Outside the city. One kilometer away from the city gate.
"Keep going!" Brigadier Klein Arvent yelled as he retreated. Unlike earlier, he wasn't using Frost Rush anymore. He tried his best to conserve as much magic as he could and focus it on defense.
Some of the soldiers in his team also breached orders. Instead, they stopped falling back and casted spells in order to assist the Brigadier. However, all they received was a harsh scolding from their leader.
They had really underestimated the power of the fourth horde. The destructive power they displayed was much more frightening than the previous ones. Thankfully, the white snake had stopped harassing them with its darts.
At the moment, Klein Arvent's plan was to seek assistance from the ballistae troops and from the other mages who had already been resting for more than an hour. It was against his will, but it was the only choice he had. He silently wondered where General Samo was currently at.
If only that person's team were to support his.
Klein Arvent shook off the unnecessary thoughts.
Currently, the beasts were already spreading horizontally since they weren't inside the defensive formation anymore. If even a single beast successfully enters the city, it would be lights out for hundreds, if not thousands, of people.
Klein Arvent found himself in a tighter position. He could continuously form barriers to disrupt the advance of the beasts, and it was getting more effective as they spread out. But what about those parts he couldn't reach?
Thankfully, as soon as they entered the range of the ballistae, the operators started shooting. They weren't just casually sitting around while the Brigadier's team was doing all the job. They paid close attention, just in case their services were once again needed.
Several beasts stumbled from the impact, but it wasn't as effective to them as it was to the previous beasts. Some ballistae arrows stuck on their bodies while others merely bounced off. It did close to nothing to halt their advance.
….
On top of the wall, the ballistae operators kept working hard. Maybe one arrow wasn't enough. But what about four? Or five? Or maybe ten?
They worked double-time as the Remorans started casting their spells.
They eyed the Brigadier's team as they finally entered the defensive barriers they erected earlier in order to prevent the second horde of beasts.
Captain Rose gritted his teeth. He thought that his struggles had finally ended earlier when Brigadier Klein Arvent arrived.
"Water Remorans, as soon as the beasts enter, cast Snowstorm for crowd control. Be sure to alternate in groups so that the spell won't be wasted. Remember, our goal is to slow them down! Earth Remorans, Earth Spikes. Make it big! The rest, charge your spells. We need to blow those beasts away back into the Snowstorm as soon as they get past it."
Captain Rose slapped the edge of the wall with force as soon as he finished throwing a bunch of commands. "I sure hope this is the last one."
"Indeed," Captain Haron replied, a worried look plastered on his face.
The remaining 400 or so Remorans on top of the wall were mostly E-ranked ones. Only a few were low-level D-ranked. All they could do was provide as much support as they could so that the Brigadier's team of 80 soldiers and the Special Remoran Unit with 25 members could safely reorganize.
Whoosh!
Another set of arrows rained down on the beasts.
The Brigadier's team and the Remoran unit had finally started readjusting themselves after hitting the 500-meter mark. They evenly spread out, matching the beasts' arrangement.
The low-level military Serans outside the gates were immediately deployed by their commanders. They split up in small groups and were dispatched according to the distribution of the Brigadier Arvent's team.
The Brigadiers and Colonels amongst them stayed near the gate, ready to respond to any unexpected changes.
At that moment, the spells from the Water Remorans were finally released.
Snowstorm!
The defense that the second horde found to be quite tough crumbled in front of the forth horde's massive beasts. It didn't even seem like they had much trouble, especially when the steel-headed black rhino was leading their charge.
However, what greeted them was the harsh cold of false winter.
The temperature dropped dramatically and the snow in a wide horizontal area started to pile.
….
Brigadier Klein Arvent nodded in approval at the other soldiers' response. It was exactly what they needed. Now, they could peacefully set up their formation while the horde is having a hard time in the snow.
The Snowstorm was really effective. Whenever a beast peeks out of it, Earth Spikes would immediately throw it back in.
The cycling of spells by the Remorans was also beautifully executed. Whenever a Snowstorm died down, another one would immediately replace it.
However, this wouldn't last for an eternity. Mages are bound to lose magic energy with every spell they cast, especially when it comes to large area spells like Snowstorm. After two more cycles, the chaining between spells wouldn't be perfect anymore and a window is sure to open up.
Fortunately, it was just enough time for them!
Klein Arvent moved with even greater resolve.
Just when he thought everything would finally stabilize, something incomprehensible suddenly happened.
