Jack saw Jeanny and Prince Alonzo down there. He immediately sent a mental instruction to Pandora to go to them.
"Get ready! I grab the prince, you grab Jeanny!" Jack said to Red Death.
Robin saw the incoming nightmare and identified its riders as hostiles immediately. He aimed his bow and fired.
A cascade of arrows headed to Jack. Pandora saw the incoming attacks and deftly weaved her way. The arrows struck the cliff wall but none hit the Nightmare.
Other ranged soldiers started firing their attacks at Pandora as well. As they did, Therribus reminded the soldiers to go for Alonzo. Polom cast his spell and a series of chained claws shot at the third prince.
Jeanny put herself before Alonzo as her spears turned into a blur. She used the Hundred Spears skill. Her control had improved a lot that she could direct the lightning-fast attacks to specific targets. Her spears stabbed the claws that were coming. The claws were smacked aside by her stabs but they came back again. She maintained the activation of her skills as the claws kept on coming again and again.
She moved a step back as he continued to deflect the claws. Her stamina won't allow her to last forever. Not to mention, the other melees were coming as well.
Suddenly, a loud shout was heard and a figure shot out from the burning fire. It was Samuel, whose life was very low already. He took Polom by surprise. Six swirling axes that revolved around his body struck Polom. This interruption caused Polom's spell to collapse. The chained claws dissolved into thin air.
Samuel also slashed at Robin at the same time. Robin was more attentive, he dodged this sudden attack, but by doing so, his arrows no longer hindered Pandora. His arrows posed the biggest danger to Pandora's advance. For the common soldiers' arrows and magic attacks, Jack easily use his swords to deflect them while Pandora continued straight.
Without the interruption, Pandora made a burst of sudden speed. Jack's heart leaped when it did. He thought for a second that he had fallen off the steed since his two hands were in the air deflecting attacks. Luckily, he was not, his butt was magically glued to his steed.
This sudden speed increase brought them instantly to the ground where Jeanny and Alonzo were.
"Think fast!" Jack exclaimed as he stored his swords. His two hands extended to Alonzo.
Red Death also extended one hand to Jeanny with the other one still holding Jack tightly. She didn't dare to let go of both hands. She didn't have the magical glue to the butt as Jack did.
Their hands clasped each other. As they did, Jack caught sight of Samuel. A giant claw was gripping his lower body while an arrow from Robin penetrated his neck, resulting in critical damage. Yet, Samuel was smiling as he stared at Jack who was holding Alonzo's hand. He knew he had fulfilled his duty as his HP dropped to zero.
Jack gritted his teeth. His hand held Alonzo's arm tightly. The best he could do to honor the fallen warrior was to make sure he did his part in ensuring the third prince's safety.
Pandora didn't slow down. Even with two extra baggage, she didn't appear burdened. She reached the cliff wall and ran up vertically.
"Stop them!" Therribus shouted. Yet, all the range attacks couldn't catch the speedy steed.
"Fire!" Serpent Boss who was up there on the cliff gave the order after seeing the situation. His guild mostly consisted of Gunners, which was also another reason why John tasked this guild to come here instead of joining the big fight in front of Fort Garadhor. This group of gunners all activated their Shooting Stance before opening fire.
Once Dogs of War members started shooting. The guild armies did the same. Soon, all sorts of ranged projectiles, physical or magical, rained down on Therribus' army below.
Pandora shot out of the cliff wall and landed near the guild army during that time.
Therribus' army couldn't do anything but be sitting ducks down there. There was nothing they could do, before them was a dead-end while behind them was the flaming forest. The only one who could hit back at the armies shooting from atop the cliff was Robin. His giant bow gave him unusual range compared to others. But with only him alone, he couldn't make any difference.
The soldiers tried their best to protect Therribus from the bombardment. But many magical attacks dealt AOE damage. They couldn't give complete protection.
John instructed the guild armies to take out the healers first. With them gone, Therribus' army won't survive for long.
