Warhammer Divine Throne-Chapter 800 - 354: Woodland Engagement (2)
Leaping over a fellow's shoulder, this Hos Sword Saint jumped into the Beastmen, his graceful form spinning in its original position. The giant sword in his hand tore apart the fragile hide of the Beastmen and drank deeply of their foul blood. In the blink of an eye, a strong Great Horned Beast was decapitated.
That wasn't all. Row after row of Hos Sword Saints leaped high from behind the shield wall, joining the battlefield with their pride. Each elegant blade matched its owner's height in length, achieving perfect balance between these great swords and their masters. Their fighting posture was as light as a feather, yet their power was as mighty as a tsunami.
With a swing of their blades, the Beastmen were shredded into pieces like tattered cloth. No Beastman could withstand the might of the Hos Sword Saints.
The Beastmen had never encountered such a formidable enemy. Under the fierce assault of the Hos Sword Saints, the Beastmen were immediately bested. Their morale dropped, and many Horned Beasts and Inferior Horned Beasts began to waver.
"Fight! Asur! For Lilith!" Tygris chanted a fourth spell. Clear music played in the minds of the Elf Alliance Army. Their movements became swifter, and every High Elf could easily evade the Beastmen's attacks. Their weapons were imbued with the power of Heaven's Wind.
"Advance!" cried Zoltan, the Hos Demon Sword Master.
"Yes! Asur, advance!" The Long Spear Soldiers picked up the shields planted in the ground, forming a tight spear formation. The deviation between each spear was no more than a centimeter, and on their charge, no Long Spear Soldier's steps differed from their fellows. Their orderly charge quickly and powerfully supported the Hos Sword Saints' fierce slaughter of the Beastmen. The sharp spear tips pierced through the Beastmen's final resistance. Seeing the heavy losses, the Beastman Beast King roared angrily and led the Beastman Warband, now with losses over half, to flee in panic.
Tygris instinctively wanted to cast the Fireball Technique to kill the Beast King, but the Supreme Grandmaster remembered Lifer's advice and instead released a spell with less destructive power: "Amentok's Net!"
The Beastman Beast King was quickly ensnared by the net of light. Alaros, who had finally defeated the Centaur Beast Group, charged forward, using his shimmering fine steel spear to pierce through the Beast King's skull, killing him on the spot.
The skirmish ended, and the war concluded with a complete victory for the Elf Army, with only a few Elf Long Spear Soldiers fallen and over twenty injured.
"You were a bit slow, Alaros," Tygris said, dismissing the pursuit of the Beastmen. He had not brought cavalry on his visit to the Old World this time. The pace of the elves could not match the Beastmen, and Alaros's Woodland Cavalry numbered only a few dozen, too few in number. With a moment's thought, Tygris abandoned the chase and spoke to Alaros, who was riding back to the army camp on an Elf Warhorse.
Alaros's face turned red. Tygris was the First Divine Chosen of the Goddess Lilith. Who knew if Lilith was watching the battle?
"There were more Centaurs than anticipated. I spent a bit more effort." Alaros instinctively defended himself, riding up to Tygris and throwing the Beastman Beast King's head on the ground. "In any case, the beast is dead. Beastmen's activities in Anmir are increasing, while the forest is declining."
"... Lead the way, then. We should hurry to the King's Forest," Tygris said without elaborating. He seemed unwilling to delve into the topic further and only signaled everyone to speed up. "We must hurry. Otherwise, we may not see His Majesty Olein and Queen Airel."
Female Prophet Lifer nodded. It was already late autumn, and winter was near. Each winter, Olein and Airel would walk into the fire and turn to ash.
Alaros was still focused on whether Lilith was watching the battle, contemplating if his performance was sufficient to catch the goddess's attention. The Divine Chosen Champion of Queen Airel soon became dejected, feeling his performance was not good enough. If only he could have finished the encirclement and killed the Beast King before the Hos Sword Saints intervened!
Next time, next time I must seize the opportunity and make Lilith take notice!
So thought the Wood Elf hero.
The army continued toward the deep forests of Aisloron.
