Everyone strained their eyes, their gazes piercing the churning, black demon tide. At its far end, they could see a faint yet conspicuous light.
As the demon tide spread and drew closer, the light grew clearer, vaguely outlining the forms of massive, flourishing Tree-men.
And behind the enormous canopies, which pulsed with verdant life, an equally massive shadow appeared.
A dull tremor ran through the ground. A gigantic boar, the size of a small hill, emerged slowly from the ranks of the Tree-men, its steps heavy.
What the defenders found even more absurd was that atop this seemingly terrifying behemoth sat a plump, round Slime.
The boar looked for all the world like its mount.
Even from a thousand meters away, Dominic could clearly feel it. The Slime on the boar’s back seemed to be looking right at him, its gaze calm and steady, piercing through the raging demon tide.
"Incredible..." Dominic whispered involuntarily, his voice filled with shock.
’Slimes... In all his decades of military service, they had always been the lowest of all demons. To think that even they could produce a king capable of leading a Demon Legion.’
Witnessing this with his own eyes was far more shocking and impactful than any cold words in an intelligence report.
Gazing at the perfectly ordered vanguard of Tree-men, like a moving forest, and the disciplined legion of Poisonous Sting Bees behind them that blotted out the sky, even the ever-composed Levin was stunned into a long silence, seemingly lost in deep thought.
They had dealt with the summer demon tide for the better part of their lives, but this was the first time they had ever seen demons display such astounding discipline.
In previous years, even the most organized pack demons would become frenzied and lose all reason under the influence of the chaotic Magic Power, attacking the walls on pure instinct.
What they faced now was not a horde of crazed demons, but rather a well-trained, orderly, elite human army.
And in terms of scale, it seemed no smaller than the Garrison Legion currently stationed at Stormhold Fortress.
’It seems the name "Slime Kingdom" is no empty boast.’
Dominic snapped back to his senses. He immediately gave the order in a low, serious voice, "Once they enter the Magic Towers’ maximum range, begin a Magic saturation strike."
"Reset the projectile Magic Traps before the wall. We can’t let them get close."
The messenger beside him nodded to acknowledge the order. He was just about to turn and hurry away when his gaze inadvertently fell upon the battlefield below the walls. He froze, a look of astonishment on his face.
"L-Lord Dominic. They’ve stopped!"
His words received no response, as every eye on the wall was already fixed on the demon tide.
The massive Demon Legion had halted its advance a considerable distance from the fortress.
Like a great reef growing within the tide, they split the surging demonic torrent in two.
"Damn it!"
Simo, who was standing nearby, slammed his fist on the crenellation. "These demons actually know to stay out of the Magic Towers’ range."
Dominic’s tone grew grave. "Quick, prepare the Enchanted Crossbow Arrows!"
Hearing this, the Knight adjutant behind him looked surprised. "But... Lord Dominic, we don’t have many Enchanted Crossbow Arrows in stock. By protocol, we’re supposed to save them for the second day of the tide..."
Before he could finish, Dominic cut him off. "Trust my judgment. If we let this Demon Legion get close to the fortress, we’ll be in big trouble!"
Seeing how resolute he was, the Knight adjutant said no more. He immediately turned and ran to make the arrangements.
...
Amidst the surging demon tide, Chen Yu sat calmly on Peggy’s broad back, using a small spyglass to clearly observe the tense preparations on the walls.
’Looks like they’ve realized we’re not the kind of ordinary demons who just stupidly smash themselves against the walls.’
"Beet, at this distance, can the Blood Legion’s Magic reach the walls?"
Beet flew down from the sky and respectfully rubbed Chen Yu’s Gel body with its forelimbs, transmitting back a message: "The walls are too far. The range of blood Magic is insufficient, but the Magic Crossbows can reach."
As it finished, the Slimes in charge of heavy equipment within the Demon Legion no longer bothered with concealment. Working together, they pulled back the heavy canvas tarps covering the wagons in their ranks.
More than twenty heavy Magic Crossbows, glinting with a cold metallic light, were exposed for all to see.
These were the very defensive weapons captured after the fall of Greystone Barrier. They had been carefully disassembled by the Slime Engineers and brought to the front lines by Chen Yu.
’I didn’t expect them to be useful so soon.’
On the fortress walls, when the Knights saw Magic Crossbows appearing within the Demon Legion, many had to steady themselves against the parapets.
"Damn it, they can use Magic Crossbows!"
"Quick! Activate the Protective Array!"
"Fire! Stop them!"
The crossbows on the wall were the first to fire, letting out a thunderous roar. Dozens of thick Enchanted Crossbow Arrows shot toward the Demon Legion like meteors, whistling through the air.
Faint Enchantment patterns lit up on the arrows in mid-air, causing their speed to surge just as they shot past the newly raised Plastic Energy Shield on the walls.
Just as the Enchanted Crossbow Arrows broke through the gray mist and were about to descend upon the Demon Legion, pillars of light suddenly erupted from within the legion’s ranks. A rising barrier blocked the incoming arrows.