In the darkness, the bridgehead was a black void. Its jagged edge clearly showed that a collapse had occurred, but there were only rocks beneath the bridge, and the ground was high, so the damage was limited.
Far off to the east, a gap dozens of meters wide had opened in the riverbank. Water was pouring through, glittering as it wound south.
The port that had once been expanded from a smuggling dock had vanished without a trace.
"Over there." Brat pointed toward the breach.
Amid the scattered lights, a large-scale battle was raging—probably hundreds of people, though the shifting shadows made it hard to see clearly.
"Let's go."
Anse wrapped his staff in Black Cloth to keep it from drawing too much attention.
The three of them hurried along the riverbank. Over the few hundred meters, more and more people carrying weapons joined them—humans and other surface-dwellers. They exchanged silent glances, gradually gathering into a single group.
The major churches and guilds weren't fools. Many realized how crucial this battle was. If they lost, they could only flee separately, and the losses would be hard to bear.
As they neared the battlefield, Anse saw that the fighting was even more brutal than he had imagined.
The human side had formed an arc between the river mouth and the western edge of the flood, numbering around three or four hundred. The Underdark Creatures were more numerous, at least five or six hundred. Apart from a few Goblinoids and Gray Dwarves, most were Kuo-Toa.
That wasn't all. More fish-people kept surfacing in the river. Rather than let the flood carry them downstream, they were coming ashore to attack the defensive line. Someone was clearly directing them from the shadows.
Shouts and the sounds of slaughter rose and fell. Bodies lay piled across the ground, and half the river had changed color.
"Brothers, follow me—"
Another wave of reinforcements arrived in the distance. The bald man at their head roared and charged into the line first. Those around him were swept up in his fervor and rushed forward as well.
Anse watched the bald man's back, feeling that he looked vaguely familiar.
"Are we going in?" Brat asked eagerly.
The battlefield's atmosphere was infectious. Anse felt his blood surge faster—calm, yet fired up, almost overwhelmed by the moment.
But he didn't rush in. After carefully surveying the battlefield, he spotted a familiar figure, and his eyes lit up.
"Come this way."
The three hurried to the middle of the defensive line, where the enemies were thickest and the line was on the verge of collapse. The ones holding back the pressure were Land and Zahir.
They really were Paladins. You could always find them in the most dangerous places!
Paladins made up a huge proportion of the game's characters, but in reality they were the rarest Professionals of all. Their will and convictions had to be unwavering.
Behind the defensive line lay collapsed buildings and piles of mud and rubble. The ground was uneven and covered in puddles, making it difficult to move.
They climbed onto a mound of mud and rubble thrown up by the flood. It stood a few meters higher than the surrounding ground, offering a clear view of the battlefield thirty or forty meters away.
"Finn, stay here and provide support. We'll move closer." Anse dropped his backpack to one side and jogged toward Land.
"All right." Brat didn't understand what Anse had in mind, but he still set down his backpack and followed at his side with his shield raised.
Finn called Gray Hawk back and kept his full attention on Anse's back, watching out for any possible ambush.
Anse stopped a few meters behind the defensive line. Through the thin wall of people, he saw nothing but a sea of Kuo-Toa heads—short, ugly, and reeking of fish.
"Isn't this too close?" Brat raised his shield in front of himself to guard against stray arrows.
Anse didn't answer. He focused and began to cast.
"રંગીનબોલ"
Prismatic Sphere—Lightning!
Amid the din, the sharp, obscure Draconic language was almost inaudible. A blue energy orb trailed a tiny tail as it shot into the crowd of fish-people.
BOOM—
The energy orb didn't leap, but the lightning arcs it unleashed spread through the puddles at their feet. Several fish-people were jolted stiff and fell face-first into the water.
Land had charged to the front and was the closest. Some of his hair stood on end.
He turned around in delight, only to see Anse beckoning him over, a ball of magical flame swirling in his palm.
"Zahir!" Land shouted. He kicked a fish-person away and hurried toward Anse.
