Wizard + System

CH223

"The Bow of the World Tree!" Milanra and his companion exclaimed in unison.

They immediately recognized the longbow in Helag's hand.

Exchanging glances, they quickly cast green shields around themselves.

They knew the Bow of the World Tree well; its arrows had no flight path and could appear directly before them.

Boom!

The arrows exploded, pushing Milanra and his companion back several meters.

"The Bow of the World Tree? So that's its name," Helag said in Elvish, his voice deep.

Milanra and his companion remained silent, clearly unwilling to engage in conversation with Helag.

They quickly gathered magic, preparing to attack Helag.

But Helag drew the Bow of the World Tree, firing two more arrows.

Milanra and his companion couldn't release their spells in time, forced to interrupt and cast two more shields.

The previous arrows had shattered their shields, leaving them in tatters, necessitating new ones.

This left them unable to counter Helag.

The three arrows forced Milanra and his companion to evade.

Helag gave them no respite, shooting arrows relentlessly as if they cost nothing.

Under this barrage, Milanra and his companion found themselves scrambling to escape.

Despite being high-level spellcasters, they were driven to such a state by someone nearing mid-level, feeling utterly frustrated.

"Damn! Is his bloodline power really this strong, allowing him to use the Bow of the World Tree like this?" Milanra cursed under his breath.

The Bow of the World Tree demanded high bloodline power from its user; the stronger the bloodline, the easier it was to use, only consuming stamina.

Without sufficient bloodline power, using the Bow of the World Tree would cost life force, reducing lifespan.

Helag, with his powerful bloodline, thought it merely drained stamina.

Among the elves, only royal elves could wield the Bow of the World Tree.

Only they had the strong bloodline needed to wield it.

The Bow of the World Tree was crafted from the branches of the World Tree, imbued with its mystical power.

Such bows were rare; Milanra had seen few, never expecting this wizard to have one.

Helag stood by the Shadow Altar, firing the Bow of the World Tree, turning Milanra and his companion into prey, fleeing in all directions.

"We can't do this; we need to retreat," Milanra realized they couldn't approach Helag and decided to flee.

Simultaneously, sounds of fighting and spell blasts came from two other locations.

Helag glanced over, suspecting elves were causing trouble there too.

It seemed the situation wasn't going well.

Helag merely observed, not intending to assist.

He wasn't familiar with those people, and few respected his team.

Guarding his Shadow Altar was challenging enough.

Soon, a group of figures flew in from Base 27, all second-level wizards by their aura.

Cain landed by Helag, asking, "Where are they?"

Helag replied, "I drove them off."

Cain checked the altar, still intact, and nodded, "Well done. I'll check the other areas."

Helag remained in combat mode.

In case the elves returned.

And he couldn't be sure if more elves were hidden elsewhere.

The Lim Mountains were vast, and Deep Blue's scan covered only a small area, insufficient.

Helag detected Milanra and his companion only when they entered his thousand-meter range, allowing Deep Blue to sense them.

"The Bow of the World Tree…" Helag looked at the longbow, realizing it might be more extraordinary than he thought.

From the elves' reactions, it was clearly special.

Helag wondered how Cole, a mid-level spellcaster, obtained it.

He could only marvel at Cole's luck in acquiring such a treasure.

Meanwhile, as Milanra and his companion retreated, they saw reinforcements approaching, knowing wizards were coming.

On their flanks, two teams were working to destroy altars.

Milanra chose the closer one, shouting, "Retreat!" after concealing himself.

The two elves were battling a wizard, having destroyed the altar.

They wanted to finish off the wizard.

But the wizard was also high-level, not easily defeated.

With Milanra's call to retreat, they suspected something was amiss and followed him.

***

The next day, Helag silently observed the two elves shackled with anti-magic cuffs.

Six elves had infiltrated to destroy altars, with four escaping and two captured.

Of the three attacked altars, only Helag's remained intact.

The other two were either completely destroyed or partially damaged.

Those guarding the damaged altars looked grim.

They hailed from various factions in the Land of Dawn, and this failure would be noted.

In future resource allocations, this would be a point of contention, reducing their share.

They'd be seen as failures.

Visiting the elven plane, they gained nothing and made mistakes.

Of course, Helag's team received no rewards.

Guarding was expected; failure was their fault.

Parker glared at those who lost their altars, then smiled at the elves, "These elves are bold. I guess I've been too lenient. Let's make them bleed."

He clapped, "Let's send those little darlings out to test the waters, show these elves we're not to be trifled with."

Elves dared to infiltrate and destroy altars, so Parker retaliated.

As he clapped, all creatures in the Lim Mountains paused, then turned towards Oberstein.

The creatures began charging towards Oberstein.

A massive wave of creatures surged from the Lim Mountains, raising clouds of dust.

