Chapter 91 The Smoke of Battle Rises, Ancia, Here I Come.
Ancia looked anxious. Just as she rushed onto the quiet street, a strong arm reached out from the shadows and grabbed her wrist.
Murtrie's deep voice rang out, "Where are you headed now?"
Ancia was startled, but relaxed when she realized it was Mortley. "Go to Red Maple City."
Murtrie glanced at her pale, tired face, his brow furrowing slightly, but he nodded nonetheless. "Okay."
Ancia expertly extended her hands to Mertri, "Let's go to the guild headquarters first."
Murtrie picked her up and carried her through the shadows.
Anciya was enveloped in darkness. She blinked a few times, and when the light came on again, she was already at the guild's base.
Franka was already used to the elusive former president, and calmly lowered her head, "President, Lord Mertri."
Ancia adjusted to the light, patted Mortley's arm, and Mortley understood and put her down.
Ancia stood at the front. "Franka, contact the members of the guilds in Red Maple City and nearby cities. Have them head to Red Maple City with their potion and magic item reserves. All combat personnel in the guild, regardless of which city they are in, should prepare to go to the battlefield."
Franka repeated instinctively, "You mean, all of them?"
Ancia said calmly, "Everything. Once humanity falls, the Dark Night Guild will also be wiped out. We must keep the demons out of Red Maple City at all costs."
After saying that, she led Murtrie to the city hall.
Magic power converged at the center of the magic circle, and the inscriptions lit up one by one from the inside out.
Ancia had used the teleportation array many times and was very familiar with its activation characteristics and time consumption, but this time, she found it too slow.
Upon arriving in Red Maple City, without her saying a word, Mortley picked up Ancia and they were on the city wall in an instant.
Bishops Heligalo and Bohr were already stationed here, directing the Papacy's knights to fight against the demon vanguard.
The light of the magical barrier flickered, and the battlefield was still confined to the foot of the Monster Mountain Range, while a vast amount of demonic energy was spreading from the outside of the mountain range.
Ancia raised her hand, and emerald green magic transformed into a fine rain, falling on the knights in front of her. "What about the residents of Red Maple City?"
Heligalo stared intently at the demons and said quickly, "They are retreating to the nearest city, Huangyang."
Ancia looked back and saw that the city was teeming with people. Ordinary people were evacuating urgently, abandoning everything except for valuables that were easy to carry.
Even if such a thing has happened before, when the smoke of war rises again, they will still suffer for their broken homes.
She saw the familiar barbecue restaurant owner. The vegetable and beef she grilled was the most delicious barbecue Anxi had ever eaten. She was a cheerful person, and the flower basket on the stone wall of the barbecue restaurant was often filled with fresh flowers brought by customers.
The shop boasted the most vibrant stone wall in Red Maple City. The barbecue shop owner stood blankly at the entrance for a while, seemingly urged on by the guards. In the end, she only picked a budding flower from the stone wall, tucked it into her luggage, and left without looking back.
There was hardly any crying in Red Maple City. The young children didn't understand what was happening; they just thought it was a long adventure and ran around happily next to the adults who were silently shedding tears.
The adults wiped away their tears, held the children's hands tightly, and said that since they were still alive, they should live each day to the fullest.
There will always be a time to go home again.
As residents gradually leave Red Maple City, the city will soon become empty, only to be filled with people drawn from all over the country.
The rumble of wheels sounded as an old woman pushed a cart near the control platform; her silhouette seemed familiar.
When she turned around, Ancia realized that it was the old man who had given away free winter tide wine on the night of the New Sprout Festival.
Ancia was startled. She unfolded her wooden wings and landed lightly beside the old woman. She helped the old woman steady the cart and asked with concern, "Why aren't you leaving? Do you need help? I'll arrange for a few people to come over..."
The old woman patted her hand with a smile and calmly shook her head. "Twenty years ago, I volunteered to join the logistics team in the war. Now I'm old and don't know how many more years I have to live, so I won't leave. At this age, I don't want to leave my hometown anymore. No matter what the outcome, I want to stay here and do something."
Faced with the old man's weathered yet resolute face, Ancia swallowed her words of persuasion and only whispered a promise, "We will protect Red Maple City."
Ahead of them lay a magical barrier, the aftershocks of the battle causing it to flash continuously, with wounded warriors being carried back to the city.
Further away, the Knight of Light, sword and shield in hand, fought a small vanguard of demons. Their weapons clashed with the demons' hard, rough scales, sparks flying.
These vanguard demons are far stronger than magical beasts. What's even more terrifying is that they possess intelligence comparable to that of humans. They obey the commands of higher-ranking demons, and even know how to cooperate and use tactics to deceive the enemy.
Although the battle was intense, the scales of victory were slowly tipping in favor of the knights.
Seeing this, the demon vanguard squad leader suddenly retreated to the back and was protected by the other demons.
Anciya's expression changed; something was wrong!
Demons are warlike, and retreating on the battlefield is absolutely unthinkable. If an ordinary demon is cowardly, the squad leader will be the first to cut off its head. But now the squad leader has actually retreated from the front to the back and is being covered by other demons.
