A few moments after eliminating the dark mage, Eithne was drenched in her own blood. Her transformation had taken a heavy toll on her body.
Midas quickly approached the wounded elf.
"You're a mess."
"Moments like this make me appreciate Victoria even more."
The blood-soaked elf let out a smile. The memory of her beloved filled her with joy even in such a precarious state.
"You did well. Now that we've dealt with that guy, I can get rid of the behemoths."
Midas quickly approached one of the nearby elves.
"Hurry, go fetch healers and request General Michael's help."
"No need to call him."
Eithne, still lying on the ground, let her long ears droop down.
Is this how she expresses her embarrassment?
Midas had always been intrigued by how closely Eithne's emotions were linked to her bodily expressions.
Just a few minutes later, the healers arrived along with news of the battles taking place on the ground and in other areas of the wall.
Orcium and Victoria were facing the real attack, which was happening right below us.
The North Wall had held, yet the casualties were numerous.
Alnis was on her way to support the southern zone.
The entire damn wall had been destroyed.
"What about Hernan? And the casualties between the two legions?"
"Luckily, there weren't many soldier casualties, General Midas, but losing the whole wall is catastrophic. General Hernan was able to regroup with his men and is plugging the East Wall."
"Then the real problem is the underground tunnels in the residential area."
All I want is to head out right now and help my comrades, but first I must stop the Behemoths.
"And what about Michael? What's happening with the South Wall?"
"General, we lost contact with the South Wall very recently. The last we knew, they were helping their men and Hernan's so they could reorganize."
I should give up hope that Michael will help us then.
My brow furrowed in a scowl of rage.
It was insultingly clear that what was happening up here was a distraction, and being right in the war council brought me no happiness.
To be fair, few things brought me happiness at the end of the world.
"But everything is meant to change today, right?" —I sighed deeply—.
"Midas."
Ariel spoke telepathically.
"There's a massive number of portals opening just a few kilometers from the wall."
I see… The real attack is about to begin.
"You have better sight than me. What nightmare creatures are coming out of them?"
"I see countless undead, hellhounds, dungeon guards, satyrs… and damn, they've brought everything. No point in naming them all. The more I look, the more nightmare creatures appear."
"Alright… let's give it our best."
"The Behemoths are approaching."
"Perfect."
I took another Manemite spear. Then, the clouds in the sky parted, which didn't bode well. Something will come out of those clouds.
Large figures with blackish scales descended from the horizon.
Everyone recognized them immediately: legendary creatures that caused destruction across continents.
"Dragons."
Their flesh falling to pieces, they descended.
It's good that, at least, they no longer have the ability to use magic.
"Midas, focus on the Behemoths. I'll take care of the dragons."
"Thank you, Ariel."
"Mmmm, let's see… five Behemoths. Very well, five spears. I won't hold back."
Midas hurried to the front of the wall and summoned one of the Manemite spears, letting its power flood his body once again.
The Behemoths were slow by nature.
They were still hundreds of meters from the wall.
"This is as far as you go, beasts. I won't allow a single step further."
We already have enough problems without adding another.
I looked at Eithne, who was being tended to.
"Did I ever tell you I was a javelin champion in a tournament?"
Eithne looked at me puzzled that I would bring that up now.
"Well, if you throw as well as you fight, then we're saved."
"Hahaha, just stay there and watch."
"This is the power of the chosen of thunder."
Electric currents flooded my body again, reacting with the Manemite spear.
I took a deep breath and prepared my throw.
First, I took the steps to build momentum, placing myself in the ideal stance.
My right arm stretched back, recruiting the most muscles in my body.
My left arm stabilized my position, and at that moment, I let the whip that my right arm had become fly forward.
A shockwave echoed from where I stood due to the power of the throw, which aimed directly at the head of one of the Behemoths.
The spear flew cleanly to the target, and a fierce impact, followed by an explosion unleashing all the energy of the lightning, could be heard.
The spear destroyed the beast's head, which fell lifeless to the ground as life escaped its body.
Then I prepared for the second throw, aiming again at the head.
Normally I would like to aim for the heart, but I'm not sure if these things have their hearts in the same place as animals. In fact, I don't even know if they have one.
Then I threw again, with a similar result.
The beast's brain was destroyed, and it fell, its massive body hitting the ground, causing the earth to tremble from the colossal creature's impact.
"Pathetic beasts… killing them is one of the few things I can enjoy while being in this place."
Midas threw for the third time.
However, this time the spear hit the beast's chest, which let out screams like those of an elephant.
But after a while, the light of life disappeared from the eyes of that Behemoth.
"Alright… only two left."
Meanwhile, Ariel's legion, the most powerful, with all members being at least channelers, was fighting no fewer than thirty dragons.
The view of the Hero of Humanity was simply marvelous.
Ariel wore her armor, which was a work of art in itself.
It covered her entire body, giving her an imposing appearance despite her small stature.
The golden patterns on it seemed to shine even more with her angelic radiance, and the tiara on her head emitted a blinding light that healed her army.
