Chapter 38
Three days went by.
Once the Elementals thwarted Tyranus’ monster horde for the day and cleaned up the battlefield, the Innate’s military began a massive operation. They had less than twenty hours before tomorrow’s monster horde attacked, and before then, they needed to finish several projects.
Among them, teams of array masters set up a network of teleportation arrays along the Blockade, leaving no blind spots. If any section needed reinforcements, troops could arrive in seconds.
The array masters also placed thousands of mythic grade Mana Gathering arrays behind the Blockade to power whatever they needed.
Next were craftspeople, who installed platforms on the Blockade, where Mana Bolt Turrets, Fire Bomb Cannons, Lightning Arc Towers, and other artillery would sit. There were weapons of every element to take advantage of specific monster’s weaknesses.
Besides the array masters and craftspeople, hundreds of teams walked through the Grandsky Plains, placing metal contraptions in the holes they dug. The contraptions were the size of a boulder and square-shaped, with a small opening on each side. After placing the contraption in the hole, they filled the hole with dirt, hiding the device within.
In total, hundreds of thousands of people worked tirelessly, and though time was short, they managed to finish their jobs an hour before the monster horde appeared.
Unknown arrays now covered the front of the Blockade from top to bottom.
Connected to the wall in the back were pipes pumping condensed mana produced by the Mana Gathering arrays, leading to both the arrays on the Blockade and the turrets on top. Behind, there were mortars with their barrels aimed high.
The Innate Military was mobilizing three million troops for today’s defense.
If everything went well, there would be three rotations, with one million troops acting as an emergency reserve.
At this moment, Keith stood atop the Blockade, utterly nervous.
When he looked to his sides, all he saw were soldiers wearing the standard armor of the Innate’s military. He happened to meet the gaze of a young orc and saw they were just as anxious as he was. They nodded at each other before turning away.
Like everyone else, Keith waited as the minutes went by.
Although the Grandsky Plains had a perpetually clear sky, today was unbearably hot, so Keith drank some water to cool down when he felt the slightest vibration in the ground.
They’re here, Keith thought as a familiar cloud of dust rose in the distance.
The trembling grew stronger with every passing moment, and soon everyone’s armor rattled. Keith's superhuman eyesight allowed him to see the monster horde as if they were right in front of him, and the sight gave him jitters.
For the past three days, he had watched the Elementals fight against the monster horde, but now that it was his turn, he started having second thoughts upon losing count of how many monsters there were.
Seemingly sensing Keith’s weakness, a commanding voice from behind called out, “Stand firm and trust in your comrades! We hold the advantage!”
Followed by the voice was a notification.
You have been affected by the skill, Warcry.
Your courage in the face of danger has increased.
Keith gradually calmed down under the skill’s effect and regained his confidence.
A minute later, when the monster horde was almost upon them, several voices along the Blockade rang out, “Buffs! Cast buffs!”
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In seconds, a dozen spells from the support teams empowered Keith’s various parameters, doubling his power. The buffs weren’t just for him but all the troops on the wall.
At that moment, resounding booms rang out from the mortars in the back.
Thousands of explosive rounds rained down upon the monster horde. Shrapnel flew everywhere. The sharp bits of jagged metal embedded themselves in the monster’s flesh, making them bleed profusely. A few monsters tumbled to the ground and got trampled to death.
Roaring, the monster horde continued their mad rush, ignoring the damage dealt by the continuous mortar fire. When they were within a thousand feet of the Blockade, the commanding officers on the wall shouted, “All artillery, fire!”
Keith’s hair stood on end as a nearby Lightning Arc Tower powered up.
Aimed by a trained soldier, the turret released a bolt of lightning that instantly collided with a plant-type Caustic Deathweed, singing half its body black before bouncing to a dozen other monsters.
All sorts of colors flashed as hundreds of other turrets within Keith’s vicinity fired simultaneously. Under deliberate aim, they severely wounded thousands of monsters.
“Fire at will!” An officer ordered, signaling the troops atop the Blockade to attack.
