Chapter 1669 1669. From the Inside
While the top combatants were trying to keep the eldritch beholder busy up there, most of the armies were battling on the ground below. In terms of number, the combined forces of Themisphere and Verremor outnumbered the Aurebor's side. If not for the small beholders, the battle would have been completely one-sided.
The guild players summoned their guild armies. Five guilds from the Aurebor's side and ten guilds from the Verremor's side. Both sides hadn't had the time to rebuild their guild armies since the battle at the border, so this was simply a continuation of that battle.
Among Aurebor's guilds were the Death Associates. This guild's players and Abasi's clan were the only two non-elven races fighting on the Aurebor's side.
On the invader side, the majority of the race were humans and orcs, but there were some elves. These elves were Aurebor players who supported the invasion to take Mistress down. Leading these Aurebor players were the Wicked Witches.
"Traitors to Aurebor!!" White Death shouted to the elven players supporting the invaders. He was trying to raise the morale of the native elves and threaten the enemy elven players into hesitation. "You will pay for this treachery once this war is over. This country will not forget it!"
"You are one to talk!" Jennifer shouted back. "Do you already forget that you are chased out of Themisphere for your treachery to your original kingdom?"
"My guild was framed!" White Death exclaimed. "It was the Everlasting Heavenly Legends, that evil guild, who besmirched my guild's reputation when we were onto them for their evil scheme to take over the country. I was proven right! One of the leaders of that guild killed the rightful sovereign and is now the tyrant of that country. He even sent his armies out to invade our country here, destroying the peace of the world!"
Jennifer was at a loss for words. She couldn't tell if the guy was speaking outright lies to trick others or if he was truly delusional enough to believe what he just said.
"No need to waste your breath on such a lowlife, daughter," Nova said. "Focus on the battle."
One of White Death's claims was not wrong, though. Considering the Wicked Witches joining the invaders' side against the legitimate sovereign of this country, Mistress now had a lawful reason to banish the guild without suffering a penalty to their settlements' stats. That was, of course, if Mistress won the war and stayed on the throne after the war.
Hence, for all the elven players joining the invaders' side, this was a do-or-die situation. There was no turning back.
As for Nova and Jennifer, this battle meant more to them. It was not just about dethroning Mistress. They had to take down Aurebor so that the Verremor and Themisphere armies could continue their march into Liguritudum. They needed this to happen before they could enter that country to save Jeanny who was held there.
They couldn't summon their guild army. None of the Aurebor guilds on the invaders' side could summon their guild armies because there was no native elven force on the invaders' side. Even so, the guild armies from Verremor's guilds already outnumbered the defenders' guild armies.
Though outnumbered, World Ruler's guild army was still a cut above the rest. The Wicked Witches and the other Aurebor guilds had experienced this guild army's power. The Verremor guilds had also experienced it during the battle at the border. If Cipher Flight's guild army was present, then they might prove an equal foe to the World Ruler. But even in this battle, Cipher Flight didn't summon its guild army.
As such, the World Ruler's guild army was like an unstoppable force, until they faced the Themisphere native soldiers. Themisphere's special units and expertise in warfare and martial arts were more than enough to contend against this guild army, and they had more numbers.
Even with the help of the small beholders, the Aurebor force was getting pushed back. It wasn't difficult to see the outcome of this battle. That, of course, considering the battle continued as it was.
Unfortunately, it was not so.
The eldritch beholder that was fighting in the sky was simply toying with the nine. After killing Violent Blizzard and Katili, the eldritch beholder stopped playing around. She proceeded to kill Purple Mist who was still caged inside her dark prison.
With their healer gone, the remaining of the nine had even more difficulties. Kuona's iron griffin was killed next. The female war chief was still alive, but she lost her flying ability after losing her pet. She fell to the ground and could only fight with the army below.
Duchess Isabelle was wounded and was forced to leave the battlefield. She lost her left arm to a spell similar to the Hellish Black Drill which took Katili's life. If Samuhn hadn't used a spell to move her at a critical time, she would have lost her head as well.
With only four people left, they were unable to keep the eldritch beholder's attention. The eldritch beholder also lost interest in them since the four now adopted an evasive maneuver. She redirected her attention to the army below.
Her spells, of course, caused massive casualties to the Themisphere and Verremor's troops. Her small eyeballs again mind-controlled powerful natives among the troops, causing chaos to the allied forces who were already winning before the eldritch beholder returned her attention to them.
The Aurebor soldiers cheered for the might of their country guardian. Their morale was lifted. They fought better.
Emris decided he couldn't let this continue. He took the risk by flying toward the eldritch beholder. The eldritch beholder just sneered when she saw the lord marshall approach. She didn't put him in her eyes because he was a spellcaster.
Unforeseen by the eldritch beholder, Emris cast Wind Jet once he was close. His body shot straight into the eldritch beholder's gigantic mouth.
"What?!" His action took both his allies and the eldritch beholder by surprise.
Elemental explosions were seen coming out of the eldritch beholder's mouth. Following those were damage numbers atop the eldritch beholder. The anti-magic planar wall protected all the spells hitting the eldritch beholder from the outside, but it didn't protect her from spells from the inside.
"You, fool! What do you think happened to the things I swallowed?!" The eldritch beholder bellowed.
Inside, Emris saw dense dark energies swirl around him, eroding him. He had cast Barrier and other defensive buffs to protect himself before entering but his HP still went down at an extremely rapid rate.
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