Supreme Monarch

Fire!

The chief yelled as soon as the monsters came into range. The sentries on the tower immediately fired the ballista stationed in the two towers at the front. The ballistas looked like giant crossbows made out of pure black metal-like substances.

These were made of beast cores, and had special properties, the large black arrows loaded on them were made of the same substance. The ballistas could also fire regular arrows and would add special effects to the arrow. They had decided to use up all the beast arrows first to try and deal a massive blow to the horde.

With a white hue, the massive arrows were fired, and the ballistas could fire more than five arrows per second. It only took two of them to light the sky up in a rain of arrows. The speed wasn't lacking either, the arrows could cover a distance of over 300 meters within seconds.

Boom. Boom Boom...

A fury of explosions reverberated over the battlefield, the ballistas had fired straight at the lesser Basilisks over 300 meters away. Seeing the force of impact and the explosions, everyone on the battlefield had a sigh of relief, well, all except Albert.

The dust and dirt produced by the massive impact of the arrows hadn't even fully settled down when a massive wave of energy wiped out the explosion. Everyone was speechless, this was the first time they had ever seen a lesser Basilisk and they were now beginning to understand why they were so terrifying.

None of the exploding arrows had even made a scratch on them. It was obvious their level when compared to the strength of Tier 3 exploding arrows was vastly different. "Next round!" The chief yelled one more time as the Basilisks crossed the 250-meter mark.

The sentries loaded a new round of arrows, they had already exhausted all their exploding arrows and were now loading on another set of beast arrows with a different effect. "Fire!" The chief yelled again, his voice ignoring the distance of the battlefield.

Fsh... The arrows tore through the air with greater precision. Still, the Basilisks were high-tiered monsters and had some intelligence, they could sense the sudden danger of the new attack, and even in a frenzy, they still had survival instincts.

The horde immediately scattered, still headed in the same direction, there was no more space in between them and they had more room to dodge the attack. Although they all reacted in time, the ballista's attack speed got faster the closer an enemy was. Still, most of the lesser Basilisks were able to avoid the arrows, and the few that didn't try to parry the attack with their claws, but unfortunately for them, the arrows were too fast and had a penetrating enhancement effect on them.

By the time the sentries ran out of penetrating arrows, more than twenty lesser Basilisk had died on the spot, the others ignored the dead and proceeded towards the town without slowing down. "Next round!" The chief shouted and this time the casters in the towers sprung to action.

They loaded ordinary arrows on the ballistas and provided various enhancements, from, penetrating arrows, magic arrows, lightning arrows, and even some explosive arrows. Most of them didn't have any spells that would be effective from over 200 meters so this was the best form of attack right now, their only aim was to reduce the enemy's numbers as much as possible before they made it to the melee fighters.

"Fire!" The chief yelled again and the sky was lit up with a rainbow of colors. The rain of arrows descended on the Basilisks and most of them did their best to avoid it, the attack had a variety of effects, and thanks to the explosive arrows, more of the lesser Basilisks had received the attack this time.

Although with the variety of enhancements used, the actual number of lesser Basilisks killed was less than last time. More than 200 Basilisks had made it passed the 150-meter line and were now too close for the ballistas. to be used. The chief raised an arm and the ranged fighters and casters launched their attacks.

Although they had better aim than the ballistas, they were far weaker, their attacks barely gave any damage to the steel-like scales of the lesser Basilisks. This fact reminded everyone again, how much stronger the lesser Basilisks were than the usual Tier 3 monsters that attacked the town regularly.

Without hesitation the chief jumped into the fray and sent about ten lesser Basilisks flying back, his huge weapon was wrapped in an orange glow and his body seemed to have gotten larger, he ran through the monsters sending at least one flying with each swing, the raw strength he displayed was jaw-dropping.

After seeing their spells do little damage to the monster, the fighters were all losing confidence in themselves and were shaking in fear, but seeing the chief single-handedly shatter the momentum of the horde, confidence began to bloom within them.

Still, the Basilisks' scales were hard and sturdy making it difficult to kill them with one swing, the ones sent flying tumbled around a bit and got up, then they charged at the chief in anger. The lesser Basilisks roared, dark green flames shot out of their mouths at him, the chief lightly swung his blade and the attack was deflected hitting some of the other Basilisks in the side. The chief was actually holding his own against hundreds of lesser Basilisks.

Still, with what the ballistas had done to them, the lesser Basilisks were scattered around the battlefield and he wasn't able to draw the attention of every single one of them. Clicking his tongue he stabbed his sword into the ground and activated a skill.

