How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 253 The Brutal Battlefield

Free city-state, Lambert territory.

The Lantern Knight, Shar, gripped his longbow tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

The billowing dust rising from the horizon slowly crept towards the city wall.

But what she saw was not a ferocious demon army, but a dense, endless sea of ​​refugees.

Their clothes were so tattered they could barely cover their bodies, and their emaciated faces were etched with despair.

Most of them were elderly people with unsteady steps, women carrying babies, and children being dragged along by adults.

They stumbled and staggered, as if they might fall to the ground at any moment and never get up again.

Behind them, the lesser demons mingling in the crowd were emitting sharp, piercing laughter.

It used its barbed claws to slap the people who were lagging behind.

They drove the refugees fleeing from the breached Richter territory, step by step approaching the walls of Lambert territory.

"Don't shoot! We are from Richter's territory!"

A woman holding a child screamed with her head tilted back.

"Open the door! Let us in! My uncle is a manager in the Chamber of Commerce!"

A boy clung to the foundation stone of the city wall, his fingernails drawing blood.

"Please! The demons behind us are going to kill us all!"

Cries and pleas drifted on the wind up the battlements, heart-wrenching.

A deathly silence fell over the city wall in an instant.

The mercenaries, caravan guards, and adventurers who had come to the city on their own initiative, holding bows and arrows, looked at each other in bewilderment. Many of them subconsciously lowered their bowstrings, their eyes filled with struggle.

Shar's face was pale, and her golden hair trembled in the wind.

She bit her lower lip hard, looking down at the desperate faces below the city.

But she didn't speak rashly. Instead, she slowly turned her head and looked at President Lambert, who was also standing by the battlements.

She knew very well that in this city-state controlled by the merchant guild, only he had the authority to open the city gates.

"Lord Shar," President Lambert said, his face contorted with extreme difficulty, his voice hoarse, "you know better than I how many kinds of demons can disguise themselves as humans."

Shar paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Besides the most common wax demons, there are succubi that can perfectly mimic human speech and behavior, and ghouls that can devour the dead and use their skins—but in fact, even among demons of the same kind, individual abilities differ."

We cannot determine how many imposters are among these refugees.

"It took us seven whole days to identify whether there were any demons among the previous batch of a thousand refugees who fled here, and we even lost three guards."

President Lambert's tone was somber: "But this time—look at how many people are down here? Even if we open the city gates, how long will it take to screen them all?"

Looking at the dark, ever-growing crowd below the city, Shar's face grew even more grim.

Lambert seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps to Shar: "Once the city gates are opened, the demons hidden inside will immediately launch an attack from within."

Then the demon army outside will take the opportunity to attack the city, and with the help of both inside and outside, Lambert Territory will fall in an instant.

We are either sacrificed to the abyss, or—we will become food for the demons.

Shar fell into a long silence, as did the lantern bearers behind her.

They swore an oath with the lanterns in their hands, willing to burn their lives to fight against the abyss.

However, the current situation is far more complicated than simply sacrificing oneself to kill the demon.

They were about to kill humans just like themselves.

Lambert was right.

This is an unsolvable deadlock.

"In this matter, I grant permission for the Lantern Bearers and all external reinforcements not to participate."

Lambert's voice was unusually calm, yet carried an undeniable resolve.

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned sharply and roared hoarsely at the messenger beside him, "Pass down the order! Mercenaries employed by the Chamber of Commerce, fire!"

"President! No—"

A young mercenary cried out, but was immediately held down by an old soldier next to him and dragged behind the city wall.

The next moment, a dense rain of arrows whistled down from the city wall.

The first arrow struck the middle-aged man running in the lead with pinpoint accuracy.

He felt a sudden jolt in his chest, stumbled, and dropped the cloth bag he was clutching tightly to the ground, from which rolled out dry, hard black bread.

He looked down at the arrow shaft in his chest, then fell straight to the ground and never got up again.

Immediately afterwards, a second and a third arrow rained down like locusts, densely covering the open space below the city.

People fell like wheat, their screams echoing everywhere.

Warm blood stained the parched earth.

Far behind the refugees, an endless army of demons stretched out.

Atop a black chariot sat Balk's enormous figure.

Flames burned on the massive demonic body, and he held a huge golden sword stained with blood in his hand.

Seeing the horrific scene of humans slaughtering each other below the city, Xiu grinned, revealing a set of sharp fangs, and a cruel yet satisfied smile.

