The forces of Ladros City were on the losing side. The casualties kept growing every minute. More than ten thousand people have already died and it will continue to increase.
They were protecting the civilians while fighting powerful foes and that put them in a very disadvantaged position. So they created barriers on their battlefield to protect civilians. Maintaining these barriers while fighting the Seven Deadly Sins was a very hard thing to do. But what could they do? They couldn't just let those innocent people died in front of them.
If they didn't create a barrier on their battlefield. They could destroy this entire city in just one or two more hours. The aftershocks of their battle will wipe out this city on the map of the Hebrei Kingdom.
Currently, the state of the battle was much worse than before. The district one was gone. This was the worse district out of all districts at the moment. Only people above A-rank were alive and they were fighting the higher-rank officer of the Seven Deadly Sins. Except for those people, no one managed to survive. The casualties in this district already surpassed twenty thousand.
That's only the estimated number of ordinary people that died. It didn't include the adventurers, city guards, and illegal people from the underground world.
Districts two and four were different but more than half of it was destroyed. The combined forces of the Dark Oculus Legion and the merchant's forces were slowly getting pushed back.
Lumia, the commanding officer of the alliance, knew that they couldn't defeat the forces of the Seven Deadly Sins. She just wanted them to delay the opponent's forces while they were creating a defense line in district three. They were also gathering the loose forces of the adventurers and city guards in two districts. Also, help the civilians from both districts in evacuating towards district three.
In the meantime, district three was the safest place in all districts. Lumilia and the rest already cleaned the forces of the Seven Deadly Sins. They wouldn't win in a one-on-one battle but they could win if they used their numbers. The only problem was the barrier in the middle of the district. Inside this barrier, the teachers were fighting the seven-circle officer of the Seven Deadly Sins. If the teachers lose then they would also die because no one among them could be a match to a powerhouse that reached SSS-rank or Hero-rank. Even if that powerhouse was injured they still wouldn't be able to kill that person because of the large disparity in their power levels.
District five wasn't better than district three. The nobles could barely withstand the forces of the Seven Deadly Sins. The family heads of the noble households were the one who was fighting the seven-circle officer. The family heads couldn't be underestimated. Some of them were weaker than Gregory and some were stronger. They were enough to fight a single seven-circle officer at SSS-rank.
"We had to hold for another thirty minutes," Lumilia said with a grave expression.
"Thirty minutes... I wonder how many of our subordinates will die at that time." Jimmy said as he looked at the barrier in the middle of district three. If the teachers lose before the reinforcement arrived then they will die. He could only hope that the teachers who were fighting the seven-circle officer could hold for a while.
"We lost contact with some of our forces. We couldn't verify if they died or not." Lumilia said as she took out the transmission talisman. She didn't even know if Yujin and Alice that she sent in districts two and four were still alive.
"We have no way to observed the battlefield. If we fly in the sky, those people would shoots countless spells at us." One of the leaders of a merchant group said. He tried sending people to observed the battle in three districts but the forces of the Seven Deadly Sins shut them down immediately.
Lumilia took a deep breath and looked at them before she asked, "Do you really want to survive?"
The leaders of the merchant group looked at each other before they nodded at her.
"Of course, we want to survive. Do you have a plan in your mind?"
"Even if it means using valuable treasure," Lumilia added.
The leaders paused for a moment. They weren't sure how to answer her. After contemplating the pros and cons they agreed with her.
They couldn't ignore the civilians in the city so they will not create a barrier to protect them. If they created a barrier in district three they were sure that they could last for thirty minutes. Even if they survive they would have to face the wrath of the Hebrei Kingdom. They will be condemned for not protecting the civilians even if they don't have the responsibility to do so. Their reputations would plummet down and it will spread in the whole continent, no, whole world. They wouldn't be able to do business and some of the large countries will not let them enter their territory. The worse scenario was that some of the people will hire an assassin to hunt them down.
They were merchants so it's important if they have a good reputation. A lot of people would trust their product and will buy it without hesitation.
They could instantly imagine how the Hebrei Kingdom will ban them in their territory. If that happens, they could only do business in small towns and villages that were not protected by any large country.
"High-grade weapons and armors are needed. We will let our forces equip those to increase their survival rate in the battle. Also, we will set up a defense mechanism around the district using valuable materials like mana stones and monster orbs."
Lumilia slowly explained her plan to the leaders of the merchant group. The leaders agreed to her plan and they plan to bring out their resources. Don't underestimate the wealth that these merchants acc.u.mulated for a long time.
"Do it in ten minutes, send two forces to back up our forces in district two and four! Give each one of them a high-grade weapon and armor! Don't forget the potions! Each one must have ten mana potions and health potions!" Lumilia ordered them.
The leaders nodded and instructed their subordinates. They don't have a time to think at this moment. They just have to follow the order if they wanted to increase their survival rate.
One hundred people were sent to district two and another one hundred people to district four. They were all armed with purple-grade weapons and armors.
While the leaders while organizing those people, Lumilia gathered the mages to set up the defensive mechanism around the district three. They also didn't forget to set up traps like [Mana Mine] or [Ground Split].
In setting up this mechanism, hundreds of mages worked together and consumed a large amount of mana potions so that they would finish it in just a few minutes. Even if this was not a perfect mechanism, it's fine. As long as it could delay the forces of the Seven Deadly Sins it was enough for them.
Lumilia also opened the treasury of the Dark Oculus Legion and gave the weapon to the members. She knew that Souta would get mad at her for opening the treasury without his permission but she prepared herself to face him after this.
That's if she would survive this upcoming large battle.
After a few minutes, Yujin and Alice returned along with their forces. They were injured but the healers and clerics worked together to heal the injured people. Of course, they prioritize those people who have high battle prowess so that they could help in defending the district three.
District two and four didn't were almost gone. The forces of the Seven Deadly Sins will arrive in district three in just a few minutes. Everyone finished preparing and they were ready to fight. The warriors, brawlers, shielders, and other close-combat classes were waiting while hiding in the houses near the boundary of the district. While the archers and support were watching from the back. The mages who know how to fly were in the mid-air. The Seven Deadly Sins wouldn't be able to shoot them down when they were far away from them.
They activated the defense mechanism and prepared themselves to cast various spells. Everyone knows it. This will be a brutal battle.
Lumilia, Lynn, Jimmy, and the other leaders were on the rooftop of the Dark Oculus Legion watching this scene with a serious expression.
"We still couldn't observe everything even though we brought the battle here in this place. And there's a delay to the information that we will receive." Jimmy said sharply.
"We could only put our trust in our subordinates. We did everything that we could." One of the leaders said with a deep sigh.
'So this is a true battlefield. The Legion War is too small compared to this battle.' Lumilia thought as he glanced in the direction of district four.
Ladro Institute was situated in that district. That place was full of enemies so if Souta managed to break the barrier, the people from the Seven Deadly Sins would swarm inside.
'Be careful, Souta. Bryan, Brando, and Cl.u.s.ter I hope you're safe too.' Lumilia thought as she raised her hand.
The whole place was dead silent. No one dared to utter a single sound. The tension was getting high as the forces of the Seven Deadly Sins were getting closer.
A person approached Lumilia and said, "The people in the front said that the enemies were three hundred meters away from them."
"Good." Lumilia nodded. She then took a deep breath and circulated her mana. She issued an order, "Blow the horn and let the mages and archers attack the enemies first."