Reincarnated Into A World Of Elves As The Only Man-Chapter 107: Luna warriors

Blood painted the snow crimson as the battle erupted across the vast courtyard. The pristine white ground disappeared beneath churning mud, gore, and the trampling of hundreds of feet as Luna’s forces collided with the combined armies of Moonlight and Thornvale.

A Thornvale warrior screamed as three black-robed attackers overwhelmed her, their blades finding gaps in her armor with practiced precision. The first knife punctured her throat, silencing her cry to a wet gurgle. The second weapon slid between her ribs, twisting savagely to rupture her lung. The third plunged into her groin, severing the femoral artery. She collapsed to her knees in the bloodstained snow, eyes wide with the shock of her own mortality as her lifeblood pumped out in rhythmic spurts.

Queen Elena didn’t hesitate. The ground beneath her feet trembled in response to her rage, then erupted upward. Spears of stone shot through the snow, impaling two of the assassins where they stood. The first took a spike through her jaw, the jagged point erupting from the top of her skull in a fountain of brain matter and bone fragments. The second caught a stone lance through her abdomen, the force lifting her off her feet as her intestines slid down the blood-slicked projection.

"For Thornvale!" Elena roared, mud and snow spraying from her boots as she charged forward. Her earth-blade manifested in her grip, its edge crystalline and deadly. A black-robed warrior moved to intercept her, sword raised defensively. Elena didn’t slow—she ducked the sweeping blade and drove her shoulder into her opponent’s midsection. As the warrior doubled over, Elena’s earth-blade slashed upward, splitting her from groin to sternum. Steaming entrails spilled into the snow, the warrior’s hands scrambling uselessly to gather them back as she collapsed.

Twenty paces away, Queen Elysia commanded the very air itself. Her arms swept in elegant arcs, generating cutting winds that sliced through enemy ranks with surgical precision. Three warriors charging her position suddenly staggered, blood erupting from their necks as invisible air-blades severed their arteries. They dropped to the ground, fingers clawing at their own throats as they drowned in their blood, eyes bulging with panic.

A fourth attacker leapt at Elysia from behind, blade aimed at the queen’s exposed back. Without turning, Elysia clenched her fist. The air in the attacker’s lungs compressed violently, then expanded. Her chest cavity burst outward, ribs splintering through skin and armor in a grotesque display as her lungs ruptured. She hit the snow face-first, twitching as death claimed her.

"Protect the flanks!" Elysia commanded, her voice carrying over the din of battle despite its calm tone. She gestured sharply, and gusts of wind solidified into near-visible barriers, deflecting a volley of arrows aimed at her forces. One projectile slipped through, burying itself in a water-wielder’s eye socket. The warrior dropped without a sound, her body convulsing briefly before going still.

The battle spread across the courtyard like a living entity, pockets of intense violence erupting wherever the opposing forces met. A Moonlight warrior found herself surrounded by five attackers. Rather than retreat, she extended both hands outward, water drawn from the snow itself forming into razor-sharp discs that spun with increasing speed. She released them in a circular pattern, the water-discs slicing through armor, flesh and bone. One attacker lost her arm at the elbow, the limb spinning away as arterial spray painted a crimson arc across the white ground. Another’s face disappeared entirely, the water-disc taking everything from the jaw upward.

Three earth-wielders worked in coordinated attack, using their combined power to create a rippling wave through the frozen ground. The wave lifted, carrying snow, rock and soil forward like a miniature avalanche. As it crashed into a group of black-robed warriors, the earth-wielders clenched their fists simultaneously. The ground beneath the enemy liquefied momentarily, then hardened again with lightning speed. Twenty warriors were caught mid-movement, their legs and lower bodies entombed in suddenly solid earth. Their screams pierced the air as the three earth-wielders advanced methodically, executing each immobilized victim with quick, efficient blade-strokes across exposed throats.

Despite the ferocity of the allied forces, Luna’s army pressed forward with overwhelming numbers. For each black-robed warrior that fell, three more emerged from between the ruins, their formations never breaking despite the chaos of battle. A Thornvale captain went down under five simultaneous attackers, her skull crushed beneath booted feet that continued to stomp long after she had ceased moving, turning her head into unrecognizable pulp against the bloodied snow.

Away from the main battle, near the branching paths where the search parties had departed, four deadly ballets were unfolding. Luna’s personal guards faced off against the four commanders, each confrontation isolated from the others by space and deadly focus.

