Chapter 1709: Oops

Violet light erupted from Archer’s mouth. Dragon fire swept across the battlefield. The flames expanded into an enormous wave, consuming the advancing horde in seconds. Armour melted. Weapons disappeared inside the inferno. Entire formations vanished as the violet fire rolled across the countryside, burning through thousands of invading creatures before rising into the sky like a second sunset.

Elsewhere, the legions reached the enemy. Thousands of armoured soldiers advanced in disciplined formations, shields locking together as officers screamed commands from horseback and elevated platforms. Spears lowered. The two armies collided. The sound was deafening. Steel struck steel as the soldiers smashed into the invading hordes. Archers released volleys overhead while artillery positioned behind the formations opened fire toward concentrations of monsters pouring from the portals.

Magic erupted across the battlefield. Fireballs descended amongst enemy ranks. Lightning ripped through formations. Walls of ice burst from the ground while defensive barriers appeared around Draconian soldiers. And amongst them came the empire’s strongest defenders. Teuila landed in the middle of an advancing horde with enough force to crack the ground beneath her. She immediately drove forward, smashing through the creatures attempting to surround her as troops surged behind her.

Vivienne arrived differently. The Nightmare Ant Queen emerged onto the battlefield surrounded by her children. The earth seemed to move. Thousands of ants poured across the landscape, black carapaces reflecting the fires burning around them as they crashed into the enemy flank. Vivienne stood amongst them in her humanoid form, calmly directing the swarm while enormous warrior ants ripped through anything attempting to approach her.

The other women who could fight joined them. Some took positions alongside the Legions. Others moved independently across the battlefield, intercepting stronger monsters before they could break through Draconia’s lines. Within minutes, the island had become a war zone. Portals continued opening all over the place. He could feel every single one. That only made him angrier. He crashed into another horde. His claws tore through armour. His fists shattered shields.

His strength sent gigantic creatures flying through the air like toys. Monsters surrounded him from every direction, but Archer didn’t retreat. He went deeper. A blade struck his shoulder and shattered against his body. He grabbed its wielder and used the creature itself as a weapon, smashing it through several others before throwing the broken body aside. His claws flashed again and again as he carved his way through the invading army.

Blood covered his arms and clothing, none of it his own, while his white hair became stained beneath the endless violence. A gigantic creature emerged from one of the portals ahead. It stood nearly twenty feet tall, covered in black plate armour, carrying a sword almost as large as himself. It roared and charged. He burst forward, ready to fight. The sword descended. He caught it. The earth beneath his feet cracked from the impact.

Archer stared up at the creature. Then his fingers tightened. The blade shattered. Before the monster could react, Archer jumped, drove his claws into its chest and ripped through the armour. He landed behind it as the enormous creature collapsed. Another portal pulsed nearby as hundreds more emerged. He turned toward them. Violet fire gathered between his teeth, and he unleashed everything. The resulting torrent stretched across the battlefield for hundreds of metres.

Thousands of creatures disappeared inside the flames as he swept the attack from one side to the other, burning an enormous path through the invading army. The Draconian soldiers nearest him stopped momentarily. Even they stared in shock. Archer didn’t notice. He was beyond anger now. Every portal that opened felt like an insult. Every creature stepping onto Draconia made something increasingly violent rise inside him.

Someone had attacked his people. Someone had bypassed his protection. Someone believed they could invade his home. Archer threw himself into another army. His roar echoed across the island as claws, fists and violet dragon fire ripped through everything in his path. Behind him, the Draconian Legions continued advancing. Teuila fought amongst them. Vivienne’s swarm consumed entire enemy formations.

The women defended the island alongside the soldiers while artillery and magic thundered continuously across the landscape. Draconia had gone to war, and at the centre of it all, covered in blood and surrounded by burning corpses, Archer continued tearing through the invasion like a beast unleashed. But even while he slaughtered them, one thought remained buried beneath his rage. The portals shouldn’t have been possible. Someone had learned how to get inside.

(Ella)

Ella stood atop the highest tower of Archer’s palace, the wind tearing through her hair as she stared across a Draconia she barely recognised. War had swallowed the island. Smoke rose from dozens of places across the countryside, mixing with the fading daylight while flashes of magic illuminated distant battlefields. The Draconian Legions had formed enormous defensive lines around the capital and surrounding settlements, their formations visible even from the palace as thousands of soldiers collided with the creatures pouring through the portals.

Artillery thundered from fortified positions. Bells continued ringing throughout the city. Somewhere beyond the walls, something enormous roared. Ella raised her mana bow. There was no string. Blue energy formed between her fingers as she pulled her hand backwards, creating an arrow of condensed mana. Her eyes locked onto a group of humanoid creatures charging toward a company of Draconian soldiers below.

