Chapter 85: Luring and Focusing Fire
“Lucas is injured! Get him out of there! Hans, take his place, gunmen, covering fire!”
“Tranlo, hold the left flank, don’t let the Snow Monsters break through! Reinhardt, shift left and provide support!”
“What’s happening on the right flank?! Nielsen, put some effort into it, I don’t want to be sending your pension to your blonde widow!”
As the pressure on the front lines intensified, Andrea had to issue commands constantly, pulling exhausted or injured mercenaries from the front and deploying reserves to plug the gaps.
Hermann fought hard on the right flank. His Frost Sequence ability was almost negligible against the Snow Monsters, who also possessed Frost abilities, so he relied on his combat skills honed since childhood.
Retreating to the cover of his companions, Hermann took a few breaths to recover his stamina and glanced behind him, seeing the girls of Azure Longsword stand up.
Finally going to make a move? He thought. It made sense. It wouldn’t benefit them if the Iron Cross mercenary group was wiped out here.
Andrea, commanding the entire battlefield, also noticed Azure Longsword’s movements.
Unlike Hermann, his first thought was, Are they planning to take advantage of the chaos to kill me, steal the materials, and run?
He discreetly moved forward a few steps, using the gunmen as cover.
Asker, completely ignoring his little movements, calmly instructed Miel:
“Pull the monster.”
Miel raised her sniper rifle and steadily pulled the trigger.
A bullet, trailing a flash of muzzle fire, shot out and struck a Snow Monster in the eye.
That Snow Monster was waiting in the back, not yet engaged in the fight with the Iron Cross mercenaries, and thus, still considered “unclaimed.”
Unlike the power of an ordinary rifle, this sniper rifle bullet almost instantly blew out one of its eyeballs.
The injured Snow Monster roared in pain, its reason consumed by rage. It charged, pushing through its companions and the human mercenaries, heading straight for Azure Longsword.
“Right flank, contract! Fall back!” Andrea made a decisive decision, ordering the right flank to retreat and leaving the Snow Monster to Azure Longsword, reducing the pressure on his own front lines.
Eleanor stepped forward, her shield colliding with the Snow Monster. Focusing her mind, she visualized the stories from The Song of Roland, the image of a valiant knight filling her mind.
“…We are about to die, with little time left to live…”
The knight’s words echoed in her ears.
“…But the enemy will pay a heavy price…”
A pure white light gradually emanated from Eleanor’s sword and shield, coalescing and intensifying, brilliant and radiant.
“…Take up your swords, and kill with abandon…”
“…Make a final stand!”
With the knight’s fervent roar, Eleanor’s glowing sword slammed into the Snow Monster.
The white light exploded.
Damn it, failed again!
Eleanor wasn’t discouraged. She calmly held her shield in front of her chest, blocking the Snow Monster’s counterattack.
According to the “Indomitable Holy Sword” described in The Song of Roland, the white light was a manifestation of her strong will, sharpening her sword, reinforcing her shield, making her unstoppable.
Under the strike of the white-light-imbued sword, all tangible things would be shattered.
However, in actual practice, it was the opposite: no matter what she struck, it was the white light that exploded first.
Eleanor guessed it was because her will wasn’t strong enough, but she already knew that learning Transcendental sword techniques was difficult, so she just kept practicing repeatedly.
The Snow Monster swung its powerful arms, hammering her shield again and again with loud clangs. Eleanor calmly retreated, bent her knees, and slightly tilted her shield, skillfully deflecting the force of the blows.
Then, Sidlipha, wielding her twin axes, charged out from beside her, Whirlwind Slash!
The whirling axes, like a tornado of blades, instantly forced three or four Snow Monsters back, sending blood and flesh flying.
Under Asker’s guidance, Sidlipha could even change the height of her axe blows during the spin, the blades either slashing across the Snow Monsters’ relatively soft abdomens or deflecting their heavy punches.
Eleanor seized the opportunity and charged forward with her shield. Her coordination with Sidlipha was already quite skillful. The moment Sidlipha’s Whirlwind Slash ended, she shielded her with her shield.
“Duck!” Medea’s voice rang out in their minds.
The two quickly ducked their heads. The Snow Monster in front of them, about to attack, suddenly made eye contact with Medea behind them.
Then, it lost control, its arms flailing wildly, knocking away the surrounding Snow Monsters.
As a supernatural creature that focused heavily on physical strength, Medea’s “Mind” ability was practically the Snow Monster’s natural enemy.
The Snow Monster, controlled in a daze, quickly passed Eleanor and Sidlipha, charging into the circle of girls behind them.
Ordering the Snow Monster to lie on its back, Medea withdrew her psychic ability. Thira followed up with Gravity Amplification, pinning the now conscious Snow Monster under its own weight, preventing it from getting up.
The moment the gravity intensified, Mia’s backstab pierced the Snow Monster’s eye, Peggy’s Thermal Blade sliced its neck, and Miel’s sniper bullet accurately pierced the wound, almost completely severing its cervical vertebrae.
Even a supernatural creature with strong vitality couldn’t withstand this round of three fatal attacks, dying instantly on the spot.
“Good job, again.” Asker said.
Sidlipha and Eleanor on the front lines immediately understood, continuing to entangle the surrounding Snow Monsters, preventing them from breaking through to the rear.
Medea seized the opportunity and once again used her “Mind” ability to control an unsuspecting Snow Monster.
That Snow Monster lowered its body and charged, knocking away the other two Snow Monsters that were besieging Eleanor, and then charged all the way into the encirclement of the Azure Longsword girls.
Another round of merciless focused fire swiftly killed the Snow Monster on the spot.
“Good, this time try to improve efficiency, pull two over.” Asker said.
“My ability can only control one Snow Monster at a time,” Medea replied.
“Luring doesn’t have to rely on psychic abilities,” Asker hinted.
Medea was stunned, and various devious ideas immediately popped into her mind.
Among the Snow Monsters fighting Eleanor and Sidlipha in the distance, another Snow Monster suddenly went berserk. It first punched the Snow Monster on its left, sending it flying, then charged to the right, knocking the Snow Monster on its right to the ground and beating its head fiercely.
After this series of infighting, most of the attacked Snow Monsters, enraged, gave up their attacks and turned to deal with this crazed companion.
Then, this Snow Monster, leading seven or eight enraged victims, charged towards the center of Azure Longsword’s formation.
“Oops, did I lure a bit too many this time?” Medea covered her mouth and smiled.
“It’s okay,” Asker said. “We’ll brute force it.”
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