Time of Lunar Eclipse
Alucard swung a sword, cutting down two lower demons who had snuck around to attack from the flanks.
"Those things are so annoying." Since encountering a small group of demon scouts in the southeastern foothills of the Lantis Mountains, Alucard pursued them all the way, and saw a large group of demons on the edge of the forest. They were surrounding a small group of elves, steadily tightening the encirclement.
Alucard glanced at the besieged elves. The leading elven girl held a silver bow with her hair tied up high, directing the elves to launch a counterattack. Right after, he unlocked the seal on his right hand and rushed into the battlefield.
The demons were disrupted by the sudden enemy's deployment. They did not know how many people had come to support this small unit of elves. They rushed towards Alucard one by one, and weak points started to appear in the once watertight encirclement. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the elves began to break out.
The demons kept falling at Alucard's feet, but he had no intention of leaving the circle of war. The big sword in his hand was bright red, reflecting against the scarlet mist in the sky.
But the surrounding demons far exceeded Alucard's expectations. They surged like a tide and surrounded Alucard in groups, constantly consuming his physical strength. He suffered multiple traumas, and his strength began to fade.
Alucard jumped to the right, avoiding the attack of two lower demons, and looking forward, he found that the other elves had disappeared without a trace, except for the leading elven girl holding the silver bow, who was standing on a tree canopy. She pulled back the bowstring and aimed the bow at him.
With a "swish", a sharp arrow grazed Alucard's ear and accurately shot into the body of the demon warrior who was launching the attack at him from behind.
Alucard woke up again with an intense dizziness. He didn't even know where he was, but there were people around him. Some women with pointy ears were staring at him and whispering.
"You slept for three days and three nights, but fortunately, your injury has recovered and you can get out of bed and move around." Said one of the pointy-eared women upon seeing Alucard wake up.
Alucard turned his head. His sword was still beside him. It still had traces of blood on it. He then slowly stood up with the support of the long sword, and slowly walked out of the eaglewood scented tree house.
"How do you feel?" A light and pleasant voice came from under the tree, albeit with a tone that remained flat. Alucard looked down. The owner of the voice also had pointed ears and a hair color different from humans, as well as a silver bow on their body.
"We found you at the point where the Moonlit Forest meets the Barren Lands. You were covered in blood. Miya rescued you." Said the elf behind Alucard.
Alucard nodded towards Miya under the tree, but in truth he couldn't remember exactly how he had come to this place. The only memories that remained with him at that moment were the sudden appearance of a group of demons, the strange red moon in the sky, and the difficult fighting.
He walked down the stairs to the tree house, met Miya's slightly concerned gaze, and asked, "Thank you, what can I do for you?"
"You don't have to do anything for us. If you hadn't appeared, it might have been difficult for us to escape from the demons' encirclement."
"If you must repay us, please return to the Moniyan Empire as soon as possible."
"We elves rarely have any dealings with humans." Miya replied.
Alucard nodded and said, "Then, I'll leave in a short while."
"Your injury hasn't fully recovered. I'll accompany you out of the Moonlit Forest." After Miya finished speaking, she turned around and walked into the crowd.
In the distance, some female elves were repairing their bows and arrows, while some male elves carried many wounded elven warriors on a net stretcher made of bark and placed them in the middle of the woodland. After that, all the elves began to gather into a circle. Miya paced out of the crowd, her mask covering her face, so that Alucard could not see any of the expression on her face.
She slowly raised her hands, looked up to the sky, and began to sing religiously:
Great Moon Goddess,
We praise you!
May your glory forever shower us…
May your unyielding spirit guard the elves.
May your blessings help us win this difficult war…
As Miya continued to sing, the mist-shrouded moon seemed to glow with a ray of light, slowly falling. Under the shining light, the wounds of many injured soldiers began to heal. They stood up one after the other. After a while, the light of the moon began to fade again, and the recovery speed of the elven warriors became slower and slower, and when the moon finally dimmed completely, it became shrouded once again in a thick, scarlet fog.
Afterwards, the elves dispersed silently, each continuing their work. Alucard looked at their faces, but there was no expression on them. Perhaps it was because the long lifespan made the elves too pure of heart with too few worldly desires that slowed down their expressions of emotion.
At this time, only Alucard and Miya remained in the middle of the woodland.
"Miya, are the elves facing disaster now?" Thinking of Miya's chant just now, Alucard couldn't help asking.
"This disaster has nothing to do with you humans. You should leave here as soon as possible." Miya's voice was still beautiful, but he still couldn't hear any intonation in it. It was as if nothing had happened.
