Chapter 152: Turning Point [3]
It has finally started.
The rift was a jump down below the valley. However, as soon as they emerged from the rift, the entire Imperial Army immediately fell from the sky.
However, the army was quick to react. The fall was instantly mitigated by Imperial Army mages with the [Wind] affinity.
And the rift?
"Where the fuck are we?"
"We're in another world…!"
It was connected to another plane. An anomaly that transcends human comprehension.
It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that they were now in another realm.
After all, the sky, which was supposed to be a shade of blue, was now a deep purple color.
Trees, although the trunk was brown, the leaves had a different variety of colors.
In particular, some leaves were pink, while some of them were light blue.
The ground was the same as back on earth, as well as the gravity.
And to their surprise…
Otherworldly beasts of all shapes and sizes were already upon them.
Just like the beasts that emerged from the rift, the descriptions vary.
Some beasts were a deep shade of green with a small stature. Their eyes were yellow, as their mouths were agape with visible fangs.
But what set them apart from the usual Wraith Beasts, were the fact that they harbored all different kinds of weapons.
Not just them, but the other variants as well.
The other variants could be described as inhumanly large, tall, and having a disproportionately large head, abundant hair, unusually colored skin, and an ugly face.
Their different quirk?
They donned what seemed to be armor, as they gripped their huge club-like weapons tightly.
But that wasn't all.
Another variant.
Easily discernible due to their green to gray skin, lupine ears, lower canines resembling boar tusks, and their muscular builds.
They stood in a bent over shape making them appear as ape-like humans.
And though they didn't carry weapons or armors, unlike the other variants, their large fists made up for as they smashed the ground.
There were more.
Way more.
Flying beasts.
The army had never seen such otherworldly creatures before.
None of them would shame the other if they would admit that they were horrified.
However, none of them relented. It was a testament to their pride as the Imperial Army.
"Men! Attack…!"
Omar's scream instantly rang in the air and the entire army quickly got to work.
Kracka!
BOOOM—!
Cr… Crack—!
Fwoosh—! Fwooosh——!
Sparks of all kinds of magic were dished out.
Boom– Boom— BOOOM——!
The entire scenario was chaotic, despite the fact that the army had positioned themselves to support each other.
Beasts attacked from all sides, but the army's fierceness never wavered.
ROAR—!
The beasts' loud cry reverberated throughout the entire plane. Whichever variant it was, they had no idea.
But clearly, they had some kind of intelligence as they attacked in platoons.
The entire scene was like a battle, straight out of mythology.
Who knew that they would live to see the day to witness such a battle.
Imperial Army soldiers continued emerging from the portal. As soon as they landed on the ground, they quickly got into position and joined the fight.
It was a war.
A war between humans, and the otherworldly beast races.
Boom— Boom— Boom———!
The ground shook intensely, as flames ignited from all sides.
A myriad of different kinds of magic circles filled the space as they blended in with the chaos that ensued.
At first, the space they covered was small, akin to a circle. However, as time continued to pass, and the battle raged on, they were able to take more space with each beast they killed.
Blood splattered in the air. However, they were all well aware that it wasn't theirs, due to the deep shade of dark blue color that sprouted.
Each soldier's faces, armors, weapons, were stained with the other beasts' bloods.
They could all very well agree that the green-like small creatures posed no threat as they were easily able to deal with them.
Boom— Boom—!
More space was covered, in each passing second. But by the time that thirty minutes had passed, everyone was starting to feel exhausted.
However, their determination was unwavering. So far, there were no casualties.
Whenever someone was about to be in deep trouble, a member would instantly notice, and offer their assistance.
They were all trained to work together in groups of five. All of them, except for one person.
The strongest, Lucian frost.
His blade seemed to scatter as he quickly made work of the beasts around him.
Due to the calamity that ensued in each and every one of his attacks, the soldiers gave him more space to cover and left him to his own devices.
Just one swipe of his katana, and blood would be left in his wake.
With immense speed, he had managed to cut down an estimation of 1,826 beasts. However, there were too many of them for it to be a significant amount.
But unlike the other soldiers, not once had he ever felt exhausted.
In fact, for a long while, some of the soldiers could see that there was a smile etched on his face.
"Crazy…"
That was how they could describe Lucian Frost.
A battle maniac.
And…
A war machine.
Soldiers continued to emerge from the rift above and fall from the sky. Until finally, the familiar voice of their Grand Marshal echoed in the air.
"Men! Hold the line!"
Grand Marshal Constantine's loud voice rang out over the fighting, cutting through the noise of clashing weapons and roaring beasts.
The Imperial soldiers, though tired, felt new strength at the sound of their leader's voice.
Grand Marshal Albert Constantine had finally arrived, his big figure falling from the rift with a powerful presence that seemed to push back the very air around him.
As he landed, a wave of magic energy spread out, knocking back a group of approaching beasts. The Grand Marshal's eyes glowed as he looked at the battle before him.
"Omar! Are you around?"
"Yes Sir!"
Despite the ongoing chaos, Omar's composed voice immediately reached the ears of everyone present, as well as Albert's.
All of a sudden, Omar Locke, his sword still cutting through beast after beast, suddenly appeared at Albert's side.
Blue blood—dripped from him, but Albert was well aware that it wasn't his blood.
"Sir, more ground is being covered. However, their numbers don't seem to be dwindling. The small green ones are easy to kill, but the bigger ones proved to be a bit difficult."
Just then, a huge, armored beast with a big head came charging through the fight. Its club-like weapon swung wide, and each Imperial soldier instantly dashed from all sides.
Albert's eyes narrowed. He raised his hand, and a bright light came down from the sky, covering the charging beast.
Swoosh—!
When the light faded, there was nothing left but a smoking hole in the ground.
"Good work as always, Sir."
Nodding his head at Omar's praise, Albert stepped forward and took in the sight of all of his men fighting with their lives on the line.
"We need to push further in. Find where these creatures are coming from, their base. If we stop their leader, the rest will fall."
If they even had a leader. However, with an army as large as theirs, the beasts' had to have some kind of leader that controlled them.
None of them had doubted that they indeed had some form of intelligence, evident in the way that they didn't attack each other, despite being of different variants.
"Sir Lucian!"
Albert called out.
Lucian Frost appeared right away, his armor covered in the blue blood of dead beasts, and a smile etched on his features.
"Yes, Sir?"
"Do you have any idea of where we are?"
Though, it was a question with an obvious answer. Everyone needed to hear it.
"Most likely another realm."
"I see."
He knew, but kept up an act. All so the soldier's wouldn't grow complacent.
Looking around, the Imperial Army had taken a big area, but the beasts kept coming. For every one killed, two more seemed to take its place.
With a nod, Albert recalled the phone call with his daughter and Brandon Locke a few minutes ago.
"Omar."
He turned his head to look at Omar who had appeared by his side.
Acknowledging, Omar responded.
"Yes, Sir?"
"I've called for someone to find you earlier. Did you not get the message?"
"I did, Sir."