Chapter 435: Power of Light
The blinding light emanating from King Gulben's hand expanded rapidly engulfing the area around them. As the light faded, a shimmering barrier materialized stretching across the path ahead like an impenetrable wall of white energy.
Aurdis and Aerchon watched in awe as the barrier took shape. Realizing it was a powerful protective enchantment cast by their father. It shimmered with magical energy, repelling any creature that dared to approach.
The Direwolves sensing the barrier's formidable presence hesitated in their advance. Some attempted to breach it but were quickly thrown back by the sheer force of the magical barrier.
King Gulben turned to his children, his expression stern yet resolute. "(Keep moving,)" he commanded, his voice cutting through the tension.
With renewed determination Aurdis and Aerchon nodded. Their resolve strengthened by their father's unwavering leadership.
They pressed forward, the barrier providing a shield against the relentless onslaught of the Direwolves.
As they continued their journey, the distant howls of the Direwolves echoed through the air, a haunting reminder of the dangers that lurked in the wilderness.
But with King Gulben's magic protecting them, they knew they had a fighting chance of reaching their destination with much more safety.
The dense forest around them seemed to close in, casting long shadows that danced eerily in the fading light of dusk.
Suddenly, from the dense undergrowth to their left a pack of Direwolves emerged. Their eyes gleaming with feral hunger as they launched a ferocious assault.
Seeing all this, King Gulben felt that even with his barrier he would not be able to hold back all the direwolves.
He said to his army. "(Brace yourself! I still can't maintain this barrier for long.)"
The Elf soldiers braced themselves when they heard his words. Weapons drawn, ready to defend against the relentless onslaught.
But before they could fully engage the first wave of attackers more Direwolves appeared from the opposite side flanking them with deadly precision.
The forest reverberated with the snarls and growls of the approaching beasts. Their numbers seemingly endless as they poured forth from the shadows.
Aerchon gritted his teeth in worry. Then he rode closed to King Gulben and said. "(Father, I saw a very large and strong Direwolves when I came. I haven't seen it again.)"
King Gulben took a glance at Aerchon, his face looked stiff. Then he looked forward again.
"(Alright. Tell your sister to be carefull. Something has indeed happened just like what you had said that made these Direwolves even more ferocious than before. Even my light barrier couldn't make them retreat)"
Aerchon nodded his head and stepped back to ride beside Aurdis. He explained what he had just said to King Gulben.
Aurdis and Aerchon both have a grim expression on their faces. Their hearts sinking at the sight of the overwhelming horde closing in from all sides.
They knew they were outnumbered, their forces stretched thin against the relentless tide of Direwolves.
The magical barrier that King Gulben erected began to dim. His Magic energy decreased. So now the soldiers have to start using their weapons to fight them.
Shouts rang out as soldiers fought valiantly against the onslaught. Their swords clashing with razor-sharp claws and gnashing teeth.
They could easily killed them, but for every Direwolf felled, two more seemed to take its place. Their hunger for blood driving them onward.
King Gulben, Aurdis, Aerchon rallied their troops, urging them to stand firm against the relentless assault. With each passing moment the Direwolves drew closer, their menacing forms silhouetted against the dimming light of day.
The end of the forest is in sight. In a little while they will be out of this damn forest and from the encirclement of the Direwolves.
As the battle raged on and the direwolves continued to press their relentless assault, a palpable sense of dread swept through the forest.
Suddenly, amidst the chaos a hulking figure emerged from the shadows. Towering over the rest of the pack with an aura of primal power.
The Alpha of the Direwolves had arrived.
Its massive form loomed ominously, dwarfing even the largest of its kin. Its fur a dark and mottled gray, bristled with untamed fury. And its eyes burned with a malevolent crimson glow, showing the corrupt power that coursed through its veins.
The Alpha stepped forward. With each step, the ground seemed to tremble beneath its weight. And the air crackled with an cold tension as if it is the very embodiment of it.
As the Alpha locked eyes with King Gulben. A low growl rumbled from its chest.
