With her cloaking spells still on, Evelyn descended right in front of the four gargoyles by the town chief's house.
The four winged demons did not notice her presence at all. Showed how good Evelyn's camouflage skill was.
And then, with a snap of her fingers, Evelyn took her defense down.
[Disable Spells]
The Mirage Cloak and Magic Cloak spells casted on Evelyn faded.
The four gargoyles immediately noticed her presence and let out a terrifying shriek.
They flapped their wings, extended their fangs and claws, and lunged at young Leonardo.
[Bara Arts, Levitation]
Evelyn avoided their assault by a hair's breadth.
She quickly flew away from the gargoyles, but the demons gave pursuit.
Evelyn flew up and down, left and right, maneuvering through Stonewall's streets, evading the gargoyles' grasp.
She flew so agilely, too agilely, that sometimes she had to slow down so the gargoyles could keep up with her.
Seeing how the four gargoyles had all of their attention to her, Evelyn reached out to her soldiers.
"Attention, all knights! Attention, all knights! Luring successful. I'm bringing the four gargoyles over to the windmill. Archers, ready your aim! Spearmen, standby!"
"YES, MY LADY!"
Evelyn redirected her course and accelerated towards the windmill. The gargoyles followed suit in her direction.
As they approached the windmill, the archers hiding in the construct took their aim.
"Archer 1, aiming the first gargoyle from the left."
"Archer 2, aiming the second gargoyle from the right."
"Archer 3, aiming the second gargoyle from the left."
"Archer 9, aiming the first gargoyle from the right."
"Archer 10, 11, and 12 are on standby for additional fire."
"Copy that. Fire at will!" ordered Evelyn.
Evelyn and the gargoyles quickly flew past through the windmill.
As they passed by, the archers sent their arrows flying.
Two out of four gargoyles ended up crashing to the ground. The remaining ones kept chasing Evelyn in the air.
"Archer 1, direct hit!"
"Archer 2, miss!"
"Archer 3, miss!"
"Archer 9, direct hit!"
"Spearmen, move out and eliminate the downed gargoyles!" ordered Evelyn. "Archers, I'll redirect the remaining gargoyles back to you! Ready your aim!"
"YES, MY LADY!"
The eight spear-wielding knights hiding in the stable behind the windmill scrambled to the street where the two gargoyles were shot down.
Using their long spears, they stabbed the two paralyzed demons, pinning them in place. Preventing the demons' extremities from reaching the knights.
Once the gargoyles were pinned on the ground, the knights stabbed the demons' eyes with the long spears. Killing them instantly.
"Spearmen, return to the stable! I'm bringing over the rest of the gargoyles!" ordered Evelyn
She flew back by the windmill and all of the archers shot their arrows at the two pursuing gargoyles.
The barrage of projectiles immediately sent the two demons to the ground.
Like before, the spearmen came out from the stable and finished the demons off.
"No mana activity detected on all four gargoyles. Targets eliminated. Six gargoyles remaining." declared Evelyn.
She then looked over to the chapel near the town chief's house.
"Attention, all knights! Attention, all knights! The remaining six gargoyles in Stonewall are detected hiding inside the chapel to the east of the town chief's house. We'll also be using the Lure and Trap Tactic to eliminate them." said Evelyn. "ALL KNIGHTS, REGROUP AT THE TOWN GATE! I REPEAT! ALL SOLDIERS, REGROUP AT THE TOWN GATE! IT'S TIME TO BEGIN THE FINAL PHASE OF OUR OPERATION!"
"YES, MY LADY!"
With all of the gargoyles outside having been exterminated, the soldiers scrambled back to the town gate as ordered by Evelyn.
As the knights made their way to the gate, Evelyn set her gaze to the tree line in the distance. She noticed a flash of light coming from there.
"(Hmm? We got a spectator, I see.)"
Watching Stonewall from afar through an antique monocular was a dark-skinned woman in brown cloak. A huge crossbow was hanging on her back.
"(Amazing!)" thought the woman. "(To be able to hunt down those gargoyles as flawless as that. And the way the soldiers moved so efficiently and positioned at the most strategic places. Just who are these people?)"
The woman magnified her monocular toward Evelyn.
"(Most importantly, who is that mage leading them?)"
A while later inside the Stonewall chapel.
Six gargoyles were lying dormant on the chapel's structures. Two were perching beside Einsof's statue by the altar. Two by the door. And the other two by the interior balcony.
