More waves of enemies incoming.
Their number was as intimidating as ever.
Thankfully the remaining raiders still retained enough courage to keep hold of their weapons.
[All parties, withdraw from the entrances and move to the second line! We'll hold our ground there from now on!]
Celeste instructed the raiders.
Upon her order, the parties swiftly moved behind the blockades inside the fortress, nearer to the central tower.
It was a wise decision.
They already lost three members so far. Some of the monsters were able to jump over the walls, while some other could even open a hole inside the fortress.
The parties could no longer hold their ground at the entrances without having to worry for getting attacked from behind.
This change in formation would make most of the fighting occur inside the walls, however.
It would be dangerous if the heroes could not immediately kill all the monsters before the next set of waves arrived.
They would risk having the monsters crowding and burying them within the fortress.
[Aludra, deploy four more golems to intercept the enemies! If the flowers start spewing poison again, cleanse the air right away! Deal with any abnormalities that come up which your spell can handle!
[Meifa, keep strengthening us with the enchantment stones! If the situation seemed too dangerous, aid us with your healing magic and enhancement spells! Use your compulsion magic if necessary!
[Kiran, when the monsters start overwhelming us, use your magic to suppress their number! But refrain from using Fourth Circle magic for now!
[Archers, make sure to protect everyone from above! Fire your explosives beyond the walls whenever you can!]
Celeste's orders relied heavily on the mages' and the archers' judgment on the situation at hand.
But she simply had to count on her comrades given she would not always have the chance to give instructions when crisis arises.
And whenever she could, it often was already too late.
So they had to trust on each other for this mission. Trust that each hero would fulfill their role and ensuring the entire squad's safety.
That principle was something we taught to the raiders after our experiences in four Quintal Trials so far.
Given Celeste and few others managed to survive the 25th floor, they must had kept the lesson close to heart and implemented it fully.
[Time Remaining]
[22:36]
Shriek!!!
The monsters were fast approaching.
Beyond the walls, several mounds on the ground seemed to be moving, creeping closer to the fortress. They indicated more Prime Gatormoles approaching.
Above ground huge hordes were stampeding fast from all over.
Our heroes clenched their weapons tighter as the monsters drew near.
Crash!!!
The golems outside the walls started intercepting the hordes. Smashing and stomping dozens at a time.
But still half those numbers managed to slip past the moving statues and sped toward the walls.
More than a dozen Prime Beastlings leapt over the walls and the same number charged through the open entrances.
The heroes on the central tower did their best to kill off the ones jumping over the walls as well as the flying monsters coming with them.
Everyone on the ground was already busy engaging those that had infiltrated through land.
Crash!
The ground inside the fortress split open once more and emerged the Prime Gatormoles.
Their arrivals were expected, however.
The advanced hero immediately pounced on the huge shelled creatures before they could leave their hole and pushed the creature back where it came from.
Whishh….
More flower buds bloomed all over the vines on the fortress walls.
They quickly released the same poisonous plumes as before.
But Aludra was ready to anticipate them and immediately gathered the dangerous air before they spread to the heroes. And whenever she managed to generate enough energy on her staff, she would boil the moat with electricity again and kill as many monsters as she could.
Meifa constantly activated the enchantment stones she had with her and rejuvenated the heroes fighting all over. She also healed some injuries on heroes that were too busy fighting and did not have time to use the healing elixir.
Kiran kept making ice clouds above the fortress and directed his killing spell to wherever the fight was fiercest. All while taking down the Impianas that kept coming down from the sky.
The heroes were holding well given the ambush they just went through before.
But good things rarely last in the Quintal Trials.
[Time Remaining]
[19:57]
Shriek!!!
A huge swarms of flying monsters were emerging from the northern clouds.
Aludra immediately warned the archers as soon as she replaced the first four golems that had run their course. Eight golem cores remaining for the entire squad.
Once the swarms were in firing range, the archers took aim. They all had explosives nocked to their bows.
Swoosh!
Boom! Crash! Boom!
A fiery blast erupted in the air north of the fortress.
That explosion should be enough to decimate two dozen ogres into nothing.
But no corpses were falling from the blast.
Instead, the swarms burst forth through the smoke and continued charging toward the fortress.
Man-sized crows were leading the swarms.
Fiery embers were charring the open wounds scattered beneath their black feathers, but the creatures were not bothered at all by them.
[Prime Blood Crow Lv.30 x11]
The archers gaped at the sight of these new monsters.
But Aludra quickly woke them up.
[Don't just stand there! Keep firing at those birds until they fall!]
Under the mage-engineer's urgent command, the archers nocked more explosives and fired them toward the crows.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A bigger blast erupted in the sky.
Several crows finally dropped.
The larger portion of them still remained, however.
Their wounds were larger now, some even had their entrails hanging out.
But they remained living and flying toward the fortress.
Though shocked by the monsters' resilience, the archers quickly nocked more explosives to finish the crows.
Not quick enough, unfortunately.
Giant bugs with transparent wings and large thorns on their backside flew past the crows from behind them.
[Prime Poison Stinger Lv.30 x20]
As soon as the bugs reached the walls, they launched their arrow-sized thorns toward the central tower and barraged the heroes on there with projectiles.
['Lutor (★★★)' has returned to the Goddesses' embrace! His fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
['Salana (★★★)' has returned to the Goddesses' embrace! Her fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
['Namira (★★★)' is on the brink of death. Her life is in danger!]
['Oliberr (★★★)' has been inflicted with bleeding. His stamina will be reduced for a period of time.]
['Ahsan (★★★)' has been inflicted with bleeding. His stamina will be reduced for a period of time.]
