[Floor 18]
[Mission Type - Exploration]
[Objective - Investigate the unknown location!]
My comrades and I briefly gazed the mission window as we were transported into the middle of a four-gated garrison.
The north-facing gate was installed right at the side of a large rocky hill.
No doubt through there was the extensive cavern we traversed through on the seventeenth floor.
The south-facing, southeast-facing, and southwest-facing gates were placed toward inland. I thought so given the other military structures towering above the garrison walls.
Those same walls also prevented us from viewing the exact terrain which lied beyond the garrison.
Not for long, at least.
[Multiple Large Enemy Groups Inbound!]
[Party Instruction: Assume combat formation!]
Creakkk…..
The southern gates soon swung open.
The chains attached to their mechanism implied someone from the other side of the walls were operating them.
Before I could spy the environment which lied beyond those three gates, large numbers of armed pirates were flocking into the garrison, surrounding us.
[Pirate Lv.16 x75]
[Pirate Captain Lv.19 x15]
The enemies immediately surrounded our party just the way Sigyn warned us.
They had rows of pikemen standing at the forefront, followed by crossbowmen. Swordsmen and rogues were filling the gaps of the cordon.
A solid starting move by the enemies.
But we had anticipated the turn, even what came after.
[Enemy Reinforcements Inbound!]
[Party Instruction: Proceed south!]
A red arrow slashed through the sky above, toward beyond the south gate.
"We'll follow Master's plan! Charge through the southern ranks!"
I ordered my comrades as I flowed my mana into the cracks of the tiled ground under my feet.
Soon, the ground beneath the enemies shattered.
My earth spell did not kill any of the pirates. But most of the enemies lost their balance and got disoriented.
The cordon collapsed upon my sorcery.
My comrades took this as an opportunity to strike.
Swoosh! Boom!
Darius began the onslaught by raining down arrows to the enemies.
Using his enchanted ring and longbow, the archer alternated between his explosives and longbow arrows seamlessly, killing more than a dozen in an instant.
Some of the enemies from the other two gates began to charge at us in order to maintain the cordon.
But I used my earth magic to send the ground rolling toward them and impede their advance.
Shanny, Jonah, and Devisha used the cover Darius and I provided and charged through the southern ranks, our target.
Ping! Ping!
Several crossbowmen tried to intercept my comrades. But Shanny parried their bolts away using her sword and shield.
['Shanny (★★)'s Projectile Defense has levelled up to level 4!]
Jonah and Devisha then emerged from Shanny's flanks and confronted the disoriented pikemen.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Like pigs in a slaughterhouse.
The Shalju shepherd and the Tsahanam assassin swiftly butchered the pirates before they could even raise their weapons at my comrades.
Shanny rushed past them and threw herself at the crossbowmen at the rear to finish them off.
The swordsmen and rogues tried to step in and aid their comrades, but Darius and I intercepted them using our arrows and fireballs.
[Enemy Reinforcements Arriving!]
[Party Instruction: Proceed south urgently!]
Just as Sigyn's signal reached us, I spied more pirates arriving from beyond the southeast and southwest gates.
[Pirate Lv.16 x20]
[Pirate Captain Lv.19 x4]
[Pirate Lv.16 x22]
[Pirate Captain Lv.19 x5]
The enemy reinforcements were arriving swiftly. It had not even been a minute since we entered the trial.
I could see why Sigyn did not want us to challenge them head on.
"Proceed to the south gate!"
I instructed my comrades as our path was finally clear.
Our party then dashed over the corpses of the southern ranks and exited the garrison from that side.
We immediately found ourselves on a huge long road lined with walls as tall as the garrison.
"We'll follow this path until we reach the ambush point that Master had set. Or one that we find ourselves."
I told our party.
As planned, we continued down the walled road.
The enemies, including the reinforcements, quickly exited the garrison and began to chase us.
[Pirate Lv.16 x68]
[Pirate Captain Lv.19 x13]
Darius and I slowed them down with our ranged-assaults as our party was trying to outrun them.
Soon, we saw a wide-yet-short staircase at the end of the walled road.
The brief flight led to what might be an open square.
There were tactical signals already installed at the top of the stairs.
[Field Instruction 1: Fatal Entrapment]
[Description: Install killing traps!]
[Field Instruction 2: Defensive Line]
[Description: Intercept enemies crossing beyond this point!]
Exactly as planned in the Tactical Post.
Sigyn was quite thorough in executing their strategy.
"Darius and I will take care of the pursuers. The rest of you, make sure that square above is secured and cover our rear!"
"Understood!"
Jonah, Shanny, and Devisha swiftly rushed above the steps ahead of Darius and I.
"All clear!"
Devisha shouted once we climbed to them.
The square branched out to another three walled paths, four including the one we came from.
No enemies sighted so far from the new roads.
"Watch out for reinforcements as Darius and I eliminate the enemies!"
I told our three combatants.
As they took their guarding positions, I turned to Darius.
"I'll take out their main forces while you intercept those that slipped through my assault."
With Darius's nod, I raised my hands toward the large enemy horde coming after us and casted my spell.
[Maha Haljantarr]
Tongues of lightning coursed through my fingers. They formed a webbed flickering orb in the air.
[Strike]
The webbed orb streaked forth in the form of a flashing thread of light.
It ran right to the heart of the enemy, exploding into an electrifying little crater.
Boom!
Dozens were instantly reduced into charred masses. The rest were heavily wounded by the blast.
[Spread]
Tongues of lightning flickered forth from the crater and struck at the surrounding enemies.
The lightning either killed the enemies immediately, or paralyzed them on the spot
[Burst]
The tongues of lightning then gathered into small webbed orbs, scattered throughout the wrecked enemy ranks like fireflies.
The orbs suddenly shined as bright as the stars and they exploded into deadly electric waves.
['Serafina (★★★★)'s Basic Lightning Magic has levelled up twice to level 10!]
['Serafina (★★★★)'s Basic Lightning Magic has evolved into Intermediate Lightning Magic!]
"Arrgghh!"
Beating the great odds, around a dozen enemies managed to survive my Third Circle lightning spell.
Darius immediately took aim at them.
Swoosh!
The archer's longbow arrows flew straight at the remaining enemies.
The projectiles claimed four to five enemies at once. Darius only needed three arrows to dispose them all.
['Darius (★★★)'s Rapid Fire has levelled up to level 6!]
['Darius (★★★)'s Strongbow has levelled up to level 2!]
['Darius (★★★)'s Basic Archery has levelled up to level 8!]
As Darius killed the last of our pursuers, a distinct red arrow slashed toward southwest in the sky.
Sigyn had issued a new order.
"The first phase of the plan is complete."
I told my comrades as I made my way toward the southwest path off the square.
"Let's resume our mission."