Gunlaug was the first to reach the ground.
The liquid gold immediately covered his face, while also forming his familiar giant battleaxe.
He really wanted to curse at Ray for just throwing him, without even looking where to, but he did not have the time for that, as the second he actually reached the ground, his axe was already in motion, slicing one of the centipedes in half, before continuing on towards the nearest carapace centurion.
[You have slain...]
Gunlaug managed to immediately cut off one of the creature's scythe-like arms, before continuing to swing his weapon, at the next enemy already.
The three of them, four, if one wanted to count Ray's echo, had very little time to create their own space, and definitely needed to concentrate on multiple enemies at the same time, which made him unable to finish the centurion off, before it brought down its other scythe-like appendage, which barely scratched his golden armor.
Monster, after monster fell victim to his axe's blade, none able to withstand more than a couple attacks, if at all.
[You have...]
[...]
---
The second to reach the ground was Henry.
Contrary to Gunlaug, he did not own a transcended armor, but made do with what he had, namely the ascended Flyssa, he had received from Ray, and an armor made from plates, chain-mail, as well as leather.
Equipped with these two helpful memories, he was able to land relatively safely, if one wanted to call it that.
Already clad in his armor, and his crimson Flyssa in hand, he activated his aspect's ability, and aimed his sword directly downwards, piercing straight into the armored plates of one of the iron spiders.
And, different to his fight with the Lord of Death, his Flyssa finally had his main enchantment activate.
Henry immediately sensed the nourishing feeling, as some of the blood of the nightmare creature was harvested from it, and given to him.
[You have slain…]
From there, along with his aspect ability, he made quick work, of anything that was close to the position, where he had been dropped.
Unfortunately, his flaw kicked in very soon, and the strain on him increased, or that was how it should've been…
---
Puppet reached the ground nearly at the very same instant, as Ray did.
It was stationed on the left side, of Henry, and would therefore hold back most of the masses coming from there.
The same abyssal, transcended armor of the octopus-like nightmare creature was already on its body, and the dark gleaming Claymore, or rather [Oblivion's Thread], was gripped tightly in its right hand.
It sprang into action, the very instant it hit the ground, and began its own slaughter.
From the entirety of their prism formation, at the very forefront of their sleeper army, it was most definitely the one that cared the least about getting hit, and fought with a mix of a suicidal battle-style, and such refined sword movements, which it had gained from the first lord, that it seemed like a paradox itself.
Every nightmare creature it killed, instantly became fragments, filling the counter of its Lord, serving as a constant nourishment.
---
And then, there was Ray.
He was at the very front, having used his momentum to immediately create a small circle, where he could stand, through the use of an extreme sweep with Stormpiercer's axe blade.
[You have slain…]
[You have…]
He had absolutely no time to get completely settled, though, as Henry's flaw had already activated, making the already ridiculous number of nightmare creatures coming at the three, rise even higher.
The only thing he could do, was continue swinging his halberd, killing as many as possible, and keeping everything else, as far away, as possible.
Something that proved even harder, for him, considering his size, coupled with the extra area his wings brought with them.
But, thankfully, their suicidal stunt had already born fruit, and the three of them, could hear it very soon.
"Charge! Now, or never, you wretches!"
Effie's shout from the very front resonated through the entirety of the first, and even second line. It didn't even take a second, before most that had survived the first onslaught readied themselves again, and got into position.
The entirety of the first line, with one fell swoop, abandoned any counter-attacks, and focused purely on defending against the horde's attacks.
Many were nearly decapitated, by attacks from these damned creatures, but before even the very first fell, came the second line, as the extra strength, who in turn, completely focused on the offense. Attacking everywhere where no body, or shield was in the way.
"Now, push! Push till the damn ditch!" Effie roared once more, before she gritted her teeth and made the first step forward.
All of those belonging to the first line, simultaneously followed her example, and through the combined human strength, managed to actually push the wall of flesh forward.
Now, the humans had the momentum.
Though, it was somewhat easier even, compared to blocking the first wave of attacks, since most nightmare creatures had already turned around, directing their attention directly at Henry, who was basically jumping from one monster to the next.
His crimson Flyssa seemed to glow, though, this may have just as well been a simple illusion…
It wasn't to say, though, that his body was unscathed. The contrary was the truth, in fact. Nearly his entire upper body was already drenched in blood, those of the nightmare creatures he killed, and… his.
But, at the same time, unseen by anyone else, a wide bloody grin could be seen on his face, as his attacks seemed to actually become more lethal by the second.
---
Then, besides the first two lines, as well as the very spearhead, there was still the third line, composed of artisans, archers, and those with abilities suited for ranged combat.
Kai was leading with great example, bringing down nightmare creature after creature. The literal sea of abominations was a relatively easy target, though, he had to admit.
So, each of his crimson arrows quickly found their targets; the torso of one of the mantis-like monsters, then a centipede, next an ape-like monster. One after the other, the creatures trying to drown the first two lines were shot down.
All around the charming archer, many were doing the same, while maybe not as effective as he was, they were too, killing many nightmare creatures from their position, situated at the back.
Besides those shooting their bows, there were also those that had no suitable aspect, for such a battle, or any in general. They were responsible to supply the back-line with as many arrows, as they needed.
There were literally hundreds of arrows, and dozens of the siege engine shots prepared. And, those were merely the simple preparations.
Above, nearly the entirety of the sleeper army, hung a net of thin, metallic thread, woven to form a near perfect net, guarding them from the sky, and anything that could come down upon them, from it.