"Your Highness! We have to flee!" Polom uttered.
"Go! Don't worry about us!" Robin added.
Therribus was unwilling. He was this close to getting rid of the final obstacle to the throne and taking control of this kingdom. How can his army lose to the enemy's ploy?
Therribus looked around him. He had lost many troops due to the fire inside the forest. Many panicked inside the fiery forest and ended up lost without knowing which way to go until they were burnt to death. The ones with him here were also not in full health after suffering through the fire. It didn't take many shots for the armies above to finish the ones down here. Some troops continuously came out of the fire to where he was, but they were simply additional meat thrown into a meatgrinder. The troops he left outside to encircle the forest couldn't rush in to assist due to the flame.
Therribus nodded without uttering a word.
Polom cast a spell and held Therribus. The two started floating. Polom was the only remaining mage soldier here that had the flying spell. He also cast the Group Barrier spell. Everyone in his vicinity was being covered by a protective barrier, including Therribus. This was to protect the two of them from range attack while flying away.
As their bodies started to lift off, Serpent Boss aimed his rifle. He was using a long rifle instead of the silent handgun from before. This rifle was also a super rare weapon. It had a higher damage value compared to his silent handgun, additionally, this rifle also increased his shooting range more than normal.
John might have expressed his confusion as to why it was David and not Serpent Boss that was controlling their guild army. However, even if it was Serpent Boss, John would have asked someone else to take over the guild army control at this time and sent Serpent Boss to this place. The reason was that Serpent Boss had a unique skill. It was called Pull of the Earth. If was a skill that could be applied to either melee or range attacks. It lasted ten seconds. Anyone that was hit by an attack when the skill was active, would lose all sorts of flying ability.
John had expected there might still be some enemies that had a flying ability. They would no doubt use the ability to save Therribus at this time. So, Serpent Boss' ability was invaluable in the current situation.
However, with the barrier protecting Polom, Serpent Boss' Pull of the Earth skill won't take effect. So, he instructed everyone to focus their fire on Polom.
Polom cast several other spells as he and Therribus increased in altitude, Magic Wall and a disruptive field. The disruptive field caused all ranged attacks coming at them to swerve.
When it seemed as if the two might escape, twenty shadows suddenly appeared beside them. The shadows struck at Polom at an impossible speed.
Bowler, who recognized the skill, turned to his side. 'No, this guy is still here,' He thought as he looked at Jack.
Jack also recognized the skill. It was his Hundred Shadows Strikes, or more precisely, Commander Quintus' Hundred Shadow Strikes. A fully leveled one that produced twenty shadows. However, commander Quintus was still fighting near Fort Garadhor. Not to mention this skill required close range. There was no ally down there except Samuel who was already lying still on the ground.
Polom's Barrier instantly burst after receiving Hundred Shadows Strikes. He also received damage as his Barrier could only block a quarter of the attack. The shadow coalesced into a single person in between Polom and Therribus. He kicked Polom while slashing at Therribus, forcing the two to part. He made another slash, the slash produced an image of a giant black crow which dove Therribus back to the ground. Therribus' barrier was destroyed by the assault, he also received residual damage.
Polom tried to give chase but Serpent Boss fired his shot at this time. Without the Barrier protecting him, Polom couldn't resist Serpent Boss' Pull of the Earth. His flying spell was dispelled and his body fell back to the ground.
As Therribus struggled to rise, the secret assailant shifted to his back. The assailant's dagger dove into Therribus' back with very high damage. Peniel later informed Jack that the stab was done with Lethal Backstab skill. A more powerful version of Rogue's backstab skill.
Therribus' HP was already not in full health when Polom attempted to carry him away. With the series of attacks just now, his HP was down to critical.
The assailant was holding Therribus from the back. As he prepared to deliver a final blow, he said to Therribus, "This is a gift from Prince Rhemos."
Therribus realized then that the assailant behind him was Rayne.
