[Arcane Missiles]
Several fist-sized orbs of light tore through the air, shooting towards the top of the city wall where the Grand Mage Lawrence was chanting an incantation.
Grand Mage Lawrence had no choice but to interrupt his spell. With a wave of his staff, a shield instantly enveloped his entire body. Simultaneously, his feet shuffled urgently, and he threw himself sideways in a desperate dodge.
The Arcane Missiles impacted the shield, exploding into dazzling bursts of purple light. Although they failed to break the shield, they successfully disrupted his spellcasting rhythm, preventing him from interfering in the battle between Big Brother Slime and Raymond.
In the sky, Raymond, astride his griffon, descended like a diving hawk, his broad-bladed knight's greatsword aimed directly at Big Brother Slime, who had just stabilized himself on the steelback beetle.
The griffon's wings folded in, its speed increasing as the greatsword swung down in a cleaving strike.
[Vertical Cleave]
Big Brother Slime seemed to have no time to react further. Its dark golden body, along with the steelback beetle beneath it, was struck head-on by this swift attack, plummeting from low altitude towards the ground.
However, the tactile feedback from the blade made Raymond feel something was wrong.
The sensation was light and airy, completely unlike striking something heavy and solid. It was more like slicing through a leaf drifting in the wind.
They saw Big Brother Slime easily dissipate the impact of the fall, then land on the ground as lightly as a feather, not even stirring up much dust.
In contrast, Raymond himself, the moment his attack missed, suddenly felt his body grow heavy, as if several times his own weight had been imposed out of thin air upon him and his griffon mount.
The griffon let out a panicked cry of distress. Its previously smooth diving posture instantly lost control. Its wings flapped futilely, unable to counteract the terrifying, suddenly increased burden. Along with Raymond on its back, it plummeted rapidly towards the ground.
Raymond reacted extremely quickly. In the instant before hitting the ground, he violently leaped from the griffon's back, simultaneously holding his greatsword horizontally in front of him, attempting to block any attack that might follow.
Sure enough, after landing, Big Brother Slime showed not the slightest pause. Its body compressed like a spring, then shot upwards with explosive force. The enchanted shortsword in its hand transformed into a stream of silver-gold light, thrusting straight at Raymond's chest.
[Slime Thrust]
Raymond raised his sword to block. The two blades met, producing a crisp *clang!* sound.
But what alarmed him more was that at the moment of blocking, he felt the pressure on his body suddenly skyrocket again.
It was as if the surrounding air had turned into viscous, heavy mercury. Every movement now required several times the usual effort.
The ground beneath his feet even emitted a groaning *crack* sound, showing fine fissures. The griffon, which had just struggled to its feet, was pressed down until it was almost flat against the ground, whimpering in pain.
Was this that bizarre gravity magic?
As the thought flashed through his mind, Raymond exerted all his strength to push Big Brother Slime's shortsword away. When he leaped backward, trying to create distance, he discovered that once he moved beyond a radius of about ten meters around Big Brother Slime, that heavy, binding sensation abruptly vanished, and his body regained its lightness.
He looked up at the city wall. Princess Louisa, riding her giant eagle and nimbly weaving through the air, was using various instant-cast spells to chase and pummel Grand Mage Lawrence, completely unable to spare any attention to support him.
He had to admit, this Slime's ability was quite effective at restraining Professionals who relied on close-quarters combat.
With the support of that little mage, dealing with it would be quite a headache.
Was there really no way?
Of course not.
If he were any other knight who only knew how to charge into battle, he might be at a loss by now.
But he was Raymond Sterling, Raymond the Iron Wall!
He no longer attempted to ride his injured griffon. Instead, he planted his feet apart, sinking them into the soil as if taking root. Then, taking a deep breath, he thrust his fine steel greatsword into the ground beside him. He held his hands in a virtual grip and let out a low, ancient battle cry.
A strange phenomenon occurred.
The soil and rocks beneath his feet seemed to come alive, churning and swelling like boiling water. Brown earth and gray-white rock fragments rapidly coalesced and took shape in his hands.
In just a few seconds, a tower shield the size of a door panel and a three-meter-long stone lance appeared in his grasp.
This was the true source of Raymond's power, the profession upon which his fame rested — [Shield-Lance Knight].
Unlike traditional knights who rely on mounted charges, Shield-Lance Knights stand upon the earth, drawing power from the land. By sacrificing mobility and flexibility, they gain impeccable rock-like defense and unparalleled strength.
Big Brother Slime attempted to manipulate gravity, trying to crush Raymond.
But this time, Raymond seemed to have become one with the earth beneath his feet. He and the stone shield and lance in his hands were like a single, massive boulder, standing firm and unmoving within the terrifying gravitational field.
Big Brother Slime, mounted on the steelback beetle, charged again. Its dark golden body merged with the beetle, accelerating its descent under the effect of gravity like a war hammer crashing against that massive stone shield.
*BOOM!*
Raymond, behind the shield, dug his feet deep into the ground. The giant shield in his hands, and even he himself, remained steadily standing there, not budging an inch.