Commander Lyra circled her opponent carefully, boots crunching in the snow as she studied the frost-white elf before her. Blood from nearby skirmishes had spattered across the pristine snow between them, steaming slightly in the cold air.

"I am Selene, First Guard to Luna of the Six," the warrior announced, her twin blades catching the dim light as she twirled them in a mesmerizing pattern. Each movement left traces of crystalline frost in the air, tiny ice particles glittering before dissipating. "Master of Water and Ice, Slayer of a Thousand, Called the Silent Death." Her voice was surprisingly melodic for one with such deadly intent. "Your water techniques are impressive, Commander, but primitive compared to what I have mastered."

To demonstrate, Selene extended one hand, palm upward. Above it formed not merely water but something between liquid and solid—a shifting, viscous substance that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Where droplets fell to the snow, they burrowed downward like acid, releasing wisps of strange, blue-tinged vapor.

"True water mastery," Selene explained, her expression one of professional pride, "involves manipulating not just the element, but the boundary between its states of being."

Lyra’s boots shifted in the snow, her silver eyes narrowed as she assessed this new threat. Her water blades flowed like quicksilver in her grasp, responding to subtle adjustments in her grip. "I’ve heard enough boasting to last several lifetimes," she replied, muscles tensing in preparation for the coming clash. "Let’s see if your skill matches your words."

Several yards away, Commander Maria faced the second guard—a warrior whose body seemed to shimmer slightly at the edges, leaving multiple afterimages with each movement. The snow around her feet displayed contradictory tracks, as if she existed in multiple locations simultaneously.

"Illusion against illusion," the guard observed, her voice echoing slightly as if coming from multiple locations. Small distortions rippled through the air around her, bending light unnaturally. "How fitting. I am Vex, Second Guard to Luna of the Six, Master of Mind and Perception, Breaker of Realities." She smiled, revealing teeth filed to unnatural points. "Your crude attempt to hide your forces earlier was almost charming in its simplicity."

Maria’s expression remained impassive, betraying nothing of her thoughts as she studied her opponent. The snow at her feet shifted subtly without her physically moving. "Reality is merely consensus," she replied, her hands already beginning to weave subtle patterns at her sides. The air between them thickened visibly, light bending around her fingers like liquid. "Let’s discover whose consensus is stronger."

Nearby, Captain Diana of the Moonlight Kingdom squared off against the third guard—a muscular elf whose armor bore intricate silver runes that pulsed with inner light. Unlike her compatriots, this warrior carried no visible weapon, her hands instead covered in silver gauntlets etched with the same strange symbols as her armor. Where she walked, the snow compressed into ice, cracking audibly beneath her weight.

"I am Thorne, Third Guard to Luna of the Six," she announced, her voice carrying a gravelly undertone that seemed to vibrate in the air between them. "Master of Earth and Metal, Crusher of Bones." She flexed her gauntleted hands, and the metal responded by rippling like liquid before resolidifying into spiked protrusions. The ground around her feet trembled in response to her power, small fissures spreading outward through the frozen soil. "Earth against air—a classic confrontation. Your wind techniques might scatter lesser opponents, but they’ll find no purchase against one anchored to the very foundations of this realm."

Diana remained poised, the air around her stirring even in the absence of natural wind. As captain of the Moonlight royal guard, she’d perfected the art of calm focus amidst chaos. Her hand hovered near her side, where an elegant air-blade began to materialize—a shimmering distortion that hummed with controlled power. "I’ve found that those who boast of their immovability," she observed coolly, "often shatter when struck with sufficient precision." The snow at her feet began to swirl in a tight circle, responding to the invisible currents she commanded with such mastery.

Thorne’s eyes narrowed, assessing the subtle movements of air that betrayed Diana’s gathering power. "You’ll need more than clever breezes to overcome me, Captain." She slammed her gauntleted fists together, sending a shockwave through the ground that radiated outward from her position. "Let’s see how your air fares against the enduring strength of stone."

Diana’s lips curved in the faintest smile as she adjusted her stance, the air around her compressing visibly, ready to be wielded with the precision that had earned her position as captain of Moonlight’s elite guardians. "As you wish. Though you might find that air, given sufficient velocity, cuts deeper than any blade."

Commander Elira occupied the final confrontation space, facing the fourth and tallest of Luna’s guards—a willowy elf whose movements had an unsettling, floating quality. The air around her seemed to bend slightly, creating subtle distortions. Snow didn’t fall where she stood, instead swirling around her in complex patterns as if repelled by an invisible force.

