Fighting in the dark was a cruel ordeal. There had to be a steady supply of light which would be placed in a way that wouldn't turn them into a beacon of flesh and souls for the onslaught of abominations.
Sebastian had made it so that they fought mostly in the dark, of course, they could still see the abominations they were fighting, Sebastian had prepared bourse fires not too far away that illuminated certain areas of the battlefield.
It might have seemed pointless to keep his company in the dark and make them battle creatures that seemed more adept at it. But Sebas had accounted for all that.
Firstly only small creatures had been able to get down here in the first place as such the first wave was swiftly taken care of. Most of the men didn't even have to engage, most of the abominations were taken care of by Julian before they even reached the company.
After that, they progressed forward and echoed themselves in the blood and innards of the abominations and continued onwards.
It seemed redundant, but it was brilliantly effective. In fact, this was one of the methods young knight were taught to apply in situations where they couldn't battle their way through.
Abominations could smell souls and sense them without seeing them, but the further away they were the less effective that ability would be especially if it was only a single soul. Of course, the reason why large cities couldn't just wrap themselves in abomination innards whenever they were being attacked was because the amount of souls was too much to be ignored by the abomination senses.
It was like trying to hide a forest fire at night.
However, when it came to smaller bodies of ten or five, it became much harder for the abominations to spot. Of course the closer they got the more effective their senses would be even if the party was drenched in abomination innards.
So while the abominations further from Sebastian's company wondered about in confusion trying to discern the location of ghee prey. Sebastian and his chart were steadily moving forward decimating whatever stood in their path.
Luckily having a single core greatly elevated the human physique and psyche so seeing in the dark wasn't too difficult for Retainers, of course, there were those like Sir Bellahm whose ability allowed him to see perfectly in the dark.
While the rest of them had to make do with the crude and limited vision they harboured.
Of course, this did little to affect their fighting, in the end, they were still only facing Minor Terrors and a Disaster at best. The threat wasn't in the individual power of the abominations but rather in their numbers.
Still, the knights cut through the abominations like a hot blade through butter. Sir Bellahm as expected was a cut above the rest in terms of pure swordsmanship. With his sabre held tightly in one hand, he severed the abominations making quick work of them. The dignified expression he held barely broke revealing his utter disgust.
His blade was cruel showing the dreadful might the nobles who worked for the government bore. Whatever abomination his blade touched usually ended up in pieces. Like literally blown to bits.
Sebas had no particular emotion seeing the man's efficiency, to be honest, he expected more.
Government knights tended to be unreasonably powerful since their backing was the most powerful force on earth. Which was why the government served as the mediator between the three major clans.
Their men were cut from something else even before attending the academy the knights the government trains are put through brutal circumstances to ensure that they dominate.
Sir Bellahm was one such knight, trained to be a sword of absolute terror in the field.
Still, Iron Man wasn't any less ferocious, he stood like a harbinger of death at the left wing. Wherever his halberd landed perverted souls were reaped.
His halberd had a dreadful reach, making a force to be reckoned with. Especially with how violently he swung the thing like it was the massive double-handed battle axe he was often associated with.
Surely his recently born cowardice was responsible for the sudden change in weaponry. Trading pure and reckless devastation with the safety provided by a mid-range weapon.
Still, the halberd was an excellent combination of both power and distance, hence why the man performed so well.
Sebastian would have expected nothing less from a knight of the Oni. That clan was just frightening, even to Sebas.
They were a clan deeply rooted in family and tradition, shrouded in so much mystery the government just had to leave them be.
Julian was still the main menace in their assaults. He took up the brut of the attack with his bronze spear and genius-level talent.
He refrained from using lightning so he wouldn't draw too much attention to the company. And to be honest there wasn't much of a change. Julian was still a devastating knight.
Sebastian wasn't idle either, he had roots restricting the movement of over a dozen abominations all at once.
He had an ample effect of just how many abominations rushed at them at once. Mild terrain control.
The other younger and less skilled knights were also doing their best, the collective effort led to a shaky but effective battle formation.
Their goal was to make it through this level and back to where they had come from.
Even with how well things were going, it was obvious things weren't going to last this way, because just as easily as abominations smell human souls to feast on they also smell death just as easily.
The corpses that continue to pile up around them would eventually draw more and more abominations to their locations.
They could manage for now but soon they would have no other option but to attack with all their might and make a run for the steps that got them here.
But then there was the woman before Sebastian. She was guarded from all sides with Sebas keeping his eye on her at all times.
It made him not too useful in the fight but he couldn't be blamed. The woman was just too dangerous to be left unattended to.
Sebas had his eyes on her like a hawk, every single movement she made he had scrutinized and allowed. Even now as they ran for the steps.
"Lieutenant!"
Julian suddenly yelled drawing Sebastian's attention back to the ensuing fight.
Up ahead three large disasters had managed to crawl into the basements they were scattered around the staircase with one still struggling to pass through with its hideous blob of a body.
Sebas peered at them and their revolting black hides. Certainly, he had expected something like this to happen. So he throughout a couple of orders and moment later the spearhead dissipated into three groups.
Julian kept barreling forward followed by the prisoner then Sebas.
So while Julian faced the disaster on the steps, the left wing and right wing broke off to form a chain that would cover their retreat.
The air sizzled once again and moments later the sound of thunderclaps resonated throughout the lower level.
Julian seems to have poured a lot into that last attack, maybe it meant even he was slowly growing tired.
Moments later the thing that occupied the steps was no more, instead what replaced it were staircases drenched in black blood and charred remains.
Julian, the prisoner and Sebastian stood by the steps as they planned to take the place of the current chain.
Sir Bellahm and his men retreated first forming the vanguard for their ascension. The iron man held for as long as he could before Sebastian stepped up, he brought out a seed and poured his Will into it.
While the last of the men retreated Sebastian flung the seed into the crowd of abominations, moments later giant roots sprouted impaling the grotesque creatures as they grew into a massive wall made of thick black roots.