Boom!
The whole battlefield was surprised by an undeniably loud explosion. Turning their head to the source of the explosion, the people found Iliana, who was on Deacon's back, with her spear thrust forward.
She had managed to split Goap's energy ball in two with her spear, causing it to carve two trenches on the ground.
Everyone, especially those who and tasted how fearsome Goap's energy ball, sighed in amazement at what Iliana had managed to achieve. They could tell it wasn't easy to do that—they couldn't even guarantee if they could do that.
With that being said, they wondered how long Iliana would be able to last against Goap. The people who had been fighting him in a Mass Formation, after all, couldn't even last more than 10 minutes without no one dying.
Of course, no matter how interested they were in Iliana's fight against Goap, they still had their own fight. Turning their attention away from Iliana after a few seconds of looking her way, they focused on their fight again.
"We need to hurry—I reckon blocking another two more attacks is her limit," Edward exclaimed at the two Legion Commanders beside him. "We need to pierce this rank of Monster as soon as possible, and get inside the Mass Formation to save my brothers."
There were many Demons—mostly Low Class ones—surrounding the Mass Formation that protected the other four Princes, Edward's half-brothers.
It was easy to kill them, but their not so small amount made killing them take time. Time was, unfortunately, the most crucial element in the success of the rescue operation, and the Low Class Demons were ruining it.
No matter how many they killed—no matter how quick they killed the Demons, there seemed to be always more Demons filling up the space of the dead Demons. Edward and the others were frustrated because of this.
Their main objective in the operation, as its name suggested, was rescuing the Princes. As long as it was achieved, everything would get easier; they would be able to slowly retreat while fighting off the Demons chasing after them.
Boom!
It wasn't as easy as they thought it would be unfortunately. Even after counting on Iliana to distract Goap, they still couldn't pierce the rank of Demons surrounding the Mass Formation.
"Darn it! It's already the second attack!" Edward exclaimed nervously as he glanced at Iliana. "Soldiers, put your soul into your attack! Let us pierce this rank of Monsters, and take home everyone safely!"
Edward was mostly a quiet person. He didn't talk much; he would only talk when he felt the need to. Even while commanding the two Legions entrusted to him, he had never shouted even once—he didn't feel the need to.
"Uwoohh! For the life of our comrades!"
That was the first time they had heard Edward shout out loud, and, naturally, they were all excited because of that. They had, after all, only been hearing their Legion Commanders shout, so hearing Edward shout evoked something in them.
There was something special in his shout. They could feel the urgency, but also the encouragement; it burned their spirit in a unique way.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Great! The spirit is higher than before." Edward nodded gladly. Looking at Iliana's direction, he muttered, "I hope, like Basil, you will exceed our expectation, Miss. Iliana."
Extending his hand to the front, Edward summoned his Grimoire. His Grimoire materialized itself in seconds, and was immediately flipped open when it had completely materialized.
Choosing one of the hardest Spells he had written in his Grimoire, Edward cast it as quick as he could without minding the Mana consumption in the least bit.
It was a wide range Spell—he was planning to kill all of the Low Class Demons blocking his way with it.
As Edward's Mana overwhelmed the air, his five Magic Circles shone blindingly. Four of them, which were Grand Circles, shone the brightest, faintly distorting the air around them as they attracted the Natural Mana in it.
"[Pit of The Tortured]!"
As he finished casting the Spell, Edward said out loud the name of the Spell to finally activate it. The ground in front of him immediately caved in, creating a pit with a diameter of 70 meters.
Shriek!
Thousands of Demons fell into the pit that had devoured the Demons that had been there before the ground caved in. The other soldiers also helped pushing the Demons into the pit, gradually filling it with Demons.
The 20 meters deep pit was gradually filled. Just as half of it was filled with Demons, who were stacked on top of each other, Edward commanded the soldiers to stop pushing anymore Demons.
His Spell wasn't complete yet, so he wanted to complete it.
Snap!
Snapping his finger loudly, the circumference of the pit suddenly shot out fire at the Demons trapped inside. The mouth of the pit was also gradually closing up, allowing everyone to hear the Demons' scream of pain louder.
Some of the soldiers visibly cringed as they heard the scream of the Demons trapped in the pit. Many of them involuntarily thought what if the Demons had been them, and they couldn't help getting goosebumps.
Of course, none of them had any intention to stop in their advance because of that. Ignoring the loud scream of pain that seemed to come from the underworld, they pierced through the now panicked rank of Demons.
"This Spell... It reminds of what Basil did back in Raneil Barony, when we were rescuing the civilians who were held hostage," Whitney remarked under his breath.
