Wolfe held for two more minutes without having to dip into his mana reserves, then he let the barrier fall and instantly erected his experimental [Unholy Smite Barrier] array around the camp.
The basis of the spell was the same, and the barrier came up even more easily than the [Lightning Storm Array], thanks to his High-Level Affinity with Unholy magic.
Many of the soldiers looked like they wanted to say something, but seconds later, when the first monster hit the barrier and the whole dome burst into unholy flames, they realized the defensive benefits.
They could shoot out, but anything trying to come in would have to not only break the shield but also survive the fires.
“Everyone keep shooting. Wolfe, give us the one-minute warning to prepare the Phalanx before the barrier falls.” Priya ordered.
It wasn’t just his team helping fuel the barrier for this attack through. The other five senior witches had begun channelling to assist him, keeping the barrier strong through the attack without draining his mana pool.
Cassie began to laugh a few seconds later and pointed at the Arrows that were on their way out. The barrier was setting them on fire, and the monsters that they hit suffered immensely from the parasitic black flames.
Even when they tried to stamp them out, the flames only spread to their paws. It wasn’t until they learned to have a creature that was already on fire remove the Arrows that the spread of the [Unholy Smite] was slowed.
The dirty trick enraged the monsters, and they surrounded the barrier, charging over and over in their attempts to break through.
Still, the barrier held strong, taking much less from the team than the [Lightning Storm Array] had.
By late afternoon, Wolfe and the Witches were barely conscious from the effects of the constant exertion, and he finally gave the one-minute warning that the barrier was about to fall.
“Phalanx, one minute to form up.” He called, straining to make sure he was heard.
Once he heard the calls to form up and saw the shields of the Phalanx formation in effect, Wolfe let the barrier drop and fell into a meditative trance, recovering from the mental strain of the battle while gathering more mana.
When he got to half mana, the effects of the stamina enchantments were enough for his mind to start becoming clear again, and Wolfe opened his eyes, surveying the battlefield.
Not more than an hour had passed, but the Phalanx was only covering two-thirds of the camp and half of the soldiers were laid out by the spot where the senior Witches were resting. He didn’t see many who were dead. The soldiers who had been pulled back appeared to be either injured or unconscious from exertion, even with the stamina spells active.
“Situation report.” He called, not seeing anyone else awake who could use proper magic.
“Reinforcements incoming anytime now. We were the last to call, so we’re the last to get them. The rest of the camps are holding.” The nearest squad leader informed him.
“Form Up to push out for a new barrier,” Wolfe ordered, and the command was relayed through the circle of exhausted soldiers.
They didn’t hesitate, though, and the circle of shields, despite being much thinner now than it had been at the start of the battle, shoved the monsters away and back into the trenches around the camp.
Wolfe put up a new [Unholy Smite Barrier], bringing anguished howling from the monsters, and settled in to absorb their attacks.
“Tell everyone to get some rest. I will hold for as long as I can, and then we will need the Phalanx back.” He informed the nearest squad leader.
“I think we might not. The Reinforcements are fifteen minutes out. Four full squads, so a thousand soldiers with twenty Witches, just to clear the monsters from our position. From what I can tell, this flank took the brunt of the day’s attack.” She replied, pointing to her radio.
“Well, aren’t we special? But as long as we are alive, it is all good.”
ƥαṇdα- ηθνε|·ƈθm
A few Arrows were still being fired, just to remind the monsters that they were still alive in here, but the camp had mostly fallen silent when the radios announced that the incoming squads were two minutes out and could see the barrier.
“Come in by the road, and we will lift the barrier for you to enter,” Wolfe informed them while preparing to alter the shape enough for them to ride through without totally dropping the defensive shield.
“The Witches are still out, but we kept a small squad in reserve for just this scenario once we learned we had reinforcements coming.” A squad leader told him.
She immediately gathered up ten soldiers to form a Phalanx at the east entrance and got them into formation to defend against any attack that the monsters might launch.
One squad came for the entrance while the other three moved to clear the area around the camp. It was already looking quite sparse, at least compared to the beginning of the wave, and the reinforcements simply charged through, cutting the monsters down and clearing the trenches around the barrier.
The phalanx opened a gap to let the riders through as that portion of the barrier lifted, allowing a group of monsters to engage them directly for a few seconds before the Reinforcements cut them down.
“Who is in charge here?” The Commander of the new force called as she brought her troops to a halt inside the phalanx.
“That would be Lieutenant Priya, Captain. But she’s unconscious right now. The Witches exhausted themselves holding the mainline barrier, and they’re all out.” The squad leader informed her.
“Then who is holding the barrier around the camp?”
“That would be Mister Wolfe, the Demon sitting by the Witches. The Unholy barrier is his specialty.”
The captain gave Wolfe an appreciative look, then a startled second look, before turning back to the squad leader.
“Are you sure that’s a regular Demon? I’ve never seen one so human before. I heard only Demon Lords kept their human appearance.”
“He’s freshly cursed, cast out by Morgana Coven as a suspected male magic user, from the rumours I’ve heard. Of course, if that was true, then once the curse was active, he should have transformed. I’m not sure what the reason is that he still looks like a human, but he’s quite popular among the soldiers.”
The captain chuckled and patted the soldier on the shoulder. “I’ll bet he is. I’ll go talk to him myself and find out how long the Witches will be out.”