Chapter 315: The Grand Melee - A Tense Stalemate
"Lightning Strike"
Boom—
The Gray-robed Mage lifted his finger and aimed. Blue lightning condensed, forming a straight, piercing bolt that tore through the layers of Undead before him.
"Defense Blessing!"
A Paladin's pupils contracted as he roared, and a holy light appeared on his armor.
Crack!
The Lightning Strike hit the Paladin's chest armor, shattering the faint light of the blessing.
It easily pierced through the silvery-white armor, exiting through his chest and continuing toward another Paladin behind him.
"Pfft!"
Affected by the lightning, the Paladin's body went rigid with paralysis. A charred hole was clearly visible on his chest, and mouthfuls of bloody foam spilled from his silver helmet as he collapsed, his eyes filled with indignation.
In the blink of an eye!
A single 3rd Tier "Lightning Strike" had easily killed two Paladins.
The atmosphere on the battlefield instantly turned grim!
The terrifying pressure brought by a magic caster of the Heroic Realm washed over them.
3rd Tier Magic was not considered high-tier, but it was still a realm that most magic casters without true talent could only reach with their utmost effort.
The power of the same magic differs depending on the caster.
Therefore.
Even low-tier magic, when cast by powerful magic casters, would display even more terrifying power and effects!
Ultimately, it came down to the "Magic Attack" stat. In this otherworld, there was perhaps also a power bonus from the caster's dedicated research into magic.
"Gerard!"
"Liota!"
The deaths of their two comrades made the other Paladins who knew them cry out in anger.
On the other side.
"Hey, you just killed more than ten Undead in one go," the Black Armored Knight reminded him.
"What does it matter."
The Gray-robed Mage let out a hoarse, unconcerned laugh. "They were just a bunch of low-tier Undead, anyway."
"Oh, your opponent is coming."
Bang— Bang—
A silvery-white figure, like a fierce beast charging into a flock of sheep, easily slaughtered and crushed the hordes of Undead blocking the way.
"You damned scum!"
Remedios dashed forward, transforming into a streak of white light, weaving rapidly through the Undead and closing in on the two of them.
"Sky Slash!"
"Well met—Firm Strike!" Excitement flashed in the Black Armored Knight's eyes. The ground beneath his feet instantly cracked as his body vanished from sight.
In the blink of an eye.
With a powerful collision.
Remedios and the Black Armored Knight became two blurs, one white and one black, clashing in rapid combat.
Swoosh— Swoosh—
"Triple Shot!"
Black Pabel drew his bowstring. His exquisite longbow shimmered with the light of magic power, and arrow after arrow shot out in straight lines toward the Gray-robed Mage.
"Swarm of Insects!"
The Gray-robed Mage calmly waved his staff.
A dense swarm of thumb-sized bugs, like a dark cloud, materialized at his side. It formed a shield of insects that blocked the three incoming arrows.
Moreover, the insect swarm did not disperse. It continued to circle the Gray-robed Mage, forming a power similar to defensive magic.
"Fireball!" The Gray-robed Mage waved his staff again.
A crimson light gathered, and a head-sized, oval fireball engulfed in roiling flames shot toward Black Pabel.
"Exploding Arrow!"
Black Pabel's frighteningly sharp gaze emitted a cold chill. Although the fireball was extremely fast, it was nowhere near the speed of lightning.
With his eagle-like vision.
Black Pabel easily locked onto the fireball's trajectory and fired his arrow.
He absolutely could not let the fireball land in the crowd; an explosion would cause mass casualties.
Swoosh—Boom!
The fireball exploded in mid-air, creating a heatwave that, incidentally, sent some of the nearby Undead flying, even engulfing them and turning them to ash.
"No ordinary archer."
"A troublesome fellow."
The Gray-robed Mage's dull, yellowish eyes flickered, his somewhat murky gaze immediately noticing something.
He saw!
Amidst the chaotic melee, three figures were approaching his position at an extremely high speed.
"Red" Orland, Gagaran, and Clementine!
The Undead blocking their path were just like with the Holy Knight Order's captain earlier—completely unable to hinder them.
Especially Clementine, clad in a black robe with a slender figure. Her speed far surpassed the other two, and she exuded a sense of danger that made the Gray-robed Mage's hair stand on end.
However—
The moment the Gray-robed Mage saw Clementine's somewhat crazed smile, he was visibly stunned.