Lying around the chapel's floor were dismembered bodies of the villagers whom sought refuge there when the demon raid happened.
And now, the gargoyles were waiting for another prey to walk in.
Suddenly they heard numerous human screams right outside the chapel.
That display of fear triggered the gargoyles' bloodlust. They could not bear lie in waiting anymore.
The six gargoyles flapped their wings and burst through the chapel's walls toward the outside world.
The winged creatures looked around the town to see who let out the screams earlier.
The demons found six horsemen screaming at them right in front of the chapel.
Seeing their preys had revealed themselves, the gargoyles bared their fangs and plummeted down to the six horsemen.
The preys did not lie in waiting. They fled with their horses onto the labyrinth streets of Stonewall.
The gargoyles gave pursuit.
As the demons gave chase and they went further into town, the horsemen started splitting up one by one.
One went toward the direction of the windmill. One toward the clock tower. One toward the square.
Each of the other three went their own separate ways as well.
Wanting to secure a prey of their own, the gargoyles split up too. Each one pursuing one horseman.
The gargoyles gave chase to their preys. The distance between them gradually diminished.
The demons were overjoyed by this hunt. Knowing they would soon be rewarded by another human blood after this thrilling chase.
Little did the gargoyles know what they were about to put themselves into by chasing those horsemen.
"Fire at will!" ordered Evelyn to her soldiers.
Just before the gargoyles could sunk their fangs and claws to the horsemen, two set of arrows pierced the wings of each six gargoyles. Sending them crashing to the ground.
Those arrows were sent from the archers Evelyn positioned in the windmill, clock tower, around the square, and other hidden parts in the town.
The horsemen's job was to lure the six gargoyles into those designated areas.
"Confirmed hit on all six gargoyles. Spearman Squad, proceed with the finishing blow while the gargoyles are paralyzed." ordered Evelyn as she watched the battle from up in the sky.
The horsemen who lured the gargoyles then returned to the crash-landed gargoyles. They used their spear to pierce through the demons' eyes.
"No mana activity detected at the windmill, clock tower, and square. Targets eliminated. Three gargoyles remaining." confirmed Evelyn.
She directed her gaze to the other parts of the town.
"No mana activity detected at both the east and west end of the town. Targets eliminated. One gargoyle remaining."
"MY LADY!"
Evelyn quickly turned her head to the north side of the town.
The sixth gargoyle that crash-landed apparently fell on top of a small house. It made it difficult for the spearman to deal the finishing blow and the site was too far away from where the designated archers were stationed.
As such, the gargoyle was able to recover after it was shot down.
The demon then set its gaze on the spearman whom tried to kill it.
Seeing her soldier was in danger, Evelyn did not stay idle.
[Bara Arts, Teleportation]
A magic circle appeared under Evelyn and suddenly she was engulfed in a bright light and vanished into thin air. She instantly reappeared in the air beside the surviving gargoyle.
Evelyn pointed the Lucerna straight to the gargoyle's head.
[Bara Arts, Fire Lance]
Just before the gargoyle was about to pounce the spearman, a fire projectile blasted through the demon's head, splitting it wide open and killing the creature right there and then.
The spearman fell to the ground. Drained due to the mortal experience he just went through.
Evelyn flew down to the gargoyle and inspected its remain.
"No mana activity detected in the north part of the town. Target eliminated. Zero gargoyle remaining."
Evelyn flew back up and threw her gaze all around Stonewall.
"No more demonic presence detected in the area. All gargoyles exterminated. Stonewall is hereby secured. Mission accomplished."
Hearing the words 'mission accomplished' from their commander made the soldiers looked at each other with great excitement.
They all formed a wide grin, their bodies were trembling. They couldn't contain the joy any longer.
Evelyn watched her spirited soldiers with pride. She then rewarded them with a few words.
"You all have done very well in this battle, my brave soldiers. May you remember today as the day you triumphed against evil. The time when you finally gathered the courage in your heart and instill fear to the heart of demons."
Hearing those words reminded the Leonardo soldiers of the story Evelyn told them in her address. The sound of the war cry that the first emperor of Mortalia shouted before he faced the demons.
That war cry appeared in the mind of all 20 soldiers who took part in the battle of Stonewall that day.
They all channeled their joy of defeating the gargoyles into a single thundering roar which echoed throughout Stonewall and the forest beyond.
"HOORAH!"