Lian and Kain, after hours of non-stop movement, finally reached one of the high rocky ridges a few kilometers from the base.
It was almost noon when they arrived, exactly one day had passed since Lian had left the base, and he had done his best to return as quickly as possible.
They had not even gotten close to the outer walls yet when the sound of explosions could be clearly heard.
Every few seconds, the ground beneath their feet would tremble, sometimes blue lightning would illuminate the entire horizon, and sometimes fiery explosions would color the sky.
Kain stared at the distance for a few moments, massive columns of smoke had risen kilometers into the sky.
"So it is not over yet..." he whispered quietly, this was both good news and bad news.
Good news because it meant the base had not fallen yet, and bad news because it meant they had not been able to win either.
Lian did not answer, in the battle against the Ironfang Ravagers they had won within a few hours, but this time it was different, with a day passing, it was clear there was no hope of victory with the base’s current power.
He calmly climbed up the rock and stood on the highest point, his eyes scanned the entire battlefield.
What he saw was even larger than his worst predictions.
The siege was still ongoing.
Not hundreds but thousands of monsters had surrounded the Base, Thunder Spine Serpents were emerging from the forests like an endless wave.
Their long bodies and metallic scales shone under the sunset light, and every few seconds, dozens of lightning bolts would shoot from their bodies toward the base walls.
On the other side of the field, Ironhorn Marsh Drakes were advancing like moving fortresses.
Their armored bodies hit the massive walls again and again, each collision creating a tremor across the entire area.
But the Base had still not fallen, the mana towers were firing non-stop, and the mana cannons were tearing dozens of monsters apart with each shot.
The mages stationed on the walls were raining down ice, fire, and thunder on the battlefield.
The defensive barriers were still active, and every time a wave of monsters got close to the wall, blue shields would appear and neutralize part of the attacks.
However... not everything was perfect.
In several places on the wall, large cracks had appeared.
Some parts of the stones had collapsed, several watchtowers no longer existed.
The ground outside the base... could no longer be seen, the entire plain was buried under a pile of corpses.
Bodies of thunder serpents, horned crocodiles, and the bodies of awakened ones who would never return.
Blood had turned the ground a dark red, the smell of death reached even where they were standing.
This was practically a war, and a war on a large scale with thousands of participants and heavy casualties on both sides.
"Many have died..." Kain said with a dry throat.
Lian nodded quietly, he had also noticed, some of the commanders he had seen yesterday were no longer on the wall.
The forces were constantly being replaced, whenever a group retreated, another group would take its place.
They were still resisting, but this resistance was costing a heavy price, reaching a conclusion in this situation was very difficult.
He had thought that if the egg’s presence disappeared from the base, the monsters would give up, but it seemed he had been wrong.
Unless the monsters still believed the egg was inside the base, or they had not come just for the egg and had another reason.
But it could not be said with certainty.
Something else caught Lian’s attention, the strongest monsters... had still not entered the battle.
In the distance, on a high hill, the Abyssal River Drake was standing, its massive body looked like a black mountain in the twilight.
Its red eyes were watching the entire battlefield, several other Fallen ones were also present around it.
None of them were attacking, just... watching.
Sometimes one of them would let out a short roar, at that moment, a new wave of monsters would charge toward the wall.
Sometimes one of the Fallen ones would change the direction of several hundred monsters with just a movement of its head, everything was too organized.
"They are tiring them out." Lian said quietly, this was a conclusion he had easily reached.
Kain did not take his gaze off the field.
"What do you mean?"
"The defensive mana arrays have limits, the mages have mana, the awakened ones have stamina, but none of them are infinite." He paused for a few moments.
"When everyone is exhausted, that is when they will enter themselves."
"Then... nothing of the base will remain." Kain quietly let out his breath and realized the severity of the situation.
Lian looked at his friend, Kain’s face color had still not returned to normal, the poison had still not completely left his body.
His wounds had closed, but his body was still weak, although the sacred spring had given him strange power, that unknown poison was still consuming part of his ability.
Besides, he was still level 13, even with tripled stats, he could barely fight level 15 or 16 monsters.
If he entered the battlefield right now... he might not last more than a few minutes.
Then his gaze fell on the prisoner, the white-robed man was still unconscious, after all that noise, Lian had knocked him out with one blow to make things easier.
For now, carrying him was easier than enduring his words.
"What should we do now?" Kain asked quietly, nothing came to his mind, and in such situations, he could only hope for his friend.
Lian did not answer, all his attention was on the field, in any case, this matter was his fault, and he had to take responsibility for it.
So he could not just ignore the base and stand aside, besides, killing all these monsters had great benefits.
But what exactly should he do?
If he attacked the monster army from behind... they would undoubtedly be caught off guard.
He could kill dozens or even hundreds of monsters in a short time.
The pressure on the defenders would decrease, but... his gaze fixed on the Abyssal River Drake.
If that creature noticed his presence even once... everything would be over, neither Abyss Veil nor Fallen Wolf Speed could save him.
The power gap was too large, escape would be almost impossible.
He examined different scenarios one after another.
Direct attack? Suicide.
Waiting? Every minute, more humans were being killed.
Returning secretly? He might succeed, but he would have to leave the prisoner and Kain behind, and it was not worth it.
No path was perfect, he really felt like he was at a dead end.
At that same moment, a small movement caught his attention, a few Thunder Spine Serpents broke away from the front line.
They moved toward the river, and a few minutes later... another group took their exact place.
Lian frowned.
A few minutes later, the same thing happened with the Ironhorn Marsh Drakes.
A group retreated, and a fresh group took their place.
Kain also noticed.
"They are rotating their forces..."
"Yeah..." Lian looked more carefully, this was not just a force rotation, everything had a clear order, their movement path was constant, their timing was almost the same.
No chaos could be seen in the monster army, as if a precise commander was managing everything.
He observed the same paths for a few more minutes.
Every time, the same groups, the same time, the same path, and his eyes slowly narrowed.
In his mind, the puzzle pieces were coming together one after another, if these rotations were planned...
Then maybe... the very plan itself was their weak point.
A gentle wind passed over the bloody plain.
The sound of explosions could still be heard from a distance, Lian took one last look at the Abyssal River Drake.
Then his gaze fixed again on the movement path of the rotating groups, and his lips moved slightly.
"Maybe... there is a way."
"What way?" Kain looked at him.
Lian still did not answer, his gaze remained fixed on the battlefield, and in his mind, a plan was slowly taking shape...
He was not sure if it would work or not, but it was worth a try.