Steampunk Era: Mad Abield

"Let me handle it."

Malin gave the order, raising Fio to block the chaotic spell cast at him, the vile ray completely deflected upon hitting Fio.

Then, the knight riding the fly lifted his longsword, hoping to charge forward and settle the matter blade to blade.

Boosting his speed, Malin brushed past the chaos, the opponent’s sword slicing past his ear, while Malin’s lightsaber cleanly bisected the knight.

As the fly turned to pursue Malin, taking advantage of its loss of speed during the turn, Mana and Lorrin switched to blessed holy silver high-explosive rounds and opened fire together, their crossfire reducing the giant fly to a bloody carcass.

"We’ve broken through!" came the good news from the combat group behind, as Malin swiftly took down more than half of the targets, allowing the mages to deal with the remaining flies as they began to ascend.

"Seven have fallen," the Tower Master reported over the channel, bearing bad news.

Malin glanced at the list, unexpectedly seeing Meng Quyi’s status darken.

"Dispatch someone to confirm the positions of those who fell, see if they are still alive," Malin spoke as he turned around, forcibly elevating himself and eyeing the spears thrown from the ground, "Don’t fly too low, I confirm the presence of thrown spears."

Thus, the attack team also began to ascend—both horizontal and dive bombing were tactics they had learned.

"Confirmed, Jack Marson has fallen in battle, currently retrieving his remains," reported the squad checking on those who had fallen, the first piece of bad news.