Boom! Boom! Boom!
The relentless attack from the enemies continued at the Lumley Ancestral Hall.
After so many hours, one would think the enemy mages' attack would slow down by now. However, contrary to expectations, their attacks only intensified. It was as if they felt no exhaustion— like a well-oiled machine that could function well at a steady pace without stopping.
"Sir Eoin, we are running short on the materials needed to maintain the array. Not to mention, the last batch of our replenishing and healing potions and pills are all gone. If this continues, we won't last half an hour," a Courtenay member reported after receiving the updates from the groups defending the frontlines, maintaining the hall's defensive array and those keeping tabs on their resources.
The expressions on Eoin's and the other leaders' faces darkened after hearing the member's report.
It had been more than four hours since the two people— one from the Courtenay and one from the Lumley— managed to escape. However, they had not heard from them yet.
To be accurate, they did not know whether those two managed to send an SOS because they could not receive or send any communication to and from the outside.
Nevertheless, they had thought that if their action had any positive results, their enemies would have at least shown something. For example, their attacks would slow down, or they decided to split their forces because they were attacked from the rear, at least something along those lines.
Alas, no such change occurred from the enemy's side, while on the other hand, Eoin's side was already on their very last legs. As a matter of fact, their last leg had already been disabled, and they were only waiting to be destroyed.
Before Eoin or any of the Courtenay and Lumley leaders could react, another member- this time from the Lumley family rushed to their side and hastily said, "P-Patriarch, the west gates has already been destroyed! The enemies are already preparing to have all their forces focus fire on that place!"
The mood instantly fell from the member's report. If earlier they were still holding on to a slim chance that any minute they might receive some sign from the two mages who escaped to ask for help, now, all their hopes were dashed off.
Even if the two mages managed to ask for help, they were already doomed because one of the ancestral hall's gates had already been destroyed.
Though the defensive array was still intact, the gates filtered most of the enemy mages' attacks. Now that one of the gates was destroyed, if they focused fire on that area, it would only take a few minutes to breach the defensive array. When that happened, they could enter the ancestral hall and wipe them out.
Eoin and the Lumley Patriarch could only exchange looks.
Now that they were already at this juncture, there were no longer any thoughts of survival on their minds. But, when both men saw each other's eyes, they realized that even without the hope of surviving the situation, both still wore determined looks.
That was right. Even if they die today, they would at least take a number of their enemies with them.
With this in mind, the two looked at their fellow leaders.
Just like them, they were determined to die while giving their all. Even the Lumley leader, who had said hateful things about the Regis Clan for not providing assistance immediately, was determined to kill as many enemies as possible before dropping dead.
"Judging from the look on your faces, it seems words are no longer necessary," the Lumley Patriarch started with a slight smile.
"Gentlemen, Ladies," Eoin chimed in, "It is a pleasure to fight alongside you to the end-."
BOOM!
A loud explosion from the west side of the hall shook the whole place before Eoin could finish what he wanted to say.
In that instant, all leaders of the Courtenay and Lumley Families stood up and rushed toward the west side.
The remaining mages inside the main hall, even those who were severely injured and were recuperating, also stood up and followed right behind.
Eoin and the Lumley Patriarch did not give out any orders, but all of their members seemed to have understood their intentions and knew this would be their last stand.
No.
They could not even call it a 'last stand' because if they did, it would mean they were still hoping for a chance of survival. Instead, they would call it their final destination.
All of them took out their magic weapons as they marched to the west side of the hall.
Soon, the exit leading to the west gates could be seen from where they stood.
Looking at the exit made Eoin feel somewhat nostalgic. However, he did not feel any regret. If anything, he felt relieved that he had asked Mimi to go to Noser before the Crown Princess launched her attack. At least Mimi would be safe if she stayed close to Kyran's Sigils.
Eoin could be assured that the Courtenay Family would not be wiped completely. He could leave Mimi to continue with the family's revival.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The hall's floor trembled with every explosion from the outside. Such a result showed how much power those enemy Grand Masters possessed.
Among the leaders with Eoin and the Lumley Patriarch, there were only twelve Grand Masters, with the rest being High Masters and Masters.
