Pang~
Igneel's fist ached as he slammed it against a shield. It bent violently inwards and was completely ruined. Following up he punched the undead holding the shield, shattering its skull.
"It's never ending. . ."
Compared to the Chimeras, this kind of reviving was slow. There was a difference in quality. It seems the Territory continued to struggle reviving the undead the more they're beat. As more undead are shattered to dust there was less to repair.
However this fruitless kind of combat was not what he was here for. Akiol said he was supposed to help with dealing with the more significant undead enemies. Just who exactly were the more significant enemies?
Circling around he couldn't find anything the Guilds weren't already handling. Until he spotted a tower in the distance. He remembered it from the strategy meeting. Their original target. Although he didn't pay too much attention to that meeting, there must be something over there!
Vaulting over an undead he jumped his way across the horde towards the tower. There must be something of importance he can do!
"It seems we're of the same idea!", a voice called out.
Turning his head Igneel found Yuto jogging to catch up. Waving he asked, "The tower?"
"The generals are up there! I'm going to take them out and weaken the Lich this way."
Generals? Igneel now remembered why they brought up the tower. The Lich and the three generals under its command. However, wouldn't that mean there are other generals under the command of the other Third Stage enemies?
Not that it mattered to him! He couldn't fight those enemies anyway. Generals it is!
Yuto spun his scythe and leaned it against his back, "It's good to have you! You and your other half included."
"Other half?"
"What-?"
An explosion occurred at the ravine they were approaching and dragged their attention towards it. Doubling their efforts they sped up and the battle came to view. Bakery Basics and Determined Souls were struggling to make any distance further up the ravine. Stuck at a standstill against the rising undead. Leaping into battle the two joined to increase the force!
Gan flickered back to recover more Flow, and upon seeing the two he asked, "Reinforcements?"
Yuto twirled his scythe and leapt into the fray while confidently exclaiming, "The main force!"
Faced with such overbearing confidence Igneel provided a more realistic answer, "Reinforcements."
"Aha! Good to hear! With a bit more force we can push past this ravine!", Gan laughed.
Igneel pointed upwards, "But shouldn't we act faster?"
Turning his head to follow the finger Gan sucked in some cold air through his teeth. Several undead archers were lined up at the top of the ravine. Pointing their worn bows towards the group. The cavalry had pinned them long enough for the undead to gather reinforcements as well! A samurai undead walked up to the edge and inspected the ongoing battle. Shaking his head Vertigo raised a hand, "Ready!"
Swinging his hand down Vertigo ordered, "Fire!"
"Damn-!", Gan raised his arms to hastily defend himself.
It was then several small knives flung forward. They deflected several arrows, and even made some arrows knock into other arrows. This defense was enough to prevent any of the players from being hit. Yuto saw this and turned, "I know those knives!"
Ninn retracted her knives with a frown. That took a significant amount of concentration and now she wasn't so sure she could replicate the feat again! Her eyes darted across the archers nocking another series of arrows and faintly smiled.
Throwing her daggers towards the cavalry unit she aimed for the joints to cause them to stumble about. Approaching Yuto she asked, "Did you think brute force was going to be enough?"
Ignoring the question Yuto pointed a thumb upwards, "Are you not going to handle them?"
"There's no need."
A puff of smoke appeared at the archer line and a flash of light could be seen occasionally. The undead archers suddenly fell into chaos. Their limbs were quickly severed and before they could see who was responsible the culprit puffed into smoke again.
Yuto placed his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the light as he tried to catch a glimpse of their savior. More importantly taking down the archers was only a temporary thing! They'll rise again and shoot them down!
Their savior stopped at Vertigo. No longer moving or turning to smoke their figure became clear to see. Vertigo unsheathed his blade but in response the figure raised a hand, "Not fighting you!"
It was Kiro! Bo and To spotted the undead army changing tactics at the ravine so Jarvis had sent Kiro to sabotage them. Utilizing her speed and stealth as a ninja she completed her mission. As the undead archers rose back to their feet, their limbs returning to their bodies, they found their bows were shattered and broken beyond repair.
Placing her palms together Kiro smiled sweetly, "Just passing through!"
She then disappeared into a puff of smoke. As a ninja she wasn't going to do any direct combat! That wasn't her specialty at all!
Vertigo swung his hand, "Grab another bow! Quickly fall back into formation!"
The undead archers stumbled back towards their camp, but none came back. Vertigo quickly marched over and found their arsenal of bows were sabotaged. A series of markings appeared at the bottom. It looked oddly similar to that of The Framework's messages.
< Covert Drunken Prodigy smiles apologetically >
Gritting his teeth he roared, "Sabotage! They will pay for this!"
Yuto laughed, "It seems we had backup! Let's handle these now!"
Swinging his scythe he effortlessly carved through the cavalry units. The best way for them to push past the constantly rising horde was to cut them all down before they could revive! As Yuto made this conclusion, so did Uyana! Determined to not be left behind Era increased her tempo to catch up with the group!
Providing support the rest of the members of their respective teams provided backup to the spearhead trio! Providing extra damage to the already fallen cavalry units to delay their revival, clearing thicker groups of cavalry with powerful and large scale attacks. The teamwork of the just introduced teams was a bit shoddy, but worked well enough to now break through the blockade!
As Yuto cut through the undead he noticed just how well Uyana was performing. Her strength and technique seemingly trumped his own! She cut through the cavalry even more effortlessly, and it seemed like she wasn't being pushed at all!
"That guy really knows who's special!", Yuto grinned.
Unleashing a wide sweep Skill he severed the legs of several cavalry causing them to fall. Leaping over the group he swung his scythe with renewed vigor! Era swiped through the air and formed a line of flame. Swinging her sword through the flame she attached it to her weapon, enchanting her sword temporarily to deal flame damage! While she couldn't do the same amount of damage as Uyana or Yuto, the lingering flame allowed the rest of the team members to not focus on the cavalry she was taking down!
As an undead fell it erupted into flame, burning and delaying its revival. This tactic was quickly proving to be one of the more efficient. So much so that the Guilds were using it themselves! Sorcerers were in charge of igniting fallen undead, and as the battle continued they found tactics and regained their foothold! This was truly the Elite of the central continent! Even against such odds they find what works quickly, and stick to it!
Igneel found himself unable to do much. He lacked the direct force to compete with the three spearheading the charge. While also lacking the Skills to delay any revivals the rest were doing. At most he could punch hard enough to deal a bit more damage, but it was clear the others were more proficient in this.
Moreover his mind kept wandering towards Yuto's comment about his "other half". It would be strange for him to not notice, but every time he went unconscious the problems he was in were magically resolved. Was he suffering from some sort of split personality? If so, why was his other half this talented? His thoughts continued only for a short time, for a change occurred during their battle!
Vertigo stepped forward and joined Northan, pointing his katana forward he ordered, "Attack! Do not let them pass this ravine!"
The undead under Vertigo's command began to join the cavalry. Increasing the amount of undead the spearhead trio had to deal with. Very rapidly their ascent up the ravine was stopped by the sudden surge of enemies. Gan frowned and leapt into the fray, utilizing constant flow to empower himself. The added force to the spearhead relieved some pressure and their momentum was inching forward. However at the bottom of the ravine the undead cavalry were starting to revive.
Igneel looked back and forth and bit his lip, there had to be something he could do in this situation!