"Is this also part of the plan?"
The Gray-robed Mage muttered to himself, "Fifth Tier Undead Summoning—Heavy Armored Skeleton Warriors!"
A blue magic circle appeared at his feet.
Undead with thicker, sturdier bones and covered head to toe in armor emerged from the magic circle.
Under the Gray-robed Mage's command, they immediately engaged Clementine in battle.
"I understand the Alliance Leader's thoughts less and less."
Seeing Clementine fighting the Heavy Armored Skeleton Warriors to a standstill, a sharp glint flashed in the Gray-robed Mage's eyes.
The tremors on the ground grew closer.
Gagaran and "Red" Orland had already arrived nearby.
"Let's take out this magic caster first!" Gagaran shouted.
"Right!"
"Red" Orland grinned fiercely. Holding a weapon in each hand, he lowered his body and accelerated his mad dash.
Seeing the human and demi-human teaming up.
"Tsk tsk, This Old One is truly moved by your spirit. Unfortunately, your opponent is not me."
The Gray-robed Mage sneered.
Thud— Thud— Thud!
A tall, black knight, about 2.3 meters in height, came striding from behind at a full run, holding a black curved longsword in one hand and a black tower shield in the other.
Every footstep made the ground tremble!
A chilling aura flooded the battlefield, causing the hot temperature to drop by several degrees. It even seemed to dispel some of the rotting stench that filled the air.
From within the demon-horned helmet, a pair of crimson eyes on a rotting face flickered continuously, as if blinking.
A thick malice and hatred for the living sent a terrifying sense of fear through the hearts of all the humans on the battlefield.
"Death Knight!!"
A voice filled with astonishment and terror rang out across the battlefield.
Everyone subconsciously looked toward the terrifying figure charging toward them. Its dense, negative-attribute aura and the intimidating presence that came with its high level...
...made the hands and feet of some Paladins and Priests with weaker temperaments turn cold, their bodies growing stiff.
"Aaarrgh—"
The Death Knight let out a great roar, activating its special ability.
"Taunt!"
Gagaran and Orland, who had been charging the Gray-robed Mage, uncontrollably bypassed him and rushed toward the Death Knight behind.
"Heheh, Flight."
The Gray-robed Mage's body rose into the air, vacating the area.
Gagaran and "Red" Orland's faces turned ugly. Completely unable to control their bodies, they were forced to confront the oncoming Death Knight.
Bang!
The black tower shield slammed into him, knocking Gagaran back several steps.
"Roar!"
A hoarse sound came from the Death Knight's rotting throat. As it knocked Gagaran back, it swung its tower shield again, smashing it toward "Red" Orland at the side.
"Fortress!"
"Red" Orland hurriedly activated a Martial Art to block.
Vmm—
His dual swords struck the tower shield, barely deflecting the force. Before "Red" Orland could retreat, a black glint appeared before his eyes.
The black curved longsword in the Death Knight's hand, flowing with dense black negative energy, swung down with its arm.
At this moment!
Both of "Red" Orland's weapons were occupied with blocking the tower shield's impact, leaving him no time to pull an arm back to defend.
He could only watch helplessly as the sword blade was about to strike his head!
Memories of the first half of his life even flashed through "Red" Orland's mind.
To think I'd die so simply.
Still, to die on the battlefield, and at the hands of a legendary Undead, doesn't seem so bad.
Just as this thought surfaced in his mind.
Swoosh!
The sharp sound of something cutting through the air came from behind. An arrow precisely struck the shoulder of the Death Knight's sword arm and exploded.
The impact spread.
The Death Knight was not pushed back, but its attack had missed.
"Red" Orland hurriedly retreated, a thrilling sense of having survived a disaster washing over him. He glanced back and said, "Thanks, Pavel."
"I'll assist you!" Pavel responded loudly.
"Roar roar!"
The Death Knight roared in anger, the sonic waves dispersing the smoke and dust.
Gagaran, "Red" Orland, and Black Pabel teamed up to attack the Death Knight.
Even so!
The three of them were still unable to inflict any effective damage on the Death Knight. On the contrary, they were being pushed back step by step.
At this moment.
The situation on the entire battlefield was becoming increasingly chaotic.
It wasn't just the Death Knight. Accompanying it were eight burly and powerful members of various demi-human races.
