Boom! Outside Oni Hill, Absalon's brows were tightly drawn together as he glared at the undead army storming the great wall. Even with Kashi's warning, the general severely underestimated the undead's desperate desire to reach the terrible mountain.
Hordes of undead repeatedly climbed up the walls, but fortunately, the combined forces of Serisis, Rosendun and Aygorzi's soldiers managed to push them back with well-placed arrows. Still...
"It is only beginning. They have not gotten serious yet."
Absalon looked at Leila Lightwood, who walked up to him with a tight scowl, slightly flushed cheeks and ragged breaths. Absalon expected this much since Leila had been shuttling back and forth across the entire wall, keeping abreast of the situation and shooting down any threat that made it onto the wall.
Absalon sighed as he gazed at the sea of undead. "You believe so too?"
"Naturally. So far, they have only sent average skeleton warriors to probe us out. That can't be all the undead have to offer."
"Tsk. So, they do have a general after all." Absalon inwardly groaned. It was one thing to fight a horde battle, but fighting a horde battle controlled by a general was a whole other level. "What do you figure? Grand Lich?"
"Grand Lich?" Leila clucked her tongue. That would be the worst-case scenario. Liches were troublesome beings stuck between the realm of dead and living. They were usually born when a powerful existence perished with extreme resentment. Liches could control thousands of undead, were extremely intelligent, and excellent magicians. Even worse, Liches were one of the few truly immortal beings in the world. They could live for eternity and endlessly reconstruct their bodies as long as their core remained intact.
Leila did not want to face that kind of dangerous foe. It was impossible to battle a lich without suffering heavy casualties. "Liches are not the only option. There are also—"
Vwoom! Leila and Absalon's expressions turned grave as an oppressive mana fluctuation exploded in the battlefield. Absalon infused his eyes with mana and looked at the distance where a robed undead raised a staff above its head. "This fluctuation. What kind of spell is this!?"
Twang! Boom! Absalon gaped in shock as the undead's head suddenly exploded. He barely made out an arrow that shattered after crushing five more in its path. He turned to Leila who put down her bow ,with a grave frown. What a shot! That was over a kilometer away, yet she hit an accurate bulls-eye!
Unfortunately, Leila's expression remained grave as she looked at the sky. "I failed. It finished the spell."
"What the hell?" "Oh gods!" "Sweet Mera!" Several soldiers cried out in shock and fear as massive mandala appeared in the skies. A swirling portal appeared, from which a giant rock, roughly the size of a football field began to fall.
Absalon angrily glared at the meteor. If that thing fell on them, everyone here would perish without fail. "Tch. I need to waste so much mana this early?" Absalon grumbled as he tapped his staff on the ground and then raised his hand.
The battlefield went silent with shock as another mandala appeared beneath the meteor.
"Absorb!" Terrifying mana surged from Absalon as his unique magic made an appearance. Absalon gritted his teeth as the meteor slid into the mandala. Without hesitation, he raised the staff and the mandala suddenly spun in place until it faced the undead army. He then shouted, "Repel!" causing the just swallowed meteor to spit out toward the undead.
"Whoo! Absalon! Absalon!" the soldiers cheered as the meteor zipped through the air. This attack was enough to wipe out a least two-thirds of the undead!
Absalon, though was not as optimistic. "Everyone, stay alert!" He ordered the commanders to keep their guards up as he warily watched the falling stone.
Vwooo~ Boom! Absalon's brows shot up as a gigantic black beam shot out of the black forest behind the undead. The terrible beam struck the meteor at its center, releasing a massive shockwave that blasted several miles wide.
The soldiers gaped as cracks spread through the meteor like a broken egg. BOOM! The meteor exploded into small chunks that travelled in all directions like omni-direction missiles!
"Damn it! I knew it would not be easy! Everyone, shoot down those rocks, no matter the cost!" Absalon roared as he stamped his staff against the ground and then spread both hands, causing a wall of mandalas to appear above his section of the wall. This time, Absalon did not bother with Absorb. The mandalas repelled all incoming projectiles.
The Great General's display galvanized the army to give it their all. Seeing that Absalon had this place covered, Leila began sniping missiles outside his sphere of influence.
Elsewhere, several guildmasters shot to the sky with determined gazes. Just Matt took aim with his repeater and squeezed. Boom! Several beams shot out of the rifle and destroyed several falling rocks, pulverizing them.
Nearby, CyanidePilgrim's green hair fluttered in the wind as he charged to the largest meteor fragment. The young man's gauntlets glowed as he roared and unleashed a series of angry punches.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Each strike whittled the fragment into tinier and tinier chunks, which the archers shot down. Once he finished with the fragment, CyanidePilgrim charged toward the next with a determined gaze.
Whoosh! Elsewhere a blue silhouette streaked through the sky as Paragon4x charged through the sky with her blade. Wherever she passed, her sword smashed rocks to pieces, leaving tiny rubble dust in her wake.
