Chapter 9: The Double-Axe Maniac Skard
The Sword Saint Henry of Skali felt grateful for the first time to see the banner of the apocalypse army.
Because he really couldn’t hold on any longer; dying under the axes of those fanatical followers of the Blood God was far better than dying under the blade of the Thousandth Sword.
He quickly said, “We did not intend to intrude. They have destroyed our home, and now they have come to destroy yours.”
“You know nothing, monkey,” the red-haired sword dancer said coldly. “We have long since detected the apocalypse army you brought.”
“We are just a group of refugees!”
“Unable to protect your own home.”
Henry, the Sword Saint of Skali, felt a rare flush on his face.
The warriors of the Blood God’s demon clan were fully armored, with only their eyes exposed, raising blood-red and golden battle flags high as they emerged from the burning forest. Behind him, there were numerous demon warriors clad in sturdy armor.
The fire in the forest intensified; Henry looked carefully and realized that those were red fissures, from which many bloodsucking fiends, bare-chested and wielding giant swords, surged forth.
The warriors of the Blood God amassed under the raised flags, forming a square formation, moving forward like steadfast tanks towards the distant Tree of Life.
Behind them, the bloodsucking fiends were restless. Some were riding on metallic blood altars adorned with numerous skulls, propelled by two enormous iron wheels driven by the souls of the defeated.
Angry demons screeched, these half-human tall demons flapping their wings flew overhead. The demon knights with shields and red-hot lances, along with the bloodsucking fiends riding steel bulls, advanced with the formation.
Various flags and demons dazzled the eyes, gathering together like a blazing fire, charging towards the wood elves’ homeland.
According to Henry’s experience, this force was undoubtedly one of the mainstays of the apocalypse army.
How confident were those wood elves? Confident to the point of arrogance, arrogant to the point of stupidity.
Henry glanced sideways at the red-haired sword dancer and found that she too was staring blankly at the military might of the Blood God’s demon army.
Henry pondered how to convince this group of barbaric wood elves to let everyone go.
One wood elf riding a stag skillfully leaped onto the green grassy slope and blew a horn:
“Woo woo woo.”
The sound of the horn rang out.
One after another, the assembled wood elf army streamed out from the forest, shaking the entire forest to life.
Henry blinked and noticed that the trees seemed to be legendary tree spirits; some were nearly as tall as the Orcish golem, leaving Henry in awe.
Another horn sounded.
On the flanks of the Blood God’s demon army, the green grass and green trees stirred; from the dense thickets, large groups of wood elves riding white horses charged out, their mounts lacking stirrups and reins. The white horses moved like wild steeds, effortlessly jumping over the root-laden grass, swift as the wind.
These woodland riders held riding bows and unleashed volleys of arrows towards the Blood God cavalry on both sides.
They were so bold, shooting toxic arrows at a distance where they could see the whites of their enemies’ eyes.
As among the Blood God’s demon army, those acting as cannon fodder, armed only with round shields and axes, were the first to struggle under the rain of arrows. The arrows pierced their necks, blood splattered, and they fell to the ground as cold blood-red boots marched past them.
Furious Blood God demon knights and steel bull riders attempted to pursue, but the woodland riders were incredibly nimble, deftly dispersing and hanging back to shoot.
Henry had seen many agile archers, yet they appeared clumsy like pigs compared to these wood elf riders.
The blood incited the bloodhounds, swift as the wind, the stout, horned hounds charged towards the woodland riders like a tide. The woodland riders desperately retreated, those few wood elves blocked at the rear fell prey to the dogs, engulfed in the flood.
But that was all; the woodland riders dispersed, and from the forest surged countless furious tree spirits and cavalry riding towering elk, the tree spirits, filled with wrath, tore the bloodhounds apart.
They also charged towards the separated Blood God cavalry; at this moment, the woodland cavalry enveloped from the flanks, trapping the demon knights and steel bull riders, a sea of people overwhelmed the mobile units of the Blood God’s demon army.
The red-haired sword dancer laughed, “This is an ancient trap, particularly effective against brainless Blood Gods.”
Henry remained silent; the last time he’d heard the same from a regiment commander in the army.
But this time, it seemed the Blood God’s demon army had indeed hit a steel plate.
