Li brushed creature gore from his gauntlets as he stood amid the smoking remains of the {Black Gripper}. Around him, the battlefield was already littered with the corpses of hundreds of creatures, but his enhanced hearing told him there were even more rolling forward, fully intent on tearing him and the others to pieces.

"Welcome to the shit show, boys. Ready your swords and spears as you lend a hand to fight the—" Vincent’s voice crackled through the communication crystal from his position on the wall.

Li clicked his tongue, "Man, you are so annoying."

Stan struggled to his feet, his golden saber expanding until it was almost as large as he was. With a loud grunt, he swung his blade and sliced a beast in half.

"Li, don’t be so mean."

Wiping the blood off his face, his skin took on a bronze hue as runes appeared on it. Leaping off the body of the {Black Gripper}, he dove right into the slaughter alongside Haru and the others as his words trailed off.

A shrill whistle came from above as Blaze made his descent as well. A cyclone of flames poured down from the darker skies, bathing and scorching an entire swathe of land into oblivion.

From above, Jenny’s voice cut through the communications. "Li, the tide swarming your location is getting restless. You are about to be overrun."

Li nodded grimly. He’d suspected as much. With how much damage they were dealing at this point, it was only par for the course.

Right now, they had established three points of attack. The wall where Vincent, Calio and Manny were attacking from, on the ground adjacent to the wall and opposite to the Devil Chasm, and of course, the sky from where Jenny and Sue launched their barrage.

With so much pressure, the Mutant Creatures, as chaotic and frenzied they were ,were beginning to act smarter, no longer running wildly, with some of them shrieking to the high heavens to create some form of unified assault.

"Vince, what is the situation?" He asked after a moment.

Vincent’s voice came in rather subdued.

"We’ve managed to hold on. The wall has yet to be breached."

Li nodded then spoke to his crystal comms again,

"Sue."

Sue’s tired voice came in a moment later.

"I used a lot of mana the last time, so I am still ecovering from that bombardment spell," Sue replied from the Blood Skyray circling overhead.

"But I might have one more large-scale attack in me if we really need it."

Li’s tactical mind processed the information quickly.

He turned to glance at Blaze who had just descended,

"What do you think?"

Blaze’s impassive expression broke for a moment,

"The only thing we can do." He said as he brandished his spear.

"At this point, the only thing we can do is get messy."

He paused for a moment, ’On the bright side, these things might as well be a mini treasure trove filled with precious mana shards.’

That part, he didn’t say out loud of course.

The regrouped creatures were beginning their advance, moving with more caution than their predecessors but also more coordination. Li could see {Bone Rats} working in coordinated packs, {Crystal Mantises} providing cover for advancing {Shell Walkers}, and overhead, {Shadow Crawlers} were attempting flanking maneuvers.

"Here they come," Vincent announced, his rifle speaking as the first of the advancing creatures came into range. A {Bone Rat} pack leader’s head exploded in a shower of bone fragments, causing momentary confusion in the ranks.

From the high wall, Calio’s mana threads spread unseen, wrapping around his body as well as stretching into the distance.

He pulled his sword out of its sheath, and with a mental command, the threads of mana contracted, launching him forward at an astonishing speed.

Maneuvering above the tide of bodies, his blade cut through soft flesh, creating a rain of blood as he blitzed through.

"Contact front!" Stalin called out excitedly, his chainsaw roaring to life as a group of {Shell Walkers} broke through the thread barriers. The magical weapon bit deep into chitinous armor, but the creatures’ natural toughness meant each kill took some time even with his incredible armaments.

Li launched himself into the fray as well, his explosive punches clearing space around the overwhelmed Golden Angels. But for every creature he dropped, two more seemed to take its place.

On the wall, Vincent locked his lips as his shoulder jerked back with another heavy shot from his sniper/cannon. The magically empowered bullet cracked right through the skull of his target, felling it in an instant.

Suddenly his eyes widened,

"Well, I’ll be damned."

Amidst the shrieks, roars and howls, Li heard his voice.

His brows furrowed,

"What is it this time?"

"I don’t know if you’ll want to see this." Vincent muttered hesitantly.

Li risked a glance in the indicated direction and felt his blood run cold. A figure was standing on a distant rise, clearly visible despite the distance. It was humanoid but wrong in ways that made his skin crawl with fear at the center of its head was an enormous eye he could make out even from so far out. Even from this far away, he could see that it was watching the battle with obvious intelligence.

"Who would have thought there would be a coordinator? And from what it looks like, we might have our very first Tier 3 of the day. How exciting."

Li gritted his teeth, "Exciting my ass! Tell Cain to get his ass down here now."

Regardless of how powerful he was, Li was not delusional enough to believe they could take on a whole Tier 3 being on their own at the moment.

However, there was someone he knew would be able to do so.

Jenny seemed to have spotted this nightmarish apparition as well, as her voice wormed into the ears of both men

"Vincent. Can you reach it from here?"

"Maybe," Vincent replied then shrugged, his scope already trained on the distant watcher.

"It’s at the extreme edge of my effective range, and I’d only be able to get one shot in if it decides to make a move."

"Let’s give it a probing shot." Jenny immediately said.

Vincent raised a brow,

"My... What’s gotten into you today? You seem awfully confident."

On the back of the {Blood Skyray}, Jenny’s eyes had begun to glow a deep violet.

Her rifle was roughly held to her shoulder as her hair wildly fluttered in the wind.

Hearing no reply, Vincent chuckled then took in a deep breath.

His enhanced mind and senses began to whirl into action, factoring in wind speed, distance, the slight tremors from the ongoing battle. His {Devil Eyes}enhanced his perception to superhuman levels, but even so, this would be the shot of a lifetime.

Jenny began making her own preparations as she charged her bullet with as much mana as was physically possible.

The air around her crackled with violet whips of energy.

"Now."

BANG!

The rifle’s report echoed across the battlefield like thunder.

"Headshot!"