Pivot of the Sky

Those four Ironbacks had been El Mar’s subordinates for years, and this time they were also brought into the fortress but had not shown up in the previous battle. This time, they suddenly rushed up to the walls at the last moment to play a decisive role. After the battle, El Mar resumed her human form. Her delicate face looked very pale, and she was moderately injured as well as exhausted.

Raphael, who had stayed in the underground hall, was of course unharmed, but his face was also pale, and he sat there, almost unable to stand up. As for the mages, they were no longer able to fight.

This day’s battle did not take place only in this fortress, otherwise, no matter how capable Raphael and El Mar were, they would not have been able to stop the Giant Legion’s desperate assault. Like yesterday, the Salem Legion was out in formation again this day, gathering their troops and slowly advancing in the direction of the battlefield. Felix decided to stay alert but ignored them for now, focusing his attention on taking the fortress first.

The Salem Legion marched slowly, stopped for lunch at noon, and continued to advance in the afternoon. Felix, seeing that the fortress was about to be taken, refused to give up. He was confident that he had enough troops to fight on two fronts, so he ordered his men to form up to meet the enemy when the Salem Legion was 3 miles away, and to ignore them if they did not reach that distance.

Unexpectedly, the Salem Legion came for real this time.

When the battle of the siege was at its fiercest, Felix gathered a thousand sword and shield soldiers and horsemen to form up on the avenue to meet the enemy. At that moment, it was the other fortress that suddenly launched a counter-attack. Lynk opened the gates and charged with two hundred horsemen into the battle formation of the Giant Legion. In his direction, Felix also laid down five hundred sword and shield soldiers on guard, and immediately formed up to meet the battle.

The impact of the horsemen was strong but did not completely break the military formation laid by the giant warriors with heavy shields and long spears. Lynk also brought ten mages out of the fortress, where they hid among the horsemen and used magic attacks. Felix was not moved by Lynk’s attack, he believed that the formation of 500 giant sword and shield soldiers could hold off the 200 horsemen and gave the order to fight to the death.

The reason why Lynk went out of the fortress was that the situation in the other fortress was critical, and he also saw that the opponent’s stone throwers could not be transferred to attack his fortress. Also, the most feared crossbowmen were all out of the battle formation, and that was why he sent his horsemen out of the fortress to fight. Lynk was a supreme mage himself, and with the assistance of the ten mages, they were able to slay roughly a hundred giant warriors while losing a few dozen horsemen on his side.

But the enemy refused to retreat and continued fighting on, while the horsemen could no longer rely on the impact of their initial charge, so Lynk hurriedly ordered them to retreat back to the fortress. Due to inexperience, the horsemen’s formation was chaotic during the retreat, and the giant warriors took advantage of the opportunity to attack, surprisingly managing to rush into the fortress gates. At this moment, a buzzing sound was heard, and Lynk who had reached the fortress first operated the magic formation to launch a counterattack, while the defending soldiers also rushed to the gates.

The gates were closed, and all the giant warriors who had entered the gates were killed or captured alive after a fierce fight. On the other hand, the Giant Legion’s priests attacked Raphael’s fortress under Lucien’s command, while all the crossbowmen and stone-throwers also attacked in that direction, so they were unable to assist in the attack on Lynk’s fortress. In the end, the giant warriors could only retreat and stay on alert towards Lynk’s fortress.

……

When the four Ironbacks finally entered the fray, Idu, who was leading the Salem Legion, looked into the distance and saw Felix’s Giant Legion already in formation. Hardedef whispered from the chariot: “Did you see their formation? There are very few horsemen, and most of them are sword and shield soldiers.”

Idu mused: “The giant warriors are very powerful, when we approach within a hundred paces, be careful of the spears they throw.”

Hardedef sighed and said: “No matter what, we will eventually have to fight head-on, and this is the best opportunity to do so. Right now, there are no stone-throwers in their army formation, no crossbowmen, not even chariots, so we can form up with ease.”