"Basil cast two Spells instead of one though," Cray added. "I can't tell who is more impressive between the two—both of them are—but I can tell they are both violent."
"... Don't you feel ironic saying that?"
Cray, who received Whitney's gaze, merely shrugged as he threw the head of the Monster he had just plucked. His cheeks were painted with the blue blood of the Demons he had killed.
If it wasn't for the fact that Randalvine Magic Institute had made his uniform Hemophobic, it would have already been drenched in blood.
"Enough of that." Cray waved his hand. "Thing is controllable here—our strength is not really necessary."
"What are you talking about?"
Cray took a quick glance at Iliana. "Darn it, Whitney! You are usually quick-witted—why are you acting dumb now?" He clicked his tongue. "Iliana—just look at her! These people won't be able to save those four idiots before she is killed!"
Whitney immediately frowned at Cray's exclamation. It was a little bit too harsh for his taste, but he strangely could deny it; there was, unfortunately, a possibility of Iliana losing her life by how things were going.
Pondering about what he should do for a second, Whitney immediately nodded his head at Cray. The proposer of the idea, immediately enveloped his back with Wind Magic, ready to fly at Iliana.
"Wait!"
At that moment however, someone, or rather, some people stopped them.
"We will join too!"
"You guys..."
As Whitney and Cray turned around to look at the people who had stopped them, they were met with the faces of the students who attended Rehearsal Class. They were Litton, Monica, and Missy—their family.
"Why the hell all of you have only shown up now?!" Cray exclaimed angrily. "Our big sister is risking her arse right there! Don't grin—move your arses now!"
Whitney, Missy, Monica, and Litton smiled wryly at Cray's enthusiasm, but nodded their head regardless. They knew he was just worried about Iliana's safety, and they were too.
Separating themselves from the rest of the army, they went to Iliana's side with their own way.
...
Boom!
"Keugh! This bastard—each one of his moves is explosive."
Iliana gritted her teeth as she clutched her stomach in pain. She had been kicked down from Deacon by Goap, and now she was kneeling on the ground while trying to get up.
Deacon, who was worried about Iliana's safety, immediately dashed to her side. He then tried helping her up by nudging her with his muzzle.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Mom, are you alright?!"
"I am fine—mostly." Iliana chuckled as she stood herself up while using Deacon's muzzle as a support. "Some of my bones are broken, which is not a good news."
"We shall retreat!"
"Well, we can't." Iliana frowned. "I have taken this challenge by my own choice—I have to accomplish it."
"Swallow your pride and admit your defeat!" Deacon exclaimed. "This is war, Mom—you can lose your life! I bet you my head, Master won't like it if you die!"
Instead of agreeing with Deacon, or at least, listened to him, Iliana shook her head with a chuckle. Looking at him with a small smile, she patted his muzzle in reassurance.
"You are too consumed by your fear, Deacon. Trust me, I will survive—we will survive."
Deacon looked at Iliana bitterly—he knew he couldn't change Iliana's mind. Just like his Master, she was stubborn in her beliefs.
He, in the end, had to nod his head reluctantly and picked Iliana up. He let her mount him once again—this time, with his worry over her survival, filling his mind.
He looked at Goap with anticipation. There was a hint of fear in them. Goap returned his look with a smirk, and it made him tremble. He still didn't stop however; Iliana was adamant on confronting the abomination.
"You know, you are definitely different than any Pacifer I have met," Goap remarked. "Power-wise, you are not the best, however... Your spirit burns the brightest."
Goap suddenly appeared in front of Deacon. The King Saberwolf had anticipated that to happen, so he shoot his air sphere at Goap, surprising the Demon in the process.
Boom!
Goap, of course, could swat the attack away easily, however right after he swatted the air sphere away, Iliana appeared in front of him. She infused a huge amount of Mana into her spear, fully intending to make a hole in his chest.
Swish!
Goap, despite so, could still catch Iliana's spear with his bare hand. His stance remained firm, even though her thrust could completely blast the ground behind him.
"You know, I actually have a need for a Pacifer. Do you want to be that lucky Pacifer?"
As soon as Goap smiled mischievously, his sickeningly overwhelming pressure descended upon the entire battlefield. Everyone in the battlefield—humans and Demons alike froze like a statue upon being exposed to it.
Iliana, who was the closest to Goap, felt it the most. She couldn't help widening her eyes in shock at how powerful Goap actually was as she finally feared for her life now.
Unexpected things lead to another—this is how Basil's plan went off the course.