Starting from the Moonlit Forest and walking to the northeast, you could reach the place where humans live. Whenever Alucard felt tired, Miya would stop and wait for him. She never seemed to be tired and never needed to rest.
At this time, Alucard was sitting on a tree trunk, whirling his long sword in both hands, while Miya was standing on the canopy, looking around.
"Miya, can you tell me what kind of crisis the elves are facing now?" Alucard asked courageously.
Miya lowered her head, hesitated for a long time, and said, "The army of demons and orcs began attacking the Moonlit Forest half a month ago. We originally had the shelter of the Moon Goddess enchantment, but with the light of the moon being covered by dark clouds, the power of the barrier is getting weaker and weaker, and we can't get enough vitality to fight the enemy."
"As long as there is enough moonlight, the grace of the Moon Goddess will be able to wash on to every elf, and we will have enough power to fight the demons and drive them out of the Moonlit Forest."
"However, the lunar eclipse has been going on for many days. Every time we pray, the energy of the moonlight decreases by a little bit. Without the shining of the moonlight, the Abyss is beginning to cross the barrier, continuously eating away at the Moonlit Forest, and even the ancient trees who have lifespans of thousands of years are facing death…"
Miya's voice still remained flat. Perhaps this was due to the nature of the elves. They are not used to expressing their true feelings.
Alucard looked up to the sky. There were thick dark clouds covering the entire sky. There were no stars and no moon. He thought back and wondered why his wounds healed so quickly, and suddenly realized that Miya had also prayed for him, but the power given by the moonlight was becoming more and more limited…
"You used some of the power that could have saved the elves to save me?" Alucard asked.
"This is not important. Elves and humans have no obligation to help each other." Miya answered faintly, and stretched her hand to the tree trunk beside her, gently stroking it. The tree seemed to be conscious and swayed gently with Miya's touch.
Alucard looked at Miya, and a huge sorrow suddenly surged in his heart: Maybe soon, this vibrant land will be completely destroyed by the power of the Abyss, just like the elves living here. But ironically, he was rescued by the limited moonlight.
"Then, I'll go look for reinforcements." Alucard hesitated, then said,
"I don't want to get involved with the Moniyan Empire any more, but I do believe that Tigreal will not just stand by idly for this war. I know him. He's the nemesis of the demons."
"Thank you for your kindness, human, but the elves don't need humans’ help. For the past ten thousand years, the elves have never begged for help from any race."
"This time is no exception." Miya answered coldly, making Alucard feel a little deflated. The elves were so proud and yet so sensitive.
"Is there no way to change the current situation?" Alucard continued to ask.
Miya was silent and looked back in the direction of the Moonlit Forest. After a while, she looked up and said, "Hurry up, I don't want to miss the final battle just because I took the time to see you off."
Alucard took a few steps forward, turned his head and said, "Thank you, I will definitely find some reinforcements."
Miya looked straight at Alucard, her eyes full of doubts, "I won't hold my breath."
"If I can see you again, that's when the new moon will rise again."
Alucard still wanted to say something, but Miya had already turned, jumped up, disappeared into the depths of the woods. Her clear singing voice came from a distance:
"The long road has come to an end.
Our hearts are exhausted.
Our eyes are full of sadness.
Great moon god,
please open your tender embrace.
Let us always fly over the forest…"
Alucard set his mind and ran forward. Miya's singing was mellow and long, and could still be heard vaguely until Alucard reached the bank of Azure Lake.
Alucard ran like mad, and the tall white wall in front of him evoked memories he did not wish to bring up. He once thought that he would never step into the Lumina City for the rest of his life.
To Alucard's surprise, after listening to what he said, Tigreal did not have any plans to send troops. "The army of the orcs and demons has surrounded The Moonlit Forest. Even if we mobilize the Knights immediately, it'll be too late to rescue the elves. After the fall of Moonlit Forest, the demons will use it as a springboard to attack the Moniyan Plain. Before that, all we can do is to preserve our strength…"
"Tigreal! Do you really have the heart to just stand by and watch this happen?"
"Sorry, I am the leader of the Knights, I am responsible for the safety of the entire empire."
"You coward! You've forgotten the Knights' oath! You are not worthy of anyone's respect." Alucard interrupted Tigreal with a rough voice before turning and leaving in anger.
On the streets of the Lumina City, Moniyan was still a picture of prosperity, in sharp contrast with the Moonlit Forest, which was shrouded in a bloody mist. Alucard couldn't help thinking of Miya's face, the look in her eyes, and her crisp but sad singing, which had gone deep into his heart.
