The Gamer's POV-Chapter 272: Battle of the Lords: Absolute Carnage

The Hollow Ones never stopped moving as they kept charging toward the white shore. However, upon Argentos’s command, a group of archers broke from the formation and spread toward the edges of the bridge. They aimed down and opened fire at the Lake of Eyes, picking off the targets below.

They did this to ensure the path remained open for the cadets trailing behind, preventing them from being obstructed by any Nagas trying to climb onto the bridge. Despite the Nagas being extremely fast underwater, the archers managed to take out several of the monsters mid-climb, effectively pinning the rest of the swarm back into the depths.

As for Argentos and the rest of his kind, it didn’t take long for them to eventually pour off the bridge and onto the shore. Since they were incapable of exhaustion, they maintained their relentless pace across the white sand until they finally crashed into the Nagas waiting for them on the beach.

It was chaos when they arrived, and that chaos grew into absolute carnage when their giants also reached the sand.

The obsidian stone giants which all had four hands held massive spears that were almost as tall as them, and despite their size, their speed was incredible.

With all four arms working in perfect synchronization, the giants raised their spears in wide, lethal arcs, slamming the Nagas brutally into the sand and sending up sprays of blood and sand.

Now, the Nagas were strong, of course. As Grade Three, they were formidable opponents that would have easily overwhelmed any other creature. But unfortunately, their opponents were the Hollow Ones. Their magic didn’t work against them, and since the Hollow Ones were masters of combat, together with their giants, they felled the Nagas in heaps of broken scales and spilled blood.

All the Nagas could do was rely on their speed to avoid the weapons of the opponents, while also trying to launch lunging desperate attacks with their claws at the weakness of the Hollow Ones.

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Back on the bridge...

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The bridge was now divided into two.

The small section of the bridge leading up to the shore was held by archers, whose constant fire stopped the Nagas from gaining any ground.

However, from the point where the archers’ line ended to where the cadets began, things were different.

You see, the majority of the Nagas in the lake had not bothered with the Hollow Ones and had focused on the cadets instead. Because of this, the cadets couldn’t continue their advance like the Hollow Ones did, and had to halt their march and form a defensive perimeter to survive the onslaught.

More and more Nagas spilled onto the bridge with every passing second, and they slithered toward the defensive line with frightening, serpentine speed that seemed challenging for the Grade Two cadets.

However, around the point where Cedric and the Vanguards stood, the momentum was quite different. Rather than the Nagas overwhelming the line, the cadets managed to destroy them in great numbers.

For instance, Celeste, who had taken her demoness form, fought with the terrifying grace of a Grade Three. Not only did her speed surpass that of the Nagas, making her a blur of flames, but even her strength was on another level.

With savage swipes of her claws, she tore apart Naga after Naga, and what made her even more deadly was the fact that for some reason, the Gaze of Petrification did not seem to work on her.

She loomed over a Naga, stared the creature directly in its emerald, reptilian eyes, then swiped her claws in a vicious, horizontal arc, severing the Naga’s head in two and sending the upper half spinning into the air like a discarded toy.

The only attacks that seemed to work on her a bit were the poison from the long, whip-like, bifurcated tongues of the Nagas. Even then, those strikes only managed to touch her during the moments she threw herself between a Naga and a struggling cadet.

Like that one time when she lunged forward, grabbing a Naga’s tongue which was inches away from the throat of a young, wide-eyed boy.

The boy was busy tackling a Naga when another Naga ambushed him from the blind side. Celeste reached out, grabbed the tongue mid-air, then wrenched it out from the creature’s throat with a sickening tear of muscle and sinew. The Naga collapsed in a heap of silent agony, while the black, acidic liquid from the tongue hissed against Celeste’s palm. Green veins snaked across her gray skin, spreading all the way up to her neck. However, unlike the cadets, who would have exploded into a heap of foul-smelling green goo within seconds, Celeste did not. Instead, her movements seemed to slow as time went by, almost as if she had received a debuff.

The only time she collapsed was after coming into contact with their poison multiple times, and even then her entire body restored itself after a few moments.

This showed that although the demons weren’t completely immune to the poison, they possessed a high-tier resistance to it.

Celeste aside, even Asmodeus was a titan on the bridge. He seemed to have some ability that boosted his strength and with his massive sword which was wreathed in roaring flames, he fought like a total berserker.

He leapt into the air with his sword raised high and when he descended, he split a Naga into two. The strength behind that blow was so immense that the sword buried itself deep into the stone, cracking the ground and sending a shockwave through the bridge.

Then with a savage, manic grin, he wrenched the blade free and with a speed that was utterly predatory, he pounced onto the next target and then the next.

Not too far from him, a few members of Princess Aurora’s party who had quickly collected themselves were also now fighting in a brutal display of strength.

Of course, unlike the Grade Three combatants who could take the creatures one-on-one, they had to cluster together, coordinating their strikes and fighting in teams to support each other. Still, even with their lower grade, they managed to hold their ground with a grim determination that kept the defensive line from buckling.

Now, it was important to note that even as the battle raged on, Cedric and many others in the middle of the formation didn’t join the fray. While a few individuals like Dion, Audrey, and some other members of Aurora’s party had departed to various parts of the bridge to support their fellow cadets, people like Cedric, Leon, Aurora, and the Vanguards remained at their posts, watching the battle unfold.

Eventually, Aurora exhaled a cold, misty breath as a spinning crown made of ice began to form atop her head. When it fully manifested, she turned to Cedric and spoke.

"I know it’s a bit too early for us Vanguards, but I can’t just watch anymore. I’ll join the fray and stay back for a little while to help and lead the cadets on the bridge. They need to hear my voice and see me for the battle cry to work on them, so I can’t leave with you just yet."

She closed her eyes and shook her head while saying that last part. She looked around at the many cadets who weren’t fighting, then added, "Go. Take the Vanguards and keep moving to the shore. I’ll come join you and the others in a bit. I won’t take long. I promise."

Cedric looked at her with a blank expression, then said, "I know things have gone completely awry, but if you stay behind to fight here, wouldn’t that expend your mana before you could even reach the shore? You do know we need all the strength we can muster for the Lords."

Aurora’s eyes darted around again, before settling back on him. Then, she sighed deeply, lowered her voice and said, "Do not worry. I have an essence core."