764: At Last It Begins Again.
764: At Last It Begins Again.
The space gate, which had been collecting mana in a dormant state, finally began to activate, as its swirling energy expanded, the attention of the gathered mages shifted away from the Gordons, after all, they had more pressing matters to focus on than the Gordons’ peculiar positioning.
“So, it begins again,” Steven murmured, hidden among the Tier 4 Mages of the City Guardians.
His gaze remained locked on the ever-widening gate.
Prepare to vanquish the undead from our lands!” The commanding voices of various clan Tier leaders and city hall officers leading their Tiers echoed across the battlefield as they issued final instructions.
While the other mages scrambled to organize themselves, the Gordons clan mages stood unwavering.
They were already in position, watching with quiet amusement as the others hurried to form battle lines, it was almost ironic, as many of these mages had arrived before the Gordons, yet they still seemed unaccustomed to such structured formations.
Only the city hall forces moved with precision, that’s when it became clear to the Gordons mages why they had been different, and it was because they had trained together for over two weeks, and Alec had drilled them in unified attacks, synchronized movements, and seamless combat strategies.
Their training had made them an elite, cohesive force, even capable of executing combo attacks as if they were a single entity.
A guttural growl shattered the tense atmosphere, as the space gate had reached its full size.
A bluish hand clawed its way out, widening the crack, followed by a wave of countless unranked zombies spilling forth.
With each undead that forced its way through, the entrance widened even further, more and more zombies poured out, tumbling onto the battlefield in droves.
Within a single minute, their numbers had already swelled to over five thousand, and the gate was still expanding.
At this rate, the flood of zombies would only grow worse.
“We can’t let this continue, we must start thinning their numbers before all of the Low rank zombies come out or before their high-ranking Zombies emerge.” Marcus said, his expression grim as he observed the sheer volume of undead pouring forth.
“Just so you know, no clan will agree to that, so unless you plan to send the City Guardians in first, you might as well forget about it,” Bailey Lanzt said almost immediately.
Marcus’s suggestion had merit, but the risks were enormous, any group that charged forward to thin out the zombie numbers faced a high likelihood of being wiped out.
As the distance between the human mages and the zombies was still too vast, so much so that even the most skilled archer mage among them would be unable to land a hit on the undead emerging from the gate on the other side.
To make the plan work, they would need a squad of mid-rank mages, strong enough to hold their ground, to rush forward and eliminate as many low-rank zombies as possible before retreating.
However, they had to be careful, and if the high-rank mages moved too soon to do it instead, their aura would be detected by the space gate, alerting the high-rank zombies on the other side, something they desperately wanted to avoid.
But even with mid-rank mages taking the lead, the risks remained severe.
As if the mid-rank zombies emerged faster than expected, they could quickly overwhelm the human mages with sheer numbers, and the worst part?
All it took was a single scratch or bite to infect the mages.
Bailey’s words effectively shut down Marcus’s plan, indirectly limiting his options to only the City Guardians.
As no clan would allow their own mages to be used as cannon fodder just to slow the zombie horde, and with the high-rank mages from various clans watching closely, it was clear they would not tolerate any attempt to sacrifice their people for the city’s strategy.
As a result, no decision was made, the hesitation cost them precious time, and the horde continued to grow.
And then, just as they lost the opportunity to thin the numbers, as the situation worsened, Type 2 and Type 3 zombies finally emerged from the space gate.
With the entire zombie army now taking shape under the command of the Type 3 mental zombie, their formations became alarmingly structured.
The horde was split into two main ground divisions and an airborne unit.
On the left, the first row consisted of unranked zombies along with Tier 1 to Tier 3 Zombies, both mutated and regular types.
While on the right, the second group was composed of stronger Tier 4 to Tier 6 zombies, the majority of which were mutated.
Strength and Agility-type Tier 2 zombies made up most of the force, outnumbering the more specialized Hunter-type zombies.
The sight of mindless zombies organizing themselves so efficiently under the influence of a Type 3 mental zombie sent a chilling realization through the human ranks, these creatures were far more dangerous than before.
Even the high-rank mages acknowledged that if they had attempted Marcus’s plan, any mage sent forward would have been doomed, trapped by the enemy’s coordinated response with no way to escape.
Then, with just a single word, the battle began.
The order came from a Peak Tier 7 Strength-type 3 zombie, standing at the forefront alongside two other Peak Tier 7 zombies, acting as the main protectors of the Mental-type 3 Zombie commander.
At their command, over twenty thousand zombies surged forward, splitting into two fronts, charging recklessly yet with terrifying precision.
Alistair wasted no time responding, shouting the order for the City Guardians and guards to engage.
Clad in plated armour and wielding large shields, they led the charge, with the clan mages following close behind.
Amidst the chaos, the Lanzt Tier 4 mages maneuvered carefully, positioning themselves near the edge of the battlefield to avoid being at the direct front lines when the inevitable clash occurred.
In the midst of all this, Bryan Lanzt took a brief moment to glance toward the hilltop where the Gordons were stationed, unlike the rest of the battlefield, they remained motionless, standing with an almost eerie calm.
While everyone else scrambled into position, they had yet to move, since they were unaffected by the waves of zombies rushing forward, neither were they in the way.
That confidence, seeing it, Bryan suddenly had a thought.
“I knew it, we should have allied with the Gordons, who knows?
If we had, we might not be scrambling around like everyone else right now.” Bryan muttered, frustration evident in his voice.
As once again, he found himself blaming his father for whatever had transpired at the Gordons’ estate, the consequences of that decision now more apparent than ever.