Fred had an impassive look on his face as he looked at the titan. It was an incredibly powerful beast, but with centuries to test their power and only fighting one another to learn ways to increase their own abilities, their fighting ability was much greater than others of their same level. This allowed them to easily dominate the titan and the battlefield around them.
The poison would kill it in a matter of minutes, but there were others who needed their help sooner rather than in a few minutes.
Four magical circles appeared around the titan. Trees appeared and their limbs sunk into the titan’s body and heaved, ripping it into four parts.
“Purify,” Fred said simply.
The trees glowed and a golden light started to fall over the battlefield.
The titan’s strength was incredible, as even in four different poisoned parts, it cried out as the magic that had awakened it was unraveled.
A tombstone appeared above it as Racquel, William, and Fred turned their attention back to the rest of the Blood Demon army, as if looking at an annoying and unrewarding task.
Racquel sent out green snakes, formed from poison, that rushed over the battlefield while William jumped across the street and slammed into groups of Masters.
Dromm waded into the groups of troops, blunting weapons and sending them flying with every fist, kick, and head butt.
Fred moved forward. His sword whistled and blurred as he remained impassive, as if just walking down the street. Masters or Elites used different attacks and techniques but they couldn’t penetrate his defense.
Reaper stood in the sky with Elizabeth, harbingers of doom as they controlled the battlefield from afar by proxy with their creations.
Other groups of Masters from the Blue Lotus and the Crafter’s Association clashed with the titans. But even with three or four hundred against the defending Masters and the titan, they were just able to wound it and slowly wear it down. While in turn, the titans used curses, bone weapons, and Mana blasts, killing tens of the defenders and getting closer to the walls.
***
Erik got the call about the KIA. They didn’t know who had died on the special teams and now wasn’t the time to confirm as they were assisting Masters to take out the other demons and titans.
Right now he couldn’t focus on that as he was on the walls, watching as spells and mortars landed right outside of the Vuzgal barrier into the lines of the charging Blood Demon army.
They poured out of the outer city and right into the defense’s lines. Archers and mages on the walls or behind it fired repeatedly into their midst.
Repeaters fired continuously, leaving lines of explosive arrows that raked across the enemy’s position.
Members of the Alvan army were firing and reloading their rifles or their M32s. They didn’t have the numbers to give everyone the M32s but they were incredibly effective with the Blood Demon army charging through the streets and the rubble of the city.They were trained to stay together so that they could be protected by a barrier.
Now that there was no Mana barrier to cover under, it made them the perfect targets for the M32s.
There were Elites and Masters among the soldiers, using the weak for cover and advancing on the walls.
Even with the wealth of spells and firepower pouring into them, with their techniques and history of being in life-and-death situations before, the Blood Demon army was able to push forward.
Erik looked over as a section of the inner wall exploded outward. People were sent flying and rocks rained down on those behind the wall, littering the open ground behind the wall. Ranged fighters readied their weapons and faced the new breach as the Blood Demon army started to pour forward into the fresh breach.
Erik had called up the fighters still affected by the concoction to create a reserve force. Everyone else who wasn’t showing signs of the concoction reducing their Strength was on the walls already.
Erik fired, killing a Master who reached the top of the still intact wall, trying to flank the defenders who were getting organized.
Rugrat’s design on the new rifle worked well; Erik could work the bolt action of the gun, without needing to move his head out of the way and fire again.
Three more people dropped to the ground as Erik dumped the magazine.
“Reloading!”
He smacked a new one into place and pushed the action forward, continuing to fire.
“Movement!” He heard on the section of wall in front of him.
He kept back from the wall in a watchtower connected to it so he could see the battlefield. He wasn’t right up against the barrier so that a stray spell or ranged attack within the barrier could get him.
The watchtower was also filled with repeaters that were firing down on the Blood Demon army, turning the streets and the blown-out buildings into a bloodbath.
Erik looked out as a group crossed the tombstone- and body-covered ground, making it to the wall. Attacks rained down on them, only leaving just a handful to cower under the edge for cover.
One pulled out a cannon and fired it into the wall.
The blast caused the wall to lose it’s stability, the blood Demon soldiers raised their shields with their strength it was easy for them to deflect the falling rubble, ready to charge forwards once it had settled.
Another Blood Demon soldier used a spell scroll. The wall next to them distorted, becoming blocks and falling apart as another section exploded.
Another cannon went off, piercing the wall and continuing through to pierce the walls of the watchtower Erik stood in, making it shake.
Erik could see the Blood Demon army charging forth as people tried to angle their fire downward on the approaching foes but the resistance on the wall was sparse.
Erik took out his M32 and fired into one of the larger breaches filled with Blood Demon soldiers.
The repeaters on various watchtowers tracked over and concentrated on the breaches now, suppressing them, but more holes were opening up as new weaknesses were exposed.
“We need to leave,” the Masters from the Blue Lotus and the Crafter’s Association guarding Erik said as they fired arrows into the enemy.
