Chapter 279: Chapter 279 - Wall of Water
Karmina, the opposing lord who was about to launch her assault, surprisingly didn’t speak much. After that brief, confident declaration toward Atlas, she simply stepped back, her soldiers following suit, and within moments, they vanished behind the higher ridges of their island.
Atlas adjusted the height of his floating throne, drifting inward to gain a better view of the battlefield, with Edrik still standing calmly behind him.
This would be a different kind of battle altogether. For the first time, Atlas would be taking a purely defensive stance against the assault of a Scout Rank Lord.
After several minutes of tense silence, the countdown reached zero, signaling the official start of the war.
At least this time, communication would be easier. They had already unlocked a direct link to coordinate across the island inhabitants without delay.
Then, suddenly, massive portals materialized above the outer warzone of Gacha Haven. It spun violently, churning like a vortex, waiting to unleash whatever force was hidden within.
Atlas narrowed his eyes, focusing on the glowing distortion. His entire army braced for impact, expecting the enemy’s first move.
Yet seconds passed... and still, nothing emerged. The portal continued to swirl, silent and menacing.
"Interesting," Edrik murmured quietly.
"What’s your take on this?" Atlas asked without taking his eyes off the swirling portals.
"I think this lord will be... quite tricky to face," Edrik replied.
Moments later, movement flickered from one of the portals. Soldiers, fully armored, about thirty of them, stepped out in formation, their discipline immediately noticeable. They marched into line, shoulder to shoulder, and stood perfectly still.
"Thirty from a single portal," Atlas noted under his breath. "And there are six portals surrounding the island."
The enemy troops didn’t advance right away. They waited in the distance, holding their ground. Meanwhile, the Golem Statues of Gacha Haven had already activated. Their weapons began to glow faintly, casting light in the darkness. It almost looked like each one held a lantern, though those lights were weapons ready to strike.
Around five Guardian Sentinel Statues stationed nearest to the thirty soldiers started moving into position but did not yet engage; the enemy had not crossed into their attack range.
[Edrik: "Hold your ground. Let’s see what the enemy intends to do."]
Edrik’s command echoed through the link, his voice steady as he relayed orders across Gacha Haven’s forces.
In battles like these, Edrik usually handled tactical coordination. Though every decision was ultimately based on Atlas’s approval, Edrik’s proximity to him, and his intimate knowledge of nearly every soldier under their command, made him the perfect field commander. He understood the troops even better than Atlas himself.
But then, the air trembled with a deep, guttural roar that seemed to shake the entire island.
Atlas’s gaze snapped toward one of the portals just as something enormous began to emerge. Something that dwarfed the armored soldiers completely.
A massive creature, nearly four times the height of a man, stepped out in chains. Several handlers struggled to restrain it as its dark, horned form lurched forward. Its skin was as black as tar, its mouth filled with jagged teeth, and its single glaring eye burned like molten gold.
The creature roared again, the sound echoing through the night.
"Our opponent is most likely a Beast Master, my lord," Edrik said grimly.
Atlas gave a slow nod, his gaze fixed on the enemy’s movement. "If the situation allows it, we’ll use the Cube Resonance Beam. It’ll be easier to take down something that massive with concentrated fire."
Edrik nodded in agreement, his eyes never leaving the monstrous creature.
Then, the beast opened its enormous maw, tilting its head toward the sky. In the next instant, the air itself seemed to be pulled inward. The pressure dropped sharply as a swirling vortex of energy formed within its mouth.
Within seconds, that vortex expanded, growing rapidly until it matched the creature’s own immense size.
"Long-range attack incoming!" Atlas shouted.
"We can handle this," Edrik said calmly. "It seems they intend to trade long-range attacks with us."
A moment later, the massive energy sphere was released. It shot forward with terrifying speed, tearing through the air and the ground alike, dragging everything caught in its wake.
Five Guardian Sentinel Statues moved instantly, their weapons glowing as they advanced to intercept. But the sheer force of the blast obliterated them on impact, their bodies shattering like brittle stone against a storm.
At the very front, behind the curtain of water and directly in the path of the attack, stood Selvara, Dullorak, and the soldiers of Team Hydros. The two commanders stood side by side, their stances firm as they faced the incoming blast head-on.
The size of the energy sphere was monstrous; a direct hit could easily erase Dullorak, Selvara, and everyone standing behind them.
[Dullorak: "We will handle this, my lord."]
Dullorak’s deep, resonant voice carried through the comms.
Dullorak stood firm, the head of an old man attached to his body while nine other heads floated around him, their eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
"Are you ready, Selva?" he asked with a thin, confident smile.
Behind Selvara, the mages of Team Hydros quickly formed a link. Each of them placed a hand on the back or shoulder of the person in front, creating a chain of glowing connections. A faint blue current of energy began to ripple through them, converging toward Selvara.
She drew her trident, and her entire body lit up in shades of ocean blue. Her eyes glowing fiercely, the water around her responding like it knew her name.
"With the power of the ocean that flows through me," she declared, her voice resonating across the battlefield, "I will prove that even stripped of my title as a lord, I will wield what strength remains to protect all that we’ve fought to build in Gacha Haven!"
The waters before her surged upward violently, rising into a towering wall just as the massive energy sphere hurtled toward them. The torrent wrapped around the blast, spiraling like a living force trying to hold it in place.
Dullorak shot into the air, his body surrounded by the orbiting heads. Each one opened its mouth, unleashing a barrage of elemental magic. The ground trembled beneath them as earth and stone rose up, colliding with the raging sphere to slow its advance.
A stream of blazing fire followed, roaring through the night like a miniature sun as it struck the surface of the energy sphere, bursting into a wave of flame.
Moments later, massive ice shards began falling from above, slamming into the swirling water barrier, reinforcing it against the sheer destructive force pressing forward.
Selvara held her trident high, pouring everything she had left into her spell as her comrades’ magic joined hers. Together, they fought to shatter the monstrous energy sphere before it could consume everything in its path.
A massive golden dome formed above Team Hydros, made of interlocking octagonal panels that shimmered with radiant light. It was Dullorak’s barrier protection.
The moment it took shape, a deafening explosion followed. The shockwave rippled across the lake, and the surge of water rose so violently that it looked as though a third of the entire lake had been lifted into the air before crashing back down like a torrential storm.
[Dullorak: "The first attack has been successfully neutralized."]
[Karian: "But not the fishes... hiks."]
[Edrik: "My lord, please mute Karian for now."]
Despite the success of the defense, new movement erupted. Two more portals opened across the warzone, each releasing another wave of armored soldiers and a monstrous creature identical to the first. It was clear that more attacks of the same kind were imminent.
[Karian: "The fishes..."]
[Mira: "Karian, we can still eat carrots, stop crying."]
[Edrik: "Please mute Mira as well."]
Atlas could only sigh quietly as the comms filled with both chaos and humor, right before the next wave of the enemy’s assault began.
The second massive beast turned their attention toward Team Blaze, where Kaida and Lyrassa stood ready, while the third aimed directly at Team Flame, led by Kazan and Serenith.
Both creatures began charging energy rapidly, their mouths glowing with an eerie light as swirling cores of power formed within. At the same time, the first monster, the one that had already attacked, started gathering energy once more, its body pulsing with crimson veins of light.
Damn it... Atlas clenched his jaw. Just how many times can they fire attacks with that kind of destructive power? There’s no way they can keep doing this endlessly... right?