°Fortress°

An illusionary shield appeared around him, before quickly dispersing like the wind. The chief smiled wildly, he held the hilt of his blade with both hands and bent his knees, with a light jump he was already several meters in the air.

Swirling himself in the air he activated another skill, "Falling star." his already large blade got even larger as he plummet down swinging the giant sword. *Boom! the impact shattered the ground, creating a crater, resembling the one a meteorite would leave in its wake.

That attack had killed off any monster within a 10-meter radius, but with the way the lesser Basilisks were scattered, it had only been a handful. The skill had taken a lot out of him and his breathing was a little irregular, still, he raised his head and charged at the rest.

Some of the monsters were able to run around him heading straight for the town, the chief didn't bother trying to stop them and just focused on the ones In front of him.

Secret Technique: Thunderstrike!

With the roar of thunder, Albert disappeared from his previous location, appearing behind the lesser Basilisks in front of the group. The monster's head fell to the ground without resistance, its body stumbling to the ground and tripping the other monsters beside it. He didn't even pay attention to his kill as he charged at the horde with his blade drawn.

The moment the others saw this, they began their attacks. The ranged fighters launched their arrows and spells, while the melee fighters stayed in formation as they attacked and killed the monsters that somehow got by the chief and the captain.

With the warriors tanking for them, they were able the halt the advancement of the horde. Albert hadn't halted his attack either, he ran straight at a group of lesser Basilisks and brandished his sword. The attack had sent the monsters stumbling back but did little damage. "Tsk... I guess I need to use a technique." he frowned.

"Secret Techniques - Shadow step."

Planting his right foot firmly on the ground, Albert shifted his center of gravity slightly, he adjusted his breathing and held his long blade with both hands. With his speed and footwork technique, he shot forth like a magic bullet. Only this time, he didn't seem to be alone.

There was something or someone closely trailing behind him, it was almost like his shadow. Well, it was his shadow. The shadow trailed him like his clone as they maneuvered around the battlefield, avoiding any monsters that weren't their target. He aimed to locate the largest cluster of monsters around taking out as many monsters as possible with his next technique. With how to spread out the monsters as it was proving a little difficult to locate that many, he no longer had any time to waste opting for the next best thing. The instant he arrived before a group of 12 lesser Basilisks, the shadow split from him.

"Secret Techniques - 24 Twin slash."

Twenty-four slash of silver and black auras escaped the blade of both the shadow and him, descending upon the 12 lesser Basilisks and spitting them in several pieces. It was a sight to behold, his movement and swordsmanship had been so smooth and fast that it was mesmerizing to behold.

Having been reunited with his Shadow, behind the skewered monsters, he felt his heart tighten and his breathing got heavier. Raising his head to look around him, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and he got back up holding his sword tightly.

For the others, the battle felt one-sided for a brief second, while Albert and the chief were holding back more than half of the monsters. Although there was still a lot that got by them, they were able to hold their own with the help of the tanks and ranged fighters, but, the moment the ranged guards and hunters stop their attacks to reload or recover their Mana, the monsters gained more ground.

It was evident that once they had exhausted their spells and arrows the monsters would overwhelm them. They didn't have enough rangers to set up a quality rotation system and with the number of lesser Basilisks, Albert didn't have enough stamina to perform a secret technique that many times.

The fight was getting more chaotic and out of control, the monsters were beginning to gain the upper hand. The chief used one skill after another and was able to cut down a monster with each strike, along with Albert doing the same, he felt like they should've been winning but, still, they were only two men and were unable to pin down over 200 seriously strong Monsters.

Arghhh!!!

A loud high pitched scream was heard, and some of the less experienced hunters turned around to take a look. A man had been set ablaze by a lesser Basilisk's poisonous flames, they cringed at the sight, and one of the hunters that turned around lost his head as a lesser Basilisk in front of him had slapped it off.

Their formation crumbled instantly and a monster broke through, it headed straight for the gate and slammed head first into it. The gate was reinforced with magic and was very sturdy so it didn't shatter from the impact. Before the monster could try again though, some of the experience guards surrounded it, and working together, they managed to kill it, but before they had a chance to relax, more monsters broke through their defense and ripped the guards to pieces.

They didn't slam into the gate like the first as they just opened their jaws and dark green flames shot out and the combined force blasted through the gate and setting one of the houses in the town on fire. The lesser Basilisks had penetrated their defense and some of them had made it inside.