Around half an hour after the demon horde first made contact with the zombie army near the palace gate, the horde also approached the station hall where the Liguritudum army command base was located.
Since they already knew the demon horde was coming, they were prepared. The soldiers set up layers of barricade along the tunnel that was the entrance to the station hall.
This was what Jack had been waiting for. He had been keeping an eye on Linda using his incorporeal state, making sure that she didn't move away.
Linda had thought about moving away several times since she received Ronald's report about the disaster item, but John kept her on edge. Moving away meant the army would act on its own for as long as she was moving. It was already tough dealing with her son's creative maneuvers which constantly required her attention. Without her direction, the situation would be even more difficult. She couldn't let her guard down even if only for an instant. If she didn't need to, she chose not to move at this time.
If the surprise attack on the mountaintop had been successful, she would have been able to move since John wouldn't be commanding Themisphere army anymore. That's why she sprang up the ambush as soon as the battle started, but it turned out she was the one who fell into her son's trap.
Now, she was trying to use their number advantage to cull the Themisphere army. Only after the gap widened that she could let go for a while and move.
The army in this station hall should be able to defend against the initial horde produced by the disaster item. Strong enemies would only appear at later stages, which was a few hours more. By then, she should be able to reduce the Themisphere army to a more manageable number. Then only would she move.
So, she continued to stay, unaware that she had again fallen into John's trap.
John went all out with the current assault as if there was no tomorrow. All was to not give Linda any breathing room, forcing her to continue operating her war table. Like Jack, he was also waiting for the demon horde to reach the command base.
Now that they did, a majority of the soldiers were barricading the tunnel, leaving the area directly around Linda with few defenders.
Jack returned to his body. He then cast Invisibility. He also did mana concealment before he took to the sky using his gold dragon wings.
He was sure players with God-eye monocles were placed at the entrances to the station hall, and probably someone who could sense mana as well. With both the Invisibility spell and mana concealment technique, he was undetectable by either method. He was completely invisible in the truest sense.
He didn't fly too fast. The airflow and noise produced by fast movements could alert the defenders. Some of the soldiers with flying spells cast the spells and floated into the air, preparing to block flying enemies. Luckily, there were not too many such soldiers. Jack carefully slipped past them.
Jack heard the commotion then. He looked back and saw the demon horde arrive. The number of the lesser demons was frightening. As if a flood, they poured into the tunnel and clashed with the soldiers. The soldiers in the air fought against the imps which were also numerous.
Things became hectic. Jack paid attention not to bump into the moving soldiers while continuing to slip deeper into the tunnel.
He finally came out into the large station hall. There were lots of carriages parked in this station. All transport services were stopped during the siege and the carriages were parked inside this station. Most of the soldiers were in the tunnel fighting the demon horde. Some were stationed at the entrance facing outside, where the Themisphere and Liguritudum armies were battling. Only a few were guarding next to Linda and the guild players.
Jack thought this was the best chance he could hope for. He dove toward Linda. But as he neared, he sensed something. He quickly stopped.
He was still invisible so no one was aware. He stopped because he sensed an invisible barrier in front of him. This barrier surrounded the area where Linda and the guild players were in. If he bumped into this barrier, his invisibility would disappear.
He focused his mana sense to trace the barrier. The barrier had the shape of a dome. The mana forming them came from the writings on the ground.
"It's a rune diagram," Peniel said to Jack via their minds.
Jack heard about World Ruler using a Protection Field rune diagram during the battle at Wicked Witches headquarters. World Maker must have a similar one.
He landed and studied the rune diagram. He could use brute force, but it would take him some time to break the barrier. Linda might not be able to flee but she could call for reinforcement. Jack needed to take her out fast once he revealed himself.
After using his mana sense to study the rune diagram on the floor, he thought he could unravel it within half an hour. His invisibility lasted forty-two minutes. It was enough time. So, he stayed undetected while tampering with the rune diagram.
*
John received Jack's report about the protection field. It was a pity but it was not surprising. Despite being protected by an army, he knew her mother was a careful one. He could only endure for another half an hour.
Sweat poured down his forehead as he continued making one maneuver after another. It was not an easy task controlling such a large army. He controlled each regiment with meticulous precision. It was like doing hundreds of things at the same time.
In the past world, he would have collapsed from such strain. Luckily, this world was different. He already had a high intelligence from the start. This world's intelligence stat further boosted his brainpower, allowing his brain to work at superhuman processing speed.
He saw and calculated each maneuver and had the troops synchronized with each other, giving them a fighting chance against an enemy who outnumbered them.
Even so, he kept on losing soldiers. The worst situation was the central army which was fighting Liguritudum's main force.
This was the place where Master was located. Master had a vast selection of spells and lots of them were devastating. He could deal damage to a large number of enemies at the same time.
Master had received the report about the trouble at Boron's side. However, he couldn't do anything about that. Boron would have to take care of himself for now. Only after they took care of the Themisphere army could they assist the battle inside the capital.
Hence, Master stopped holding back. He had been saving some spells in case Jack showed up again. He had been wondering where this nemesis of his was, but he had no luxury to be concerned about that anymore. He unleashed all the spells in his arsenal. He even used his divine skills.
John sent Themisphere's elite force led by Eyrene to deal with Master, but Master was also surrounded by capable natives and players who kept him safe while he cast one spell after another.
John could only endure and tried to limit their loss as much as possible. He hoped Jack could hurry. Only after the enemy's command base was taken out that they could counterattack.
