Alistair did not even mind the taunting that Byron said just now.
Responding to this situation, Alistair quickly used telepathy to connect with General Armstrong, "Brad, retreat with the entire army now! Buy time for our soldiers to reach the gates by using the terrain. Call up armies Continue the battle to the gates and use siege tactics against those monsters!"
===
Meanwhile...
The roughly one hundred specter giants were crawling out of the darkness-infested grounds in front of them. It seemed like it would take some time for all of them to get out of the portal. However, the first wave were already marching towards the army!
"GRAAAAAAWR!" The specters let out a chorus of piercing, discordant screeches that sounded like metal grinding against metal.
The remains of the Purging Army was still in shock and were wallowing in despair.
"Yes, I was already unto it!" General Brad Schwer responded as he galloped to the front so everyone can see him. With his stature of being over three meters tall and his face being easily recognizable, this was easily achieved.
"To any able-bodied 1-star general and above that are still alive, rally up everyone. We are retreating from this battlefield!" General Brad commanded urgently. His shout was reinforced by his Innate Energy so everyone in the field could hear him.
"It's General Brad Schwer!"
"The modern-day legend of the city!"
"But there is no way that he will be able to face all of those monsters alone, can he?"
The army that was despairing in shock was awoken by the voice of their city's current most valiant general.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
The generals were also quick to react as they quickly moved forward and beckoned their army to move forward.
*TOOOOT*
This was a different horn signal, instead of the previous one which signifies the march of the army, this one is blown for retreating!
"Men, fall back to the City Gates!"
The remaining soldiers immediately followed the command.
Everyone was retreating!
However, the retreat quickly devolved into chaos. Among the soldiers, a significant portion of the soldier were panicking already. Thus, the moment they heard the order for retreat, they were already running for their lives and scattering just to survive.
With their deaths seemingly apparent, everything else seemed obsolete. Appearances no longer mattered. They did not care if they hit their comrades or superiors. What was important was getting to the gates as soon as possible
"Out of my way!"
"I'm going to survive! I am not gonna die here!"
"No amount of money is worth my life!"
'As long as I am alive, I can still find another trade to provide for my family.' That was the thought of the early deserters.
The frustration and stress of all the weird incidents that was happening in this mission had pushed all their minds to the brink of breaking.
They all soon realized that no matter how much money were being offered to them. Their lives meant more to them.
Some had already broken down completely and lost their wills to live. They stopped as they had already accepted what seemed to be their inescapable dooms.
"Those are roughly a hundred Mortal Severing Beasts. And they are all gigantic! Our city does not even have that many Mortal Severing Experts..."
"We're done for..."
"There's no use in running... We are all going to die anyways."
"FOR THE GLORY OF THE SOARING CLOUD!" General Brad Schwer shouted once more as he used Innate Energy to make himself be heard! He once again leaded the army in the front with his swift horse.
Both the deserters and those who have lost the will to live have all directed their attention to General Brad.
"To those who are thinking of deserting, carry yourselves with dignity!" Brad bellowed, his gaze sweeping over the fractured ranks.
"Do you wish to disappoint the expectations of those who were proud that you have the emblem of the Soaring Cloud Army to your chest? Do you wish to entertain the possibility of those monsters breaking into the city and slaughtering your friends and family just because we lacked the manpower to defend?!"
Those who were frantically leaving suddenly slowed down to think.
"My parents were so proud of me when I wore this armor."
"My wife wept tears of joy the day I was commissioned..."
"My son told me he wanted to be like me, a protector of the city..."
They remembered how proud their families were of them when they saw them don the uniform of the Soaring Cloud Army.
"For those who have despaired, stand up and run! If you're injured, mount on your horse. If you've lost your horse, run on your own two feet! If you are consumed by fear, steel your hearts and force your legs forward!"
"Push through! There is nothing more vital in this moment than carving out your survival! I swear to you keep your eyes forward, match my stride, and we will live to see another day "
"Our city gates has never once been brought down by any beast wave or army! It has stood strong for centuries and will continue to stand strong for more centuries to come! As long as we reach our gates, the tides of the battle will be ours!"