If the artillery from before produced a variety of colors, then when the army cast their long-ranged skills, the effects were blinding.
Unlike the Elementals, the Innate Nation used all sorts of skills.
Firebomb, Chain Lightning, Windstorm, Meteor, Earthquake, Rain of Fire, Lightning Spear, Water Whip, Poison Arrow, Light Javelin, Dark Bomb, etc.
There were hundreds of different skills.
Keith was among those attacking.
Targeting a divine grade level 750 Undead Champion, he multicast Chain Lightning, taking away the rest of its health and killing fifty other monsters. In a battle like this, Chain Lightning proved invaluable, with a single multicast netting Keith 14% experience in his current level.
There was a brief pause as Keith looked forward expectantly, trying to peer through the wall of skill effects that obscured the monster horde. He thought that since he had killed dozens of monsters, the others had killed a lot, too.
However, his expression turned grim when the monster horde appeared once more, seemingly unharmed.
There are too many, Keith thought, aghast by how the monster horde had barely thinned. It was like the army’s attack did nothing.
“Don’t falter!” An officer shouted. “Continue attacking!”
By now, the monster horde was within a hundred feet, their numbers vast.
Suddenly, Keith’s mana senses picked up a change at his feet.
The arrays inscribed on the front of the Blockade thrummed as they came to life.
Vibrating intensely, they activated when the monster horde was a mere arm's length away. For a brief moment, the monster horde stopped as an invisible force washed over them.
Then, as if gravity reversed, they flew backward, colliding with one another as the Repulsion arrays knocked the monsters back. Confused roars and yelps rang out as the monsters from the front piled onto those into the back, forming small hills.
Right then, the contraptions hidden earlier activated, spewing murky green gas out of the ground. Painful cries came from the monster horde as soon as the gas encompassed them. Keith watched, alarmed, as their flesh melted in seconds. Most disgusting was how their eyes turned gooey and slid out of their eyesockets.
However, not all of the monsters were composed of flesh and blood. Many were of the undead and elemental variety. The corrosive gas did nothing to them.
“Continue attacking!” The commanding officers shouted, waking Keith and the others from their stupor.
The gas had severely wounded most of the monster horde, though it wasn’t enough to snuff out their lives. It was the perfect chance for the Innate’s army to harvest a colossal amount of experience.
Keith took advantage of this opportunity to multicast all his skills which affected a large area. Small Meteor, Meteor, Chain Lightning, Entangling Roots. He held nothing back and consumed millions of mana in one go.
One level…
Two levels…
Keith gained three levels in less than ten seconds, slaying thousands of monsters single-handedly. The rest of the army gained a level or two as well. Not everyone was like Keith, who had Mana Battery.
Eventually, the corrosive gas dissipated, and the monster horde continued their assault.
The Repulsion arrays activated again, buying the defenders precious time to attack safely from a distance. Unfortunately, the arrays lost durability with every usage and broke apart after the fifth time.
During that period, the monster horde lost a third of their numbers, with the remaining half severely wounded. Keith scanned the battlefield, finding that all the monsters above level 800 still had over 70% of their life left. Their defense was so high that twenty minutes of continuous attacks from the mortars, artillery, and army had barely dealt them any damage.
The high-level monsters possessed intelligence far beyond normal monsters. When they saw the Repulsion arrays that had knocked them back repeatedly had broken down, they charged forward with renewed vigor.
Keith’s heart lurched when he saw a divine grade level 865 Undead Hydra sprinting in his direction. Looking left and right at his fellow countrypeople, he clenched his teeth and stepped forward to hold back the monster when a figure slew over Keith’s head, beating him to the punch.
It was a middle-aged female orc clad in heavy armor with a giant hammer in their hands. Under Keith’s mana sense, he observed hundreds of thin lines connecting the orc to soldiers on the wall and was relieved she wasn’t sending herself to their death. Keith hoped that the War array she was using would be enough to balance the scales.
At the same time, countless other individuals using War arrays rushed out from the Blockade, intending to hold back the high-level monsters. If they succeeded, today’s battle would end in victory.