If we fall back then we’ll be fighting from the valley and they’ll control the inner city, at that point it would be easy for them to grind down our forces into nothing with ranged attacks and keep us caged in the Valley, we could only retreat into the dungeon and fight it out there.
“No, we stay here. We hold this wall,” Erik yelled as he called up Rugrat and Glosil directly.
“Glosil, I’m passing command to you. The enemy’s spirit is broken if we can get their leadership or take out the Titans and Demons we can turn this around.” Erik turned towards the inner wall, seeing undead charging into a breach and creating a new wall, waiting beyond the holes in the walls to kill anything that came through. They were strong but dumb, great for defending breaches. Nearly all of the defenders remaining Master-classed forces were fighting the Blood Demons and titans in the outer city so it was up to the undead to hold the line.
“We need to push our people up to the front line, reinforce the Tareng guards.” Erik said.
“I understand,” Glosil said, his voice grim. “Good luck.”
“Luck? We don’t need luck! We make our own!” Rugrat yelled, the wind distorting his words.
Erik could hear that he was talking while riding.
Another section of wall exploded. Erik looked over, his body tightening. It was where he had seen a section from Alva’s army fighting.
He cut the channel and jogged across the wall to get a better vantage. “Cover the breach!”
Erik wanted to jump in and pull his people out, but he was a soldier first and a medic second.
Civilians that had volunteered were rushed forward to pull out the wounded and evacuate them to the healers and alchemists to the rear.
Erik turned back to the battlefield and pulled out his M32, ejecting the grenade casings into his storage ring. He reloaded it, snapped i
t closed, and aimed at one breach, firing past it and on to the area on the other side. He adjusted his aim, doing the same for the two other breaches. It might or might not kill anyone but it would put the fear of explosives into them.
Mortars and long-range spells were being called in, no longer into the outer city, but just over the wall to seal off breaches and to keep others from entering. It was like putting gum on a hole in a dam. It slowed the amount of people going through, but eventually they would make breaches in enough places that the indirect fire wouldn’t be able to cover them all and they could flood in.
A demon made it to the inner wall.It swung its fist, smashing the wall apart as people hosed it with fire. Its head opened, even while being hit with different attacks.
A pillar of chaotic Mana tore down the side of the wall, killing an untold amount of people and melting the wall.
Blood Demon soldiers rushed from behind to where the demon was as it hit the wall, breaking it and entering the city. Masters at its feet rushed forward in a flood as the demon fired out Mana blasts from different parts of its body. When it stepped on corpses, their bodies were added to its mass, repairing it and allowing it to grow bigger.
Tens of ballistas filled the sky and struck the demon, making it stagger under the weight of fire. A few of the Masters were killed by ballistas that missed the large demon.
Rugrat rushed forward, part of the quick reaction ground force as they fired their ballistas and used spell scrolls at the fresh breach caused by the demon.
Attacks rained down on the demon and the Masters around it, slowing and killing them.
Another spell scroll created an outline over a large section of broken walls. The rocks covering the ground flew up and returned to the wall, repairing it as if the wall had never been broken. Those who had rushed past the wall in to kill the defenders now had nowhere to retreat as their backs were against the walls.
They were slaughtered as defenders tried to get back on the walls and hold out.
That fight was only on a small section of the wall. Erik reloaded and fired into the breaches that hadn’t been repaired and watched as more sections of the wall were turned into flying stone and dust.
The members of the Alva Army that had been acting as medics now put down their stretchers. They had the coordination, they had the cultivation and they had the levels added with their impressive weaponry. It was the first time the people of Tareng had seen the Alva Army go all out.
Sections coordinated with one another, laying down a base of fire and advancing. Titans challenged them as they used spell scrolls freely, not caring about their loss. Grenadiers pasted destruction across the lines.
They plugged breaches and forced back the Blood Demon Sect.
If it was three months ago then we wouldn’t have stood a chance. Coming to the fourth realm had removed any excess that they had before and focused their minds and their actions. With their firm foundations in tactics their increased strength had a multiplicative effect when fighting alongside one another.
Erik assessed his bodyguards turned combatants supporting from afar. Suddenly, several Masters appeared in a breach to the northwest of Erik, slaughtering their way in.
Erik changed to his rifle as he fired on them, killing a few, but it wasn’t doing enough. Like throowing rocks into a stream hoping to stop it. The breaches were under pressure all along the line as the defenders moved from the walls to the ground to hold their positions.
Erik advanced, taking out a Defender’s Might pill and chewing it. He felt strength fill his body.
He knelt and fired his rifle, again and again, but it seemed that the Blood Demon army had sensed a great weakness as they all rushed the breach next to where Erik and his Alvan soldiers were.
“Calling in fire support, grid Four eight, seven three, Three two one nine, confrim!” Erik called up the mortars. They had based the grid system off of the main castle and added it to their maps.
