Erin arrived in front of Albert in a raging wave of what could only be described as a tsunami. The three Basilisks surrounding him were blown away by the storm, torn apart. She looked angry, and tears could be seen in her eyes. She had picked up speed halfway through her journey here when she felt her connection with Albert growing weaker.
She glared at Albert, and he was stumped. His skin had returned to its previous color, and there were no horns on his head. He slowly got up from the rubble and dusted himself off. He walked over to Erin and looked at her. "Sor—" Before he could finish his words, she gave him a resounding slap across the face. If this had been a lesser man, the slap might have taken his head off.
She raised her hands to wipe her eyes as she muttered to herself, "You idiot, you promised. Why would you want to kill yourself?" Her sweet voice was shaky, and she was almost on the verge of crying. Albert wanted to console her, even though he had been the one on the verge of dying just moments ago.
Roar!!!
A loud commotion was heard at the gate. When Erin had arrived, the wave that escorted her had thrown the battlefield into chaos. The barely stable formation of the guards and hunters was destroyed. The only good news was that Azar had been sent flying, knocking him unconscious and saving his life. In the end, he didn't get the glorious end he had wanted.
Although Albert was fully healed, his stamina hadn't recovered at all, and he still wouldn't be able to damage the monsters without a skill or technique. He gripped his sword tightly and said, "We have to protect them." Erin raised her head and nodded. Now wasn't the time for a lengthy discussion.
Before Albert could take a step forward, though, she stopped him. "You wait here. I'll support the others." Albert looked like he wanted to say something, but the look on her face shut him up. He stood his ground as she walked in front of him. She closed her eyes, and an aqua-blue aura slowly surrounded her. It wrapped itself around Albert's sword and all the melee fighters in the town.
Seeing this, all the fighters at the gate and in the town felt a renewed spirit. They all knew what this was—and only one person in the entire settlement could do it.
••••••
By this point, Callie, Kela, and the others had finally arrived at the gate. They could see the messy battlefield. The flaming buildings in the town meant the monsters had broken in. They saw their fallen comrades scattered all over the battlefield—some burnt to the bone, others ripped apart. The smell of death hovered above the battlefield. They had even spotted some friends who were barely recognizable. Their blood boiled in rage.
Talen and Hart, as usual, charged into the battle. There were still more than a hundred monsters at the front gate alone, not to mention the ones inside the settlement. They used their usual formation and attacked the monsters closest to them. Although Lesser Basilisks were way stronger than the twin-tailed warthogs they had just faced, they didn't have the troublesome skill that nullified physical attacks. As long as they used a skill, they would be able to damage them.
Hart and Talen drew the attention of one monster, and the rest went to work. Callie fired one magic arrow after another, and Kela and Jarret used their attack skills. Although they were damaging the monster, the beast was just too strong, and they couldn't get a good enough strike in to kill it. It swung its claws at Hart with great force. Reacting quickly, he raised his shield to block the attack.
Boom!
Like an explosion, the attack sent him flying a few meters away. He hadn't expected the difference in strength from the warthog. Seeing this, Talen immediately activated his defensive skill. "Aura of Impunity!" An orange aura wrapped around his body, and his shield glowed brightly. Jarret dashed forward, timing his attack for when the monster would strike Talen.
Boom!
Another resounding boom echoed in their ears, but unlike Hart, Talen had only taken a few steps back. "What power," Talen muttered, shocked by the raw strength of the beast. He had faced a Tier 5 monster before, but the Lesser Basilisk was on a whole other level.
"Horizontal Slash!" Jarret yelled as an orange horizontal aura sent the Lesser Basilisk tumbling down. "Now!" he shouted, and the others began their bombardment on the creature.
"Arrow Rain!"
"Fire Smash!"
"Twin Light Sword!" The attacks came in hot, and by the time Hart was able to get back up, the monster was dead. They all looked at the battlefield and saw over a hundred more of these monsters. Their anger seemed to have disappeared as they now understood why the town was in such a mess.
If only one of these monsters could push them this far, then there was no hope of winning. Their only option now was to escape, but now that they were already here, turning their backs on a monster of this level was the same as committing suicide.
Just then, however, an aqua-blue aura enveloped their weapons, and a tranquil feeling calmed their chaotic thoughts. They all knew what this was and who it belonged to. Looking ahead, they saw the same thing happen to everyone on the battlefield and felt a sliver of hope. Even though Erin wasn't a mage and didn't have many offensive spells, she was still the most powerful person in the Red Ogre settlement.
••••••
Albert watched as Erin left his view. Even with her spell, AquaLight, he knew he was still a little too exhausted to fight by her side. Without stamina, there wasn't much he could do—not to mention secret techniques. He wouldn't even be able to launch an ordinary attack with enough strength. At least now, he would be able to manage against any stray Basilisks that wandered here.
