On the City Wall, Soldiers' Side
After realizing the attack came from the city wall, he ordered the spearmen to retreat and replaced them with archers.
He then commanded a barrage of arrows to rain down the wall. Soon, starfish were seen being shot down.
While stabilizing the situation, he noticed something in the water charging at incredible speed.
He quickly ordered the rear archers to unleash a continuous volley to intercept it, but the creatures were too fast and agile. The number of "skewer shrimp" barely decreased.
He was forced to halt the attack as the skewer shrimp mingled with the soldiers, slaughtering them in a frenzy.
"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Fire at will!"
He had to order another round of shooting as Tier 9 monsters poured out.
These were round, red monsters the size of tennis balls, bouncing erratically on the water' s surface.
*****
Slum Frontline, Adventurers' Side
After witnessing the chaos and combat on the soldiers' side, high-ranking guild leaders issued the same command:
"They're here! Prepare to fight!"
Mages quickly erected linked barriers, while tanks were ordered not to use taunt skills.
This was to make the monsters spread their attacks. If they focused on one spot, the barriers wouldn' t hold long.
"Fire at will! Shoot freely!"
Archers unleashed relentless volleys, some with skills that homed in on targets.
Low to mid-tier mages bombarded the enemy with quantity-focused spells.
Arrows and elemental magic of various types struck the skewer shrimp before they could close in, wiping out many of their front lines.
In the zone managed by the [Resonant Magic] guild, vines sprouted from the ground in the slave and slum area, weaving into a wall as tall as a house roof and 10 meters thick.
Skewer shrimp that mistakenly charged into the vine wall were trapped, unable to move, and crushed to pulp by the constricting vines.
*****
Caverd, Leader of the 5th Brave Unit, [Frenzied Bear] Guild
"This is too brutal!"
After witnessing the soldiers being massacred and the murky water turning blood-red before his eyes, his group abandoned Elda and fled back to their guild.
*****
Elda Nehu
I pressed my left hand against the wound to stop the bleeding. I' d heard a destitute veteran in the slums brag to a beggar that too much blood loss could kill you.
With my right hand, I tried to pull the chain free. My weak body and injuries meant that no matter how hard I pulled, the dagger stuck in place didn' t budge.
Tears streamed down my face in fear. I stopped pressing the wound with my left hand and used both hands to pull with all my might.
I didn' t know if Sister Tiara was still in the house. If Sister Calika hadn' t taken her, I was the only one who could help. It' s just the three of us siblings.
Then the adventurers unleashed a barrage of magic and arrows at the monsters. I was caught in the middle of countless attacks.
"Ow! It hurts! Sob!"
An arrow grazed my left ear, tearing it.
Boom!
A fire explosion spell hit a wooden pole, and the blast sent me flying.
I struggled to stand, trying to rejoin the slaves and slum dwellers, but I couldn' t breathe. My heartbeat slowed again.
The rogue adventurers fled for their lives. I sent pleading looks, begging for help.
Not one responded.
The sound of splashing water came from behind. Dizzy, I collapsed to my right.
This saved me from being impaled through the torso.
But it sliced through my left arm, severing it.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Behind Elda, unnoticed, several skewer shrimp that survived the barrage charged at her, as she was the closest human.
But Elda had reached her limit. She lost consciousness and sank into the water.
*****
Ice arrows, swords, and daggers struck the skewer shrimp before they reached Elda.
Some died instantly; others were knocked off course by the weapons.
After intercepting them, ice soldiers rushed in, surrounding Elda and lifting her from the water.
Two or three used their hands to freeze her wounds, stopping the bleeding.
The rest raised their weapons, fighting to protect her while retreating.
Though ice soldiers had tougher skin than humans, repeated charges from the shrimp began to crack their ice.
Moving in water caused their bodies to melt, shrinking them bit by bit.
Some ice soldiers were hit by stray adventurer attacks, their brittle bodies shattering.
By the time they reached the slave and slum frontline, Tier 9 monsters arrived. These "thorn shrimp," round and red like tennis balls, moved by bouncing on the water, making them hard to hit.
They mingled with the skewer shrimp and attacked together.
The thorn shrimp leapt over everyone, unfurling their curled bodies and sprouting over 10 needles, which they fired in random directions.
The needles were small; only the highly skilled could dodge or deflect them, and shields were the only defense.