“Understood, fire support mission on grid, four eigh seven three, three two one nine Confirmed! Clear to fire?”
“Clear to fire.”
“Sergeant Drumm, keep your people back, mortars coming down on the other side of the wall!” Erik switched to another channel.
“Understood!” The section got into what cover they could find, the masters gathering on the other side for the push.
Erik dropped behind the wall on the roof he was observing from as someone started firing at him. He stayed down and scooted away.
“Never seen a battle commander on his hands and knees?” Erik barked as he saw the stunned looking guards with him as he pulled out a scroll and tucked it into his vest, ready to use it if needed.
Whistling could be heard from above as Erik pulled out his heavy repeater, putting his back against the wall.
The mortars rained down on the other side of the breach as the mortars landed.
Erik stood up and turned, putting his repeater on the wall as he released Gilly, she let out a yell, stretching as the guards looked at her in surprise.
The mortars stopped firing as Erik saw through the dust, he fired with his repeater, the other Alvans joining in, nothing made it through that breach as they advanced, the breach had turned into a slaughter, the Blood Demon Soldiers trying to flee as masters, experts and normal members were shredded.
“Gilly repair the wall!” Erik said.
Brown runes that were hidden in her skin glowed as the ground started to push up dragging the sonte back together and fusing it together with dirt.
A Blood Demon appeared like a runaway train and slammed through the wall, sending the parts that Gilly had repaired, everywhere, the Alva soldiers had to dive for cover as the rocks rained down.
Gilly let out an enraged roar, her squeaky tone taking on a deeper noise as mana billowed around her and a spell formation appeared in front of her mouth. Water attribute mana in the area collected as she released an attack that looked like high speed rain drops piercing through the Blood Demon. It was shredded, not knowing how it died as it dropped backwards into the breach.
Erik looked at Gilly in surprise.
She let out a satisfied snort as the wall started to form again, the blood demon being crushed inside it.
The Two sections grouped up and moved to another area that was understrength and needed help.
Erik was studying his map, checking the information that had been passed to him through different recon and intelliegnce methods.
“It looks like they’ve committed their forces to the push, they’ve got evertyhing coming for us, their command element is at the rear and we have a good idea where they are,” Erik talked to himself as he used his communication device.
“Glosil!”
“Erik!”
“I don’t think that we’re going to get a better chance to use Rising Coffin,” Erik yelled through the communication device.
Glosil took a moment, checking his own information.
“If we wait much longer we won’t have a wall between us and them.”
“Send out the word, I’ll activate operation Rising Coffin in three minutes!”
“Got it!” They cut the connection as Erik used his connection to the Dungeon core to send orders to the undead, getting them ready.
Glosil contaced him just a few minutes later.
“I sent the word.”
“Good, Activating Rising Coffin,” Erik said, his sound transmission device passing the message to Glosil who passed it to the rest of the defenders.
“You got mounts?” Erik asked the guards.
“Yes sir!”
“Alright mount up,” Erik jumped onto Gilly’s back, petting her neck, there hadn’t been many opportunities for her to fight in the last couple of weeks which had left her annoyed as she had just transported him from one observation post to another unable to assist.
She was a lot calmer now that she had been able to show off her strength and defeat the Blood Demon all by herself.
“Good
Girl,” Erik said.
She started off, jumping off of the roof and moving through the streets, the Crafter’s guards following closely behind on their own beasts.
Chapter: Rising Coffin
The ground shook as a hand of bones appeared. The glowing eyes of the undead were revealed as they climbed out onto the battlefields that they had once fought on and were soon to fight on again.
They carried their weapons in skeletal hands, silently moving forward, marching on the Blood Demon army, who were forcing their entrance into the city.
Thousands of undead had moved through the tunnels that were under the city, hiding just a few feet below the ground, ready to be called upon.
Once the undead were all freed from the ground, the cavalry grouped up, stepping onto their mounts, and started to move forward. Their mounts gained speed as those on their feet turned from a walk into a jog. The rangers jogged behind the foot soldiers, but at a slower pace, allowing a distance to be created between them as the mages at the back gathered power from the dungeon core.
***
General Ulalas looked at the walls of Vuzgal as another section exploded, rocks flying everywhere. Her forces rushed into the inner city as soon as the dust had cleared but there were flashes of light and explosions.
“Who are these people?” One of the remaining commanders hissed, their eyes dark and cruel.
“Who knows,” Ulalas said, she hadn’t seen weapons like theirs before or their tactics which kept them at range from their attackers.
If someone was fast enough then they could deflect the attacks but some would explode upon contact, making it hard to defend against.
Then there was the coordinated strikes from the whistling thunder.
“We have broken into the inner city through multiple breaches. Though the enemy is holding onto their positions and engaing us directly. We have pushed all of our forces forward, we don’t have anyone else to commit,” an aide said.
Ulalas nodded, feeling relieved, soon it would be all over.
The Fourth Realm (The Ten Realms Book 4) Page 55