Chapter 363 - Battle near end
Dozens of golden pterosaurs, wrapped in crackling electricity, swooped down toward the adventurers on the wall with brutal force.
Quick thinking archers drew back their bowstrings and fired volley after volley into the sky.
To their dismay, these winged beasts shared the same trait as the ground forces below, arrows simply could not pierce them.
Even at point-blank range, the shafts did no real harm to the creatures.
Most arrows bounced right off their hides, tumbling uselessly to the ground.
Only a precious few managed to pierce through.
Yet such minor wounds failed to slow them down.
Their terrifying swoop continued without losing momentum.
Heavy impacts echoed across the battlement as the lightning beasts slammed into the defenders.
The adventurers atop the wall were caught completely off guard by the aerial raid.
Those who were midway through chanting spells suffered the worst fate.
While front line fighters managed to throw up hasty defenses, the spellcasters were entirely focused on channeling magic leaving them defenseless against the sudden assault from above.
They were crushed in a single wave.
"He summoned a ground army and an air force..."
Aisha muttered with a bitter smile as she watched her familia members fall apart around her.
The thunder beast legion summoned by Mahiro left no weakness uncovered.
Most frustrating of all was their terrifying durability.
Standard strikes failed to leave a mark, and only heavy, full power blows could break through their hides.
"Forget long range attacks! Draw your blades and prepare for close quarters!"
As a battle hardened Amazon warrior, Aisha refused to succumb to panic.
She adjusted her stance, swung her large blade, and shouted orders while moving through the chaos.
As a top-tier level 3 adventurer who was on the verge of reaching level 4, Aisha ranked among the elite of the Ishtar familia.
Her instincts outmatched everyone around her.
Sidestepping a swooping pterosaur, she delivered a clean, heavy slash across its side.
The powerful melee strike proved effective, splintering the creature's electrical form and throwing off its flight path.
Inspired by her success, the surviving adventurers drew their weapons and rallied to fight back.
Before they could establish a solid defensive line, a violent quake shook the ground beneath them, throwing everyone off balance.
The ground forces of the legion had reached the base of the wall.
These creatures were massive, ranging from two meters to over five meters tall.
Without an organized army standing in their path, they charged like unstoppable wild beasts, treating stone structures like mere paper.
The massive wall and reinforced gates crumpled like dry leaves under their weight.
The twenty-meter tall fortification crumbled under the assault, shattering into vast mounds of rubble.
Already overwhelmed by the winged beasts, the Ishtar familia lost their footing entirely.
Screams echoed as stone and mortar gave way.
Only a fortunate few managed to leap clear of the falling debris.
The rest were swept up in the collapse but their nightmare was far from over.
Before the fallen fighters could regain their balance, the beasts swept over them without mercy.
Even at full strength, the Ishtar familia stood little chance against such a force but now they were utterly defenseless.
The entire defense collapsed in moments.
Less than three minutes had passed from the initial charge to total ruin.
A heavily fortified defense had been obliterated in mere moments, an impossible outcome by any traditional standard, yet Mahiro had made it reality.
"That magic is beyond ridiculous!"
"It exceeded all my expectations."
"Even the Ishtar familia stood no chance. That power is unbelievable."
"To deploy something like that right at the start feels downright unfair."
Inside Babel, the watching gods buzzed with excitement as they observed the destruction of the Ishtar familia.
Meanwhile, the battle at the Apollo familia site offered no suspense whatsoever.
It was practically over before it began. Over two hundred beasts, each having power equivalent to a level 3 adventurer, swept across the battlefield.
The Apollo familia only had a single level 3 fighter...Hyakinthos.
Even if Hyakinthos could handle several opponents of equal rank, he faced over two hundred beasts on his own.
The enemy force outnumbered and outmatched his entire familia by a wide margin.
Apollo stared at the divine mirror with a deathly pale face as his followers fell one by one.
Seeing Hyakinthos buckle under the relentless assault, Apollo grew lightheaded and nearly collapsed on the spot.
"This cannot be happening... How could my children lose like this..."
Apollo slumped his head in disbelief, looking thoroughly broken.
"Apollo is taking a terrible beating."
"We knew the outcome, but this is far worse than expected."
"They got wiped out without even catching sight of Mahiro or Sword Princess."
"Calling it miserable is a generous description, it is downright embarrassing."
Watching Apollo crumble, several deities shook their heads and sighed though none offered true sympathy.
Beings who had lived for eons rarely felt pity for their peers, especially for someone as widely disliked as Apollo.
Refraining from mocking him aloud was the highest courtesy they were willing to offer.
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