"Fools of the Free City-State, do you think you can hold out like this?"

Xiu casually grabbed a human skull from the chariot and threw it off the chariot.

Several Quassa demons that had been waiting nearby immediately pounced on it, scrambling to devour it, making a nauseating crunching sound.

Balk slowly raised the blood-red golden sword in his hand and pointed it at the city gate of Lambert Territory.

"My servants! Charge! Smash this city! Capture all the living creatures and offer them to the great abyss!"

His response was a deafening roar from tens of thousands of demons, which made the entire earth tremble.

In the sky, thousands of vulture demons with rotting wings and buzzing giant fly demons flapped their wings simultaneously, swarming towards the city walls of Lambert's territory.

On the ground, countless horned demons, quass demons, and mad demons were divided into neat legions according to their race.

Tens of thousands of demons marched in unison, surging towards the attempt like a black tide.

Such a tremendous commotion naturally alarmed everyone in the city.

The next moment, the mournful war horns resounded throughout the entire Lambert Territory.

Hundreds of magical cannons were pushed onto the city wall, their muzzles emitting dazzling light in succession.

The heavy ballistae also emitted a dull hum, and the thick bolts shot towards the demon horde with a whooshing sound.

Amid the still-suppressing cries of the refugees, the demons at the forefront were torn apart by beams of magical energy and reduced to ashes.

But similarly, countless demons flying in the sky dodged the rain of arrows and cannon fire, and suddenly swooped down.

They grabbed the gunners and crossbowmen with their claws and then hurled them from high above, smashing them into a bloody pulp.

Shar drew her one-handed longsword, which gleamed white light, from her waist and thrust it forward, killing a Yuanjiu Demon that lunged at her.

Beside her, a third-tier dwarf warrior from the Silver Kingdom wielded a heavy warhammer, smashing a demon's head to pieces with each swing.

But even with third-tier combat power, there are only so many things one can do.

Watching as precious magic cannons were either destroyed by swooping demons or pushed off the city walls for repairs due to overheating from frequent firing.

A look of anxiety appeared on Shar's face.

She gritted her teeth and silently recited in her heart:

Kane, where are you?

Half a day later, four kilometers north of Lambert's territory.

The vanguard scout positions of the Susas Royal Court Army Group, where a detachment of 10,000 men composed of two elite scout regiments had been waiting for some time.

Legion Commander Emil held up his alchemical telescope, watching the fierce battle unfolding atop the walls of Lambert's territory in the distance.

The magic cannon flashed continuously, annihilating swarms of demons.

But even more demons seemed endless, surging in from all directions.

His brow furrowed slightly.

"The demon army has launched a probing attack on Lambert Territory, with a current force of about 30,000—although the defending troops have not received any targeted training and lack the ability to respond—the casualties are quite high."

Emil put down his binoculars.

"Our current task is to take the initiative, draw their attention, and relieve as much pressure as possible on the defenders on the city walls."

"But sir, the main force is still in the rear and will take at least half a day to arrive."

One of the company commanders looked troubled.

"And fighting demons in the open field—that's too risky. Shouldn't we wait until His Highness the Regent arrives before making a decision?"

""

"The demons have launched a full-scale attack on the city. They cannot stop their offensive at this time and give the defenders a chance to regroup."

Emil shook his head.

"So at most they will only allocate a portion of their forces to deal with us."

"Our 10,000 members have all undergone five years of rigorous training and are fully capable of completing this mission."

"Our strategic objective is singular: to tie down and deplete the demons' manpower as much as possible before the main force arrives, thus buying time for Lambert Territory."

Emil, a former member of the academy's guard, spoke with a firm tone.

"We have faith in our new weapons, and we also have faith in our new battle formations that we have been training hard for five years."

As soon as he finished speaking, Emil gave the order.

The entire scout contingent of ten thousand men immediately began to move, marching in orderly steps slowly into the battlefield from the north, and quickly forming a huge square formation.

The heavy footsteps made the ground tremble slightly, raising clouds of dust.

This sudden and enormous commotion immediately attracted the attention of both the city walls of Lambert and the demon army.

The reactions on both sides were completely different.

The Lambert garrison's faces lit up with ecstatic joy when they saw the Susas banner.

Meanwhile, on the demon army's side, Balk raised an eyebrow slightly.

Soon, an army of over ten thousand berserkers separated from the main demon force and roared as they charged toward the scout legion's position.

Tens of thousands of frenzied demons huddled together, like a black mudslide.

