Chapter 266: 266. Crisis
Back when he and Joseph came up with this scheme, even he didn’t expect such a favorable outcome.
Indeed, the whole condition of supplies running out, and the defense on the wall being insufficient was a scheme to lure out this Hell Knight.
After all, how could the supplies run out in the first place while defending such a massive city? Ulford wasn’t an isolated fortress, there was no need to worry about the logistics.
Since it was known that the monsters were coming, everything needed would obviously be transported to the walls first.
Thus, the scheme had already started when Bors told the chief strategist to personally inform Archbishop Joseph. The only confirmation needed was from General Harrison.
The first part about General Harrison signalling for the church’s forces had two reasons behind it. One, it was to make sure that the 5th circle monster was truly commanding this wave rather than sneaking up from another direction.
And two, the royal army obviously needed reinforcements if this monster was indeed here.
But more importantly, the guardians’ appearance would cause the enemy to have a misconception that this cavalry was all the church could afford to deploy at the moment.
Since the most powerful archbishop didn’t appear, it was reasonable to assume that he would remain at the cathedral to defend it. Helping the kingdom was a choice, not an obligation.
Afterwards, as Bors stepped up to have a duel, acting alone - it truly signified that he wouldn’t receive any substantial help from the archbishop, at least not outside the city.
When Bors himself took a risk and delayed chasing the Hell Knight, allowing Minerva and the rest to hold him back, Issac’s suspicions were finally cleared.
As a powerhouse, he had his own pride. If he still didn’t take that chance to destroy the cannons, he would truly be a coward.
Alas, Joseph was somehow able to mask his presence and quietly approach him. By the time Issac noticed, he had already spent a lot of mana fighting those generals.
Otherwise, he might’ve been able to instantly escape the spatial restriction through expending a large amount of mana.
Now that things had come to this point, Issac had no choice. Although he had temporarily regressed to the 4th Circle, he was still the commander of the second wave.
Thus, he quickly led the remaining powerhouses to rally behind the fire serpent. With the cannons destroyed, the royal archers themselves couldn’t hold back the overwhelming advancement of the monsters.
Despite Joseph and Bors’s best efforts, they couldn’t stop the southern walls from being breached. However, this advancement was far weaker due to the earlier setback.
The reserve forces inside the city numbered about two thousand in total. The southern side only had 500 stationed on the main streets and the adjacent buildings.
Even so, with the help of magical arrays, they formed a chokehold which made it difficult for the limited monsters, who made it past the wall, to break through.
Unless a huge portion of the monsters outside the walls suddenly entered, their only fate was being killed in this chokehold. Some monsters tried to divert but they were inconspicuous to the patrolling knights.
"This can’t go on, we have to create a larger opening!" Robert, one of the elf captains, shouted before shooting a crescent sword blade towards the left side of the southern gate.
However, the magical attack that was nearly 3 meters long was blocked by some sort of array that flashed on the wall. Obviously, it was fortified by the mages. Regular 4th Circle skills wouldn’t be able to do much.
If the summoned spirit wasn’t currently being contained by the 5th Circlers on the other side, it would’ve been much easier to make this wall fall.
There were even some scorch marks on it. Just a few more minutes and perhaps the array would be corroded by the spirit serpent’s fiery mana.
Unfortunately, it was summoned in haste and was already showing signs of dissipating. Bors and Joseph both noticed what was happening and concentrated even more power.
The five dark mages desperately fueled more mana into the array, but how could they resist the joint efforts of two fifth circle powerhouses?
As seconds passed, one of the male summoners coughed up a mouthful of blood, stepping back a few steps and collapsing on one knee. This immediately created an imbalance which forced the others to take on that summoner’s load.
"No..." Tiara’s expression turned into one of despair. She had already used the spirit mana collected on her nose ring accessory.
A few moments later, she and the other summoners could no longer maintain the array and collapsed backwards, spitting blood themselves.
With a sharp hiss, the fire serpent’s form dissipated, drawing loud cheers from the human side.
"Tch." Minerva clicked her tongue in annoyance. She was just about to raise her staff and use one of her trump card spells when a weird sound entered her ears.
This sound was like a distant thunder, echoing from the west. However, there were no clouds in that direction.
Suddenly, the sound came again, louder than before. Everyone on the battlefield could hear it and the sharpest ones could even sense faint mana signatures which were rapidly getting larger and larger.
"This is..."
It didn’t take long for the others to turn their heads. Under the morning sunlight, a dark line appeared on the western horizon. Right above that line, two faint dots were getting bigger and bigger.
With such speed, it was clear to every powerhouse in the royal army that the approaching enemy had two 5th circlers.
Whoosh!
Archbishop Joseph decisively flew up and began chanting in a loud voice, praising the God of Light. This evoked a response from the cathedral which lit up with multiple lights, converging into a white pillar that pierced the skies.
At the same time, the clerics stationed inside and outside the cathedral hastily closed their eyes, earnestly praying.
Their prayers were naturally in tune, turning into a large choir. Thousands upon thousands of Ulford residents faced these clerics, faithfully listening.
Within half a minute, a divine array spread out from the holy cross as the center, distinctly forming a shield that surrounded the city’s core. The more ordinary people joined this array in a prayer, the sturdier the shield became.
Overseeing all of this was Jacob Kingsely, who had obtained a new body. Unfortunately, he could only retain 4th Circle power. As the shield formed, he couldn’t help but heave a light sigh, not of relief but of worry.
He could now see two flying creatures in the sky, racing to reach the southside. A huge army of monsters followed behind them.
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