He knew Anse wasn't the type to do anything without a good reason. This had to be important.
"જાદુઈવિસ્ફોટ"
Anse fired two Sorcerous Bursts of lightning in a row, temporarily sealing the gap left by Land's retreat. He couldn't let Zahir bear all the pressure alone.
Land rushed over in a few strides. Before he could speak, Anse raised his right hand toward him and shouted:
"Dragon Breath!"
Land's eyes lit up at once. "Fire!"
Their large hands met with a slap. Orange-red magic flowed along Land's arm and entered his body, swirling around his chest and throat. Red light spread as magic surged within him.
That wasn't all. A flash of white light followed, and faint magical wind spiraled around Land's lower body.
"One minute!" Anse held up a finger.
Both Dragon Breath and Leap Spell lasted only one minute.
Dragon Breath required concentration to maintain. Its power depended on Anse, but Land had to sense the magic and guide it as if casting a spell himself to complete the exhalation.
Paladins received professional spellcasting training, so this wasn't difficult for them.
Land pressed his lips together, waved, then turned and took a few running steps. He leaped, soaring right over the crowd and flying more than ten meters before crashing down among the fish-people.
Super Leap!
He landed on a Kuo-Toa, crushing it beneath his feet. The splashing water rose into a thin curtain, briefly blocking the fish-people's view.
As the water curtain fell, Land came into view. His legs were planted apart, one forward and one back. He leaned slightly backward, chest thrust out, his body like a fully drawn bow, ready to unleash its force.
The next moment, he pitched his upper body forward and opened his mouth wide. Scorching flames surged out, forming a cone-shaped breath six meters long. The red glow lit up the night like a sunset.
Wherever the Dragon Breath passed, fish-people and Goblinoids alike were left with singed hair and red, curling, cracked skin. Wisps of smoke rose as a strong stench drifted on the wind, sickening anyone who smelled it.
The surrounding battlefield fell silent. Only the Underdark Creatures rolled and wailed amid the billowing steam.
[Land cast Dragon Breath on Kuo-Toa... Kuo-Toa was hit and took 11 fire damage. Current HP: 8/19...]
[Land cast Dragon Breath on Giant Crab... Giant Crab was hit and took 9 fire damage. Current HP: 5/14...]
A string of notifications flashed through Anse's mind, at least twenty of them. The Dragon Breath came from him, so whenever one of those monsters died, he'd get a share of the experience.
He clenched his fist, the corners of his mouth curling up. His heart was filled with exhilaration.
Fish-people feared fire and disliked sunlight and dry conditions. Losing water weakened them, and now their skin had been burned as well. Without magical potions, the badly wounded wouldn't last long.
"That was amazing! I want to try it next time, too." Brat was thrilled, his sword and shield clanging together repeatedly.
He wasn't the only one. Everyone around them looked excited—not because a few fish-people had died, but because the implications of a second-circle spell were extraordinary.
So far, very few Spellcasters had joined the fight, and most were Clerics. There were almost no Mages. Nearly all the spells cast had been Cantrips, with the occasional first-circle spell thrown in—and even that took ages to prepare.
Some Clerics hadn't managed to cast a single spell before they ran out of Spell Slots.
If the Weave hadn't malfunctioned, a few Mages would have been enough to turn the tide.
While everyone else stood stunned, Land remembered Anse's words clearly. He had only one minute and had to make every second count.
He stabbed a fish-person that had rolled to his feet, swept his gaze around, then focused on the south.
He took a few steps, accelerated, and leaped again, crashing into another dense mass of monsters.
After a brief opening, scorching Dragon Breath burst forth once more.
The vicious flames swept across the area, leaving it scorched—a true manifestation of a dragon's fury. The Underdark Creatures were terrified and scattered in every direction.
The flames of Dragon Breath might not kill them, but they could burn their eyes and skin, leaving them in agony and robbing them of most of their fighting strength.
Even if they managed to keep fighting, their ruined skin could no longer protect them from arrows and blades.
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