Bab 22: C22. The Might of Tier 6

Erin's 'Water Serpent' could kill a monster with one bite. They maneuvered around the battlefield, killing off one monster after another while avoiding the guards and hunters, giving them the freedom and space to fight an isolated monster.

Jarret and the others didn't want to fall behind. Using their skills combined with the effects from AquaLight, they killed a lesser Basilisk every few minutes. Azar was still unconscious; even if his wounds were healed, he wouldn't be of any use in this fight. He had used up part of his life force and would need a considerable amount of time to recover.

The ogres and beastmen, who were considered the race with the most stamina and endurance, were visibly exhausted. The only thing that kept them going was the passive effect of AquaLight. The battle had been going on for a while now, and they were all mentally and physically drained. Still, they persevered. The monsters' attack pattern had changed drastically after they all went berserk, making the fight even more difficult.

••••••

Albert had the guards run around putting out the fires on the buildings surrounding the Chief's mansion. There were quite a number of lesser Basilisks that had broken into the town. They ran around setting more buildings on fire. Albert, with the help of the guards, was barely able to kill any that roamed in his direction.

He was breathing heavily; even his mana was getting low at this point. He could sense the urgency in Erin's heart and knew something was wrong. 'Should I try evacuating the kids?' he tried his best to remain calm, but the constant worry of the people in the Chief's mansion made him lose composure. He had recently found out his vice captain of guards had died when the first monster had broken into the town. He hadn't even put up a fight and had died accidentally after receiving a stray attack while trying to put out the flames on a nearby building.

'Did I misjudge him? Was he unable to fight at his peak while protecting something, or was he always so weak?' Thinking of this, the image of the handsome blonde young and promising demon in flashy armor came to his mind.

During this momentary distraction, the monster he was fighting sent a claw strike his way, and he failed to react in time. The attack sent him tumbling back, and the guards he fought with launched their attacks in order to give him time to recover. He slowly stood up and shook the distracting thoughts off his mind.

Calming himself down, he planted his right foot on the ground and shot out like a cannonball. As he passed the beast, he was able to use his momentum to slice it in half. He felt his heartbeat fluctuate, and the stinging pain from his muscles brought him to his knees.

"Captain, are you okay?"

"Don't worry; I'm fine." He was sweating a lot, but the others didn't question him again. They knew he was the only reason they were still alive and would try their best to protect him until he recovered his stamina.

••••••

Despite all adversities, with the seven Water Serpents rampaging around, they were able to make considerable progress, reducing the number of the lesser Basilisks by more than half. There were fewer than 50 of them still alive now, including the ones inside the town.

Erin was getting increasingly more anxious. She could sense something coming that was still too far for the others to sense, including Albert. But because of her connection with the lesser Basilisks, she could share their senses. She poured more mana into the bracelet, and another gem shattered. Seven more Water Serpents rose up from underneath. Her complexion turned pale, and she looked like she was fading away. Even for her, this was pushing it a bit too far.

She immediately commanded the newly arrived Water Serpents into the battle. This relieved the pressure on the tired fighters, and they were able to catch their breaths and rejoiced. Callie, on the other hand, had a worried expression on her face. She didn't know why, but she didn't like the way things were going. 'Erin, please don't be reckless.' She was already almost out of mana just firing ordinary magic arrows. She couldn't even imagine what Erin was dealing with maintaining two insanely powerful spells.

The Water Serpents were like natural disasters; they practically destroyed a chunk of land each time they attacked. Erin had single-handedly changed the entire battle. Looking at her expression, though, one would not be able to tell. It was like she was in a losing battle, fighting desperately to survive.

The ranged fighters launching attacks from the towers and the walls had slowed down. Everyone was practically low on mana; they had already used all the mana potions they had on hand. Potions were not as common in the demon continent as they were in the human continent. Only casters would carry one or two on them; melee fighters wouldn't even bother. After all, for them, most battles were fought at high speed, and the fact was they were too expensive.

Ogres rarely used these things, so the settlement only had a limited supply of them. Healing Potions were even worse; the main ingredient only grew in the human and elf continents, so the cost was astronomical. For a small settlement like this, it was almost impossible to stock up on them. They were fortunate to have someone like Erin who had high-level healing spells.

With the numbers of the lesser Basilisks reducing, the fighters of the settlement hadn't lost anyone else. With over a hundred guards and hunters attacking fewer than 50 lesser Basilisks along with the 14 giant Water Serpents, the battle was as good as won. In less than five minutes, they were able to reduce the numbers to below 10.

Rumble... Rumble... Rumble...

Just when they saw victory in sight, the ground itself felt like it was about to open up and swallow them whole. "What's going on?" The residents of the settlement were startled, confused, and terrified. They tried their best to stay on their feet. Jarret quickly used his spirit vision to search for the source of the problem. His expression sank as he broke out in a cold sweat. "No! Why? We're doomed." The others couldn't help but panic when they heard this. It was obvious something more dangerous than Tier 5 Lesser Basilisks was heading their way.

