Vala and Evangeline were playing cards at the house in Long Fang Valley when the updates about the war came in. The Echoes and the strongest members of the Guild had engaged the rebel forces in the Landis capital, causing massive destruction. Cain has also updated the Guild Skill for the day to a Legendary Summon.
That seems to have been more than enough, with reports of armies of Demons and Seraphim rampaging through the city, so they simply deal another hand and wait for things to be decided.
[There's an army coming for the Castle, all over level 200. They're flying a Skyview Flag that I don't know.] Maggie sends out in Guild Chat.
[It's deep brown with a millstone on it if that helps.] Sora adds.
[That's Earl Mills, he's in a trade war with the Boss. They're not friends.] Svetlana confirms after a quick conference with the villagers who have come to talk with her and Damien, the Administrator that Cain kept on to keep things working smoothly.
[We're on our way. Can the Lieutenants use the Guild Skill?] Vala asks.
[Unfortunately we cannot. The Summoned Lieutenants are still part of Cain. But with the two of us here, we should have a fairly decent Summoned army to work with.] Maggie gives them the unfortunate news.
[We are all coming to you now, and I will bring Mythryll.] Nila confirms, waking the Elf beside her and telling her to get dressed and ready.
Within a minute, the ten Companions are all at the Castle, headed for the walls to see the incoming force. They've brought about two thousand transfers including a Necromancer and a Forest Lord that Sora has identified.
On this side of the continent, that sort of force could take most cities within an hour, with minimal casualties.
"Alright. Once they get past the dunes, we will all call out our Bonded Forces. Me and Laura will go for the Summoners and Earl Mills. The rest of you spread out and hold back the army. They're unlikely to be able to deal with an Ancient Demon, much less two and a pair of Ancient Dragons." Vala decides, and everyone takes their positions.
"Don't leave us out. Neffie saw the messages and couldn't resist coming to help." King Aggramor declares, leading a hundred of his Royal Guard out of the Keep, carrying Neffie in his arms. The little Demon is in her natural form until they reach the walls, when she turns into Cain's old human form with a big smile.
"I'm really strong already, and I've got every skill the Guild Master had at level 200, because I can't copy his stupid new Class yet." Neffie declares, her upset tone in Cain's voice making the Companions laugh.
"You've got a deal. King Aggramor if you would be so kind as to hold your troops for base defense and look after Neffie while her summons blanket the enemy army, I believe we're good to go. The enemy forces are gathering at the East Ridgeline."
Thousands of undead, including a pair of Bone Dragons appear from the sand as the enemy army begins to charge, the Forest Lord holding back on his summons for now. Laura raises into the sky, along with all her Drakes, which have been upgraded to Epic Quality now that she is an Ancient Dragon and has broken through the limitations originally placed by Cain's abilities.
Neffie calls out Cain's favorite grouping of Summons, lots of clones of Kone, along with Oath Breakers, Lamia, Wrath Bringers and a pair of Seraphim. She might not have the gear that Cain does, but the Summoned army is still terrifying in strength after the Seraphim call the Heavenly Host.
Now the Forest Lord has acted, calling out hundreds of Dryads and Treants to assist the undead in dealing with the surface attackers as well as a group of Gryphons to attack the Drakes.
Neffie insists that she be brought into a guard tower so she can see the battle, and Vala teleports into the action, going first for Earl Mills to eliminate the chance of a follow up attack. The blades of the two Ancient Quality Demons have split him in three pieces before he can even scream, and Vala is already charging into the command section of the invading army venue they stop rolling, her sword killing everything it touches and spreading the Pestilence Debuff all over.
Even from here she can hear the cheerful time of the battle hymn that Nemu is playing to boost attack power for their army and see the lightning flashing from Nila into the front row of undead.
The attackers have prepared for this though, and they've brought a secret weapon, a level 405 transfer from a class known as a Null. Near him, abilities can't be used and spell effects fizzle out.
Aggramor can see his frustration as Vala doesn't disappear when he gets close to her, her resistance preventing him from dispelling her. Instead of staying to fight, the Null runs away and heads for the front lines, his presence causing the defending summons to vanish in a huge radius.
"The Null isn't a combat class. Get a close as you can with travel magic and eliminate him." Aggramor orders his Royal Guard, who flash into the middle of the battle and start slaughtering undead.
Again the Null runs, and Neffie sends her Summons back in from the other side. But this time he's made a fatal mistake, he forgot to look up, and Laura is racing down at him, merging with herself to increase her damage and resistances.
The Drakes vanish as they get closer, but Laura is safe, and her jaws clamp around the Null, shredding flesh as she races back up into the sky. That removes him from the effective range of the battle, which is beginning to tilt in the favor of the defenders.
With their primary target gone, Aggramor's Elite forces have turned their attention to the Necromancer, who is fighting for his life, and Vala is pressuring the Forest Lord.
Now that they're not being dispelled, the forces of the Heavenly Host are pushing hard into the attackers, their unified battle cry ringing across the desert sands.
"No Retreat. No Surrender. Repent!"
The Forest Lord is the first to fall, Vala's speed is too much for him to handle, and her blade takes his head from his body. Not long after, the Royal Guard eliminated the Necromancer and the attackers broke, trying to flee.
That wasn't going to happen though. The Heavenly Host was a good as their word. No Retreat. No Surrender.
Laura forgot that she was still holding someone for a good reason, opening her mouth in a cheer that let her captive fall Thousands of meters to the ground. For a moment it looked like he was going to land on his feet, but at the last second Vala planted a spear butt down in the sand under him, skewering the falling transfer in a final gory blow to end the battle.
