Under the leadership of Raine, Kyle, and Gore, the sharp triangular spearhead, the fourth squad led the charge in a localized clearing operation. They began to organize and converge with other surrounded squads to break the encirclement.
The senior officers from the seventh and eighth squads quickly seized this rare shift in morale. They hastily reorganized their formations, switching from passive defense to a rhythmic counterattack.
On the alien races' side, the losses of their low-level cannon fodder started to mount rapidly. The boulder beetles, shadowclaw beasts, and gargoyles, although still numerous, found their attacks increasingly scattered and ineffective in the face of the human counterattack. The sand eroding worms' quicksand traps were also carefully avoided or marked by experienced veterans.
A few high-level gargoyles attempted to turn the tide, but they were kept in check by Lia and the senior officers, unable to extricate themselves. The battlefield fell into a brutal and grueling war of attrition. Every moment, lives were lost, but the human defense line, miraculously, held steady. They even began to slowly push forward, attempting to open the blocked village passages.
However, in the hearts of Aaron, Roderick, and the battling Black Falcon and Lia, they all knew this was only temporary. After long marches and a surprise ambush, their physical strength, energy, and morale were severely depleted. They were relying on sheer willpower. Once that resolve wavered, or if alien races deployed new powerful units, the situation could rapidly worsen.
They desperately needed a breakthrough!
And this breakthrough came about half an hour into the battle!
Woooo—
A deep, long horn sounded from the eastern horizon!
The sound cut through the chaos of battle, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
Immediately, the ground shook as the resonance of countless steps in perfect sync vibrated beneath their feet!
"Reinforcements! Our reinforcements!"
The soldiers' voices trembled with excitement.
In the eastern sky, torches gathered into a moving river. Familiar banners appeared in the firelight.
The main battle flag of Iron Dragon Fortress, the eagle flag of the second squad, the crystal flag of the third squad, and the mixed but prominent mercenary flags of the tenth squad!
The main force had finally arrived!
Although they were a bit later than expected, after receiving word of the vanguard's ambush, they had clearly marched as quickly as possible.
The arrival of the main force gave the exhausted vanguard a powerful boost of energy!
"Brothers!"
"The main force is here! Let's fight back!"
Black Falcon raised his blade and shouted.
"Crush them!"
Roderick's eyes sparkled with excitement as he charged forward to take the full brunt of a gargoyle lord's attack, creating more opportunities for Aaron to strike.
The alien races had clearly not anticipated the human reinforcements arriving so quickly, causing noticeable turmoil in their formations. The assault from the high-level alien races slowed down.
At this moment, an immense aura suddenly awakened!
A towering figure struck away Roderick and Aaron, slowly lifting off into the air.
Standing five meters tall, his body was made of dark gold-colored rock, with massive wings stretching out to ten meters. Each beat of his wings brought gusts of wind. His eyes blazed with dark golden flames.
It was the Grandmaster-level gargoyle lord!
He was filled with frustration and anger over not being able to take down the two Master-tier humans.
He had originally planned to use the moment of the humans' exhaustion to strike swiftly, aiming to decapitate or severely wound them and break their morale. Yet, these two lower-ranked human officers had blocked his path?!
If word of this reached his people, he'd never be able to hold his head high in the higher echelons again!
And now, the more pressing problem arose—human reinforcements had arrived!
He didn't think his low-level units could withstand such a massive human force.
With no other options, he folded his wings, and when he extended them again, he was already a thousand meters away!
"He's escaping!"
Aaron and Roderick frowned.
Despite their current state, they knew that if the battle continued, it would only be the alien races who would suffer! They might even have a chance to kill a gargoyle lord!
Faced with the opportunity to seize the moment, Roderick spat on the ground.
"Damn alien races, there's no way I'll let you run away!"
With Nex burning wildly, his greatsword crackled with lightning!
In the blink of an eye, he caught up with the gargoyle lord!
"Stay!"
His lightning sword slashed down, only for the gargoyle lord to catch it with one hand!
"Are you looking for death? Foolish insect!"
The gargoyle lord's fiery eyes glowed, and his sharp claws lashed out!
However, just as he was about to tear Roderick apart, an unexpected event occurred!
A fast, ghostly figure darted out from the side, with a cold gleam aimed straight at the gargoyle lord's face!
It was the tenth squad leader, Andrew!
This mercenary leader, who was usually a heavy drinker, now had eyes as sharp as a blade.
He wielded a pair of strange short blades glowing with eerie purple light.
"You've come all this way, you might as well stay a little longer!"
Andrew let out a strange laugh.
He crossed his blades, sending a silent and unseen dark purple cross-shaped blade toward the gargoyle lord's left side!
The timing of this attack was perfect, taking place just when the gargoyle lord was focused on Roderick!
The gargoyle lord never expected such a dangerous person to suddenly attack, and had to twist his body to block with his right wing.
Szzz—
The dark purple blade clashed with the right wing, producing no loud noise but an excruciating corrosive sound!
The gargoyle lord's otherwise indestructible right wing was pierced, the edges tinged with the purple-black color of eroded energy!
"Poison? Or a curse?"
The gargoyle lord groaned.
But this wasn't the end!
The second squad leader, Tom, made his move!
As the only Grandmaster-level human on the battlefield, Tom's sword glowed with restrained light, and he melded with the night.
The next moment, his sword tip, shining with a brilliant white glow, stabbed into the gargoyle lord's right wing!
"Starpoint!"
Poo!
The burning white swordlight pierced through!
The gargoyle lord's massive body jolted violently as he let out an agonizing roar!
At the wound on his right wing, the white-hot energy exploded, blowing half of the wing into smithereens!
The battle between Grandmasters was often decided in an instant.
A perfectly coordinated strike instantly crippled the powerful gargoyle lord!
The gargoyle lord, now gravely wounded, dared not stay, and desperately retreated.
He ordered the remaining high-level gargoyles and other units to cover his escape.
Faced with this desperate flight, the alien races could only helplessly watch him flee.
With the gargoyle lord wounded, the alien races' offensive immediately showed signs of collapse.
"All forces, advance! Destroy them!"
Tom decisively issued the order, his voice echoing across the battlefield.
The fresh forces of the main army flooded into the village, ruthlessly clearing out the alien races' disoriented units.
The situation was decided!
Aaron sliced through the Expert-level gargoyle in front of Black Falcon.
Surveying the battlefield, bodies were everywhere, most of them alien races!
The seventh and eighth squads had suffered heavy losses, especially among the new recruits.
His gaze lingered on a few new soldiers near the blacksmith shop.
But after hesitating for only three seconds, he quickly walked over to Tom, who was directing the clearing operation, and said in a low voice:
"Captain Tom, leave this to you and Captain Andrew."
"We must immediately head to Bloodhowl Highlands!"
"The alien races set up such a large-scale ambush here, even deploying a lord-level fighter, which means they are extremely unwilling for us to assist at the Highlands. The situation there may be even more critical than we anticipated!"