Faced with the tidal wave of beetles, the group felt overwhelmed despite their immense strength.
Though they could temporarily suppress the enemies directly in front of them, the number of Void Demons was simply too staggering, seemingly infinite. To make matters worse, the shortage of high-end combatants at Azure Fortress only exacerbated the dire situation on the battlefield.
With the defense array of the walls failing, the small and medium-sized Void Demons that had been hiding beneath the giant beetles seized the opportunity to swarm the battlements. Cunning and fierce, they engaged the defending soldiers in a brutal melee.
Upon the walls, silver armor and black shadows intertwined like colliding torrents of black and white. Every clash brought with it the extinguishing of lives and the spray of fresh blood.
Compared to the locust-type Void Demons from before, the rat-type and lizard-type magic creatures now scaling the walls were undoubtedly far more difficult to handle. They were faster and more aggressive, placing unprecedented pressure on the soldiers.
The ordinary soldiers were forced to quickly adjust their tactics, forming small battle squares to use their collective strength against these powerful foes. A full-scale war had erupted.
In such a situation, every soldier was a vital combatant. They swung their swords, raised their shields, or hurled spears, using every means at their disposal to defend their home.
The Void Demons were equally relentless, snarling and roaring as they poured every ounce of their strength into their savage assault on the defenders.
As the number of Void Demons on the wall surged, even the commander, Blake, was forced to personally join the fray. Rosal followed close behind him, and the two plunged into the chaotic slaughter side by side.
While they were not yet capable of taking on the massive Void Demon behemoths alone, they were more than a match for the smaller Void Demons currently wreaking havoc on the walls.
Rosal, now fully armed, was like a mobile goddess of steel. Her heavy sword, Thunderwing, seemed to come alive in her hands. Every swing carried the force of thunder, tearing any enemy that dared approach into black fragments.
Her movements were swift and precise. Wherever her heavy sword passed, it left behind only the desperate wails of Void Demons and their falling corpses. She was like a ruthless meat grinder, turning a section of the battlefield into her personal domain.
High in the sky, Midir noticed something strange after eliminating several waves of the swarm—the number of locusts was actually dwindling.
“I clearly haven't killed that many! Could they actually be feeling fear? Or did that shell cause them to lose control and flee the battlefield?”
He didn't have much time to dwell on it. After finishing off the remaining stragglers in the air, he immediately returned to the wall.
By now, the battle on the wall had reached a fever pitch, with every moment being a test of life and death.
Those fearless Void Demons, with their tenacious vitality and unknown powers, sent chills down the spines of even the most battle-hardened soldiers. Their attacks surged like a tide, constantly battering the will and the defensive lines of the garrison.
In one corner of the wall, a soldier's eyes flashed with unyielding light as he swung his blade like a bolt of lightning, precisely cleaving a lizard-type Void Demon in two.
However, after this brief victory, he was horrified to find that the supposedly fatal wound did not stop the creature's assault. The lizard's tail coiled around his leg like a venomous snake, and its remaining torso continued to struggle fiercely, attempting to drag him to the ground.
Immediately after, a giant black rat lunged from the shadows to his side. Its sharp incisors easily pierced the soldier's thick armor, sinking deep into his flesh.
Accompanied by the soldier's cry of agony, blood sprayed out, staining the stone bricks beneath his feet. But his voice was quickly drowned out by the rising chorus of shouts and wails across the battlefield.
Such scenes were playing out in every corner of the fortress walls.
As the number of Void Demons continued to grow, the casualty rate of the garrison plummeted like a kite with a broken string. The soldiers fought with everything they had, building defensive lines with their own bodies, but against the seemingly endless enemy, their strength felt small and fragile.
“These Void Demons are incredibly tenacious! Remember to strike their weak points! Form a perimeter around the magic crystal cannons—we cannot let the gunners fall!”
Seeing the soldiers around him covered in wounds yet still resisting stubbornly, Blake felt a surge of anxiety and unease.
Just as he tried to steady his emotions and direct the combat, a giant lizard suddenly leaped from behind him, pinning him to the ground with lightning speed.
The lizard opened its maw, preparing to spray lethal corrosive venom at Blake. At that critical moment, a brilliant blue light streaked through the air. Midir arrived like a god from the heavens, his long sword decapitating the giant lizard with unerring precision.
“Blake, are you alright?” Midir quickly moved to Blake's side and pulled him up. He noticed Blake's face was covered in dust and sweat, looking quite disheveled.
Still shaken, Blake managed to steady himself. He gasped for air, his mind remarkably clear despite the shock.
“I'm fine, Midir. But if this continues, we'll eventually run out of strength. We must find the mastermind controlling these Void Demons to turn the tide of this battle.” His voice was weary, but his tone was exceptionally firm.
Midir frowned upon hearing this; he knew Blake was right.
He stomped his foot heavily onto the wall. Instantly, a bone-chilling frost radiated outward from him, freezing the nearby Void Demons into ice sculptures.
“I understand what you mean, Blake. But you know that while I might be good at fighting, finding clues isn't exactly my specialty.”
“Perhaps I should go down and bring Aila up. Her insight might be the key to breaking this stalemate. Watch yourself; I'll be right back!”
With that, Midir's figure vanished from sight, having clearly used teleportation.
Below the wall, Aila was still wreaking havoc within the swarm. In such a dense enemy formation, she had retracted her fire-attribute Battle Qi, replaced by a golden light that flickered constantly around her.
Suddenly, a figure appeared right in front of her, startling her. She instinctively swung her long blade at the intruder.
With a crisp clang, her katana was blocked in mid-air by a flash of blue light. Midir looked at the blade, which was less than a foot from his neck, and spoke with a hint of exasperation.
“You've really got bloodlust in your eyes, don't you? I almost lost my head just now.”
Aila finally snapped out of it and quickly withdrew her blade. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she spoke with a touch of apology.
“It's your fault for popping up so suddenly! I thought you were another troublesome bug. Besides, looking at you, didn't you handle it easily enough?”
“Fine, fine, I'm not blaming you. Come up with me for a moment. Hey! Ronald, can you hold out on your own? I'm borrowing Aila for a bit!”
Midir shook his head, signaling he didn't mind, and turned to shout at Iron Man No. 23, which was currently busy pummeling a giant beetle.
“What?! I'm just a scientist! I don't have the combat power you guys do!”
Hearing Midir's voice, Ronald instinctively looked over, only to see Midir waving at him while pulling a confused Aila along.
“Are you serious?! You're really planning to leave me here all by myself?”
Iron Man No. 23 hurled its target away with immense force as Ronald's indignant voice echoed from within. However, the figures of Midir and Aila had already vanished from his sight.
“Tsk... those two! I'm definitely charging Aila for overtime later!”
Ronald cursed under his breath with a headache. He recalled several spear armaments he had just thrown, forming a massive shield in front of him to block two charging beetles. The blue electricity crackling on the shield scorched them, releasing a pungent smell of burnt meat.
Rate on N.U.