Then Alucard thought of his father. He had sacrificed himself on the battlefield in the Land of Despair in order to cover his companions. Even at the last moment of his life, he did not lose his faith or fail to keep his oath as a knight.
He held on to his long sword tightly, bought a horse and galloped towards The Azrya Woodlands.
"Wait for me, Miya, I promised to bring reinforcements to the elves, even if I only bring myself."
Four
Alucard traveled day and night and once again came to the Moonlit Forest.
The forest at this time had turned into a weird dark green, like the Shadow Swamp that had once been eaten away. Alucard entered the forest on foot, and the plants in the forest began to die off in large numbers. The land had become salinized, and gave off a disturbing stench. Broken bows and fallen elf corpses could be seen everywhere on the ground, and beside them, there were demon and orc corpses in even greater numbers. Even though they had lost the moonlight, the elves had still made the invaders pay a huge price.
"I hope I'm not too late… Miya, wait for me." Relying on his memory, Alucard moved quickly along the road that Miya had taken him out from. Along the way, the putrid smell became stronger and stronger, and there were more and more corpses. At a turning point, a towering giant tree appeared in front of Alucard. Alucard looked down. Under the giant tree, Miya and other elves were surrounded by a large army of demons and orcs. Behind them were the quietly flowing streams and the Lunar Temple shrouded in dense fog.
"Miya! I'm here, I did not break my promise!" Alucard drew his long sword and charged forward desperately. Many sharp arrows and spears flew from the orc army and scraped past Alucard's ears. He used all his strength to wield his longs word, and the right hand of the demon spurted out blood, emitting a breathtaking light, helping him to forcibly cut out a path of blood from the encirclement of the orcs and demons.
"Human, this war does not concern you. Why would you come back?" Miya shot a few arrows, forced back a crowd of orcs, and stopped in front of Alucard.
Alucard tried his best to force a smile and said, "Because you said that if you could see me again, it would be when the new moon rose again."
Miya did not say anything more, but gratitude appeared in her eyes. But before Alucard had the chance to finish speaking, the sound of the orcs' war drums drowned out everything.
Balmond led more orcs on to the battlefield, and the final battle had arrived.
Alucard looked towards the sky. The bloody fog almost completely obscured the moon. Orcs and demons continued to charge toward the stream like a tide, while the elves tried their best to resist. Behind them was the Lunar Temple.
Their comrades were falling around them continuously, and the flowing blood stained the stream red. Miya and Alucard stood side by side, resisting stubbornly.
The number of elves got smaller and smaller, and they were finally compressed into a small space. Miya stretched her hand out behind her back, and found that she had just shot her last arrow. Miya raised her eyes and saw the few remaining members of the tribe fall one by one under Balmond's sharp axe. Alucard still wielded his long sword bravely, though his body was badly damaged.
Everything fell into despair, and the demise of the elves seemed imminent.
"No, never!" I am the priestess of the Lunar Temple, I must protect my people!" Miya fell on her knees and sent her final prayer towards the Lunar Temple.
"Great Moon Goddess, if sacrifice is unavoidable, then please give me strength, courage and faith. Let me protect my people and protect our homeland!"
Five
Balmond's great axe was so heavy. The injured Alucard tried his best to resist, but was still forced back again and again. A mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth and spilled on to the ground.
"Miya…" The serious injury made Alucard's voice so weak, but before losing consciousness, Alucard saw a miraculous scene.
Miya's body began to bathe in the white light. The silver light of the longbow in her hand was flowing, and the sacred moonlight condensed into the arrows, shooting towards the moon, which was being eroded by the bloody fog.
The arrows condensed in the moonlight, hit the bloody fog and exploded, drawing countless brilliant meteors in the sky. Afterwards, the bloody mist that had enveloped the Moonlit Forest for a long time went away, and the holy moonlight began to shine on every piece of land once more. The elves bathing in the moonlight regained their vitality. The ancient giant trees waved their branches and batted away the ugly demons. The sleeping Elven King woke up at this moment, releasing his anger…
This war should be over.
When Alucard woke up again, The Moonlit Forest recovered its former scenery. He opened his eyes and Miya was standing beside him with concern in her eyes.
"Thank you, Alucard."
"Thinking about it, this is the first time you've called me something other than just ‘human'", said Alucard.
"You'll get used to it" said Miya indifferently.
"I think I still have to leave this place as soon as possible. After all, this is the home of the elves, and there is no reason for humans to stay here all the time."
"You can come back any time you want." Miya raised her head and looked at Alucard.
Alucard met her eyes, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. This time, he heard nostalgia in Miya's tone.
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