Homa kept coming, making the elders increasingly worried about the state of those inside the kingdom. If Homa could get in, it meant there was a part of the magic dome that was destroyed, and only high-level magic or a force so strong that it could create a large explosion could destroy it. They hoped the destroyed part was not too big yet, or the main forces would enter the kingdom.
Countless Homa lay on the ground with flames rising high. It could be felt that the air was getting hotter, making it increasingly difficult for those who had been fighting from the beginning to breathe fresh air with their already exhausted bodies. Sweat and soot adorned their faces along with the pain from every wound.
It was clear that the mixed forces were overwhelmed, and it wouldn't be long before they would fall into defeat facing the seemingly endless number of Homa. Moreover, if there were this many Homa, it meant that the main forces of Copperhaven were outside the kingdom, and that thought made some of them want to give up. Even if they managed to deal with those here, there was no way they could face more than hundreds of thousands of Yellow Core level knights. That would be the same as inviting death to come more quickly.
Ailord landed below, crushing a Homa into pieces and then dismounting from there. A heavy sigh escaped his mouth as he observed the flying motorcycles that kept arriving. They couldn't continue like this; they had to find another way to stop the motorcycles from entering through the hole in the magic dome.
He looked around, searching for the elders who, for some reason, were not around him. He then ran, looking for Elder Leynar in the place where he had previously been with Teena. But at that spot, there were already two destroyed motorcycles with no signs of the two of them. Ailord steeled himself and continued running past it. Without the help of the elders, he couldn't possibly understand how their magic dome worked.
His teeth clenched tightly, wondering why the Copperhaven forces kept coming even though he had spoken with their Commander. Shouldn't their attack have stopped, or had the Commander lied to him?
Ailord's hands clenched tightly as he quickened his pace. He finally used energy to increase Walker's speed after seeing magical explosions not far ahead. There, he saw a large goblin being pushed back by Veronica. He kept moving backward, trying to avoid the rapid attacks. However, his large and slow body made some of the attacks land, giving him deep slashing wounds.
Tuko fell to the ground, using both fists to support his body while staring at the blonde-haired knight now moving towards him. The blood-streaked white sword was lifted, enveloped in a bright pink glow. As it swung down, Veronica was shocked to feel the sword rebound, especially when the figure of a strange man appeared before her eyes.
She jumped back, putting some distance between them while wondering why he was here. Zayn was supposed to be facing him. Her gaze fixed on the black-haired figure, gripping the sword handle tightly in anger. "Where is Zayn?!" she demanded.
"Are you okay?" Ailord asked Tuko, who just nodded. He glanced at Veronica, who was stunned, feeling that familiar fear rising in her heart. "Will you leave on your own, or do I have to force you?" Ailord threatened.
"Ha! You think I'm afraid of you?!"
In the blink of an eye, Ailord suddenly appeared in front of her, his fist just inches away from her body. A second later, Veronica spat fresh blood as the fist struck her stomach. She was thrown far back, toppling several trees before finally disappearing behind a cloud of dust.
Ailord looked back at Tuko, saying, "Quickly find the elf elders. Without them, those flying vehicles will keep coming," before going to pick up his helmet lying on the ground.
Tuko was shocked, standing still for a moment, stunned by the power displayed by the human Construct. He then slapped himself to regain focus and hurried to follow the orders, wondering to himself, 'Why am I following his commands?' He glanced back once more before looking ahead.
Ahead, Ailord reached for the helmet, inspecting it briefly before putting it back on. However, his body suddenly felt pain again, with each toe and finger becoming difficult to move. He realized that whatever was inside his body still hadn't fully dissipated, and he had to move faster before his body completely stiffened.
"Tuko? What's happening? Where is Veronica?" Rako asked while continuing to aim at the incoming Homa. Sweat had drenched his body, and several wounds were visible on both arms, which Tuko was sure Rako had used as shields since, when using his skill, he couldn't use any other magic.
"The human Construct injured her badly. I doubt she'll be a problem for a while," Tuko replied, immediately standing in front of him to block an incoming fireball with his back. The fireball exploded, making him wince in pain.