The Lumley Patriarch was an Exalted himself, but that did not mean they could gain the upper hand.
What could one or two Exalted do in the face of an overwhelming number of Grand Master mages?
Nevertheless, the Lumley Patriarch was confident he could take down several Grand Masters before he exhausted himself and died.
Eoin's eyes narrowed as he sensed several powerful presences approaching from the west. He tightened his hand on his magic staff's shaft and warned the rest, "They are approaching. Get ready!"
The support mages immediately cast support spells, boosting all the leaders' casting speed, magic defences, and magic output.
Normally, casting such spells at someone with a higher mage level than them would drain their magic energy quickly. For this reason, they avoid doing that, or they would only team up with mages at the same level as them. But since this was their final destination, they would rather exhaust their magic energy by casting supporting spells to high-level mages and dealing as much damage to the enemies as possible than try to save their magic energy but get killed first.
After the support mages cast their spells, the first few enemy Grand Masters entered the entrance.
Without giving them a chance to survey their surroundings, Eoin and the other leaders launched their attack.
The Courtenay and Lumley members from the back did not know when the leaders agreed to make a joint attack, but when they summoned their magic arrays, instead of several magic arrays appearing, there was one massive multi-colored magic array that appeared before them.
In a blink of an eye, the multi-colored magic array flashed with a dazzling light as it shot out a massive Flaming Whirlwind.
The enemy Grand Masters who had just entered the west entrance were taken aback by the massive magic attack that greeted them.
Because it was too sudden, those in front failed to create a magic barrier and were instantly incinerated. They did not even have the chance to scream before getting charred.
Those from the back were able to activate magic barrier. However, they still received some damage.
"ARGH!"
"Move back! Move back first!"
After launching the first preemptive joint attack, the Lumley Patriarch dashed forward. He waved the long staff in his hand, and a three-meter diameter magic array appeared in front of him. Then a massive flaming Roc emerged from the magic array and flew directly at the incoming enemy Grand Masters.
When the enemies saw the Roc, they instantly turned pale. Though most of them were Fire mages with high resistance to fire magic— and at times, immunity to fire attacks— they were still afraid of the Roc's flames.
This Roc was similar to Matias's. The only difference was Matias's Roc had the firepower of a High Master only, while the Lumley Patriarch had the firepower of an Exalted.
One had to understand that if a High Master's fire Roc were measured, it would be equivalent to the firepower of a Grand Master. So, if an Exalted mage used it, it would be comparable to a Magus!
RAWRGH!
The Flaming Roc let out a fierce cry, and in an instant, the hall was burned to a crisp.
Those Grand Masters who did not manage to retreat in time were also reduced to ashes. In comparison, those who managed to back away suffered from mild burns.
With the Lumley Patriarch taking the lead, the rest of the leaders followed suit.
They launched fire or wind magic attacks at the retreating enemy mages. Some succeeded in hitting them, but it was not enough to kill them.
The Lumley Patriarch controlled the Roc and rushed outside when the enemy mages succeeded in retreating.
The rest of the leaders were close behind.
However, before the Lumley Patriarch could continue his attack, he was stunned at the scene that greeted him outside.
Several enemy mages were lined up ahead with their magic weapons aimed at the west entrance.
"Enemy leaders sighted! Aim!"
Someone from the enemy line shouted.
"Fire!"
Hearing the enemy leader's command to fire, the Lumley Patriarch's scalp had gone numb. Instinctively, he manipulated the Roc to shield him regardless of whether it could withstand the enemy mages' bombardment. As a matter of fact, it could not withstand it because it was a purely offensive attack and had little to no defensive property.
FOOOOM!
Just as the first magic attacks fired at the Lumley Patriarch, an unseen yet powerful pressure pressed down on them.
Sensing the pressure, the Lumley Patriarch could not help but feel alarmed and, at the same time, hopeful because the pressure felt familiar yet unfamiliar.
Familiar because such pressure was similar to Tobias's Gravity magic. Yet unfamiliar because there was something different from the aura he could feel from it. Besides, he had already confirmed Tobias's death, so the latter couldn't have come to his rescue.
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