Before they even reached the village, the group could hear the rhythmic clack-clack-clack of wooden clappers echoing from the distance.
"They are indeed on high alert," Godwyn noted.
"My band is willing to lead the charge," a mercenary captain offered. "Even if they're prepared, a mere village can't hope to withstand a cavalry breakthrough."
However, as they drew closer to the Windmill Village, frowns began to appear on the faces of the commanders. The town was encircled by a thick outer wall nearly ten meters high, seemingly constructed with a skeleton of multi-layered wooden palisades backfilled with a mixture of earth and stone. The main entrance was choked with chevaux-de-frise made of sharpened stakes, and one could catch glimpses of low stone walls further inside.
"It looks like they've dug trenches as well. A multi-layered, gradient defense system," one mercenary captain observed through a telescope. "The village is built on a slope; the high ground puts us at a disadvantage for an uphill assault. If we get bogged down, we'll be vulnerable to those suicide bombers."
"This fortification is improvised but effective—it makes full use of the terrain. This doesn't look like the work of simple rustics. Could there be a master tactician guiding them?" another captain mused.
"Hmph, 'master tactician' my foot. It's probably just a retired soldier in the village. If you two cowards are too afraid to go, move aside. My company will take the lead."
"Who are you calling a coward! It'll just take a bit more effort, that's all. My band is going first!"
The mercenaries bickered and pointed. Though the village's defenses were unexpected, no one considered it a daunting challenge. No matter how well-guarded, a village was still just a village. With the strength of their current force, they could reasonably expect to topple a small castle.
"A reckless frontal assault might lead to unnecessary casualties," Raven said, observing the sentry towers within the village. "We should test them first. Flush out their ranged units, and I'll take them down with sorcery."
"A few hunters who know how to draw a bow is likely the extent of their ranged power," a mercenary captain laughed. "Prince, allow me to handle this task."
Raven and Godwyn exchanged a glance and nodded.
Dozens of mercenaries broke away from the main group, shouting as they charged toward the town. Mid-way, they produced grappling hooks and lassos, heading straight for the outer wall. They clearly intended to do more than just test the defenses—they planned to tear down the sentry towers by force.
A row of villagers' heads appeared atop the wall and towers, yet none seemed to carry bows or arrows.
"So many of them?" Raven was wondering at the numbers when he suddenly noticed a sickly yellow light emanating from the villagers' eyes. He immediately roared, "Get back! All of you, fall back!"
Hundreds of streaks of yellow flame erupted from the villagers' eyes, raining down like a localized storm of laser fire.
Though startled, the mercenary captain didn't panic. "Shields up!" he bellowed.
The mercenaries unslung their heater shields and held them over their heads. Instead of retreating, they pressed forward, attempting to reach the base of the wall to exploit the blind spot.
The yellow flames slammed into the shields with a muffled, rapid-fire patter like torrential rain. At first glance, it seemed more intimidating than dangerous; the fire failed to melt the shields, and any stray hits on the horses only singed patches of fur.
"Is that all they've got?" a mercenary captain beside Raven sneered. "It's our turn. One strong push and the place is ours."
In that moment, tragedy struck.
One mercenary, despite his armor being completely intact, suddenly clutched his head and let out a blood-curdling shriek—a sound so harrowing it made the hair on everyone's neck stand on end. Then, the man and his horse erupted into a massive blaze. The fire didn't come from the outside; it looked as though it were incinerating them from within.
Like a row of falling dominoes, half of the charging mercenaries were transformed into screaming torches. Within seconds, they collapsed, burnt to cinders. The remaining dozen survivors reached the base of the wall, where the yellow flames could no longer reach them.
Raven fired three consecutive Glintstone Stars, blowing apart the heads of three villagers. The remaining cultists stopped firing beams from their eyes and instead began to let out a series of piercing, rhythmic howls.
Even from a distance, the shrieking made the soldiers' heads swim with dizziness. The dozen mercenaries huddled beneath the wall were unable to resist at all. In less than ten seconds, they joined the screaming, their bodies consumed by the internal fire.
A terrifying silence fell over the battlefield.
"What kind of attack is that?" a mercenary asked, cold sweat dripping down his face. "Maybe it would be better to call in the Leyndell Army and just level this place with heavy artillery from a distance?"
"I will send a messenger. But it will be too late by the time the army arrives. We cannot give the Frenzied Flame cultists time to destroy important documents or scatter and escape," Godwyn said. "We must—Raven?"
A lone rider shot forward, holding high the banner of the Moon and the White Wolf. Halfway there, he leaped from the saddle, hurling the banner through the air. The staff whistled through the sky and slammed into the very top of the village's outer wall, anchoring itself firmly.
"Good!" the mercenaries cheered, assuming Prince Raven was simply using a dramatic gesture to bolster morale. To their horror, Raven didn't turn back. Instead, he continued toward the Windmill Village on foot.
"Prince Raven is charging alone! Should we follow?"
Godwyn's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing dangerously. "He must have his reasons. Do not move yet."
Hundreds of yellow flames swept toward him. Raven suddenly accelerated, his body blurring into a series of afterimages, leaving the beams trailing harmlessly in his wake.
As the second wave of fire arrived, Raven dropped his center of gravity until he was almost parallel to the ground. His movements were erratic and without pattern; with a ghostly, flickering feint, he tricked the majority of the incoming fire. He opened a magical shield to deflect a few stray embers and reached the base of the wall. With a powerful kick, he began to run vertically up the earth-and-stone fortification.
If Alecto, the Black Knife Ringleader, were here to witness this, she would have been profoundly shocked. After seeing it only once, Raven had successfully mimicked the movement techniques of the Black Knife Assassins, capturing a significant portion of their lethal grace.
The wind whistled past Raven's ears. With his back to the earth and his face to the sky, he sprinted upward. He reached out and gripped the anchored flagpole, pivoting his body in a mid-air somersault that cleared the top of the wall.
A Frenzied Flame cultist on the wall whipped around, sparks bursting from his eyes. Raven's body reached the apex of his jump, his face turning toward the villager for a split second that felt like time had frozen.
Their gazes met in mid-air: one side frantic and burning with madness, the other as sharp and cold as a blade.
Raven's hand shot out, clamping around the cultist's throat and choking back the scream before it could leave his chest. With a violent surge of strength, he yanked the man off his feet and hurled him down the wall. The cultist plummeted toward the ground with a fading wail, while Raven used the momentum to flip himself onto the battlements!
"YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Atop the wall, a chorus of frenzied shrieks erupted, ten times more piercing than before.
"H-He's incredible," a mercenary stammered in awe. "But even for a demigod... can he actually withstand that screaming attack?"
Godwyn stared intently at the wall. Only after the shrieking had continued for a full half-minute without stopping did his expression finally shift.
"Interesting. Truly interesting. To possess a will so fortified that even the Frenzied Flame cannot easily shake it... even I must offer my praise," Godwyn murmured, raising his hand. "All units, prepare yourselves. Wait for my command."
"Are we charging?" several mercenaries asked, still trembling with fear. Then, they saw a hundred pillars of fire erupt from the top of the Windmill Village walls!
The shrieking gradually subsided.
"Is that all you have?" Raven said coldly. He seemed entirely unaffected by the madness. "It seems you yourselves cannot endure the damage of the Frenzied Flame indefinitely."
A hundred human torches burned fiercely atop the wall, wailing as they were reduced to charcoal.
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Elden Ring: The Unborn One's Journey Through Elden Ring(68 Chapter - Ongoing)
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