Outside the capital, the Themisphere army was still pinning the Liguritudum army with the aid of the demon horde coming out of Balgadur.
John must admit, even without Linda controlling the Liguritudum army, that army was still formidable. They stubbornly hung on and refused to be defeated.
This persistence should be credited to Master, who continued to revive the dead to refill his army's rank. The battle had gone on for some time and there were plenty of corpses for his Necronomicon. At the same time, he sacrificed the zombie soldiers that were near death to reduce his spells' cooldown time. This allowed him to summon more minions.
Even so, he was only one person. His effort was commendable but the rate by which he revived the dead was not fast enough to cover the ones killed by the Themisphere army and the demon horde.
It was only a matter of time before the Liguritudum army collapsed.
John was fully aware of this so he also persisted. He couldn't be careless and let the enemy have an opportunity to turn the situation around.
As he worked on the war table, he saw a large group of white triangles appearing from the edge of his projection screen.
He had sent scouts all over the territories surrounding the battlefield. This was so he was aware when a new force appeared, just like what happened now. The war table only projected things perceived by the troops it was registered to. If no one from the Themisphere army saw this new force, it wouldn't appear on the projection.
This group came from behind Mount Sedgebare, opposite where the two armies were battling.
"Huh…?" John was not sure what to make of this.
Even if there was a party crasher, he expected it to come from the opposite side, from the direction of Num Maldur pass.
He expected Linda to send a message to the players who oversaw the troops they left behind to guard the supply lines, instructing them to bring these troops and come here as reinforcements. But even so, these reinforcements would take days to arrive. Plus, if this group was from Liguritudum, they would color red, not white. These newcomers were white because they were considered neutral.
A possibility came into his mind. Could this be the Cult of Phobos? This thought worried John. The Cult of Phobos was filled with strong combatants. They had experienced the cult's prowess during the war in Hydrurond. That last time, the Council of Virtus came to their rescue. They had no support from that council this time.
John made an estimate of this new force based on the number of triangles on the screen.
"It is around 100,000," John muttered.
He was slightly relieved. It shouldn't be the Cult of Phobos. The last time, the cult attacked with a force of 20,000 troops. Although the members were all very strong, the divine faction boasted a limited number. 100,000 was too large. This was another force.
This force was encroaching fast. Their speed was unusual for a force as large as them.
Too bad he couldn't send a message to the native scouts who saw this new force. He couldn't ask them what they had seen.
John was still unsure of what to do. Were they foes? He would have to adjust his army's formation if they were. He didn't want this force to hit his army from the back. But if he adjusted the formation, he would give the Liguritudum army an opening.
He decided to see this force's movement first. He should be able to guess their intention once they came near. He would adjust his tactic then.
*
On the battlefield, Master had the Necronomicon in one hand while his other hand had the magic staff, casting spells non-stop.
Unfortunately, he couldn't revive the demons. These demons came from a disaster item. They weren't natives like the real underworld demons. They were considered monsters. Their bodies evaporated once they died. They left no traces of their corpses. Thus, they couldn't be revived.
Master could only revive his soldiers and the Themisphere soldiers his army had slain. These supplies were abundant but they were scattered throughout the battlefield. He had to roam around the battlefield, searching for corpses to revive. The process was exhausting and time-consuming, and it was not fast enough to let them turn the situation around.
This frustrated Master.
At this time, he received a report from Linda which was even more upsetting. Boron's force had lost. Their army inside the capital had been routed. Sizhad survived but he had to flee the capital. They had failed to take down the president and the throne.
The invasion had failed. Their plan was to hold the Themisphere army until Boron's army took down the capital. Even if they waited out the disaster item's duration, they wouldn't be able to conquer the palace with the Themisphere army holding them down.
"F*CKKK…!!!" Master cursed loudly, which startled his guild members nearby. Rarely did their leader curse like this. Master had always been calm and collected.
Master took a deep breath. There was no need to get upset. It would only lead to mistakes.
As he thought of a solution, he heard another commotion.
"The defensive formation on our flank has been breached." He heard another report from Linda.
"Who? The Themisphere army or the demon horde?" He asked.
"Neither… We are still unsure. The players on that side said they couldn't get a clear look at the enemies. The enemies are very fast. They only see shadows and mists."
"Shadows and mists…?" Master looked up. It was still nighttime.
He gritted his teeth. He then issued the order, "Retreat! Call everyone to retreat! We are falling back!"
Linda got Master's message. She didn't object. She had been thinking about how to phrase her words to advise Master to retreat. She was glad Master came to this conclusion by himself.
As they were pinned from the front and back, the Liguritudum army could only move from their flanks. They punched through the flank opposite from the one that was assaulted by the new force.
Master ordered his zombie soldiers to cover their escape. The zombie soldiers carried out the command faithfully. They didn't mind being sacrificed as meat shields. They had no minds.
