Chapter 185
It wasn’t long before the rest of the monster horde still noticed their presence. The stone-controlling ants paid no heed to them – they continued swarming the wall, where the defenders desperately tried to fight them off. The nearest Vinebears proved to be the most immediate threat. Several of them broken off from the wall entirely, and whirled towards the group with hungry expressions.
Allira started singing of a lost city, and of rocks that fell from the sky as an army ruined everything bright and happy in the world. The air around them rippled, and buildings and corpses started to appear in the midst of the battlefield. Children and adults huddled in broken buildings, as Sigmusi Mages rained death upon the town from outside the walls.
The vinebears seemed stunned by the disappearance of the natural plant life in the area – and much to Alice’s surprise, some of the started to retreat. This wasn’t behavior that she was used to. Most monsters simply charged until they were dead.
For a moment, Alice was relieved. If the monsters started fleeing from this battlefield, it would be a good enough outcome. The city would be saved, and the group would be free to continue on their journey. However, it only took a few moments for her to realize she had been too optimistic.
The Vinebears were fleeing from the battlefield. They were just regrouping. The Vinebears had clearly realized that Allira’s illusion nullified their strongest weapon, so they were trying to find a way to get their advantage back. A moment later, the first Vinebear awkwardly clambered over to one of the non-illusory ruined houses.
Then, as if it were an Olympic champion winding up, it grabbed one of the rocks and awkwardly threw it at the group. A moment later, one of Ethan’s shrapnel pieces ripped through its throat, killing it instantly.
Alice resisted the urge to swear.
The damn creatures hadn’t even used a Perk, but they had somehow figured out a way to counter Allira’s illusions.
Luckily, it meant almost nothing to the group. The moment the rock was close enough, Alice reached out with a magic tendril and stopped the rock. It was surprisingly difficult – while bears didn’t have thumbs, making their grip on the stones awkward, their limbs had an awful lot of power behind them. That meant she needed to sink a lot of mana into the rock to stop its motion again. Alice also noticed a small cluster of moss on the side of the rock that felt oddly… sticky.