Chapter 954 Hold the Line 2
It was clear that the horde of Abyss creatures they were currently facing was on a different level from the one they had faced before.
The stage 2 mutated Crawlers' bites might not be able to penetrate through the acolytes' protective armor and defense, but their speed – which was faster than the majority of the acolytes – put everyone in the battlefield on a constant state of high alert.
Blood splattered and mangled body parts scattered around the terrain as the battle grew more intense. The acolytes mustered up and did everything they could to kill the Abyss creatures that stood before them.
Spllaaatt! Spllaatt!!
The seemingly endless Abyss creatures continued to charge forward, pushing the acolytes back with their sheer numbers. In fact, due to the abundance of them, each acolyte was forced to deal with several Abyss creatures at once.
Once one had been overwhelmed by the mutated Crawlers, the stage 3 mutated Lurker would become extremely dangerous. Since the latter would certainly take advantage of the opening the latter created and dealt a critical hit.
As a matter of fact, those were exactly what happened to Emery's Mineralized Warriors. Being attacked by the Abyss creatures from all sides, it didn't take long for dozens of them to be whittled down and destroyed every minute.
Realizing that the situation was worse than what he first thought, from atop the thunderbird's back, Emery shouted as loudly as he could.
"Retreat!! Everyone, pull back!"
Thanks to his current position, Emery's words were clearly heard by the acolytes who were both on the ground and in the sky. Hearing such words and seeing the seemingly endless swarm, the acolytes looked towards the people beside them and nodded before starting to retreat.
The group of 100 acolytes lost their initial ground and began to be pushed back. Miles after miles, slowly but surely. However, even though they were continuously forced to retreat, everyone without exception did not stop attacking the Abyss creatures.
Following that, Emery proceeded to summon more Mineralized Warriors to replace the ones that had been destroyed, and hopefully help ease the heavy burden the acolytes were currently facing.
"More is coming!!" shouted Anas, as he used his weapon artifacts to shoot down all flying creatures that approached the group from the sky. Golden streaks darted through the air, as his flying weapon reaped the Abyss creature's life one by one.
While another horde of Abyss creatures gradually approached closer, the group finally arrived at the defensive line that had been prepared by the second group which was led by Julian. This was after constantly retreating while at the same time attempting to slow down the Abyss creatures' advance all at once.
The Roman had prepared a perfect spot for traps between two hills that formed a bottleneck that was about three miles wide. In addition to the 100 combat-oriented acolytes that lined up in rows, there were a total of ten identical artifacts seen standing tall on the landscape, courtesy of the Harlight faction.
[Plasma Turret]
Immediately, once the horde entered their firing range, the 10 towering artifacts swiftly lit up and fired hundreds of energy beams. The beams struck the Abyss creatures squarely, killing hundreds of Crawlers in seconds while severely injuring the other, higher stage Abyss creature.
These 10 Plasma Turrets were artifacts that Roran had secretly prepared in case of emergency. They had become a crucial factor in their current plan, as thanks to the firepower they provided, the overwhelming pressure that the Abyss creatures brought was slightly reduced.
"It's truly a pity that those turrets don't earn me any points!" the Harlight protege exclaimed, as he stood alongside Julian, Sigurd, Thrax, and Orycon shoulder to shoulder.
The Akamba warriors led by Okoye were currently positioned on the right wing. All of them stood ready, with their fighting spirit unleashed and spears brandished. On the other side, a group of acolytes led by the two Goat half-bloods, Igor and Ivar, defended their post on the left wing without faltering.
Thanks to the bombardment the Plasma Turrets provided, Emery and the other 100 acolytes were able to escape from millions of raging creatures chasing hot on their tails, mostly unscathed. And as soon as they ran past the two hills where the second group and turrets were at, Julian immediately shouted.
"Ready!!" Shield in one hand, Julian raised his hammer in the other as he gave instructions to prepare for the onslaught of the Abyss horde. However, he didn't give the order just yet because the timing was still not right.