Immediately after, Raymond moved.
[Shield-Lance Thrust]
The heavy stone lance, like a lurking giant fang, shot out from behind the great shield with a swiftness that belied its size.
The lance tip tore through the air with a shrieking whistle, thrusting straight at Big Brother Slime.
This thrust was both fast and fierce, its timing perfectly grasped. Big Brother Slime couldn't dodge it.
Yet, Big Brother Slime's reaction once again exceeded Raymond's expectations.
It didn't attempt to evade. Instead, it instantly caved inward like a liquid, stretching and deforming. The tip of the stone lance actually passed straight through the center of its body, as if it had pierced a golden donut.
The deformation capability and elasticity of this golden body were far more exaggerated than that of an ordinary Slime.
Missing with one strike, Raymond was not discouraged. He slowly pushed his massive stone shield forward, taking heavy, deliberate steps, beginning to advance and force Big Brother Slime to continuously retreat, gradually pressing it towards the rear lines of the Restoration Army's formation.
Above their heads, alchemical cannon fire, crossbow bolts, and magical lights constantly flew past, landing around them. They were either distorted by Big Brother Slime's gravitational field and pressed into the ground, or blocked by Raymond's giant stone shield.
This area seemed to have become their personal arena, a duel where no one else could intervene.
Even so, Raymond felt a sense of frustration in his heart.
Fighting this Slime felt too strange.
Sometimes it would flatten itself into a sheet to avoid a lance sweep; other times it would stretch and deform to dodge a direct thrust.
This unbelievable elasticity granted this supposedly heavy golden Slime unparalleled dodging skills, causing his attacks to repeatedly miss. It felt like throwing a full-force punch into cotton, utterly powerless.
Simultaneously, the omnipresent gravitational field also caused his stamina consumption to far exceed the norm.
Every time he lifted the heavy stone shield and lance, every step forward, even every breath, felt like carrying extra weight. His movements inevitably became slower than usual.
His tried-and-true shield-lance thrusting technique, which had won him countless battles, was actually being countered at every turn by a single Slime.
Moreover, he keenly sensed that this golden Slime before him seemed to be deliberately suppressing the instinctive power of a Magical Creature. It was using more warrior-like skills such as blocking, dodging, and thrusting to engage him.
This gave rise to an absurd thought in his mind.
Was it using my strength to temper itself?
Did it want to break through some kind of limit, even wanted to push the warrior profession to the Extraordinary level?
A Slime Warrior?
Damn it all.
But his combat intuition told him this was likely the truth. This Slime's ambition was shockingly grand.
Realizing this, Raymond's advancing pace quickened. He was no longer content with merely pushing Big Brother Slime back. Instead, he attempted to break through its interception with more ferocious assaults, aiming to directly charge into the Restoration Army ranks behind it.
As long as he could disrupt the enemy's formation, perhaps he could turn the tide of this stalemate.
...
On top of the city wall, Leon, Max, and Elara, disguised as black-robed cultists, had been closely watching the battle.
Raymond was firmly held in a bitter struggle by Big Brother Slime; Grand Mage Lawrence was being chased and harried into a sorry state by Louisa; the two Extraordinary warriors sent to the east side had also been lured away by the "orc squad." At this moment, the defensive forces inside the fortress city were unprecedentedly empty.
Now. The opportunity had arrived.
The three exchanged a glance.
However, just as they were about to act, their accomplice lurking in the shadows of the fortress city sent an urgent message.
"The dungeon! Traces of a sacrificial demon ritual left behind, and remnants of an Abyss fissure opening, have been discovered in the lowest level of the fortress city dungeon."
Damn it all.
This Raymond had actually secretly prepared such a contingency, and had kept it hidden from everyone.
Leon instantly grasped the key point.
Right. This southern territory supply line was crucial to the Royal Capital's Demon Legion. They certainly wouldn't just sit back and do nothing.
Raymond must have convinced the demons, at some cost or with some promise, to expend great effort to secretly open a temporary Abyss passage beneath the fortress city.
This way, the demons from the Royal Capital could use the Abyssal plane as a transit point to directly descend upon Chester Fortress City.
Although a temporary passage would be extremely unstable and unable to transport a large army, it would be enough for one high-ranking demon to sneak through.
And that high-ranking demon had probably already arrived, hiding in some corner of the fortress city, waiting for the right moment.
"Finished, finished... the plan has changed!" Elara panicked internally, almost jumping up under her black robe.
"What do we do now?" Even the usually steady Max had a note of anxiety in his voice.
Leon forced himself to calm down, his mind racing. He hardened his heart and spoke to the two through the Gel Network: "Proceed with the original plan. Create chaos, destroy the wall. As for that hidden demon... we can only hope Princess Louisa has prepared enough contingencies. We don't have time to hesitate."
The three hesitated no longer. They glanced at each other and recited in their hearts.
Action begins!
They simultaneously opened their right hands. The Shadow Slimes in their palms began to writhe violently, swelling and growing larger. Profound darkness spread from their palms.