['Kiran (★★★)' has been inflicted with bleeding. His stamina will be reduced for a period of time.]
['Aludra (★★★)' has been inflicted with bleeding. His stamina will be reduced for a period of time.]
Two archers were killed by the thorns.
One got their stomach pierced through.
The others barely survived with scrape wounds.
[These bastards are getting tricky! The bugs used the crows as shield so they can get close to us! And those thorn darts. They're at least twice as big than before! They can also shoot them from thrice as far!]
Ahsan of Party 8 shouted as he poured a healing elixir on his wound.
Aludra quickly snapped at him as she created a shield to prevent more thorns from getting to them.
[If you're finished yapping, then start taking down these bastards you so hate! Kiran, are you all right?]
[Don't worry, it's just a graze on my left arm. I'll ready my spell in a moment.]
The elemental mage said reassuringly as he took a healing elixir.
[Their thorns have poison in them! So be sure to pull out the thorns and take the elixir if you're hit!]
Meifa warned the others as she was healing the archer that got her stomach pierced through.
The heroes on the central tower then began to recompose themselves after the severe assault by the monsters.
But precious time had been lost when they could provide support for the heroes on the ground.
Celeste and the others were fighting hard to push off the hordes swarming the fortress.
They were too busy dealing with the monsters in front of them to even notice what happened on the tower.
Celeste seemed to be aware of what happened but did not have the time to respond to them.
There was a new threat on the ground as well.
Giant spiders the size of the Prime Gatormoles emerged from the holes which the shelled creatures dug through.
[Prime Killer Spider Lv.30 x2]
It did not take long for the creatures to spread chaos in the fortress.
They swung and pierced their sharp limbs with the speed of a thrown dagger and the force of a battering ram. Few heroes could withstand the assaults.
A hero got their head pierced and crushed through. Another got their body severed in half. Others lost their limbs.
['Tomal (★★★)' has returned to the Goddesses' embrace! His fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
['Lillie (★★★)' has returned to the Goddesses' embrace! Her fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
['Erinne (★★★)' is on the brink of death. Her life is in danger!]
['Emmar (★★★)' is on the brink of death. His life is in danger!]
['Mannel (★★★)' is on the brink of death. His life is in danger!]
['Vanse (★★★)' is on the brink of death. His life is in danger!]
['Janis (★★★)' has been inflicted with bleeding. His stamina will be reduced for a period of time.]
['Ansel (★★★)' has been inflicted with bleeding. His stamina will be reduced for a period of time.]
[….]
Master was not able to warn the heroes in time for these monsters' arrival.
The previous scouting never lasted this far into the mission.
All the heroes were truly on their own from this point onward.
With the ongoing onslaught, Celeste immediately shouted an order to her squad.
[Start using the Healing Stone! We can't lose any more people from this point on!]
Dharma, Sigmund, and Gaoling already had their stone in hand as Celeste sounded the instruction.
All four of them quickly smashed the rocks to the ground.
['Celeste (★★★)' has activated the Healing Stone!]
['Gaoling (★★★)' has activated the Healing Stone!]
['Sigmund (★★★)' has activated the Healing Stone!]
['Dharma (★★★)' has activated the Healing Stone!]
Warm light radiated to the heroes on the ground.
Wounds rapidly closed on each of the raider, those that had lost their limbs regrew one anew.
It took much effort to create those enhanced Healing Stones.
Other than barely creating strong enough medium to contain the spell, I even had to activate the Blessing of Malaikat in order to instill such powerful healing magic into the enchantment stones.
Our effort bore good fruit.
The heavily injured heroes were able to quickly recompose themselves and dodge the giant spiders' rampage.
Celeste and the other advanced heroes rushed in to subjugate them.
Light emanated from the mage-swordswoman's legs and she began running with great speed.
Together with Gaoling, she rushed to the giant spiders.
The two women swiftly decapitated the spiders' limbs and crippling them down.
Sigmund and Dharma jumped in after them and crushed the spiders with their weapons.
Meifa had finished healing the others in the tower and began aiding the ground heroes.
She turned her scepter to its other end and chanted a spell.
[Manah Vinashah]
Twelve of the Prime Beastlings suddenly stopped charging toward the heroes.
They turned around and began attacking the other monsters instead, intercepting them at the entrances.
Kiran had finished forming an ice cloud in the sky and directed all of his attacks toward the flying monsters all over the fortress.
Aludra also channeled more electricity to the moat and suppressed the enemy number further.
The mages' stunt allowed the heroes another brief respite.
But they knew more battles were coming their way fast.
[Wave 20]
[Prime Beastling Lv.30 x66]
[Prime Blood Crow Lv.30 x30]
[Prime Gatormole Lv.30 x40]
[Prime Killer Spider Lv.30 x15]
[Prime Poison Stinger Lv.30 x36]
[Wave 21]
[Prime Beastling Lv.30 x66]
[….]
[Wave 22]
[…]
[Wave 23]
[…]
Another hordes of monsters were rapidly charging toward the fortress.
As Celeste was about to give her instruction to the heroes, a terrible shriek came from above.
A giant creature descended from the clouds. It was easily the size of a building.
The creature had the body of a bear, with silver fur. Only it had six feet instead of four.
Long black claws were protruding from its tree-trunk feet.
The monster's head was shaped like a ram's. Four twisting golden horns jutting out from its skull. With three pale blue eyes at the center.
Stretching on its back were four black feathered wings which casted a large ominous shadow over the fortress.
With great speed the majestic creature rushed to the heroes.
[Prime Impiana Lv.36]
[Time Remaining]
[16:04]