The reinforcement group stalled the foe ten times their size.
They requested help from the Headquarters multiple times, and with every subsequent call, their distress signal revealed their increasingly precarious situation.
The officer from the headquarters replied that she understood their situation and honestly told them they couldn't find any more reinforcements.
And that woman, who was easily recognized as one of the master tacticians of their era, requested them softly. "Please hold them back as long as you can."
No help was coming.
It was expected but perhaps they were hoping for a miracle. It didn't come.
The hope didn't diminish though. Such a fickle thing hope was, in times like these, instead of getting crushed, it bounced back and blazed, making their hearts yearn for another miracle.
Their rational minds didn't think anyone was going to come to their rescue.
With every subsequent minute, one of them continued to fall under the Undead horde.
Their numbles continued to dwindle and with each passing life, their hope was passed onto the survivors.
As the space burned with the myriad attacks and the asteroids burst under the unending explosions, human warriors went into eternal sleep, hoping that the others could at least live.
"Old Bitch!" The Undead growled as he punched the elderly woman in her ribs.
Instead of backing away, she formed dozens of small spears and waved her hand. They rushed at him like guided missiles and were about to pierce through his vitals.
If he didn't back away, he'd be seriously injured. But the old woman's injuries would only be worse and she wouldn't be that far from death.
Still, the Undead conceded and backed away. He didn't want any more injuries.
The elderly commander couldn't even relax as she felt the space around her crack. A level 9 Undead was sneak-attacking her!
With a quick scan of her surroundings, she pushed her body toward the Undead. Just a second later, the space behind her twisted and collapsed onto itself before exploding.
Even though she was fast, the explosion caught up with her and broke the defense on her back.
The sharp space cracks that felt like ice-cold blades cut through her armor and ripped apart her skin to the point her old bones were visible.
The elderly woman hissed in pain as tears pooled in her eyes and the searing sensation of her back threatened to knock her conscious.
Gritting her teeth, she sealed up the wound using her telekinetic power and stopped any blood from flowing out.
From an onlooker, the armor covering her back was torn open and a huge red spot as large as three palms was visible. The blood just wasn't coming out.
And on her body, there were five such spots.
"Why do you fight?" The Undead growled as he reached her before she could properly shield herself.
The experienced commander was anticipating this sudden attack and swirled her body to the side and dodged the punch to her temple but she couldn't stop herself from getting hit on the shoulder.
Even though she was anticipating the attack, she wasn't in a condition to fully prepare for it.
As a result, the invisible telekinetic shield covering her left shoulder broke apart like a mirror.
Like a branch pulled out of a tree, her arm was torn from her shoulder.
"Arghh!" A pained groan escaped the elderly woman's lips as her eyes grew red from the horrifying sensation of her shoulder.
Her arm…it was gone.
Despite fighting thousands of battles, having her arm torn apart was something she wasn't prepared for.
The pain was already horrible but it seemed that her senses were numbed at that time. Only after a second did she truly feel what it's like to have her arm just torn apart.
But she couldn't even scream.
She focused on her enemy and rushed toward him as she created another set of spears to strike him down.
The Undead pulled back as he played a game of hide and seek with the commander.
On the other hand, the Undead didn't need to be so careful in their battle style.
"Argh! Die! Bastards!" A fire awakener threw the fireballs at the Undead army. But the four water awakeners in them blocked off his attacks and three psychics attacked his mind.
In self-defense, he instinctively formed a sea of fire around him and covered himself with an armor of flames.
But that didn't help when the gravity around him twisted and skyrocketed. The flame armor covering him flared up and protected him from being crushed. However, the space around him cracked and swallowed the fires.
Then a long tentacle of a beast-morpher Undead pierced through his weakened suit and claimed his heart.
As death consumed him, the fire awakener's mind clarity gained for a brief moment. He cursed himself for dying before even killing a single Undead.
But that's how it was.
Even if they were hell-bent on taking down one or two Undead with them, they were facing an enemy ten times their size.
This was especially true for level 7s.
The twenty human level 9s had to face thirty level 9 Undead. It's hard but they're holding on by fighting together.
The hundred level 8 had to hold back five hundred level 8. They're clearly losing but it'd take time and they're confident of fighting a battle of attrition.
The level 7s had it the worst. Their one hundred and eighty members had to fight almost two thousand and five hundred Undead.
It's a differential of more than thirteen times.
Faced with such an outnumbered foe, the Undead saw no use in sacrificing their own. It also happened to be the order of their leader.
So, they played it safe, took more time but killed their targets without bearing any loss.
Even then, the human level 7s were the first to be killed off.
Only ten out of the nearly twenty-five hundred level 7 Undead died.
By then, half of the level 8s were gone and the remaining half were dying much faster than their predecessors.
Only the level 9 group remained relatively intact. Only two human level 9s died and they took down four Undead with them.
Now, it became eighteen level 9 humans vs twenty-eight Undead.
But the strongest human, the elderly commander was quickly accumulating serious injuries and growing closer to death. Once she died, the Undead leader could easily kill off the remaining.
Things didn't look good at all.
But in the corner of their hearts, the human still hoped for a miracle.
