Four and a half hours later...
Lux stood on top of the canyon and watched the procession of the refugees from above.
He then shifted his attention to the dust cloud that could be seen in the distance and knew that they had less than an hour before the Rat Army caught up with the townspeople, who had also discovered the Monster Army that was behind their back.
However, thanks to Boris, the Guards, as well as the Adventurers, a stampede caused by panic was averted.
They had all assured the townspeople that they had everything under control, and that none of them would be harmed.
Even Boris, who told Lux that he would run away when he felt that his life was in danger, stayed and became the pillar that supported everyone.
"Those Monsters will not be able to get past our defenses," Boris shouted. "All of you should just increase your pace and pass through this canyon as fast as possible. We have laid a trap for the Monsters, and we will stop their advance here. Do not be afraid! We will prevail!"
Boris' speech boosted everyone's spirit and made them strive to increase their speed as they traveled the narrow pathway.
In truth, the Guildmaster had a one-time use artifact that would allow him to instantly teleport to one of the major cities of the Vahan Empire. This was one of his life saving trump cards that he wasn't supposed to use.
However, Lux's bravery had inspired him to try a little harder and remain until the bitter end.
'I can't believe I am competing with a teenager at my age,' Boris thought as he glanced at the dust cloud that was getting close with each passing second. 'I just hope that his plan works, or else, I'm out of here.'
Boris didn't plan on dying anytime soon. It was just that he changed his plan a bit, so he would only leave when he deemed that it was impossible to win.
The Guildmaster looked up at the top of the canyon where the Half-Elf was looking at the approaching Monster Army with a fearless gaze. His Named Creatures stood by his side, like Generals waiting for their King's orders.
"Get ready, everyone," Lux said. "Let's do this."
As soon as he gave the order, the Skeleton Gangbangers, who were standing at the rear of the procession of the refugees, all took a fighting stance, blocking the only path that led to the townspeople who were fleeing for their lives.
The Skeleton Mages and Skeleton Grand Archers lined up along the ridge of the canyon and took aim.
All of Lux's Skeleton Summons combined with Asmodeus' own summons numbered above 350.
This reminded him of the movie he watched back on Earth where a bunch of Spartans held back an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands with only 300 people.
Even though Lux was only facing a Monster Army that was less than two thousand strong, all of them were Rank 4 Monsters and were being led by a Rank 5 Field Boss that was called the Vicious Horned Flame Rat.
This Rat Monster was four-meters tall and its paws blazed as if they were on fire. Its body had crimson streaks on it and looked very intimidating.
If the Field Monster that was leading an army of Rank 4 Monsters had been the one that attacked Leaf Village in the past, the chances of the Village being completely destroyed was quite high.
Although it was far weaker than the Mutated Thunder Wolf King, the army under its command was of higher quality, and it was more than enough to raze any of the villages and smaller towns to the ground.
A few minutes later, the ground started to tremble as thousands of rats neared the canyon. It sounded similar to a raging avalanche that was about to swallow everything in its path, which made the townspeople who were at the very rear of the procession cry out in fear.
"Don't panic!" Boris shouted. "Just walk in an organized manner! We're here to protect your backs. You will be safe!"
Boris' timely shout calmed the people and prevented them from running in panic, which would have crushed those who were in front of them.
Even though the Guildmaster looked calm on the surface, he was already holding a blue crystal in his hand, ready to break it at a moment's notice.
When the Vanguard of the Rat Army entered the canyon, they noticed that several Monster carcasses littered the ground. Most of them were common Monsters like horned rabbits, beetles, monkeys, and other Monsters that were native within the Southern Regions of the Vahan Empire.
The Rat Monster ignored these dead animals since their true target was the people whom their Master ordered them to kill.
When over a hundred monsters had run past the dead bodies on the ground, Asmodeus pointed his finger on the dead bodies and shouted.
"Corpse Explosion!"