Max stepped forward, shouting down from the wall towards Raymond, who was locked in fierce combat with Big Brother Slime: "Lord Sterling, be careful! We are going to use the holy artifact!"
As soon as his words fell, the swelling Shadow Slimes in the trio's palms broke free from control, merging and expanding in the air.
In the blink of an eye, a massive shadow, like rolling storm clouds, appeared in the sky above the fortress city, blotting out the sun.
These cultists were finally making their move.
Raymond breathed a sigh of relief.
Under his expectant gaze, this massive shadow began to slowly move.
But strangely, the shadow did not move forward as he had anticipated. Instead, it pressed down towards the two sections of Chester Fortress City's walls and the command area within the city.
They saw the enormous shadow descend like a heavy, dark curtain beast, pressing down upon the fortress city walls and buildings.
The wall sections engulfed by the shadow seemed to bear unimaginable pressure. The sturdy stone bricks groaned and cracked, shaking violently. The screams of the defending soldiers on the wall were drowned out by the roar of crumbling rock.
Then, under the gaze of countless eyes, the previously impregnable city wall sections collapsed with a thunderous crash. Dust mixed with the darkness of the shadow shot into the sky.
Simultaneously, dozens of black-robed figures, moving with swift agility, appeared from shadowy corners throughout the city.
They wielded poisoned daggers or shortswords, pouncing on the knights and officers who were trying to organize defenses and command soldiers. Blades slit throats, stabbed backs and hearts, neutralizing resistance before it could form.
In the span of just over ten seconds, the entire Chester Fortress City transformed from a well-prepared fortress into a chaotic hellscape ablaze with fires.
Raymond's expression instantly froze. He stared blankly at the dust rising from the collapsed wall behind him, listening to the chaotic uproar coming from the city, his mind a complete blank.
Then he reacted. His heart was flooded with rage and a sense of humiliation.
Damn it!
His worries had actually come true.
These damned cultists were utterly untrustworthy. They had been enemies from the start, vipers disguised as allies.
This sudden betrayal not only completely stunned the defenders, but even the Restoration Army soldiers and the orc overseers watching from afar were all dumbfounded, completely unable to grasp what was happening.
This... was this an internal conflict?
An orc overseer scratched his chin, his bell-like eyes filled with confusion.
However, at this moment which should have been the perfect opportunity to press the advantage and breach the chaotic fortress city in one go, Princess Louisa instead calmly commanded: "Shadow Royal Guard, withdraw immediately. Do not linger in battle. Your mission is complete."
Hearing this, Leon and the other two felt a chill. They instantly understood that the demon was about to reveal itself. Without any hesitation, their figures quickly merged into the surrounding shadows. Using Shadow Traversal, they retreated from the fortress city at the fastest speed possible.
Not long after Leon and the others vanished, on the rubble of the collapsed wall, the dust stirred slightly. A tall figure silently manifested.
This was a demon.
His figure was slender and agile, clad in close-fitting light armor woven from black metal and shadows, reflecting almost no light.
His name was "Dark Blade" Kalanis, a demon rogue from the Abyssal plane. He was supposed to be Raymond's secret contingency, delivering a hidden strike to the Restoration Army at a critical moment. But now, he had actively revealed himself.
He looked regretfully in the direction Leon and the others had fled. Seeing he couldn't catch up, he shifted his gaze to the surrounding defender soldiers.
Those soldiers also saw his appearance, their faces showing expressions of terror.
"A... a demon?!"
"The Merchant Alliance really is colluding with demons!"
"The commander's words before were all lies meant to deceive us!"
Emotions of doubt, betrayal, and fear spread like a plague among the surviving defenders.
They remembered Princess Louisa's earlier accusations, recalled those rumors about the Merchant Alliance's dealings with demons.
The morale that had been bolstered by Raymond's "righteous" speech, at this moment, dissipated like shadows under sunlight.
Many began to subconsciously retreat, moving away from that demon emitting an ominous aura, and also away from Raymond, who was still locked in fierce combat with the golden Slime.
Some even began to drop their weapons, fleeing towards the undamaged wall breaches or the city's alleyways. They had abandoned the fight, abandoned this fortress city.
Raymond, of course, also saw Kalanis's appearance and the instant collapse of the defenders' morale.
His heart turned ice-cold, his face dark and overcast.
His original plan was to have the demon serve as a final insurance and deterrent, not to be used unless absolutely necessary.
He had even meticulously woven lies, trying to distance the Merchant Alliance from the demon's existence.
But those damned cultists, their betrayal and the chaos they created, forced Kalanis to reveal himself prematurely, throwing his plans into disarray.
And the demon's appearance undoubtedly confirmed Louisa's accusations, completely puncturing the "righteousness" he had so carefully maintained. It turned all the high-sounding words he had just spoken into a joke.
But thinking about this now was useless.
The immediate priority was to concentrate all high-level combat power and crush them first.
As long as he crushed the Restoration Army and regained battlefield initiative, there would always be ways to handle the demon matter afterward.