41

The Witcher: The last King of the elves

Chapter 41 - Battle of the Swamp, Part 1

“The elves must die…”

“Exterminate the elves.”

The intent, words, and influence were being spread by all the monsters and intelligent beings of the forest around the elven empire.

At the top of the defensive outpost walls, Thranduil looked around and found Haldir standing on top of a watchtower, looking nervous and grim.

The squad of an elf named Hayden was a reserve unit and was under Haldir’s command, but because the city wall blocked the view, Thranduil could not see the specific situation at the front.

Not long after, hundreds of orcs rushed toward the third defensive post in a scattered formation.

There were about three squadrons of the demon army that charged in alongside the orcs. The types were relatively mixed. Among their ranks were not only heavy infantry—monsters with enormous limbs that Thranduil had seen before—but also low-level units such as weaker demons. It was suspected that the leader of the enemies was a demon general of the Demon King.

The flames of battle constantly floated in the air, seemingly trying to pounce on the city within the walls of the third fortress. The enemy monsters coordinated with the ground attacks to reinforce their positions.

“Wow, the demons are actually focusing their main assault on the third fortress! For the first time in all these months of fighting, they have reinforced their special units.”

A hunter was shocked and immediately ordered the messenger to request reinforcements for the third fortress.

The squad leader who was called was also very decisive: he immediately trusted the hunter’s judgment and sent the reserve unit to the city’s first line of defense. He also blew the horn for reinforcements to the rear to reinforce the abandoned zones.

With his keen vision, Thranduil discovered that there were more than twenty great demons attacking the third fortress.

Four demon summoners were invoking dark creatures, a dozen demons skilled in melee combat weapons, and another dozen magical demons.

If this group of demons was allowed to enter the third fortress, the squad stationed there would be exterminated and the defenses would soon fall.

But at that moment, before Thranduil could think too much, when he saw a demon enter his firing range, he raised his hand and formed an electric bow that flashed with powerful lightning and shot the first arrow.

This Indra’s Arrow was a powerful spell of Thranduil’s, exclusive for assassination, so using it alarmed all the soldiers in the fortress he led.

Boom!

The arrow that was shot drew everyone’s attention because it was an extremely destructive power, rarely seen in such a dazzling manner, which surprised them all.

While holding that electric bow, Thranduil’s body glowed with a bluish color, his hair fluttered in the wind, and an enormous amount of mana was concentrating in his body in a very subtle way.

“One less!” Thranduil murmured as he watched a large ravine form that had killed more than a dozen powerful demons—and he did not stop.

This spell called Indra’s Arrow was one of the most powerful ranged attack spells that Thranduil had learned. He knew that the damage would increase if he used more mana, but that was unnecessary since it would reveal too much of his power.

As a primitive weapon, the bow and arrow was one of the most efficient ways to kill someone from a distance, and doing so through a magical spell was something astonishing that had never been seen before.

This Indra’s Arrow was aimed at the largest demon; the arrow pierced through the air, emitting electric lightning that pierced numerous bodies, producing a screeching sound, and the impact generated far more expansive damage than expected.

The demon that had just been shattered by the lightning caused a chain reaction, killing hundreds more and wounding others nearby.

“What a powerful attack…” A young elven soldier felt his legs tremble at the sight of the brutal attack that Thranduil had unleashed.

“Send all the mages to the third fortress, I’ll take care of protecting this place on my own.” Thranduil looked at Haldir, who was beside him, and he nodded.

The war was tense, and after receiving more news from the battlefield, Thranduil refocused on the battle now raging outside the first three fortresses.

Thranduil did not need a magic staff in most battles; a ring had been crafted that served that function, so he did not have to worry about the accuracy of his spells or the precision of his attacks. The Indra’s Arrow he had just fired passed through the walls of the third fortress, threatening the demons with great accuracy.

The veteran mages who had been in the army for many years had extraordinary precision skills with their spells, and, according to Thranduil’s estimate, many of them were very experienced in long battles.

There were some powerful mages now on this battlefield whose long-range magical spell abilities could rival Thranduil’s.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thranduil did not stop—when a demon entered his field of vision, he fired electric arrows that tore apart the demons, not only burning their bodies but also shattering their limbs.

“Aim with the long crossbows!”

Eight heavy arrows targeted a man with a goat’s head who seemed to have a powerful physique, and in an instant two arrows pierced the goat-bodied man’s lower limbs, four arrows struck his torso, and the other two missed.

This was the work of more than a dozen veteran warriors of the sixth squadron stationed at the third fortress. Although not very experienced, they had long been trained to fight demons.

Most of these elves were team captains, deputy captains, and served as base officers. Several of them joined forces to attack and cooperated very well, killing very powerful demons. On a chaotic battlefield, soldiers with small skills were just cannon fodder and had very little value in the battle.

There were powerful enemy spell attacks and arrows that were returned, which only increased the demons’ desire to attack.

The archers kept deploying their bows and placing arrows, firing rounds of arrows continuously.

Each volley would take down more than a dozen demon soldiers. After three rounds of volleys, the demons and undead were being slaughtered, but on the allied side many soldiers had died, and this in the long run was affecting battlefield performance.

After three rounds of arrow rain, the demon army was already fifty meters from the wall of the third fortress; the horned demons cast spells and others hurled giant stones toward the top of the walls.

The stones fell, immediately injuring and killing some soldiers, leaving a trail of chaos on the walls of the other fortresses.

Even Thranduil’s chest was struck by a stone; he felt severe pain and his body was covered in dust.

Thranduil endured the pain, opened his eyes wide, and stared at the battlefield. He saw a recruit whose legs were weak and looked as if he was about to drop his weapon. Thranduil kicked him hard, with a fierce look in his eyes, and shouted: “Shoot arrows and don’t let those demons distract you!”

Two more volleys of arrows were fired, killing more than thirty demons.

At that moment, the demons who had broken through reached the walls where Thranduil was leading.

A demon skillfully pushed aside his companions, shifted his body slightly, and jumped with all his might toward the wall. At the same time, he waved his hand and a blood attack shot toward the elves on the edge who did not stop firing arrows.

This demon, who had just unleashed such an external attack, was very powerful, and with his leap he had reached an astonishing height that came halfway up the wall. This gave him the chance to land his spell, buying time for the other demons to climb the wall.

The demon with two horns on his head drove large ice spikes into the wall, leaving a path for the other demons to climb, while Thranduil, who was at the front, generated a magic shield while ordering the vanguard’s shields to step forward.

Those who received those subsequent attacks, although their metal shields bent, still protected the archers who repelled the demons.

But some of the blood spikes struck some soldiers, burning their skin and making them suffer agonizingly.

“Wounded soldiers who can walk quickly help your comrades down. Soldiers, ask the clerics for antidote and treat the wounded quickly!”

At the same time, Thranduil began to unleash powerful electric attacks, but at that moment an enemy mage launched a dark lightning bolt toward the wall.

Boom!

The bolt pierced part of the wall and immediately killed five soldiers. Even Haldir was dragged by the bolt; his armor was damaged, and he fell to the ground unable to move.

Thranduil waved his hands and clouds began to gather over the sky; the next moment, murmuring some words, powerful lightning bolts struck below the wall.

Rooooaaarrrr!!!