The soldiers, especially those who are already veterans, did not want to believe it. Mainly because they had seen far too much already and did not think that there is much more to see in the world.
But it did happen. They got to see something that many people thought was impossible.
Boulders rained down on the city wall, targeting the ballistae and the Remorans.
Boulders!
The first shot was so unexpected that it managed to destroy two ballistae at once, killing seven people.
After that, the Remorans responded by blocking the boulders with their own spells. Because of this, the crowd control they were supposed to be cycling was immediately interrupted.
What held the beasts back immediately disappeared. The soldiers who were still falling into formation were shocked beyond belief. They couldn't see what was causing the hail of boulders, but Brigadier Arvent can.
Right next to the defensive layer that the Remorans erected earlier, a giant gorilla was standing. It broke the Earth Walls and threw them towards the city walls.
Ranged siege attacks are what the beasts were clearly lacking before. On the other hand, the Remorans were quite free to bombard them with spells from a distance.
Now that the Remorans were preoccupied, the tables were finally even.
However, the surprises from the beasts didn't end there.
Atop an Ice Wall, a large bat suddenly perched. For some reason, amongst the hundreds of beasts in front of them, that one bat particularly caught most people's attention.
It suddenly took in several large breaths of air, its figure enlarged rapidly.
The people thought hard about what it was truly trying to do.
Then, the bat released everything along with a supersonic sound.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Simultaneously, people started screaming. However, their screams were still drowned out by the loud screeching noise. Many people covered their ears in an attempt to mitigate as much noise as possible.
To some others, it was highly effective.
Because they could never hear anything ever again.
A boulder thrown by the gorilla proceeded unimpeded destroying a large section of the wall where several Remorans stood. A bloody mess painted the area as broken pieces of several human bodies were scattered all around.
As the screeching continued, the mages found themselves unable to focus for them to cast their spells.
Boulders continued hailing down.
The people on top of the city wall fell into chaos. They ran around frantically but had no direction or whatsoever.
The two captains fell into a daze as they saw their men getting massacred powerlessly.
Then, a large boulder came hurtling their way.
It reflected in their eyes just before it crushed the two of them.
Even the sound of the collision could not be heard by the others.
Only the sound of screeching filled the air.
….
Klein Arvent was filled with shock, and, for the first time, terror.
Even his men who were highly trained to keep their focus amidst such occasions found themselves struggling.
To him, at that time, everything moved in slow motion.
His eyes captured the destruction of the walls, as pieces flew through the air.
He witnessed many people jump from the city wall, hoping that they would have a better end as compared to those who were crushed by the large boulders.
He looked gratifyingly at those E-ranked mages who were still trying to cast their spells.
Klein Arvent sighed inwardly. His left hand once again entered his pocket and touched the familiar vial he had always been carrying around him since a few years ago.
I guess I would have to sacrifice a part of my future to have a future in the first place.
He gently popped the cover of the vial and downed every drop of its contents in one go.
Immediately, he felt magic surge inside his body and his focus improving many times.
Amidst the loud screeching of the giant bat, he found himself calm and composed as if it didn't affect him at all.
As the beasts advanced forward, Brigadier Klein Arvent started casting his spell. The temperature around him started to drop rapidly.
First, his eyes started to glow with a blue hue. Then, blue wind started revolving around his body rapidly with him at the center.
After a full ten seconds, just before releasing the spell, Klein Arvent laughed mockingly at himself.
He extended one of his hands forward.
S-ranked spell, Sealing Magic: White Turtle!
A white wave suddenly erupted from the Brigadier's palm. It rapidly moved towards the beasts devouring every single one of them.
The white wave covered an entire 500-meter radius.
After the bright flash of the wave dissipated, an enormous dome took its place.
It looked like a gigantic white shell.
The screeching sound immediately disappeared.
Seeing the magic's splendor, the faces of the mages brightened up. For a few seconds, the area was as silent as a wake. They didn't know what was happening. All of the beasts just ended up being frozen. It looked as if a blue light was simply sweeping over the creatures just a few seconds ago. To stop them all at once, this was too magnificent! Simply too magnificent.
Was this it? Was this victory?
Unfortunately, it was not.
Klein Arvent fell, but one of his men immediately caught him. Suddenly, he spoke to the man, "Fifteen... minutes."
"Sir?" the soldier replied.
"The spell... only... fifteen minutes."
The soldier who thought that they had already won paled.
The spell would only last for 15 minutes.
….