The Blocking Action

The God of Justice's church had a lot of influence. Many stranded Adventurers and faithful answered their call and joined the fight.

But Anse wasn't worried about Land and the others.

His gaze swept over the crowded, chaotic throng on the bridge and fell on Flame Fist Fortress. The gate stood motionless, with no sign of opening.

The worst-case scenario had come to pass!

The Flaming Fist Soldiers on the wall were on high alert, with the ballistas and catapults ready. But their orders were to defend the fortress at all costs.

If they opened the gate now, the Underdark Creatures would bite at the refugees' heels and rush into the fortress. The consequences would be unthinkable.

Anse looked at Priest Berg. "You go on ahead. We'll stay behind and hold them off."

He knew someone had to cover their retreat. Once Land and the others made it onto the bridge, they could use the narrow terrain to hold off the enemy as they fell back. Once they reached the walls, the Flaming Fist Soldiers could provide ranged support.

If the Gray Dwarves got onto the bridge first, the whole convoy might be overtaken.

Berg understood the situation just as well. He pointed out four young priests. "You stay and help them."

"Yes..." The four priests decisively grabbed their bows and arrows and left the convoy.

Brat's eyes lit up at the sight. He hurried to the carts carrying weapons, took out a longbow, a quiver of arrows, and a shield, and said, "I'll borrow these. I'll return them later."

He knew how to use a bow, though he wasn't very skilled.

Berg patted Anse on the arm and gave him a long look. In the end, he said nothing, urging the convoy to hurry on.

Anse surveyed the surroundings and pointed to the watchtower at the bridgehead. "Let's get up there."

"All right..."

Everyone quickly climbed to the top and watched the approaching monsters from a distance.

In the time it took to do that, Land's group had lost even more people. Someone fell almost every second.

Anse put six Sweet Berries into his breast pocket, then noticed his palm was growing warm and his heart was pounding. He wasn't nervous. He was excited, and he felt better than ever.

"Here they come."

The road was only a few hundred meters from the bridge. In a matter of seconds, the crowd was less than two hundred meters away.

Finn nocked an arrow and aimed it diagonally into the sky. With a whoosh, it traced an arc and struck the monsters at the rear of the crowd, felling an Orc and causing a brief commotion.

As a Ranger, Finn could shoot effectively at two hundred meters, though his accuracy wasn't great. But with the monsters packed together, it was hard to miss.

Finn kept firing, easing some of the pressure on Land and the others.

However, Land's group was slowed as they fought and retreated, and many Duergar Slaves were running ahead of them. If the numerous civilians hadn't drawn the monsters' attention, some might already have reached the bridge.

"Pick off the ones in front. We can't let them get onto the bridge first," Anse ordered.

"All right."

The nearest monsters were now less than a hundred meters from the bridgehead. Brat and the priests began shooting, too, but their archery was mediocre, and they didn't hit much.

"Whoosh—"

Anse took a deep breath and focused. Magic surged around him, his long hair stirred without a breeze, and his skin glimmered with a faint metallic sheen.

"Magic Missile."

Three Glimmering Missiles flew apart, whistling through the air in strange, unpredictable curves before striking three Goblinoids in front with pinpoint accuracy.

Three muffled booms sounded in the air. The Goblinoids were knocked off their feet one after another, toppling more monsters around them.

As he cast the spell again, Anse immediately noticed the difference.

The magic flowed with ease, his casting was faster, his aim more precise, and the range far greater than he'd expected.

With the Spell Sniper feat, Magic Missile had a base range of 180 feet (at least 54 meters). But the spell he'd just cast had traveled over 70 meters. He'd felt he could reach the target, so he'd cast early—and he'd been right.

He guessed it had to do with his increased Charisma. It looked like a mere one-point increase, but the actual improvement was at least 35%.

And Charisma didn't just affect his magic, spell saves, and Attribute Checks. It improved every aspect of a Sorcerer's abilities.

"Thwip, thwip, thwip..."

Finn and the others had the high ground. The veins stood out on their faces as arrow after arrow flew from their bows.

The goal wasn't to kill the enemy now, just to keep the monsters from getting close.

Only a dozen or so people remained with Land. When they saw help had arrived, their eyes lit up with joy, and they picked up the pace.

"Magic Missile."

Anse's Draconic language rang out, hard and metallic. About every two seconds, another volley of missiles crashed into the monsters.

