Chapter 108 edited

Atop the wall the soldiers of the Nameless Order stood like a living battlement, their breath visible in the frigid air. Armor gleamed in the pale dawn, and the rhythmic clanking of weapons echoed across the ancient stone. General Shao, Merlin, and Strategist Wang scanned the horizon, their faces grim with anticipation. The mist stretched like a shroud over the battlefield, obscuring all but the faintest hints of movement.

While Melisandre stood with Lin Mae and the Crane Fighters, their weapons poised. The thick fog writhed ominously as if alive, hiding unseen dangers. A chilling silence enveloped the scene, broken only by the distant, guttural growls of the Taotei slinking through the haze.

Melisandre's eyes glowed and she could sense Taotei among the mist, so she whispered an incantation. Her hands arced outward, slicing through the mist with shimmering energy. Like a veil being torn away, the fog dissipated, revealing a horrifying sight: hundreds of Taotei, their green eyes glinting with malevolence.

Perched on a craggy ledge, the Taotei Queen let out a guttural screech, her vibrating web pulsing between her horns. At her signal, the beasts surged forward as one, their taloned claws raking the ground as they hurtled toward the Wall. Some leaped for the battlements, embedding their claws in the stone, while others sought crevices to climb.

General Shao's voice rang out above the chaos: "Close combat!" His command rippled down the line, galvanizing the soldiers into action. Steel sang as weapons were drawn, and shields locked into formation.

Eagle Corps archers unleashed a storm of arrows, darkening the sky. The shafts rained down on the Taotei, some piercing flesh, but many barely slowed the creatures. The beasts retaliated viciously, their claws rending through the ranks, scattering bodies like leaves.

The Deer Corps surged forward, their long lances aimed with deadly precision. They targeted the Taotei's vulnerable eyes, fighting with a desperate fury. Meanwhile, the Bear Corps warriors, tethered by lines, descended over the Wall like storm-driven shadows. Swinging massive axes, they hacked at the ascending Taotei, their war cries cutting through the din.

Amidst the chaos, Melisandre channeled ancient energy, casting spells that crackled through the air. Taotei writhed and disintegrated under his onslaught, their blackened forms tumbling from the Wall.

Merlin, his robe billowing like living flame, raised his hands skyward. A searing wave of fire surged forth, engulfing the Taotei in a tempest of heat. Screeches filled the air as the creatures were consumed by the inferno.

"Keep the Queen occupied!" Merlin bellowed, sweat gleaming on his brow. "I'll handle her!"

Shao nodded grimly, his face set with determination. "Catapults! Fire at will!" he commanded.

The massive siege engines groaned under the weight of their payloads, gears grinding as they tilted upward. A split second later, flaming balls arced through the sky, their fiery tails cutting against the ash-gray clouds. The soldiers watched in tense anticipation as the projectiles hurtled toward the Taotei Queen.

The flames illuminated her grotesque form. Sensing the danger, the Queen's eyes narrowed. She let out a guttural screech that reverberated through the battlefield, a piercing call that spurred her elite guards into action.

With synchronized precision, the guards formed a defensive circle around her, their movements swift and disciplined. Their heavily armored frills, normally folded against their shoulders, snapped outward like the unfurling of iron petals. The frills gleamed in the fiery light, their ridged surfaces as impervious as forged steel.

The first flaming ball collided against the shield wall with a deafening impact, sending shards of molten stone and embers into the air. But the frills held firm, deflecting the destructive force. One by one, the catapult rounds rained down, but each was met with the impenetrable barrier of the Taotei guards' frills.

Shao's heart sank as he watched the Queen remain untouched amidst the inferno, he was hoping to atleast take out one of the queens guards.

Queens monstrous lips curled into a grin of triumph as she realized the flames could not reach her.

As the chaos raged,

Merlin strode to the edge of the Wall, his expression fierce and unyielding. Energy crackled at his fingertips as he raised his hands, drawing in the elemental forces around him. Wind howled in response, swirling debris and embers into the air.

Blue light ignited in his palms, growing brighter with every passing moment. It coalesced into a perfect, swirling sphere of energy, crackling with concentrated power. As Merlin's will shaped the magic further, the sphere elongated, transforming into a fūma shuriken-like construct with four gleaming, razor-sharp points that spun around the central core.

The blue energy shimmered with unstable ferocity, arcs of lightning spiraling off its edges. The entire Wall seemed to tremble at the sheer force of the Rasenshuriken.

A faint whirring sound pierced through the din.

"Get ready!" Merlin roared, his voice cutting through the din of battle. "Keep those frilled guards occupied — I'll carve through them myself!"

General Shao nodded, barking orders to his men. Arrows and catapult rounds rained down on the Queen's defenders, forcing their frills into a constant defensive rotation.

Merlin focused, the Rasenshuriken in his hands pulsating with untamed power. He hurled it with a mighty shout, the spinning blue projectile slicing through the air like a comet. It moved faster than the eye could follow, its edges warping the wind itself.

A massive energy sphere — shaped like a fūma shuriken — hurtled toward the battlefield. Its core pulsed with blinding energy as it vanished momentarily, an eerie calm settling over the scene.

When the attack struck, a vortex of wind erupted, shredding everything within its radius. Microscopic blades tore through the Taotei, their howls of agony blending with the fierce windstorm. Stone shattered, and dust filled the air.

In the aftermath of the cataclysm, silence fell. Bodies of Taotei littered the ground, smoldering and torn. The Wall stood, battered but defiant.

General Shao's voice, hoarse but triumphant, echoed into the stillness: "We won!"

The soldiers of the Nameless Order roared in victory, their defiant cry reverberating across the blood-soaked battlefield. But their eyes remained on the horizon, for they knew the war was far from over.