As Billy had expected, the first to come had been the cavalry. However, the second wave of enemies was right behind them… It was composed of the beasts and the tamers riding them. That was weird… By attacking like that, the riders won't have the chance to leave their path. It wouldn't be weird if some of them ended up being attacked by the monsters and crossbows.
Nevertheless, the horses kept advancing at the same pace, so they arrived at the same time, attacking all groups. Billy was the sole exception because he used Wind Sphere to knock down several horses and their riders. That is to his increase in magic. Those spheres caused an explosion of wind in a five meters radius. Since it cost less mana than the bolts of his crossbow, Billy spammed that spell until the entire area in front of him had enemies on the ground. No one had the chance to see where the attacks came from, but they used that chance anyway.
The line of the attackers had been broken, and those who were hit by Billy were killed almost instantly by arrows coming from Lily's bow and magic projectiles fired by Kate and Sarah. Still, the front line didn't have the chance to destroy the remaining parts of the first line… Because the beasts were already upon them.
Billy frowned when he saw the tamers still riding the monsters while they were attacking. As if that wasn't weird enough, they were pointing the crossbows while showing quite the scared expressions… They weren't looking at Billy, so they were probably afraid of dying since they never got so close to a battle before… And something or someone forced them to come.
"Oh… This simplify things," Billy thought while smirking.
Although he found a way out of that mess, there was another problem. While the monsters were approaching, the tamers began to use their crossbows, and many adventurers began to get hit. They were also targeting Billy's group.
"Change of plans, target the beast tamers and get their whips," Billy said. "By holding them, you can control the monsters."
"How do you know that?" Kate asked.
"It is the only explanation as to why they have those weapons with them all the time and never use them," Billy replied. "Now, go!"
Billy had the confidence that his friends could take opponents of that level by themselves. Besides, they need to be fast if they want to prevent the monsters from rampaging. Billy dashed toward the monsters at his top speed with that in mind. When they saw someone approaching them at an inhumane speed, and without hesitation, several tamers focused their barrage of bolts on Billy, but by spinning his spear, he blocked all of them.
Once again, he used Wind Sphere to knock out the riders in front of him, and then Billy saw five of those beasts dashing at him and swinging their claws despite the fact that their masters just fell on the ground. That proved his theory. The monsters obeyed the will of the owners, or at least their last thought. All of them wanted him dead, and so the beasts tried to kill him. However, Billy used Fierce Aura and disappeared from their sight. The monsters end up hitting the air.
Billy passed by the monsters and then arrived behind them, just where the tamers had fallen. They were trying to get up and immediately pointed their crossbows at him, but Billy impaled their hearts faster than that. Without wasting time, he grabbed the whips on their waists, and then when he thought of making the beasts stop, they stopped moving after they turned around.
After that, Billy thought of making them sit, and the monsters obeyed… It was almost like they could read his mind. Still, there were other things he needed to test, he made those five attack other monsters, and once they did that, he dropped the whips. Despite that, they kept fighting, obeying his last order.
"Very useful indeed," Billy said.
Carrying so many whips would be a pain, so Billy decided to throw them to the backline as he gets more of them. His friends certainly understand how to use those as well, so he didn't have to explain… However, before he could select his next targets, Billy saw a dust cloud emerging east of his position. The third wave was coming… At least five thousand more infantrymen were going to join the fight.
"Come on… Give me a break," Billy said after a long sigh.
Billy hurried to attack other tamers and get their whips. He had to make the monsters attack those guys who were coming. All the soldiers and adventurers in that part of the region were already busy enough. Any more enemies, and they would be annihilated. With the help of his friends and the guild masters that joined them along the way, they managed to get around three hundred whips, and they sent them to attack the third line that was fast approaching. Thanks to that, they bought some extra time, but it was hard to say if it was enough…
The beasts and the cavalry fought to the last man, and they were still fighting in some few places. Thanks to that, they managed to kill in just a couple of minutes about half of the adventurers and soldiers defending that southern gate. In the end, the defenders had around one thousand men on their side, and many of those were heavily injured, but they couldn't afford to retreat… one thousand tired and injured men against five thousand fresh soldiers.
"I like these odds," Marie said while covered in sweat.
"Of course you do, you are crazy," Gerald said. "Listen here, men! None of you have the permission to fall without killing at least ten enemies in front of you! If you fail in achieving that, I will kick your ass myself after this war is over! Let's protect our lands no matter what!"