Idu nodded slightly and said: “Their horses are originally few, many parts of the Syah Plateau can not be passed by warhorses, and they have to rely on strong highlander giants to carry the horses over. As a result, they don’t have many chariots, and their horsemen are even fewer, so we have to make good use of that. Their chariots have all been used to set up high platforms for the crossbowmen to attack the fortress. Felix is so confident that his sword and shield soldiers would be sufficient to defend against the charge of our chariots?”

Hardedef narrowed his eyes and said: “He has the qualifications to be confident, the formation formed by the sword and shield soldiers is indeed difficult to deal with. Since he has moved all the crossbowmen to attack Raphael’s fortress, they should be tired now after shooting arrows all day long. Thanks to Raphael and El Mar, the most threatening combat power of them all have been consumed.”

Idu’s original plan was to let the two fortresses hold on for more than seven days to deplete and restrain the fighting strength of the Giant Legion so that they would not be able to attack Salem in the short term and turn the decisive battle into a battle of attrition. It was not expected that Felix would use their troops so vigorously and launch a continuous attack on one fortress. On the other hand, Raphael and El Mar were so tenacious that they had accomplished their expected goal ahead of schedule.

If they were to let the Giant Legion rest for a few days to replenish combat supplies before continuing to attack this way, that fortress would certainly fall. Idu and Hardedef already prepared two plans when they led the army out of the city, and seeing this situation, it seemed that the time to battle had come early.

When the two military formations faced off in the sunset, the siege on the fortress finally ended. After a day of fighting without taking the fortress, the arrows and firestones were exhausted, and the chariots and stone throwers could no longer join in the battle, but the next decisive battle was about to begin. At this time, the ones in the worst situation were probably the Giant Legion’s priests. After assisting the siege on the fortress for the whole day, they now had to fight the next battle without rest, since priests were essential when fighting a formal battle between armies.

By the time the battle formations were set up, Felix was already furious that the head-to-head battle he longed for had come when he least expected it. He waved his huge sword and was about to curse when he heard the rumble of horses’ hooves. It was the chariots of Salem Legion that had suddenly charged.

They were very slow when Hardedef marched the army from Salem, but when they came close, they wasted no time in attacking, not even uttering a single word of nonsense. The war drums sounded, Idu flew to the mid-air, and in the center of the Salem Legion’s formation were twelve mages with staffs, the twelve Judges. Idu had sent all the other mages to the two fortresses, and the twelve Judges were the last mages available in Salem. They were not only well versed in magic arts but also in melee combat.

Each chariot was pulled by two horses, with a driver, a spear-thrower armed with a sword and shield, as well as a crossbowman, who fired a hail of arrows as soon as they neared the enemy. The sides of the chariot were flanked by two heavy horsemen that charged along with the chariot. After the rain of arrows, the giant warriors also threw their spears, and one could hear the crying and neighing of horses. One of the commanders waved a long sword, surrounded by his personal guards, jumped off the chariot and charged straight at the position of Felix, and the spears shot at him were all swept away by strong winds.

This man was truly ferocious, and in the blink of an eye, he had already charged into Felix’s personal guards. The personal guards on both sides then descended into a chaotic battle. Felix shouted as he waved his sword and leaped up: “Who are you?”

The man shouted in reply: “Hardedef!”

Immediately after a dazzling white light exploded, the huge energy impact made the surrounding fighters fall to the ground, and it was the signal of the start of the fight between Hardedef and Felix. At sunset, the battle between the two armies commenced.

This greatly frustrated Lucien, because the battle had only just begun, but the Head of the Legion was now unable to command the army formation due to the fight with Hardedef, and so the responsibility of commanding the battle fell onto him, the chief priest, which was not expected in advance.

The Salem Legion seemed to have seen the weakness of the Giant Legion’s uneven troop configuration and launched a charge with chariots, while heavy horsemen protected the chariots’ two flanks, which was the tactic that the sword and shield soldiers feared the most. Luckily, the giant warriors were strong and powerful, and the giant shields in their hands were incredibly heavy, so they were able to resist for the time being.

But the timing of the battle was quite bad, as it was going to be dark soon. By then, the visibility would be poor, which was very unfavorable to infantry formations, as it would be difficult to ensure that the front and rear of the army formation could retreat in order.