His mind was exceptionally clear. He attacked anyone who came near the bridgehead, occasionally hurling a few Magic Missiles into the monster horde to sow chaos. He did his best to make every missile count.

After six consecutive casts of Magic Missile, even he was starting to feel dizzy.

His scattered attacks weren't likely to kill, but they were quite effective at slowing the enemy. Intimidated, the monsters at the front unconsciously slowed their steps, indirectly hindering the pursuit.

Land and the others were showing signs of escaping the enemy. They were only a few dozen meters from the bridgehead.

But that was a dangerous distance for Anse and the others. Some of the Goblins were archers and had begun shooting back. Arrows occasionally landed on the watchtower.

"Fall back. In groups, use the rooftops. Hurry!"

Anse had no intention of dying young. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and sprinted, leaping from the watchtower onto a nearby roof before climbing onto another.

The others were taken aback, then followed his example. The priests withdrew first, followed by Finn and Brat.

But they couldn't stop providing cover. Once Anse had stopped, he turned and cast Sorcerous Burst—Thunderclap twice, using the thunderclaps to frighten off a wave of enemies.

From above, the area within dozens of meters of the bridgehead was a sea of darkness. Monsters and humans surged toward the same point, with Land and the others caught in the crush.

Suddenly, Land broke away from his group, raised his shield, and charged headfirst. He plowed through dozens of monsters along the way, then took up position at the bridgehead and turned to defend it.

The Paladin Zahir acted as the spearhead, helping his companions carve a path forward.

Seeing this, the four priests immediately climbed down from the rooftops and helped Land defend the bridgehead.

Brat watched Land and Zahir struggle in the thick of battle. After hesitating for a moment, he decided not to jump down and help.

Holding his shield in his left hand, he stepped in front of Roland and blocked several arrows in a row. "Go on. I'll protect you!"

Anse understood and didn't retreat any farther. He stood where he was and focused on casting spells.

"Sorcerous Burst—Thunderclap!"

One after another.

"Boom, boom, boom—"

It was as if a thunderstorm had broken out on Flying Dragon Bridge. Thunderclaps rang out almost every half-second, drawing everyone's attention.

The occasional Chain Burst could send a towering Orc flying. The leading monsters were unnerved and hesitated, causing trampling and chaos.

He had used Zero-Ring Spells to force open a clear path through the enemy for the humans!

He hadn't killed many directly, earning only a few scattered experience notifications, but the fear he inspired was at its peak.

The price was mental overload. His head throbbed, and blood trickled from both nostrils.

"Look out—"

A shriek and several warnings sounded in Anse's ears at once. He forced himself to swallow the rest of the incantation, fought through the turbulence in his magic, and ducked.

"Bang—"

From the corner of his eye, he saw the shield in Brat's hand shatter like glass. Brat's body was flung several meters as if struck by a siege ram, then crashed straight through the roof and disappeared from sight.

"Brat!"

Anse gritted his teeth, blood surging through him. He couldn't describe how he felt.

He crouched on the far side of the roof ridge and peeked out. Zahir and the others had already made it onto the bridge one after another. The priests hauled debris and furniture out of the buildings on either side and hurled them at the monsters, using them to build barricades as well.

"Thank goodness."

Relieved, he ducked and jumped onto another roof, then peered through a hole in it:

Brat was struggling to his feet. A Javelin, with only its head remaining, was lodged in his Half Plate. There was no visible bleeding, but blood kept seeping from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

Anse was overjoyed. He quickly rolled over and jumped down.

Blood ran from Brat's nose and mouth, and his face was flushed. He couldn't speak, but when his gaze fell on Anse, a glimmer of delight appeared in his eyes.

"Don't move."

Anse propped up his head with his leg, pulled out the Healing Potion, and poured the whole bottle into his mouth.

There was no time to wait and see if it worked. After checking his injuries, Anse found that the Javelin had barely been stopped by the Half Plate. The external wounds weren't serious; the damage was all internal.

"Take it off first." He pulled a dagger from his backpack, cut the straps, undid the buckles, and removed the Half Plate rather roughly.

The armor was heavy. It could put pressure on broken bones and cause further injury, and if it was too heavy, Anse wouldn't be able to support him, either.

"Come on. We can't waste time."

He had just helped Brat to his feet when the door was kicked open from outside with a crash.