They didn't pause to clean the battlefield. Anno and Charles ordered the warriors to gather their gear and reorganize the formation, then set out at a brisk run, following the sound of the bell echoing ahead.
After crossing the broken cliff and rounding a turn, the group caught sight of a mighty silhouette soaring through the sky. The ringing bell was coming from it.
Charles squinted, and quickly recognized it as a Griffon—a massive beast with the body of a lion, but the head, foreclaws, and wings of a great eagle.
Unlike the chimera—a wild and dangerous hybrid—griffons are widely domesticated throughout the world.
While wild griffons are ferocious and untamed, those hatched from eggs are easy to train. Once tamed, they are absolutely loyal and powerful mounts.
Indeed, these creatures have a challenge rating of three—stronger and fiercer than a rhino.
Some factions skilled in griffon training have used them to build powerful air cavalries, earning renowned reputations across the world.
Just like this one before them!
Charles narrowed his eyes further; riding on the griffon's back was a dwarf, continuously ringing a magical bell as a call for help.
He also glimpsed, slung across the dwarf's back, a pair of Storm Warhammers, just like his own.
That was a Griffon Knight!
Impressive—the dwarves had committed invaluable resources, even deploying such elite groups to the Roof Ridge Plateau.
As he thought so, Charles saw several dark shapes streak toward the airborne Griffon Knight—creatures shaped like elongated humans, but with vulture heads and wings, long and spindly claws for arms and legs, and a lizard-like tail. They hurled themselves at the Griffon Knight with piercing screams!
Charles's expression changed. "Vrocks! They're under demon attack too. We need to assist them!"
Vrocks—fiends notorious for stunning foes with piercing screams, and whose skin and feathers hide deadly poisonous spores.
More troublesome than almost any fiend encountered before—they can fly, move at frightening speed, and defy all reason!
Their challenge rating is six, equivalent to a typical chimera and far beyond a normal griffon. Even a well-trained Griffon Knight would be overwhelmed if three or four vrocks attacked at once!
First ape demons, now vrocks—both new species of fiends that hadn't appeared before… Was there another abyssal portal newly opened nearby?
Such thoughts raced through Charles's mind. Another possibility: the pack of demons they just fought may have split from those assailing the dwarves!
But that detail didn't matter right now. The urgent thing was rescuing those dwarves. Everyone in the group realized what this meant and surged forward, fully motivated.
Enhanced by Longstrider, Charles sprinted at the head of the group, raising his +3 battlemage's wand and reciting the incantation for Eldritch Blast.
Magic swelled from all around, amplified by the wand, and in moments four magic arrays—each the size of a carriage wheel—hovered above him, sending lances of force spiraling skyward!
"Aaaaargh—!"
The distance was great, but a single energy ray managed to strike a vrock. With a shriek of agony, the vulture-headed demon's cry echoed, while the others whipped around, abandoning their target and diving straight at Charles's group!
"Hold position! Form up and prepare to fight!" Anno shouted, halting and raising her shield for battle. Fortunately, though vrocks are powerful, they lack ranged attacks and must rely on savage beaks and claws to deal damage.
That gave the ground forces a real chance to retaliate!
The ten warriors raised their shields and set down their main weapons, reaching for javelins strapped to their backs—intent on hurling them with all their might as soon as the fiends swept within range!
Charles's nuns began chanting in unison, casting the pastor's cantrip Sacred Flame, conjuring golden fire from the heavens. The damage was limited due to their modest level and attributes, but every bit helped.
The truly deadly force, though, was Charles's Eldritch Blast!
"Hex!"
Charles cast his newest spell, hexing the nearest approaching vrock, then unleashed four more heavy blasts of Eldritch power—blasting it mercilessly.
Its cursed body torn open, the vrock was left barely clinging to life.
"Screeeeech—!"
By now, it had reached their line and let out a piercing shriek, a supernatural scream stabbing the ears of warriors and pastors alike, threatening to tear their souls apart.
But then, a pale gold aura radiated from Anno—her Aura of Protection nearly completely negating the effect of the demon's shriek. The entire group escaped with hardly a scratch!
The more people on the battlefield, the stronger the paladin's protective effect.
Charles marveled inwardly at the overwhelming strength Anno displayed.
He left the purifying points claim on that vrock to the warriors, who finished it with a storm of javelins. Charles kept spellcasting—turning into a relentless engine firing Eldritch Blasts at every vrock swooping down from above.
Demons are endless in these mountains; there would always be another opportunity for Purification Points. But he had only this group at his side—every loss reduced his irreplaceable fighting force.
So his priority now was simple: keep everyone alive.
Behind him, Theresa launched guiding bolts—not even using full force. Even so, one hit could blast half a vrock's head clear off.
Ekta fired rays of flame—though these were no comparison to Fireball for damage.
Nidalee also placed a Hunter's Mark on one vrock, drew a javelin, infused it with magic, and threw it skyward—
Whoosh!
But the vrock simply twisted in flight, effortlessly dodging the projectile. The javelin arced away and stuck in the body of a charging ape demon far away.
"Watch out! Dretch incoming!"
Ahead, Anno called out, her Divine Sense alerting her to a tide of fiends approaching in force from afar.
On hearing this, Nidalee sighed, abandoned her aerial hunt, and began casting again, spreading nature magic all over the earth ahead—filling the approach with thorny brambles.
The first ape demon at the front waded straight into the thorns, howling as its flesh was torn, but its snarls did nothing to warn those following. Hundreds more fiends barreled over the hillside, mindlessly plunging after it into Nidalee's deadly briar patch!
Senseless monsters that would normally detour around such traps now made it a self-made grave.
Of course, demons rarely relied on cunning.
They relied on numbers.
Facing the nearly thousand-strong tide of foes, Charles narrowed his eyes, uneasy. This level of threat was not something a group of thirty could handle under normal circumstances.
What's more, this horde had air support for the first time ever.
To keep the formations from being annihilated by airborne attackers, he and the witches were forced to direct their primary fire upward—thus weakening their ground suppression. The front lines would be under crushing pressure.
Fortunately, they had mass-destructive weapons.
"Storm Domain Pastors!" Charles called out loudly, "Prepare to guide Divine Power!"
"Aim for the big ones—give them the killing blow!"
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