On the wall, DogFighterPro flicked a gold coin, which transformed into a stick as it landed. "Hoho. Lady Luck isn't smiling today?" His lips curled into a smile as he flung the stick at incoming meteor fragment. He then reached into his pouch and pulled out several precious stones, which he then tossed into the air, "How about this!?"
Shockingly, the precious stones melted in the air, turning into a stream of multicolored energy that enveloped the stick.
DogFighterPro sweated a little as the several colors rapidly flashed before finally settling on Gold. "YES!" He grinned and raised his hand as the simple stick struck the massive boulder. He then clenched his fish and shouted, "Explode!"
If DogFighterPro was a Summoned, he would have received a 'Super Critical Strike' notification. Defying all odds, that simple stick struck the boulder at its weakest point. The impact caused a chain reaction that split the boulder into several smaller pieces that the surrounding soldiers easily dealt with.
Unfortunately, despite the army's many efforts, a boulder still broke through their defenses.
BOOM! The entire wall trembled as a boulder struck its eastern section, smashing open a giant hole.
The undead did not miss this opportunity. Despite having suffered intense bombardment themselves, the survivors single-mindedly charged at the hole.
Absalon's gaze turned grave as he glared at the compromised section. "We need to plug that hole." First, they needed to deal with the incoming undead. "But first, stop them from passing through. We're doomed if they expand that hole!"
BOOM! The undead near the breach crumbled to the ground as two orcs hit the ground. "We'll hold them off! Find a way to plug that hole!"
Durst grunted as he brandished a pair of twin axes. By his side, Ragnaf lifted a thick, longsword and glared at the onrushing horde.
Durst's eyes gleamed when he spotted a giant boulder roughly five hundred meters away. "We can plug the hole with that! I'll carry it, but I'll need some protection."
Atop the wall, Absalon's brows twitched when a commander relayed Durst's idea. "It's a bit early, but we don't have a choice." Absalon then switched channels to a different commander. "Darius, I have a mission for you..."
Meanwhile back at the breach, the soldiers cheered on the orcs, even as they peppered the undead with suppressive fire. Durst and Ragnaf proved why orcs were feared on the battlefield, clearing hordes of undead with ferocious ease.
Amongst the two, Durst was like a violent force of nature, bulldozing and crushing the enemies around him. Ragnaf, however, was more erudite, like flowing water. Seemingly clashing with his identity as an orc, he glided past attacks with exquisite footwork, and finished off enemies with efficient strikes.
Dududududu! "Hmm?" Durst turned around in time to spot around sixty centaurs charge out of the breach. Intriguingly, each centaur had two drakul seated on their back.
Darius, who led the charge, stopped in front of Durst with grave eyes. He pointed his spear at the distant rock. "We'll get you there, and provide support while the drakul protect your return."
"Understood." Durst knew the battlefield was not a place for complex explanations. So, he tapped Ragnaf's shoulder. "I'll leave this place to you."
Ragnaf nodded, and Durst immediately jumped onto Darius' back.
The centaur groaned. Orcs were quite heavy creatures. Fortunately, centaurs were pretty strong themselves, so Darius adjusted after a few moments of discomfort. He looked over his shoulder at Durst and warned, "Don't fall."
"Huh, why would I—whoa! *cough* *cough*" Durst burst into a coughing fit as Darius sudden speed forced him to swallow a chunk of air.
The centaurs displayed their spear formation on the battlefield as they tore through the undead's ranks. Nothing came close to the golden spear as it crushed any and all opposition out of their path.
Of course, the ki construct was not invincible. The centaurs suffered backlash from every impact. But, fortunately, the soldiers shared the impact amongst themselves, minimizing the overall damage. However, the undead were so densely packed that those small, almost miniscule damage would definitely accumulate to something significant over time.
Thankfully, the centaurs' mission was a straightforward one. The spear-construct soon reached the giant, five-meter tall rock.
Durst did not stand on ceremony. He jumped down from Darius' back and approached the rock. His veins bulged as he bent down and lifted the boulder. He then repositioned the boulder on his back and began trudging toward the wall.
The undead were not stupid. They deduced Durst's intentions the moment he reached the boulder. So, they immediately sent cavalry of their own to intercept. Several Dullahans and Death Knights charged toward Durst from all corners of the battle field.
Durst had barely crossed ten meters when the calvary reached within spitting distance. Their speed and ferocity displayed the undead's desire. They would not let Durst reach that wall!
Darius' eyes narrowed as he observed the incoming wave. As fellow calvary, he knew things would turn ugly if the undead barelled into their formation with that much momentum. Normally, this would have been a massive problem he would need hours to solve. But not that day.
On that day, the centaurs carried the solution to this issue on their backs.
Darius looked at the drakuls. "It's your turn. We shall count on you."
The drakul grimly nodded as they jumped off the centaurs and then got into formation around them, with the slowly moving Durst at the center.
The drakul drew their weapons, varying from double swords, to axes and hammers. Although they didn't wear significant armor, their weapons were intimidating! Aygorzi's dwarfs specially forged these weapons for the drakul. The dwarfs paid special attention because they considered the drakul to be Kashi's blood and tribe. Even if the entire world betrayed Kashi, the drakul never would.