Immediately, hundreds of Rat Monsters were thrown up in the air as powerful explosions sent dirt and rocks flying.
Monstrous shrieks of pain and anger reverberated within the canyon as hundreds of Rats got injured from the sudden explosion that happened under their feet.
Lux had ordered his Skeleton Army to hunt any Monsters they could find in order to use them as fuel for the Corpse Explosion skill that he would use within the cramped space of the canyon.
With great effort, Lux's Skeleton Army still managed to hunt a few hundred during the limited time they had. It was not enough to instantly kill Rank 4 Monsters, but it was sufficient to deal serious injuries, lowering their health past the halfway point.
"Skeleton Make Boulder!"
Hundreds of Skeletons merged together, forming a giant boulder made up of bones which floated in front of Lux.
The Half-Elf then jumped in the air and transformed his legs to that of a dragon and kicked the bone boulder with all of his might like it was a soccer ball, aiming for the horde of monsters that were advancing at the narrow canyon.
"Power Shot!" Lux roared as he kicked the ball that flew towards his target like a giant cannonball of death.
< Power Shot >
– Increase Skill accuracy by 30% and damage by 30%
– Has a 5% chance to deal critical damage when using Power Shot Skill.
The attack was not only infused by the Abyss Touch Skill that ignored all defenses, but also by the passive skill, Tempest Fury, which coated the bone boulder with the power of the Wind Element, increasing its speed and striking power.
Just like a bowling ball hitting bowling pins, the giant boulder rammed into the vanguard of the Rat Army and sent them flying. However, it didn't end there. Due to the force behind the attack, the Monsters which were already injured by the corpse explosion also died, which made Asmodeus's eyes blaze with excitement.
"Corpse Explosion!"
A chain reaction similar to fireworks being lit together ensued, devastating the Monsters that were caught in the explosion. Due to the narrow space, the Monster Army had no choice but to suffer through the explosions that dealt necrotic damage to them, giving them all fatal injuries.
"Squeaaaaaaaaaaaak!"
The Vicious Horned Flame Rat screeched, and the Rat Monsters started to climb up the side of the rock canyons, heading towards Lux, who was responsible for killing their comrades.
The Half-Elf knew that Rats were good climbers, so he had already expected this to happen.
"Orion! Bury them alive!" Lux ordered.
The Jade Golem, as well as the other Rock Golems all smashed their fists against the ground in front of them.
Earlier, Lux had ordered them to loosen up the rocks by punching it repeatedly, in preparation for the attack that would bury their foes in the ground.
With one final punch, which came from Orion, the side of the canyon gave way, falling down on the climbing rats that didn't expect their footholds to crumble under their feet.
An avalanche occurred, crushing the hundreds of Monsters that had climbed up the side of the canyon in order to deal with Lux.
Unfortunately, the Vicious Horned Flame Rat was quite agile, so it managed to jump off its foothold to the other side of the canyon, allowing it to survive the calamity that befell its subordinates.
"Corpse Explosion!"
"Corpse Explosion!"
"Hahaha! Corpse Explosion!"
Asmodeus laughed as he detonated all the Rat Monsters that had died, killing a few more in the process.
"It's Gangbang Time!"
One of the Skeleton Gang Bangers shouted, which was like a spark that made its brethren charge at the injured Rat Monsters like crazed Beasts that were injected with chicken blood.
The moment these Madlads reached their injured targets, a one-sided gangbanging session began, which made the Rats who were at death's door spit out mouthfuls of blood, mainly because of the Skeleton Gang Bangers skewering their backsides with their long, and thick, bastard swords.
The other Rat Monsters, including the Vicious Horned Flame Rat Field Boss, who saw their brethren's fate, couldn't help but shudder.
Although they were far stronger than the Skeleton Gang Bangers, they couldn't help but feel fear in their hearts because their animal instincts were telling them that they, too, were about to get gangbanged as well.
