On the city walls, the defenders were not faring nearly as well as Jonathan. Even as detonations of runic force erupted, blasting apart thousands of soldiers in the blink of an eye, the hordes just kept coming. Soldiers roiled in a seething tide beneath the walls, milling around in search for a way in. At least against the normal soldiers, the city defenders were somewhat of a match. However, there were far less of them. Even with the advantage of being the defenders, this was a situation fraught with danger.
The walls were holding for now, as they had been made as thick as possible by the defenders of the city. However, siege engines were slowly rolling to position along the length of the structure, preparing to take it down for good. All of the fire from the ramparts was being directed towards the various war machines that were being brought to bear, seeking to take them out of commission.
There were five battering rams, each of which was made out of black metal. Fire blazed around the heads of the battering rams, creating the illusion of a dragon’s head. Judging by the amount of elemental energy packed into them, the fire would actually serve a physical purpose as well. Normally it would have simply sputtered out upon hitting the stone wall, but in this case, it was likely that it would burn through.
In addition to those, there were a few catapults, already loaded with glowing balls of crystal. The projectiles were packed tightly with Earth elemental energy, and if they hit, they would discharge a massive blast of concussive force, shaking the walls apart. Finally, there was a strange machine that looked like a cross between a carriage and a tank. It was massive, easily fifty feet long and fifteen tall. Its end was covered with a large plow, sharpened to a razor point.
An engine worked away in the center of the vehicle, using elemental energy and mana to propel the massive contraption. It looked like it could cut through buildings and people alike. As it approached, the catapults began to fire, now in range. Edgar sniped some of the balls of crystal out of the air as they approached, but many of the defenders were not as accurate.
Three of them struck home, sending up sharp cracks as they loosed their energy into the stone of the walls. Massive slabs of rock fell off the fortification, and the entire length of the wall shuddered. The catapults reloaded, preparing to fire again. By this point, the battering rams were in position as well, and they began to hammer at the wall, the ram itself thudding in and out, guided by the soldiers manning it.
The walls shook steadily as the weapons slammed home again and again. A streak of red light flew in from the plains, towards the nearest battering ram. A wild battle cry rose up from the figure, and the light vanished, revealing Tukar. The Uthraki lifted his sword high, and brought it down on the siege engine, nearly cleaving it in half. He lifted it again, ignoring the desperate attacks of the engine’s defenders, and summoned the earth to his bidding.
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A massive cleaver of stone formed around his sword, and this time, it carved all the way through. The charge of energy contained within the battering ram exploded, sending up a pillar of flame. The nearby soldiers were cooked to ashes, but Tukar was left unharmed. With a grin, he moved on to the next ram.
Edgar smiled, and started to focus his fire on the rapidly approaching juggernaut of a carriage heading for the walls. Pillars of aeolic power flew down from the heavens, rocking the carriage on its wheels. Spears of gusting wind rocketed down, tearing off chunks of the carriage. Although many of the enemy army was made up of Tier 2s, this carriage was not made out of Tier 2 materials. The cost for such a thing would have been prohibitive. As a result, it quickly fell apart before Edgar’s onslaught.
However, he was too slow to stop it from reaching the walls entirely. The carriage sped up at the last moment, in a display of defiance, and smashed through the walls with ease, coming to a broken stop in the side of a building. Edgar shouted in rage and brought a tornado of elemental energy down from the sky, turning the carriage into splinters.
Soldiers charged in through the gap in the wall, entering the city. Most of the weaker citizens were holed up in the cave, surrounded by a network of defenses. Edgar and Jonathan had widened the cave, with the help of the Uthraki. With their earth manipulation abilities, they were the perfect builders. The space now could fit thousands of people for a decent amount of time, but it was not outfitted with anything in particular. A large boulder blocked the entrance, which would hopefully be enough to stop anyone from getting in.
As the battle raged within the city, Jonathan focused on tearing through the Tier 2s. There was no way that he could be in two places at once, as much as he wanted to, so he simply had to take the devastation of his city in stride. He needed to trust in Edgar and Eva to defend it properly.
His fists exploded out through bodies, pulping flesh and shattering bone. With his bonuses, and his level, he was many times stronger than these paltry specimens. Assuming that these soldiers had gained a slightly above par starting class, and the same for their Tier 2 class, they would only have a bit under five hundred points in their main stat. Compared to that, Jonathan’s strength was completely overwhelming.
In addition, many of the Tier 2s had split their stat allocation, creating more weakness than would have been expected. Although they were marginally tougher to kill, it barely did them any good against the juggernaut of war that was Jonathan.