Chapter 802. Battle at Midnight
For the remaining 2,159,000 souls, Jack used 1,900,000 souls to max-level his Wings of Devastation skill. This skill was not ideal during a chaotic battle since it would hit allies as well, but it was a very effective skill to initiate a battle in a large-scale war. Not only did it deal high damage, but it also hit a very large area and might cause Dizzy, creating an opening for allies to do follow-up attacks.
After being max-leveled, Wings of Devastation dealt 1000% damage. The chance to inflict Dizzy also increased to 50%, meaning half of those that were struck by this skill would be effectively incapacitated for a short duration.
Jack then used 200,000 to level up his Spirit Weapon again to level 18, increasing its duration to nine minutes.
The 27 free attribute points from leveling up he spent them all to his Wisdom stat. Combined with other bonuses, his wisdom was now 709. It was, however, still the lowest stat compared to his other attributes.
Jack waited for his Asura's skill to come off cooldown before practicing again. With six arms, the area available for swinging his swords decreased even more. He needed better coordination between the six arms, otherwise, they were just hindering each other during his martial art execution.
Luckily, the Asura skill didn't have too long a cooldown. He activated the skill every one hour to get used to it. Afterward, he spent a few hours resting before the coming showdown.
When it was midnight, everyone was ready.
The left-wing of the reinforcement army was now led by Jack. After losing a number during the battle to destroy the siege weapons, the left-wing still had 16,500 troops combination of natives and outworlders. Such a number covered a large area, so not all the exp gained by the natives would be sent his way. So, Jack divided his army into three and assigned an outworlder leader to each to not waste the exp gathering system. He led a legion of 6,500 troops, while John led a regiment of 5,000. The other 5,000 he offered for Leavemealone to lead.
The reason was that Leavemealone would need a large amount of exp to feed his Fire God Blessing once it was upgraded. Jack had given Leavemealone the materials needed to upgrade that divine skill. Leavemealone was level 49. Jack advised him to wait until he received his level 50 standard skill before upgrading the divine skill. With the help of the army, it shouldn't take long.
Leavemealone declined at first. First, he knew nothing of leading an army. Second, he didn't like to owe anyone a favor. Jack informed him that it was only a formality to take advantage of the world system. He didn't truly have to do the leading. Jack had placed Captain Salem by Leavemealone's side to do the actual leading. Leavemealone was still hesitant, but after Domon advised him to accept, he obeyed. He insisted to form a party with Domon though, to share the gained exp with his master.
For John's side, Jack asked him to form a party with the other Everlasting Heavenly Legends' core members, like Bowler, Grace, and Jet. He was complaining at first, but he still did it. Jack was the only one without a party. Considering he had three levels and one divine skill to feed, no one could blame him.
They were making preparation, but on the façade, the reinforcement army still maintained a show as if they were resting during the night.
On Therribus' army's side, the three siege weapons never stopped operating. Even throughout the night, the trebuchets continued to throw rocks at the Fort's wall. The wall's HP was now around 30% already. It should fall in the morning.
Even though it was night, the sentries maintained close watch of their surroundings. When they saw heavy movements from the reinforcement army, they immediately sounded the alarms. Everyone got into ready positions.
Therribus came out of his tent. Garland and Claudius were already on standby outside.
"They finally can't keep their calm any longer, eh?" Garland sneered.
"It is expected. By tomorrow morning, the fort will fall. They must have bet that they can get a jump on us with a night attack," Claudius said.
"Is everyone ready?" Therribus asked.
"The defensive arrangement around the siege weapons is solid. I guarantee they won't be able to get to the weapons," Claudius said.
Therribus nodded. "If they insist on attacking, we will crush them. I don't like spilling the blood of our people, but if they give me no choice, then they have themselves to blame. As for the outworlders, leave none alive!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" Both Garland and Claudius uttered.