She released, and the arrow crossed the distance almost instantly. It struck the first creature directly through the chest before continuing into the one behind it. Both collapsed. She was already drawing another. She fired. Then another. Mana arrows rained from the palace tower with terrifying accuracy. One creature fell with an arrow through its skull. Another stumbled as a shot tore through its knee before a Draconian soldier finished it with a spear.

Ella turned toward a larger monster carrying an enormous axe and released three arrows in rapid succession. The first shattered against its shoulder armour. The second punched through its throat. A third struck between its eyes. It collapsed amongst the advancing horde. ’’Come on,’’ Ella muttered.

Another portal had opened dangerously close to the capital. Hundreds of creatures spilt from it. Her expression hardened. She pulled the bowstring farther back. Mana gathered around the weapon, growing brighter until blue light illuminated the entire top of the tower. Instead of one arrow, several appeared. She released. The projectiles separated in mid-air. A storm of mana descended upon the creatures below.

Dozens were struck simultaneously. Bodies collapsed throughout the formation as glowing arrows punched through armour, shields and exposed flesh. The survivors scattered, only to run directly into the Draconian soldiers advancing from the nearby streets. Ella immediately turned toward another battlefield.

She could see everything from up here. That was why she had chosen the tower. From the ground, the invasion was chaos. From above, she could see where the lines were weakening, where monsters were breaking through and where the Legions needed help. Her next arrow struck a creature moments before it reached an injured soldier. Another killed something climbing onto the city wall.

A third tore through the hand of a monster raising an axe above a fallen Draconian. Ella didn’t stop. Her fingers moved almost automatically now. Every flash of blue meant another enemy fell. A winged humanoid suddenly rose above the buildings. She turned instantly as the creature spotted her. Its wings folded, and the thing dived toward the palace tower.

Ella calmly raised her bow. ’’Wrong tower.’’

She released. The mana arrow entered through the creature’s mouth and erupted from the back of its skull. Its body sailed past the tower and disappeared somewhere into the palace garden. She blinked. ’’Oops.’’

The Half-Elf would worry about that later. A deafening roar rolled across the island. Ella looked toward the sound. Even from this distance, Archer was impossible to miss. Violet fire erupted across the countryside. A wall of flame swept through one of the invading armies, illuminating the horizon as thousands of creatures disappeared inside it. Seconds later, something shot through the burning battlefield at impossible speed. Archer.

Ella watched him crash into another formation. Bodies flew everywhere. ’’He’s angry.’’

That might have been the understatement of her life. She had seen Archer fight before. She had seen him kill monsters without hesitation and tear apart enemies considerably larger than himself. This was different. There was nothing controlled about him now. He was ripping through the invading creatures with his bare hands, claws and dragon fire, moving from one group to another so quickly that the enemy barely had time to react.

Every few moments, another burst of violet flame illuminated the battlefield. Ella understood why. This was Draconia, a beacon of freedom. It was their home. Her Archer’s home, and they hate him for living. Someone had somehow opened portals inside the island Archer had spent so much effort protecting. Another scream dragged her attention back toward the city. ’’Focus.’’

Ella raised her bow again. A group of humanoid creatures had broken through one of the outer defensive positions and were charging along the road leading toward the palace district. She drew the bow as more mana gathered.

She released it, sending it slicing through the air. The arrow split into five, and five creatures dropped. The survivors finally realised where the attacks were coming from. Several looked toward the palace. She stared back down at them. ’’Hello.’’

They charged as she smiled. Her mana bow erupted with light. Arrow after arrow screamed from the tower. The first creature collapsed. Then the second. The third managed another ten metres before a shot pierced its chest. Two attempted to separate and approach through neighbouring streets. Ella killed both. The remaining creatures continued forward. They never reached the palace gates.

The final one fell less than fifty metres from the walls, a glowing mana arrow buried through its forehead. Ella lowered her bow. Bodies covered the road thanks to her talent in archery. For several seconds, nothing else approached. Then she suddenly felt something nearby. Mana twisted behind the palace, causing her eyes to widen in shock. She slowly turned as space distorted above the gardens.

Her expression disappeared. ’’Oh, you’ve got to be fucking joking.’’

A black fracture opened in the air and expanded outwards. A portal.

Inside the palace grounds. The first humanoid creature stepped through. Then another, followed by dozens. Ella’s bow immediately came back up. Blue mana exploded around her. The first arrow struck before the creatures had even realised someone was watching them.

Ella stepped onto the edge of the tower, staring down at the growing horde entering Archer’s palace grounds. Her eyes hardened. ’’Not happening.’’

She jumped.