Book 10: Chapter 33
*Huff… Huff… Huff…*
Marvel pulled his sword out from the chest of the human cavalry and panted. He looked around at the bloody stronghold and wiped the blood at the corner of his forehead.
He ended up being late, but fortunately, it was just a small cavalry unit. He managed to break through their weak defences with his heavy assault. He had captured the stronghold that was intended for their protection in the first place.
On both sides of the stronghold were steep snowy mountains that were impossible to climb. The path between the valleys was extremely narrow. The elves constructed a city door in the middle of the valley using blue stones, with a very thick layer of ice outside covering it. After days and months of arduous work, they also covered it with dead green vines. The wall was firmer, since the vines were mixed in with the solidified mud.
The stronghold was the last hope for the all of the North.
Marvel was out of time now. He saw the human army resting last night. They should soon arrive at the stronghold. The area they had to defend wasn’t large, but his army had many difficulties to cope with. As such, he had already sent out a messenger to request the aid of nearby residents and another back to the palace.
Life and death were now going to be decided. If they lost the stronghold, the North would have no chance of defeating humanity’s army. They had no tenable defence position on the flat plains. The North stood no chance against humanity’s numbers advantage. Their only chance at victory was to gain strongholds. This place was situated between valleys, so humanity couldn’t unleash their entire army at them.
They would have to pay a big price to capture the stronghold. He just needed to prove that the North could defeat the humans and force them to retreat. If he could do that, the people would support him, and that’s when he would have what it took to launch a counterattack. He had to force the humans back. He had to kill enough humans.
“Soldiers, prepare your weapons and muster up your determination. This place is our grave. We will fight a life and death battle with the enemy here. As long as we’re alive, no human will pass through here. This place is the main gate to the North. Behind this place is your family. For our descendants and for our honour, we must give up our lives here. Brothers, we will drink merrily in hell after this battle!!”