Such a force needed to look the part so they did not drag Kashi's prestige down.
Strangely, the drakul themselves did not follow this train of thought. They did not care about how they looked, only that they had the strength to stand by Kashi's side.
Ever since they left Riven, the drakul only had two chances to show off their ferociousness. The first, was with Kashi, when they fought off the daeben.
This time, the rest of the world would bear witness. They would see the result of the Drakul's Eternal Dream!
ROAR!
The drakul roared in unison once the undead calvary reached spitting distance. Shockingly, every single drakul tripled in size, turning into terrifying giants.
"Berserk!?" Absalon nearly fell over in fright when he recognized the familiar red scales. Once upon a time, a few of those nearly destroyed his army's siege on Riven. Back then, only a handful of the drakul achieved Berserk. What would an entire platoons worth of berserk drakul be like!?
Absalon did not have to wait long to find out. The undead calvary bore witness on behalf of the world.
BOOM!
Bone and dust exploded as the drakul shattered the skeleton horses with a single punch. The Dullahans and Death Knights that fell did not have a chance to regroup before they were pounced upon. The drakul had neither mercy nor shame. They crushed the fallen enemies, sometimes ganging up five against one to bring a swift end.
The undead stared in shock for a moment, but then snapped back to reality when they noticed that Durst had advanced another fifty meters. Enraged, the undead poured wave after wave to intercept Durst.
Absalon, the ever watchful Supreme General did not let the undead have their way. "Section B-2 to E-9, focus suppressive fire around Durst's company. Cover their retreat! Nyte, Blade, Sasha, take companies to eliminate those who climb up the wall in those sections!"
"Yes Sir!"
Following Absalon's order, every ranged soldier on the eastern side, trained their bows or staffs toward Durst. Promptly, hundreds of arrows and magic projectiles rained down on the undead around Durst's company, creating a massive purgatory zone.
Naturally, because the archers focused elsewhere, the undead had a much easier time climbing the walls.
Thwak! Uack! Unfortunately for the undead, they barely got their footing on the wall before footsoldiers ganged up on and crushed them to dust. At the head of the covering party were Nyte, Blade and Sasha, Absalon's Lieutenants.
Atop Oni Hill, Queen Alia's eyes shone as she surveyed the distant battlefield. "So many races working together in harmony." She then glanced at the ground with excited eyes. "Kashi, is it? You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention."
Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, Durst understood what it was like to receive VIP treatment. The army's aerial bombardment greatly whittled the charging forces. The drakul then destroyed ninety-eight percent of those who made it through. Finally, the centaurs finished off any surviving undead.
For the twenty minutes until Durst reached the wall, nothing so much as touched him!
When they reached the wall, Darius' eyes trembled when he spotted a mountain of bones blocking the path.
Before Darius could begin to question his sanity, the skeleton wall crumbled, revealing a ferociously grinning Ragnaf.
The young orc was bruised and cut all over. Blood seeped from deep injuries, forming a small puddle at his feet, but Ragnaf's eyes were strong and excited.
"You all go to the otherside and plug the hole. I'll hold the line until you're done."
Darius trembled when he met Ragnaf's eyes. This pressure this child exuded was on the same level as Kashi's monstrous partners. However, he was even more bloodthirsty due to his orcish bloodline. Darius instinctively knew he was not Ragnaf's match. Perhaps only Agamios amongst the centaurs could match this wild orc.
'But he's on our side.'
Darius did not let his unease cloud his judgment. "Aethir guide you." He nodded his assent and then charged ahead with the drakul and Durst.
Having survived several ambushes, Durst released a sigh of relief when he finally crossed the wall. He then dropped the boulder on Darius' signal and rolled it into place.
The boulder fit almost snugly, but there were slight gaps at the top and the sides. Durst, however, was not concerned, because in a world of magic, fixing this much was easy!
Just as he thought, a mage who had been waiting scrambled to the rock and unleashed a pre-made spell.
The boulder seemed to melt and take a liquid form that spread out until it filled up the entire hole, and then hardened once again. Thanks to the spell, the hole disappeared, but that section of the wall had unavoidable jagged edges from the extra mass.
Outside the wall, Ragnaf cleared his surroundings with a ki-blade, and was then pulled to safety by a dropped rope. Several soldiers immediately rushed Ragnaf, patting and praising the orc for his outstanding display.
Ragnaf's eyes trembled as he looked at the adoring humes. This was the first time he ever received unfiltered praise. There was none of the 'for a half-orc,' or 'for a weak elf.' These people did not care what he was. They were thankful for his actions. Ragnaf, the orc that singlehandedly held the line was all they saw!
While Ragnaf basked in the praise, a tense Absalon stared into the black forest.
Leila walked up to his side, and rested on the battlements as she too peered ahead.
"We overcame the first hurdle."
"But there will be more."
"We don't have to win. Just hold out. Hold out until Kashi wins."
Absalon sighed as he looked at the 'cocoon-like' egg in the skies. "Just under five hours to go." His gaze then turned fiery as he gripped the battlements. "We will win."