A few artisans were even responsible to slowly expand it forwards, with every meter the two lines were pushing the horde of creatures, all because they needed that very last preparation, placed in the ditch…
But, then, just as the archers, and especially Kai was getting into a rhythm of; drawing, aiming, enduring, and releasing, he noticed five shadows suddenly appear above the heads of the sleeper army, prompting him to look upward immediately.
'Messengers…' He thought bitterly.
Yet, they weren't coming down on them, neither were they doing anything, besides circling them from above. Still, Kai felt that something was off, and directed his bow upwards, just in case, and that was the moment, he saw them.
His face paled, and his entire body trembled, but he needed to put his fear forcefully aside, "Skyward Squad! Aim high!"
Unfortunately, even while he was already releasing arrow, after arrow at the quickly descending nightmare creatures, no fellow archer seemed to have heard him, his voice having drowned in the cacophony of the ongoing battle.
Kai took one deep breath, before shouting anew, his enchanting voice echoed over the battlefield, reaching every sleeper's ear, "Skyward! Squad! Aim! High!"
This time, all of the assigned sleepers, armed with bow memories or abilities suitable to shoot upwards, immediately turned their attention skyward, just in time, to release one volley, before the first few creatures landed on the metallic net, where they basically were sliced apart, and their bodies, in little pieced rained down on the ground, where the archers were standing.
Still, with that only having been the very first wave, the archers were far from finished in that battle, and the ones belonging to the first two lines, felt the significantly decreased support, in an instant.
Nevertheless, they had done their job for just long enough, and with one final push of the front, the previously resisting nightmare creatures were right above the ditch, where their final real surprise was prepared, beforehand.
"Gemma! If they won't work, I will kill that midget myself!" Once more, Effie's roar managed to pierce through the chaos of the very front, reaching the one she was addressing.
Hearing this, even Gemma, who had always believed in Kido unconditionally, was left wondering, how long it would still take. After all, there were sleepers dying nearly every few seconds, and without this, they wouldn't be able to truly hold this part, even after Henry's flaw literally lured most of the nightmare creatures towards himself.
It was a grueling affair, not only in front of the ditch, but also behind it. Both, Ray's small group, as well as the much larger group were under significant pressure, from the hordes of monsters, the blood of nearly every being was already staining the ground, slowly flowing towards the deepest point, of their battle's location…
Then, finally, after nearly an entire minute, the thing that they all waited for, finally happened.
The entirety of the pile of nightmare creatures that had either previously fallen into the ditch, or having been slain upon it, began slowly sinking into the ground, while a few loose vines started breaching through, to the surface.
And, in the next moment, everything happened so fast…
Basically, from one second to the other, nearly the entire pressure the front line had been under, vanished in an instant, as every body in the ditch was devoured in an instant, by none other than Kido's greatest masterpiece; a carnivorous plant that was completely uninterested in humans.
The only problem the small artisan had been unable to fix, was the absurd amount of blood, and flesh required for it to actually hatch, if one wanted to call it that.
But, it had succeeded, and now the sleepers had gained an incredible supportive ally.
"Now, get it moving you wretches! It's time you earn your title as lieutenants!" She roared once more, before immediately after moving to jump over the three meter wide ditch, reaching the other side, where the three others had been fighting the entire time.
Effie reached the other side easily, but nearly slipped on the literal sea of blood that was still flowing below their feet.
Still, while she was using a moment of short respite, in the back of the spearhead formation, to calm her ragged breathing, the other lieutenants, or council members, as they were known now, followed suit.
Nearly all of them were now situated on the other side of the pit, as if making the gap in strength, between them, and the other normal sleepers even more apparent. Only Kai, as well as Cassie had remained don the other side, remaining busy with giving orders, and following their own tasks.
"Expand the formation!"
Changing Star's voice was loud enough that the three of them, even in the chaos of the battle heard her words, and began repositioning themselves.
Henry would remain as the center of the formation, while everyone else created a kind of death-zone. It was basically a huge triangle, if one would've viewed it from above, but it got the job done.
Every single one of them quickly became a small island, in the middle of the literal sea of monsters, with just enough space between each person, so that nightmare creatures could still pass through them, so that they wouldn't be completely trampled to death, in seconds.
In the very front, Ray looked shit. His armor was battered, and even holes plastered the surface of it. But, he couldn't stop fighting, and just continued, with a grim look on his face.
'When will that egoistical wretch finally do his job?!' He cursed in his mind, while simultaneously defending himself against the attacks of another centipede, trying to wrap itself around him, another carapace centurion, and some weird serpent.
He pierced one end end of his halberd into the centipede's body, pinning it in place, before practically bringing the blade of the halberd down, as if it was a guillotine, towards the centurion, cutting deep into its body, but the serpent was already on him.
Ray let go of his weapon, trying to get his arms around the snake, and barely succeeding, before it could bite him in his neck, with the teeth just mere centimeters before his skin, only to change his grip into a strangling position, and suddenly stepping on his weapon, below him.
With the added weight on it, the centurion could move even less, while the axe blade moved even deeper, and Ray finally managed to slam the head of the snake on the other side of the axe blade, causing enough damage to get it off his nerves for the second.
Having no time to rest, he used his strength of a demon, pulling back his halberd, to finally finish off all three of the creatures.
[You have slain...]
[...]
Finally having a single second to catch his breath, he looked at the many bodies surrounding him.
Not even his three damn demon cores were able to make it possible to use his aspect for too long, and the fight had started barely a few minutes ago, even if it felt like an eternity already.
His cores were still relatively full, but even at this point, he needed to make sure, he would still have some, at any point.
He couldn't help but envy the fighters on his left, and right, Puppet and Gunlaug, both having the transcended armors, and no real need for their aspects.
Still, that was all the time he got, before the next creatures already begin rushing in.