When the archers were almost out of arrows, and the magicians were almost out of magic power, William and Est immediately ordered for the next teams to take their place.
The archers who had run out of arrows, immediately went to the rear to restock on ammunition, while the magicians retreated in order to drink potions to replenish their magic power. William and Est made several teams to alternate between attack and retreat because they knew that they couldn't afford to exhaust all their manpower through continuous fighting.
The only problem was the Spirit Division. The Head Prefect and the Vice-Prefect were inexperienced in large-scale battles and pooled all of their fighting power together. They didn't think about forming teams to alternate between attack and recovery because they thought that they could wipe out the enemies with their superior fire power.
Although their initial offensive barrage was impressive in the first few minutes, they ran out of juice just past the ten-minute mark. This sudden lull in the attack created a gap for the monsters to break through the bombardment of ranged attacks from the defenders.
"Shift to close combat fighting!" William ordered as he took away his bow and summoned his staff. The monsters had now reached the Town Walls and some of them had already started to scale it.
The archers backed down and allowed the experts in close combat to defend the town walls together with William. However, they didn't run away completely.
Earlier, the Earth Element Magicians had created watchtowers at the back of the town walls that the archers could use in the case that the town walls had been breached. William had assigned Priscilla to take full command of the archers once they initiated Plan B.
The red-headed-boy knew that his Vice-Prefect wouldn't let him down, so he focused his attention on defending the walls from being overrun by the dungeon monsters.
< Exp Gained: 1 >
< Exp Gained: 1 >
< Exp Gained: 1 >
< Exp Gained: 1 >
< Exp Gained: 1 >
A series of notifications flooded William's status screen as the battle raged on. The system had explained earlier the reason why he was getting very low experience points after killing a monster.
It was all due to the miasma. In order to prevent the miasma from affecting William's body, the system decided to "purify" the experience points, which led to William being immune from the miasma even though he was killing the monsters at close quarters.
Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the rest of the Martial Class.
William had assigned the system to monitor the students within 200 meters of him. This was the maximum limit that the system could observe under such dire conditions. When signs of miasma poisoning were detected, William would immediately order that person to return to the rear to receive treatment from the Clerics.
The same could be said for the Magicians. Since William was fighting side by side with Est, the red-headed boy would report to his friend the members of the Magic Division that were currently affected by miasma poisoning.
The creatures that came out from the dungeon were a combination of Class E, D, and C monsters.
William had used his appraisal skill earlier and identified the enemies that they were facing.
----
< Mornteeth >
-- Corrupted Dungeon Creature
-- Threat Level: E
-- Cannot be added to the Herd
-- A Black Dog that has been thoroughly corrupted by miasma and only seeks to end the life of others.
< Ashteeth >
-- Corrupted Dungeon Creature
-- Threat Level: D
-- Cannot be added to the Herd
-- This Gray Dog is the next form of Mornteeth. It is very agile and capable of jumping as high as six meters in the air. Its fangs contain a paralyzing poison that would render its victim helpless once bitten.
< Jagged Hunter >
-- Corrupted Flying Dungeon Creature
-- Threat Level: D
-- Cannot be added to the Herd
-- A Bird of Prey that has a wingspan of 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) and is capable of performing complex aerial maneuvers when hunting for food. Its sharp talons and beak are its most deadly weapons.
< Spiteseeker >
-- Corrupted Flying Dungeon Creature
-- Threat Level: C
-- Cannot be added to the Herd
-- A Bird of Prey that is capable of using Wind Magic to decimate its enemy from high above the ground. It has a wingspan of 3 meters (9.8 feet) that is able to create gusts of wind to blow away the enemies that block its way.
-----
The instructors of the Magic and Spirit Divisions were busy fighting against the flying creatures that were trying to scatter their formation from above.
There were over two dozen Spite Seekers that were circling above the skies of Dawsbury, and the instructors were making sure that none of their attacks landed on the children.
The Martial Class Instructors, on the other hand, were helping the students on the wall resist the monsters who were trying to climb up the walls in order to overwhelm the defenders.
With every minute that passed, more and more students were forced to leave the walls in order to be treated from miasma poisoning. The clerics on the rear were working non-stop to remove the effect of the miasma that had seeped inside the bodies of the defenders.
Those who had finished their treatment would immediately rejoin their comrades in order to resist the Dungeon Outbreak.
"Gaaaaah!" a martial student cried out in pain as an Ashteeth bit his arm and injected a paralyzing poison in his body. It was about to finish off the boy when an Angorian Goat charged in and sent it flying off the walls with blood gushing out of its sides.
"Meeeeh!" Ella roared a warcry as it charged at three Morntheeth who had successfully jumped over the wall while using their comrades' bodies as leverage. Three howls of pain followed as these three beasts were killed by Ella, one after another.
William had ordered her to assist the students on the wall and help them if needed be. Although she was reluctant to leave her baby's side, she still followed his orders.
The red-headed boy swung his wooden staff and smashed the heads of the two Mornteeth in front of him in rapid succession.
William then stepped aside, to allow Est's sword to pierce through the skull of the monster that tried to attack him from the side. The two boys once again stood back to back as they defended their position on the wall, killing the beasts that had managed to bypass the defenses.
"Est, go back," William said in a serious tone. "You had[have] been soaking in miasma since the walls were breached. Go get treated, now."
Est slashed at another Mornteeth before giving his reply. "If I leave, you will not be able to hold this position for long."
"Don't worry, I can manage until you return." William swung his staff at an Ashteeth sending it flying outside the town wall. "Go. hurry! The more time you waste, the more dangerous your situation will be."
Est gritted his teeth, but he still nodded his head in acknowledgement. He was starting to feel light-headed, and he knew that it was a sign that his body was nearing its limit in resisting the miasma inside his body.
"Don't die until I return!" Est shouted as he ran towards the rear of the town where the clerics and the injured students were located.
"I'm too young and too handsome to die," William replied without turning his head. "I'll be here when you return."
Hearing William's narcissistic reply, Est felt more assured in leaving him alone to defend their position.
When Est arrived at the make-shift infirmary, most of the clerics and spirit healers had pale faces. Most of them had reached their limits as they squeezed out every bit of their magic to tend to everyone's injuries.
Some of the students received serious injuries because the flying Birds of Prey that flew above the town had sneak attacked them from the sky. Fortunately, they were yet to have any casualties on their side, which made Est feel a little better about their condition.
He patiently waited to be treated while worrying about William who was defending their position on his own.
'Will, please, stay strong,' Est prayed inside his heart. 'I'll return as soon as I can!'
-----
William gritted his teeth as he swung his wooden staff left and right. He didn't know how long he had been fighting, but his arms were already starting to get sore. As he gazed at the sea of monsters outside the town walls who seemed to have no end in sight, he finally realized how deadly a Dungeon Outbreak could be.