Chapter Seventy-Six: The Bloody Battle

“Holy Shield!”

Facing the surging blood lizards, Liam and the other paladins shouted in unison. Instantly, a radiant shield of light, two meters high, appeared before him. The shield swiftly expanded, forming a luminous barrier in the blink of an eye. Yet the fiery lizards showed no intention of halting before this shield of holy light. On the contrary, they opened their jaws and crashed headlong into it.

Thud!

Sharp snouts collided with the barrier, and spittle flew from their mouths. The lizards that slammed into the shield seemed to feel no pain, pressing forward with relentless force. But soon another lizard, eager and impatient, leapt from behind, snapping the neck of its companion at the front with a sickening crack. It showed no sense of having killed one of its own, merely tossing its head and ramming the luminous shield with unwavering determination. Throwing wide its jaws, it unleashed a torrent of flame at the holy barrier. Sparks burst forth, and searing heat rushed over them; even a few strands of Liam’s hair were singed by the intense temperature.

“Hiss...!”

Witnessing this, even Liam’s face changed. He’d already heard from Janne about the lizards’ madness, but to see it with his own eyes brought a real sense of threat. Still, Liam did not falter. With a furious roar, he thrust his longsword forward. The blade pierced the seemingly insubstantial shield, striking true into the lizard’s skull. The beast gave a shrill scream and collapsed. Yet before it could hit the ground, another lizard leapt over its body, trampling its fallen kin, and launched itself at the humans once again.

“Hold the line! Steady! Do not panic!”

Elsewhere, Ralph bellowed commands, rallying his mercenaries. His greatsword cut through the air with a howl, unleashing arcs of blood as it slashed through the writhing bodies of the lizards. The powerful blade carved through them with ease; limbs flew, and the lizards fell, only to be crushed beneath the feet of their own kind.

“Don’t try to kill them—just wound them and hold out! If you can hold, the ones behind will trample the rest to death!”

Ralph, an experienced mercenary, was the first to grasp Janne’s intent. At first glance, being attacked from all sides seemed perilous. But after witnessing the lizards’ mindless, fearless assault, Ralph keenly recognized their weakness: they utterly lacked order.

Even wolves on the surface attack in turns, wearing down their prey. But these fiery lizards charged forward in a single, unthinking mass, caring only for the enemy before them, never considering their own kin in their path. This made them far easier to defeat. As long as everyone held to Janne’s instructions and withstood the assault, these terrifying monsters would destroy themselves in their frenzy, leaving the survivors an easier task.

The others quickly caught on as well. They tightened their formation, raised their shields, and pressed forward. With the dual blessings of holy protection, they managed to withstand the lizards’ onslaught. The beasts, jostling each other, inadvertently relieved some of the pressure from the defenders.

A shrill whistle split the air.

Cotton’s longsword flashed, a blur of motion as it stabbed into a lizard’s right eye. He recoiled snake-like, the blade whipping free from the skull, only to strike forward again, skewering another lizard’s eye. In mere seconds, two or three lizards had fallen before him—a testament to the young noble’s skill.

“Stand firm! If any of you dare slack off, I’ll feed you to these monsters myself!”

With a snort, Cotton drew back his blade, glaring at the fallen beasts. He gritted his teeth and glanced toward Janne. Truth be told, before the battle began, Cotton had considered feigning defeat to cause trouble for Janne and vent his own frustrations. But after witnessing the flood-like assault of the lizards, he immediately abandoned the idea. What a joke! Against such fearsome creatures, even his full strength might be insufficient. If anything went wrong now, who knew if Janne would survive—but Cotton was certain he alone could never hold back these monsters.

Just this once, I’ll let you off...

Fuming at the thought, Cotton hurled himself at the lizards with renewed fury, wielding his sword as if venting his anger at Janne upon the beasts.

The lizards’ numbers exceeded all expectations. Minute by minute, their assault continued, unrelenting. The ground was carpeted with corpses, rivers of blood making the earth slick and foul with the stench of death. Flames from the lizards washed unchecked through the carnage. Even the paladins lost their usual composure, slashing wildly to inflict as much harm as possible. Fortunately, though impervious to fire, the lizards’ defenses were not especially strong; otherwise, the defenders might have already been overrun.

Still, the ceaseless slaughter took its toll. Breathless and strained, the defenders began to falter under the mounting pressure. If not for the lingering effects of holy blessings, many would have already abandoned hope and awaited death in despair.

In stark contrast, Janne remained as steady as ever. He stood unmoved, his sword casting a cold, lethal light, cleaving through any creature daring to enter his reach. Mercenaries and paladins alike felt a chill at his side. In that moment, Janne seemed neither human nor truly alive, but more like a vast, remorseless machine of death, executing its program with pitiless efficiency. It mattered not whether those who entered his blade’s path were beast or man, living or dead—his sole purpose was to rend them all to pieces.

Though all fought with desperate strength, time wore on and their exhaustion became evident. Without some miracle, it seemed likely they would all perish here.

And then, once more, Iris demonstrated why mages alone possess the power to alter the fate of battle in an instant.

Facing the tidal wave of fiery lizards, Iris swept her arms through the air, tracing arcane runes. Her hands came together, and a dark crimson flame materialized in her grasp, writhing and coiling into a sigil. Suddenly, the rune’s color blanched to a brilliant, crystalline white.

“Alixes!”

A sudden chill erupted. Above her head, a sphere of frost half a meter across appeared, spinning as it drifted forward. From it, shards of ice shot forth like arrows, fanning out in a deadly storm.

Shhh-shhh-shhh!

Where the ice rained down, lizards collapsed. Their defenses were meager—even a mercenary’s blade could pierce them, let alone these razor-sharp icicles. In moments, the rear ranks of the lizards were felled, hundreds of icy spikes studding their corpses. From afar, the field glittered like a crystalline forest beneath the holy light.

But Iris did not pause. Clenching her fists, she opened them again, and a ball of fire gathered in her pale palms, swirling and coalescing into another sigil. She pointed to it lightly.

“Smia!”

Whoosh...

A vivid green light flared at their feet, as a vast circular magic array appeared, enveloping the defenders. At its edge, a fierce wind arose, howling as it swept into the lizards. Even these fire-breathing beasts could not withstand such a gale; the front ranks were hurled back as though struck by a giant’s invisible hand, crashing against the stone walls. The rest, battered by the wind, were forced to retreat, granting the defenders a precious moment to breathe.

“Hold on!”

Liam’s heart soared at the sight. He knew well the might of mages, and had witnessed Iris’s spells before, though she had not intervened then. Now, seeing the sorceress in action, he understood why mages were universally acknowledged as the most formidable and fearsome of existences. In just two spells, she had accomplished what would have taken his group half a day.

He glanced again at Janne. The man’s expression was unchanged, the corpses of fiery lizards piling like mountains before him. Yet his slaughter showed no sign of slowing.

No wonder he dared enter the depths with only two companions. With such strength, what could possibly stand in their way?