The Frenzied Demons are the lowest level of demons in the abyss. They are violent, numerous, and their only weapon is their brute strength.

Although they only possess first-tier strength, they rely on their fearless racial traits.

A single Frenzied Demon can often take on two or three human soldiers of the same rank.

Emil remained expressionless as he watched the surging black torrent approach.

"It seems we've been underestimated by these fools from the abyss."

He ordered in a deep voice: "All magic cannons stand by, conserve aether crystals. Conventional artillery and ballistae ready, fire three volleys once the enemy is within range."

"Spearmen in front, shield bearers providing cover, form ranks!"

The order was quickly relayed.

The Susas army's formation immediately began to change, a huge formation slowly unfolding, countless gleaming spears pointing in the direction from which the demons were charging, like a giant beast poised to pounce.

Soon, the two legions, each with tens of thousands of men, drew closer and closer.

On the city wall of Lambert's territory, President Lambert watched this scene through his telescope, a deep worry on his face.

"Guild Master, the Susas people are too arrogant! They actually dare to fight demons in the wild!"

"I said with concern," one of the staff members said.

"Even if their iron powder arrows can exert considerable power, they are consumed too quickly on the battlefield."

"Fortunately, the main force of the demons is still on standby, and the ones sent to deal with them are only the lowest-ranking Frenzied Demons—hopefully, the regent will realize his mistake after losing these 10,000 people."

"No, let me think about it again."

Lambert's expression, however, was unusually serious.

"Susas was the first to warn the entire continent of the Abyss invasion five years ago. They won't gamble with the lives of ten thousand people so easily."

Surrounded by guards, the two walked to the other side of the tower and continued to observe the battlefield.

Soon, they saw rows of dark cannons being pushed out of the Sussas positions.

"Magic cannons? They can actually build so many magic cannons themselves?" the staff officer exclaimed in surprise.

"No, that's not a magic cannon."

Lambert shook his head, his eyes serious.

"They only look somewhat similar, but they are much lighter than our magic cannon, and the barrel is also much longer."

As soon as Lambert finished speaking, the two of them fell silent.

Because the first wave of berserk demons had already rushed to within 300 meters of Susas's position.

The next moment, the dark cannons simultaneously unleashed a deafening roar.

Lambert and his staff's expressions simultaneously turned extremely grave.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The dull thuds of cannon fire rang out one after another.

These cannons are far less powerful than the magic cannons and cannot annihilate demons in an area, but their range and rate of fire far exceed those of the magic cannons.

One after another, solid black cannonballs roared into the demons' vanguard, their immense kinetic energy causing them to rampage through the demon army.

Each shell could send more than ten berserkers flying, shattering their bones and splattering their internal organs everywhere.

The Sussas had over a hundred of these cannons on their positions.

With just three volleys, over a thousand Frenzied Demons were wiped out.

At the same time, dozens of huge ballistae began to fire, their thick bolts like javelins, capable of impaling three or four demons together.

If it were an ordinary mercenary army, they would have scattered and fled long ago after suffering such heavy losses.

But the demons were different; although some of the frenzied demons at the forefront showed expressions of terror.

But the vast majority of demons continued to roar and charge forward recklessly.

Just as the Frenzied Demon was about to crash into the array of spears and shields of the Susas soldiers, a dense "whoosh" sound suddenly rang out from within the array.

Countless crossbows fired simultaneously, a dense barrage of bolts raining down on the demon charging at the front.

The numerous crossbows killed only a small number of demons; most of them were only slightly injured.

But when the special potion applied to the crossbow bolts seeped into their wounds, the berserk demons let out painful roars and their movements became sluggish.

Just then, the demon's vanguard finally clashed with the Sussas's spear formation.

The frenzied demon at the forefront crashed headfirst into the dense array of spears, its body pierced by the sharp spear tips, and it was thrown high into the air.

The demons behind them continued to charge forward, but were blocked by the thick shields and then pierced one by one by the spears that emerged from the gaps in the shields.

Moreover, the long square formation of spearmen and shieldmen began to move slowly forward, advancing layer by layer like waves.

It is constantly squeezing the living space of demons.

Behind the formation, crossbowmen continuously launched bolts coated with a special potion, which rained down on the demons, causing them immense suffering.

Meanwhile, the spearmen at the front, protected by their shields, skillfully stabbed and slashed, killing demons one by one.

The corpses of demons kept sliding off the spears and piling up in front of the formation, quickly forming a low wall of corpses.