"I am Whisper, Fourth Guard to Luna of the Six," she introduced herself, her voice carrying despite its soft volume. "Master of Void, Taker of Breath." She made a casual gesture, and the air between them compressed visibly before expanding outward in a controlled shockwave that sent snow flying in all directions. "Your command of air is commendable, but limited to what you can see and feel. I control what exists between existence itself."

Elira’s air blade hummed with increased energy as she adjusted her stance, the weapon crackling with barely contained power. The wind around her responded to her presence, creating a localized current that stirred the snow at her feet. "Poetic," she commented dryly, her breath visible in the cold air. "But air is ultimately practical—it either moves as commanded, or it doesn’t. No amount of philosophical framing changes the basic principles."

The four pairs stood in momentary stalemate, the larger battle raging around them seemingly distant despite its proximity. Blood-curdling screams punctuated the clash of weapons, the wet sounds of blades meeting flesh providing a grotesque backdrop to their confrontation. Nearby, a Moonlight warrior’s spine was severed by a black blade, her legs collapsing instantly while her upper body continued its forward momentum, face planting into the snow as her attacker moved on to the next victim.

"Interesting tactical choice," Selene observed, glancing briefly at her fellow guards. Fresh blood spattered her white cheek as a warrior fell nearby, throat opened by a vicious slash. "You sacrifice your most skilled commanders to engage us, while sending less experienced warriors to rescue your missing comrades." Her smile was cold with certainty. "They won’t succeed, you know. The chambers beyond are... less than hospitable."

"Our warriors are more capable than you imagine," Lyra replied firmly. A severed hand landed in the snow between them, fingers still twitching. Neither warrior acknowledged it.

Vex laughed, the sound splintering into disturbing harmonics. "Such confidence. I wonder if you’ll maintain it when you realize what truly awaits them." Her form blurred slightly at the edges, snow passing through her extremities as if they weren’t entirely solid. "The First Eternal doesn’t merely place guards at doorways—she weaves traps into the very fabric of this realm." freēwēbnovel.com

"Enough talk," Thorne growled, her patience clearly limited. Blood from earlier kills had dried on her gauntlets, flaking off as she flexed her fingers. "Luna instructed us to eliminate the leadership. Let’s fulfill our purpose."

Whisper nodded in agreement, her movements causing strange ripples in the air around her. The snow at her feet rose and fell in rhythm with her breathing. "Indeed. Though I wonder if they realize what they face. These are not merely battles of skill, but of elemental mastery." Her eyes, colorless as morning mist, fixed on Elira with unnerving intensity. "Your fundamental understanding of your elements is flawed—built on centuries of misguided tradition rather than true comprehension."

"If you’re quite finished with the lecture," Elira responded, adjusting her grip on her weapon as the wind intensified around her, "perhaps we could proceed to the demonstration portion of today’s lesson."

For a heartbeat, silence hung between the eight warriors—a moment of perfect tension as each assessed their opponent one final time. Blood continued to flow nearby, soaking into the snow and freezing in strange, crystalline patterns. The dying groans of the mortally wounded provided a macabre soundtrack to their standoff.

Then, as if responding to some unseen signal, they moved in unison.

Selene’s liquid weapons elongated into whips that defied conventional physics, frost forming wherever they passed. Lyra’s water blades solidified into razor-sharp crescents, droplets hanging suspended in the air around her like deadly ornaments.

Vex’s form multiplied into a dozen identical copies, each one semi-transparent but equally menacing. Maria wove complex patterns that bent light and shadow, the snow at her feet rising to form ghostly replicas of warriors long dead.

Thorne’s gauntlets morphed into vicious claws as the ground beneath her cracked open, revealing molten stone despite the freezing air. Diana’s air blade intensified, becoming a visible vortex of compressed wind that hummed with lethal potential.

Whisper compressed air into visible spheres of destructive potential while Elira created swirling vortices between her outstretched hands, the wind howling in response to her commands.

"Your elements are borrowed," Selene declared, her voice rising above the imminent clash. A nearby warrior’s scream ended abruptly as her throat was crushed by an enemy soldier. "Ours are birthrights. That distinction will determine who walks away from this confrontation."

Lyra’s response was immediate and unflinching, snow spraying from her boots as she adjusted her stance for the attack: "Then let’s see whose birthright includes survival."