Chapter 168 - Monke And The Siege (6)

Quickly scaling up the stairs, Gong hastily handed me the binoculars so I could see the incoming group of invaders, and holy shit, were they numerous. The group of primates waiting in ambush at the front numbered only 100 at the moment. Wulfstan and Tigre were already with the frontline primates, Tigre raising his arms with his claws, ready to rip the soldiers to shreds, while Wulfstan opted to hide in the shadows of the trees.

Lowering the binoculars, I regarded Drake, Nicholas, and Luke, who were looking at the entrance with somber looks.

"Hey, you three gonna be okay?" I asked the three men, who looked at me with a smile. All of them were hurt, one way or another.

"We will… We've gone through too many bullshits to chicken out, right Nick?" At that, the tense atmosphere slowly lightened as Nicholas, along with Luke, gave out a weak chuckle at their predicament.

"Right you are on that." Nicholas patted Drake's back, a smile hanging on his lips, which spread to Drake as well. "Well, we should probably get going. Jionni, you staying back here and coordinating your monsters?"

"Yes. As much as I want to fight on the front lines (and get some extra EXP from fighting, but that went unsaid), I would rather stay in the backline and prepare some things in case the soldiers, with some miraculous luck, push through." I relayed my thoughts, and the three of them accepted my response.

"Alright. Wish us luck then, Jionni." Drake nodded his head, and I gave him a wave. The three of them then left by jumping down the walls and running towards the frontline where the primates were waiting in ambush.

"You staying back as well?" I asked Catalina, who was still busy nuzzling my arm while purring.

"I'm a Dungeon Master. I'm meant to stay in the backline." She stated a matter of fact, which got me agreeing with her.

"Straight facts." I chuckled as I once again used the binoculars to spy on the incoming group of soldiers. "Also, Gong. Call the resident monsters, tell them to get ready in case our enemies arrive at the wall."

"Okay, boss." Gong nodded and quickly ran down the stairs to relay my orders to the leaders of the respective monster races.

'Let's see how my primates fare against the well-trained soldiers.'

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~ Third Person POV ~

Erika marched at the front, leading the rest of the soldiers marching along with her. As they traversed the dim passageway of the cave leading inside the Dungeon, she couldn't help but wonder who the heretic she was chasing was.

All she knew was that he was a male wearing a robe that concealed his face and was strong enough to fend off squads of average soldiers stationed in the various towns he came across.

A brief humming came from her lips as the group of soldiers finally arrived at a seemingly ordinary forest.

"… Forest type. Expect anything." Erika said to her soldiers, and every soldier present tensed. At this point, their training kicked in, and they devolved into using hand signs to communicate.

'It's too quiet…' Erika raised her hand and made some gestures. The rest of the soldiers stopped and formed a circle, all of them raising their shields high, fully expecting an attack.

A shadow moved in the corner of her eyes, and she quickly locked onto the position. Raising her hand, powerful gusts of wind gathered in her palms and shot out at the speed of sound. The gust hit the bark of the tree where the shadow was hidden and pierced through, causing blood to spill out from the other side.

Moments later, a black-furred monster landed on the ground with a thud, its hand clutching its chest as bits of its armor punctured its organs.

"AMBUSH!" Erika yelled, and the soldiers all steeled themselves. When her shout echoed through the silent forest, sounds of heavy thumping entered her ears, and monsters of big and small sizes appeared, all of them bearing a resemblance to the dead black-furred monster that Erika killed.

Their roars and shouts boomed around the area, the ground and trees slightly shaking due to the loud sound alone, but the soldiers held fast. All of them were prepared to meet head-on with the fully-armored beasts.

When the two groups met, a normal person would've expected that the soldiers would be ultimately knocked down and trampled underfoot, but the wall of iron shields the soldiers built didn't budge an inch.

"Mages! Protocol 1-1!" The Mage soldiers, who were situated in the center of the encirclement, raised their staffs and chanted out verses. While they were doing so, the soldiers holding the iron wall of shields still made sure that they weren't harmed in any way.

