Chapter 86 The Narrow Passage

Chapter 86: 86 The Narrow Passage

86

The Narrow Passage

She pointed toward the distant territory.

"The Fire Elementals may not want to participate right now. That does not mean they will remain neutral if they realize that our forces and the Medusas have been weakened."

Varkhan became serious.

"You believe they could attack afterward? In other words, it doesn’t matter who wins. They will appear and attack, since even the victor will be wounded in this war."

"Exactly. So part of our forces must be reserved for the Elementals. We have enough resources to begin a war of siege and attrition."

Rhaena answered without hesitation.

"We don’t need certainty to take precautions."

The wind passed over the elevation.

The flags of the Beastmen and Lizardmen fluttered above them.

"We will not commit all our forces at once," Rhaena continued. "Reserves will remain behind."

Varkhan nodded.

"Then we will advance as if there were three enemies."

"Medusas, Elementals, and the terrain itself."

"Smart."

Rhaena put away the map.

"We cannot afford a war different from the one we planned."

Varkhan looked toward the valley.

"Then let’s find out what they have prepared."

Shortly afterward, the orders began to spread throughout the army, and messengers ran between the columns.

Officers reorganized the units. Ten thousand soldiers began concentrating toward the narrow passage.

Behind them, thousands remained in position.

The three secondary forces slowly began separating from the main body. The entire army was changing shape.

From a distance, it looked like nothing more than a gigantic mass of soldiers. Up close, it was possible to perceive that every movement followed an order.

The first force reached the entrance of the narrow passage, and the scouts advanced several meters.

One of them quickly returned.

"Commander."

The officer turned.

"What did you find?"

"A confirmed narrow passage."

"Defenses?"

"We couldn’t identify any."

The commander narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He looked toward the passage.

Stone walls rose on both sides, creating a long and seemingly vulnerable opening.

The commander remained still. Something was definitely wrong.

"It’s exactly the kind of place where a trap would be prepared."

One of the nearby officers asked:

"Should we retreat?"

The commander looked behind him.

Ten thousand soldiers waited, and thousands more were positioned behind them.

"No."

He took a deep breath.

"We cannot ignore an opening simply because it looks suspicious."

The officer nodded.

"Then we advance?"

"Yes."

The commander’s hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.

"But no one advances alone."

The first ranks began entering the narrow passage, step by step, shields raised and spears ready.

The sounds of the march became muffled by the stone walls. At the same time, one of the secondary forces reached a side passage.

The commander of that unit observed the path for several seconds.

"Continue."

The soldiers began crossing and, strangely, nothing happened. No arrows, techniques, or enemies emerged from the mountains.

The commander narrowed his eyes.

"Continue."

The ground trembled slightly beneath the feet of the soldiers advancing through the mountains, and the noise grew louder with every passing second.

Lizardmen and Beastmen advanced through the narrow passage. Among them were cultivators of the Tempered Body and Profound Elemental realms.

They were not ordinary people.

Even those who had just entered the Tempered Body realm possessed bodies far more resilient than those of ordinary mortals.

The Profound Elemental cultivators were even more dangerous, capable of using spiritual energy to strengthen their bodies, increase the speed of their movements, and coat their weapons with enough power to pierce armor.

And among the thousands of warriors, there were dozens of them at the rear of the formation. However, two people walked in silence.

Varkhan and Rhaena.

Both were at the tenth stage of the Profound Nascent realm, and they were the ones assigned to probe the narrow passage with the ten thousand soldiers.

And this difference was enough to completely alter the balance of whatever battle might emerge.

On the other side of the narrow passage, around a thousand Medusas waited, with Thesira at the front. Her long sword remained pointed toward the ground.

She watched the approaching enemies without showing fear. Beside her, a young Medusa swallowed nervously.

"Elder..."

Thesira did not look at her.

"What is it?"

"There are so many."

"I know."

"The number of Profound Elemental cultivators is also greater than we expected."

Thesira finally turned her face.

"Then don’t fight them as if they were ordinary soldiers."

The young woman remained silent as Thesira tightened her grip on her sword.

"Use your spiritual energy. Use your eyes. Use your poison. If you need to kill with your teeth and claws, kill. Do not waste a single movement."

"Yes, Elder."

Thesira looked forward again.

"When I give the order, attack."

The first Beastmen entered the narrow passage.

Ten.

Fifty.

One hundred.

Two hundred.

The number increased rapidly, but the Medusas remained motionless until an enemy commander raised his sword.

"Advance!"

The first ranks charged.

"NOW!"

Thesira disappeared.

There was no warning. Her words had barely left her mouth before her body shot forward like an arrow.

Spiritual energy exploded around her as her sword swept horizontally.

BOOM!

A blade of spiritual energy tore through the narrow passage, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of soldiers were struck simultaneously.

Some had their armor cut apart, while others were simply thrown against the stone walls.

Several simply fell dead.

Before the survivors could react to what had suddenly struck them, Thesira’s eyes began to glow with a bright light green radiance.

Two beams of light shot from her pupils, then four, and then six.

The rays pierced through the ranks, and the first Beastmen struck began to harden as their skin transformed into stone.

Arms, legs, and chests.

Within a few seconds, several warriors had been completely petrified.

"It’s the Medusas’ ocular ability! Don’t let yourselves be hit by the rays!"

"DODGE!"

The warning, however, came too late.

Another group of Medusas attacked. Their arrows flew through the air, their tips coated with poison.

A Lizardman raised his shield. However, the arrow pierced the reinforced wood and entered his shoulder.

He tore the arrow out with force.

"ARRGH!"

The poison began spreading rapidly.

A Tempered Body cultivator beside him advanced and struck a Medusa with his axe.

She blocked it.

CLANG!

The impact made her arms tremble. The warrior retreated two steps in succession, and the Beastman advanced again.

This time, his weapon was enveloped in spiritual energy. The Medusa barely dodged.

The axe struck the wall behind her.

CRACK!

The stone split, and she immediately realized the difference between their cultivation strengths.

"Profound Elemental!"

The Beastman smiled.

"You’re no match for me."

He attacked again, forcing the Medusa to raise her sword, but another warrior appeared beside her.

The two blocked the attack together. This time, the impact forced both of them backward.

"Don’t fight alone!"

Thesira heard the order. She also realized the problem.

There were simply too many lower-level cultivators.