The Latest Game Is Too Amazing

‘It’s still going fine,’ Alexia thinks, taking a small mana potion bottle out of her leather sack and drinking it. Thanks to the relentless attacks from those around her, the war is about even. If anything, the defending side has the advantage.

Of course, places that are too far for them to reach are being overwhelmed by the griffins’ onslaught, and the damage caused by the explosive stones is significant. Although it’s not bad enough for the walls to start collapsing, there are cracks in the footholds, and some have been wounded or killed by the explosions.

The reason they’re still enduring is because, even though they should have been overrun by the griffins, they knew they could fight back against them and saw a faint hope. Thanks to the efforts of Alexia and those surrounding her, the despair that was in the air has lessened and the morale has been raised, creating a cycle of more aggressive offenses and increased victories. The barrage from the slingshots and bows blocks the enemies’ path and guides them to the few catapults, ballistae, and magic attack locations. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that the accomplishments of Alexia and those around her are far above the rest.

Griffins attack from the skies above her. An explosion blocks her spell, and when a griffin takes the opportunity to try to tear her to shreds with its sharp claws, she calms herself and fires a Wisdom Burst at the griffin, finishing it off. With this magical pillar of light, which is capable of identifying and targeting enemies within a crowd of enemies and allies, Alexia’s presence leaves a strong impression on friend and foe alike.

It’s still going fine. Feeling the Dragon Soul’s effect in her enchanted staff recovering her mana, she steadies her breathing.

Her weakness – the Sage’s weakness – has not yet been openly revealed.

***

‘What the heck is this?’ the griffins think as they watch their comrades fall to the ground like the wingless do, astonished at this incomprehensible phenomenon. It’s only natural that they would react this way. Since they fly with magic, they should be able to fly as long as they still have mana. However, not much time has passed since the battle started, so they shouldn’t be falling due to mana depletion. Which means they can infer that it was caused by some sort of attack. But if it was a visible arrow or spell, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to dodge it, since they can fly through the air. If they couldn’t avoid it in time and got hit, it shouldn’t have caused them to fall unless they were fatally wounded.

However, judging by the sequence of events, they were dragged down from the skies by something invisible. But strangely enough, they aren’t thrown into a state of panic by this strange phenomenon of which they don’t even know the cause. The griffin leading the pack lets out a cry, and they regain their composure.

But they certainly have been instilled with a fear of the unknown. Perhaps due to the instincts caused by this fear, they automatically begin looking for the cause of this phenomenon. Then, one group which stands out from the rest of the crowd of people catches their attention. This group, which is covered in something that looks like a barrier, is unleashing deadly attacks which end their lives in a single hit.

Stones launched by catapults and slingshots aside, who would ever expect a stone that was simply thrown at them to hurtle towards them at inescapable speeds and pierce through them? What’s even more conspicuous is that the one at the center of the barrier is a human female. Every time the female swings her staff, their comrades fall even though nothing happened, and sometimes, she causes a conspicuous pillar of light to rise up and cut them down. In other words, the griffins speculate that this human female is the one responsible for these invisible attacks.

Even when multiple griffins aim for the female and concentrate their attacks on her in an attempt to remove the threat, they’re blocked by the barrier and unable to deal a fatal wound. At this rate, it’ll only be a one-sided slaughter. Even if they ignore her and attack the others, the damage dealt to them will only continue to increase as long as the female is present. As expected, the humans who defeated the Lesser Dragons cannot be defeated by ordinary means.

Normally, ignoring the group and destroying other areas of the wall would have been the correct choice. However, the instincts caused by their fear is making them cautious of this strong foe and putting their priorities out of order. In other words, the griffins have decided that they can’t move forward until they defeat this group. Of course, they haven’t forgotten their objective of destroying the walls to invade the city. However, ignoring this obstacle now may lead to disaster later, so defeating them here and now is their first priority.

And so, the griffin leading the pack considers what to do as he watches the female in observation. Most frightening to them is the invisible attack. Since it has a wide range of effect and it’s invisible, it can’t be avoided.

So he observes her actions. Invisible attack, pillar of light, pillar of light…

‘That’s it,’ the griffin leading the pack realizes. He calls out to gather his comrades nearby who are holding explosives.

The griffins are about to make their counterattack.

***

“Huh, what the heck is going on?” a hunter exclaims in confusion. Irene overhears and follows his gaze, looking in the distance.

‘The griffins are gathering together. Are they planning something?’

The griffins, forming a crowd in mid-air, appear to be planning their next move. Irene feels a piercing gaze that’s clearly looking in her direction and instinctively puts up her guard.

“Lady Alexia, please be careful. The griffins seem to be plotting an attack against us!” Irene says just as the griffins begin to move. All at once, about a dozen griffins from the pack rush to attack Irene, no, Alexia.

“Griffins are coming this way! Everyone, be on guard!”

“Everyone, please buy me some time. I’ll cast Erase again.”

“Alright, got it!”

“Leave it to me, little lady! They won’t even lay a finger on you!”

As if they understand how important Alexia and Irene are, the others follow their instructions. They concentrate their arrows, stones, and spells on the approaching griffins. However, the griffins’ behavior is different from before. Seeing their attacks, the griffins begin to focus on evasion, zigzagging through the air while maintaining a fixed distance.

‘What is going on here? Why aren’t they attacking?’ Irene wonders, perplexed at the change in the griffins’ behavior. The griffins are moving just slightly in and out of range of the arrows and spells, as if they have absolutely no intention to attack. Judging by their attacks from earlier, the griffins aren’t in position to bomb them. Explosions do have their limits, and by her estimations, it appears that an explosion wouldn’t reach the city walls from that position. In that case, the fact that they’re maintaining that position means that the griffins aren’t attacking at all. On the contrary, they’re just barely within range of the defenders’ attacks, so they’ll lose their lives at the slightest mistake.

‘Are they trying to make us run out of spells and arrows?’ Irene thinks, wondering if the griffins intend to turn this into a drawn-out battle. Since arrows and spells are limited, it would likely be an effective strategy.

Essentially, their plan is to have a small number of griffins be decoys and toy with the defenders, causing them to lose their means of attack by wasting their arrows and spells. Since the decoy group’s rapid evasions would be incredibly exhausting, they must be planning on switching out. This plan isn’t a bad one in the least. It would usually be a solid and effective strategy.

However, in this particular situation, the plan was a poor one. If they’re within range of arrows and spells, they’re also within range of Alexia’s Erase spell. Since it can’t be seen, Irene can’t make an exact estimation of Erase’s range, but it’s wider and farther than the griffins think. On top of that, it’s hard to gauge the timing of an invisible attack, so it’s difficult to dodge.

“Erase!”

Estimating that the griffins are within range, Alexia casts Erase. As expected, the griffins drop like flies, unable to dodge it. It is now apparent that if the griffins continue with this plan, their forces will be steadily whittled away.

At that moment, the group of griffins that are still airborne begin moving all at once. As if they were waiting for their comrades to fall, they’re aiming for Alexia.