Back on the wall the combined army was still firing fiercely. The orcs coming together with the boss pushed towards the wall, threatening to take it down. But spears, arrows, and magic took their lives one by one. Gradually the enemies fell, and the army got some room to breathe.
More and more eyes turned towards Final Fend observing the young man's fight. Within the guild Final Fend was a prominent figure, especially since he didn't shy away from the spotlight. Many girls admired the young, handsome, and rich man. Their eyes sparkled as they watched him valiantly fight against the tall mist orc.
Watching as Eratxung threw his massive body at Final Fend many held their breaths. However, the fight was more or less over. Final Fend and Eratxung brutishly exchanged attacks. At this point Final Fend didn't have much to fear. With the help of a health potion, he comfortably brought the boss to fall.
Instantly the red dome marking their battlefield turned into a shooting star, vanishing into the distance. Final Fend took a deep breath while not forgetting to strike a stylish pose. But suddenly he felt a chill run down his spine.
As the dome vanished Final Fend realized that he was in the middle of the enemy army. Multiple pairs of eyes turned towards him. Final Fend smiled wryly, afraid that he had to give up one of his lives here.
Suddenly the last orc surviving let out a deep roar. Final Fend could already see himself being besieged from all sides. But against his expectation the enemies didn't attack him. Instead, they began to escape!
Final Fend's eyes lit up with relief. He began to run against the stream and made it back to the wall in one piece. As he entered, he was warmly welcomed by the guild members, with Braag taking the lead.
"Nice fight, youngster! I couldn't have done better!"
"We all know you're not made for one v. one battles, old man. Don't pretend.", answered Final Fend with a laugh. Meanwhile the congratulations of the others came from all sides.
"Final Fend, that was awesome!"
"You soloed a boss!"
"You're so heroic."
"Final Fend, are you hurt? Here, let big sister heal you."
"Heal?! You're not even a healer! Stay away from my Final Fend!"
A few bold girls pushed close to Final Fend trying to massage him under the guise of healing. Braag watched from the side feeling a bit jea…
No, no, no! You have a loving wife and child! If anything, it should be Final Fend who is jealous of you!
Braag nodded inwardly. Thinking of his daughter's smile his emotions immediately stabilized. Watching Final Fend he could only pity the young man, who obviously didn't know what real happiness was!
The scene lasted for a couple dozen seconds before Liam's orders came in the guild chat, warning everyone not to slack off.
[Bleary Mirage: Guys! Back to work, don't underestimate the enemy!]
[Lenn the Rightous: What work though? The wall barely took any damage.]
[Bleary Mirage: Get resources, refill potions and food, transport material! Don't think this is over yet! We barely made it through the tutorial!]
Liam frowned heavily. He noticed how the players started to underestimate the territory war. He even wrote Lenn privately, warning him to refrain from questioning orders.
Usually Liam was not that strict, but this was an important war. Luckily Lenn showed acceptance and apologized.
With Liam's stern reminder the players got to work, albeit somewhat half-heartedly. They still continued to demolish houses and transport the materials towards the wall to be used in repairs. The alchemists got increasingly proficient in producing revitalization potions, delivering it to the army.
Meanwhile some of the NPCs' weapons, especially the bows, showed signs of wear and tear. The blacksmiths back in the town worked tirelessly to produce new weapons. Focusing on speed the quality lacked somewhat but it was good enough for the last-minute recruits.
Everyone busied themselves and soon the break was over. The wall was manned again and the countdown reached zero. Thousands of stern eyes were focused on the mines.
A moment later the familiar lizards slowly walked out. There were only a few elites mixed in, which only caused the players to look down on them. However, this time the mist dwarves appeared right from the beginning. Using the lizards as cover they pushed towards the wall.
"Archers, fire! Spears, fire!"
