Chapter 80: The Capture of the Treemen

Chapter 80: The Capture of the Treemen

On the other side, within the human army.

Far off, the furious roars of the Treemen from the forest made Victor feel a surge of tension.

He swallowed hard and glanced around.

Many soldiers were still dazed, unable to understand why they had set the forest ablaze, with no time to worry about the danger that was approaching.

Unlike them, Victor, as the executor of the plan, knew exactly why they had ignited the forest—to lure the Treemen out.

The Treemen were hiding within the forest, making them hard to find.

Since that was the case, they might as well force them out.

Furthermore, setting the forest on fire had another intention.

“Adversity doesn’t mean the end, and even in dire straits, one can find a way out! As long as you wish to act and dare to act, success is possible!”

At that moment, Victor recalled the words Suratu had given him before departing.

Muttering this phrase in his heart, fueled with motivation, Victor looked at the soldiers around him and exclaimed, “Soldiers! Now that we have no way to retreat, that’s bad news indeed. But I have some very good news to tell you: our enemies aren’t that terrifying! Because we are strong humans, no longer weaklings! We have triumphed over many foes, and today we will triumph again! We are the bravest soldiers of humanity, the bravest soldiers of the Empire, the bravest soldiers of Alexander! We will overcome all enemies before us! Long live the Human Race! Long live the Empire! Long live Alexander!”

Initially, the human soldiers were a bit confused, but after hearing Victor’s rousing speech, they felt their hearts surge with excitement.

Humanity, Empire, Alexander—these three terms were like their faith, and many soldiers devoted their lives to these ideals.

“Long live humanity! Long live the Empire! Long live Alexander!…”

“Long live humanity! Long live the Empire! Long live Alexander!…”

At first, the soldiers around Victor shouted in unison, and soon the entire army was roaring together.

The sight of tens of thousands of voices raised in fervor was a magnificent spectacle, echoing far and wide.

The nearby elven soldiers were momentarily dumbfounded by the human shouts!

Even Lov, the commander, was taken aback.

Today, the humans’ behavior was utterly unexpected.

First, they pretended to seek peace, and now they were putting on a grand performance!

What on earth were these humans doing? Did they lose yesterday and now come to flaunt their power? Did they burn their own escape route?

No one came to answer Lov’s questions.

At this moment, Lov also dared not act rashly, ordering the elven soldiers to remain in position.

The Elven Race also dared not make any moves.

Although the elves had won yesterday’s battle, their losses were substantial, and they had several defensive vulnerabilities.

Most importantly, the city gates had been completely breached.

Any rash action could expose the elves to even greater risks.

As Airael rushed toward the scene, she felt an increasing sense of dread upon hearing the roars.

She glanced back at Suratu.

The old man seemed calm, exuding confidence.

This infuriated Airael.

“Speed up!”

She urged the elves beside her, spurring her Unicorn to move faster.

Suratu looked up at the sky.

The billowing smoke and the raucous shouts of the human soldiers clearly indicated that the plan had commenced.

Whether it would succeed would hinge on this very moment.

At this point, near the castle of Silnas, only the rushing Treemen, engulfed in flames, seemed indifferent to the human soldiers’ shouts.

The Treemen had been blinded by rage.

Their minds were consumed by a singular thought: charging straight into the human ranks to annihilate all the humans who had angered them.

Quickly, the Treemen reached the blazing area.

They plowed through the fire, disregarding the pain as flames scorched their bodies, emerging from the woods.

“Go!”

As soon as the Treemen showed themselves, Victor commanded the soldiers.

The prepared soldiers immediately brandished their tools and charged towards the Treemen.

What they wielded were not swords or pikes—these were sturdy chains and nets.

While these items couldn’t kill, they could help restrain opponents.

One person alone might not be able to bind a Treeman, but what if hundreds joined in?

Moreover, the human Mages had also made their preparations.

They had been briefed beforehand.

They would cast various spells to hinder the Treemen.

For example, they would erect walls of earth (or stone) around them, trapping them, or cause the ground beneath them to turn into a marsh.

The frontline Treemen were suddenly caught off guard by the humans’ traps.

The First Warrior, Mackart, was specifically targeted.

The humans had prepared a reinforced stone cage and a vast marsh just for him.

While he wasn’t in immediate danger, he found himself in a tight spot.

The frontline Treemen suffered, yet the ones in the back didn’t slow down; their sole focus was on the human army.

The mindlessly furious Treemen only wanted to charge ahead and personally slay all the humans.

Faced with obstacles, they merely sought to go around them.

As for their magical abilities, those were forgotten in the heat of battle.

However, what awaited them was not the same disorganized human soldiers they had faced yesterday.

Today, the human soldiers were fully prepared.

These soldiers had been carefully selected overnight.

The human soldiers didn’t engage the Treemen head-on; instead, they maneuvered around the Treemen, using their agility to circle them, utilizing chains and nets to ensnare them.

With their bodies bound by the humans, even the mightiest of Treemen found it hard to unleash their power, letting out cries of frustration.

This all happened rapidly, so swiftly that the elven soldiers barely had time to react before numerous Treemen were captured by human soldiers.

Those human soldiers still idle watched the swift chain of events before them and felt a sense of vindication.

If it hadn’t been for the Treemen’s ambush yesterday, they wouldn’t have faced such disarray nor suffered so many losses.

Watching Treeman after Treeman getting captured, Lov on the city wall turned ashen.

If the Treemen were to be completely wiped out, the humans would no longer have to worry about threats from behind, allowing them to focus entirely on the siege.

However, at that moment, they were powerless to rescue the Treemen.

They were separated from the human army.

Moreover, the human formation was not as chaotic as it was the day before; they were fully on guard against the elves.

The human formations were definitely alert to their movements.

As for magic, basic spells couldn’t reach the human ranks, and the humans had their own Mages—though their skills were subpar, their numbers were still significant.

As for War Magic, that was currently on cooldown.

Lov clenched his fists tightly, realizing he could only watch.

At the same time, he cursed the Treemen in his heart.

Their actions had completely disrupted the entire plan.

Wasn’t it better to continue like yesterday?

Lost in thought, Lov suddenly understood something.

He turned to look at the burning forest.

The humans had set the forest ablaze precisely to draw out the Treemen, aiming to deal with these troublesome foes first.

“Damn it!”

Lov bit his lip and slammed his clenched right fist against the nearby city wall.

He had underestimated them; everything that had transpired, including the humans’ so-called envoy, had been meticulously orchestrated by the humans.