Chapter 19: The Uncertainty of Hearts and the Discord of Troops
Mohrk keenly observed the situation unfolding around him.
Since there was no escaping it, he decided to facing it head-on.
With a slight buildup of power, he raised his sword and collided it with the descending fist of the Stone Golem.
Boom—!
Crack—!
First came a tremendous roar, followed by the sound of ice shattering, crushed under the sheer impact.
At this moment, clouds of dust rose, fully obscuring the battlefield, hiding both the Stone Golem and Mohrk from view.
The reverberations nearly knocked Airael and the others off their feet, which gave a hint of just how fierce the clash had been.
“Fall back!”
Andrew was the first to snap back to reality.
After warning everyone, he led the group away.
Meanwhile, Airael, Arthur, and the others hurriedly retreated, abandoning both the Stone Golem and Mohrk.
The nearby Dark Elves and Orcs were too intimidated to intervene.
When the dust finally settled, the scene revealed was quite alarming.
The city wall beneath Mohrk had cracked open, forming a small pit.
He knelt in the pit, desperately holding up his sword.
The Stone Golem’s colossal fist continued to bear down on him.
However, that pressure was gradually diminishing.
After all, it was merely a summoned creature, and its strength was limited; the bulk of its power derived from Andrew, the one who summoned it.
Now that Andrew had retreated, its strength was fading fast.
With the pressure lessening, Mohrk began to push back.
He exerted force, shoving the Stone Golem backwards repeatedly.
Then, with a powerful leap, he soared to the Golem’s head and brought his sword down fiercely.
To his astonishment, he effortlessly severed the Golem’s head from its body.
As he landed, Mohrk gazed at the scene in surprise.
Moments later, the Stone Golem’s dismembered body and its head disintegrated into rubble scattered across the ground.
Watching this, Mohrk furrowed his brows slightly.
He stepped forward, bent down to pick up a piece of rubble, and with just a gentle squeeze, it crumbled into dust, some of which slipped from his palm and fell to the ground.
His face betrayed no emotion regarding this.
Next, he turned his attention to the retreating Airael and the others.
At this moment, Airael and her companions had reached the Siege Engine and were preparing to escape through it.
The moment Mohrk looked over, Airael’s group, sharp as ever, immediately sensed his gaze.
They locked eyes with Mohrk.
Although no words were spoken, the meaning was clear to everyone.
Airael and the others: Today’s battle ends here; we’ll meet again next time!
Mohrk: Next time, I won’t let you escape again!
As for the retreating Airael’s group, Mohrk had no intention of pursuing them.
Firstly, like the Dark Elves, he didn’t want to waste effort unnecessarily;
Secondly, he wasn’t in great shape after the earlier confrontation; the Stone Golem’s strike had significantly affected him, and combined with his recent explosive actions, his body now craved rest.
Since the Orcs and Dark Elves didn’t give chase, the human forces managed to retreat back to their camp without incident.
Once safely back, everyone sighed in relief.
Things had gotten perilously dangerous on the wall.
One misstep could have cost them their lives.
And sometimes, even with utmost caution, death could still strike unexpectedly.
On the battlefield, surprises could happen at any moment.
Once all the surviving human soldiers had returned, Komit decided not to loiter outside the fortress any longer and promptly ordered the troops to return to camp.
The day’s fighting was officially declared over.
Back in the military camp, Komit immediately gathered the senior officers for an emergency meeting in his tent to discuss the upcoming battle plan.
The group rushed in without even having time for lunch.
Fortunately, Komit had anticipated this and had arranged some food in the tent, allowing everyone to eat while they discussed matters.
Airael, however, did not participate in this meeting.
Although her status was quite special, allowing her to hold a high position in the military as a “commoner,” she was still barred from such a high-level, confidential meeting.
For this, Airael wasn’t particularly worried.
If she wanted to know, she’d just ask Arthur later.
This was merely a formality.
Since humans required her assistance, they’d inevitably have to share some knowledge with her, just a matter of time.
Yet, sometimes maintaining the formality was necessary.
Airael was well aware of that and understood it.
Thus, she preferred to focus on eating a decent lunch rather than attending a tedious meeting.
Though the food wasn’t anything special, it filled her stomach, which was what mattered most.
The morning’s battle had been quite exhausting, leading to significant consumption of energy.
After finishing her lunch and replenishing herself, Airael returned to the tent she shared with Arthur to rest.
When Arthur finally returned, the sky was nearly dark.
This meant they’d spent the entire afternoon in the meeting.
As he entered the tent, Airael, lying on the bed, emerged from her meditation and opened her eyes.
She looked at the somewhat fatigued Arthur and asked:
“Did the meeting conclude?”
“It did!”
“Was it that long?”
“There’s no helping it. When there are disputes regarding certain matters, we have to discuss it thoroughly.”
“So, did you come to an agreement?”
“Not entirely, but we did reach some level of consensus.”
Saying this, Arthur sat down beside the bed.
Being on the bed, he appeared even more exhausted.
“What’s wrong?”
Airael sensed something was off.
She immediately sat up straight.
“The Malong Fortress is tougher to assault than we first imagined. Plus, during today’s meeting, I noticed our morale isn’t united; General Komit struggles to effectively rally the troops below.”
In response, Airael chuckled lightly: “That’s completely normal!”
She recalled a saying from her past life.
Wherever there are people, there is strife, and where there is strife, conflict is bound to arise.
This was unavoidable.
To make everyone of one mind, it would require extreme circumstances.
In Airael’s view, such situations only arose when they’d reached a desperate standstill, with no other options left.
And it wasn’t just humans; nearly all races were like this.
Elves were included in that mix.
Airael believed those Elven Lords, who had lived for thousands of years, were even more unfathomable than these humans.
