A massive influx of energy hit Reidar as Drecht died, but he ignored it.

"He's dead!" Reidar said. "Don't let the other fuckers recover!"

The death of the Deacon sent a shockwave through the remaining Zealots that made them freeze. It didn't help the church members that their leader was also being eaten in front of them.

At that point, the Quadraginta had nothing else to do but to surge forward and kill the remaining church members.

But Isadora wasn't done, and neither were Lucius nor the hydra. As the battle continued, Reidar directed the Apex Menagerie toward the massive creature, sending the Death-Stalker Scorpion charging forward to surround the beast.

"Keep it off Lena and Jake," Reidar said, tracking the Hydra's heads as they swiveled toward his allies and the rest of the people there. Reidar didn't care about the zealots; they had to die, but Lena and Jake could not be harmed.

"Lucius!" Isadora shrieked. "By the Progenitor's will, stand!"

She slammed her hands together, and a wave of energy exploded outward from her. It hit Jake, knocking him back. It hit the Shadow Sovereigns, causing them to dissolve. Reidar didn't expect that.

[Summon Destroyed: Shadow Sovereign.]

[Summon Destroyed: Shadow Sovereign.]

<What the fuck?>

The church had more surprises stored than he had assumed, but why had Drecht been so disappointing?

<Ah, right, the Hydra.>

Yes, that played a huge part in it.

Drecht had been fighting both Reidar's army and the Hydra at the same time. The volume of attacks had forced him onto the defensive. He hadn't had the chance to unleash his full arsenal of spells before the Hydra tore him apart, and even if he did, the Hydra was difficult to kill.

As for Isadora, it looked like she was trying to really play the part of the holy woman and must have created a spell that, for some kind of twisted fate, ended up being effective against the Shadow Sovereign.

<It's almost as if she was trying to create holy spells to disperse darkness and death. >

Reidar grimaced as the backlash for losing his creatures hit his mind.

He couldn't send his other creatures against her. Jake needed to face Isadora himself—he needed the levels and the combat experience she would provide.

Reidar then noticed that Lucius, buoyed by the energy, staggered to his feet. He was bleeding from a dozen wounds, but he was alive. Although Lena would make sure that wasn't going to last longer.

"Rally to me!" Lucius said, raising his shield. "Form the phalanx!"

The surviving Zealots—maybe twenty of them—scrambled toward their Captain. They formed a tight circle around Isadora, and their shields locked together.

"Turtling now?" Lena said, retreating to Reidar's position. "She's healing them faster than we can hit."

"Not for long," Reidar said.

The Hydra was still there. Reidar was keeping it at bay, but nothing said he couldn't stop doing that. That was what he did. The Quadraginta stood back.

The monster then noticed the cluster of mutated humans and roared at the shield wall.

"To all the Archons, hammer that phalanx while the hydra attacks them."

He turned to Lena and Jake. "We pull back a little."

The forty Spectral Warlords got away from the Hydra. Meanwhile, the Archon Rift-Lords turned their attention to Lucius and his formation.

The Metal Archon Rift-Lords stepped forward.

[Iron Barrage.]

Reidar saw the jagged metal shards collide with the wall of shields, the force of the impact kicking up showers of sparks that seared his vision.

He felt the collision vibrate through the soles of his boots as the noise washed over him. It was the screech of tearing steel, and it physically hurt his ears.

<I wonder what it must be for them.>

He instinctively hunched his shoulders.

Isadora chanted frantically, her mana potions entirely depleted by that point, while Jake charged once more, diving headlong into the fray.

Inside the phalanx, the noise was worse. It was a drumbeat of death. Every impact buckled a shield or shattered a wrist.

Isadora grabbed Lucius's arm. Her face was pale; sweat was plastering her hair to her forehead. She wasn't looking at the enemy; she was looking at the cracks forming in the Captain's shield.

"We can't hold this," she said. "I don't have much mana, Lucius, and I ran out of potions!"

Lucius grunted, shoving a Zealot back into place as the man's leg gave out. "If we break formation, the beast eats us."

"If we stay, the beast eats us and the summons picks our bones," Isadora said. She looked toward the thick treeline to the south. "We need to get out of here. Now."

Lucius looked at the twenty men around him. They were terrified. They were bleeding. They were looking at him to save them.

"The men won't make it," Lucius said. It wasn't a question. These guys were still too weak, and even Lucius and Isadora were not sure they could escape despite their higher levels. He turned and saw Jake, Lena, and Reidar looking at them while resting. They were thoroughly enjoying the show.

"They are already dead," Isadora said.

Lucius closed his eyes for a second. Then he nodded.

"On my signal," Lucius said. "Break South."

He signaled to the others, but Isadora knew that when that happened, they had to flee in the opposite direction.

Lucius slammed his shield forward, activating [Fortress Bash] to create a momentary opening in the Barrage.

"Move!"

Lucius and Isadora turned and sprinted. They didn't retreat with the phalanx. They ran away from it.

The Zealots were running in the opposite direction and didn't notice that their leaders were going the other way. It didn't matter for the hydra, who targeted the biggest group. At that point, the Quadraginta had already moved away from the monster, which didn't even deem them as appetizing since they didn't even have flesh.

The phalanx collapsed.

The Hydra's central head lunged into the opening. It used its skull like a battering ram, turning three Zealots into paste instantly.

The screams started, but they didn't last long. The Mist-Gorged Hydra was in a frenzy. It swept its tail through the cluster of soldiers, breaking spines and launching bodies into the trees. It was a massacre.

Reidar watched the scene.

"They're running," he said.

Jake and Lena were already moving.

"We won't allow it," Jake said.

Reidar turned to his summons. The Hydra was finishing its meal and would be looking for the next target in seconds.

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