Overwhelming Firepower

As the black wave of monsters continued their relentless charge forward, a powerful booming sound echoed in the field.

Several metal balls with glowing rune engravings flew across the sky, and when they landed on the black mass of flesh, they started exploding.

The first explosions tore open the tide like ripping flesh. Fire and frost bloomed at once. One metal sphere detonated in a blinding flash, the rune engravings burning white-hot as a concussive blast ripped through the front ranks. Bodies were flung skyward, limbs scattering across the snow like broken dolls.

Another sphere burst in a shriek of freezing mana. Ice spread outward in a violent bloom, flash-freezing monsters mid-stride. They shattered a heartbeat later, bodies breaking apart into jagged shards that clattered across the ground.

From within the explosions, shapes kept moving. Burned flesh knit together with wet, cracking sounds. Frozen limbs snapped back into motion, joints grinding as if forced by invisible hands.

Where the rune-engraved metal balls had struck, the snow was gone entirely, replaced by scorched earth and pools of blackened slush that hissed and boiled, corrupted mana clawing upward like grasping fingers.

It didn’t take long before those blank spots in the wave were replaced by a different monster as they continued onward.

The mages had finally finished casting their combined spell [Firestorm]. This spell of theirs had consumed most of their mana, and they would be unable to recover for a bit.

The Firestorm descended like the wrath of a god. The tornado of flame slammed into the front of the black tide, its core a roaring pillar of white-hot fire that twisted violently, dragging monsters into its grasp.

Those caught at the edge were lifted screaming into the air, bodies igniting instantly as the vortex tore them apart.

Fireballs spat outward from the storm, streaking across the snowfield like falling stars. Wherever they landed, explosions followed, waves of heat washing over the battlefield, melting snow into boiling slush and turning ice to steam in an instant.

Dozens, hundreds, of monsters were reduced to ash. Others were torn limb from limb, their corrupted bodies unable to withstand the overwhelming heat.

A few soldiers were about ready to cheer, but they noticed the other were frowning, so they stopped themselves.

As the fire began to thin. The tornado’s edges flickered, its furious rotation slowing as the magic sustaining it started to falter.

The mages collapsed to their knees, blood dripping from cracked lips, their chanting breaking apart into ragged gasps.

From within the inferno, there was movement. Silhouettes staggered forward, blackened and burning. Some had lost entire limbs, yet still advanced, dragging melted flesh behind them. Others burst from the flames in shrieking fury, their bodies warped even further by the demonic mana reacting violently to the fire.

Charred bones jutted from flesh that no longer bled. Eyes burned like dying embers, fixed not on survival, but on destruction. The demonic haze thickened, swallowing the remaining flames as if smothering them.

The Firestorm collapsed inward with a final thunderous roar, leaving behind a vast field of scorched ground and smoldering corpses.

The black wave of monsters continued onward as nothing happened. The field was once again filled with them; there seems to be no end in sight.

Seeing the sight, the resolve of a few soldiers began to waver. It was at that moment that they heard the voice of their leader, Lucen Thornehart.

”Continue firing the Thunderspears! Once they get close enough and get within our range, do not hesitate and fire at them! Do not falter for I’m here with you!”

Lucen’s voice cut through the suffocating pressure like a blade. Harlik then barked orders as the dwarves reacted instantly.

”Fire!” The Thunderspears roared.

The simple cannons thundered in sequence, their reports overlapping into a deafening wall of sound. Recoil slammed through their frames as iron spheres were hurled upward and forward, trailing smoke and sparks as they plunged into the advancing horde.

Explosions blossomed across the front lines once more as the ground erupted. Snow and ice were torn apart, shockwaves rippling outward as monsters were crushed, torn in half, or pulverized outright.

Bodies were hurled into the air only to crash down moments later in broken heaps. Yet even with all that, they continued forward. The distance closed faster now.

The demonic tide surged forward over its own dead, crawling, climbing, trampling without hesitation. Some monsters used the bodies of others as shields, throwing themselves atop the fallen to push through the destruction.

The thunderspears fired again, and again. Over time, the rhythm of the firing slowed down. The thunderspear could not sustain such continuous firing. The dwarves were now trying to fix the thunderspears.

This time, Lucen took aim and started firing, not using his gun creation or bullet creation, but with only the standard bolt-action rifle that everyone else uses.

Still, because of his many gun-related skills, he was able to aim perfectly and shoot from a distance that no one could do.

Each shot Lucen hit the head of each monster he was aiming at. Their heads were pierced, and despite their regenerative powers, they fell to the ground dead.

Still, even with that, it didn’t slow down the charge at all, but when the monster wave finally got into range, Harlik gave out a command.

”Everyone fire!” Harlik and everyone else with a rifle started firing. The people who manned the Gatling guns also started firing.