Even by the arrows that occasionally pierced the tree-lines, orange-furred humanoid beasts wielding the bows with their lanky arms.

How they were able to wield those kinds of weapons with those arms was anyone's guess, but if it works, it works.

The smaller, humanoid black beasts riding atop the larger ones wielded spears that tried to get in through the gaps in their shields, but their training made it difficult for them to pierce through. The larger ones, wielding clubs and axes bigger than what a normal human could wield with a single hand, pounded on their iron, their knees buckling at the sheer strength that accompanied the strikes.

Thanks to their gear and training, however, they were able to pull through the strikes and defend against the vicious attacks with minimal casualties. Those that succumbed to the attacks were quickly replaced by those behind them, thus making their defense nearly impenetrable.

Once a few seconds had passed, the mages finally finished their chanting and smacked the butt of their staffs on the ground, creating a huge magic circle beneath their feet that spread all throughout the encirclement. Then, a dome of light manifested, encompassing the entirety of the group of soldiers.

"Now! Attack!" Erika's shout brought them fervor, their war cries echoing louder than the roars of the beasts. With the dome of light now present, the soldiers brought out their weapons behind their shields and slashed at the monsters nearby, the beasts' weapons bouncing off harmlessly the dome of light.

The same could be said for the arrows fired from afar, their iron-tipped points not being able to penetrate through the dome of magic.

Now with the upper-hand, the soldiers all attacked at once, their feet never leaving the dome lest they wind up unprotected by the spell.

Monsters near the dome fell left and right due to the sudden attack. The swords of the soldiers cleaved through the iron armor they wore. This surprised the monsters, as they quickly moved away from the dome.

"Mages! Protocol 2-1!" Erika shouted once more, the mages' chanting once more gracing the hearing of everybody present. The primates, now warier due to the dome, waited for the action to be completed. Because of the fact that they didn't know what they were going to do because of the vague command, they stayed their hand.

A decision poorly made...

"Earth's Wrath!" Their chanting finished, the mages shouted the words as one. The Dungeon rumbled, and a mass of earthen spikes appeared all around the dome as they rose from the dirt, skewering any unfortunate monster to be caught.

Cries of pain and bloodcurdling screams entered their ears like music, a demented grin forming on every face of the fanatic soldiers.

The monsters, now effectively cut in half and wounded, struggled on the ground as they tried to regroup themselves. The soldiers let out a scream as they boldly charged out of their safe haven, shields raised high and swords ready to slice. The mages who remained behind were protected by the nearest soldiers and were casting more magic to help with the efforts of bringing down the remaining monsters.

"FOR GODDESS PHOEMIS!" Erika yelled and charged forward, her sword raised high and a stern look on her face.

"FOR GODDESS PHOEMIS!" The soldiers echoed, and they all slaughtered the monsters, leaving none behind. Gouts of blood, amputated limbs, decapitated heads; none were safe from the soldiers who now released bloodlust like serial killers would in their natural habitat.

The traps that were placed all around the area were disarmed due to the spell the mages used that caused the earthen spikes to rise, making them useless in the current situation.

The monsters, now on their last legs, didn't give up and kept on screaming and fighting, even as they drowned in their own blood.

It was at that moment, a mage that was busy casting another spell was quickly beheaded by a quick slash from a unique-looking weapon.

This alerted the soldiers and mages, causing them to zero in on the attackers. They numbered three, all wearing leather vests, cloaks, and trousers. Their leather boots were caked with mud and blood, causing them to leave footprints behind as they stepped forward.

"Well then, tonight, Wulfstan joins the hunt." The unique weapon formed into a demented looking cleaver-like axe. The soldiers all roared as they quickly let the mages run towards their back, but the other two didn't stand still as they retreated, opting to let their similar weapons dance among the bodies of mages, their enchanted clothes rendered useless against the demented looking weapons. "And don't forget my twin apprentices."

The three of them grinned maliciously as they moved to strike at the mages.