The demon army summoned by the spell had already grown to a considerable size.
Although their initial confusion had left them fighting separately, allowing the well-equipped human experts to slaughter more than half of them in short order, the demons soon regrouped and counterattacked. With fresh troops continuously pouring through the Interdimensional Gate, the battle reached a stalemate.
More than a dozen powerful demons of the sixth and seventh ranks remained on the platform.
One lower-tier mage from the tower let his guard slip for a moment, only to see a Berserker Demon charging toward him, its enormous, building-sized body crushing everything in its path.
The unfortunate mage was flattened into a pulp on the spot. The few shield spells protecting him had proved utterly useless.
Everyone nearby scrambled away, for a foul stench was spreading from the enormous demon like a poisonous cloud.
Those with weaker constitutions could pass out after just a few breaths.
This made it impossible for ordinary lower-tier warriors to approach.
And this was only a single sixth-rank demon.
In this brutal fighting, the humans lost several mages after only a few exchanges.
They had no shortage of combat-trained guards around them, but the demons were hardly meat targets that would simply stand there and take a beating. They had plenty of ways to break through enemy lines.
In a normal battle, mages should never have been holding the front line. They should have prepared thoroughly beforehand and made use of field fortifications or facilities such as Mage Towers.
Now, however, they were forced into inefficient slaughter under unfavorable conditions.
Time waited for no one. There was no longer any opportunity to arrange their forces at leisure.
Roland joined the battlefield as well. On his side, they faced a seventh-rank Deceiver Demon.
It, too, was