With a fierce roar that echoed through the forest the Alpha signaled the continuation of the onslaught. Driving its pack forward with renewed ferocity.
Its massive jaws parted in a menacing snarl revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Each gleaming with a deadly intent.
But despite the overwhelming odds King Gulben, Aurdis, Aerchon, and their soldiers stood their ground. Their resolve unyielding in the face of such primal beast.
With weapons drawn and hearts ablaze with determination, they prepared to confront the Alpha head-on, knowing that the fate of their comrades and the future of their realm hung in the balance.
"(I will fight him. You guys take care of the Direwolves,)" said King Gulben.
"(Are you sure you will face it alone, father?)" Aerchon asked with concern in his voice.
King Gulben turned his head and let out a small smile. "(You think I've fallen so far that I can no longer fight the enemy, huh?)"
"(Its not that-)"
"(You don't need to worry about me. Just take care of the Direwolves and look after your sister.)"
After saying that King Gulben spurred his Unicorn forward. His eyes stared at the Alpha without flinching.
Realizing its enemy's advance the Alpha unleashed its power of frost upon the battlefield. The air grew frigid and a bitter chill swept through the forest. Ice formed along the ground encasing everything it touched in a glittering sheen of frost.
Undeterred by the elemental onslaught King Gulben with his blade held high charged forward to meet the Alpha head-on. His form radiated with an aura of regal determination.
With a mighty swing of his sword King Gulben clashed with the Alpha. His blades meeting with the Alpha's claws in a shower of sparks that illuminated the battlefield with a brilliant light.
They traded blows. Each blow reverberated with the force of their combined strength, sending shockwaves rippling through the air.
King Gulben and the Alpha of the Direwolves clashed amidst the chaos of battle. The very air crackled with the intensity of their opposing powers.
"ROAAAARRR!!!"
With a thunderous roar, the Alpha unleashed a barrage of icy shards that hurtled toward King Gulben like frozen arrows. Each one shimmering with deadly intent.
But Gulben, undaunted by the onslaught of sharp ice, raised his blade high. The surface of his sword pulsating with a radiant light that seemed to push back the encroaching frost.
As the shards of ice closed in around him Gulben moved with an almost preternatural grace. His movements fluid and precise as he deftly deflected each one with a swing of his blade.
"HYAAAHH!"
With a mighty shout he surged forward, his sword cutting through the air with a blinding speed that seemed to defy comprehension.
Gulben's blade radiated with a brilliant light. Its glow growing ever brighter as he channeled the power of the sun itself into his attacks.
Every time there is an ice attack that the Alpha hurtled at him he can delfect it with ease. A feat that a normal fighter even with high Magic power should not be able to do.
The ice attack that the Alpha launched was not an ordinary ice attack. It contains the power of destruction that was suddenly awakened by the arrival of the Calamity.
If it weren't for the power of light King Gulben, the ice would be able to easily destroy its enemy. But the Alpha didn't realize that it had met a tough opponent.
The Alpha caught off guard by Gulben's ferocity, staggered backward under the onslaught. Its ice Magic defenses crumbling before the searing heat of King Gulben's light.
However, the Alpha was not so easily defeated. With a snarl of rage it unleashed a powerful blast of frost that engulfed Gulben in a swirling vortex of thick ice.
Aurdis, Aerchon, and the soldiers saw what happened to him.
For a moment it seemed as though all hope was lost as Gulben struggled to break free from the icy grip of the Alpha's power.
However, even in the face of such overwhelming attack, the King refused to yield. With a defiant roar – which he had not let out for a long time – he called upon the full extent of his power.
His body surrounded by a brilliant halo of light that burned with an intensity that seemed to rival the sun itself. The light filled the forest and dazzled the Direwolves.
With a mighty surge of energy, Gulben shattered the icy prison, emerging unscathed.
With a final, resounding blow, he charged forward and struck the Alpha with the force of his fury. His blade slicing through the frost and striking it.
*CRAAATTT!*
As the Alpha let out a deafening roar of pain, its form began to waver and fade, its corrupt power no match for the pure light that emanated from Gulben's sword.
~~~