Orders echoed through the battlefield as the army got to work. The first lizards fell quickly. As the players profited from the fight and the average level increased slowly, the enemies also fell earlier. It wasn't apparent when only looking at a single player, but when looking from above one would notice that the lizards struggled to advance compared to the first wave.
"Keep it up!"
"We got this!"
"Careful, the dwarves are attacking!"
Suddenly the mist dwarves broke out of the advancing army and rushed to the wall while using the mist as cover. The players kept their cool. They already knew how to handle the enemies.
Focusing their attacks on the dwarves they managed to take down most of them. Only about a dozen got close enough to scale the walls, where they were immediately welcomed by teams of players blocking their way.
However, suddenly the situation changed. The dwarves revealed a new trick, throwing bottles of poison in all direction.
"What's that?!"
"Quick! Stop them! Cut them down!"
The players were anxious and instantly drowned the dwarves in attacks. Under the fierce barrage the mist dwarves didn't hold on for long, but the damage was already done. A strange poisonous liquid splashed wherever the bottles shattered. The smell of decay was nauseating as the poison stuck to the soldiers, damaging them for up to 300HP per second. But this wasn't the worst of it as the poison also caused a weakening effect.
"Where did my damage go?"
"Healer! I need a healer!"
For the first time in the war the healers were under great stress. Balm tried to coordinate the situation:
"You guys, stand closer together, we can't waste our AOE spells! Where are our antidotes?! Logistic teams! Who has anti-poison spells? You, Glamon? Good, wait until they all stand closer together!"
The situation was also a test for Balm. But after being a guild leader for a few months she was gradually getting used to giving orders. Observing from the central tower she had a perfect overview which made her job much easier.
However, the poison was still only a danger at certain spots, affecting at most two hundred people. The rest continued firing at the enemy army. Under the dense attacks the lizards continued to struggle, not even able to reach halfway towards the wall.
But the situation changed when trembles suddenly came from the mines. The mist surged and cracks formed in the solid rocks. Suddenly the mine entrance shattered as a terrifying monster pushed its body out. It was a tall lizard, its shoulders standing at a height of ten meters. Its long, black tail moved behind its body, casually shattering the rocks in its surroundings. There was a hint of intelligence in its red, slit-like eyes.
Liam instantly recognized the danger. He let go of the spear in his hand and quickly manned the ballista behind him. He aimed carefully, estimating the distance. Yet before he could shoot the giant lizard let out a deafening roar. For a moment it was the only sound on the battlefield.
A second later the other lizards began to echo the roar. Their strange calls combined to a raging wave which tortured everyone's eardrum. Watchful Eye frowned. Ignoring the unpleasant noise he stared at the lizards, noticing how all of their eyes turned red. He got an ominous premonition.
[Watchful Eye: Look at their eyes…]
[Cyclone: Damn, they look angry.]
[Bleary Mirage: Everyone, continue firing! The lizards will begin to rampage. It won't take long until they reach the walls!]
Looking at the sea of angry lizards everyone suddenly felt the pressure. No one dared to slack off as they began to fire.
Immediately the atmosphere on the battlefield changed, turning incredibly tense. The lizards emitted a red aura and suddenly began to speed up, pushing towards the wall. Bleary Mirage focused his ballista on the giant lizard, firing a heavy, metallic bolt. It sailed through the air and pierced deeply into the lizard's chest.
[-5000!]
The ballista on the other side was controlled by a new recruit called Code Red. She was a middle-aged woman. Her expressionless face and neatly shaved hair gave her the fierce look one would expect from an army veteran. Code Red had experience with eradicating waves of beasts, her aim not much worse than Liam's, hitting the lizard's leg.
[-5000!]
While two NPCs assisted him with reloading Liam quickly inspected the giant lizard.
[Mist black-scaled giant lizard
Rank: Lord
Level: 38
HP: 30.000/40.000]
Just like its smaller brethren the lizard was a walking tank with an immense HP pool. But its most frightening ability was still the skill which caused the other lizards to go on a rampage.