Second World - Chapter 1888: Joining the Battlefield

While Chris opened his Anywhere Portal to send the remaining teams to the respective battlefields one by one, Jeanny and the others stepped foot into the Aurebor Northern Front.

Being here physically was completely different from watching the scene from Chris’ projection. The air was filled with tension and the cries of battles. Sounds of explosions and the clashes of weapons never ceased. People moved around constantly while shouting. It was difficult to comprehend anything due to the chaos.

Luckily, they had seen the defenders prepared at this front before the battle started, so they knew the layout of this front. They knew where the defender’s base of operation was. The base was not that difficult to locate because it was an enormous fortress with legs.

The mobile fortress was not in as good a condition as it first arrived. Many cracks were seen on its walls. Several parts of its battlement were already in ruin. One of its legs was broken. It couldn’t move as well as it should.

“Let’s head there first!” Jeanny told the others.

They flew towards the mobile fortress. During their stay in Chris’ secret garden, Chris also gave wings tools to those who had not yet had them.

“Mother!” Jeanny called after arriving above the keep inside the mobile fortress. The shield around the mobile fortress was still there, but it was not as strong as before. The shield didn’t block Jeanny and the others because they were considered allies.

Nova was using the war table. She didn’t turn when Jeanny called. She was already aware of Jeanny’s coming. The two exchanged messages beforehand. She couldn’t take her attention away from the screen. One mistake and the demon army might breach their defenses.

“How is the situation?” Jeanny asked after landing.

“Not good,” Nova answered. “We have suffered significant casualties after the multiple battles. The worst thing is we have lost the capital, Lorethion. I can still access the monarch system using the city hall inside the cities near the border, but I can’t recruit as many soldiers that way. We have also run out of reinforcement from the native adventurers and the frogmen.”

“How long do you think we can last?” Jeanny asked.

“The battle at this front had just started half a day ago, so we are still strong. One good news is the demon army isn’t as overwhelming as they were. I think they are also running out of reinforcements from the underworld after so many battles. I guess that made sense. There should be a limit to the demons sent from the underworld, shouldn’t it? We should thank the Gods for that, at least.”

Nova didn’t know that the one she should be thanking was Master, who sent Sizhad to use the Mana Purifiers and halt the demon reinforcements.

“Even so, once this front is breached, we have to retreat to Verremor,” Nova said. “I can’t recruit soldiers anymore by then. The army here will be all we have.”

“We won’t retreat anymore. We will settle the battle here!” Jeanny declared.

Nova smiled. “That confidence of yours is always motivating.”

“We will go and face Mammon. Try to support us by preventing other demons from interfering,” Jeanny said. She was studying the screen. The dot that represented Mammon was fighting two green dots. At this stage, the defenders couldn’t spare too many combatants to deal with Mammon, so the devil was able to get dangerously close to the defensive wall.

“Are you sure?” Nova asked with worry. “Mammon is not your usual opponent. You can’t treat him like the normal bosses you have fought before. After seeing that devil in action for more than two months, I dare say he has still not yet exhibited his true power. He is treating this war like a game. He probably wants to prolong it for as long as possible.”

“Don’t worry, mother,” Jeanny gave Nova a confident smile. “I’m also not the same as before.”

“All right, but be careful. Mammon is especially aggressive against players. I don’t know why, but he always targets any player who comes near him. We’ve lost many players who incidentally went into his range.”

Jeanny had an idea why. Jack had recorded his experience during his time in the underworld and put the record in the guild’s archive. Core members were free to read it, so they knew what to expect in the underworld.

She didn’t have the time to explain to Nova, so she just told her mother again not to worry. She turned to the others and said, “Let’s go, everyone!” She then took to the sky.

“Ma’am,” Freddie said to Nova before flying after Grace.

“Aren’t you going to say something to your future mother-in-law?” Spring Crown said to David.

“Will you knock it off?!” David scolded.

Spring Crown laughed and flew away. David gave Nova a sheepish laugh before he left.

‘Mother-in-law…?’ Nova thought in confusion.

*

The four fought the demon bats as they flew forward. Once they flew past the wall, the huge body of Mammon came into view. The sight on the opposite of the wall was indeed a hellscape. A full-scale battle was happening as far as the eyes could see.

