Heimarian Odyssey

Chapter 374: Help has Arrived (2)

Countless rays plunged into the ground, pushing the battle into yet another climax. The two leading demigod Ritters pierced into the Botanian formation like sharpened blades, stirring a ruckus that was quickly intercepted by the violent clashes of the slaves and knights following them.

It was a battle of resilience between unequal parties. The Three Western Isles were leagues stronger than the Botanians so the battle should be just a walk in the park for them. However, there were just too many Botanians gathered in the Holy City in response to their call of duty. Most of the Botanian natives had diligently travelled to this sanctuary, covering the span of its hills and plains with their numbers. Most of them were pathetically powerless but they’d come forward in the threat of extinction. It went without saying that these Botanians could only play a small part in this battle. They were not more than a metre tall and weaker than the regular Zauberian human. Regarding them as obstacles was quite the stretch but these regular Botanians would nevertheless act as meat shields to slow down the invaders’ march.

Casters at the back of the Three Western Isles’ formation began launching mana blasts, birthing splashes of blood and flesh bits ahead. Their mana was the grim reaper and a mass aggregation of Botanians was the easiest target one could ever ask for. Every caster launched their attacks with full might. Those that could advance to Battlezone 1 were prized scholars of the Sanctum. The lower Lehrlings involved were capable of hitting more than a hundred Botanians with their eyes closed even!

Tens of millions of Botanians bustled around the violent battle outside the Holy City. The Three Western Isles were severely outnumbered for a part of their knights and casters were scattered around in different corners of the minor plane. Their ranks were mostly made up of slaves creatures, there were not more than four hundred thousand knights and only two thousand casters here.

It was one million against ten million. The casters and knights unleashed their strength unabashed on the battlefield. Locke, who was on the edge of Battlezone 1, slashed through the Botanians in front of him. Things were turning tough, the Botanians seemed to have gone completely bonkers! Despite knowing that they were far inferior to their opponents, it didn’t dissuade them from throwing themselves onto the invaders fearlessly. Locke was beginning to see how even ants could kill an elephant.josei

The Akanasd sovereign battled a Botanian city lord nearby. There was nothing Locke could do in a battle between level-one lifeforms. The aftershocks alone were enough to impact a quasi-Ritter like him severely.

A loud scorpiondrake’s screech rang in his proximity. The base-rank scorpiondrakes must be in trouble! Locke waved his longsword around as he pushed through the offending Botanians in search of the base-rank monsters.

Unlike their usual majesty, the scopriondrakes looked like a mess. The Botanians were thoroughly unhinged as they clawed for a chance of survival. They weren’t any less insane than their enslaved army. One of the scorpiondrakes was doused in viscous fluids, a mix of Botanian mucus and blood. Its tough scales were already slightly softened, who knew how long could it hang on before its defences were broken through?

A crowd of Botanians found their way atop its spine and began to injure the base-rank scorpiondrake with whatever they could find. The major monster waved its claw, smashing a dozen of them to death but their numbers were quickly replenished. Screech! The scorpiondrake let out another desperate sound, this time meeker than the first. Locke quickly dragged his longsword forward without much thought. The Botanians were indeed doing their part to slow down their invaders on this corner of the war.

No matter how hard it tried, the World Tree couldn’t stop its trembling. Its yellow leaves were shedding like crazy and it looked as if the evergreen tree had suddenly experienced autumn within a day. The sunflower high priest was at the brink of death and Botania was only left with eleven level-three Botanians that could be sent to combat but their numbers were still dwindling rapidly.

The Himmelritters had figured out that the awakened ancient Botanians were not as powerful as those of the current generation. The Botanians’ elite combat force was of dwindling numbers and strength. It didn’t help that the downfall of most level-three Botanians was merely caused by surprise spell attacks.

Indeed, different opponents required different approaches. Casters had mostly employed wide-radius offensive spells to massacre Botanians while switching to concentrated short-range spells when facing level two or three Botanians. Lightning Spear, Gaze of Death, Petrifying Curse… The variety of spells was an incredible eye-opener packaged in bloodshed for these foolish Botanians.

Goldy, the sunflower priest, was hanging on by a thin thread. The meteor shower conjured by Magister Mist was an extreme spell even for level-three Magisters. It was an attack with effects that rivaled the destructive capabilities of level-four lifeforms. Unofficial accounts had deduced that the meteor shower had wiped away millions of low-rank Botanians. In fact, it had even killed two level-three Botanians and injured the sunflower high priest gravely. Magister Mist had perfectly demonstrated why casters came to dominate among the nearby planes with their astonishing output and range.

Demigods Agus and Eugen too could accomplish attacks with similar coverage by circulating their enormous impetus capacity. Yet, the damage would never come close to that of the meteor shower.

The World Tree shook uncontrollably not because of the deaths of its kind nor due to the fall of the elite Botanians. It was trembling in fear from the pressure imposed by the stronger lifeform beyond the minor plane.

This is the end of Botania, thought the World Tree who’d lived for aeons. It had existed since the dawn of the plane and had watched its changes from the sidelines. The World Tree’s roots had stretched across a third of Wilderia and grown to more than thousands of metres tall; it had reached the possible ceiling of all lifeforms on Botania. It was a pity that its ancient foundations would perish soon enough. An invading army led by a level-four lifeform was enough to plunge Botania into an existential crisis, let alone one that was led by two of them. The World Tree was well aware of what may follow since it too was close to being a level-four lifeform.