Among them were two—unbelievably, they were Long (Water Elemental Ogre) and Dui (Earth Elemental Ogre)!
Besides these two demi-humans, there were also various other powerfully built individuals like the Blade Armor Beetle, Stone-Eating Ape, Beast-bodied Quadruped, and Winged Heteromorph.
The bodies of these demi-humans were rotting and their eyes were ashen. They were clearly Undead, yet they all displayed power and abilities far exceeding those of low-tier Undead.
"Everyone, be careful!"
"These are Retainer Zombies created by the Death Knight! You must not be killed by them!"
Kelart used magic to amplify her voice, her tone more serious than ever before as her words spread across the entire battlefield.
The Retainer Zombies created through the power of the Death Knight had a difficulty level of "51-54".
They were around Level 17-18, half the level of the Death Knight. Unlike ordinary Infected Zombies, the number of these Retainer Zombies was limited, and even the Death Knight could not create too many.
This force put the Paladins under immense pressure.
Pink Isadoro and Gustav, the two deputy commanders, held the front line, relieving the pressure on the entire Holy Knight Order.
In the center of the circular defensive formation formed by the members of the Holy Knight Order, a group of Priests continuously cast attack magic or protection magic.
"Cuiye, go assist those two deputy commanders," Tang Zheng said to the Green Leaf Witch who was standing guard beside him.
"Yes."
The Green Leaf Witch quickly moved forward and departed.
"Leader Tang!"
Captain Nigun's voice rang out. "Please summon a Watcher Dominion Angel again. I can summon one as well."
"And then dispatch an offensive Tranquility Dominion Angel to assist!"
Tang Zheng replied with a serious expression, "No problem."
"4th Tier Angel Summoning: Watcher Dominion Angel!"
"4th Tier Angel Summoning: Watcher Dominion Angel!"
"4th Tier Angel Summoning: Tranquility Dominion Angel!"
A dazzling holy light condensed.
Three 4th Tier Angels appeared on the field. The two Watcher Dominion Angels positioned themselves above everyone's heads, casting defense-enhancing magic on all of them.
Just as the "Watcher" part of their name implied.
The Watcher Dominion Angel possessed a special ability that could increase the defensive capabilities of all allies within its line of sight. With so many humans present, at least two were needed to enhance everyone.
Tang Zheng, meanwhile, controlled the other angel, the Tranquility Dominion Angel, and had it fly into the air first.
"All of you, assist Leader Tang!" Captain Nigun shouted.
"3rd Tier Angel Summoning: Flame Archangel!"
"3rd Tier Angel Summoning: Flame Archangel!"
"[...]"!
The Sunlight Scripture unit no longer held back. In unison, they all summoned Flame Archangels wielding Flame Swords.
Led by the Tranquility Dominion Angel summoned by Tang Zheng, the host of Flame Archangels soared into the air, charging toward the Gray-robed Mage.
The Cleric Corps led by Kelart all showed expressions of astonishment, clearly finding it incredible that every member of the Sunlight Scripture could summon 3rd Tier Flame Archangels.
"An 80-man unit of 3rd Tier faith-based magic casters."
Kelart's pupils contracted. She quickly suppressed her rising shock, knowing that now was not the time to dwell on it.
The chaotic situation.
Gradually, Tang Zheng's side began to seize the initiative.
Only the Death Knight, relying on its high defense equivalent to level 40, as well as a series of special undead traits like tirelessness, completely suppressed Gagaran and the others.
"Are they still not going to play their trump card?"
Seeing that the Death Knight had clearly appeared, yet neither Captain Nigun nor Kelart showed any intention of using their trump cards.
Tang Zheng couldn't help but frown. What were these two waiting for?
Are they on guard against the Zuranon Alliance Leader?
Right now, as long as they dealt with the Death Knight, all the Undead it had spawned would perish along with it, or become low-tier, mindless common Zombies and Animated Dead.
"No matter the situation, humans will always have their own agendas."
Tang Zheng took a deep breath, observing the entire battlefield while controlling the Tranquility Dominion Angel's attack.
Clementine really is a problem!
The entire battlefield gradually descended into a stalemate.
As time went on, the members of the Holy Knight Order who had spread out to face the vast number of Undead began to suffer casualties.
Even with the continuous healing and magic buffs from the Cleric Corps, while injuries could be healed, stamina could not be restored. "Casualties" began to appear!
(end of chapter)