Retaking the fifth floor was not too difficult a task. Then again the enemy had only kept a rear guard of about 1,000 to hold it. Most of which had been C tier. The oversized mummy with the scepter was not among them. The unit had retreated back into its dungeon with the rest after summoning the 5 B tier summons. The messenger metal glider flies passed through the rest of the floors in a matter of minutes, but the enemy was already clear. They burst through the enemy portal finding the retreating force still on his first floor
There were five D tier scouts sent to ensure the message made it through. Despite being instantly targeted only one was actually brought down. The remaining four continued on through the exit. Each carried the same message, a warning of the approaching army. His own forces were already following, but it might be difficult for them to make it in time. He was at serious risk of losing the entire assault force. It would not be a debilitating blow. Most of the A tiers were capable of traveling into the alternate dimension so might be fine, since they had won things there.
However, N’tuma, the golden ape, Gunther, electric shrike, flame sparrow, and pyro flinger were all in serious danger as were the several thousand units under their command. Going forward assault or defense force he would need to include more A tiers, apparently 10 to 15 was not a sufficient number for this stage of their progression. He had included several hundred B tiers as well, but apparently Tombstone had at least that many B tiers as well.
Tombstone obviously knew that Peter’s assault force was in a precarious situation. When N'Tuma pulled back from his attack on the eighth floor, the undead attacked in force. They had retreated back to the middle of the seventh floor using some of the defenders' own defenses against them. Tombstone sent out even more A tiers on top of the normal dozen mages that had blasted them floor to floor. N’tuma was able to hold the ground, but they were clearly stressed.
Then 45 minutes later the undead assault force made it back to their own seventh floor sandwiching Peter’s assault force into the middle of two undead armies. His own reinforcements were still several floors behind. The newly summoned 58 units a few floors even further. The only positive note was that Glenda and both S tiers had joined up with them among some of the other wounded. Over the last year their healing potions had improved, along with all those the holy armor dragons had been able to restore to fighting condition. The B tier healing dragons had been able to recover their holy energy over the last hour so would also be ready.
Pyro flinger was the first to fall to an enemy mage's earthen spear. Peter could only grimace while watching the flaming hedgehog that had survived two other battles. The next was the electric shrike with Gunther still on his back, and the flame sparrow. They had carried out a somewhat surprising ambush on the A tier mages, and had done quite well finally killing 4 of the elusive units.
The alternate dimension A tiers were extracting their own toll. N’tuma had sent them to delay the approaching army; all but 1 had fallen during the effort despite bloodying the returning assault force, killing an equal number of A tiers and hundreds of the weaker undead. Frustratingly the mummy with the scepter had not been among them, and had even summoned 5 B tier beasts to fight on its behalf, same as the aquatic ones he had in their dungeon.
Finally, N’tuma went down midway through the defense. Khan hmmphf’d an ‘I told you so,’ but otherwise just watched as their assault force died. The last remnants rallying about the golden ape who was proving difficult for the undead to bring down.
In the end, the reinforcements made it in time. Only the golden ape was left along with the 1 alternate realm dragon, phantasm dragon, but even they were bloodied and worn. Still the reinforcements were able to save a good dozen valuable B tiers worth and several hundred crusaders that had held the earthen bullwarks against enemies of and over their tier for a good hour. Every single C tier dragon including those from the alternate realm lay in bloody heaps around the survivors. It was not much, not considering that there had been thousands in the assault force, but it was something.
Things turned on a dime, there were not really many elites in this first group of reinforcements. Most of the heavy hitters including the leader Glenda were in the follow up group of about 100, but there were at least 40 B tier armageddon dragons and a handful of other B tiers. In addition there were nearly 3,000 infantry mainly crusaders but the turtle warriors and dark maulers made up a good third. There were another 1,000 spectral armors and ghastly soldiers, and hundreds of D tier dark elves following close behind.
Perhaps because they had been so focused on the force in between them they were severely out of position. For once there was no semblance of order as the reinforcements charged forward and the defending army scrambled to reorient. Many of the A tier mages were also low on manna and could not contribute. It was not quite a rout, but the undead were unable to keep hold of their ground. The crusaders were only half way decent brawlers in an open melee, but they were doing far better here since the undead were severely vulnerable to them.
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It took several minutes for a retreat back to the eighth floor to become organized, and it was only carried out successfully thanks to the thousand undead that Tombstone’s leaders abandoned to fight to the death. Once again the undead had abandoned their weaker units, while securing the escape of their true elites. Peter was extremely annoyed about the whole thing. How many times had the same 12… 8 now, mages recovered all their manna and caused havoc.
