Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1178 - 290 Another Battlefield

The girls’ situation was grim as they faced a siege from over a hundred enemies, having borne immense pressure right from the start.

This was not the first time the girls had experienced such a predicament. Years ago, in order to fulfill a commission from the Sea Race, the girls entered the deep sea, where on what is now known as the Nightmare Islands, they had been surrounded by countless members of the Sea Race. Or, even earlier, deep in the grasslands within the Beastman Sacred Mountain, the girls had also found themselves amidst an endless Sea of Undead. It’s safe to say that the girls had rich experience in dealing with being outnumbered by enemy forces.

Compared to the enemies on the Nightmare Islands, the individual strength of their current foes was somewhat lacking. On the islands, there were hundreds at the Legendary Rank alone. As for the Sacred Mountain deep within the grasslands, the sheer number of enemies was not even in the same category. Being besieged by tens of thousands is vastly different from being surrounded by only a little over a hundred, though in practice the difference may not seem significant. But psychologically, there is no comparison. Still, the girls believed that this was the most perilous situation they had ever faced, and past experiences simply did not compare.

The girls had good reason for thinking so. The enemies on the island were completely in a state of confusion. Even though there were occasional coordinated attacks, in most cases, it was every enemy for themselves. Facing such foes and finding the flaws in their seemingly concentrated attacks to resolve them one by one was not as difficult as one might imagine. As for the enemies deep in the grasslands, although they were all led by a Death Knight, Little Deer, who sadly wasn’t the brightest, the fact that she managed to prevent the skeletons from descending into chaos was already quite surprising. A team commanded by her, even if composed entirely of Demigod Undead, could probably be considered negligible in combat power—the end result would be like what happened before, allowing all undead to attack the living based on instinct.

However, the enemies they now faced were different. They shared a common belief and a common goal, and they also accepted common commands. The most crucial aspect was that the vast majority of the Undead Mages were fanatical devotees of the Grimreaper Danacus. They feared neither the enemy nor death itself. In their eyes, the will of the Grimreaper was all that mattered in life. To defeat the enemies of the Grimreaper and realize Danacus’ will, they would spare no expense. Beyond the Undead Mages were seventeen Legendary Rank ghouls. Although these Living Corpses who had already died once didn’t necessarily wholeheartedly believe in Danacus—and indeed feared death far more than their fanatical Undead Mage companions—they were awakened by the moribunds and had to follow their directives. Should they renege on their agreement, the moribunds could take back the life they had granted, and the ghouls would once again embrace death. Thus, one could say they fought to continue living; and those who fought for that reason had a frightening will and desire for battle.

Most critically, the hundred or so enemies they now faced were all of sound mind. Like the girls, each one was a living being—well, the ghouls could perhaps count as half.

Therefore, from the very beginning of the battle, the girls felt this pressure. Even without the enemies lifting a finger, just their cold gazes and the malice and killing intent emanating from their bodies were almost tangible, making the hairs on the girls’ skin involuntarily stand on end. Confronting an enemy that didn’t move but exerted such an aura, even someone as steady as Catherine needed to forcefully suppress her internal tension to remain composed. Though she tried hard not to show it, her left hand still clutched the handle of her shield tightly, as if the cold shield could bring her sufficient comfort.

The tactic of making the opponent feel pressured through mere presence, then targeting the vulnerabilities that tend to surface under such pressure, was precisely why the Undead Mages and ghouls only semicircled the girls without truly attacking. This strategy may be simple and direct, but it left little room for opponents to find a clever way to break through, even if they were fully aware it was just a tactic. Clearly, amongst the enemies, there were professionals skilled in commanding at least medium-sized team combat. Discounting those Undead Mages who only knew blind worship of the Grimreaper and toyed with souls and life, the real commander must be among the seventeen ghouls. Perhaps, much like the previous Matilda, they were a leader of at least a mercenary group’s mid-tier, or if even more exaggerated, they might be high-ranking officers from the Neville Federation or Falar Empire’s military. Nevertheless, Catherine had to admit that she could not identify who the commander was; after all, she was too young and had not met many of the masters who were active decades ago. This lack of knowledge was indeed regrettable; if they could identify the enemy’s commander, the girls could adopt more effective tactics to bridge the gap between them, rather than passively following the enemy’s rhythm, as they were now.