The reinforcement army started moving forward. All three wings advanced at the same time. Seeing the advance, Therribus understood the reinforcement army intended to have an all-out battle this time.
Therribus was not concerned. The reinforcement army's three wings consisted of a mix between 25,500 natives and 22,000 outworlders. On his side, he kept 50,000 soldiers maintaining Fort Garadhor's encirclement. 10,000 soldiers protecting the siege weapons. 5,000 in reserve, and 40,000 main army ready to receive the reinforcement army's attack.
They didn't worry if the reinforcement army used the same trick to target their encirclement army. Firstly, because the encirclement army had more soldiers this time. Secondly, because the radius of the encirclement had been reduced, thus now there were more troops in an area compared to before. Thirdly, there were 5,000 troops in reserve ready to assist if needed.
Even with only 40,000 troops, Therribus was confident he won't face difficulty against the incoming attack because half of the attacking army consisted of outworlders. Additionally, this time they were the ones in a defensive position, so the enemies couldn't utilize any advantage in terrain. The land Therribus' army was occupying was simple flat land.
Therribus's main army positioned themselves so the siege weapons were behind them. If the reinforcement army wished to get to the machines, they first had to break through the 40,000 troops of the main army. Then they still need to fight through the 10,000 defensive troops protecting the siege weapons. It was a tall order for the reinforcement army.
As the reinforcement army approached, Therribus' army noticed their movements were not as expected. The reinforcement army charged in the direction slightly to the West.
"Where are they going? Aren't they targeting the siege weapons?" Garland asked after seeing the enemy's movement.
"Probably another misdirection," Claudius said.
"It doesn't matter. The majority of their troops are there. Even if they stash hidden troops somewhere, it will be no more than one regiment, they won't be able to create trouble as they did before," Therribus said. "Go! Crush them!"
Both Garland and Claudius heeded the command. They then led the main army and headed towards where the reinforcement army was charging at. Therribus stayed behind with the troops that protected the siege weapons.
The reinforcement army's charge brought them close to part of the encirclement army facing the fort's gate. The encirclement army braced themselves as the reinforcement army was upon them. Even if the encirclement army at that part was outnumbered, they were not worried, because their main army was approaching.
Soon, Therribus' main army crashed into the reinforcement army who was already in battle with the encirclement army.
Everyone fought fiercely.
On the left-wing's side, Jack used Wings of Devastation to initiate the battle. He didn't use Overlimit and Lightning God Barrage right from the start this time. Considering this was an all-out attack, he might be facing a high-level officer later. So, he was saving his trump cards in case that happened.
Jack had Miller and Bailey by his sides. He had these natives clash directly while he supported them by sneaking attacks when possible. He summoned all his aides, Arlcard, Ice Demon Fiend, Therras, and his wolves. He cast Magic Field in the middle of the magic soldiers' rank to enhance them.
Together with Jack's left-wing army, Guilds' armies were mixed inside. They charged together and assisted the reinforcement army, bolstering the number. The five Ice Cannon Tanks led the guild army on land while Penny, the lava dragonet, led the Eagle Rider Hunters in the air.
While the battle raged on, White Death and his 7,000 outworlders army watched from the side. Therribus had ignored this outworlder force and just give them the liberty to do as they wish. If they wish to gather contribution points, they were free to attack the enemy anytime.
"This is our chance," White Death said.
"Chance for what?" Manager Steelhand asked. "We will get crushed if we join that battle."
"Not there. There!" White Death pointed at the reinforcement army's camp. The whole army had left but the tents were still there. At the center of this camp, several people were there. In front of each of them was the guild mobile platform. John and the other six guild leaders were there, controlling their guild armies.
"If we destroy their platforms, their guild armies will be unsummoned," White Death explained. "I'm pretty sure that will net us a decent number of war contribution points with minimal effort."
Hearing that, the other leaders following White Death agreed. Their 7,000 armies immediately went towards the reinforcement army's camp.
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