"Lord Tygris, I wonder how His Majesty Phoenix King Finuba has been recently? When he visited the Aisloron Forest hundreds of years ago, it remains fresh in my memory," said Female Prophet Lifer in an attempt to break the awkward silence. The High Elves were now swaggering and arrogant, with raised noses as they spoke louder due to their turnaround in the war. The Wood Elves were resentful, grumbling as they walked, and Lifer could only attempt to steer the conversation.
"His Majesty Finuba?" Tygris's voice carried an incomprehensible undertone. "Actually... there isn't much to say."
......
"Finuba, ah, he is a very peculiar person. Very intriguing, yet also very boring," said the Lake Fairy to Laine in the broad master bedroom with a cherry wood four-poster bed in the Lake Fairy Tower at the Count of Glamorgan's territory.
The bedroom was very quiet, with only the crackling sound of firewood burning in the fireplace. The goose-yellow light of the standing magic lamp emanated a faint glow.
The beautiful goddess wore a long deep blue silk dress with a snow wood grain and pleated pearl-like sheen. She had adorned herself with a full set of platinum jewelry, including a necklace, ring, earrings, bracelet, and anklet, fully satisfied. The Lake Fairy lazily leaned against Laine's shoulder, playing with Surya's hair, asking curiously, "Why are you interested in Finuba?"
Surya slept peacefully in Laine's arms. Her face was flushed, her hair disheveled, her breathing calm. Laine affectionately embraced his wife, gently caressing her smooth back to make her sleep more comfortable, while displeasedly removing the Lake Fairy's hand playing with the knight's golden curls. "Lilith, lower your voice, don't wake Surya, or I'll make you leave!"
"Really~ My Champion, you're so biased," the Lake Fairy glanced sidelong at her Divine Chosen Champion, releasing Surya's long locks.
Initially, Laine was quite against the Lake Fairy disturbing his time resting with Surya, but Surya allowed it. Hence, Laine could not object. During the day, the Lake Fairy had brought several high-elf swordsmanship books for Surya to study. The female knight, eager for a chance to delve into advanced swordsmanship, practiced for most of the day. After a moment of intimacy with Laine at night, she fell into a deep slumber. The Lake Fairy took advantage to slip in and said she wanted to chat with Laine, unabashedly lying on the bed next to him. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
"Interesting, yet boring? Is Finuba schizophrenic?" Laine asked, intrigued.
"Finuba's life can be divided into two phases. The first phase is from his birth to becoming Phoenix King. This journey can be described as extremely interesting. Finuba was born in the capital of the High Elves, Lothern. In his early years, as the envoy and navigator of the preceding Phoenix King Beau Heiser, he explored almost the entire world, especially the Old World," the Lake Fairy explained. "During this period, Finuba's experiences were the most fascinating. His interactions with all the Order factions of the Old World can be compiled into several elven epics. His diplomatic endeavors made the High Elves reevaluate the Old World, otherwise even five hundred years after the founding of Brittania, the High Elves wouldn't have known there was a second human realm besides the Empire."
"Indeed, quite interesting," Laine showed interest in the history of the high elves. "That's certainly intriguing."
"After Finuba's series of diplomatic achievements, the High Elves reestablished diplomatic relations with all Order factions of the Old World. Due to his enormous diplomatic success and high prestige, Beau Heiser appointed him as the next Phoenix King. After Beau Heiser's rule of about 550 years ended, Finuba was crowned Phoenix King, gaining the title 'Sailing King.'"
"But Finuba's interesting stories end there. This famous seafarer, upon becoming Phoenix King, almost never left the Phoenix Royal Court. He handed over military and political power to Terion and Tygris, the power of worship to Eternal Queen Ailarielle, and defense to Captain of the White Lion Kosher. Aside from hearing grievances from the Asur nobles, he rarely showed himself," the Lake Fairy snuggled against Laine's arm and asked with a smile, "My Champion, can you guess why that is?"
"Perhaps Finuba and Eternal Queen Ailarielle have a poor relationship? Everyone knows Ailarielle's true companion is Warlord Prince Terion?" Laine ventured.
"Incorrect... or perhaps not entirely correct. This does affect Finuba, but it's not the main reason," replied the Lake Fairy.
"Then what is the reason?"
"Because..."
