That day finally arrived. Everyone was ready and had taken their positions. The archers were prepared to fire, waiting for the signal to release their arrows. They had already stationed themselves around the outer zone of the enemy.
Gen led the troops to control the situation, while Ace, Ren, and some of the soldiers were positioned atop the second allied fortress, located at a four-way intersection equipped with four powerful cannons meant to create a surprise effect on the enemy forces.
The cannons were positioned to the North, West, South, and East.
The archers would follow up after the cannon fire, so that the enemy forces would lose their defensive formation and fall into panic—especially since what they saw in front of them was merely an empty space created by Noah to deceive them.
Ace was ready to give the signal to the cannon operators, followed by Gen, who would then order the archers to attack as soon as Ace's command was completed and the cannon rounds were launched.
"FIRE THE CANNONS NOW!"
Four soldiers fired the cannons, hitting the front lines of the enemy defenses.
BOOOOMMM
"Archers, fire now!"
Arrows were launched from all directions in a dense volley, enhanced by Caiber's skill—usable both as support or for his own attacks—called:
= Thousand Bullet Shot =
wiss
Many arrows struck the enemy forces, instantly taking down a large number of them. However, there remained the third or final area of the enemy formation.
There, the enemy began to retaliate. Though they were unaware of where their attackers were positioned, they prepared to launch arrows imbued with fire attributes in all directions in a desperate attempt to strike back.
But before they could act, the cannons were fired again in unison. The enemy had no time to respond. As a result, they were completely wiped out, rendered helpless.
BOOMMM
Everything was destroyed, leaving no trace of the enemy forces. Their bodies were obliterated by the cannon fire from the fortress walls.
Ace then informed Noah that the enemy forces had been completely annihilated.
"Noah, the enemy has been wiped out. Now, take down the cloaking shield."
"Okay."
Noah immediately deactivated the shield, and Ace loudly announced to everyone that the battle was over.
"WE HAVE WON! THE ENEMY HAS BEEN DEFEATED COMPLETELY! THIS IS OUR VICTORY!"
Ace coughed and felt exhausted after shouting to inform the troops that it was all over.
"Hey, Ace, why did you have to shout like that? You could've just used your imagination to send the message through a speaker," Noah said through telepathy.
"Eh, I forgot about that."
"Geez, you're still young, but you're acting like an old man already."
"Hehehe, well, what can I say?"
Afterward, they headed to the inner fortress to inform the evacuees that everything was safe.
Unexpectedly, Gen took out a device that looked like a communication tool, surprising Ace and prompting him to ask:
"Gen, what are you holding?"
"Oh, this is a communication device we use to stay in contact with everyone in the inner fortress."
"Wait a minute, was this device already around before we met?"
"Yep, it's been here all along."
Ace stood frozen for a moment, shocked to learn that communication devices existed in this world. Feeling a bit down, he sent a telepathic message to Noah.
"Hey Noah, do communication devices already exist here?"
"Oh yeah, they do."
"But why didn't you tell me?"
"Wait, you didn't know? It was mentioned in the game, you know."
"In the series or the mobile version?"
"The series, of course! Don't tell me you forgot—those devices were around from the very start of the game."
"Hold on… I think I played the series four times—normal playthroughs—because there are four modes: Easy, Normal, Hard, and 1-Life."
"In each mode, the scenes and places changed a lot."
"Wait a second, did you do speedruns too?"
"Yeah, over 300 times, actually."
"And during all those playthroughs, I was always ranked number one—no one else."
"No wonder, geez! You must've skipped all the cutscenes and forgot the story!"
"Hehe, that's true," Ace said with a faint smile.
Noah facepalmed, exasperated by Ace's forgetfulness regarding scenes from the game.
At that moment, the inner fortress gate opened and the protective shield was deactivated. Everyone inside was overjoyed to be reunited with their loved ones.
"Everyone is safe, and there were no casualties at all. I truly thank you, Ace," Gen said happily.
Ace responded shyly, "Ah, this was a team effort. Ren and Caiber helped too, and so did all the soldiers."
After Ace said that, Gen felt grateful to have comrades who cared for one another.
Everyone was filled with joy, and tears of happiness flowed freely—a beautiful moment of reunion.
"Thank goodness," Ace said, crying tears of joy, which Ren noticed with a smile.
Ren gently took Ace's hand and led him to join the others.