Days passed in a type of quagmire. The undead, endless in number, advanced upon the border wall. Crashing like an incessant wave, unrelenting in pressure. Yet the wall stood.


    Thanks to all the upgrading that had been done over time, the wall was no longer just a pile of wooden logs struck into hardened ground. Though it wasn''t quite a stone wall either. It was something between the two. Stone made up the foundation, while wood gave it elevation.


    The undead would crash into the stone, where the mages would let fire rain down upon them. This sometimes caused the wood to catch ame. The backup mages would quickly douse the mes and fire retardant would be applied anew—if time allowed.


    Sadly, time was more often than notcking. As a result, the upper part of the wall was now covered in burnt wood. Quick repairs kept it from falling apart, though the asion hole could be found here and there.


    Running carelessly on the wall could cause one to break their legs, and if the timing was bad, that could quickly lead to your death.


    "There! A ghoul!" Following the shout, those manning the cannons swiftly turned their attention to the source and followed their frantic pointing.


    Rushing through the dark was a far more agile undead. Its silhouette flickered as it darted between the sources of light mages had cast over the entire battlefield. It was fast.


    Taking aim, those responsible for the cannon held their breath. Every shot had to count. The undead had yed many tricks on them, and this one was their favorite. A fast-moving target that caused them to waste their shots.


    Their source of light disappearing, the undead roared, followed by the earthquake as they charged. "Not yet!" the captain responsible for this cannon, Paw, shouted.


    Thanks to the draconian''s unique avatar, they could enhance their night vision through the use of skills. Most demi-humans could aplish this, though the draconians had shown to be the best at it. Many had even started to upgrade upon the skill by learning to control the flow of their mana.


    With great care, Paw focused on the undead''s movement. Following the flow of their movements and waiting for the mages to restore their light. He helped maneuver the cannon to be ready to fire, but they did not fire.


    Each cannonball was simply too expensive to waste. Money was not the true problem, rather the supply of material and hands to make the cannonballs were the true limiting factor. Not to mention that older versions of the cannons still relied on mana crystals to be fired.


    While the mages fought to bring light to the battle, the undead naturally fought to keep darkness. Spells flew from the rabble of lower undead. While incapable of casting, they made the perfect cover for those who could. It was near impossible to pinpoint their mages.


    "Drat, lost it." Paw cursed. With the siege dragging on in days, they were not only all nearing exhaustion, they were also running lower on numbers. With fewer to share the load, it became several times heavier.


    "Vivian is on her way." Replied one of the backup cannoneers.


    Recently, there had been a great push for everyone to join one guild to simplify the flow of orders. Therger guild naturally argued against this, but Starfire had quickly agreed. With them, Faekin had also joined Phoenix, as well as Iyashi.


    Counting all the other yers jumping here to join the action, Phoenix was now nearing the three thousand member mark. The recent video the guild had posted had earned them special attention to many within the Florian empire.


    "Then we''ll hold from firing unless strictly necessary. Go support the front." Sending the backup cannoneers to the front, Paw hoped to buy them the time they needed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Fire spread across the wall, and cracks formed in the stone foundation. yers died by the dozens, and many NPCs retreated to the back. A limb or two missing, along with mortal wounds threatening their lives.


    Their screams as they received harsh treatment to save their lives made those on the front fight all the harder. They did not wish to go under those same treatments, but that so many were screaming filled them with relief.


    That they could still scream meant they would likely survive. Their agony was proof that their lives were being saved, and—most importantly—that they would not join their enemy''s ranks. This filled those fighting with resolve to hold out until the sun rose.


    As the damage continued to spread and copse seemed imminent, the cannoneers wavered on holding their fire. A single st would offer the frontline at least a dozen seconds of respite. Enough for them to douse the mes and move the wounded to the back.


    It was as they wavered that blue fired rained down from above. Like a falling star, Vivian swooped into the ranks of the undead atop her ride, Ceph. Like something out of a legend, they dived into the throng of undead, fearless and magnificent.


    As theynded, the blue mes burst forth. Cleansing their surroundings. Following the mes was a st of wind. Spreading it further as it burnt the undead to ash.


    Noticing the change, those hiding among the lower undead turned their focus to the new arrivals. The ghoul, quickest to act, rushed Vivian. Hoping to catch her off guard as she was recovering from theirnding.


    It found itself slowed by the blue mes eating at its flesh, and a sword weing its heart. Unable toprehend what had happened, it turned to ash. Just like all those before it.


    The undead mages mixed within the undeadunched their spells instead. Only to have it all blocked and deflected by a dome of air, which carried the mes and created and of death for the undead within the battle.


    Hesitating, the mages thought to retreat. That was when two figured burst from the dome. Thanks to continued tactics like this, Vivian already knew her mes did not work on the Zonthans and others of a simr race. It also couldn''t kill higher undead outright, only slowing them.


    That was where her sword came to y. Wreathed not in mes of blue, but mes of red, she tore through the battlefield. Ceph took a less shy approach, using wind and ice to weave through the lower undead and target only those who possessrge quantities of mana.


    —


    "This is bing too much." Vivianined with the sunrise. She was beyond tired and dearly wishing for something to change. Her job was simple. She was a stopgap until the true fight started. For now, the undead were testing them—and trying to wear them down.


    They seemed especially focused on attempting to take the cannon out, and if that failed, to have the cannoneers waste as many cannonballs as possible.


    Vivian''s powers were uniquely inclined to dealing with the undead. Yet she would not be of much use against the higher undead that were also higher tiered than her. She could manage a ghoul at her level, but one above would not be slowed nearly as much by her mes.


    "Good job. I''ll take over now. Get some rest." Evale said, sending the two to Llyn to get some proper rest.