The Blood God’s demon warriors’ formation had slowly pushed into range of the wood elves’ arrows. The arrows came pouring down, with wood elves shooting from the trees and the ground, pulling back their longbows, arrows hammered against the shield wall of the Blood God’s demon warriors, and many arrows broke.
But the speed of the Blood God warriors’ formation had significantly slowed.
The Thorn Sisters riding stags charged in from both sides, firing poisonous magical arrows that embedded themselves in the demon warriors’ armor, causing roots to sprout and flowers to bloom, thorny vines wrapping around their bodies.
At the same time, accompanied by the cries of eagles, wood elves stood atop hundreds of giant eagles, flying over the formation only ten meters away, shooting indiscriminately.
In an instant, gaps appeared in the formation, and more arrows flooded in through the openings.
Crack! A Blood God demon warrior was hit so badly he resembled a porcupine; he pulled out arrows from the visor of his helmet, but the next moment, two arrows struck his eyes in succession. Another Blood God warrior, covered with dozens of arrows, bled out and staggered on before succumbing and collapsing.
Even Skard, the leading demon commanding this group of demon lords, looked to be in a very bad situation. This demon, banished by the Blood God, struggled to move forward, with every wood elf able to see his towering figure shooting arrows at him.
The arrows gathered like water sprayed from a fire hose.
With each step, demons or demon warriors fell, battered and slow-moving, yet they continued to advance.
The wood elves leisurely retreated, pushing and shooting as they went, until they had their backs against the Tree of Life.
Under the skilled marksmanship of the wood elves, the Blood God’s demon infantry was reduced to half. They were battered, covered in arrows, and had it not been for the rage of the Blood God pouring into their minds, they would have long fled.
But they crashed into the waiting treant army, the enraged treants could wait no longer and surged forth.
Led by a wicked treant leader, several large treants clustered together, trampling the Blood God demon warriors, closing in on Skard.
He was already battered, much like his army, a mere flickering candle in the wind.
The wood elf incantation singers called forth magic to weaken the enemy and strengthen their allies.
In an instant, Skard’s blood-red figure vanished amid the green leaves, a single scream echoing through the forest.
The red-haired sword dancer couldn’t help but say, “We’re going to win!”
“Roar!!”
Suddenly, a blood-red brilliance erupted among the treants, and the treant leader’s head flew off.
Then, covered in blood, Skard flew into a rage, his double-axes moving like lightning, crashing down on the treants, chopping them down into logs and firewood as sap splattered everywhere.
Henry couldn’t help but exclaim, “No, this can’t be happening.”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Skard single-handedly charged into the wood elf lines, swinging his double axes as if in a no-man’s land, bodies flew and limbs soared, every wood elf warrior fell beneath his blades in a mere two swings.
One wood elf incantation singer, glowing with magical radiance, soared into the sky, launching various magical attacks at Skard, but it was like setting off fireworks.
“Are you done playing around?” Skard suddenly raised half his skeletal face, and with a swing, sent a axe flying out, cleaving through her flamboyant protective magic, splitting her in half mid-air.
This seemed to be a signal.
All the Blood God’s demon army roared; sharp horns sprouted from their heads, easily piercing through treant and wood elf armor, and the blood-touched altars crushed the wood elves, blood splattering everywhere, healing the surrounding Blood God demons.
Although they had the advantage in numbers, the wood elves and tree spirits gradually fell into decline.
They gritted their teeth, waiting for the cavalry’s rear assault.
But the rear cavalry was slow to arrive.
Henry witnessed the once beleaguered demon and steel bull knights tear their enemies apart within the encirclement, slicing and stabbing the wood elf cavalry into pieces.
The elk knights screamed, their tall elk wounded, collapsing to the ground.
The swift woodland cavalry realized the situation was dire and attempted to retreat.
But the previously fleeing bloodhounds, spurred by the scent of blood, rushed up to bite them, and the demon warriors charged in, ripping apart the trapped woodland knights.
At this moment, the color of the red fissures surged, countless bloodhounds and angry demons poured forth.
It turned out Skard couldn’t wait for the army to assemble and had launched his assault prematurely.
In a short while, the battlefield was filled with wails, and the bloodhounds hunted down the wood elves.