"But I understand where you are all coming from. So, I will not blame you but to all those who will and have already deserted or to those who gave up and refuse to follow my orders, I will summarily execute every single one of you, should I live to see another day! I will do so to honor the faith of our citizens, and to uphold the sacred laws of this army!"
"Now, choose your path! Follow me and bring glory to Soaring Cloud or Disobey and die a fool's death!"
"WE FOLLOW YOU, MILORD!" The army responded with vigor!
Their doubts have been replaced by determination and faith towards General Brad Schwer.
"Men, hasten our pace! Those who have deserted fall back in line and those that have stopped, immediately increase your pace and join us!"
The deserters eventually matched the pace of the army and went back to their file and rank.
"If you follow me, we shall be victorious!" General Brad reassured as the entire army blitzes through the field at full speed.
The army felt like one cohesive organism right now.
Seeing the army continued to retreat in an orderly manner, General Brad continued to explain the battle plan.
"We will take this battle to the North City Gates. Contingents from the East, West and Central Armies will be there to respond with us. The South Army will be able to provide back up as well. We have trustworthy reinforcements awaiting us!"
"We have back-up?!"
"That's what I'm talking about!!"
"We are surviving!!"
Hearing this, the entire army was elated!
"While the soldiers will make use and power up our wall cannons, Energy Artillery Cannons and Defensive Arrays so we can attack them aerially, the generals of all four armies will create a defensive line and hold down those beasts here in the ground can eradicate those specters one by one! Even if some beasts are able to pass the defensive line, they will still be dealt with by the City's Defensive Formation! By making this a siege battle, we will astronomically raise our chances of victory and defend the city!"
The army felt more reassured hearing the plan as they all know the capabilities of the cities defenses. It was so strong that only those at the peak of the Half-Saint Realm would be able to break!
"Hurrah!" The army responded as they gained more confidence after hearing the plan!
"Good! Men we are approaching the gate. Remember to go to your assigned defensive stations!" General Brad Schwer smiled as he gave them more commands.
He raised his hand towards the gate as it entered. The army entered the gate ans quickly assumed their siege positions across the City Gates.
They also saw the other generals from the other armies greet Brad Schwer,
"We greet the Chief of General Staff!"
Brad immediately commanded, "All generals, let us all go out and set up the defensive perimeter!"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
The generals with varying accomplishments from one-star to three star generals all prepared for battle. There was a total of fifty Mortal Severing Experts in this line! When lined up like they are, their auras were akin to warlords awaiting battle! It was truly aw-inspiring.
As the gates closed behind him, Brad looked back at the approaching Giant Specters, "It will be difficult to pull it off but they are manageable."
He continued to look beyond the monsters as he felt his master Alistair fighting, "Master, we will not be able to send anymore back-ups to deal with this beast wave. But I pray for your victory in this battle!"
===
"Did he just summon a hundred Mortal Severing Beasts?!" Victoria could not believe her eyes as she sensed from a distance that the Purging Army was already facing a hundred giant specters.
Byron narcissistically said, "Indeed, I am Yumi's Master after all. it was my hand that guided her steps onto the grand path of cultivation. Yet, the depth of her latent talent far eclipses my own. While my current summons possess greater might, that is merely the bitter fruit of time, accumulation, and decades of nurturing."
He further added, "In actuality, she utterly surpasses me—both in the sheer scale of her legion and the innate quality of her subjects. Necromancy is far superior than the Beast Summoning Arts I cultivate. She will lead Tartarus to heights no one in the set has seen before-"
*Swoosh*
[Star Crossing Sword Variant, Twin Shooting Star!]
Victoria appeared in front of Byron and landed an attack that sliced his throat!
"Sorry, I'm not quite interested!"
"You..." 'Byron' said as it distorted and dissipated into the air. It seemed like Victoria only wanted to lure him to yap so she can catch her off guard.
"You are quite one impertinent brat!" Byron reappeared behind Victoria this time. His staff was already gathering a dense form of darkness energy as he also sent out an attack of his own,
[Advent of Darkness]!
