Chapter 953 Hold the Line
A swirling gate appeared atop a hill overlooking the yellow plains, from within a group of people walked out. Thanks to Emery’s [Spatial Gate], all the captains of Platoon 3 and most of the acolytes had the opportunity to see with their own eyes what kind of enemies they would be facing.
Looking at the dense mass of creatures on the horizon, many of them quickly sprouted their own misgivings and thoughts about the entire situation. After all, there was no real reason for them to risk their safety to kill the Abyss creatures, as nearly all of them had already met the required amount of points needed to pass the mid-test.
However, with the safety of the survivors within the base in mind, Emery was determined in this endeavor. He understood this time he could not afford to be restrained anymore. Thus, if the situation really called for it, he should not hesitate to exercise the authority granted to him.
Hearing Emery’s words and realizing what he was trying to do, Julian quickly backed him up.
“All of you have heard the commander’s orders! We will hold those ugly creatures in this place!” The Roman’s voice resounded loudly in the air. “9 hours! That’s how long we need to endure!”
After Julian spoke, Emery looked upon Roran and Anas. He definitely needed the support of these two influential figures to make this whole endeavor possible, as they held the key support to some of the acolytes.
However, before they could even open their mouths, someone else had voiced their disapproval.
“This is just suicide!”
Emery turned his gaze towards the owner of the voice and saw it was the siblings, Ryan and Wage Gasa. Similarly, the two of them were currently looking at Emery with displeased expressions on their faces.
“Neither of us are willing to take part in this madness, much less so for some lower realm strangers. We will return and defend the base, that’s all we are willing to do!”
Without even waiting for response, the two captains turned and walked towards the still open Spatial Gate. Some members of their squad hesitated for a moment, but eventually, all of them followed their captains to the gate and returned to base.
Seeing such a scene, one particular gladiator immediately fell into rage.
“You fucking cowards! Get back here!”
Thrax was about to chase after the siblings, but Emery quickly stopped him. “Just let them go, Thrax.” The Thracian turned to Emery and saw the calm expression on his friend’s face. So, he suppressed his anger and returned to his original position.
Soon enough, as expected, Emery received a series of notifications on his device.
[Squad 27 – Wage Gasa – received level one penalty for disrupting the chain of command, all members minus 5000 points]
[Squad 27 captain, Wage Gasa received double penalty – minus 10,000 points]
[Squad 28 – Ryan Gasa – received level one penalty for disrupting the chain of command, all members minus 5000 points]
[Squad 28 captain, Ryan Gasa received double penalty – minus 10,000 points]
It really didn’t take long for the siblings to suffer the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, such a meager amount of point deduction was nothing compared to the abundance they had gained over the past twelve hours.
Emery took his eyes off the Spatial Gate for a moment and saw how the horde was getting closer again. Once again, he turned his head towards the other 8 captains.
He could clearly see how more than half of them doubted this idea of his, and their doubts were understandable. Thus, Emery opened his mouth again.
“I understand the concerns you have, not only it is dangerous, these actions are probably not worth the risk.”
With a sincere look, he continued, “I promise that your safety is my main concern. We just have to hold back the Abyss creatures as long as we can, to the best of our ability, That’s all I ask from all of you.”
Emery looked at them again, this time one by one and slowly, before saying, “If you are still not willing, then you may return to the base now.”
After that, Emery fell silent. He held his breath, inwardly hoping that not many would go.
Seconds passed, and surprisingly none of the captains moved from where they stood.
One of the acolytes, a figure Emery knew well of, stepped forward and shouted loudly.
“Let’s get to fighting already! I, the Violet Flame, am ready for more actions!”
Emery couldn’t help but smile when he saw how passionate Gerri was. Then, he nodded gratefully as the brothers Orion and Orcyon stepped forward with a resolute look that said they were ready to fight.
Trish and Rayne along with their squad members quickly followed the three of them right after. And most unexpectedly, even Arcana decided to stay and fight. “I… I still need more points.” Though his intentions weren’t so pure.
Looking at Emery, Anas seriously said, “The Kaleos are with you.”
Seeing the group all ready to fight, Roran stepped in and said, “It seems, it has been decided. Good, I have something that can help us!”