Therefore, if other factors were set aside, Ava’s sudden attack, akin to a misunderstanding, turned out to be more advantageous for the girls. Her unexpected move not only caught the girls unprepared to coordinate in advance, but it had the same effect on the enemy. In the mind of the enemy commander, the girls, who were at an absolute disadvantage and feeling the pressure from the momentum, would be best to form a defensive formation, huddling together tightly to confront the pressure from the front. Although the enemy was numerous, having more people also had its drawbacks, especially in a clash of morale, where small mistakes could easily occur. This was the only chance for the girls to turn the tide, and the commander had always believed that the girls would do exactly as he had anticipated, because he would have done the same.

However, he didn’t know that there were exceptions like Ava in the world. No matter how strong the pressure, even if it came from a deity itself, it could not affect a machine. Ava, who had become increasingly humanized over the days, still habitually saw herself as a machine in her consciousness, a machine that certainly doesn’t understand what spiritual pressure is. Therefore, the enemy commander never dreamed that the artificial girl would completely ignore his tactical design and, opening The Third Eye, directly blasted the powerful Light Technique, Light of Destruction, at them.

With this as the signal, the curtain for the battle finally rose. The sudden bright light occupied the vision of both parties for a moment, and the following energy strike forced the enemy’s frontline ghouls to adopt defensive measures. As soon as their vision cleared, Catherine sent out several hand signals to the rear. Her teammates decoded these secret signals that only allies could understand, and they swiftly moved to the side and rear. By the time the enemy finally responded, the girls had already moved to a corner of the Great Ceremony Hall, backing against two walls nearly invulnerable under the empowerment of Divine Power, showing only their front to the enemy.

Having reached the intended position, the girls didn’t stop to wait for the enemy to regroup. As soon as they were backed against the walls, they began other preparations.

In the corner of the ceremony hall, Catherine and Ava stood on the left and right at the front of the team, forming a safe space with the walls behind them. No matter from which direction the enemy attacked, to reach the other three girls, they would have to bypass the barrier of Catherine and Ava first; but overcoming the two girls, especially Catherine’s defense, could not be done easily no matter how many came.

Behind Catherine and Ava, in front of the two mages, stood Lina in the center of the team with a spellbook in hand. If an attack were to slip through the two Guardians in the front, then the priestess would serve as the second barrier. The hefty warhammer and the spellbook, ready to flip open at any time, ensured the strength of the barrier. Although Denia’s Divine Spells would be somewhat constrained within the sanctuary of Danacus, with Earth’s Praise as a medium, Lina could still freely wield the benevolent goddess’s Divine Spells almost without interference from the Grimreaper’s Divine Power.

The two mages at the back were the busiest of the team. Vivian’s hands fluttered around her body, and with each movement, several crystal vials emerged from unknown pockets. Controlled by threads of mana, they either drifted to the ground or were shuffled to another pocket. Even though they could feel the enemy slowly closing in, and the enemy’s momentum was again building pressure, as long as she was behind Catherine, the mage girl was neither afraid nor worried. With big sister in front to protect her, nobody could harm me. This belief was held as an undeniable truth in the young mage’s heart.

Next to Vivian, Freya was equally busy. As a member of the rare profession of Upper Rank mechanic, the princess’s every battle was like a grand Illusion Magic show. Her fingers danced in the air as though playing a piano, and metal components, following her commands, whirled and interwove in mid-air. More and more components floated around, and at the peak, hundreds of them twirled about, filling the space near the girls to the point they had to be careful not to disrupt the trajectory of the parts with their own movements.