The spearmen were not without casualties as well.

Every now and then, some exceptionally ferocious second-tier berserkers would use brute force to tear open the shields and drag the soldiers behind them out to tear them apart.

But the next moment, the empty space will be filled by the soldiers next to them, and more spears will emerge from the gaps in the shields to kill the demon and avenge their comrades.

A series of deafening shouts suddenly erupted from the Susasian phalanx.

"Susas! Susas! Susas!"

This new legion, primarily composed of half-elves but also incorporating humans, halflings, and dwarves, underwent five years of rigorous training and combat experience, and displayed astonishing combat power upon first contact.

The perfect coordination of cannons, ballistae, hand crossbows, and long spear formations rendered the mad demons, who relied solely on brute force and minions, utterly helpless, allowing them to be slaughtered in droves like lambs to the slaughter.

Many of the berserk demons were so terrified by the massacre that they turned to flee, only to be killed by the demons supervising the battle from behind.

Seeing this, Lambert and his men, who had been struggling to hold on the city walls, were all stunned.

Lambert and his staff stared in disbelief. Shar and her lantern bearers, on the other hand, looked on with delight.

Meanwhile, Balk, who was directing his army to attack the city, revealed an even more bloodthirsty smile.

"Compared to those cowards in the Free Cities who only hide behind their walls and slaughter their own people, they are worthy to be my, Balk's, opponent!"

"My servants! All troops, turn! Slaughter all these Sussans first!"

With Balk's order, the demon army that was besieging the city immediately began to turn around.

Meanwhile, the demon army around them began to move slowly.

These demons were not the lowest-level Frenzied Demons from before; they included a large number of mid-level demons, and even quite a few powerful high-level demons.

There are hundreds of demons of the third rank or higher.

As the black demon army slowly began to move, the earth trembled once more.

"We should seize this opportunity to open the city gates and attack the demons from behind! The forces inside the city are sufficient to hold out!"

One of the generals said excitedly to Lambert.

Lambert's expression grew even more grim.

"President, we can't leave the city!" the aide immediately stopped him.

"Our soldiers are no match for the elite of Sussas. Going out into the open to fight will only result in them being slaughtered by demons. What they can do, we cannot do—for now, all we can do is hold the city walls, provide armored support, and wait for the Sussas to finish the battle."

Lambert muttered a couple of curses under his breath, but ultimately did not give the order to leave the city.

Just then, Shar, her body splattered with demon blood, walked over. She looked at the northern horizon, her voice calm yet with a hint of certainty: "Don't worry, he should be here soon."

"he?"

Just as Lambert and the others were about to ask "Who is he?", they suddenly felt a violent tremor beneath their feet.

Everyone looked up at the northern horizon without prior arrangement.

Where the sky meets the earth, an army so vast it seems to stretch to the horizon is slowly moving forward.

The heavy footsteps thundered like thunder, making the earth hum and even causing the flags on the city walls to tremble slightly.

At the very front of the army was a black-haired, black-eyed human sitting in a black chariot, clad in heavy black armor.

Even from a distance, one can feel the suffocating pressure emanating from him.

Behind him followed hundreds of cavalrymen, also covered in heavy black armor, their figures like shadows, silent and menacing.

Balk, who was preparing to personally lead his army to annihilate the Sussas scout legion, also noticed this suddenly appearing, massive army.

His smile grew even more maniacal, and he raised his head, unleashing a roar that shook the entire battlefield toward the black figure in the north.

"Kane, Regent of Sussus! You've finally arrived! You are my true adversary!"

I will forge your skull into my most precious drinking vessel, and celebrate my victory with your blood!

With a sudden swing of his blood-red golden sword, all the demons roared and charged toward Susas's main force.

Kane stood quietly in place.

The black cloak behind him fluttered in the wind, and the shadow around him seemed to come alive, like a giant black serpent slowly swimming at his feet.

At this moment, the scout legion still slaughtering the remaining berserkers, and the Lambert Territory defenders struggling on the city walls, have become supporting characters in this war.

All eyes on the battlefield were focused on the two torrents that were about to collide.

The main force of the demon army charged forward at a frenzied pace, with Balk, riding in a chariot, leading the charge.

Meanwhile, Susas's main force of 200,000 men stood like a silent, steel continent, quietly awaiting the demon's attack.

The next moment, amidst the gunfire, the black torrent of demons clashed violently with the steel-like half-elf army!