"Bang!" A giant hammer slammed down, and the Aenei warrior turned to see that the dwarf he had just saved had returned and smashed a dark ghoul down with a single blow.
"Thank you for saving my big guy. You've successfully gained my friendship. We dwarves don't have the habit of abandoning our friends and saviors!" After catching his breath, the dwarf looked up at the Aenei next to him and said boldly.
"Wow! Okay, don't be shy, we're comrades, aren't we?" The Aini warrior cleaved the dark ghoul that pounced on him with a single sword strike. Against these emaciated creatures, the greatsword was no match for the warhammer.
"Comrades-in-arms? That's right! We are comrades-in-arms! After this war is over, I will definitely treat you to our dwarven ale, and we'll have a good drink together!" The dwarf laughed loudly.
"Then you'd better live well, I'm waiting for your ale!"
Similar scenes played out across the battlefield. None of the rescued dwarves retreated. After a brief moment of shock, they rejoined the battle and fought alongside the Aenei.
"Harold, a big guy is coming over there!" Cecilia shouted to Harold as a horde of dark ghouls charged over. They looked like a bunch of low-level minions, but some dark predators were hidden among them from time to time.
"We're on our way!" Harold shouted from afar, immediately mobilizing two mercenary groups to charge forward. The main battlefield was left to Cecilia's army, while the mercenary groups' role was to deal with these elite troops.
The Dark Predator hidden among the Dark Ghouls wasn't particularly strong, only around the third tier. However, Bella had already warned them that the Dark Predator's strength was extraordinary, far surpassing that of ordinary professionals of the same level.
This proved to be true; an entire Tier 3 mercenary squad could barely handle a single Tier 3 Dark Predator, and they even needed another squad to block the Dark Ghoul's interference.
Even these few people were in grave danger during the battle. The Dark Predator was like a mini-boss to them, and they had to fight with all their might to defeat it. If another Dark Ghoul were to suddenly appear at this moment, they would be in even greater peril.
However, this situation is actually quite common. This is a battlefield, not a secret realm game. A mini-boss is left here for you to conquer. Those predators hidden in the shadows will accurately seize the enemy's moment of weakness and then deliver a fatal blow.
"Damn it, these things are too strong. Are they really third-tier creatures? Aren't they a bit too strong?" Harold tore a Dark Predator to pieces and couldn't help but complain. Even with his fourth-tier strength, although he could easily kill these Dark Predators, it was still full of danger.
The fact that a third-tier creature could pose a threat to a fourth-tier professional was truly beyond Harold and the others' understanding of strength.
For everyone, the leap from the third to the fourth tier is a qualitative leap, an insurmountable gap, and the beginning of a great leap forward in strength. The leaps from the fourth to the fifth tier, and from the fifth to the sixth tier, are even more exaggerated with each tier. Once you enter the seventh tier, it's like climbing a ladder from one step to the next. Even a small breakthrough, just from the early stage to the later stage, can make the leap as big as the sum of the leaps from the first to the sixth tier.
“Dark ghouls are nothing more than undead products of darkness’s corruption, the most basic cannon fodder, and their numbers are endless. But dark predators are different. They are creatures truly born from darkness and possess strength far exceeding that of their peers, so you must be extra careful!” Bella’s voice rang in Harold’s ears.
Under Ye Chen's orders, she will not participate in this war, but will provide some hints and assistance to everyone when appropriate. The Aini people are here to train their troops, and Bella only needs to ensure that these people are not here to die. As for the outcome of this local war, it is meaningless to them.
Of course, with many people from New Aini City rushing to support them, the balance of power in any local war could be broken.
"I've learned something new!" Harold nodded, rubbing his hands together and charging towards the next dark predator.
These predators of the darkness inflicted considerable casualties on the mercenary group fighting on the front lines. Conversely, the casualties suffered by the Aenei army fighting the dark predators were still within a manageable range. This was mainly because the strength of the dark ghouls was within a controllable range, unlike the exaggerated strength of the dark predators.
“It’s time to prepare for the rotation of your troops!” After a while, Bella reminded Celicia beside her.
"So fast?" Cecilia exclaimed subconsciously. Fighting in the dark for a long time would cause one to be corrupted by dark energy. Bella had already told them this, so from the beginning they had divided the army into two waves to take turns. Cecilia just didn't expect it to be so fast. It had only been less than half an hour since they joined the battle.
“Quick? It’s been a long time. Haven’t you noticed that some of the warriors at the front have bloodshot eyes? And they’re fighting more and more recklessly and irrationally!” Bella said solemnly. This was the most important moment in the war against darkness, to prevent them from being corrupted by it.
"This?" Cecilia was taken aback and looked at the warriors charging at the forefront of the battlefield. Sure enough, as she said, although it was not obvious yet, the eyes of these warriors were clearly tinged with bloodlust. Moreover, many of them were fighting more and more frantically.
Seeing this, Cecilia did not hesitate any longer and immediately ordered everyone to retreat, while another wave of troops that had been prepared to take their place.
After two rounds of alternation, the first group was finally able to catch their breath for a moment, while the second group, having watched the battle for half an hour, seemed more experienced, and suffered far fewer casualties in their initial encounters than the first group.
"The priests are in position. Dispel the darkness for them as soon as possible to prevent their minds from being corrupted!" Cecilia stopped paying attention to the battlefield and returned to the army with Bella to check on the condition of the retreating soldiers.
Numerous physicians and priests were moving among the soldiers, performing purification spells and healing their wounds in turn. As the dark energy within their bodies was expelled, the warriors gradually regained their senses, only to be followed by endless pain from their injuries.
"These dark energies are extremely difficult to dispel; they truly are enemies that even the gods fear!" Betty, the priestess of the God of Dawn, said with a wry smile when she saw Cecilia and the others arrive. She could only say that she had underestimated the terror of the dark energy, which also indirectly revealed the power of this group of lords and their kin.
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