Chapter 215: Heating Up
After Doran's antics, everyone was fired up.
They were ready to fight the seemingly endless swarm of Chimera Beasts until they put an end to every single one of them.
Another hour passed. Yet everyone continued giving their all.
Thanks to the medics and support mages working in rotation, the frontline was able to keep up with the Chimera Beasts. But even though they weren't physically or mentally drained yet, another question had started to arise.
How long could they keep this up?
They didn't know where the Chimera Beasts were coming from.
Endless couldn't be a number.
There had to be something they were unable to see.
This was when Darius told the others to focus on analysing the situation instead of simply killing the Chimera Beasts.
It would slow them down and put more pressure on the others, but someone had to do it.
Gepa, Ruvan, Veynaris, and several others were told to focus on analysis while being guarded by people who would continue defeating the Chimera Beasts around them.
Yet, even among the huge number of Chimera Beasts they were facing, they weren't able to figure anything out.
They just kept coming.
Even the skies were filled with flying Chimera Beasts, making it difficult for anyone to search from above.
The army continued killing every Chimera Beast they encountered.
One after another, they were turned into ash, their remains fading into the dust on the ground.
And yet no matter how many they defeated, the number seemed to remain the same.
It was as if they had defeated none at all.
Then, after one and a half hours of war, something suddenly started to feel off.
The army was still fighting. But it felt different. Mindless.
Almost as if they were no longer truly present.
They were simply continuously killing the Chimera Beasts in front of them.
They weren't thinking about anything else. They weren't thinking about how long the battle had been going on. They weren't thinking about where the Chimera Beasts were coming from. They were simply fighting.
And then, the Chimera Beasts started gaining the upper hand.
The army began getting pushed back.
The support members at the back noticed it immediately.
They tried shouting at the frontline.
They tried telling them to keep pushing forward.
And even when the soldiers listened, they simply weren't able to do it.
They were still capable of killing the Chimera Beasts without much change in their tactics.
Yet the upper hand of the Chimera Beasts was becoming more and more obvious.
Then came multiple screeches.
Uncomfortable screams echoed across the battlefield as hordes of Chimera Beasts continued charging forward.
But after one and a half hours of continuous effort, something finally changed.
It felt like the number of Chimera Beasts was decreasing. The pressure on each individual in the army was becoming lighter. A sense of accomplishment finally began clearing the fog that had settled inside everyone's mind.
They were doing it. They were finally reducing their numbers.
But that relief was cut short.
The number of Chimera Beasts had indeed decreased.
But not because of them.
From far behind the horde, around fifteen Chimera Beasts were slowly walking forward.
They didn't look ordinary.
And they certainly didn't feel ordinary.
Soon, the realisation came.
It could be the same situation as the Chimera Beast King Arthur had fought.
The fifteen creatures clearly felt dangerous. And they were.
Each one of them began eating the Chimera Beasts in their path as they walked toward the frontline.
It was a disgusting sight. And a horrifying one.
The army immediately began preparing themselves for the fifteen evolved Chimera Beasts marching toward them.
The overall number of the Chimera Beast horde had been reduced.
But now they knew why.
The evolved Chimera Beasts had been eating them.
Even the fighters who had been working individually until now decided to team up in order to face these monstrous beings.
The corrupted aura surrounding them made everything feel dull.
The battlefield itself seemed to grow heavier.
Then, of those fifteen Chimera Beasts, four of them suddenly began speaking.
The first one said, "This is it for you."
The second said, "Your death shall be your mercy."
The third said, "Hope you are prepared to die."
The fourth one, who seemed more maniacal than the rest, grinned. "Feel blessed. Your death is in my hand."
Adrian immediately ordered a change in tactics.
He formed fifteen groups.
Each group would focus on one of the fifteen evolved Chimera Beasts, while the rest of the army would continue fighting the remaining Chimera Beasts.
Perhaps this way, they could analyse the situation and learn more about these creatures.
This time, there was no speech.
There was no need for one.
Everyone already knew what they needed to do.
They prepared themselves.
The evolved Chimera Beasts continued marching toward them.
And the war entered its next stage.
Things had started heating up.