Thinking of this, Lucien ordered the troops to launch a penetrating counter-charge to eliminate the opponent’s priests first at any cost. Because he found that the other side had a supreme mage commanding the whole army in battle, but the number of mages was very small, only twelve mages that followed the chariots charging forward. Their position was too far forward, and the opposing commander seemed to have made a mistake, and should not have placed the mages so close to the battle line.

There was an open area in the center of the battlefield where nobody could approach, which was the site of Hardedef’s fierce fight with Felix, and the two commanders’ personal guards were also fighting nearby. Under the command of Lucien, the priests combined their efforts to put all kinds of protection on the most elite giant warriors, avoiding the personal guards and the two commanders, and attacked the center of the chariot formation with everything they had.

After this round of attack, the giant warriors threw their spears at the twelve Judges, and a hail of spears whistled towards them. The spears which the giant warriors threw at from a few dozen paces away could even pierce a wall. However, a surprising thing happened. Those priests actually wielded iron sticks, and with a thundering sound, a huge net made from energy repelled the incoming spears, and then they charged forward.

The dust and sand on the ground whipped up and hit the shields of the giant warriors with a booming sound, and the giant warriors were unable to hold their shields steadily. Idu waved his staff downward in the air, and countless white lights shot down like arrows, defeating the counter-charge launched by the Giant Legion. Lucien was dumbfounded, what kind of priests would actually charge in battle!

The battle between the two armies had not gone on for very long, but Lucien had been waiting bitterly, as he was afraid that something would happen to Felix. Once the center of the battle formation was broken, the whole army would be greatly demoralized. Felix was also very annoyed, as he also did not expect that there would be a supreme warrior from the other side who could go past his personal guards and fight him directly. Furthermore, this person was capable of using magic arts, and with the support of magic attacks, he was able to tie Felix down.

Highlander giants were mostly born with great innate strength, but everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Most of them were simple-minded, and although they were much stronger than at the same level of body arts, it was very difficult for them to reach the higher levels. The Giant Legion was composed entirely of highlander giants, and they were the Assyrian kingdom’s elite forces, but there were only two supreme warriors. Jufie, the front commander, had been injured during the siege of the fortress, and this allowed Hardedef to succeed in reaching Felix.

The priests of the Giant Legion were not of highlander origin, as trained highlanders were mostly warriors and mages were very rare, so it was unsettling for Lucien to command the army. Felix wanted to settle the battle with Hardedef as soon as possible, he was an eighth-level supreme warrior, and he was more powerful than the average eighth-level supreme warrior, and his heavy sword contained the power of wind and thunder. Unexpectedly, Hardedef was able to hold up. His whole body emanated a restless power and he did not retreat at all.

It was soon dark, and the Salem Legion took no small amount of casualties launching their chariot charge, leaving the wreckage of chariots and horses all over the open field, but they had managed to break through two layers of the Giant Legion’s defense and repelled a counterattack. The sounds of fighting could be heard everywhere, while arrows kept flying, swords and spears struck, and the clash of chariots and huge shields was incessant.

A loud bellow came from the center of the battle, and a powerful wave of energy rippled out. Immediately after, two figures shot out separately and landed with a flip. Felix finally launched his most powerful attack, and his giant sword clashed with Hardedef’s sword with an arc of light. The two men’s swords were damaged and large cracks appeared, while the impact blasted both of them backward. The commander of the Giant Legion had finally managed to escape from the close combat with Hardedef.

Lucien saw this and ordered the trumpets to be blown, leaving a gap in the last line of sword and shield soldiers as they advanced, while the tired warriors in front of him fought and retreated at the same time. He wanted to consolidate their forces and end the battle before nightfall. At the same time, the sound of trumpets came from Salem Legion, and the chariots stopped charging. In the end, the battle ended with the arrival of night.