A terrifying explosion rang out as it was about to create that massive explosion, the darkness was suddenly cut into half!
"Heavenly Cross - Third Sword - Void Splitting Slash!"
The attack actually landed on Byron! He sensed an attack was coming but he could not move away in time.
'That attack was too fast and too sharp!' A vertical scar appeared in his left shoulder all the way to the left side of his hips. He took a step back to retreat.
===
"Master!" Yumi tried to step in when she saw that Byron was slashed and attack Victoria with her Hell Arrows that but she was intercepted by Alistair who cut those strings!
"As distasteful as it is to fight a young lady, I cannot allow you to disrupt the princess's fight." Alistair said.
"I'm sorry but could you get out of the way. I am not interested in old men!" Yumi said with an annoyed smile in her face.
"Hell Arrows!"
She sent out a barrage of Hell Arrow towards Alistair!
"Drifting Clouds, Piercing Droplets!" Alistair elusively evaded the Hell Arrows as he launched continuous precise thrusts to counteract the Hell Arrows!
While defending, Alistair was actually able to land a few thrusts on Yumi!
"Ugh!" Yumi groaned from the attacks and then she gestured with her fingers so she could attack once more
Like earlier, the residuals of the Hell Arrows were being used to constrict Alistair's movements.
"I have already seen that!" But Alistair had already seen her doing this earlier so he was able to evade it!
The threads combined to try and trap him in a cocoon but it failed!
*Swoowsh*
"Got you!" Yumi said!
Alistair then noticed that he actually moved into a difficult spot! There were Hell Needles here so he had no choice but to use his sword to parry the needles!
However, some still pierced through his armor!
Then, Yumi actually moved forward and attacked with a long spear that was made from the vortex! She held it in her hand as soon as it appeared from the vortex and she thrusted it forwards!
Alistair was grazed by this unexpected attack as he used his elusive movement technique to evade it. "I did not expect you to be the type to know melee combat!"
"I have had to learn in order to survive!" She replied while sending onslaughts of deadly spear thrusts!
But Alistair was able to quickly regain composure due to his years of experience and fight back!
'This girl is a genius as well!' He thought while fighting Yumi.
===
Seeing that the attack landed and Byron retreating, Victoria lunged forward and tried to land another attack.
Byron smiled like it was all part of his as he made a grabbing gesture!
Victoria noticed that the ground below them was already covered in darkness which means it was already in Byron's control!
'Oh no!'
"Darkness Summoning: Myriad Hands!"
Countless hands emerged from the ground as they grabbed a hold of different parts of Victoria's body like the neck, the shoulders, the elbows, the wrists, the knees, and the ankles...
All her limbs and joints were on lock down!
"Aaaargh!"
Victoria screamed cause she felt like her skin was being devoured by the hands. There was not only physical force binding her body but there was also this gradual devouring sensation that she felt like would kill her eventually if she let it be.
Then, the hands dragged her to the ground and smashed her entire body!
"Aaarghh!!"
"That's retribution for this sword scar, little lady!" Byron said while pointed at the wound that was already closed by his darkness enegry.
The Myriad hands lifted her up again to slam her to the ground!
However, an intense light enveloped her twin swords! It focused more on her right arm so she could get it out of the restraint! Then she used her Heaven Crossing Sword to immediately cut off all the hands in one motion!
She twisted her body as she slashed down.
[Star Crossing Sword, Supernova!]
*Boom*
===
"What intense battles..."
In the midst of those battles, Michael, who was already injured, was told to guard Kaiden behind them. While that was the reason that they told him, he knew that it was because he would not be able to influence this battle as well.
He was too focused in the battle that he did not notice that Kaiden had already stood up behind him.
Even when he was battered up and has yet to recover, he was able to stand up with an unusual glint in his eyes. It was glowing slightly. He looked at Victoria with tears in his eyes.
As if he has not seen her in a long time, he squinted. There was a look of nostalgia, guilt and happiness merged into one.
"Milady..."
A familiar word that he always says but this time it sounded different like it was deeper and mature...