With the support of these people, Julian turned to Emery, stretched out his fist with a smile, “Let’s do this!”
There was a gap of 500 miles between where they were standing and the main base where the survivors were gathering. The plan was that they would hold off the hordes of the Abyss creatures for just a few hours.
Facing this arduous task, Julian swiftly divided the people into two groups. He would lead half to the 400 miles mark and build traps to block and obstruct the Abyss creatures, while Emery would lead the other half, 120 or so acolytes specialized in long-range spells to face and stall the oncoming hordes.
[Mineralized Warrior]
On the yellow plain in front of the hill, a total of two hundred Mineralized Warriors emerged from the ground. They all advanced orderly in line at the forefront, acting as vanguards that would clash head-on with the Abyss creatures. On the other hand, the other acolytes swiftly prepared their most powerful spells to bombard the approaching Abyss creatures both on the ground and in the air.
Moments later, various elements and colorful lights streaked through the air towards the Abyss creatures. The attacks landed on the hordes, killing the creatures through either a direct hit or the explosion they caused.
The most distinguishable and powerful attack still came from Atlas, who with his [Tempest Flare] razed a huge swath of the Abyss creature horde into a bunch of scorched remains which the other Abyss creatures quickly stomped on.
Following right behind the attack of the half-machine acolytes were a myriad of spells from several acolytes. Their attacks sent destruction upon the Abyss creatures and altered various parts of the yellow plains.
The one bearing the Violet Flame moniker, Garry, had thrown a vast wall of purple flames in the path of the Abyss creatures, instantly melting hundreds of Crawlers to death and injuring other Abyss creatures to varying degrees.
Emery jumped on top of Klea’s thunderbird and the two of them flew into the air, quickly followed by three dozen acolytes. Facing them were groups of Flyers and Reavers that looked even more terrifying than their normal counterparts.
“Sit tight, Emery! Let me show you what this spell of mine is capable of!” Klea shouted excitedly.
[Spirit Explosion]
This was Klea’s newest Rank A spell that allowed its caster to greatly increase their spell power. A faint layer of pale white could be seen emitting from her body enveloping her, Emery felt her spirit force rise exponentially.
Not long after, the sky above the thunderbird darkened as Klea let out her [Storm Haze] spell. She continued to channel the spell as it built up and strengthened the lightning spell she was about to cast.
Moments later, she finally cast her ultimate spell [Greater Chain Lightning]. The dark clouds above rumbled loudly and rained a dense cluster of purple lightning over the horde of Abyss creatures.
Right now, Klea looked like the personification of the Goddess of Lightning.
Flying next to her, Rayne drew her bow and shot several arrows at once. They cut through the air and flew rapidly towards a group of Flyers. Then suddenly, the arrows multiplied in the air, turning into a deadly torrent that ravaged anything in its path. The Abyss creatures didn’t even realize when their heads had been pierced through.
On the other hand, Trish conjured and threw dozens of water spheres. Each sphere was only 20 cm in diameter and looked harmless as they hovered around her. However, huge explosions occurred every time the sphere hit its target, the bodies of the Abyss creatures falling from the sky were the only thing seen afterward.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
When Klea emptied her spirit pool, Emery quickly grabbed her. With one hand still holding the girl, Emery launched his own offensive spell. He roused the spirit energy in his Spirit Pool and cast [Ash Blast] and [Seed Boom] simultaneously.
A wave of gray ash swept over the flying Abyss creatures, followed by a cluster of dark spheres. The skies turned dark for a moment, as it rained thousands of dead bodies upon the yellow plains.
While her face was still a little pale, Klea hold Emery’s arm tightly grinning when she said. “Now that’s worthy to be my man”
Unfortunately, though they were all prodigies in their own rights, Emery and the 100 acolytes were only able to stall the relentless Abyss creatures for a few minutes before the dead were replaced by the living, overwhelming and pushing them back mile after mile.
Eventually, the group was pushed back and arrived at the prepared area. There, something that were contributions of the Harlight factions had been prepared to welcome the Abyss creatures in extravagance.
In the lineup of the 100 acolyte combatants, there were 10 towers that stood 10 meters high and each had their two large barrels aimed at the horde.
“They are within range! Fire!”