Luya abruptly wrenched her hand free from Ethan's grasp and ran towards the Whispering Woods. Her slender, agile figure was just a few leaps away before she vanished into the smoke-filled ancient trees.

  Ethan froze for a moment, instinctively about to give chase, but then stopped.

  Hesitating, he suddenly recalled his first meeting with Sophia in the Lizard Marsh.

  A strange impulse surged in his heart, tinged with a sorrow that felt utterly out of place at this moment. He looked up at the bloody magic array and the curtain of light below it, vast and white, seemingly carrying a hint of sacredness. He thought for a moment, sighed, and then lowered his head, charging into the Whispering Woods.

  The Whispering Woods was filled with smoke. Luya's figure was already out of sight. But Ethan knew she must be running towards the Sunwell, as that's where all the elves would surely be gathered now. The Sunwell's barrier was still in effect. Ethan could feel the magic power within his body resonating with the Sunwell. He ran in the direction of that resonance.

  Running through the sky-high flames, he felt as if he were melting. That dazzling light still moved left and right. Wherever it focused, the once vibrant, solemn forest was instantly turned into a fiery hell. Everything wasn't immediately set ablaze; it was shriveled and charred first. Even the rocks on the ground couldn't withstand it, cracking open with pops. A large area of scorched earth had been burned out in the center of the Whispering Woods. Charred unicorn carcasses were everywhere.

  Suddenly, that dazzling light stopped moving and focused on one spot. Ethan looked; that should be the direction of the Sunwell.

  Some pillars of fire, still moving, seemed to want to walk towards Ethan. These should be the last remaining The Withered Wood Wardens. Their charred bodies could no longer support their own weight; moving slightly caused them to collapse and fall apart. Ethan dodged the flying, burning debris and ran a few more steps, then saw the place filled with that brilliant light.

  What met his eyes was actually a massive ice shield. All the elves were gathered below it, jointly using magic to maintain this huge protective umbrella. Luya had already squeezed under it, releasing her magical power as well. Including Elder Kelan, the other elves were too preoccupied to care that she had violated the rules and returned.

  The elves weren't completely helpless. After many deaths, they finally understood what kind of attack this was. So all the elves had gathered around the Sunwell, jointly raising a huge, semi-circular shield made of ice above their heads. The focused light from the sky falling on the ice shield was mostly reflected or bent away by it. The remaining light, though still intense, could no longer kill them.

  But such a defense absolutely couldn't last long. The elves weren't very proficient in the various elemental magics. This defense was already their limit. The ice shield continuously melted in the surrounding high heat, sustained only by the constant magical replenishment from all the elves. Continuing like this, the dissipation of the ice shield was only a matter of time.

  Ethan looked up. The gargoyles still circled, forming a circle of shadow below them under the control of the Necromancer hundreds of meters high. The Sunwell was nearby. He could feel the magical power within his body was incredibly abundant. This was the only reason he dared to rush in. Here, his magical power was almost infinite.

  Ethan raised a hand towards the sky. A massive fireball shot out. The Sunwell's fluctuations instantly restored his magical power, and then a smaller, faster fireball closely followed the first one.

  Just as the first fireball reached the bottom of the circle of shadow, the second one caught up. The two fireballs collided mid-air with a massive explosion. The airflow from the blast scattered the condensed air within the magic array. The sky returned to its original state, and the curtain of light and shadow vanished simultaneously. The gargoyles that had formed a tight circle were also disrupted by the explosion.

  Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. Thanks to having personally witnessed Sedros cast this magic array before and understanding its principle, he had thought of this way to disrupt it. He turned towards the elves below and shouted: "You! Take the Leaves of the World Tree and flee while you can!"

  The elves had just lowered the ice shield to catch their breath, but Elder Kelan immediately shouted: "Seize that human!"

  "Wait a moment!" Luya quickly blocked Ethan's path. "He was actually the one who came yesterday to warn us about the dark servants' plot. He is our friend!"

  "We have never had human friends, nor do we need them. Besides, he is the criminal who stole our Leaves of the World Tree and the Sunwell's power." Elder Kelan looked coldly at Luya and this long-wanted human fugitive, his eyes burning with unusual anger. "And you, Luya. We have already banished you from the Whispering Woods. Yet you immediately associate yourself with this human. You are a traitor to our people."

  "You fools! Now is not the time for this! That magic array might..." Before Ethan could finish this sentence, his vision suddenly filled with blinding light. He closed his eyes instinctively, pulling Luya back with him as they rolled away together.

  The collective screams of the many elves were piercingly tragic, but they lasted only half a sound before falling completely silent.