The knights got into their armor and used their aura mantles as they picked up their modified Gatling guns and started firing as well. The sound of gunfire erupted.

Rifles cracked in disciplined volleys, muzzle flashes strobing behind the shield wall like lightning trapped in steel.

Bullets tore through the advancing monsters in precise lines, punching holes clean through skulls, shattering spines, ripping torsos apart.

The Gatling guns screamed. Their barrels spun into blurs as belts of ammunition vanished in seconds.

Lead poured into the horde like a metal flood, cutting wide swaths through the front ranks. Monsters were ripped apart faster than their bodies could react, regeneration failing not because it was weak, but because there was nothing left to regenerate.

Flesh misted the cold air. Black blood sprayed across the snow, instantly freezing or boiling depending on where it landed.

Limbs were severed mid-stride, bodies collapsing forward only to be trampled into pulp by those behind them.

Yet despite all that, the monster wave continued onward, still looking never-ending. Seeing this scene before him, Lucen gnashed his teeth as the vision of his old dream flashed before his eyes.

’Damn... If it continues like this, we’ll run out of bullets before putting a dent in that wave. There must be something I can do.’

Lucen looked around and saw nothing; it was an open field of ice. Even if they melted the ice on the ground, it would just show soil. If they were on water, maybe they could try to sink the monsters, or if they were in a ravine, they could cause a landslide.

’If only I knew they would appear on this side instead of the first fortress...’ Lucen shook his head as he was spiraling.

’For now, I just need to do what I can.’ Lucen once again focused on firing at the seemingly endless wave of monsters.

Spent casings piled at their feet, half-buried in snow and blackened slush. The air reeked of burnt powder and iron, the sharp stench cutting through even the demonic haze.

Rifle bolts snapped back and forth in a frantic rhythm, fingers numb, shoulders screaming from recoil.

”Reload! Reload faster!”

”Barrel’s overheating, switch, switch!”

The dwarves rotated barrels as fast as they could, glowing metal swapped for cold iron in practiced motions.

Even so, the weapons screamed in protest, their relentless roar starting to stutter as friction and heat took their toll.

On the other hand, the knights using their aura mantles did not have such problems, and they continued shooting.

The monsters had reached the line of fire where death was constant, and instead of slowing, they began to adapt.

Some of the creatures at the front dropped low, crawling forward on mangled limbs, using the bodies of their fallen as cover.

Others pressed forward in clusters, piling together until bullets punched through one body only to lodge in another, momentum bleeding away uselessly.

It was at that moment that something started moving. A ripple passed through the horde.

The demonic mana thickened, surging like a pulse. From within the mass, something larger began to push forward, its shape obscured by writhing bodies that clung to it like parasites.

The ground trembled harder. A massive form tore free from the wave, standing taller than the other monsters in front.

It had once been some kind of horned beast, but now its body was swollen and asymmetrical, layers of fused flesh and bone forming a crude, living bulwark.

Dozens of smaller monsters were embedded into its sides, half-absorbed, half-still alive, roaring as they were dragged along.

The bullets struck the monster, but they sank in, doing nothing, just making it roar even louder.

It started dashing forward at an incredible speed. No matter how much they fired at the monster, it didn’t falter.

The bullets were doing nothing, as they simply sank into its body like they were being absorbed.

Robert and the mages saw the dashing, large monster and were about to chant a spell, but before they could do anything, Lucen fired several bullets in quick succession at it.

The bullets, the same as all the others, sank into it, but unlike the others, that wasn’t the end of it.

Lucen had used one of his many skills, which was elemental bullet, and imbued a bullet with the fire element. The bullets then exploded from within the monster, blowing it up from within.

As Lucen saw the exploding monster, he then saw a few others emerging from the wave. Now, several more of those monsters appeared as they roared and dashed towards them.

Fortunately, the Thunderspears were ready to fire again, and they were now aimed at the charging large monsters.

The rune-engraved metal balls exploded the large monster or froze it. Still, several others would replace them.

Seeing this scene, a few soldiers were feeling despair, but then Varek, the chief of the Stone Hawk Tribe, roared as his spirit tattoos glowed brightly. He grabbed a metal spear and threw it with incredible strength.

The metal spear pierced through the head of the large monster. It didn’t end there; the other tattooed barbarians started throwing spears as well.

The distance of their throws were not able to reach far, but the large monsters were close enough for that not to matter.

”Let’s show these beasts our power!” Sylla shouted, and the barbarians roared as they continued throwing spears at the large monsters that were getting close.

Robert and the mages also started attacking with various spells at those who were getting too close to them.

Despite the desperate situation, no one was giving up. They all believe that Lucen would lead them all to that chance of victory.