With Hushar and the other Uthraki holding the line, Jonathan raced back towards the city, breaking through the sound barrier as he went. He reached the walls a moment later, transferring his energy into the nearest siege engine. It exploded into shards of metal and stone, raking across the nearby fighters.
The soldiers were clustered around the spaces between the engines, trying to break through the weakened wall. The nearest cluster turned upon hearing Jonathan’s approach, hefting their weapons. Thousands stood between him and the wall, but they were all far weaker than he was.
Jonathan slammed his fists together, eager to fight. He raced forwards, straight towards the nearest concentration of fighters. As the front lines rushed into the city, Jonathan came in like a hammer from behind, tearing apart his foes in an expression of rage. He sent shockwaves flying through their bodies with every strike, and sometimes even those were enough to finish off his opponents. To people like this, Jonathan might as well have been a god.
The Tier 2s were stuck behind the implacable wall of the Uthraki, and the ones that were present at the wall were too preoccupied with getting inside. However, there were far more soldiers than even Jonathan could deal with in a reasonable amount of time, especially considering that they had breached the city. Within the city, the guards fought with the Dread Legion, fighting for every inch of ground that they gave up.
Most of the guards were nearing the peak of Tier 1 at this point, and were more than a match for their enemies individually. However, they were vastly outnumbered, and the best that they could do was make a fighting retreat. Many of them were dying, falling to the forest of blades in front of them.
Jonathan took a look around the battlefield, and upon seeing that the path was clear in terms of powerful Tier 2s, he let loose. There was nothing more for him to save his energy for. Divinity pulsed through his body like the world’s greatest drug, filling his limbs with power and speed. Whereas before he only appeared as a blur to the lower level soldiers, now he was entirely invisible.
Swathes of the army vanished in seconds as he plowed through them, not bothering to even use his fists. Armor and bone crumbled beneath his charge, pulped by his sheer strength. Thousands died within the next few minutes, and Jonathan singlehandedly cleared the breach in the wall. The guards that had survived raced to fill the gap, flashing him glances of awe. Jonathan simply gave them a nod, and was off, speeding away on legs enhanced with stamina.
He flashed like a purple and gold meteor across the battlefield, tearing apart every enemy soldier that he could find. Knowing that he would run out of power long before the last one had died, he focused his efforts on the ones piling in through the breaches in the walls. By the time he was nearing the end of his tether, he had made enough space for the city guards to mount a defense, aided by Edgar and Ava. With a terse smile, Jonathan leaped onto the wall. It was time to finish this.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“SOLDIERS OF GRANATH!” He bellowed. “YOUR LEADERS ARE DEAD, AND ALL THAT LIES IN YOUR FUTURE IS DEATH! YOU MIGHT SUCCEED IN TAKING A FEW OF MY ALLIES DOWN WITH YOU, BUT YOU WILL STILL DIE REGARDLESS. WHY THROW AWAY YOUR LIVES FOR AN UNCARING MASTER?” Instead of having an effect on the soldiers, as Jonathan had been expecting some sort of reaction, even if only a small one, they instead stiffened up, pausing in motion.
“Jonathan,” a sibilant whisper rose up from the massed soldiers. “You are proving to be a rather unique nuisance. Unfortunately, your little display of wordsmithing will not save you. My soldiers are bound to me, body and soul. Although they might die here, so will you.”
A moment later, pillars of dark power shot up from the soldiers, reaching the sky. When they faded, demonic figures were left behind. All traces of humanity were gone, replaced with bestial rage. Jonathan suspected that such a transformation came with a hefty bonus to strength as well.
The monsters threw themselves at the wall like wild animals, not even trying to enter through the breaches. They were a lot stronger now however, and they raced up the wall like monkeys, using the tiny gaps in the stone as handholds and footholds. Jonathan screamed in frustration, and ran towards his foe. The Uthraki were still tied up in battle against the Tier 2s of the army, and if they came to his aid, the battle would grow far worse.
The Tier 2s had been affected by the transformation as well, and were likely far stronger than their Tier 1 brethren now. Tukar was here, but even with his strength, there were too many soldiers to deal with. If this had been an open field of battle, Jonathan and his strongest allies would have eventually beaten their foes, but this was different. They needed to defend their city’s weakest citizens from the attack. For that to happen, they needed to execute their maneuvers with incredible speed.
Even now, monsters spilled over the wall, falling into the city like heralds of the end. They threw themselves at the defenders, burying them underneath piles of scrabbling violence and twisting armor. Jonathan exploded into motion, desperately drawing Divinity from his Void elemental energy like he had done once before. The effort was incredibly difficult, but he was able to eke out enough power to continue the effects of Smite for a bit longer. The golden glow was purple now, but there was no other real difference.
He leaped down into the city, landing next to one of the twisted hulks of flesh and armor that the soldiers of Granath had turned into. With devastating blows, he tore the beasts apart, each punch splattering bodies. He flitted between them like a wraith, but his lack of effective area of effect damage was starting to weigh on him now.
Edgar was having more success in the field, with his wide ranging wind elemental attacks. Tornados of scouring wind touched down in the midst of the enemy soldiers, turning them to ribbons of flesh. However, even then, it was too little, too late. If there were five fighters like Edgar, then perhaps this would have been doable with fewer casualties. As it was, the guards of the city stood in the direct path of the enemy onslaught. They knew by now that there was a good chance that they would never make it out alive. However, they seemed to be resolved to their fates. Jonathan felt pride at the resolve of his citizens, but also rage that he was not strong enough to help them.