Mammon’s primary opponents were the Soul Swan and the leader of the Devotee of Passion. The Soul Swan was a level 95 eternal avian. The leader of the Devotee of Passion was a vampire named Leda. She was a level 90 eternal grade.

The Soul Swan was not a melee combatant. Yet, it had no choice but to assume the role. It mostly played defense while using healing spells on itself nonstop to stay alive. Leda was a spellcaster with good defensive abilities, so she also fought Mammon at close range to help alleviate the pressure on the Soul Swan.

The two didn’t have any thoughts about defeating Mammon. It already took all their effort to stay alive. Their objective was simply to hinder Mammon’s advance for as long as possible. The others who could help mostly play support from range.

They couldn’t do anything about Mammon’s dark wolves, though. The two wolves ran freely and pounced on anyone they came across. These wolves ended up killing more defenders than Mammon himself.

“Should we fight those wolves first?” Freddie asked.

“No. Some had fought those wolves when we first encountered the devils,” Jeanny said. “Those wolves are immortal as long Mammon still stands. It is pointless wasting our time on them.”

“That’s probably why no one bothers to try to kill those wolves,” David said after observing the situation. The defenders only defend against the wolves’ attacks. They don’t attempt any attack on the wolves. “They must have done it before, and the wolves just returned to life.”

“How should we do this?” Freddie asked. He was the eldest here, but he had learned to listen to these youngsters. They were more experienced with everything about this new world.

“Spring Crown and I will take point,” Jeanny said. “David, you are in charge of dealing constant damage while we took Mammon’s attention. Uncle Freddie, you play support. I know you might want to fight the enemy using your martial arts. Please refrain from doing so. Use your spells.”

“Wilted said the Soul Swan is an excellent healer, so you don’t need to worry too much about healing us, old man,” Spring Crown said to Freddie.

“Just do your things, but stay safe. Don’t be too reckless,” David added.

“I can’t believe I’m getting lectured by kids half my age…,” Freddie shook his head.

“All right. Remember! We can’t hope for others to come to our help,” Jeanny said. “We are the help. The army is stretched thin as it is. We will defeat Mammon by ourselves.”

The four then rushed toward Mammon. As they were about to arrive, they suddenly found their advance blocked by a daemon.

11:22

While the daemon drew the four’s attention, a high demon attempted to get a jump on them from above. This high demon came swooping down while swinging a giant axe. A fiery wave followed his swing.

“Outworlders, dieee…!!!” The high demon exclaimed.

None of the four were surprised by the sneak attack. Spring Crown saw the sneaking high demon way before he attempted the attack. He changed direction and flew up when the high demon’s swing was still in motion.

His weapon changed into a buckler that blocked the fiery wave as he flew into the wave. It then transformed back into a spear and stabbed into the high demon’s head while the demon’s axe was still at the end of its swing.

Spring Crown’s weapon changed again. This time to a hammer. He used Power Strike and struck the high demon, whose vision was disrupted by the stab. The powerful strike sent the high demon slamming into the ground below. Spring Crown had aimed so the demon fell right next to a yeti who was fighting among the defenders. The yeti didn’t waste the chance. It used its large foot to stomp the high demon and keep it from getting up. It then rained punches at the pinned demon.

Jeanny and the others continued forward when Spring Crown dealt with the high demon. David fired Rapid Shot at the daemon who blocked their way. The daemon tanked the shot while rushing forward. Since the sneak attack failed, it resorted to brute force.

The daemon wore a pair of flaming fist weapons. Freddie came before it when it punched. Freddie’s fallen apostle’s weapon was a curved stick. He easily deflected the daemon’s punch using the curved stick before sending a drunken fist punch to the side of the daemon’s head.

Jeanny used Penetrating Stab straight at the daemon’s head when it was reeling. She then used Power Strike and sent the daemon crashing to the ground below.

Down there were plenty of defenders. They were still close to the wall, after all. They let the defenders below deal with the two grounded enemies. They resumed their advance toward Mammon. They couldn’t afford to waste their time and skills on these small fries.

They had a devil to catch.