He tightened the grip on his blade, his fingers digging into his skin. He knew he wasn't the strongest demon lord on the continent. In fact, he was ranked last and was no longer even considered a demon lord. But he couldn't believe there would be a day when he would feel this weak.
After failing to protect his home, he had thought he was unfit to be a lord and had taken a back seat to Azar, settling for being just the captain of the guards. But now, what good was he? In the end, he was also a lousy captain.
Looking around, he could see the fire was spreading. He needed to do something to prevent it from reaching the chief's mansion. He went toward the building and got the guards they had left behind to retrieve all the Tier 1 water scrolls stored in the armory under the chief's mansion. He would try his best to save the town, and if all hope were lost, he needed to be ready to help the kids, elderly, and pregnant women in the mansion escape. He knew Erin would be able to give them a chance.
"Huh... where's Kelvin?"
"He's dead, sir."
"...Dead?"
••••••
Erin walked toward the town's gate. She wore a gorgeous silver bracelet on her left wrist and couldn't help playing with it. It had three blue gems embedded in it, and they looked like they had water inside them. She stood a few meters from the gate and saw the brutal scene in front of her.
Even though they were faring better than before, being able to damage the beasts without the use of a skill, the difference in strength was still obvious. The Lesser Basilisks had scales a thousand times harder than steel. The fighters were still only able to make small scratches and didn't even slow the monsters down. There were piles of dead bodies on the ground, and even some of the fighters still standing were badly injured—some poisoned by the dark green flames, others crippled.
She was unable to use the same spell she had used on Albert because, even for her, using it on such a scale would render her unconscious—especially after using AquaLight earlier. She let go of the bracelet, and one of the gems on it shattered. Water continuously shot out of it like a tidal wave. She opened her mouth, and an enchanting voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Water Serpents."
The entire battlefield fell silent, almost as if time had stopped. The only sounds that could be heard were the water gushing out of her bracelet and the flames burning the houses behind her. Everyone had paused for a moment—even the monsters—as if enchanted by the otherworldly voice they had just heard.
The water that left her bracelet surrounded her like she was standing in the middle of a lake. Her figure glowed like the sea, and her hair was as transparent as a lake. She looked like the goddess of the sea had descended to walk on land (well, on water, at the moment). This wasn't actually wrong, though.
The entire battlefield turned to stare. It took a while for the monsters to regain their senses. Basilisks were also serpentine creatures, so it was understandable why they were so easily influenced by her. Callie, Jarret, and the others couldn't help but marvel at the sight. They had heard rumors and knew Erin wasn't a demon, but they had no idea she had divine blood in her.
Erin opened her eyes, and the water around her rose. It morphed into seven giant serpents made of water. The moment these serpents appeared, the Lesser Basilisks went berserk. It was obvious they had sensed danger. They knew when they were outclassed. Without their berserk skills, death would be imminent.
They had sensed something—a more dangerous creature that possessed a certain degree of control over their race. Lesser Basilisks were Tier 5 monsters, and even though they weren't magic beasts, the higher a monster's tier, the more intelligence they possessed. Looking at the creature surrounded by what felt like Tier 6 serpents, they knew they weren't a match.
Erin could sense the anxiety in the monsters. Being a water nymph, she had certain links to water creatures, and although the Lesser Basilisks weren't completely water creatures, she could still feel it. She had a certain amount of influence over them. With the aura of the seven Tier 6 water serpents, she hoped she could suppress the monsters enough to order them to retreat.
Failure. The monsters were scared, no doubt. Even with a berserk skill, monsters couldn't completely resist the influence of a higher-tier monster. The difference between each tier was massive, and the more you went up, the more the difference grew. Something—or someone—is interfering. With the easy way out now off the table, she had to face the problem head-on.
ROARRR!!!!!
The unison cry of a hundred Lesser Basilisks echoed throughout the town. Everyone on the battlefield heard the deafening roar and felt nauseous. "What is this?"
"What are they doing?" the fighters complained as their eardrums rang. Talen looked at the scene, confused. "Are they scared? Shouldn't they just try to run, or are they preparing to die?"
Erin was a little confused when she heard the scream. Just then, a thought flashed through her mind. She frowned, her beautiful face distorting slightly. She immediately yelled, "Everyone, attack! We need to finish this as fast as possible so we can get out of here before they come!" The others were a little confused, but being warriors, they didn't hesitate to act. This was the first time they had seen that expression on Erin, and they immediately feared the worst. They launched their attacks with more vigor and determination than before.
Erin was no exception. She sent all seven water serpents to attack. Normally, she would leave at least one or two behind to protect herself, but this was no time to worry about trivial matters like that.