"Teena, Glok, are you okay?" Ailord asked as soon as he arrived.
Glok nodded slowly, then stretched his body. "Don't worry, I can still fight for a while longer. We also don't have time to rest in the current situation," he replied, drawing his large sword from the storage space, causing Ailord's eyes to widen.
"You can store it in there?" he asked, incredulous at what he was seeing.
"Oh, I'm bound to this sword, so I can store it in the system," Glok replied as if it were a common thing. "What's wrong? You don't know about that?" He grew more curious about who Ailord really was. It was impossible for anyone not to know about the inventory system.
Before Ailord could answer, Teena waved her hand in front of them. "Hey, this is no time to talk! We still have to fight!" she exclaimed.
Ailord snapped out of it and looked at the goblin. "Listen, he said," pointing at Rako, "that you can use mid-level protection magic. I need your help to seal the hole in the kingdom's magic dome. If we don't, those flying vehicles will keep coming," he explained quickly.
Teena opened her mouth, saying "Ahh" while nodding in understanding. "So that's the reason. No wonder they could get inside; otherwise, it would take a lot of effort to damage Veyrain's magic dome."
"Since they're already here, it means they have something strong enough to penetrate the magic dome," Glok turned to Ailord. "Do you know what it is?" he asked, confident that Ailord had seen firsthand what could destroy it, especially since he was the only one to appear from inside the kingdom.
"I'll tell you on the way."
They started running inside, killing several Copperhaven knights who were in their path and destroying the Homas that kept appearing, flying over the kingdom through a large hole that was clearly visible in the protective dome. The Homas entered from there, through a hole that looked like a shattered glass, like dozens of bees swarming out of a hive.
The once peaceful kingdom now showed signs of destruction everywhere. Explosions from their attacks did not discriminate between young and old, women and men. They all died, many no longer having intact bodies with parts scattered everywhere. The Elven's Heart could be seen trying to stop the Homas entering the kingdom, their large roots towering outside the walls, catching and crushing them. However, their sheer number overwhelmed the Elven's Heart. They also had to face the seemingly endless Copperhaven forces.
"What do you mean you spoke to their Commander?" Glok asked in disbelief.
"I told him to retreat, or I would kill his men. The Commander, who cared for them, agreed. He is the only Commander left; their forces should be leaderless and in disarray," Ailord explained, grabbing a Homa;s wreckage and throwing it at two approaching Homas. An explosion occurred before they could shoot.
Rako looked at Ailord with a 'you've got to be kidding' expression and couldn't hold back his thoughts. "You threatened their Commander? Have you never heard of Copperhaven? They wiped out the dwarf race without hesitation! You expect them to retreat because of a threat? I bet the soldiers you spoke of already killed themselves to ensure their Commander could continue the mission, or they killed him."
"Copperhaven has more than thirty Commanders. Losing five is nothing to them. Copperhaven's forces can't be compared to regular troops that fall apart without their leaders. Once their Commander is gone, they will keep advancing to complete their mission and become even more dangerous because there's no one to control them. I'm sure we're facing Copperhaven's main forces, judging by the color of their armor and the three-headed wolf emblem on their shoulders," Teena continued, shooting down several Homa with her explosive magic.
Glok let out a long sigh and said, "Listen, Ailord, Copperhaven isn't a kingdom that will retreat because their citizens are in enemy hands. They will keep advancing even if it means sacrificing their own people. I know you acted with good intentions, not wanting to waste lives in battle, but what you did has actually cost more lives."
Ailord was stunned by this. He didn't know that Copperhaven, the kingdom attacking them now, was so ruthless. Willing to sacrifice their own citizens for victory—if only Ailord had known from the beginning.
He began to wonder about the fate of that Commander, imagining him surrounded by his subordinates ready to take his life made Ailord feel sick at the cruelty of Copperhaven.
The kingdom walls were not far ahead. Once they sealed the hole above, the Homas would have no way in, given that Copperhaven no longer had those airships—unless they also brought similar cannons via land routes.
Up there, Reyn and Heyla were shooting arrows at the Homas intent on destroying the elf defenses. Several humans were already on the walls, facing the remaining elf forces with something that looked like magical rifles. The elves could only return fire while taking cover behind the barrier walls, seizing opportunities when the enemies reloaded their weapons. However, this was difficult due to the presence of three large knights wielding thick, massive iron shields as a defensive line.
Their arrows couldn't penetrate the thick shields and could only strike the riflemen when a small gap opened. But getting that opportunity through the three large, thick, wide shields, which also had side shields forming a protective roof, made such chances nearly impossible.
"Reyn! What should we do!? They will wipe us out if we keep hiding!" shouted one of the elf soldiers, who immediately winced in terror as an explosion occurred right behind the wall that was his cover.
The magical rifles were terrifying for the elves, who couldn't understand how humans had developed such dreadful weapons. Not only Constructs, but now they could create projectile weapons as powerful as cannons. If this continued, it wouldn't take long for them to conquer the continent, as they had previously announced.
The rifles fired again, forcing the elves to duck to avoid being hit. The walls shook violently, making them wonder how long it would hold before it crumbled under the explosions.
Reyn peeked out, counting four rifle-wielding knights, each protected by three shield-bearing knights. They stood apart, spaced about three meters in a zigzag formation that allowed those behind to keep firing while the front riflemen reloaded. The thickness of their defensive walls made this possible; if the kingdom's walls were thinner, they wouldn't be able to form such a formation and would struggle to fire due to obstruction from those in front.
The rifles fired again, and Reyn immediately ducked upon seeing the muzzle flash. The wall shook once more, with dust and small debris falling. But then, Reyn smiled widely as he realized something.
He looked at the others and said, "They have a two-second interval before the ones behind continue firing. Each one has a ten-second reload time, and there's a small gap when the rifles are retracted during that two-second interval. Use this opportunity wisely; if the wall falls into their hands, Veyrain is doomed," he explained to the elf soldiers, who nodded in understanding.
They waited for the next shot, then immediately ran out from their hiding spots. The rifles tracked their movements, but couldn't keep up with the agile elves. Shots were fired at the wall, intentionally causing explosions near the moving elves, with two of them being thrown backward.
Reyn and the others pressed forward, drawing their arrows and shouting at the knights before releasing their arrows.
Green silhouettes of light streaked toward them, moving quickly with the terrifying sound of sharp metal slicing through the air. The rifles began to retract, forcing two shields to open slightly to allow the rifles back in. This method would only worked effectively against slower races, but now they faced the elves, renowned for their speed and agility.
Two arrows managed to get inside, killing not only the rifleman but also the three shield knights protecting him. Although the arrows couldn't penetrate the shields, the knights' armor wasn't strong enough to withstand the elf arrows, and the three fell forward with the resounding clang of their large shields hitting the wall.
The remaining three knights halted, no longer advancing and standing still. Just as they were about to step forward, two of them fired their rifles, accompanied by several Homas coming to assist. The elves had no choice but to retreat back into hiding to avoid the explosions, missing the fact that the three remaining targets had formed a large circle with the three rifles at the front, blocking the path. They had received orders not to let the elves approach the hole at any cost.