The starless sky was filled with smoke and dust. The smell of burning flesh and blood filled the smoky air. It didn't take a genius to know what was going on, yet, it was better not to let the civilians ponder the details of the horrific scene from outside the walls.
Watching the monsters was like watching the cornfields sway under the wind. Napalm missiles soared in the sky before dropping down on the beasts like magma from hell, but the beasts didn't stop as Dolos yelled, "Fire!" at the top of his lungs.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Numerous turrets rapidly rained havoc on the incoming beasts while the skeletons tried their best to stop them in their tracks. The mercenaries were dealing a lot of damage; however, the endless horde seemed unaffected no matter what was thrown at them.
When it felt like the situation was under control, another wave pushed past the injured ones and continued attacking whatever they saw. It didn't take long for them to push back the skeletons.
Soloe, one of the mercenaries stationed at one of the countless turrets, barely had the time to think as he kept hurling one artillery shell after another at the beasts.
When he joined the group called the Vengeful Spirit, this wasn't how he imagined leading his first mission.
"Maybe I should have left with the rest," The blonde-haired meta-human mumbled to himself, "At this rate, I'll die even before I rank up!"
He looked at the horde's evergrowing size and knew it was only a moment before the beasts would break past the first wall.
Despite knowing how shitty it was, Soloe couldn't help but think how the guys over at the second wall should slow down the horde. Either they'd achieve that by killing the beasts or being killed by them. Even in death, they should buy the rest of them some time to fight back.
"What's happening?" Soloe questioned a tentacled alien stationed next to him.
"I'm not sure," The alien replied, "It seems the beasts are falling back!"
A moment of relief washed over their faces. It felt like they were dealing more damage to the beasts than they had assumed. Everyone began celebrating.
However, Soloe knew the beasts had no reason to stop attacking now. They had already pushed the defenders to their limits, so why stop now? Numerous creatures could be seen lurking around the edge of the forest, and it felt like they were waiting for something.
"Take cover!" Soloe yelled as soon as he realised something was off.
Sadly, most mercenaries were less attentive than him and became a target of the countless spikes hurled at them by the monsters. Blood and impaled corpses painted their side of the wall.
The battlefield lay quiet, for it was now a graveyard of the unburied. In one swift move, the beasts destroyed whatever little bit of momentum the mercenaries had going for them.
Soloe carefully walked out of his hiding place, only to puke his gut out after witnessing the spine-shilling scene. Among the mangled corpses lay his comrades, and most were smiling, not knowing they had already embraced the afterlife with open arms.
"It's over..."
Soloe fell on his knees, his clothes soaking up the blood of his comrades. The battle was lost; the enemy had won. At that moment, he couldn't help but curse his greed.
Had it not been for the money, he would have left Occuna with the rest of his team. The monsters were only a means to kill his friends; in the end, he was the one who took their lives, and this feeling was eating him alive.
The horde resumed his march, and there were no turrets to push them back this time. As everything seemed lost, something whizzed past his head. Soloe turned around to see Ashton heading straight for the horde.
"Looks like he lost his lid as well..." Soloe mumbled, "We're doomed."
***
A few moments ago...
Ashton flew over the walls as fast as he could, flapping his gigantic wings. People saw him rushing towards the beasts, and they were either baffled at his stupidity or filled with admiration towards his bravery.
[I hate to say this, but it is unlikely for the funnelling strategy to work now.]
"Their behaviour is strange, and it's not how beasts would usually act." Aston replied, "It's almost as if they are being controlled by someone or something."
[I was thinking the same thing.]
Just then, an explosion interrupted their chat. A wall had fallen, but surprisingly it wasn't the first, but the second. As Ashton neared the rubble, he noticed most of the people stationed there were dead. The few who survived were in no condition to fight, either mentally or physically.
"We thought we were being smart, but it was the other way around." Ashton shook his head and rushed into the area between the first and the second walls.
As soon as he landed, he immediately ordered the skeletons to retreat. After all, the spell he was about to use did not differentiate between allies and enemies.
"Come one, come all!" He yelled and slammed his fist on the ground.
[Skill: Heaven's Downfall is taking effect.]
Not only did the earth split apart, everything in front of Ashton was set ablaze with hellfire. As soon as a beast stepped foot in the area, it burned to a crisp. More than a hundred creatures were sacrificed to hellfire instantly.
But Ashton wasn't done. To everyone's horror, he charged into the fiery pit without hesitation. But the flames didn't harm him, and it almost felt like they were bowing down to greet him.
Those who saw Ashton couldn't believe their eyes, while at the same time, his faction members gleefully watched on.
,m "The hell are you bastards smiling for?" Vimur slapped one of them on the back of the head, "You get to smile like that when you achieve half of what our captain has. Now focus on your job instead!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"