Saul's chants echoed throughout the night. Magic surges rippled around him.
Scarlet had left twenty thousand foot soldiers, and three thousand cavalry, before heading into the Transverse Mountains. The location was geographically important, as she had to plan for every outcome. Unfortunately, she did not take the appearance of Maho Empire's royal mages into account. A bloodbath was bound to happen this night.
Saul's chanting stopped. A ball of fog appeared in front of him, floating toward the army camp not far ahead. Saul had used a forbidden spell called the dimensional storm, which was one of the most powerful spellsThe fog floated toward the hill and was stopped when it reached them. The League's mages watched with a mixture of excitement and reverence.
The fog moved on from the hill. To the fear and shock of the onlookers, the top of the hill had disappeared, as if gnawed away by a monster. The fog kept floating down toward the camp. Everything the fog touched disappeared. There was no blood and no screaming, only a huge, empty void.
Anfey nodded to Christian, who quickly released a magic signal. The League's mercenaries quickly split into three groups, led by Anfey, Suzanna, and Anthony, then headed toward the camp.
The royal mages rose into the air, followed by the League's mages. The sight of so many mages in the air was very impressive. If Baery was here, he would have wondered why Scarlet had left soldiers outside the Transverse Mountains. However, neither Anfey nor Saul were as proficient as Baery when it came to military strategies. This showed how confident Saul and Anfey were.
The dimensional storm had cleared a path for the mercenaries. However, because of the slow speed of the fog, the soldiers in the camp were able to get out of its way before it could reach them.
The commanders in the camp did not panic at the sight of the fog, and hence, were able to organize a defense force with clarity and efficiency. The foot soldiers in front lined up in tight ranks. Behind the soldiers were archers and knights. Behind them were the mages.
Anfey was the first to reach the camp. As soon as he set foot in the camp, the Shansa soldiers began their counterattack. Arrows rained down on Anfey, ands well as on the mercenaries behind him. Some of the archers were aiming at the mages as well.
Anfey expanded his mind to cover the entire battlefield. Many arrows flew true, striking the mages in the air and causing them to fall to the ground. The griffin knights rose into the air as well. There were many more mages, but the griffin knights were still able to attack the mages with efficiency with their crossbows.
To Anfey's right, Anthony was dashing toward the Shansa soldiers. To Anfey's surprise, Anthony stopped after the first round of arrows. An arrow pierced his combat power, planting itself in his shoulder, while another pierced his ankle. Normally, this would never happen. The mercenaries behind him were clearly shocked by this as well. They watched Anthony's stumbling figure with wide eyes.
Saul and Jacob were shocked as well. However, it did not take long for them to figure out what had happened.
"Golman!"
"Deicide arrow!"
Jacob was one of the best alchemists in the world, but he knew that there was one person who was much more powerful than he was. Golman had been studying alchemy for centuries. Jacob knew how talented Golman was, and even if Jacob was naturally more talented, his ability would still always lag behind that of Golman.
Deicide arrows were powerful, anti-magic arrows. These arrows were even more powerful than the ones Jacob had crafted. Because of how powerful these deicide arrows were, when the supreme powers disappeared, the way to craft deicide arrows also disappeared. Jacob would have never expected Golman to find the way to make them.
Saul and Jacob were not military strategists, but they knew what Golman's presence meant. The arrows had caused the death of several dozen mages in the blink of an eye. This meant that the Shansa army had a considerable amount of these arrows, and that Golman had been planning this for a long time. Golman had always been detached from mortal conflicts, but now he had given these deicide arrows to Scarlet's army. What was he planning? Would he join the fight himself? Saul and Jacob watched the battle anxiously, questions swirling in their minds.
Anfey could not think as much as Saul and Jacob could. He needed to help the wounded. The arrows had already gotten to Anthony. If he didn't do anything, Suzanna and Christian might be the next targets. Anfey searched through the battlefield and found two dozen archers who appeared to be different. Unlike the other archers, who were blindly releasing arrows, these archers were searching for targets.
A signal exploded in the sky, recalling the mages. Saul understood that the mages did not stand a chance against the griffin knights, and he wanted to minimize the loss. The royal mages could still fight, but the griffin knights had already gotten two of them. Saul did not want to lose any more.
Anthony, Anfey, and Suzanna were all targets. However, Anfey was confident enough in his ability to block any arrows coming his way. Suzanna was confident in her combat power. She was also wearing the Azure Armor, which effectively protected her against all incoming arrows. Deicide arrows may be powerful, but it could not pierce an armor like the Azure Armor. Anthony was also confident in his combat power, but he did not have any good armor like Suzanna. Because of this, he had to slow down in order to duck the arrows.