Glenda and the rest of the reinforcements arrive on scene 20 minutes later. Glenda chose to take another half hour to consolidate the forces and allow them to rest and recover. They still had several hours of the allotted 9 hours left, so there was plenty of time to spare. Delilah and her prepared the forces for the assault. Peter did not know whether to be excited or annoyed when Gunther showed up still alive. Excited because he was a valuable A tier unit. Annoyed that of all the elite in the assault force it was the self absorbed blue man that managed to survive.
Tombstone had probably used all his remaining original cards to summon units, because the force that awaited them when the assault began was far above what Peter could have expected. There had to be an additional 20 A tiers. Then again Peter should not be surprised since he could even now summon 2 or 3 times that amount.
Glenda and several B tier holy mages were able to erect a barrier around the entrance, but only for a matter of seconds. Glenda collapsed to her knees exhausted from blocking dozens of incoming attacks even with the support. Attacks rained down all around her, but enough of their forces had gotten through the portal. Delilah and a good number of the dimensional elite had made it through as had hundreds of turtle shield warriors who were expanding forward with a handful of support.
Then in charged several thousand more infantry. A hundred died within ten seconds just from the amount of attacks blasting the area, but then came the S tier dragons and most of the focus of the enemy refocused on them. The armageddon dragon immediately shot out a beam of void energy. The white beam full of black flakes swept through a knot of A tiers. Thanks to being across the floor several were able to dive out of the way. Three mages threw up personnel barriers, but only two of them held and just barely by the amount of cracks that crisscrossed their translucent surface. The other mage along with two other slower A tiers perished instantly. However the dragon’s void energy bar had bottomed with the one attack, and it would take minutes to recharge. Still taking out nearly 10% of the enemies A tiers with a single attack was an impressive feat.
The other freshly summoned A tiers came through the floor entrance right after. Their view was immediately clear as the S tier dragons both split to either side as they tanked incoming attacks. One of the new A tier salamanders was a watermancer at the rank A (+), Peter just hoped it survived so that he could make some maelstroms based off it. The watermancer immediately started forming a constantly expanding blob of water. Several incoming attacks made contact, but fizzled out before they made it all the way through. Fifteen seconds later the blob surged forward right over the advancing infantry slamming into the undead defenders like a flash flood.
Hundreds were hit and swept back over a decent sized section of the defenses. Very few were likely killed but the earthwork defenses had provided little protection as the waters swept through trenches or up and around walls affecting it all. The defenders would not be able to get into position in time. To hold the line. That and the fact that the large S tier dragons could not seem to be brought down earned the watermancer some of the enemy mages focus so the salamander was forced on the defensive. The blue salamander danced back brining up water barriers. This elite was proving far better at defending than even Glenda.
The B tier dragons were the first to reach the hole in the defenses caused by the tidal wave. They met several dozen enemy A tiers. They were strong for B tiers. They even immediately brought several enemy A tiers down with the combined void blasts, but once their energy ran out they were immediately overwhelmed despite outnumbering the A tiers 2 to 1. Enemy B tiers only seconds behind their A tier leaders slammed into the battle around the same time that thousands of C tier infantry came in to support the B tier dragons. It was far from an even fight, but the melee stayed in the area as hundreds of units fought and died.
Then the 50 holy B tiers joined the fight and reversed things near instantly. It was a clear picture on why the undead and demon factions liked to eliminate the holy core type as soon as possible. It only took minutes until the defensive force was forced to retreat. Tombstone was apparently tapped out with resources. No more original cards that could be used to summon more units, no more essence. He was able to keep his A tier mages alive from the eight, ninth, and tenth floors, but after the fight on the eighth their side was clearly running on fumes.
The armageddon dragon had to stop before the eighth floor was even finished to be wounded to continue. The holy armored dragon could not cross onto the tenth due to its own wounds in inability to heal itself. What was left of his elite were tired and exhausted, but they continued on aware of the dwindling time limit. The two abyss A tiers and the golden ape fell during the battle of the tenth leaving Peter only five A tier elites that were able to survive through the battle: Gunther, Glenda, spectral armor, Watermancer Salamander and the phantasm dragon.
Luckily Delilah was just fine, but she was one of only a few surviving B tiers. Several hundred of her D tier elves had made it. Only 172 C tiers had managed to do so, but their were only 3 of the living units. Glenda had brought spectral armors and ghastly soldiers over to support the final assault on the tenth.
It had been a bloody battle. Peter did not feel victorious, just sick at the carnage. Things had always seemed more like he was watching a movie, but this time the brutality. Dragons covered in their own and others' blood. Silver armored crusaders dyed red and black in blood fighting on desperately. Peter sat back, closing his eyes for the last minute for so, before he blinked away from his headquarters.