The needles caused only mild pain and itching, but their paralyzing venom was the real threat.
Slaves and slum dwellers became stationary targets for the skewer shrimp to slaughter at will.
Some fell into the water, drowning when they couldn' t move.
The ice soldiers decided to form a shield around Elda, using their bodies to protect her, unsure if they could block the thorn shrimp' s tiny, erratic needles.
Carrying Elda, the ice soldiers tried to retreat, but attacks from all directions—both monsters and adventurers—made progress nearly impossible.
The ice soldiers began to crumble one by one. Those still intact melted smaller with each moment.
As the healing potion' s effects wore off, the cold from the surrounding ice soldiers seeped into Elda, slowly killing her.
*****
After the slave and slum frontline collapsed, the thorn shrimp bounced over them.
Retreating from the flooded area was the right call.
On dry ground, the thorn shrimp bounced slower and less far, making them easy to kill.
The skewer shrimp then crashed into the junk barricade holding back the water, breaking it.
As water flooded in up to their ankles, both monster types attacked with full force.
In the zones controlled by high-ranking guilds, the monsters couldn' t do much.
Mid-tier guild zones took some damage, with tanks retreating and rear lines disrupted slightly.
The worst hit were small guilds and unaffiliated groups.
The monsters leapt over shields into the adventurers' midst, firing needles everywhere.
Most victims were ranged attackers.
Paralyzed and unable to support the front, tanks were impaled by skewer shrimp, their bodies pierced and falling in droves.
"What are the archers and mages doing?!"
"Watch out! They' re shooting venomous needles!"
"Heal me! Heal me!"
"Ah… ah… ah…"
"Take out the thorn shrimp first!"
"Healers, fall back!"
"We need tanks here now!"
"Aaargh!"
Seeing a breach, the monsters grouped and poured into the gap.
High-ranking guilds, focused on defending their zones, could only send limited help. Mid-tier guilds were barely holding their own.
The skewer shrimp began slaughtering them mercilessly.
High-level mages could wipe them out with wide-area spells, but friendly adventurers were mixed in.
Tanks using taunt skills to save allies were swarmed and impaled in seconds.
Paralyzed victims spread wider, forcing some tanks to retreat to help.
High-rankers, saving their strength for deeper-tier monsters, had to act.
But then a black wind swept through everyone, lifting all monsters and pushing them back into the flooded zone.
Vines then slithered up from the ground, binding the monsters tightly.
Guild leaders ordered a barrage of fire magic, which Laswin amplified, burning the monsters to ash and evaporating much of the water.
Cheers erupted for the [Rank A] who saved them.
The celebration was short-lived as a deafening roar echoed. Though far and small in the distance, it was the Tier 10 boss monster: the Crimson Fury Shrimp.
It resembled the skewer shrimp but was as large as a two-story building, with thick, vibrant red armor.
High-ranking guild leaders ordered all tanks and mages with defensive skills to group up front and heal the paralyzed.
This monster wasn' t something a small group could handle.
Laswin floated down, exhausted, sweat dripping from her face.
Since helping Calika crush slum criminals and speeding to the inner city, her energy was depleted. She had to rest intermittently on the way back to the frontline.
Upon arriving, she used her power to aid the struggling adventurers, leaving her utterly drained.
Before reaching the ground, she saw a black-haired girl in the arms of the last ice soldier, half its body gone.
Laswin realized it was likely due to the fire magic barrage.
She found the nearest healer and dragged them to the girl.
Upon arrival, she urged the healer to pour healing magic into her.
But it was too late. Elda lay still, unresponsive, with only faint breathing indicating she was alive.
Then, unexpectedly:
Whoosh!
Splash!
Water parted as something charged at a speed the skewer shrimp couldn' t match.
No one was prepared, except a few [Rank A] and [Rank B] adventurers.
The deputy leader of [Resonant Magic] conjured a kilometer-thick vine wall to stop it. But before hitting the wall, it casually veered aside.
Even when the vine wall unraveled to ensnare it, it couldn' t match the creature' s speed.
Vines sprouted ahead to trap it, but newly grown vines weren' t strong enough to stop its velocity, tearing apart like paper.
With no time to prepare, the thinner vine walls it conjured were smashed through effortlessly, wasting magic.
After weaving through obstacles, its path led straight to Laswin and Elda.