The situation was deteriorating, and Xiao Xun was anxious but had no means to break the stalemate.
"Aries, you take Scorpio and Virgo, I'll take Ducal. Let's withdraw."
With that, he rolled sideways towards Ducal, chanted a spell, and teleported back within the border line.
Aries's long-range teleportation was a bit slow, but thankfully, Virgo's Sacred Light Shield protected them, and they made it back without significant incident.
On the city wall, Vincent, gazing at the densely packed demons below, gulped. "I truly have the courage of Prince Sveinn. How did he think of fighting such an army with us!"
Xiao Xun panted heavily, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead, indicating his escape hadn't been easy either. "What's the situation on the battlefield now? When does the fight begin?"
Vincent pointed below the city wall. Xiao Xun followed his gaze, and in the distance, the demons were rapidly approaching.
Actually, he didn't need Vincent to point. The dazzling green light was too eye-catching.
Vincent stated confidently, "With our sturdy fortifications and defense towers, as long as the Fear King doesn't intervene, we can hold out for this night."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind, "Urgent report, urgent report from the capital."
Xiao Xun was taken aback. "What is an urgent report from the capital?"
Vincent claimed he hadn't heard of it either and immediately had the messenger come forward.
The messenger produced a sheepskin scroll from a red bamboo tube on his back. "The Undead and Orc tribes have colluded and ambushed the capital, releasing Horton from the dungeon..."
"What!"
Xiao Xun and Vincent exclaimed in unison.
Xiao Xun asked, "Aren't the Orcs allied with us? How could they collude with the Undead?"
Vincent scoffed, "I'm afraid only you, among all humans, truly consider those forest dwellers allies. They are inherently fickle opportunists. Before the Four Demon Kings arrived, my daily job was to contend with the Orcs."
Xiao Xun pondered, "Even so, they shouldn't stab us in the back at such a critical moment!"
Vincent didn't want to dwell on the issue and asked the messenger beside him, "Is there anything else?"
"His Majesty has ordered Prince Sveinn to return immediately to assist Baroness Pelisa and General Aaron in eradicating the Orcs and avenging the fallen civilians and royalty in the capital."
Xiao Xun anxiously asked, "What is the situation in the capital now? And His Majesty?"
"His Majesty is unharmed. The death toll in the capital exceeds two-thirds of the permanent residents, and more than half of the buildings have been destroyed."
Then the messenger said, "Please, Prince Sveinn, depart immediately upon receiving this scroll."
Xiao Xun looked troubled. "But we are about to be attacked by demons!"
The messenger replied, "I am only responsible for delivering the message. If Your Highness does not provide a response, I must depart."
Xiao Xun's eyes darted around, and he said coldly, "I haven't seen you today."
The messenger was startled and looked at Vincent, who also didn't understand Xiao Xun's intention.
"Can you give me this news tomorrow?"
The messenger appeared hesitant. "This... delaying military intelligence is a capital offense."
Scorpio immediately grabbed the messenger by the neck. "Disobeying Prince Sveinn's orders is also a capital offense."
The messenger glanced at Vincent again, hoping he would speak on his behalf, as Vincent was the Empress's most trusted subordinate.
But Vincent immediately frowned. "Why are you looking at me? I haven't seen you either."
Faced with this situation, the messenger rolled up the sheepskin scroll, put it back in the bamboo tube, and turned to leave.
Xiao Xun watched the messenger's receding back and asked Vincent, "What are your thoughts?"
Vincent shrugged, the epaulets on his shoulders rustling. "What thoughts could I have? You know our Queen dislikes subordinates with their own ideas and prefers obedient ones."
"Do you believe the Orcs actually helped the Undead invade our capital?"
"It's hard to say, but the probability is very low. Although we are allied with the Orcs, our Duke Mercury would never allow a large number of Orcs into the territory of Saint Romani. Moreover, Orcs have peculiar appearances and are easily distinguishable. Unless they have a large number of spatial mages, it's impossible for them to suddenly descend upon the capital."
Xiao Xun took a deep breath. "This is what worries me. I suspect this is a plot by the Undead, aimed at breaking our alliance with the Orcs."
Vincent looked nonchalant. "So what if it breaks? We've held out until today without any help from the Orcs. If not for this invasion, I would be on my way to conquering the Orcs right now."
Suddenly, a warning came from the watchtower, "Demons are invading."
Xiao Xun had Aries carry him to the observation deck. He used a telescope to look at the vast sea of demonic forces in the distance.
Their aerial forces arrived first. Although it was nighttime, due to the verdant flames, the lighting magic from the magical fortress, and the large bulbs on the magic helicopters, the visibility for aerial combat was not significantly affected.
Thus, as the Archon's ultimate abilities of the magic fighter jets unleashed arcane energy, the foremost rows of demons had their brains splattered and flesh mangled!
On the ground, countless demons approached rapidly. Once they confirmed the demons were within range, the magic cannons commenced a volley.
One hundred and forty cannons fired simultaneously, and the dazzling magic shells illuminated the battlefield in an instant.
Unfortunately, the border line was in front of a vast plain, and the demons were more dispersed. Therefore, even though their artillery count was much higher than in the afternoon, the casualty effect was far less significant.
At this moment, a massive vortex appeared in the sky, and a gigantic green meteor descended from above.
"Don't move, I'll handle it!"
Aries roared, and his robe billowed in the wind. A massive flow of orange energy surged into the sky, forming a giant portal beneath the green meteor.
The next moment, the stone was teleported away from thin air!
Three seconds later, above the demons, a six-pointed star array appeared, and the colossal green meteor landed with a crash!
Vincent frowned, gazing at the massive meteor in silence.
And at that moment, the landed giant meteor stirred and slowly stood up!
It was a stone giant over ten meters tall, engulfed in green flames. When it fully stood, it was even taller than the fortifications!
"Bad!"
Vincent's expression changed drastically. He shouted to the magic soldiers behind him, "Attack with full force! You must stop it before it approaches the city wall, or the border line will be lost!"
Xiao Xun's brows were tightly knit. He remained silent and did not act. He had to conserve his strength, as only he could temporarily hold back the Fear King if he personally entered the front lines.
However, both magical and physical attacks were ineffective against it. Xiao Xun observed this and discovered the stone giant's weakness. "Aim for its eyes, that's its most vulnerable spot."
As Xiao Xun gave the order, all the magic archers focused on the stone giant's eyes.
But the stone giant was getting closer. As a magic arrow radiating yellow light pierced the stone giant's head, the massive creature swayed and then lunged forward powerlessly.
"Retreat!"