The result of the battle was neither a victory nor a defeat. Although the Salem Legion had the advantage in tactical arrangements, the Giant Legion still managed to fight on par. Both sides suffered more than 300 casualties, and with the casualties and depletion of resources from attacking the fortress, the Giant Legion could not afford to attack anymore and had to retreat for rest. Idu was also unable to take advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack on Enlil City, but he pushed the battle line between the two fortresses and reinforced the fortress that had been held for three days.

The situation on the battlefield was hard to tell, but the result was considered a victory for Salem. Although they did not defeat the Giant Legion, it turned the tide of the battle, forming a stalemate, holding the front line of defense, and preserving the stability of the rear. And after this battle, the soldiers of the Salem Legion gained real confidence and became a force that could fight hard on the battlefield.

The worst of the battle was naturally the fortress guarded by Raphael, with more than half of the 500 defenders killed and the remaining half wounded. The section of the wall that the Giant Legion attacked was almost all blown away, if not for the protection of the magic formation, a supreme warrior like Hardedef could kick down a large area with his full strength.

Defending the fortresses plus the battle between the two armies, Salem Legion’s 3000 soldiers suffered over 900 casualties, a staggering figure. Idu was temporarily unable to counterattack, and the Salem Legion was in dire need of rest and recovery.

But the people of the city were inspired like never before, because their own legion that they had formed had actually repelled the Giant Legion, and everyone saw it as a great victory! In the people’s perception, it was also a victory for God Amon, and everyone went into the shrine without fail and offered sacrifices to Goddess Mourrin and God Amon on the altar. The people then heard the oracle of God Amon, who told the people to have faith in building and defending their homes, and the entire city of Salem was abuzz with excitement.

……

Amon was far away in the Garden of Eden and was informed of everything that happened in the city of Salem through the statue in the shrine. The principles of the battle with Enlil City had been set long ago, and Amon did not want to intervene in the battle unless Idu made some mistake, but Idu naturally did not make any mistakes. Amon had been in battles for a long time, and in his opinion, it was Felix who made a mistake.

A smarter approach would have been to make a long-term siege and deplete Salem’s reinforcements slowly, which the Giant Legion was able to do. But Felix underestimated the defensive capabilities of the fortress, and the attack was so fierce that in the end, it was difficult to take back the command. On the other hand, Felix also had his reasons to do so, he wanted a quick victory to solve the supply problem of Enlil City in the Plains of Duc, and was not willing to confront Salem for a long time, but Idu’s battle was fought in favor of this result.

Now that the armies of both cities were resting, neither was capable of launching a decisive strike. In subsequent battles, as long as the commanders do not make serious mistakes, regardless of victory or defeat, neither side had the means to defeat the opponent. Unless there was a turning point in the contrast of power, this dynamic had already been formed, and the complete annihilation of the other side has become something that is both unprofitable and unlikely.

With the outcome of the war coming down to this, Amon originally did not have to pay much attention to it.

But Amon had to pay attention because when all the people prayed to his statue, a unique power was formed, and Amon was “awakened” from the spiritual world as if the statue on the altar opened its eyes. Amon finally understood one thing, the establishment of the shrine to accept the sacrifices of the people, allowed the soul to absorb the power of life, but it was not without any limitations. When all the believers focused their faith to summon him, his soul would also be disturbed, and he had no choice but to pay attention.

For the first time, Amon was “forced” by the faith of his believers to open his eyes at the altar, and his subconsciousness in the Garden of Eden was briefly disturbed. He had absorbed this power, and it was only natural that he should pay the price of being “held hostage” by it at such a time. Since it had happened this way, Amon simply sent down an oracle to inspire the people.

……

The celebration in Salem was only a small intermission, and after that Amon continued training in the Garden of Eden. The war on the Plains of Duc was as he had expected, and several skirmishes broke out, but neither side was able to win decisively, entering a state of stalemate and attrition. Along with this war, Amon’s vision of the world and mentality gradually gained a sense of transcendence, becoming like a god that people could not see, but could feel.

But within a few days, another major event occurred, and Idu and Aesop, and the others could not make the decision, so they asked for guidance from God Amon. They did not come to the Garden of Eden but called out in prayer to the statue in the shrine. Amon could hear them, and such a call had to be attended to.