Ancia immediately flew out of the barrier and floated above the battlefield. From this perspective, she could clearly see the demon squad leader forming hand seals and muttering to himself.
An eerie, almost imperceptible demonic aura emanated from it, enveloping the Knights of Light in the air. Wherever the demonic aura reached, the knights' counterattacks became sluggish, and their eyes glazed over.
Joy flashed in the scarlet eyes of the demon vanguard, who raised their hands with spikes sprouting from them, their fingernails gleaming with a ghostly blue light.
"Ode to the Purifying Spirit!"
Ancia raised her staff, and the golden light quickly brought the knights back to their senses. Relying on their fighting instincts, they raised their swords and shields to block the claws of the demon vanguard.
"Discipline and Binding!"
Heligaluo appeared beside her at some point and used the light rope to restrain the demon squad leader who was trying to attack Ancia.
With just a glance, Ancia's Mark of Light and Heligalo's Judgment fell one after the other, separated by milliseconds.
Two golden beams of magic, like sharp arrows, pierced the heart of the demon squad leader. Light magic was the antidote to demons, and the edges of the hollow in his heart still emitted a hissing, corrosive sound. The demon squad leader fell to the ground, but a strange smile played on his lips as his gaze remained fixed on the two humans above him.
Heligaluo's face was extremely grim. "They've evolved."
Ancia was somewhat puzzled and subconsciously looked at the demon vanguard below, "Evolution?"
Heligaluo: "According to the records, the demon vanguard squad leaders are only slightly stronger than these demon vanguards who are used as expendable supplies. And the mental attack just now is an ability that only high-level demons can awaken."
Ancia followed his gaze and looked toward the Abyss Gate in the distance.
The vanguard of the demon race emerged from the Abyss Gate; that was all. Now they were all on the battlefield, their demonic energy bared and clawing, spreading outwards in wisps as if it were alive, devouring the life force of the outside world.
Under the protection of Ancia and Heligaluo, this vanguard force was completely wiped out by the Light Knights and guards below.
Before they could catch their breath, even more demon vanguard troops emerged from the Abyss Gate and continued their advance toward Red Maple City.
Ansia felt a sense of unease; she had a vague suspicion.
Once this vanguard fell, the unusual activity at the Abyss Gate confirmed her suspicions.
Ancia stared at the third wave of demon vanguard troops and gritted her teeth, saying, "They're fighting a war of attrition."
These low-ranking demons are merely sacrifices used to deplete their magical power; the demons can disregard their lives, but humans cannot treat their warriors with the same attitude.
Every soldier's life is especially precious.
Heligalo flew back to the walls of Red Maple City to direct the rotation of clergy from the Church of Light.
Ancia raised her staff and cast the group healing spell, Nourishing Rain, again and again. Even though she had plenty of mana and carried recovery potions with her, she could not keep up with the rate at which it was being consumed.
She had already landed, and even the magic to maintain the Wings of Wood had to be conserved. Her mind was incredibly exhausted, and only her willpower kept her standing there. People around her came and went, but she just mechanically repeated the healing magic.
Ancia wearily raised her eyes and looked towards the Abyss Gate outside the Monster Mountain Range, where demon vanguards emerged once again, in an endless stream.
"No... I can't collapse here yet."
She bit her tongue hard, downed another bottle of mana-restoring potion, and called out to her equally exhausted comrades, "Reinforcements are on their way, hang in there!"
Upon hearing this, the knights and guards around him were encouraged and roused.
But she knew in her heart that the elves had only just set off from the Misty Moon Forest, and the orc wolf riders were not that fast either. The soldiers and troops of Yellow Willow City had already joined the battle and, after several rotations, had mixed in with the people of Red Maple City. Their faces, covered in dust and blood, were indistinguishable from one another.
She was just making empty promises, a grand, hopeful pie in the sky.
Ancia quickly scanned all the protective formations in her mind. No matter the cost, she was determined to make this pie a reality!
"Chirp!"
The cry of a griffin echoed from behind.
Ancia looked up in disbelief as the Royal Griffin Guard, directly under Verion, swooped down from the sky on griffins and plunged their longswords into the chests of the demon vanguard.
She suddenly had an impulse to contact Verion using telepathic magic, but she also knew that her magic power was not enough to cover the Eternal City and could not cross most of the empire's territory, so this telepathic magic was destined to fail.
But Ancia did it anyway.
She chose the magic of Verien from her memories and used a telepathic spell on him.
“Velion, is this the Griffin Guard you sent? You…”
Will you come?
She swallowed those words. Verion was the emperor of the empire, and it would be too dangerous for him to personally go to the battlefield. He was a man who was best at calculating gains and losses, and he would definitely not come.
But the instant she released her telepathic magic, Ancia heard a familiar, elegant voice. The telepathic magic in her ear and behind her rang out simultaneously, creating a clear resonance.
"Yes, I'm here too."
Ancia turned around in a daze. Verion had already stepped out of the magic barrier, wearing a five-star mage robe, spotless.
An unreadable emotion flickered in Verion's pale gray eyes. "Ancia, I'm here."
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