At the moment, the hordes were still struggling to pass through the Plasma Turrent's dense bombardment that wreaked havoc upon their ranks. And when some of them finally made it through, they were quickly obstructed by muddy ground that was extremely treacherous to traverse.
"Hold!! Julian shouted loudly, to keep the 100 acolytes standing in their position and not flee from their posts.
"Hold!!"
It didn't take a long time for the 3 miles long and 100 meters wide muddy ground to be filled with Crawlers and Roaches. Tens of thousands of them were struggling and still trying to traverse the terrain when Julian finally released the trigger.
[Fireball]
Whooosssshhh! The moment the spell landed on the muddy ground, the entire field immediately turned into a huge sea of flames that swiftly engulfed and incinerated all of the Abyss creatures within, killing tens of thousands of them. If that wasn't bad enough, during all of this, they still continued to be under rapid fire from the turrets.
The flames successfully and wonderfully did their job as every Crawler and most of the Lurkers that stepped into it were unable to come out alive again. However, the bigger and stronger stage 3 and stage 4 Abyss creatures escaped, unaffected at all.
This, however, was within the considerations of their plan.
Now, without the distractions of the harmless but really annoying Crawlers. The 100 combatants were ready to run amok to their heart's content.
"Charge!!!" shouted Julian, as he took the lead and darted towards the nearby creatures with his weapons brandished forward.
Immediately, 100 close combat specialists cast their respective buff spells on themselves. Various kinds of artifacts were brought out and their extraordinary might was shown, in a collective effort to push the thousands of stage 3 and stage 4 Abyss creatures back.
Splaatt! Spllatt!!
When the battle was about to reach its peak, finally a humongous creature was seen walking past through the fire with ease. Half a dozen of the stage 5 Ravagers had made their appearance into the battlefield, and they quickly wreaked havoc because, unlike their other kins, these creatures couldn't be killed just by relentlessly throwing normal spells.
The Titan bloodline, Sigurd, went ahead and quickly confronted one of the Ravagers, attacking it with his special skill [Soul Shaker]. The said Ravager was unable to boast any significant retaliation. It could only let out furious roars, while severe wounds continued to appear on its body as Sigurd rampaged ferociously.
Arcana joined the fray as well. Now that the strongest Abyss creature had come, he would not miss the opportunity and quickly used his [Eye of Mistra] on one of the Ravagers, attempting to put it under his control.
Different from the Chrysalis who was a bonafide stage 5 Abyss creature, the mutated Ravager was merely a strengthened version of the stage 4 Ravager, and thus the Abyss creature was successfully enchanted by Arcana's ability. And without further ado, the kid-looking acolyte immediately used the enchanted Ravager to fight another of its kind.
Soon after, the Flyers began to arrive at the battlefield from beyond the sea of flames. In response, Roran swiftly controlled the Plasma Turret and unleashed a barrage of beams towards the sky.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Flyers that were hit by the beam would burst into a huge explosion, making it seem as if several fireworks had lit up the sky.
Seeing the ongoing battle, despite the fact that he had just fought hard and his Spirit Pool was nearly empty, Emery wanted to join the fight and help Julian and the others.
He was unwilling to continue resting when his companions fought bravely on the front lines.
Therefore, he used [Night Transformation]. His physique had nearly doubled in size while dark fur covered his entire body, before he charged into the heat of battle with the Savage Sword in his hand.
Emery's figure flickered among the horde of Abyss creatures like a phantom. The [36 Dao Divine Sword] was at its full display, allowing Emery to weave through the horde with ease and leaving hundreds of dead Abyss creatures in his wake.
He rampaged and ran amok like a reaper harvesting lives, until at last the sea of flames lost its ember and was extinguished; And once again, the countless Abyss creatures that had been blocked by the flames came charging towards the group like a massive destructive wave.
"Hold the Line!!"
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