The situation around the heavenly vine soon became chaotic.
The Nox and Heaven's Army forces clashed fiercely, laying waste to the surrounding environment. Bodies dropped constantly, and as the earth was stained in red, the golden red aura around the heavenly vine began to shift and become redder and redder.
With so many millions of troops fighting fiercely, not everyone could stay around the heavenly vine. Several hundreds of thousands of kilometers had been transformed into a battlefield, this whole region becoming a bloody slaughter domain.
Near the outskirts of this region, several 3rd class soldiers fought fiercely against the endless waves of mindless Lesser Nox.
They split into countless teams and formed a defensive line that absolutely couldn't be penetrated, and even among these teams, roles were properly distributed for peak efficiency.
The first role was the tanks. This role also had the most people, as the tanks held the line and drew the aggression of these Lesser Nox to allow their teammates to attack.
The second role was the damage dealers. These people had highly destructive abilities and precise control, which allowed them to rapidly blitz the massive crowd of Lesser Nox and lessen their numbers considerably.
The third role was the cleaners. These troops mainly had wide area destruction skills, which they used to exterminate the ink remains of deceased Nox so they couldn't recombine with their comrades and form a greater threat.
Within these three roles, there were several subsidiary positions, and even outside of these main roles, there were several other positions. Together, even with their 3rd class strength, they even had the ability to hold off a small number of 4th class beings.
Boom!
A burst of Nox Mana impacted a man's shield.
"Khh…!" He groaned as he absorbed the impact.
"Josh, now!"
"On it!"
A man jumped over his head as soon as he made the call. The man's twin blades slashed through the air with absolute precision, followed by an almost invisible trail of green light.
Shing!
The cutting of air also symbolized the death of a group of several hundred Nox. The man named Josh immediately retracted his blades and retreated behind the shielded man the second he finished attacking.
Voom!
A burning ball of light appeared above the two men. It crashed down into the crowd that had formed to replace those Nox who died, spreading a wave of fire several hundred meters into the surrounding.
A woman walked up behind the two men, a crystal ball floating next to her head. "Josh, Elliot, we can't delay any longer! Let's join up with the main squad!"
"We can't! We don't have any space to move!" Elliot yelled back.
"Then we'll make room! Otherwise, we can only die!"
"Tch! Why do I have to do all the work again?!"
Elliot clicked his tongue in unwillingness, but his steely gaze didn't falter in the slightest.
Jess, the female witch, was right. They had been pushed almost an entire kilometer away from the main defense line, and with their current situation, only death awaited them.
"Fuck!" Elliot roared. Mana blazed around his body and congregated on his shield.
'Flaming Bull Run!'
VOOM!
Elliot burst into a ball of flames as he charged forward. His every step caused the ground to shake, and the Nox in his path were turned to cinders upon contact.
As he ran, Josh and Jess followed behind him, clearing the sides and making sure that the Nox couldn't interrupt Elliot's charge at all.
With Josh's agility and Jess' great long-range power, they were able to successfully support Elliot as he carved a path through the Nox horde.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the group of three approached closer to the defensive line, the sounds of battle became louder and far more prominent. At some point, the only sound filling the three's ears was that of blades clashing.
However…
'Blades clashing?'
The Nox…didn't use weaponry.
BOOM!
Elliot's charge came to an end. A burst of fire spread in all directions around him as he made the final push and returned to the defensive line.
However, when the Nox blocking the defensive line from view were cleared…
A horrific sight entered their eyes.
"This…what is this madness?!" Jess exclaimed.
No matter which direction they looked in, Heaven's Army had collapsed. Brothers were fighting each other madly, comrades stabbed each other while laughing indifferently, there was no semblance of order remaining in the ranks.
"Fuck! What are they doing?! At this rate, the defensive line will break!" Elliot roared furiously. "Josh, go ahead first and try to knock some sense into them! We'll support you from behind until I recover!"
Elliot's eyes scanned the battlefield as he waited for Josh's affirmation, however, it never came.
"Josh?" Elliot questioned, turning his gaze to his silent comrade.
"Josh, what's going on with you?"
Elliot walked up to his old friend and grabbed his shoulder, turning Josh to face him.
"…Josh?"
Spurt!
Elliot's eyes widened. He looked down into his friend's eyes.
The only thing he saw was madness.
His body collapsed to the floor, lifeless.
"Josh, you…!" Jess exclaimed, however, she found a speedy blade slashing towards her neck before she could finish.
'What happened to Josh?!' She wondered inwardly, panicking.
This was a critical juncture where teamwork was of the utmost importance. She didn't expect her comrade of so many years to turn against her here and kill her brother!
Her emotions boiled.
"Josh, I can't believe you'd do this!" She roared. She galvanized her mana and prepared a massive ball of fire to exterminate the traitor.
'Hm? What's that smell?'
Just before she let the attack loose, a strange scent entered her nose. It was an enticing scent of flowers mixed with the scent of blood.
As soon as it entered her nose…
Jess' eyes changed.
BOOOOOOOM!
Her fireball exploded in mid-air, turning into a rain of starfall that flew wantonly into the battlefield and caused a chain of explosions spanning several kilometers.
Swish!
A blade passed by her neck. Her eyes widened in concentration as she narrowly dodged to the left.
Her arm shot out, her hand catching her attacker's wrist like a claw.
Kekekekeke!
VOOM!
A bout of maniacal laughter left her mouth as a powerful flame transferred from her arm to her attacker's body, burning him to a crisp.
Josh's body fell to the floor not far from Elliot's, and as it did, Jess moved further into the defensive line to continue her killing spree.
Elliot and Josh's lifeless bodies were left in her wake, soon enveloped by the force of battle and consumed by the battlefield.
However, their blood remained stained in the earth as if to immortalize them.
That blood glowed with a slight hue of gold and red.
It integrated deeper into the ground, dripping into something like a vein extending below the surface of the earth.
If one could see a comprehensive view of the underground, they'd be able to see a massive network of these veins spanning the entirety of the slaughter domain that'd formed with the clash of these two massive forces.
And that vein system's center…?
Naturally, it was none other than the heavenly vine.