Gray-yellow dust billowed, sweeping the land.

The creature army charged out of the Lim Mountains, heading straight for Oberstein's border forces.

Roars of various creatures echoed, creating a formidable presence.

CH224

After Milanra and his group returned to the camp, they waited for the other two to come back.

But by dawn, the two were still missing.

Lucio sighed, "They probably won't be coming back."

Parado stood by a tree, placing his right hand over his heart, closing his eyes, seemingly mourning his tribesmen.

The two missing elves were from his tribe.

Parado didn't blame Milanra's group, understanding the situation inside was uncontrollable.

Having four return was already an achievement; expecting more was unreasonable.

"There are many altars in the Lim Mountains, each guarded by wizards. The mountains are also filled with various creatures, in great numbers," Milanra reported his findings.

Lucio nodded, "Yes, destroying even one altar is a significant achievement. Fewer altars mean fewer creatures over time."

They stayed up all night discussing their next steps.

Just then, a soldier rushed into the tent, panicked, "Commander, it's not… not good!"

Tyron frowned, "What's got you so worked up?"

Already burdened with numerous issues, Tyron was under immense pressure and frustration.

Seeing his soldier so flustered, he became irritated.

The soldier, ignoring this, hurriedly said, "The creatures have mobilized! The creatures from the Lim Mountains are coming out!"

"What!" Tyron shot up from his seat.

Lucio quickly turned, asking, "Did you say the creatures from the Lim Mountains are coming out? How many?"

"At least ten thousand! There's no end in sight!" the soldier replied, his voice trembling.

Having never seen a single creature before, the sight of an overwhelming creature army had left him terrified.

Lucio was also taken aback.

They hadn't expected the wizards to act so soon, assuming they'd summon as many creatures as possible.

If they hadn't disrupted the summoning, the wizards would have quietly built their forces.

The sudden mobilization of creatures from the Lim Mountains was unexpected, leaving them momentarily at a loss.

Tyron was the first to react, saying, "Signal the troops, prepare for battle! Bring all weapons forward; we must win this fight! Behind us is Oberstein, the Norn Kingdom!"

The signal officer quickly relayed the orders, and the fifty-thousand-strong border army began organizing their defenses.

Lucio said, "We must join the battle too, to minimize soldier casualties. Otherwise, we can't hold the line alone."

The elves were too few; the main defense relied on the border army.

Lucio and his group deployed, over sixty elves spread across the defensive line.

Their mission was twofold: kill the incoming creatures and minimize soldier casualties, preserving as many lives as possible.

Between the border camp and the Lim Mountains lay an open plain, with few obstacles aside from small groves.

As the creature army charged, countless soldiers prepared for battle.

"Release arrows!"

The commander ordered as the creatures entered range.

Waves of arrows soared, tracing graceful arcs before descending.

Countless arrows rained on the creature army, quickly striking many creatures.

Some creatures, injured, lost balance and fell.

Before they could rise, they were trampled by the oncoming horde.

Soon, the ground was littered with mangled remains.

Some creatures, with arrows lodged in non-vital areas, continued charging despite injuries.

The arrow barrage persisted, continually striking creatures.

Yet, the creature army's advance remained largely unimpeded, rapidly nearing the border defenses.

By now, some flying creatures had reached the front lines.

Bat-like creatures spat green slime from a distance.

The slime corroded soldiers' armor, emitting white smoke.

Armor couldn't cover every inch, leaving gaps and seams vulnerable.

The slime seeped through these gaps, contacting soldiers' skin.

Upon contact, soldiers fell, writhing in agony.

They clawed at the corroded areas, desperate to alleviate the itching, burning pain.

In their frenzy, they tore at their own flesh, exposing greenish fluids and intensifying the pain.

Quick-thinking soldiers used shields to block the slime.

The shields smoked, corroded with large pits.

Archers quickly targeted the flying creatures, unleashing dense volleys.

Despite their speed, the creatures couldn't evade the thick arrow rain.

Some were struck down, falling to the ground.

As they landed, swords and blades descended, reducing them to pulp.

Seeing the creatures could be killed eased some soldiers' fears.

Soon, the creature army was upon them.

A massive clash ensued as creatures engaged the border troops.

Frontline soldiers wielded swords against the creatures.

The creatures were stronger than expected, each possessing knight-level strength.

Their speed, power, and resilience surpassed most soldiers.

The soldiers' only advantage was their armor.

But the creatures were fearless, attacking relentlessly even when mortally wounded.

Each creature fought to the death, focusing solely on offense.

Most soldiers lacked such resolve.

In the initial clash, soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

The creatures also took heavy losses, the front ranks falling quickly.

The air filled with the stench of blood, permeating the battlefield with a nauseating odor.