Chapter 638: The Unsettling Third Wave
With no further opponents standing in their way, the second wave’s remnant was quick to reach the threshold of the battlefield, almost laying their hands on the shining castle.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
As fists, claws, and clubs rained down on the Shadow Barriers without respite, one could tell that they were soon to collapse as the Enigma supporting their existence quickly faded away.
However...
’Lit the fireworks ablaze.’
Bang!
Just when it looked like it was going to come down, the Shadow Barrier receiving the most attention blew up into a fiery storm!
Needless to say, a large percentage of the assailants were similarly blown into smithereens as a result!
’As expected...’
Naturally, Leo didn’t bother to erect these Shadow Barriers just to buy time waiting for Aurora to do everything on her own once again.
At the very least, he wouldn’t have expended so many Enigma Crystals over something so useless.
It had already taken Leo a great deal of self-control not to insert himself into New Team Aurora, so how could he possibly be that passive when he finally had the chance to be truly involved once again?
From the very beginning, these barriers were rigged to explode with Shadow Flames whenever their energy reserves dropped under 50%, as for why it didn’t explode on the first impact...
Leo had simply been waiting for his trap to accumulate a suitable number of victims!
’It worked spectacularly!’
As simple a tactic as this was, Leo believed this was the correct answer!
Of course, he also had the ability to blow up the barriers on command, but he didn’t feel the need to do anything.
Having received the most damage, the first barrier to explode logically had the strongest and largest group of enemies smashing their faces into it.
Bang!
’Not every setback is a true disadvantage.’
As the second Shadow Barrier exploded on cue, a small smile crept onto Leo’s face.
The copy monsters’ puppet-like nature that originally downsized the effectiveness of his Shadow Nightmares had now become his advantage.
After all, no sane creature would continue pushing their way through an explosive wall right after seeing one in action, but sanity was the last thing that could be associated with this mindless horde.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
That being said, with one piece of the barrier wall exploding one after the other, some of the survivors did have the instincts to slip through the opening rather than attacking a meaningless obstacle.
Unfortunately, however, before they could even touch the basic protective barrier placed by the Trial of Defense, a starry night curtain rose up to block their path once more.
Kacha!
Moreover, unlike the automated exploding barrier that Leo set up, the starry night curtain wasn’t so passive.
As soon as the multi-colored monsters collided with it, the shining curtain extended to the ground underneath them as weapons of countless forms and shapes sprang out from between their legs!
Kacha! Kacha! Kacha!
With many of the monsters being split in half or having their legs cut and turned into cripples, by the time Aurora rushed back after dealing with her share, there was almost no cleanup left to do.
Swish!
Even then, Aurora wasted no time putting the small remainder out of their misery, flicking out several dots of light that sliced through their necks.
’It’s okay.’
Looking at the glorious castle standing tall and unscathed, a surge of excitement rose through her heart.
This wasn’t exactly the first special Gate that she had cleared, but it was definitely a first!
This Gate wasn’t being solely cleared by her through brute force, nor did she receive just a little bit of help from a single person as she did before.
This time, she, no, they were clearing the Gate as a team. Despite their differences, all three of them were smoothly coordinating a defense plan that had proven to be largely successful!
All of this was even achieved with no prior planning!
’Unfortunately...’
Taking a quick glimpse of Leo staring into the horizon, Aurora’s emotions cooled down a bit as she turned back to look in the same direction.
’This is not it, is it?’
By this point, no longer affected by her previous state of emotional dysfunction, the clear-headed Aurora was able to see through the pattern just a second before the confirmation came through.
{ Third Encroachment wave is being deployed! }
With much more imposing bodies and force, the manifested creatures no longer looked like a wave of colors.
Instead, each and every single one of the participants of the third marathon had their own presence, seeming more like an avalanche of destruction.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
On the ground, tens of large quadrupeds rushed forward, hot wind erupting in every direction as lava erupted beneath their feet.
Screech! Screech! Screech!
Simultaneously, the sky almost turned dark as a shroud of black and red exploded into existence.
Last but not least...
Thud!
Impatient to bring down the castle, the third variant of the third wave didn’t even bother waiting for the flaming ’cavalry’ to clear the way.
Solid rocks suddenly cracked underneath their feet as they directly jumped forward, as if they were levitating above the ferocious quadrupeds, only dropping down once they flew past them.
’I finally got it right, but...’
As horrifying as this scene was, there was practically no suspense for all parties concerned.
Considering the participants of the first two waves and their order of appearance, even the previously confused Aurora could tell the type of monsters that were supposed to appear with her eyes closed.
However...
’How am I supposed to celebrate something like this?!’
Knowing that she was about to encounter an army of Hellhounds, Vampires, and Dragonoids... How could this encounter be any less terrifying?!
While Aurora had once destroyed an army of Dragonoids double the size of their current numbers, the Dragonoids conjured by the Multiversal Arena’s Trial Service weren’t just any Dragonoids.
If the one she had faced in the White Tower were a battalion consisting of elites, the current ones, which were eager to destroy everything in their path, were the absolute peak of their race.
This wasn’t just referring to one or two of these Dragonoids; every single one of them was a simulation of peak Humanoid Dragons!
Just dealing with these wrathful creatures would have already been a chore. As for their companions...
Roar! Screech!
Even with her renewed mentality, it was proving rather difficult for Aurora to maintain her calm.