Origin of Magic

Nock the arrow, draw the string, release the arrow, hide. Velen had lost count of how many times he'd repeated the shooting maneuver since being assigned to the southwest corner of the Unyielding City. He didn't dare poke his head outside the city walls. A headless corpse, still trembling unconsciously, was a stark reminder of the situation. It had been crushed by a massive rock hurled by an apostle below. The bloody remains fell into the city walls along with the rubble.

The city was probably undefendable. Velen glanced around him blankly. Two of the three trebuchets on his side had been destroyed, and the crew of the remaining one had been nearly killed. It was clearly no longer effective. Over half the defenders on the walls had been killed or wounded. Of the over a hundred ordinary soldiers, only about twenty remained. The knights who had been temporarily brought up to the walls, unfamiliar with foot combat, had been killed or wounded. Ranged troops like himself had suffered a devastating blow. There were no other "professional" archers like him.

The Unyielding City of Saint Sophie was founded in 720 of the Kaiyuan calendar, boasting a history of nearly 1,300 years. During the turbulent Kaiyuan era, Saint Sophie endured war and yet remained proudly standing in the southeastern corner of the continent. During the anti-invasion war against the Danmos Empire in 34 of the Continental calendar, Saint Sophie, unlike other nations, was not forced into Danmos territory. Instead, relying on its capital, Saint Sophie completely repelled the Danmosian attack. While ultimately destined to become a vassal state, Saint Sophie retained significant autonomy. After this battle, Saint Sophie earned the honorary title of the Unyielding City.

But does this Unyielding City still face destruction? Velen instinctively touched the quiver behind him. Only about five or six arrows remained. Several archers who had fallen in the battle nearby still had some intact quivers. However, to reach them, Velen had to pass through a destroyed section of the city wall. This not only put Velen in danger of falling to the ground below the city walls, but also exposed him to the evil group calling themselves "Apostles" below. If Velen wasn't careful, the bodies of the soldiers who had lost their lives on the walls would serve as a stark example of his own failure.

What should he do? Continue to huddle behind the walls, awaiting the unlikely arrival of reinforcements or the impending doom? Or muster up the courage to try and retrieve those crucial quivers? The Hand of War didn't pause for a single second as his deliberations paused. Huge boulders continued to fall from the sky, each one carrying more debris and the remains of the soldiers it had struck. The survivors numbly brandished their weapons to send the few Apostles who had climbed the walls back to their proper place.

Success or failure depended on this single move! Seizing an opening, Velen slipped out of his hiding place in the rubble. An unexpected reinforcement provided excellent cover for Velen's progress. The arrival of these fresh troops gave the remaining soldiers a glimmer of hope for survival. Seizing this precious moment, Velen darted across the collapsed wall and scavenged several quivers from the bodies of his fallen comrades. Without a moment to pray for his fallen comrades, Velen plunged back into the endless battle.

Suddenly, someone tapped Velen on the shoulder from behind. Turning, Velen saw the captain of the reinforcements. A moment later, the captain's armor was already stained with blood. Those newly injected blood had also perished long before. However, the apostles did not escape unscathed; the bodies of several newly fallen apostles on the wall became trophies for the warriors. "Archer, I need your help." The captain pointed along the wall toward an unusually dressed apostle about ten meters away, likely a commander. "This should be the commander of these scoundrels in our area. Do you have the guts to take him out?" Before Velen could react, the captain added quietly, "Be careful. You might be our last archer." He spread his hands and smiled helplessly. "If anything happens to you, I'll be the only one left to fill in. I never expected to make the transition from knight to infantry in just one day, and even pick up a bow I'm not so familiar with. I have my weapons instructors to thank."

It seemed like a necessary task, and Velen knew it was practically impossible with his own strength. But what else could he do now? Under the cover of the captain and the others, Velen chose a well-hidden location. Not far from him, the defenseless apostle commander, surrounded by his men, continuously replenished his troops to the various locations where they were needed. Velen hesitated, then slowly drew his bowstring.

"Lord Gnets." An apostle who had just returned from the front reported to the high-spirited apostle commander, "At present, our army has already occupied the entire southwest city wall. Now there are only less than a hundred human troops still resisting stubbornly. It will take less than a meal for us to completely turn this place into our territory. We will be the first army to occupy this city!" Gnets was very satisfied with the situation before him. His scarlet eyes looked extremely ferocious against the backdrop of his sharp teeth. "Speed ​​up, send two crushers to smash their city walls! I can't wait to enjoy their still warm bodies!" Crusher is an extremely ugly and huge monster. They are completely war monsters created by the apostles for siege warfare. The original thick forelimbs have evolved into a pair of extremely strong bone hammers under the intervention of the apostles. The body is tightly protected by bone armor, making them almost immune to all physical damage. The only drawback is its slow movement speed, which makes it a perfect moving target. But the present situation undoubtedly presented the perfect opportunity for them to unleash their power.

Seeing the two massive, hill-like creatures within the enemy formation slowly approaching the city wall, the frightened Velen instinctively released his bow. The arrow, completely powerless, barely reached its target before being lazily caught by Gnetz. Suddenly, the apostles erupted in terrifying, sinister laughter.

"Just you?!" With a seemingly light throw, the arrow, momentarily impotent, now hurtled towards Velen's side at full speed like a meteor. In a split second, the captain, who had only just been observing the outcome of the battle, was pierced through the chest through the thick wall and armor. The immense force sent his lifeless body flying a great distance before crashing into the inner city.

"Tsk, miss!" Gnetz sneered disdainfully. "Try to survive, little bug. Experience the horror slowly."

In the blink of an eye, the knight captain, the strongest of the troops, was slain. Without their core, the defenders collapsed instantly. A distinguished knight had lost his life inexplicably, and the remaining soldiers, like a lifeline lost to death, were completely crushed. A large number of apostles seized the opportunity to swarm the walls, transforming into the gods of death. The surviving soldiers offered only a few scattered resistance before being mostly killed or wounded.

After exhausting his quiver with all his might, Velen rolled sideways, barely dodging an apostle's axe attack before him. He was well aware of his own mediocre archery skills and the strength of the apostle's soldiers. He knew with his few remaining arrows that he could not possibly kill the bloodthirsty monster at such close range. His only option now was to gain as much distance as possible and seek cover. Velen took the opportunity to survey his surroundings, but he felt helplessly that support w