Albert felt the ground rumble beneath his feet, and he could now sense what was approaching. In their current condition, they stood no chance of facing that many of them. Hell, he couldn't even handle the lesser Basilisks on his own now. 'We need to retreat. We should take the kids and run; we might have a better chance of survival.' To be honest, he didn't really believe that. It was better to stand one's ground when they had the home ground advantage than to take a bunch of kids and old people and create an even bigger problem for themselves.

He had gotten the guards to bring all the attack and support scrolls the town had from the armory. They were all low-level spells, only Tier 3 and below. Still, they made for decent distractions. Right now, there were 3 lesser Basilisks surrounding his little group. He could tell these were the only ones left in the town, leaving about 6 or 7 remaining outside.

He held his Miao Dao with both hands, taking a low stance. The guards next to him were exhausted and dizzy; even their armor felt like it weighed a ton. As he charged in for an attack, leaving the guard to activate a scroll to create an opportunity for Albert to exploit, suddenly, though, they heard a large roar. The high-pitched vibrations the roar contained disoriented their brains for a moment. Albert, still on the move, forgot to take his next step and fell flat on his face.

The Basilisks didn't miss this opportunity and spewed out dark green flames at the confused guards. The flames burnt them to the bones; the heat melted their armor in seconds. The sound of burning flesh was only encompassed by their pained screams. Albert tried his best to stand, but his brain seemed to be getting his intentions wrong, and he just collapsed back down on his face.

••••••

Erin's expression was twisted. Five giant lizard-like creatures had appeared in the distance; their roars seemed to have affected everyone on the battlefield except her. She could've easily been able to erase the effects if she wasn't already stretched thin as it is. The monsters were getting closer and closer to the battlefield; they were faster than the lesser Basilisks, and judging by how they crushed the ground in every step with only a handful of them being able to cause massive tremors.

These were also lesser Basilisks. The only difference now was the fact that these five were all magic beasts, being Tier 6 intelligent creatures. There was a massive difference between an ordinary beast and a magic beast even of the same Tier. Which made it all the more terrifying when they were a full tier ahead.

The magic beasts arrived at the battlefield within seconds. The shockwave their steps created sent the guards flying in the air. The monsters raised their heads and snatched anyone that flew in their direction, swallowing them whole. Seeing this, Erin was enraged. She controlled all 14 of the giant Water Serpents and sent them in the direction of the 5 magic beasts.

The magic beasts all opened their mouths; a massively large amount of dark green flames spewed out of them as they consumed all 14 of the giant Water Serpents. Erin felt a part of her soul being ripped out of her body. She had expected the monsters to be strong, but this was ridiculous. Those were all Tier 6 Water Serpents; even if they were not real monsters and

wouldn't be a match for the real deal, there was no reason why they would be so easily defeated.

With most of her life force being drained after losing her Water Serpents, she didn't really know what else to do. If it was possible for her to withdraw with Albert, she would. But turning her back against such terrifying and intelligent monsters would only lead to death. Her gaze swept the battlefield, and she knew there was no longer any time to hesitate. Gritting her teeth, the last gem on her bracelet shattered.

"Water dragon."

As the water escaped the bracelet, a large serpent three times the size of the previous ones emerged from below and immediately opened its mouth wide.

"Water Cannon!"

A larger amount of water gathered around the dragon's mouth and shot out like a cannon. The attack sent one of the magic beasts flying as the lesser Basilisk's body was shattered by the water pressure.

Panting like crazy, Erin was getting paler by the second. Her beautiful eyes were losing their luster, and she felt faint with each passing moment the water dragon was out.

"Water Cannon!" Another massive water cannon was shot out, killing another magic beast.

"*Gasp, cough, cough, cough..." She fell on her knees and coughed out blood. It was obvious that each attack the water dragon shot out took part of her life. She didn't know if she would last long enough to kill all five magic beasts, but as long as she killed enough before she died, maybe Albert would have a better chance of surviving.

She squeezed her chest as she struggled to stand.

"Water Can..."

"No!" Callie yelled as she dove forward and disrupted her spell. "You can't just kill yourself! Why would you do something like this?" Tears streamed down her cheeks. She had known Erin was pushing herself since the beginning and had her group slowly approached her while they fought off the lesser Basilisks.

Erin was confused. They were in the middle of a dangerous situation and would die if she didn't do something. And to be honest, the only person she was worried about was Albert. "What are you doing? We don't have much time. Let go of me!" she yelled. Callie shook her head, tears streaming down her face as she screamed in response. "No! I know you only care about Albert, but we all care about you. Even if we're not strong enough, I'd rather die than let you kill yourself." Erin was at a loss for words. She hadn't thought much of the people here, considering feeling anything more than surface emotions for them, and she usually stayed indoors, not interacting with any of them. The only reason why she occasionally went out hunting was to help Albert. Yet now...

Before she could even understand her feelings, a magic beast had already appeared in front of her in the little amount of time she had hesitated. After all, they wouldn't just stand there and let themselves get killed off one by one.

"Watch out!" Callie yelled and shoved Erin out of the way. Distracted, Erin couldn't help but just watch as the monster bit off Callie's head. She had no choice but to watch the entire scene unfold as she flew through the air, landing roughly on the ground.