Ariel stood defiantly in front of the formation, leading the charge.
Her spear quickly transformed into a giant, splitting the body of one of the dragon corpses in half… and she advanced.
She pierced another, purifying it with her paladin skills, causing considerable damage.
The third, much larger than the previous, approached from behind, but her legion thwarted the ambush.
Ariel swung her giant spear and severed its head.
However, the beast's body still moved, but the rest of the angels took advantage of the corpse's lack of vision and purified it until it disappeared in ashes.
Then, the fourth attacked from below, rising.
Ariel could have dodged but chose to take the impact.
The dragon tried to bite her, but Ariel stood above its nose, between its eyes.
As the dragon tried to descend and get rid of her, Ariel, having fulfilled her purpose by touching the dead dragon, let herself fall.
The fourth dragon corpse prepared a toxic breath attack, but at that moment, Ariel's tiara shone and a beam of sunlight fell from the sky, destroying the dragon's upper part and exploding in a toxic cloud from its breath.
These corpses moved unnaturally for acting purely by instinct… and now I knew a necromancer was controlling them.
The necromancer controlling them, probably sensing the connection Ariel had traced through the ether, wanted to overwhelm her, falling with all at once.
However, Ariel quickly dodged the enclosure, gliding gracefully.
She was the queen of the skies.
More than the daughter of the Sun God, she seemed like the very God of War, enraged.
The sixth dragon attacked her.
However, just as it neared and seemed to connect, Ariel implanted a rune in the beasts and moved away quickly.
The seventh attacked head-on, and Ariel, as if it were a challenge, confronted the dragon directly.
The corpse planned to use its body and kinetic force to harm the Angel of Humanity.
But how could a dying body compare to a warrior who had reached semi-transcendent rank?
Ariel and the dragon collided.
But all that happened was that the dragon's body shattered and deformed from the impact against Ariel, as if it had crashed into the ground.
The eighth and ninth attacked her from left and right, but she was too fast.
She ascended into the skies, and from above, manifested a giant spear-shaped aura, crushing the two dragon corpses to the ground.
Ariel was unstoppable and didn't seem tired in the slightest.
She didn't stop, not even when the tenth fell as futilely as the others.
At that moment, she had fully connected with the location of the necromancer controlling them, through the rune she had placed on the wounded dragon corpse.
Ariel's halo lit up again, and a beam of sunlight pulverized a nearby area on the outskirts of Último Bastión.
Having lost the one giving orders, the rest of the dragon corpses acted purely on instinct and no longer posed a threat.
Ariel's legion of angels eliminated them one by one, attacking like a nest of wasps.
Midas had long killed the last Behemoth and was watching Ariel's fight.
"She's truly marvelous."
But at that moment, the ground shook, and the center of Último Bastión was opened.
Where the central area had been, a huge hole emerged, from which creatures began pouring out.
Eithne sobbed and covered her mouth with her hand, trembling.
"No… Victoria…"
This meant only one thing: Orcium and the other generals had lost against whatever attacked them.
"Midas, the situation has changed. We're abandoning the walls and fortifying the depths of Último Bastión. The walls are lost."
Ariel gave me the sad news of our defeat, impassive as always.
"I'll support Hernan. Eithne, take one of the spears. I'll take the remaining nine."
"No, I'm coming with you. I won't leave Victoria alone."
Eithne looked at me with determination.
"Then, let's move. Let's save Victoria."
We headed to the center of Último Bastión, fighting the beasts along the way.
None were a match for my swordsmanship and Eithne's aim.
When we finally reached the large hole, we found Hernan in his stone armor, fighting.
"Hernan! DON'T LET IT MOVE!"
In the center, a huge serpentine creature with seven arms and five freshly cut stumps rose.
It hissed and roared uncontrollably, using its arms to destroy anyone from Hernan's or my legions.
However, that deadly dance stopped when stone hands rose and held five of the creature's remaining seven arms.
I drew a Manemite spear and, still in the air, aimed at one of its limbs.
The spear shot out at near imperceptible speed, severing an arm.
"Six left."
I quickly threw two more, destroying the remaining limbs.
The creature, deprived of its limbs, gathered all the ether left in its giant eyes, preparing for an attack.
But at that moment, Eithne accurately shot both of its eyes with wind-blessed arrows.
Once completely restrained by Hernan, he unleashed all his strength, crushing the creature into ground meat.
However, more monsters soon emerged from the underground: giant beetles wielding fierce halberds, accompanied by sinister mastodons whose bodies emitted lava.
"Midas… this looks pretty bad."
"I know. Luckily, these are just the remnants that survived the fight underground."
Most of the beetles' and mastodons' shells were broken.
Also, the absence of enemy generals was proof of it.
"Hernan, any news from Victoria?"
"No."
Eithne's face clouded instantly.
"But she could still be fighting. If she's alive, we'll meet at the center of Último Bastión, according to Ariel's orders."
Hernan tried to console her.
I looked around, seeing the destroyed city and the colossal hole from which creatures still poured out, and a single question filled my mind.
"For the God of Thunder, what happened here?"