"What are you doing!?" Rako asked, worried.
"Listen to me, we need to find the elf elders immediately" Tuko explained quickly, then grabbed a piece of copper and threw it at the Homa that had shot him.
An explosion occurred there, followed by a strong tremor as the Homa hit the ground, the air growing hotter from the blazing fire.
He understood why the man had asked them to find the elf elders. He also realized that the protective dome had a damaged section and that the man might want to ask the elders for help in repairing it. Rako nodded, and together they hurried towards the elders, who were fighting several Copperhaven knights with emblems on their left and right shoulder armor.
The emblem was a silver wolf's head, a mark for Captains like Zayn. The reason the elders were overwhelmed was that these knights had power almost equal to that of the white-haired knight. On top of that, they were getting support from their subordinates and the Homa that continued to hover in the air.
Elder Olva gripped two swords, now wet with enemy blood. The sword in his right hand pointed at the Captains approaching them. "Copperhaven Cowards! If you dare, fight me one on one!" he shouted.
One of the Captains grinned widely, his yellow eyes glowing brightly in the firelight. "This is war, not a duel. If your strength is lacking, stop making excuses to appear strong!" He leaped, slamming his two large double-edged axes into the ground, creating sharp stone spikes that surged forward towards Elder Olva.
Elder Olva snorted in annoyance, slashing each spike with a bright red sword energy and using them as stepping stones to reach the Captain. His gray hair billowed like a flag, then flared out as he jumped high, spinning in the air and creating a large drill of sharp energy that enveloped his entire body.
The Captain's grin widened, his axes now glowing with a bright yellow light. But before he could leap, his legs were severely burned by a sudden heat ray. He screamed in pain, looking towards the source of the ray and shouting, "YOU'RE JUST AS COWAR—" Before he could finish, Elder Olva had already drilled through his body, leaving it formless with chunks of flesh flying in all directions.
He exhaled in satisfaction, grinning arrogantly. "This is war, not a duel, you fool." He stepped down from the heap of flesh and looked towards Rako, who had assisted him. "Why did you help me!? I could have handled him on my own!" he shouted angrily.
Two goblins ran up, panting heavily. "S-sorry, but we have a critical situation," Rako responded quickly. "The human asked for the elders' help, maybe he has a plan to stop the incoming Homa."
"What does he want at a time like this? Can't he see we are all too occupied to lend a hand?" Olva replied curtly.
Rako had heard from Glok that one of the elf elders was extremely stubborn and difficult to talk to. He just didn't expect the elder in front of him now to be that person. Rako tried his best to calm the anger still trying to break through his defenses. "Elder Olva, if we keep fighting like this, we'll only face defeat. We have to do something different to stop them all."
"Facing them is how we avoid defeat," Olva retorted, staring sharply at Rako, who had already taken up so much time. "Stop wasting time; they'll keep coming while we talk."
Before his anger could surface, Ailord landed in front of Elder Olva, who was startled and readied his glowing swords, thinking he was an enemy. "Elder, I need your help to close the protective dome," Ailord said, his voice altered.
Hearing the voice, Elder Olva lowered his swords, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "It's true that the Protective Dome is damaged." He quickly assessed the situation around them before looking back at the iron Construct. "Listen, the only way to repair the Protective Dome is to bring one of the elves who understands intermediate-level protective magic there. We elders will hold off those who have entered the kingdom while you make your way there."
"It should be you elders going there with me, not them," Ailord replied.
"Do you want your comrades to die?"
Those words shook Ailord to his core.
Elder Olva turned his back, facing the Copperhaven knights that the other elders were battling. "Listen, we still have a chance to survive here, but they?" A harsh snort followed. "Go with them; that way, your comrades will be much safer. Don't worry, we elders are far stronger than you think."
He leaped, joining the battle happening not far ahead.
Rako quickly thought and snapped his fingers. "Teena, we need to find Teena."
They didn't have to search long, as the sound of a heavy impact made the ground tremble. There, they saw Glok struggling to protect Teena from Zayn, who appeared furious.